We are IN... TOP TEN in Winnipeg's region, that is. Next stop: NUMBER ONE IN MANITOBA! We can do it. Keep UP your DAILY VOTE and let's get more and more people on board. Voting for this last regional round ends again on Monday, April 27th @ 2pm CENTRAL TIME.
Something I've noticed is that a lot of entries are from bands or artists who have already had a crack at this competition, or have been established as a group for a few years already. The motto of CBC's contest is "The Hunt for Canada's Best NEW Artist"... So let's prove that motto in this year's results!
Also, I keep getting asked what the actual prize is for winning CBC's 2015 Searchlight Contest...
1) $20,000 of YAMAHA MUSIC EQUIPMENT... THINK OF THE POSSIBILTIES!
2) A spot in CBC's upcoming MUSIC FESTIVAL... WOAH.
3) LIVE/VIDEO RECORDING of my song! Chea.
AND
4) EXPOSURE, this contest has jump-started me in promoting and writing my own music (which treads constantly in my mind by the way), and this contest platform has been incredible.
... I mean, the national top 5 are also announced on Q by the amazing SHAD... So please make this dream happen, VOTE DAILY! I am at your mercy :) - http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/Manny-Goossen
We NEED more people on our amazing bandwagon if we are to achieve #1 in Manitoba. Please keep up your dedication to "Step Into the Light"! Your overall patience throughout this entire period has been APPRECIATED.
It's finally OUT! "Step Into the Light" in music video form for CBC's Searchlight competition is spreading. I'll write a little bit about how it all came together below.
ENJOY!
Big thanks to every single person involved with this project: Jyles Klassen (video production | vimeo.com/jyles), Elan Mueller (lead actor), Event Light lighting (eventlight.ca), and the Hamptons (location). And of course thank you to our beautiful extras: Tali Floom, Jona Frohlich, Cameron Friesen, Glen Hampton, Joel Janke, Jon Janke, Jessica Mueller, Kelsey Mueller, and Juan Schujman.
The incredible locations we shot within include the lovely Sandy Bay area on Lake Winnipeg and nearby forest, as well as in Whiteshell Provincial Park.
I am currently in the Regional Semi-Final for Winnipeg!
Voting ENDS for this round tomorrow, April 20th at 2pm CT!
Update! It is hard to believe, but this exact post will be my 300th for this blog overall. I'm very appreciative of those who have taken the time to read, comment, and give feedback on my stories, opinions, videos, music, and personal experiences over the past 5 years. My postings have obviously slowed down, however I still love to occasionally write and express certain thoughts—which are so often unspoken and unshared with those around me in real time. So thank you, whether you check-in once in a while or have been here since the beginning, my peers, friends, and family!
Much love.
p.s. MERRY CHRISTMAS! I'm a little late, but I'm recording a rendition of "O Come O Come Emmanuel" that I performed with a couple friends at our Church for its Christmas Eve services. Hopefully I can share that with you ASAP.
And stay tuned for my 'Top Albums of the Year' post coming SOOOOON! It's been a fantastic year of music.
University is fresh off the term and we're finally amongst this long awaited Spring/Summer break. A break filled with friends, music, trips, beaches, cabins, the Stanley Cup playoffs, UEFA's EURO 2012 Cup, the Olympics... and... board game nights. Yes, board game nights. Here's a funny, short documentary that portrays (pretty accurately) most of the Settlers of Catan games I'm involved in (except for the screaming bit at the end). ENJOY! And may YOU be Lord of Catan this summer!
This is a very moving short film, I suggest you check it out and support Invisible Children Inc. in their quest to take down International War Criminal #1, Joseph Kony... This video lays out the steps to help and most of all it explains their mission! I'm sure this organization spoke at Prov a couple years ago, so I'm super disappointed that I missed it. Anyway, take half an hour of your time (well worth it) and soak this in, it's super inspirational!
KONY 2012 is a film and campaign by Invisible Children that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice.
Pledge your support by donating here: http://bit.ly/konydonate and continue to share this story. GOAL: 500,000 shares
Manchester Orchestra were wise to put their "Simple Math" music video responsibilities in the hands of a certain directing duo known as the DANIELS. It is eerily creative and intense, check it OUT:
Read the featured article of the premiered video here. It includes an interview with frontman Andy Hull.
The DANIELS were also the ones who created that phenomenal Dogboarding video that's been getting around.
Well, I don't know if you heard about it, but a couple weeks ago there was a certain NBA SUPER STAR who announced which team he chose to sign with for the next season... Yes, LeBron James had an internationally televised, one hour special interview titled The Decision just for himself so that he could say one sentence. It took ONE HOUR to say ONE THING! Here is Steve Carell and Paul Rudd's spoof on the pointless special during the ESPY's, SO FUNNY! Can't wait to see their new movie: Dinner for Schmucks!
I've had some free time lately, but it is unfortunate because I have not touched my Olympic vlog footage at all! This needs to change right away, and it will (I'll begin editing tomorrow and also release a trailer showing a snippet of my experience... hopefully)!
In other news, my entire body is really stiff right now. Yesterday, I managed to head to Prov after school to train and play futsal with the soccer team and then head back into the city to play floor hockey! So that was a pretty crazy/busy night. I am extremely exhausted and now I fully know that I am extremely out of shape. Speaking of busy, I was talking to Reims today, and she mentioned that I was a pretty busy guy and I guess it's kind of true, at least only for this week! Actually, today I had nothing up and I took full advantage of it, relaxing all evening (I will get to tonight's content later on in this long post). However, the rest of my week will not be as chill. Here's a lineup of what's upcoming in my "mad life" (Reims' words):
I'm very excited for what tomorrow night will bring. My dad and I will actually be recording some music together (ABOUT TIME)! He wrote a song about the Red River called: "Red River Rising", and now he wants to record it with the help of his producer friend and I! This will technically be my first time recording in a legit studio, so I'm totally pumped (at Bible school, out in Germany, we had this homemade one that consisted of upright tables and a lot of blankets... good times).
On Thursday, my evening begins with the Survivor watching crew. Yes, I have caved in and have fallen into the trap of the show Survivor! It's the 20th season and I am only getting into it now... unreal! It has been quite epic though, and I am loving every minute of it. Later that night I will also finally see the much anticipated: Shutter Island! I hear it just blows your mind and makes you search for out-of-reach answers; I can't wait to have my brain rattled. Plus I'm going with some of my blogger peeps, so I know it'll be a party, party (Saint better be there... I just quoted his song)!
Friday, is Youth night for my Church (The Meeting Place)! We'll be heading to my beloved high school of MBCI to attend a fundraiser to support an orphanage in Kenya named The Nest. There is a $20 entrance fee per person and all the proceeds will go towards the orphanage. If 100 people come out, that will be enough money to run the orphanage for 3 months! That's pretty awesome, so I hope 200+ show up and support a great cause. Log in to facebook and check out the event (<--- Check it out!). They are also going to have a battle of the bands happening later on too, so hopefully the local talent rocks the boat.
Saturday is my man Malech'sBDAY BASH! Yes, all day I hope to be celebrating with this beloved man. Let's party, party!
Let me just say that I would consider my journey on the way to school Monday, very similar to the one Luke Skywalker endured when he was lost on the Planet Hoth (the second Star Wars movie was my favourite). Let me take you through this Hoth-like excursion I encountered...
I literally could not see anything when I stepped outside of my house to go and catch the bus to school. The sidewalks were non-accessible, so I trudged on the road, pushing against the raging winds that pierced my face. I finally made it to the bus stop. I immediately took cover in the bus shelter. I glanced to my right and found that the fierce winds had blown a tonne of snow on to the exit ramp of my bus stop! NO! I called Telebus (the very convenient bus schedule line) to find out if there were delays or significant changes to my stop. Nope, everything was normal apparently. The bus was delayed a couple minutes and when it came, it actually stopped and hesitated on exiting the main road to get to my stop. I waved and the driver decided to come and pick me up. This is what she said: "You're lucky, all buses were told not to enter this stop because the exit ramp isn't cleared." She thought that it had been cleared, that's why she came and picked me up.
"Let's hope we make it!" She exclaimed, as she plowed through the snowy exit ramp. We were moving, we were going to make it! Almost there... then it happened. The bus was just rev'n and the driver couldn't do anything about it. "Well, we're stuck," she concluded. "Shoot," I said, "sorry, I should have came to the main road to get on." She proceeded to call for a tow-truck. There was an off-duty driver in the back, he eventually came up and joined the front of the bus. Luckily, he provided comic relief. Plus the driver wasn't even that mad! Although, I guess this did mean that she didn't have to work for the moment. I would be in a cheerful mood too! The real worry/question was: Were the passengers angry?! The number on the bus was few, but there were a couple "Oh Great!" sarcastic comments that came from the back. It technically wasn't my fault, though it did happen because of me; I was the only one at the stop.
While we were waiting for the tow-truck, the driver explained how this was her first time ever getting stuck. She's been driving for as long as I've been alive! Twenty years, and she has never been stuck! Great... now I feel special. It didn't take long for the tow-truck to get here. Thankfully it was only a 15 min wait. The rescuers did some shovelling around the tires, hooked up the bus to the truck, and then the one guy came into the bus. He told us to sit down and then took over the wheel. When the driver came to sit down, she murmured: "It's not my fault, it's this guy's," with a laugh. I shrugged, sh#% happens (don't worry, I didn't actually say that; I handled the situation with class)!
It was a quick tug (that's what...) and we were finally free! The bus driver took over again and we were back on the road. When we came to my stop, I apologized to the driver. She replied with: "It's not your fault!" We both laughed and that was the end of it. What's really funny is, that on the way home, my bus pulled into my stop only to find another bus stuck right in front of it on the exit ramp! There was no way out for the bus I was on. Again, I was the only one to get off at the stop... Sorry!
I have fallen into the wonderful trap of Vimeo. It's an excellent site where you can watch your friend's and random people's film magic at work. It's awesome. I've now posted a widget on the side bar to the right for my vids. Also at the very bottom is a vimeo movie player where you can watch the movies I enjoyed as well.
p.s. I saw Avatar yesterday and it was UNREAL! So impressive in regards to the visual effects!
Life Lesson: Reminisce about your fun times more. Even though it may seem like you're just thinking or talking about the better times from your past it still feels awesome to share them and reflect on them. I have the best laughing sessions when I reminisce with friends, it's awesome.
I was lookin' back at my videos on my computer and came across one that I had made with my good friend Thomas. We made this vid about a year and a bit ago for Laura, who is now Thomas' wife (hooray/who would have thought it at the time)! Bear with the video because it is decently long, 9 mins in fact. So I really don't expect you to watch the full clip, but you can if you want to! I can't believe how long Thomas' hair is too. Wait... I just watched the video and it appears it may have been for our friends down in California. Whatevs, it's a shout out to all the people who wish to see a part of my neighbourhood and also both Thomas and I! Enjoy.
Good news... I did not have to work this morning!!! I was so relieved when I got the call from my boss. You may be wondering and therefore asking: "Why were you so relieved, Manny?" Let me tell you. Last night I decided to attend the midnight premier of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Yes, I am a fan and have read all the books. I thought it would be appropriate to see the film on it's premier even if I did have work the next day. My co-worker (Ryan Malech) decided to go as well (at a different theatre) so we probs [probably] would not have gotten much done in the morning anyways! I ended up going with my bro and his friend. Assuming that the queue was going to be unreal, we headed out earlier and got to the theatre for 9:45pm. This was not necessary. By 10:45pm there was still not that many people behind us (though the line did have quite a large diameter, mabes [maybe] 20 feet). Now no one likes to stand in line for hours, so I brought my iPod to listen to my tunes to pass the time. I guess I could have watched Batman: The Dark Knight on my iPod... why did I just think of that now?! Whatevs [whatever], my bro brought his Nintendo DS Gameboy so I was able to play some Mario Tennis as well (not as good as the classic N64 version). That's right, we came prepared for the long wait. As I was listening to my tunes I was bored and therefore scanned the premises and landed my eyes on a new concession stand in the theatre. PIZZA PIZZA! Wow, this is my favourite pizza; when I moved to Manitoba I was crushed because Pizza Pizza was only in Ontario. I planned to purchase this incredible pizza after we claimed our seats. The clock struck 11:05pm and suddenly there was a shriek and the mob/line began to flow. By flow, I mean like a rushing raging river with rapids galore (beautiful alliteration)! People were sprinting to get to the auditorium, I hadn't seen anything like it (I kept it cool of course and sent my brother and his friend to madly dash for seats). I'm telling you, it was a human stampede (kinda reminded me of the running of the bulls). Phew, we got good seats. Half way up on the side closest to the aisle we were... prime seating (props to my scouts). My Pizza Pizza craving had made itself known again so I headed out to retrieve three slices for my crew. When I got to the concession stands a man with a megaphone was addressing the other line-up (I couldn't believe that they weren't let in yet). I had to watch this. They literally marched them in to their auditorium to prevent what had happened in our experience (which was a dilemma). These people were just pumped for Potter. I was a little disappointed that I saw nobody dressed up in robes. There weren't even any fake stuffed owls or anything! My excuse was that I was dressed up as a muggle (non-magic folk), I thought that would suffice. Anyways... I got back to my seat and settled in. I whipped out my secret Ziploc bag stash of Smarties and a juice box and feasted until the movie began. There is something about movie premiers that just gets people riled up. I mean there's always the people who yell and try to make themselves heard. Why? Don't know, but I happened to be one of them. The trailer for New Moon was shown in the previews and people started to cheer, gasp and gawk. Naturally, I piped up and said, "Com'on! We're here for Harry Potter!" This one guy a row below me heard and decided to repeat my words but in a much louder yell. It got a good reaction, I was proud. It was time for the movie to begin. Everyone was excited and could not help but yelp with joy. As the joyous cheers died down the funniest thing happened. One man way at the back decided to put in his two cents of humour. He cried out, "You Shall Not Pass!" There was an instant roar of laughter. That made my day. During one of the scenes Dumbledore actually strikingly resembled the exact image of Gandalf too! I really liked the movie. It was quite hilarious and was able to capture the best of romantic awkward relationship humour. Hormones definitely dominated the theme of this movie. I also never thought that Butter Beer was alcoholic... you'll know when you see the scene. It has been at least four years since I have read the sixth book so I did not remember every single detail that was left out. Who cares, they can't get everything right! Overall... good show!
Once upon a time, there were seven people who gathered, unknowing of what was about to come. Some did not know each other well, but that was about to change. We ended up planning a vaycay [vacation] for December; it was going to be at some location in some country with a beautiful hot and sunny atmosphere. Over numerous meetings in one night we solidified as a crew, and we were named the Super Seven. Seven, being the number of members and of total completeness. This last Friday we reunited. We celebrated one of the member's birthday with a night of surprise. It included a limo, steak, The Hangover, and Bud Light Lime (it is defs [definitely] hyped up too much).
We surprised our member as she came to her boyfriend's home to find the Super Seven awaiting in a limo. Thrilled, she was (sorry for the Yoda speech). We got dropped off at our designated restaurant and shamelessly walked a lap around the restaurant (including the patio) due to not being able to spot the entrance (how embarrassing; we were dropped off in a limousine!). The steak was impeccable but the chicken appeared to contain salmonella. Luckily I ordered the drunken steak sandwich (it was marinated in Stella Artois!) with yam fries and a glass of Australian white wine (exquisite)! We finished up and headed (in our limo of course) to the theatre to enjoy a highly anticipated comedic film called The Hangover. Hilarious. Unreal. I totes [totally] loved it. I recommend it if you don't mind profanity and crudeness, so don't blame me if you are offended, it is 18A. Afterwards we winded down the night with a good ol' backyard fire with Bud Light Lime. We contemplated on an initiation for those who wanted to experience the Super Seven's company. I'll take suggestions if you have 'em. I think we're half set on an awkward questions period with Ryan Malech though. Should be good.
You know what the best thing ever is??! Going places with mass amounts of people in themed costumes that make you stand out. Yes, this Sunday a bunch of us went to see the awesome 3D movie UP! Let me tell you that this movie is quite the roller coaster of emotion. Just as you are laughing your head off the plot turns and gets really deep and personal. I cannot remember another movie where I laughed as hard or teared up as much (yes, I'm a sensitive guy). The 3D was extraordinary too by the way. Unbelievable. It has come a long way since the last one I saw which was Muppets in 3D at Disney WORLD (hmmm in grade 5)! In the Muppet movie things would just randomly pop out and people would ooh and aah but in UP the actual scenes are in 3D which boggled my MIND. I won't spoil this awesome movie for you because I do recommend you go out and sport those snazzy glasses at the theatre! ANYWAYS, back to the title of this blog... The lot of us ended up wearing very tight and colourful clothing to the polo park cinema. I showed up to the Froese's to get a ride and was shocked to find Daniel in a flashy sweater, head band, and jean cut-offs that bordered his crotch region (Dan must be a nevernude. Arrested Development anyone??). Yes that's right, try not to conjure up a mental image of Daniel Froese in ridiculously short jean cut-offs (I love how I said it again to double the chances of you imagining that). I ended up fitting into clothing that my friends Gaby and Jess brought which happened to include a very snug yellow shirt, a dancer's skin tight colourful halter top, and a very constricting red vest. I was unable to relax my shoulders and muscles throughout the entire movie, it was that bad! It actually felt like the halter top was piercing through my ribcage. Oh well, my TCBY helped me through the pain. Overall, people must have thought we lost a bet (at least Mr. Geddert and his family thought so... YA, Mr. Geddert witnessed such a thing), but it just so happens we are definitely adventurous.
~~~
The song I'm listening to as I write this blog: The Guitar Man by Cake (check it).
This day (May 23) was quite an interesting one. I am one of those people who if is offered last minute plans for the day tries to find a way to fit it into his schedule... this does leave me in a rush to get places most of the time! Today I went golfing with what started out to be one buddy and then finally two. Now this course is pretty bad and a lot of learners play at this particular place (meaning that most of the time today we stood around waiting to play; we created mini competition games to subdue our boredom). To make a long story short we ended up not finishing our golf game but at least we got to drive around the course in our cart. Next on the agenda was Terminator Salvation. Which was a last minute add on to our schedge (schedule). So we finish our golf game, violated some seatbelt laws with the three of us squashed in a small hyundia (sp?), and sped off across the city to the theatre. Now Terminator was such a confusing movie and the five of us buds debated the plot for maybe five minutes during the credits. One thing to note, is that tonight was the first time I bought a poutine (fries consumed by melted cheese and gravy; Americans are deprived) to eat during the film... Thomas and I both agree: bad decision. I could not see what I was eating and at the same time was worrying about dripping grease/gravy on my nice white shorts. Not to mention it distracts you from understanding and seeing the movie! Well at least I can say I've done it... that's right! To cap off the night Josh and I attended a Wine and Cheese shindig. I love the classiness of such an event. By the way Wine is the only alcohol I will drink these days (well not true, but definitely my favourite at this present time). Have you heard of Couch Surfers? Well we met some and it sounds like some crazy times. It's travelling across the country and staying at random people's houses and sleeping on their couches and having them show you around. It's fun to meet new people, it should happen everyday, but alas it does not. So today was interesting enough to blog about... at least I think so. I've now decided to host plenty of wine & cheese parties. Get ready.
