I cannot remember how long ago I purchased the above watch (from the same company who provided the picture I believe) but I knew at the time it was a handsome looking time piece and I wanted to have it.

Here’s a quick list of what the Citizen Stars and Stripes Navisail – White Face / Stainless Band does:

-Yacht Timer with Autostart Chrono
-Auto-Repeat Yacht Race Timer
-Time and Calendar in 21 World Time Zones
-Retractable Hands for Display Visibility
-Help Display of Button Functions
-One-Touch Interchangeable Analog/Digital Times
-Two World-Time Alarms
-1/100 Second Chronograph with 24-Hour Digital Display and 60-Minute Analog Display
-Screw-Back Case
-Push Button Safety Clasp on Bracelet Models
-100 Meter Water-Resistant

I know how to operate about 3 of those features and the safety clasp still gives me trouble occasionally.

No, I am not trying to sell you a watch.

I would like to admit that it takes me about 15-20 minutes after every time change (daylight savings time etc) to AGAIN figure out how to adjust the time on that thing. You have to push some stems and pull some stems and then you have to say some magic words. I think a human sacrifice may be involved.

The point being I REALLY only need it to tell time. I like to wear it when I travel between time zones because it switches easily but that’s about it.

We do this in our business too I think…make things more complicated than they need to be.

Our marketing can be effective…and simple.

Our bookkeeping can be organized and simple.

Our audio chains can be sonic and simple.

But we add gadgets and tricks and columns in search of a better way, a more communicative way and sometimes (and this always confuses me) a simpler way (we add things/steps to make them simpler).

When we buy new products…can we stop for a second to see if the bells and whistles are REALLY necessary?

Can we remember to narrow down the new item’s reason for being to the one simple task we need it for?

I don’t know about you, but I have to try and get better at this.

But…my watch IS nicer than your watch!

(j/k)

Tags: commentary, voiceover advice // 3 Comments »

Strange – how many of you were drawn to that blog headline. 😉

But it’s a fact of life – virtual conferences have been around a while now.

It was a business that a friend of mine delved into and she seemed to enjoy it. I myself have never attended or I guess a better term is participated in a virtual conference.

It’s an intriguing idea so leave it to voice-over’s own Rupert Murdoch (aka John Florian) make the idea a reality for the voice-over community.

If you’re a plan ahead kinda gal or guy, you’ve got some time. Voice Over Virtual will take place September 18-19, 2013.

For all the details, you can check out Voice-Over Xtra’s blog post here

Tags: blogs, commentary, voice over training, voiceover, voiceover advice, voiceover blog // Comments Off on attending conferences in your underwear

My Father had a saying that I have always tried to live by. I’ll spare you the original Latin; translated it is “Don’t let the bastards get you down”.

It is easy to say but not so easy to do on days like today. But we must not let the bastards get us down.

If we do, we lose.

We’re America…we don’t lose.

Tags: commentary, community, video // 2 Comments »

What a nice treat for me on my recent trip to Milwaukee to visit with the great female voice talent Bobbin Beam and her husband Pete Kraeger.

Pete and Bobbin recently moved back from San Diego to their old stomping grounds and are having a wonderful time. We had so much fun talking about…well loads of stuff including Bobbin’s growth into the audiobook world (she clearly has wonderful patience that I’m kind of lacking in that particular genre).

I’m only sorry Bob Merkel couldn’t join us but we’ll all get together soon I hope! Thanks Bobbin and Pete!

Tags: commentary, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover meet-ups // 1 Comment »

I have been doing voice-over professionally since 1982. That’s not the admission of guilt.

In all that time, I have been to an Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor a grand total of once: to get my ears look at.

Never have I been to an ENT to get my throat and vocal folds looked at…that’s my admission of guilt.

Think about it for a moment…the key instrument upon which I rely for my income had never been in for a medically tune up. My microphones were better taken care of than my throat.

That’s stupid and that’s my fault.

Now, you don’t have to admit it, but I’m guessing you’ve been stupid too. When was the last time (if ever) you’ve been to an ENT to get checked out (especially a preventative exam)?

I was even pulled aside by my friend Sean Caldwell at FaffCon 5, who explained to me in no uncertain terms the dangers of ignoring throat and vocal health. That was months ago and yet I waited.

Stupid me.

Well I recently addressed my stupidity head-on…because I was forced to. If you’re skittish about unhappy endings, read on as this one turns out ok.

Here’s the brief back-story – I went down to my father-in-law’s house a few weeks ago for the Easter holiday. He has a cat and it turns out (and I knew this for a few years, having visited him before) I had developed an allergic reaction to cats (as an adult) in the form of asthma (albeit a minor but still uncomfortable form of asthma).

The subsequent significant coughing (even while on medication which I ordered up ahead of time in anticipation of my problem) left me significantly laryngitical for weeks (as my FaffCon Stand-up group can attest). That meant no voice-over work. None.

So after squeaking into the phone one day too many I decided I needed to see someone other than my talented general practitioner about my pressing vocal health challenge.

Problem was I didn’t really have a name of someone to meet with. So I called my friend Dan Lenard who was kind enough to share his ENT with me (since Dan and I live in the same area although we only see each other at FaffCons).

I met Dr. Joel Bernstein who began the appointment by condemning me for talking too loudly when I said hello to him and went on to discuss how I needed to rest my voice more when I wasn’t using it professionally, which I knew. I also let him know I have three small kids and use my loud voice sometimes to corral those feral cats. He didn’t really have an answer for that one. He just said that drugs like Modafinil, which are becoming increasingly popular, do have side effects to look out for.

So on to the heart of the exam- the throat scoping. This involves a little topical anesthetic through the nose…so that a camera tube can be put down there and the good doctor can see what’s up in the throat and vocal area. It’s a bit uncomfortable but it doesn’t hurt.

Well the good news is the exam showed my throat to be in perfect health and that there was no damage to my vocal chords and that I would be fine once my coughing and asthma symptoms subsided, which they have. I am back to voicing new projects without sounding like Harvey Fierstein.

So even though you didn’t ask for my advice, I hope you won’t be as stupid as I was…take this nudge as reason enough to contact an ENT in your area to get your voice-over money maker examined.

Tags: commentary, community, faffcon, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice // 6 Comments »

A friend of mine died Thursday – friend I never met.

He was someone I watched on TV and whose creativity I wished I had (even a little bit of it).

When I was young, the up and coming comedian was a fellow named Robin Williams who used to do a lot of improvisation in his comedy routine. I thought it was daring, creative and lots of fun.

As his career took off, Williams was interviewed often and when he was asked who were the performers he looked up to…always one name: Jonathan Winters.

Me too. Very much, me too. He was funny, imperfect, he spent time in Dayton, OH. The similarities are there, somewhere.

When asked “what famous person would you like to meet?”, people often say somebody historic – a religious person, maybe a political figure or sports legend.

My choice died today. I think we might have enjoyed each others company.

My guys – Jonathan Winters and Robin Williams

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