This is where thoughts become things.

Hi, I'm Daniela. Welcome to my personal lair on the Internet. This is where I write about storytelling, activism, technology and pop culture. Sometimes I post videos. I update my lair when the mood strikes me. Follow me on Twitter for daily updates (@dcap).

Tag : vlog

In Dreams: Being my own conjoined twin

According to several “reputable” websites (har), this is what it means if you dream you are your own twin:

A bond between two individuals (emotional bond, family bond, marital bond, etc.)—for better or for worse, taking the good (companionship, support, etc.) with the bad (disagreements, irritations, etc.). It can also indicate a major conflict in your life and that you do not know what direction to take. The dream may be telling you that your decision will directly affect another.

The other night I dreamed that I was a conjoined twin. I had two heads and I was singing “Bag Lady” by Erykah Badu to myself. My twin and I were singing the harmony parts together but for some reason the sound was only in our heads. We were either mute or choosing to sing silently, but the music inside our heads was deafening.

My intuition tells me that this dream means I am getting more in tune with myself and less threatened by my dual nature. It could also mean I ate too many chips and salsa, or watched too much ST:TNG, or any number of things. But I choose to take it as a sign that my two sides are becoming more harmonious, and that I am on my way towards wonderful experiences and opportunities to make a difference.

It was also very cool to have two heads. I kind of miss it. When I was a little girl, I fantasized about having a conjoined twin of my own. I probably spent way more time thinking about Chang and Eng than anyone else on my block, that’s for sure. I had a dog-eared copy of their book that I finally threw out because the binding disintegrated.

Making this video felt a little silly, but I really wanted to share what the experience in my dream was like. I am going to be making a video a day in September and if I don’t get used to the camera now, I’ll just have to do it then. So the weirdness starts today… 😉

Bag lady you gone hurt your back
Dragging all them bags like that
I guess nobody ever told you
All you must hold on to
Is you, is you, is you


Vloggin’ it up!

I realized the only way I am going to be able to commit to blogging everyday is if I can mix it up with some video. I am excited about unleashing my weirdness and sharing it with my family and friends.

My new channel, therealdcap, is going to be an experiment in self-expression and community-building. And as I noted in my bio, it’s also just an excuse for me to bug out. For the last seven years I’ve been creating media as my profession, which has been very rewarding. But I’ve always enjoyed the online/video folk art of others, and I am ready to start doing my own experimenting again. I’m inspiring by video artists like Laurel Nakadate, vloggers like my IRL friend FilmFuturist, and crazy awesome parents like the SHAYTARDS.

The video below from 2009 is probably proof of why my videos should remain private. But you’re here! I’ve got you now! Bwahahaha.

I love to dance in my bedroom and pretend my spoon is a microphone. Why I keep a spoon in my room is fodder for a future blog post, perhaps.

I’ve been creating personal videos and putting them online since 1999, but rarely shared anything I made. The fact that no one was really watching video online at the time might have had something to do with it. Back then, I didn’t know about these guys, which is probably a good thing. I am pretty sure I would have joined their collective and turned into some sort of “Lawnmower Man“-esque crazy robot lady.

I’m kicking off this daily creative experiment with a look back at what used to make me smile, and will be posting new videos next week. Instead of tossing videos randomly all over the Internet, like the one below on Flickr, I’m going to start being organized with my weirdness and keeping it all in one place on therealdcap. We’ll see how that goes.

Enjoy your weekend! I’m not posting again until Monday — weekends shouldn’t count in this daily posting pact, I mean, come on.

Vlog/Travel: Message For Trinidy

I haven’t been back to Cali since 2007, which was a wonderful visit but also very difficult. 2008 was great, don’t get me wrong; I traveled a lot for work and met a bunch of cool new friends.

But being thousands of miles away from all of your family members is not easy.

After almost two years, I will be in Sacramento, CA from March 10 – 16. On the way, I’ll make a stop in Long Beach to see my good friend The Pratt.

I can’t wait to hang out with my family, my best friend Rose/her family and her daughter Trinidy, who I made this video for. I will be counting the days.