Daily Archives: October 14, 2010

Armless Pianist Liu Wei – China’s Got Talent Winner

Armless Pianist Liu Wei - China's Got Talent Winner

A few days ago, we saw this video of an armless pianist. At age 10, Liu Wei lost his arms from an accident, but never gave up living strong. He managed to do everything with his feet and started to learn to play piano at age 19. His dream is to become a musician. He just turned 23 and he won the China’s Got Talent Show on Oct. 10, 2010. In the final, he played piano and sang James Blunt’s “You Are Beautiful”, perhaps his vocal is not the best rendition of the song, but the power and inspiration of his zest for life won him the final. Bravo! Liu Wei’s motto is,”I have two options – I can die as fast as possible, or I can live a brilliant life. And I chose the latter.” He’s truly inspirational with a very positive outlook on life.

Congrats to Liu Wei!

Armless Pianist Liu Wei – China’s Got Talent Winner ( song starts at the 2:20 mark)

The Freddie Wong Roadtrip begins

The Freddie Wong Roadtrip begins

Over the weekend, Freddie Wong and his crew officially kicked off their roadtrip. They released the first video of the tour as they left the Los Angeles area. It wasn’t easy gettiing out of LA. There’s an insane RV stunt. For the trip, here’s his tentative plan:

On October 9th we left Los Angeles for a month on the road making videos with you guys, in your cities and towns! We are heading north up the pacific coast before turning east and making a clockwise loop around the nation.

They’ve already hit Sacramento and Seattle. Get the latest scoop on twitter.

The Freddie Wong Roadtrip begins

How to fall under an RV

They used Adobe After Effects CS5 to composite the two elements together. Basically, for the time that the two elements are intersecting, both the guy on the ground and the RV need to be rotoscoped using Rotobrush in separate layers. After the elements are isolated, they are layered so that the RV is on top of the rotoed guy. All that remains is adding the shadow that passes over the guy. Duplicate the layer of the guy, apply curves to make the shadow match, then annimate a large feathered mask to pass over it at the same rate as the RV. The only things that you have to watch out for when attempting this effect is to layer the elements correctly, then match the light of the shadow to achieve realism.

We’re not Ghana make it with Kevjumba

Struggles in Ghana with Kevjumba

If you missed Kevjumba and his dad on Amazing Race Season 17 Episode 3, check out the video highlights courtesy of Kevjumba himself. Also here’s a brief not about this leg of the race:

We started this leg in Third Place. During this leg we had to do boxing, carry wheelbarrows 500 yards, answer a question at a school in Ghana, try and decode an African puzzle, and then we got stuck at this task. In this task we had to roll a small bicycle rim with a tiny stick back and forth on a soccer field. After fighting for the heat for so long, we run into this pretty scary incident that you see in the video.

Huge thanks to everyone that has supported Team Jumba so far, you guys are the best. My dad and I are going to try our best to bounce back.

Next Stop Arctic Circle. Also see highlights from the first episode I Hate Tiny boats with Kevjumba.

Struggles in Ghana with Kevjumba

Lay It Down by 454 Life Entertainment x Tommy C x J. Reyez x Lil Crazed

Lay It Down by 454 Life Entertainment x Tommy C x J. Reyez x Lil Crazed

Here’s a hot track coming out of the 454 Life Entertainment compound. 454 Life members IZ and Thai Viet G collaborate with Lil Crazed x J. Reyez x Tommy C for a remix of Lloyd’s “Lay It Down.” The music video is fire with models pairing up with each member in a sensual and intimate environment. Models include Elissa Alva, Stella Marie, Erin Paula, and Ashley Vee. They completed the track in 3 hrs from start to finish. Although the music was produced out of the 454 Studios quickly, the quality isn’t lost. This is just the tip of the iceberg. They’ve got more in store for you soon. We’re looking forward to what heat these guys will bring in the future.

You can download the “Lay It Down” remix for FREE here.

Lay It Down by 454 Life Entertainment x Tommy C x J. Reyez x Lil Crazed

Energy Saving Tips from Secretary Chu

Energy Saving Tips from Secretary Chu
Last week Secretary of Energy Steven Chu invited the public to submit questions on home energy efficiency for Energy Awareness month. The response was tremendous. They sifted through tons of questions and posted a video response online. Whether you’re an expert energy saver trying to shave a few extra dollars off your utility bill or a novice looking for easy ways to improve your efficiency, you might learn a thing or two from Secretary Chu.

Energy Saving Tips from Secretary Chu