Youtube – Marcus Can Blog

100th Video…With Voice

For a couple of years already Marcus has maintained his own Youtube channel. Called 11 AM Guy, his channel houses videos he personally created which are mostly about his favorite games and lyrics videos of Taylor Swift songs. He’s a big fan.

Today, over lunch, he introduced to us his 100th video since he started the channel in 2018. With his recent rate of uploads, 100 videos was just bound to happen this year so what really surprised us was in this latest video, he talks. He recorded his voice for the very first time.

https://youtu.be/n1qAaB096Tw

Like any other first times, the voice over could definitely be better, however, what’s remarkable here is that Marcus was able to control his stutter on the recording. In this past months Marcus has been stuttering more and more–one of the signs of DMD progression–so I was listening closely if it’s going to be evident. There were some wheezing but nothing very significant. Good job son! We are proud.

***

Coincidentally, today is the 7th day after I had Marcus’ Youtube channel logo tattooed on my left arm. As expected the scabs are starting to fall off and overall the tattoo is healing nicely. Only issue is that I had it placed to cover an area that itches and sheds skin a lot–I suspect it’s psoriasis, no thanks to Google self-examination. First couple of days my hopes are up that the head will hold but as the first week approaches the ink was obviously fading away. I can live with that but I need another tattoo design soon.

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Long weekend is bliss)

We Will Rock London

We are not done talking about dreams yet. There is probably no other place where Marcus would like to be and it’s not where most would go to. At the same age, kids in general would say Disneyland, some Universal Studio, some Legoland. But none of these are Marcus’ choice. Where then? London. Yes, London. If he had a bucket list this would be among his things to do, we bet it could be his topmost even. His obsession with this place amuses us.

Firstly, he wants to meet one of his YouTube idols, DanTDM. Given his own free will, he plans to see him and his pugs. Just like that. For Marcus, things were as simple as just dropping by to say hello, like how he now does with this cousins wherein he visits them almost every day since we transferred. He spends so much time on YouTube channel of DanTDM that he feels his favorite YouTuber is no celebrity but rather someone ordinary who he has access to in short notice. Oh by the way, our son’s such a big fan that he wants to color his hair blue just like Dan did. I told him he can when he turns ten. (Two years to go and I hope he forgets.)

Then what’s a visit to London if you haven’t seen the Queen? So this one too is part of Marcus’ agenda. He once asked if he would be allowed to enter the palace to see the Queen. We told him it isn’t easy to get past the guards but he was insistent and it seems like he already has a plan. “I will sing We Will Rock You, that’s by the Queen,” he stressed. Well, he’s got a different Queen in mind, Freddy Mercury would be proud.

Besides singing his way in to the palace, he has other tests for the famous Buckingham Palace guards. Having seen it once on Mr. Bean’s cartoon show, he would like to prove if they do stay still while on duty despite being surrounded by annoying tourists. This reminds me of one of his classmates who once said she remembers Marcus whenever she watches Mr. Bean. Yup, he could be as animated and funny at times. When not being stubborn, he’s a natural comedian.

There was also a day when while undergoing his session with a local reflexology therapist or manghihilot, he saw on Pinoy Abroad, a local TV network afternoon series, the familiar London underground sign that he sees a lot in Modern Warfare 3. He said he wants to see the actual place to check if it does look like the one in his Call of Duty game. Yup, I know, the game’s rated M so sue me.

So how do we get him to London? We can’t for now but Marcus is keeping his fingers crossed that I win the lotto. Far-fetched but sounds like the only plan.

For now we are close to visiting that flag in the background. (Taken in MOA by the Bay on the day wifey and I renewed our passports.)

***

Our son seems to be bent on getting his travel funds. Last night he asked his mommy if he can help finish her freelance job. Hmm.

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Today we are committed to fight the summer heat. Home-made halu-halo coming.)

Marcus and Music

“I’m not afraid, to take a stand, everybody, come take my hand, we’ll walk this road together, through the storm, whatever weather, cold or warm, just letting you know that you’re not alone…” Such powerful words from a great hit. While I sing along to this song whenever it’s on the radio, I didn’t learn about its full lyrics until I searched it online for it was yesterday when I heard Sparsh Shah sing it on a video that has gone viral. He is just a 12-year old boy.

Sparsh Shah isn’t a regular lad though. The boy from New Jersey has Osteogenesis Imperfecta which is a genetic disorder that results to extremely fragile bones. Confined in a wheelchair, Sparsh sings his powerful rendition of Not Afraid which is an original piece by Eminem. His parents made sure the bad words aren’t included.

Videos like this inspire but I have yet to show it to Marcus who recently has become more expressive of his music preferences. Besides being unable to be mobile unaided, there’s another similarity between him and Sparsh, their liking of songs from a rap artist. Marcus is a fan of at least two Macklemore hits. I don’t know though if sooner or later he will come with his own video of Can’t Hold Us.

***

Among the obvious milestones before Marcus turns eight this year is that he sings more often than before. Although he does not have a full grasp on the lyrics, I would catch him singing a line or two while in the car or while seated in front of the computer. His favorite music genre is broad but the usual influences are our car’s preset FM stations, video games, and YouTube subscriptions. He sings or hums It’s Raining Tacos, Downtown, and Shut Up and Dance to name a few. This week, he has been asking for Eye of the Tiger and Verge. Check out Marcus’ Playlist page to see songs he like/d (he refuses to believe he used to go crazy over Barney and Ben 10 songs).

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (One more week and I would be closer to Budong’s pan de sal.)

Marcus’ Online Cheatsheet

“If there’s a will there’s a way.” – English Proverb

“Spy kids had always been able to beat the bad guys because adults overthink things. But to a kid, everything is possible. Just use your imagination.” – Spy Kids

Every now and then we continue to learn from our children just by observing them. Like for example last night when I saw that despite our son’s present inability to spell and read (most words) he is not deterred from doing what he loves to do–use our desktop to play games and watch videos online. So how does he do it? Simple. He uses a guide that his mom has decided to provide instead of spelling it out for him every time he goes online. Below is the picture of the cheatsheet he has been using so that he can type the URL and keywords on Google Chrome’s search bar. And by the way, he now prefers Chrome over Firefox. Kids.

***

Last week I taught him how to use favorites. I checked last night and he has a lot already.

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Cleaned car, ate leftover corned beef.)

Good Job, Lord!

”Be warned, I get what I want. I think so.”

Among the things that every parent should know is that kids-say-and-do-the-darndest-things moments will happen anytime and anywhere. Trying be good role models, we have been telling our son that we have to give thanks to God all the time for ALL the blessings that we continue to receive. However, just this week, my wife finds it both funny and surprising when she realized that we need to do better in explaining to our 4-year old boy how to give compliments to whomever it is addressed – what may be appropriate for humans may not sound proper for the divine – because after intently watching her prepare and finally finish a gelatin dessert, Marcus excitedly blurted out, “Good job, Lord!”

***

Another similar instance happened last night. Aware that he has just been suspended from holding any of our cellphones due to violations of peeling off a protective laminate and repeatedly showing impatience during downloading of applications (yes, he can already do this), he secretly made a deal with his mother after seeing that I have gone to sleep. “Mom, Oggy,” he pleads for his favorite Oggy and the Cockroaches show but immediately adds, “hina lang (will tone down volume), Daddy (will) hear.” My wife eventually gave the nod and was so amused when she learned that our son is making sure that he remains stealthy when she heard an obvious suppressed laughter in one corner of the bed where Marcus is watching the cartoon show on YouTube.com. What have we done, Lord?

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Cooked breakfast for wifey, Marcus still sleeping.)