My Youtube

I started a Youtube account in late 2006, just so I could rate Guam videos. I never even had any intention of ever uploading a video, since at the time I was using my infamous disposable cameras to capture everything and couldn't imagine buying myself a digital one.

The first video that I ever uploaded wasn't even one of mine, it was something I had found on the internet on a Department of Defense information website. The video was meant to be a sort of press release on a round of public meetings that the DOD was having with regards to the military buildup, which at that point had been announced only a year earlier. After that I uploaded some videos which had been posted on the website of Guam's Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo. In fact the most watched video that I have is a video of her being introduced in the House by a fellow Congressman, who pronounces her name last name as if it were "bordello."

Eventually after my mom bought me a digital camera during a Black Friday sale, I started taking and uploading some of my own. None of them are particularly well shot and none of them are edited in any cool way. Perhaps someday when I get a better computer and have some time to spend I'll try to figure out how to do stuff like that.

Its a new year and so while I'm taking a short (very short) break from dissertation writing and from teaching, I was going over my videos and my statistics. As of today, I've uploaded 245 videso that have been together watched 51,076 times. I have 38 subscribers and 31 friends.

I post several different kinds of videos and so I thought I'd share a couple here on my blog:



I post videos of me and my nephew Dylan training with my grandfather Tun Jack Lujan to be a blacksmith (puede ha' un diha). In this video I'm working on making the nifen for a kamyo.



I also post videos of different progressive or decolonization related events on Guam, such as protests, conferences or forums. This video is from the 7th International Meeting of the Network of Women Against Militarism which took place on Guam in September of 2009.




Last year I uploaded several videos of my writing my dissertation at different locations. Here is a video of me writing at Borders in San Diego (gi fi'on i banda manga)



I attended the Democratic National Convention in Denver last year and took plenty of shaky videos with bad audio. Here's one of Minnesota Congressional candidate Ashwin Madia speaking during a session called "The Asian Pacific Island American Power Hour."



For some reason I also take videos while driving around places, sometimes to show the natural beauty of the place, and other times maybe just because I'm bored. In this video, I'm driving on the road to Mannengon that runs alongside the Ilik River.




I also enjoy following around my brother Kuri's various bands and musical ensembles on island and filming them. Here is a video of a small concert he and one of his bands Freedom Fries participated in last year called "Strictly Ska (with a punch of punk)."



Whenever I can, I take videos of different cultural events on Guam, especially those dealing with Chamorro culture, its preservation but more importantly its revitalization. Here is a short video from the Sakman Summit, which was held late last year to come up with various standards for the vocabulary and the design of the Sakman, or Chamorro open ocean voyaging canoe.




Finally, last but not least, I love filming videos of i hagga-hu Sumahi. Esta kalang un mit na kachido-na siha giya Youtube. Gi este na rinikohin kachido, sina un ripara i dinangkalu-na desde annai kalang un dikike' (lao yommok) na birenghesn esta ki pa'go yan i na'bubu (lao mampo kinute) na kiniaduka-na.