“Unboxing” videos are popular on the Internet and so I decided to make one, too. Here I take a close look at my latest purchase: a pair of Regal Tip wire brushes. You know, for playing jazz drums. And, yes, smooth jazz. (Shut up!)

If you are unfamiliar with the unboxing oeuvre, then by all means do watch this unboxing video. It’s 24 solid minutes of the most anal-retentive, OCD, blibbedy-blobbedy gushing over the simple act of owning an iPod Touch that you will ever witness. And, yes, fairly typical. (Though I must confess that I have watched more than a few unboxing videos of products I was interested in. Sad as it is, the genre has its uses.)

Herewith, los video. (Also available in higher-rez on Vimeo.) Enjoy.

While wandering aimlessly through downtown Silver Spring, I happened upon the following scene. A tech guy said the group was the Battalla Drummers, but even the mighty Google failed to provide confirmation or clarification.

UPDATE: Finally learned the identity of the Mystery Marching Girl Band. It was in fact the Batala Percussion Band (spelled correctly here), part of the “larger Batala family created in 1997 by Giba Gonçalves.” Savvy fellow, Giba. The D.C. branch is the newest of the international organization and the women are called “batallettes.” Watch more videos here.

Shot with my Canon Powershot A590, which is a handy device but doesn’t come close to capturing the chest-rattling intensity of the march. As Sun Tzu said, in a different context, “Make much use of drums and banners; a whole army may be robbed of its spirit.” Truly, the sound was at first rather ominous, but ultimately the spirit was absolutely enthralled.

Note that you will see me quite a bit in the downtown area next week, as I will be blogging (and vlogging!) Silverdocs, which has a very good slate this year—do check them out, won’t you? And, as always, should you enjoy any of this, feel free to click on the “Pay Me!” link and do just that. You are so welcome.