How ya doing, dudes? Another day, another yucky Giants game! Brandon Jacobs had better get back on the field soon...
Anyway, I had a mighty crazy week. It was sorely welcome considering how slow things have been!
First of all, I'd like to welcome our 100th Good Karma Network member! Woo hoo!!! Her name is Christina Rodgriguez. I had the pleasure of meeting her at the VO Mixer and she is a very talented & engaging voice actor. You can see her stuff at www.christinarodriguezonline.com. Stand up and say hello, Christina!
I had four recording sessions in three days! Three for ETS and one for FMP. This was the last session to finish Rider University's "Top Careers In Two Years" video series. I look forward to working with them again soon!
The Tom Dheere era of Comic Book Mania has begun! Last week I started reviewing comic books and anime for them, as well as narrating promos for their website. Their site will be overhauled in a few weeks and that's when you'll see my stuff on there.
TIP OF THE WEEK: 100 GKN members! I can't tell you how proud I am. It's a testament to all of the wonderful people who are a part of the Good Karma Network as well as the message, which is to network, support each other, and have fun! Please remember to believe not only in your work but to believe in the work of your peers. Support their efforts, encourage them to better themselves, and always be there for them.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Love is not the dying moan of a distant violin-it's the triumphant twang of a bedspring. S. J Perelman
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: How have you helped your colleagues improve their craft? How often do you refer them to clients so they can get more work?
Have a great week!
The Good Karma Network is an entertainment industry support group. We're here to help each other cast projects, get cast in projects, advertise the projects we get cast in, and share tips and tricks to succeeding in our field.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
GKN Weekly Update 12/8/08
Oh, hello there!
I hope everybody had a great weekend, even you Eagles fans! Man, did the Giants poop their pants yesterday or what? Anyway, on to less distressing topics...
First and foremost, I want to say hello to all of the wonderful people (especially fellow GKN members!) who I saw at the New York Voiceover Mixer this past Friday night. It was great seeing so many people who I've known via the Internet for years but never got the chance to meet face-to-face. Click on the link to see the guest list and photos! If you guys have any photos from that night, feel free to post them here and put them in the "Photos" section of the GKN.
Thanks to those of you who watched 30 Rock last Thursday. I got a ton of Facebook messages & emails saying "I saw you! I saw you!" I think I saw myself about nine times. A lot of them were kind of obscure, but who cares! It was awesome! If you missed the episode you can watch the whole thing at: http://www.nbc.com/30_Rock. It was pretty darn funny!
Another sci-fi audio book I narrated was recently released. This one is called "Guest Law" by John C. Wright. I especially enjoyed this one because I got to use about half a dozen accents! You can hear some of it by going here and clicking on the "excerpt" link. Thanks to Allan Kaster on Infinivox for casting me!
I found a bunch of websites to network and find jobs! They are:
Bodalgo
Zoom Info
Xing
ODesk
If you have any experience with them please let us know!
TIP OF THE WEEK: Wow, that was a lot of cool stuff in one week! It once again reminds me that the most important part of being successful in our industry is relationships. Specifically, networking to forge and develop relationships. You need to get out there, make phone calls, send postcards, and most importantly, meet people face-to-face. It makes all the difference!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: The inside of my mind looks like Denzel’s back in glory. Dave Chapelle
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: When was the last time you attended a networking party? Met a peer for coffee just to talk shop? Or just picked up the phone and chatted with a client?
Have a great week!
I hope everybody had a great weekend, even you Eagles fans! Man, did the Giants poop their pants yesterday or what? Anyway, on to less distressing topics...
First and foremost, I want to say hello to all of the wonderful people (especially fellow GKN members!) who I saw at the New York Voiceover Mixer this past Friday night. It was great seeing so many people who I've known via the Internet for years but never got the chance to meet face-to-face. Click on the link to see the guest list and photos! If you guys have any photos from that night, feel free to post them here and put them in the "Photos" section of the GKN.
Thanks to those of you who watched 30 Rock last Thursday. I got a ton of Facebook messages & emails saying "I saw you! I saw you!" I think I saw myself about nine times. A lot of them were kind of obscure, but who cares! It was awesome! If you missed the episode you can watch the whole thing at: http://www.nbc.com/30_Rock. It was pretty darn funny!
Another sci-fi audio book I narrated was recently released. This one is called "Guest Law" by John C. Wright. I especially enjoyed this one because I got to use about half a dozen accents! You can hear some of it by going here and clicking on the "excerpt" link. Thanks to Allan Kaster on Infinivox for casting me!
I found a bunch of websites to network and find jobs! They are:
Bodalgo
Zoom Info
ODesk
If you have any experience with them please let us know!
TIP OF THE WEEK: Wow, that was a lot of cool stuff in one week! It once again reminds me that the most important part of being successful in our industry is relationships. Specifically, networking to forge and develop relationships. You need to get out there, make phone calls, send postcards, and most importantly, meet people face-to-face. It makes all the difference!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: The inside of my mind looks like Denzel’s back in glory. Dave Chapelle
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: When was the last time you attended a networking party? Met a peer for coffee just to talk shop? Or just picked up the phone and chatted with a client?
Have a great week!
Monday, December 1, 2008
GKN Weekly Update 12/1/08
Happy Post Thanksgiving Meltdown!
I hope everybody had a great time. I was extremely pleased to have little Asha sitting on my lap gumming mashed potatoes.
Since it was a short week there wasn't too much action. I did have an ETS gig in Princeton on Wednesday.
I updated my client database. BTW I use ACT! which is perfect for holding all sorts of info, sending out mass emails, printing mailing labels, etc. I made sure I had an email address for all of my contacts which resulted in some very nice conversations.
The 30 Rock episode I'm an extra in will air this Thursday night at 9:30 PM. If you blink you'll miss it! Actually, I was in a lot of shots so I like my chances of getting some decent air time. I'll be one of the alumni attending the high school reunion. Look for the very sexy dude wearing a blue blazer!
TIP OF THE WEEK: So I got a CT Scan today and I saw my new kidney stone. This one is 2mm wide, much smaller than the last one. It's either in the bladder or it's at the base of the ureter, which is good news. There's an 80-90% chance it'll pass normally. Fingers crossed! Anyway, I've already covered being thankful and good health blah blah blah so let's go with something more practical: health insurance!
First of all, make sure you have it. Second, it can be difficult to find a good single coverage policy that isn't too expensive and won't hose you when an emergency comes up. I've had Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield for a few months now and so far it's been pretty good to me. HOWEVER, there has been a problem with processing my claims because for some reason they never got the Certificates of Credible Coverage from my previous health insurance providers. I don't know if it's my fault or the insurance companies' fault but make sure you get this stuff straightened out nice & early if you switch providers. Trust me, you'll be better off for it!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught. J.C. Watts
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Do you have health insurance? Do you have a good plan that covers your everyday and emergency needs?
Have a great week!
I hope everybody had a great time. I was extremely pleased to have little Asha sitting on my lap gumming mashed potatoes.
Since it was a short week there wasn't too much action. I did have an ETS gig in Princeton on Wednesday.
I updated my client database. BTW I use ACT! which is perfect for holding all sorts of info, sending out mass emails, printing mailing labels, etc. I made sure I had an email address for all of my contacts which resulted in some very nice conversations.
The 30 Rock episode I'm an extra in will air this Thursday night at 9:30 PM. If you blink you'll miss it! Actually, I was in a lot of shots so I like my chances of getting some decent air time. I'll be one of the alumni attending the high school reunion. Look for the very sexy dude wearing a blue blazer!
TIP OF THE WEEK: So I got a CT Scan today and I saw my new kidney stone. This one is 2mm wide, much smaller than the last one. It's either in the bladder or it's at the base of the ureter, which is good news. There's an 80-90% chance it'll pass normally. Fingers crossed! Anyway, I've already covered being thankful and good health blah blah blah so let's go with something more practical: health insurance!
First of all, make sure you have it. Second, it can be difficult to find a good single coverage policy that isn't too expensive and won't hose you when an emergency comes up. I've had Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield for a few months now and so far it's been pretty good to me. HOWEVER, there has been a problem with processing my claims because for some reason they never got the Certificates of Credible Coverage from my previous health insurance providers. I don't know if it's my fault or the insurance companies' fault but make sure you get this stuff straightened out nice & early if you switch providers. Trust me, you'll be better off for it!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught. J.C. Watts
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Do you have health insurance? Do you have a good plan that covers your everyday and emergency needs?
Have a great week!
Monday, November 24, 2008
GKN Weekly Update 11/24/08
Happy Thanksgiving! Have you thawed your turkey yet? BTW if you want a simple side dish that will blow away your guests, go to the Food Network site and search for the recipe "Corn Casserole". It's easy to prepare and it's been a hit every time I've made it!
Last week was pretty darn slow, too. There have been less notices on some of the casting sites over the past few weeks. Has anyone else noticed a slowdown in our industry?
Anyway, since business was slow I spent a lot of time making cold calls. Like I said last week, Philip Bank's article increased my success rate. I landed nine new potential clients! I was wondering; how do you guys use the internet to find work? Specifically, what keywords do you use when searching for clients? The most helpful ones for my cold calling blitz last week were elearning, production, and New Jersey (put New Jersey in quotes).
I had an on-camera audition for EITC courtesy of Ingrid French. I got called in to be a dad. Now I know I'm getting old!
My 30 Rock episode did NOT air last week and IMDB doesn't say when it will. I know it's called "Reunion" so keep your eyes open for it!
Fellow GKN member John Florian posted part three of my series "The Art and Science of Self Promotion" on Voice Over Xtra last week. You can read it here. Thanks again for tasking me with this wonderful project, John!
TIP OF THE WEEK: So, guess what? I have another kidney stone, yay!!! It hit me yesterday morning. Thank goodness I have some leftover pain pills from the last one. Between that and the fact that business is slow, it would seem like I don't have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. But that's not true. It's very unhealthy to compound unfortunate coincidences with events. People "read in" to what's going on in their lives with things like holidays, weddings, births, etc. and all it does is make them feel worse. To hell with that! I'm young and in good health (kidney stones are a pain but they're not life-threatening), I have a great career that I have had many successes in (November is a slow month anyway), and I have loving friends and family. So buck up, little campers! Everything is going to be fine...
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable. John Kenneth Galbraith
(BTW I'm running out of quotes. If you have any particularly juicy faves please email them to me and they'll appear in an upcoming GKN Weekly Update!)
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: What are YOU thankful for?
Have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Last week was pretty darn slow, too. There have been less notices on some of the casting sites over the past few weeks. Has anyone else noticed a slowdown in our industry?
Anyway, since business was slow I spent a lot of time making cold calls. Like I said last week, Philip Bank's article increased my success rate. I landed nine new potential clients! I was wondering; how do you guys use the internet to find work? Specifically, what keywords do you use when searching for clients? The most helpful ones for my cold calling blitz last week were elearning, production, and New Jersey (put New Jersey in quotes).
I had an on-camera audition for EITC courtesy of Ingrid French. I got called in to be a dad. Now I know I'm getting old!
My 30 Rock episode did NOT air last week and IMDB doesn't say when it will. I know it's called "Reunion" so keep your eyes open for it!
Fellow GKN member John Florian posted part three of my series "The Art and Science of Self Promotion" on Voice Over Xtra last week. You can read it here. Thanks again for tasking me with this wonderful project, John!
TIP OF THE WEEK: So, guess what? I have another kidney stone, yay!!! It hit me yesterday morning. Thank goodness I have some leftover pain pills from the last one. Between that and the fact that business is slow, it would seem like I don't have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. But that's not true. It's very unhealthy to compound unfortunate coincidences with events. People "read in" to what's going on in their lives with things like holidays, weddings, births, etc. and all it does is make them feel worse. To hell with that! I'm young and in good health (kidney stones are a pain but they're not life-threatening), I have a great career that I have had many successes in (November is a slow month anyway), and I have loving friends and family. So buck up, little campers! Everything is going to be fine...
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable. John Kenneth Galbraith
(BTW I'm running out of quotes. If you have any particularly juicy faves please email them to me and they'll appear in an upcoming GKN Weekly Update!)
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: What are YOU thankful for?
Have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Monday, November 17, 2008
GKN Weekly Update 11/17/08
Hey Guys!
Due to the economy, business has been extremely slow so I'll keep this one short. The big news is that the radio interview I had with Independent Film United about Project TERRA went very well! You can listen to it here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ifu. It's about 59 minutes in. I hope you enjoy it!
TIP OF THE WEEK: Always find new ways to do old things, especially things you don't like to do. As you know, I hate cold calls but I was inspired by an article written by the immortal VO talent Phillip Banks about how to prospect new clients. I used his technique and landed a new contact on the second try! You can read the article here.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good. Joe Paterno
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: When was the last time you tried to do something you dislike in a different way? Did you get better results?
Have a great week!
Due to the economy, business has been extremely slow so I'll keep this one short. The big news is that the radio interview I had with Independent Film United about Project TERRA went very well! You can listen to it here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ifu. It's about 59 minutes in. I hope you enjoy it!
TIP OF THE WEEK: Always find new ways to do old things, especially things you don't like to do. As you know, I hate cold calls but I was inspired by an article written by the immortal VO talent Phillip Banks about how to prospect new clients. I used his technique and landed a new contact on the second try! You can read the article here.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good. Joe Paterno
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: When was the last time you tried to do something you dislike in a different way? Did you get better results?
Have a great week!
Monday, November 10, 2008
GKN Weekly Update 11/10/08
Hello and welcome on this crisp, Fall day!
Can you believe Thanksgiving is only two weeks away? Yikes! This year has sprinted by. Let's see what I ran into last week...
Before we do, could you guys do me a big favor? I'm now using Blog Control to analyze my blog traffic. If you're using the Good Karma Network, Nexcat, etc. right now and not reading this directly from my blog, could you click on this link and read it from there? You don't have to do it every week, just this once so I can get an idea of what my weekly blog traffic is like. Please feel free to add yourself as a Follower of the blog as well. Thanks!
I have a very interesting new gig! I have been hired by Comic Book Mania as a web host. This means I will be reviewing comic books, movies, and video games, then recording the reviews which will be posted on their website. I may also attend local cons (geek-speak for those "interesting" conventions where everyone dresses up like Vulcans and Stormtroopers) and do on-camera interviews. My first reviews should be posted pretty soon!
I recorded another gig for my friend Mike Tonkin at Touch Screen Magic. This one was for a new product called MEVAS. It's a device you install in your car to give you advanced warning of emergency vehicles coming your way.
Speaking of Touch Screen Magic, here is a link to the Pay It Forward Card gig I did a few months ago. Enjoy!
TIP OF THE WEEK: So, last week's election was pretty exciting! An overwhelming majority of my peers are very happy with the results and look forward to four years of change, new horizons, and hope. I am, too. However, we do need to keep one very important thing in mind: change takes time. We need to be patient. We need to understand that things won't change overnight and may take months or even years to happen.
This applies to life as well. One of my favorite adages is "you can't talk your way out of something you behaved yourself into". Your life is a complex tapestry of choices & consequences and it's almost impossible to un-weave them immediately. You need to make different choices, develop new habits, alter your systems of thought and systems of execution. Change takes time and change is good!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Life can be like a tire iron - sometimes cold and hard; and it feels real good when you stop beating yourself over the head with it. Unknown
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: When was the last time you made a conscious effort to change a behavior you don't like? Did it change? If so, did it last?
Have a great week!
Can you believe Thanksgiving is only two weeks away? Yikes! This year has sprinted by. Let's see what I ran into last week...
Before we do, could you guys do me a big favor? I'm now using Blog Control to analyze my blog traffic. If you're using the Good Karma Network, Nexcat, etc. right now and not reading this directly from my blog, could you click on this link and read it from there? You don't have to do it every week, just this once so I can get an idea of what my weekly blog traffic is like. Please feel free to add yourself as a Follower of the blog as well. Thanks!
I have a very interesting new gig! I have been hired by Comic Book Mania as a web host. This means I will be reviewing comic books, movies, and video games, then recording the reviews which will be posted on their website. I may also attend local cons (geek-speak for those "interesting" conventions where everyone dresses up like Vulcans and Stormtroopers) and do on-camera interviews. My first reviews should be posted pretty soon!
I recorded another gig for my friend Mike Tonkin at Touch Screen Magic. This one was for a new product called MEVAS. It's a device you install in your car to give you advanced warning of emergency vehicles coming your way.
Speaking of Touch Screen Magic, here is a link to the Pay It Forward Card gig I did a few months ago. Enjoy!
TIP OF THE WEEK: So, last week's election was pretty exciting! An overwhelming majority of my peers are very happy with the results and look forward to four years of change, new horizons, and hope. I am, too. However, we do need to keep one very important thing in mind: change takes time. We need to be patient. We need to understand that things won't change overnight and may take months or even years to happen.
This applies to life as well. One of my favorite adages is "you can't talk your way out of something you behaved yourself into". Your life is a complex tapestry of choices & consequences and it's almost impossible to un-weave them immediately. You need to make different choices, develop new habits, alter your systems of thought and systems of execution. Change takes time and change is good!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Life can be like a tire iron - sometimes cold and hard; and it feels real good when you stop beating yourself over the head with it. Unknown
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: When was the last time you made a conscious effort to change a behavior you don't like? Did it change? If so, did it last?
Have a great week!
Monday, November 3, 2008
GKN Weekly Update 11/3/08
Happy Post-Halloween and Pre-Election Day!
I hope everyone had a safe, fun, and loot-ridden Halloween. This is me as Zorro with my friend Jim as Wolverine:
Anyway, last week went from boring to bustling!
I had two VO gigs on the same day at ETS in Princeton and FMP in Hamilton. I narrated more of those "Top Careers In Two Years" videos for Rider University.
I spent all day Thursday in NYC. I had an on-camera audition for Price Choppers at 10:30 AM, then a VO audition for the Air force at 3:00 PM. Having so much time to kill, I walked around and hit some internet cafes. It was a blustery but sunny day but no so bad to wander around Manhattan in.
I finished writing the Project TERRA screenplay! It was easier than I thought it would be. The episodes just flowed together...
I got my copy of "The Upstate Four" DVD! We watched it at the Halloween party I went to on Friday night and everybody loved it. Very soon I'll try to put it on my website so everyone and check it out. BTW what would be a good program to rip data from a DVD?
My goal for 2008 is to have 100 members of the Good Karma Network Yahoo Group. As of today we have 98. We are so close! I'd really like to hit that goal. Can you help out? Please refer the GKN to your entertainment industry colleagues and ask them to subscribe via this address: GKN-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Thanks!
TIP OF THE WEEK: As you already know, The Good Karma Network is an entertainment industry support group and as a rule I try to steer away from topics that are religious, political, or otherwise potentially polarizing. I will say that as fellow Americans living in particularly interesting times, I strongly encourage you to vote in tomorrow's election. I'm not getting into who I will vote for or why and I thank you for not doing the same on this here GKN thang, but please get out there and exercise your right!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: (Explaining the difference between involvement and commitment) A chicken is involved in the making of an egg salad sandwich, whereas she is committed to a chicken salad sandwich. Moe Egan
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Did you dress up for Halloween? Does it make you feel like a kid again? What else makes you feel young?
Have a great week!
I hope everyone had a safe, fun, and loot-ridden Halloween. This is me as Zorro with my friend Jim as Wolverine:
Anyway, last week went from boring to bustling!
I had two VO gigs on the same day at ETS in Princeton and FMP in Hamilton. I narrated more of those "Top Careers In Two Years" videos for Rider University.
I spent all day Thursday in NYC. I had an on-camera audition for Price Choppers at 10:30 AM, then a VO audition for the Air force at 3:00 PM. Having so much time to kill, I walked around and hit some internet cafes. It was a blustery but sunny day but no so bad to wander around Manhattan in.
I finished writing the Project TERRA screenplay! It was easier than I thought it would be. The episodes just flowed together...
I got my copy of "The Upstate Four" DVD! We watched it at the Halloween party I went to on Friday night and everybody loved it. Very soon I'll try to put it on my website so everyone and check it out. BTW what would be a good program to rip data from a DVD?
My goal for 2008 is to have 100 members of the Good Karma Network Yahoo Group. As of today we have 98. We are so close! I'd really like to hit that goal. Can you help out? Please refer the GKN to your entertainment industry colleagues and ask them to subscribe via this address: GKN-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Thanks!
TIP OF THE WEEK: As you already know, The Good Karma Network is an entertainment industry support group and as a rule I try to steer away from topics that are religious, political, or otherwise potentially polarizing. I will say that as fellow Americans living in particularly interesting times, I strongly encourage you to vote in tomorrow's election. I'm not getting into who I will vote for or why and I thank you for not doing the same on this here GKN thang, but please get out there and exercise your right!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: (Explaining the difference between involvement and commitment) A chicken is involved in the making of an egg salad sandwich, whereas she is committed to a chicken salad sandwich. Moe Egan
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Did you dress up for Halloween? Does it make you feel like a kid again? What else makes you feel young?
Have a great week!
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