Saturday, December 31, 2016

2006 to 2016



 2016 is now coming to an end. But, instead of reflecting on the past year, I'm going to reflect on where I was 10 years ago. 2006 was a formative year for J-Dubb'sTheatre. I would often browse through blogs. Many times, I would come across blogs which had been started, had a good run for about a week, or maybe a few months, only to be abandoned by the author, and hang in limbo forever, as the author went about their lives forgetting that they had once started a blog. Then, I would find blogs which had been active for years. 2006 is the year that made the difference between J-Dubbs Theatre dying and hanging in limbo, or living on to grow into a video series which would gain an audience and make new friends and acquaintances for myself.

In October of 2005, I began this blog. All I knew was that I wanted a website, either to talk about self improvement, spirituality, or just humor and entertainment. I ended up starting a blog on blogger. When I began, I wrote snarky humor in the tone of a DJ named Tim Savage.  I also included weekly pictures of arbitrary famous people and animals as the "Superstar of the Week" and "Animal of the Week" just as a random humor bit.

I had fun blogging almost daily in the first month. But then, the blog dwindled. Into the next year, I stopped doing Superstar of the Week, and for the most part, the only reason the blog was used, was for updates on a web comic I was publishing. By April, I had stopped posting all together. That was the point where the blog almost died and became a limbo blog. But, I didn't want it to become a limbo blog.

In July, I did something which would shape the face of J-Dubb's Theatre from then on out. "J-Dubb's Theatre" was sort of an ironic name. It was a parody of sophistication when, in the beginning, it was more about collegian level humor. I took the joke the next step. I made a "sophisticated" image of myself, with a pipe and a leather-bound book. I Photoshopped the picture of myself into a leather chair, which I then Photoshopped into a room with a fireplace. I then edited the "Masterpiece Theatre" logo, to say "J-Dubb's Theatre". I turned this into a banner for the header of the blog. I uploaded a post discussing the new banner. It's because of this banner that I eventually made a pipe logo for the blog. It's because of the pipe logo that my videos begin and end with a pipe. At this moment, J-Dubb's Theatre began to take a recognizable shape.
http://www.j-dubbstheater.com/2006/07/new-banner-making-of.html

 After this, J-Dubb's Theatre gained a second wind. I began posting regularly again. At this point, it had a slightly different feel than it did in the beginning. I was no longer trying to emulate Tim Savage. Nor, did I see my content as anti-sophistication humor. I had fun writing posts, some of which were written in a list of images format, which Buzzfeed totally copied from me. I also brought back Superstar of the Week, and created "J-Dubb's Moral of the Week". It was this year in which I developed the tone of this blog.

It was also this year in which I became acquainted with YouTube. I was introduced to The WineKone, Barats and Beretta, and Smosh. Eventually, I began toying with the idea of expanding J-Dubb's Theatre into a video series.


Tuesday, December 20, 2016

5 Creepiest Christmas Songs


These classic Christmas songs, which may bring a sense of nostalgia, can be pretty creepy, if you pay attention to them.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Saturday, December 10, 2016

They Found A Preserved DINOSAUR TAIL In Amber!!!!


Scientists found a dinosaur tail. Dinosaurs are related to history.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

A Memorable Clip From 2010


Here's this week's video, fresh from 2010.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Friday, October 28, 2016

Eyes on You - Halloween ep 8


Halloween videos are back to normal. In this year's video, Sig Rogers suffers from depression. But, he may have more problems than that, as he begins to feel that he's being watched.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Dawson Creek Park

Since last year, I've been reflecting a lot on "what was I doing ten years ago." While looking at old blog posts from 2006, on this old blog which I use about once a year, anymore, something occurred to me. As of this past August, it's been ten years since I first visited Dawson Creek Park. Over the years, it's a place where I have gone frequently to walk, or reflect, and a majority of my photography has come from there. I have a lot of history with that park.

When I first moved into the area, I would drive by this park on the way to work. I had heard it was a wetlands area, and had walking trails. The little bit I could see from the road looked nice. I had always meant to stop there sometime, and look around. The apartment I lived in previously, had a nice lake area behind it, with a walking path. This lake, like Dawson Creek, also served as a habitat to migrating Canada Geese. (I just found out a few months ago that the lake has been totally destroyed. But that's another story.) I thought Dawson Creek could make a nice replacement for that lake. It took a couple years for me to finally do it, though.


 There was a vacant building next to the park. My dad used to muse that he would like to live in it. After a while, however, his dreams were shattered, when it became the Hillsboro Public Library.

In 2006, I was taking Summer classes, and experiencing a lot of anxiety. A couple of times, I had begun to drive to my Statistics class, when the anxiety would build up. So I ended up detouring, and taking a drive, rather than going to class. One day, amidst one of these drives, I decided to finally visit Dawson Creek. Seeing it for the first time, I thought it was the most beautiful thing. There were lakes surrounded by reeds, and teeming with water foul. There were walkways lined with trees, and wooden footbridges, and tunnels. There was a marshy area, covered with lily pads, and a fountain area behind the building that would become the library. Dawson Creek became a regular place for me to go to unwind, or clear my head.

Shortly after, I brought this little "spy cam" to the park, which I had ordered from a Jonson and Smith novelty magazine for five dollars. It was my first digital camera, a tiny thing, with a little viewfinder, which also functioned as my first webcam. I took my first pictures of this park. Anyone who follows me on Facebook today, knows that this is my most common place to take pictures now.

 In 2007, I began uploading videos to my YouTube channel. This park became a common place for me to film outdoor scenes.


In 2008, I took pictures at Dawson Creek with a camera phone for the first time. My friend, Jon, had been given an iPhone, whose phone function was broken, but it still had internet access, and he was still able to text images. He enjoyed taking pictures with it and sending them to his friends. Around that time, I upgraded from a flip phone with a pullout antenna, to a new slider phone. This was my first phone with a camera, and so I joined Jon, and began taking pictures and texting them. One day, as I was taking a walk around the park, I decided to text pictures of my walk. This began a tradition of taking pictures on my phone while at the park.


One of these pictures became a scene, which I have taken a picture of once a month for the past eight years. At the end of each year, I make a slideshow.
 

After finishing school, I freelanced as a web designer for a couple years while looking for a full time job. Dawson Creek became a place to go, just to have a place to go, and get out of the house during the day. Sometimes I would  go in the mornings, when the park was inhabited by cheerful retired people who would greet passersby, and stay at home moms pushing strollers. Or, I would go later, when people were starting to get off work, and would look at you funny if you tried to greet them like the morning crowd. I typically avoided lunch time, because the place where I liked to park was often full during that time. When it rained, the park was braved by just a few slicker-wearing people.

There have been changes over the span of the decade. Trees have been taken down, or knocked down by storms. Small trees have grown larger. And new trees have been planted. The fauna has changed, for instance, there was a pair of African geese in 2008, that had appeared there, lived there for a while, and then disappeared. And now, there's a muscovy who appears every now and then.

In 2008, one day, I noticed that all the foot bridges were fenced up. After months, towards the end of the year, work crews finally came out to tear down the old bridges and build up new ones. When the new bridges seemed to be finished, there was a snow storm. This seemed to delay whatever the final finishing of the bridges actually was, before opening them up. I couldn't find any information on what was going on with the bridges. I took some pictures to blog about it, but before I could write the post, the fences were suddenly down.


The old bridges had metal railings, but the new one's have wood railings.


Now, the "new" bridges are aged and graying.


In 2012, I posted pictures from Dawson Creek to Instagram for the first time.


In the beginning of 2014, I began taking Spenser there for walks.


One day in 2014, I was walking across a footbridge, which had a tunnel of trees surrounding it. A large branch cracked and fell in front of my face.


Shortly after, the tree which provided the majority of the tunnel effect was taken down. Now, it's more of a tree arch.


It was kind of disappointing to lose the tree-covered bridge effect.


 Now Days, I enjoy going there with Chau-Anh. Over the years, I've rarely ever gone there with someone else; only a few times. It was sort of, my personal time. It was a time to reflect on things. Now, I enjoy bringing her into something which has been a personal part of my life throughout the last ten years.


To visit my Instagram page, go to https://www.instagram.com/jdubbstheatre/











Saturday, September 24, 2016

Being Positive About The Fall


Historically, I tend to lament at the beginning of every Fall. For the sake of nostalgia, I've decided to make another video about the Fall, only this time, I'll be positive the entire time. Real positive. I promise.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Helpful Gibberish


A collab video from Jay Dubbman, featuring J-Dubb of J-Dubb's Theatre.

Friday, September 02, 2016

An Update Which Doesn't Involve History Or Nostalgia


This is just an update, since I haven't posted for a while. I used the words history and nostalgia for purposes of the Youtube algorithm, even though it doesn't involve history or nostalgia.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Friday, August 05, 2016

YouTube Nostalgia at VidCon 2016


At VidCon 2016, I reflected a lot on change. This video takes a look back on the history of YouTube gatherings.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Friday, July 22, 2016

What Does Youtube Mean To You?


Here is Jay Dubbman's collab video from VidCon 2016, which I partook in. This one is also a half hour, so the embedded video starts with my scene. Again, watch the entire video, if you'd like.

Tuesday, July 05, 2016

Vidcon, Am I Right?


Here is Jay Dubbman's VidCon 2016 video, in which I make an appearance. It's a half hour video, so this embedded video starts at my appearance. You could always go back and watch the whole thing, if you want.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

What Actually Is Considered A Meme?


The word "meme" gets thrown around a lot. Naturally, it is often misused. Do you know what a meme really is?

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Thursday, June 09, 2016

The American Dream With Glenn Robbins


This is a video I did for my friend, Jon Dodson of cheerfulghost.com last year, documenting his new house.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Farewell Happy Cabbie


Happy Cabbie, a face of the classic YouTube, has passed away.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Tuesday, May 03, 2016

RE: YouTube Is Slowly Destroying Itself


Jon Lovel made a video discussing the current "YouTube meltdown". I give my thoughts in the old-fashioned way: through video response.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

He's Back


Peter's back.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Do You Really Know What a Chair Is?


Well, do you?

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

6 BS Things Most People Believe About Dogs


Did you really think dogs saw in black and white?

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Saturday, February 27, 2016

9 Years of Videos


As of this past month, I have been uploading videos for 9 years. In this video, I talk about a little about the early concepts of "vlogging" and "the YouTube community", and how this channel has evovled.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Your Mind May Be More Brilliant Than You Think


Do you have a brilliant mind? What was the last question you answered? Chances are, your mind is more brilliant than you realize.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Friday, January 15, 2016

Instantly Win an Online Argument with Godwin's Law


Just about every article on the internet, no matter how innocuous, seems to get filled with heated, childish argument. Here's one little internet principal that will create an instant win... or loss.

Music by Kevin MacLeod