Janie of Colloquium emailed me yesterday regarding my post about my personally-selected YouTube Videos. She said she was not able to view them because there was an error in each video: it says it is no longer available.
I’ve seen that one before. The first time in my own video. I got worried, thinking if I violated YouTube’s Terms of Service (TOS). Was the video taken down due to copyright infringement or copyright claim by other parties? I didn’t think so. Fortunately, the (only) video in my account was not deleted. So how did I fix the error?
I didn’t. It was on YouTube side. My instinct told me to press F5 to reload the page before I make a drastic move in my blog. Luckily, the trick worked.
So I emailed Janie back saying that it is normal when the page with embedded YouTube video is open for a long time. The clip is not gone, removed or deleted. All she has to do is refresh the page and the video will re-appear.
She thanked me for letting her know because she didn’t “realize that You Tube timed out like that.” to quote her.
I want to thank Janie for pointing this out. She inspired me to write a post because it seems to me that this issue looks like a big deal to a concerned viewer. I hope that this post somehow reaches YouTube so they can fix the annoying “Video is no longer available” error that makes their members and users worry.
YouTube is a haven for people who love entertainment. It is a place rich in all kind of videos: hilarious, educational, thought-provoking. You name it, YouTube has it.
Since anyone knowledgeable with videos can upload anything he wants, YouTube has somewhat become contaminated by junk videos that present no meaning at all. Worse, some people abuse the system by writing offensive comments that can be considered as trash and immature.
However, if you are a person who exercise good judgement, you will know when to avoid those and how to find valuable videos that are worth remembering. I applaud video creators, who post insightful clips. They truly understand that a thing of beauty is meant for sharing.
Below you will find videos which I personally like as they inspire me and make me reflect on life.
You probably had seen some (if not all), but it never hurts watching them again. To go directly to the YouTube page of the videos where you can also read viewers comments, click on the title. Otherwise, simply click on the Play button of each video below to start watching:
This spliced video, which features a young Tiger Woods winning the British Open, is one of my favorite Nike Commercials. It makes me smile for two reasons, 1.) Seeing Tiger Woods as a young kid playing golf is amazing in itself. 2.) His relationship with his parents is masterfully captured in this concise clip. My full interpretation can be read in this post.
Fellow Filipino Byron Garcia probably didn’t see his idea becoming a huge hit all over the world when he published the video of the prisoners dancing “Thriller” (popularized by Michael Jackson). It was inspiring and amusing at the same time, and seeing the inmates dance like they have a mission is a sight to behold.
The video has been viewed approximately 11 million times, and has caught the attention of bigtime and international press. As a result, the inmates dedicated a dance to the whole world and CNN featured them on its website with their heart-warming stories of rehabilitation. I hope every prison in the world does something productive instead of letting the inmates hurt each other.
The world is spinning slowly everyday, and people from all walks of life have their own business to mind. In the midst is one man - Noah Kalina – who took pictures of himself everyday, for 6 years, and created a video out of them. The result was awesome. It started with the word “Everyday”, and then one by one, his compiled daily pictures which were taken in various places, flashed in quick sequence. It ended with a phrase “A work in progress.” Which, in my opinion, is open for interpretation.
This short film came out just a couple of months ago and immediately gained recognition because of its truthful message addressing an “unwanted condition”. Already viewed more than a million times, it won 3rd place in YouTube Project: Direct voted by the viewers. I don’t intend to spoil this clip, but here’s a short scene near the end to give you a hint of what the film is all about: An old lady suspiciously asked a young girl: “Who are you? What’s your name?” Confused, the 13-year old girl answered in a soft manner: “My name is Lisa…” Great script, great acting, excellent message.
A regular guy had a dream of making it to a professional basketball league and making a game-winning shot when he was young. It didn’t happen. However, he has a competitive drive to win and dreams of playing in an organized game. He continues to love basketball. So he continually practiced hard, working on his shooting in the community gym with his friends.
That regular guy is me. And when my awaited day arrived, I finally hit a winning shot for the first time in my life. Somehow, my dream came true. (Additional information in this post.)
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I know some of these clips might not mean anything to you. Some of you probably have your own selections, and that is perfectly acknowledged, because I also understand that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
So allow me to take this chance to say that I am truly thankful for the video creators who shared their masterpieces with public viewers. Their geniuses make it worth the stay in YouTube.
Tiger Woods is a winner. And saying that is an understatement.
I can not define in a single post what the man has accomplished in his life. So for the sake of discussion, let us talk about him on a topic that we are all familiar of: GOLF.
If you don’t know it yet, Tiger Woods has been extremely successful in golf. Do you know that he started swinging the golf club before he can barely even walk? People were already amazed by him. In fact, he was already doing guest appearances on TV when he was 3. But none of these would have happened without his parents. Tiger got the support he needed to be able to embrace his capacity at a very young age.
I want to share with you a clip* of one of my favorite Nike commercials featuring a very young Tiger Woods. I’m not a commercial critic or an expert in deciphering its meaning, but the message I got is that it is open for interpretation. So after watching it, I’m inviting you to stay and read the rest of this post for my own take.
Tiger Woods Wins British Open (Nike “Just Do It” Commercial)
While the focus of the video is Tiger’s supreme talent, in the background, you’ll notice his mother happily taking pictures and his father cheering. Both are extremely happy. Both joyous by their son’s success. Their relationship with Tiger can be felt.
I consider them the wind beneath his wings.
And Tiger? He is a willing student. His parents believed in him and supported him, and Tiger accepted it.
We can learn an important lesson from this twist: to be successful, we have to learn to accept a helping hand.
Some people don’t do this because of these primary reasons: 1.) They are too shy 2.) They are egoistic, thinking they are independent enough, and 3.) Both.
Sometimes, I fall into “both” category. Just last month, when I was struggling to find balance in my work, I confessed to a co-worker that I was finding it hard to update the school website. She offered help. Honestly, I was happy that someone was concerned, so I acknowledged her action.
But I politely declined. Because I was too shy. At the same time, I was driven to prove I can manage to finish the backlog on my own.
I did, but only after a month. I felt unproductive the weeks in between. Imagine if I accepted her offer, it could have saved me more days or weeks, thus giving me a peace of mind.
If you want a faster yet solid path to success, learn to utilize your support group, whether they are your parents, other half, co-workers, or your friends; because for them, your success is their success also.
So if you’ve enjoyed this post and want to offer me help build more traffic to this site, feel free to stumble, digg, zoom, or reddit this entry. It is my pleasure telling you that I’ve learned my lesson: I won’t be shy to accept a helping hand.
By the way, you may have a different interpretation of the clip, so please feel free to post a comment. I’d love to hear/read what’s on your mind.
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*The clip is a “spliced” video, meaning the events really happened in different times and places, but was edited to make it look like it took place in one event. If you want to comment directly to the video, please follow this link. Otherwise leave a message below.
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Tiger Woods is a winner. And saying that is an understatement. 
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