http://youtube.com/watch?v=-zx15ffruSM

This video took me an ungodly amount of time to complete. It started as a powerpoint presentation for the last night that a performance arts group I was involved with met in my house. A relatively large (about 20-50 on average) group of students regularly met in the house in which I currently reside, every Wednesday at 10 to read poems, showcase art, act out skits, play group games, sing songs, or in some way express ourselves to one another. Kenton, the organizer of this gathering we dubbed as "Salon", bought beer for everyone (who performed, even though everyone drank it anyway), and these gatherings usually lasted far into the night... long after everyone had finished whatever it was they had chosen to share with this group of peers. I met this eclectic circle of friends early on in my Freshmen year, and I like to think that I became a part of the group. Wednesday night Salon came to mean a great deal to me by the time it came to a close (when Salon's chief coordinator, Kenton, moved to New York) and this video is a dubbed (and heavily edited) presentation I created for the very last meeting of Salon. I moved into 112 North Graham Street, the home of Salon, after moving out of the dorms. I mention this because I didn't want to give the false impression that I merely turned in a project that I had completed for an alternative purpose. This class has tenderly reminded me of Salon as we have covered such stories as "A Rose For Emily" and "The Yellow Wallpaper". It is primarily the idea of a group of young peers engaging itself in a shared exposure to alternative forms of literature, while keeping open minds in an attempt to expand their horizons. In my mind, Salon has served as a strong representation of what I have come to understand about "being in college", and it only seemed appropriate to me that my video project be an edited version of my final tribute to the group of friends I found through Salon. Originally, this video was meant as a spoof on the old NBC "commercials" for family values, often narrated by celebrities you might recognize from E.R. of something, which ended with a shooting star surrounded by the words "the more you know..." These clips always seemed so corny to me, offering advice about life that was so obvious and stupid that I often wondered if the clips themselves were spoofs. That's the format behind which I started this project, though as you will probably guess if you watch it, I strayed a bit from "The more you know..." The one lesson I learned from Salon about these kinds of performances, specifically from the douchebags who would read something that they hadn't even written for AN HOUR (I timed it one time, no joke), is that if you want to keep an audience, the performance has to be funny... at least it has to try to be funny. At the same time though, I wanted to give a serious message on some level, and so I attempted to teach that which I have learned from college. For one to be a balanced person, they must find a balance between being studious and being a party animal. A balance between being a shy nerd and being a cocky jerk, between the responsible prude and the promiscuous pervert. It's important for us young college students to shelve the books every once and a while, and remember to have some fun! At the same time, however, if we let our wilder sides control us too much, it'll lead to trouble.
I know this video seems weird, but it is my attempt at conveying a message about moderation as well as an attempt at some outlandish humor. This is frighteningly similar to how I actually converse with myself when reasoning out situations in my head. Although, however, I am not such a chauvinist... nor have any of my known kin sported German accents for several generations. Please let me know if you think this is at all funny... or dumb... or utterly insane. If I had realized that the file was too big for me to upload, and that I needed to route it through youtube, I would have had it posted much earlier. Sorry about that, and I hope you still watch it.

P.S. The moral of the story is "It's alright to cut loose from time to time, but if you lose control to passion and impulse, you'll only end up screwing yourself!"