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requiescat in pace neil armstrong

It was a nice break last Saturday to take all the audio’connells to the beach up in Canada for a party. The weather was great and it was a real treat to see everyone.

Around dinner time, I heard my oldest mention that her Aunt had told her that a famous hero had died earlier in the day and that my oldest “should blow a kiss to the moon tonight and say thanks”.

I was startled on many fronts when she said that in response to the news that was later clarified for me: Commander Neil Armstrong had died.

I was five years old on that July night when Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their lunar module on the surface of the moon. And I vaguely remember being awoken that night and brought downstairs into our living room to watch it on TV. My Dad was pretty excited and I didn’t quite understand why.

This past Saturday, I fully understood what Armstrong’s passing meant and I wondered if others did…especially younger people for whom Shuttle travel had become more or less taken for granted, with some tragic exceptions.

So when I found this blog post about the graphic tributes to Armstrong that had been posted online from various artists, I was just so heartened. I hope you enjoy each of them as much as I did (and still do, looking at them for this post).

These artists understood (maybe some remembered…not all artists are young afterall) who this man and his fellow team members were and what they meant to science, the United States and the world.

Their appreciation may have sparked greater appreciation by those who previously hadn’t been as thoughtful. That’s my hope, anyway.

I know there was a lot of Facebook tribute art when Steve Jobs died but, for all he accomplished, Jobs was not a hero. He was not in my opinion, a true pioneer. Those artists were sincere in their tributes but their subject did not have “the right stuff”.

That hero category is a lean one that people like Michael Collins, Sally Ride, John Glenn and their ilk deserve.

They had everything to lose…and because of how their work could help others, they did it anyway.

MEDIA RELEASE – Bacardi Rum Chooses Voice-Over Talent Peter K. O’Connell

audio'connell Media Release

NEW DELHI, India, August 30, 2012 – – Looking to continue its sales growth across India, the world’s largest privately held spirits company Bacardi created a new nationwide television advertising campaign for the country, selecting American Voice-Over Talent Peter K. O’Connell as the voice for the campaign.

About Peter K. O’Connell
In addition this most recent television commercial for Bacardi Rum, Peter K. O’Connell’s professional voice-over credits include national and regional voice-over productions for companies such as PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), Shell Oil, Pitney Bowes, U.S. Army, Starz Cable Channel, SunSetter Awnings, Time Warner Cable, New Jersey Tourism, First Financial Bank, N.A., J. Walter Thompson Advertising, Cleveland Browns of the National Football League, Harlequin Enterprises, Darien Lake Theme Park and Pathmark Supermarkets.

O’Connell’s voice-over productions have been heard around the world in radio and TV commercials, medical narrations, television infomercials, political commercial voice-overs, TV network promos, e-learning narration projects (computer-based training, internet-based training and web-based training), public service announcements, message on-hold as well as other video and media productions. Peter K. O’Connell owns audio’connell Voice-Over Talent.

About Bacardi Limited
Bacardi Limited is a vibrant, family-owned spirits company – nurtured by seven generations of the Bacardi family -now the third largest spirits company in the world, as well as the world’s largest, privately held spirits company.

Bacardi Limited has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels spanning a wide variety of spirits categories including Bacardi Rum, Dewar’s Blended Scotch Whisky, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Grey Goose Vodka, Cazadores Tequila, Eristoff Vodka and Martini Vermouth & Sparkling Wines.

The company’s emphasis on quality began in Santiago de Cuba where on February 4, 1862, Don Facundo Bacardi­ Masso purchased a small distillery and revolutionized rum making. After careful and systematic experimentation with a variety of ingredients, aging and blends, Don Facundo created a new, smooth, light-bodied spirit – Bacardi Rum – what the world now knows as premium light rum.

India emerged as the fastest developing market for Bacardi in 2011 with more people entering the legal drinking age in the second most rapidly growing Asian economy.
– 30 –

NOTES TO EDITORS

Company Media Releases ON LINE:
http://www.audioconnell.com/media

Company Name Pronunciation:
au·dio·o’·con·nell (awe-de-oh-oh-kah-nel) or au·di-o’·con·nell (awe-de-oh-kah-nel)

Company Name Spelling:
Use lower case letters- audio’connell or audio’connell Voice-Over Talent

Company Web:
http://www.audioconnell.com

Company Blog:
http://www.voxmarketising.com

O’Connell Voice-Over Resume:
See resume here

you make the call!

YOU get to vote on my next step. Follow along, then make the call.

BACKSTORY

Back in 2008, I was using a third party email service for my audio’connell newsletter. It would go out to people in my contact data base and anyone in my LinkedIn data base (it’s in my profile that I may email you if we’re connected). My recollection is that this email system had an opt out option and I would update my system to make sure I kept out those who wanted to be kept out. Usually if someone on my LinkedIn database opted out, I would end our LinkedIn connection – just business, not personal and I didn’t want to risk erroneously emailing them again…marketing that angers usually isn’t good marketing. I think Confucius said that…not sure though.

Anyway, on this day in 2008 I sent out an e-blast with some general information, some family news, all very happy, positive stuff. That day I also happened to be traveling to family event in Baltimore. Before I got on the plane, I got an email from one of the e-blast recipients, a self-described voice-over talent. This person’s email message to me, laced with profanity, said I was spamming him/her, inferred I had a mental problem and that she/he was going to report me to my third party email provider as spammer.

It’s possible she/he also stuck his/her tongue out at me in the email but I cannot say that for sure.

Well this email surprised me a great deal because I have no desire nor intent to spam anyone and I did not recall receiving a notice to be unsubscribed from this person. Concerned, the first thing I did was pick up the phone and call the email’s author to personally and sincerely apologize.

I don’t recall the exact words of the conversation now but it went something like me introducing myself and saying I was sorry for the mistake and then she/he hauling off on me about me spamming him/her and her/his web expertise and how he/she was going to shut me down and she/he may then have called me some names and told me I was full of…stuff.

So…there would be no Christmas card from this person to me in December.

Oh and I forgot to mention one of the tawdry, naughty stories included in my offending newsletter was a brief story and baby picture about the birth my 2nd child.

Yeah, racy stuff, I know. I’ve toned the content down alot since then. Lesson learned. 😉

So off I go on the plane, landed, grabbed a rental car and was driving to my hotel when I get a call from the third party email company. Nice fellow but bottom line was he got a call from you now know who, probably made his ear bleed and because I used the LinkedIn list I couldn’t use their system.

OK, I don’t HAVE to spend my money with you.

I now use my own system which has so far blocked those few folks who wants to be unsubscribed (and I then flush from all my contacts when they do unsubscribe – nothing personal, just business; I’m not offended and I hope they are not either). So something good did come from this weird event.

Well two good things, cause I got this blog post out of it.

I went on with life, now knowing where a key pothole lay and how to avoid it. And I thought I was doing a good job of avoiding “it”.

Fast forward to…

TODAY

GUESS who I got an email from asking me if we could do a link exchange together?

No I am NOT kidding. Mr./Miss Spampants emailed ME!

This is now the SECOND time in my life he/she has shocked me.

SO NOW, THE VOTE!

Should Peter’s response to Ms./Mr. Spampants be:

A. Gently remind him/her about our last exchange, advise that her/his bridge to me had long ago been burned and decline the opportunity

B. Not so gently remind him/her about our last exchange and tell her/him where to stick her/his invitation

C. Accuse him/her of spamming me, sue, win the case, tell my story to Oprah, cry on Dr. Phil’s shoulder then star as myself in the TV movie about the whole harrowing debacle (for which I’d surely win the EMMY)

D. Hit the delete key on the email, take the high road and not have any fun at all

Leave your vote and any insights as to why I should take your advice in the comments section below.

NOTE: don’t ask me to identify the person AND any guesses on the identity of the person in the comment section will be deleted.

Commence voting now.

two quick and recent voice-over observations

I suppose if you’re passionate about your work, you can find examples of it everywhere. Like plumbers see good or bad plumbing when they’re just in a friend’s house or CPAs might see examples of good or bad financial reporting someplace other than their own offices.

Since my thing is voice-over, here are two things I’ve noticed since this past weekend.

1. Carnival Barkers Love Their Own Voice

I took the audio’connellettes to the big county fair this weekend, our first time going as a family (Mrs. audio’connell stayed home with baby audio’connellette because he naps and she hates fairs…a lot).

I hadn’t been to a big fair in a while but I noticed something unique when I attended the famous Pig Races that my neighbor told me I should attend. The owner/operator of the Pig Races (in which the winning swine wins an Oreo cookie — so I completely understood these oinkers desire to win) also served as MC.

He didn’t say his name was Ron Radio but there is no way in h-e-double-hockey-sticks this guy does not have a radio background. I’m talking full-on “but enough about how great I think I sound, tell me how great YOU think I sound” puke voice on a PA with volume loud enough to be heard for miles.

Now given it’s a busy and loud fair, I get the volume thing and the patter thing…it’s a business and I respect it; in no way do I mean to demean the hard work that goes into working traveling fairs. But I paid my fee to be entertained and I was, having a good chuckle listening to all the men and women who, in my opinion, found a way to use their old radio voice in a new way. More power to them.

2. Some pilots sound like an obscene phone caller on the in-flight PA

So you know I travel a fair amount and I hear lots of in-flight announcements. There are two distinct groups of pilots in this world, those who love the microphone and those who are still baffled by its purpose.

The ones who love the microphone thank passengers for flying with them incessantly, give passengers 30,000 foot tours of what’s on the left side of the plane and what’s on the right side of the plane (besides the wings and engines…hopefully) and they do all this on an overly loud PA while I and most of the other passengers are trying to rest. Oy, shut up already!

But at least you can understand them.

I was flying to Detroit this week and a pilot got on the PA a couple of times and each time it sounded like he grunted or exhaled briefly (there may have been a vowel mixed in there) and that was it. But I think he actually thought he said something that was understandable.

It was not.

I chuckled for a moment at his unintelligibility but then thought to myself ‘what if this plane ran into trouble and this guy had to give emergency instructions to the passengers?’ If he’s telling me something important but it sounds like grunts and heavy breathing, I’ve got problems…oh yeah and so do these other people.

It’s obviously most important that these pilots know how to fly well but can’t we spend an hour on public communication for these flyboys too?

I’d take Captain Chatty over First Officer Mumble Mouth any day.

the joy of voice-over

There are so many people who are better at seeing the potential of social media than I am. And as I have often said here, I am a late adopter…always have been.

With Pintrest, I really have been sure what to do with it, but after reading about how some other people and companies have used the newest social media tool, I came up with an idea – why not do a “board” on all the voice-over meet-ups I have been a part of over the years?

All of the pictures have been in this blog but what this Pintrest board has offered me was a joyous look back at the meetings with all my friends in voice-over in an easy and attractive format.

I am grateful that each person was kind enough to take any time to visit with me. If you’re in this montage, thank you. If you are not yet in this montage, I hope you will be soon.

audio’connell in grand rapids, mi

As if you needed another reason to go to FaffCon, here ’tis: I used to travel pretty regularly to Grand Rapids, MI but I don’t as much any more. However, at a recent FaffCon I met voice-over talent Anthony Gettig who lives in nearby Kalamazoo and who said “next time your in Grand Rapids….”

So guess where I had lunch today with Anthony, and fellow voice talents Kim Elliott and Dave Bisson? All are a part of Voice-Over meet-up group that Anthony put together after hearing about such groups in other parts of the country during FaffCon.

My thanks to all of them for spending their lunch hour with me.