Special Update: The Month That Never Was

December has...not been a great month for me. Some of you may already know this, but close to the beginning of the month, the downward slide started with the Breakfast from Hell. While transporting a bowl of cereal, I spilled milk on my laptop. I tried to clean it all up quickly, even employing a vacuum to aid me, but while things looked good for a while, all of the sudden, POOF! Dark Sojourn, my trustly laptop for not even 2 years, was how I like my bread: well toasted. I still have fantasies that one day, I'll go over, hit the power button, and it will gaily spring back to life, but it never does. Suffice it to say, I was thoroughly depressed, especially when I had some big vids planned for this month.

Then a week later, admittedly due to me leaving my Sirius radio on, my battery died. I managed to get my car jumped, but the next day, the battery was dead again. An attempt at jumping it with my cables failed miserably. We thought the battery dead for good until my dear father, wonderful man that he is, brought over his bigger jumper cables and used a Phoenix Down on Choco-Ra. (Side note: I nicknamed my car that because since it's a Nissan and therefore Japanese, I call it a daikaiju, and its horn sounds like a Chocobo's WARK! Thus, Choco-Ra.) My car's been running ever since, but needless to say, that period of time when the Choco-Ra was dead scared the crap out of me.

Money's been especially tight, too, as hours have been lean at work. It's mostly due to the fact that we did a lot of hiring. That should be getting back on track this week, though, and I'm working to pay off some of my debts (including my student loans) so I can start taking over my car insurance from my dad. I can get insurance on the Nissan Sentra for around $80 a month, if I had the $80 to spare. Right now, I don't.

The one good thing about having a little extra time on my hands due to not traveling as much and not having my own laptop is that I've been able to make some plans for the return of Shadowbird Studios whenever I get a new compie. Yes, I have not given up on Shadowbird Studios; in fact, I am determined to come back better than ever with new episodes and new shows. Among such prospective projects will be a cooking show called Noms TV, once I get a handheld camera and my love and I get better lighting in her kitchen. I've been watching a lot of Iron Chef America and Chopped lately to get ideas for recipes and tips on how to be able to create my own recipes, although I do also have planned some special episodes where I put my own twist on famous chefs' recipes (specifically my food idol, Alton Brown).

I've also FINALLY got full notes on the Shinkenger series! I'm planning on making one big SR for the series, a separate SR for the crossover with Decade, and then SR Shorties for each movie. In a way, I'll kinda be doing a Shinkenger month to make up for the fact that I've had to delay the review so many times! It'll be my first month-long special event when I get to make videos again, so I really hope that all of you will be able to support me in this. I need to get another computer first, though; hopefully it'll be a good editing rig with plenty of storage space. And since I was able to ascertain that my old laptop's hard drive is still good, I can buy an enclosure, move my stuff over, and format it to use as extra space! YAY!

Long story short (too late; apologies to JewWario for that line-steal): this month has been really crappy. In fact, I'm just now finally getting over being sick over the Christmas holiday with a brutal cold. In retrospect, it's a good thing I wasn't able to make vids, because by Christmas Eve, my voice was shot, but I digress. But if anything, I've been able to take time and do something I don't normally do: plan for the future. I normally try not to plan things because, well, whenever I make plans, things usually don't go anywhere close to how I plan them, and usually not in a good way (sole exception: my trip to San Francisco in October 2008 which was BADASS). But I have all these ideas bouncing around in my head, and when I get a new compie, I will be ready to implement them. I even have a loose schedule of vids set up. Now I just need to write all this stuff down...

I apologize for my absence, and I thank you all for your patience. If you need to get a hold of me for something, e-mail shadowbirdstudios@gmail.com or drop me a line on the Shadowbird Studios Facebook page or on twitter (shadowbird712). I still am able to check those, thanks largely to the miracle that is my DSi. Until we meet again, this is the Shadowbird, Jeremy Keil. May the past shape your present, but may it never limit your future. Peace.

Shadowbird Reminisces Episode 2: Chou Den-O and Decade

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In this episode, Jeremy pauses to take a look at the crossover that essentially relaunched one series and pushed another one forward.
Note: I totally forgot to mention this, but all my footage is courtesy of TV-Nihon. Also, in early parts, some of the show footage is squashed into 4:3; I have no idea how it happened nor how to fix it.

ShadowVlog 11-20-2010: A Different Kind of Romance

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In which Jeremy has a special guest. Offscreen, but still.

Geek Confessions Episode 5 - Gamer? Or No Gamer?

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In this episode, Jeremy explains why he doesn't call himself a gamer. Seriously.

Geek Confessions Episode 4 - The Geek Bucket List

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In this episode, Jeremy hopes to inspire people to live for today by listing all the geeky things he wants to do before he dies.

ShadowVlog 11-04-2010: Hmm, Upgrades

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In which Jeremy levels up in his video quality.

SR Shorties - Kamen Rider Net Movies

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Series debut! Jeremy takes a brief look at the webisodes that accompanied the release of All Riders vs. Daishocker and the Kamen Rider series.

Darkside Riffs - Constantine

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Shadowbird makes his debut in the riffing world by taking a movie that some hate and others love: the Hellblazer-inspired "Constantine". In his signature sardonic style, Shadowbird riffs on the movie starring Keanu Reeves and Rachael Weiz as only he knows how, by filling it with light sarcasm and a heavy dose of random.
Buy on Rifftrax (just $1): ;https://www.rifftrax.com/iriffs/darkside-riffs/darkside-riffs-constantine

ShadowVlog 10-23-2010 - Mix Mad-ster

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In which Jeremy needs your help. Seriously.

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Coming Soon - Darkside Riffs: Constantine

Coming to Rifftrax as an iRiff the weekend before Halloween and as an audio file on the Shadowbird Studios blog! Until then, enjoy this small preview video free of charge.

John Constantine, Hellblazer, and all associated characters are the properties of DC Comics under the Vertigo imprint.

"Constantine" the movie is the property of Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures.

ShadowVlog 10-18-2010 - Frame Rate of Exchange

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In which Jeremy gives an update on the Halloween special and future offerings, then explains why his videos look like they've been put through a Photoshop filter.

What the Fire Flower? Episode 3: Send in the Clones

In this episode, Jeremy ponders why there's always two or three NPCs just hangin' around.

ShadowVlog 10-9-2010 - Of Fudge and Fire Flowers

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In which Jeremy shamelessly promotes an area event, gives an update on his situation, and reveals his secret Thanksgiving plans.

ShadowVlog 10-6-2010 - Delays and Special Projects

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In this short vlog, Jeremy explains the reason for possible delays.

ShadowVlog 10-1-2010 - Out and About

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In which Jeremy gets out of the house and gives an update.

Darkside Riffs - Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie

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In which Shadowbird talks card games with...himself.

Note: Riff audio is designed to be played along with the movie being commentated on, like alternate commentary tracks on a DVD. The movie itself is not included for copyright reasons. However, the movie is readily available through Netflix or other video rental/purchasing services.

If you prefer to download the audio, click here. It's free and harmless, though it might take a while. Free service, after all.

ShadowVlog 9-24-10 - Cookies for Everyone!

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In which Jeremy gives an update and shares some good eats.

Alton Brown's Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/the-chewy-recipe/index.html

Shadowbird Reminisces Episode 1 - Kamen Rider Decade Pt. 2

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In this second part of the premiere of Shadowbird Reminisces, Jeremy goes over the movies and gives his final thoughts on the series.

Shadowbird Reminisces Episode 1 - Kamen Rider Decade Pt. 1

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Part 1 of the extensive overview of the 10th Heisei-era Kamen Rider series, going over the series itself.

Geek Confessions Episode 3 - Nostalgia

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In this episode, Jeremy ponders the occasionally irrational force known as nostalgia.

EDIT: Until the video gets edited, the real website for the Cinema Snob is http://www.thecinemasnob.com. Sorry! :(

ShadowVlog 9-6-2010: Delays, Delays

In which Jeremy wholeheartedly apologizes for something he really has no control over. As usual.

Shadow-Vlog 8-30-2010: New Series, New Goals

In which Jeremy reveals a new series upcoming and makes a pledge to his viewers.

What the Fire Flower? Episode 2: Androgynous Insanity

Jeremy goes heel on one of the most questionable design decisions in modern gaming history (in his opinion).

What the Fire Flower is a semi-regular series pointing out the most ridiculous aspects of video games. Just because it's weird doesn't mean it's bad, though.

Geek Confessions Ep. 2 - Picker of Nits

In this episode, Jeremy explains the idea behind What the Fire Flower and how it pertains to his life as a geek.

Shadow-Vlog 8-14-2010: Sit-Rep

In which Jeremy discusses what he's been doing since he posted WTFF #1.

What the Fire Flower? Episode 1: Weird Weapons of Overkill

Some weapons in gaming are just plain crazy. Jeremy teaches you how to identify them by providing examples.

What the Fire Flower? is a gaming commentary series about all those weird, wonderful, and unusual things in gaming that make us wonder what the developers were thinking. Previously a text blog series on Screwattack.com, it's now a semi-regular video series.

Geek Confessions With the Shadowbird Episode 1: Comics

In the premiere episode of Geek Confessions with the Shadowbird, Jeremy discusses comics and graphic novels and his interesting relation to them.


Geek Confessions is a somewhat autobiographical and topical series in which Jeremy discusses various aspects of geek culture and how they relate to him personally. Updates are whenever something comes up.

Good morning everyone...

And WELCOME to Random Crap with the Shadowbird! I am your host, the Shadowbird Jeremy Keil, and this is the place where I make videos about whatever I want, whenever I can. Just a little something I plan to do in my spare time. I dunno what I'll be making vids or posts about, so expect a little of everything that Blip will allow. Vlogs, reviews, and definitely a lot of rants. So quite simply...expect the unexpected. You never know what you're going to get with Random Crap with the Shadowbird.