Hi there!
I am home from hospital and everything went fine. I feel great except for when I go the bathroom but the Oxycodone is taking care of that quite nicely. I'll be taking it easy for a couple of days. Thanks again for all the words of support!
I'll make this quick so I can do lie down!
I had two VO gigs last week. One for Pearson Learning at Full House Productions and one for a new product called the "Pay it Forward" card via Monsoon Interactive.
I got another good review for "Mini-Masterpieces of Science Fiction" which you can check out at http://www.scifidimensions.com/Sep08/minimasterpieces.htm
If you're on Facebook, please join my Project TERRA Group. We're trying to build a website presence and that group is one of the many steps we're taking to generate a buzz. Thanks!
TIP OF THE WEEK: Well, the Oxycodone just hit me so all I can say is be nice to your waiter!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "I have steak at home, why go out for hamburger?" Paul Newman when asked if he was tempted to stray
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Isn't life grand?
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, September 29, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
GKN Weekly Update 9/22/08
Happy Autumn everyone, my favorite season! Did anyone try to balance an egg today?
I hope everyone had a fun weekend. Did you guys watch the Yankee game last night? It was incredible seeing so many legends in one place!
For those of you who don't know, I'm going to have surgery tomorrow to yank out that damn kidney stone. It's been two months and the little bastard decided make an Ikea run and move into my starboard-side ureter! It's an outpatient procedure and it only takes about 45 minutes. I'll let you know how it goes. Anyway, on to less discomforting topics!
Last week I had a nice amount of VO work! I did yet another ETS gig and I did some more animation VO for CancerSPACE, a roleplaying tutorial for hospitals. Once again I played Rivera, a Hispanic RN.
Fellow GKN member Angelo Panetta hired me to narrate some :60 car commercials for an undisclosed client. I was thrilled to do some hard-sell work! I never get those kind of gigs so it'll be great to add some more diversity to my samples.
I also had an audition for Comcast courtesy of Ingrid French. The interesting thing about this one was that the recording session was the same day so I had to hang out in NYC for a few hours while I waited to hear if I got the gig. BTW don't hesitate to drop me a line if you ever want to get together. I'm in Manhattan pretty often and I haven't had the pleasure of meeting some of you in person!
TIP OF THE WEEK: So, tomorrow I go under the knife. YIKES! Seriously, I'm not scared because it's a simple procedure and there is no cutting involved. I will spare you the details of how they get the stone, though. You do NOT wanna know! I try very hard to eat right, exercise, and live a healthy life. I don't smoke, I rarely drink, and I don't do drugs. Despite all that, I've been slapped around with kidney stones, high cholesterol, vertigo, and migraines. It is SO damn frustrating! What I'm trying to say is that sometimes if you do everything right you still won't achieve the desired result. And you know what? It's okay. A wise sage once said "**** happens". and it's true. But it's not the **** that shapes your life, it's your REACTION that does!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: If you don’t know, say you don’t know. Only politicians and middle managers find shame in ignorance and the irony of that should not be wasted on you. Phillip Banks
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: What was the last bad thing that happened to you? How did you handle it? Could you have handled it better?
Have a great week!
I hope everyone had a fun weekend. Did you guys watch the Yankee game last night? It was incredible seeing so many legends in one place!
For those of you who don't know, I'm going to have surgery tomorrow to yank out that damn kidney stone. It's been two months and the little bastard decided make an Ikea run and move into my starboard-side ureter! It's an outpatient procedure and it only takes about 45 minutes. I'll let you know how it goes. Anyway, on to less discomforting topics!
Last week I had a nice amount of VO work! I did yet another ETS gig and I did some more animation VO for CancerSPACE, a roleplaying tutorial for hospitals. Once again I played Rivera, a Hispanic RN.
Fellow GKN member Angelo Panetta hired me to narrate some :60 car commercials for an undisclosed client. I was thrilled to do some hard-sell work! I never get those kind of gigs so it'll be great to add some more diversity to my samples.
I also had an audition for Comcast courtesy of Ingrid French. The interesting thing about this one was that the recording session was the same day so I had to hang out in NYC for a few hours while I waited to hear if I got the gig. BTW don't hesitate to drop me a line if you ever want to get together. I'm in Manhattan pretty often and I haven't had the pleasure of meeting some of you in person!
TIP OF THE WEEK: So, tomorrow I go under the knife. YIKES! Seriously, I'm not scared because it's a simple procedure and there is no cutting involved. I will spare you the details of how they get the stone, though. You do NOT wanna know! I try very hard to eat right, exercise, and live a healthy life. I don't smoke, I rarely drink, and I don't do drugs. Despite all that, I've been slapped around with kidney stones, high cholesterol, vertigo, and migraines. It is SO damn frustrating! What I'm trying to say is that sometimes if you do everything right you still won't achieve the desired result. And you know what? It's okay. A wise sage once said "**** happens". and it's true. But it's not the **** that shapes your life, it's your REACTION that does!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: If you don’t know, say you don’t know. Only politicians and middle managers find shame in ignorance and the irony of that should not be wasted on you. Phillip Banks
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: What was the last bad thing that happened to you? How did you handle it? Could you have handled it better?
Have a great week!
Monday, September 15, 2008
GKN Weekly Update 9/15/08
Hello, my peeps! What up, yo?
First off I'd like to say thanks for all of the kind birthday wishes many of you sent my way. I was overwhelmed! Saturday was my 37th Birthday and I had a great time at Arthur's Steakhouse in Morris Plains, NJ with some dear friends. Onion soup and ribs, BOOYAH!!!
Let's get right into the fun stuff!
Last week I did an online spot for Pushpocket courtesy of Monsoon Interactive. They've hired me to do many online tutorials. I just added OnLetterhead, OnMarketer, and Monsoon Interactive samples to my website. Check 'em out! To see the the first two, click on "Let us show you how!"
We now have a Project TERRA teaser! A huge thank you goes out to fellow GKN member Kara Edwards for providing her immeasurable talent!
Last week I was an extra for "30 Rock"! I haven't done background actor work in a long time and it was a blast. I was one of the many White Haven High School alumni attending Liz Lemon's high school reunion. I met some really wonderful people including Meredith Jacobs, a very talented & fun person who has her own sketch-comedy troupe "The Polite Society". I was right next to Alec Baldwin, special guests Janel Maloney (West Wing) and Diane Neal (Law & Order SVU) and I got to talk to Tina Fey! I think it will air Thursday, November 20. I'm exhausted but it was worth it!
TIP OF THE WEEK: One thing that really impressed me on the shoot of "30 Rock" was the level of talent & quality of technique among the principals, Alec Baldwin especially. I never realized what a good actor and how damn funny he is! I've said before that nobody thinks they can pick up a violin and start playing it well, but every yutz with minimal training and no experience thinks they can become a star immediately. Regardless of your opinion of him, prolific stars like Alec Baldwin are very talented, have a rock-solid technique, and have worked very hard over a long period of time to get where they are. So keep taking your classes, refine your technique, and network network network!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Don't make your problem my problem!
Alec Baldwin yelling into his cell phone on the set of "30 Rock"
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: What have you done lately to improve the quality of your work?
Have a great week!
First off I'd like to say thanks for all of the kind birthday wishes many of you sent my way. I was overwhelmed! Saturday was my 37th Birthday and I had a great time at Arthur's Steakhouse in Morris Plains, NJ with some dear friends. Onion soup and ribs, BOOYAH!!!
Let's get right into the fun stuff!
Last week I did an online spot for Pushpocket courtesy of Monsoon Interactive. They've hired me to do many online tutorials. I just added OnLetterhead, OnMarketer, and Monsoon Interactive samples to my website. Check 'em out! To see the the first two, click on "Let us show you how!"
We now have a Project TERRA teaser! A huge thank you goes out to fellow GKN member Kara Edwards for providing her immeasurable talent!
Last week I was an extra for "30 Rock"! I haven't done background actor work in a long time and it was a blast. I was one of the many White Haven High School alumni attending Liz Lemon's high school reunion. I met some really wonderful people including Meredith Jacobs, a very talented & fun person who has her own sketch-comedy troupe "The Polite Society". I was right next to Alec Baldwin, special guests Janel Maloney (West Wing) and Diane Neal (Law & Order SVU) and I got to talk to Tina Fey! I think it will air Thursday, November 20. I'm exhausted but it was worth it!
TIP OF THE WEEK: One thing that really impressed me on the shoot of "30 Rock" was the level of talent & quality of technique among the principals, Alec Baldwin especially. I never realized what a good actor and how damn funny he is! I've said before that nobody thinks they can pick up a violin and start playing it well, but every yutz with minimal training and no experience thinks they can become a star immediately. Regardless of your opinion of him, prolific stars like Alec Baldwin are very talented, have a rock-solid technique, and have worked very hard over a long period of time to get where they are. So keep taking your classes, refine your technique, and network network network!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Don't make your problem my problem!
Alec Baldwin yelling into his cell phone on the set of "30 Rock"
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: What have you done lately to improve the quality of your work?
Have a great week!
Monday, September 8, 2008
GKN Weekly Update 9/8/08
Well well well, what do we have here? Some eager readers, I hope?
Ready to take on the world in this Post-Labor Day put-your-white-shoes-away season? Well, alrighty then!
I hit the ground running last week with another recording session for ETS. Then I went to NYC for an on-camera audition for Rock Band 2. It was hilarious! I was a death metal head being interviewed on the red carpet.
I had an enlightening meeting concerning Project TERRA. We have a LONG road ahead of us to make it a reality but I am diving in head-first! Our marketing campaign will begin soon. If any of you have suggestions as to where to develop our Internet presence I'd love to hear them. I have an extensive list already but I welcome any additions!
I received another great review for narrating those stories on "Mini-Masterpieces of Science Fiction". I just updated my Reviews page on my website. You can check them out here.
Fellow VO talent Steve Anthony wrote some very nice things about me in his blog and I wanted to give him a shout-out and say thanks. You can read his blog entry here.
TIP OF THE WEEK: I'm sure that many of you heard that legendary voice over talent Don Lafontaine died last week. If you've never heard of him, I guarantee you have heard him. He was the godfather of VO's, narrating over 5000 movie trailers and 350,000 commercials & promos. He coined the movie trailer catch-phrase "In a world..." I never had the pleasure of meeting him but many of my colleagues did and they had nothing but wonderful things to say about him. He will be missed.
Don's passing made me think about how I got into voiceovers. Strangely enough, it was because of my mother! She was reading New Jersey Monthly and there was an ad from a local VO coach. She said I should look into it because I have a nice voice. Thirteen years and a few hundred recording sessions later, here I am! Weird, huh?
Then I thought about WHY I do voiceovers. At first it was because I was sick of acting, specifcally actors. I had a very bad experience at the conservatory I went to and I wanted nothing to do with the theater and those "Ramman-noodle eating insecure flakes" (my apologies, fellow thespians, I was an angry young man!).
Now I do voiceovers because I love it as well as the wonderful people in the industry. You know, YOU guys! The sense of community and belonging I feel are bring me immeasurable happiness. So here's the tip: do what you love and you can't go wrong.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: The prospect of a long day at the beach makes me panic. There is no harder work I can think of than taking myself off to somewhere pleasant, where I am forced to stay for hours and 'have fun'. Phillip Lopate
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Are you doing what you love? If not, why?
Have a great week!
Ready to take on the world in this Post-Labor Day put-your-white-shoes-away season? Well, alrighty then!
I hit the ground running last week with another recording session for ETS. Then I went to NYC for an on-camera audition for Rock Band 2. It was hilarious! I was a death metal head being interviewed on the red carpet.
I had an enlightening meeting concerning Project TERRA. We have a LONG road ahead of us to make it a reality but I am diving in head-first! Our marketing campaign will begin soon. If any of you have suggestions as to where to develop our Internet presence I'd love to hear them. I have an extensive list already but I welcome any additions!
I received another great review for narrating those stories on "Mini-Masterpieces of Science Fiction". I just updated my Reviews page on my website. You can check them out here.
Fellow VO talent Steve Anthony wrote some very nice things about me in his blog and I wanted to give him a shout-out and say thanks. You can read his blog entry here.
TIP OF THE WEEK: I'm sure that many of you heard that legendary voice over talent Don Lafontaine died last week. If you've never heard of him, I guarantee you have heard him. He was the godfather of VO's, narrating over 5000 movie trailers and 350,000 commercials & promos. He coined the movie trailer catch-phrase "In a world..." I never had the pleasure of meeting him but many of my colleagues did and they had nothing but wonderful things to say about him. He will be missed.
Don's passing made me think about how I got into voiceovers. Strangely enough, it was because of my mother! She was reading New Jersey Monthly and there was an ad from a local VO coach. She said I should look into it because I have a nice voice. Thirteen years and a few hundred recording sessions later, here I am! Weird, huh?
Then I thought about WHY I do voiceovers. At first it was because I was sick of acting, specifcally actors. I had a very bad experience at the conservatory I went to and I wanted nothing to do with the theater and those "Ramman-noodle eating insecure flakes" (my apologies, fellow thespians, I was an angry young man!).
Now I do voiceovers because I love it as well as the wonderful people in the industry. You know, YOU guys! The sense of community and belonging I feel are bring me immeasurable happiness. So here's the tip: do what you love and you can't go wrong.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: The prospect of a long day at the beach makes me panic. There is no harder work I can think of than taking myself off to somewhere pleasant, where I am forced to stay for hours and 'have fun'. Phillip Lopate
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Are you doing what you love? If not, why?
Have a great week!
Monday, September 1, 2008
GKN Weekly Update 9/1/08
Happy Labor Day!
Just wanted to make a quick GKN post before I hit the BBQ circuit.
I got another review for my work in Infinivox's "Mini-Masterpieces of Science Fiction". You can read it here.
The Amber Lee Ettinger promo video I narrated is up! You can see it here.
TIP OF THE WEEK: Use suntan lotion today!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: (during a Yankees broadcast)
Michael Kay: Did you have any teammates who didn't swear?
David Cone: None that I trusted!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: What goals have you set for this fall? How well did you do with your goals for the summer?
Have a great week!
Just wanted to make a quick GKN post before I hit the BBQ circuit.
I got another review for my work in Infinivox's "Mini-Masterpieces of Science Fiction". You can read it here.
The Amber Lee Ettinger promo video I narrated is up! You can see it here.
TIP OF THE WEEK: Use suntan lotion today!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: (during a Yankees broadcast)
Michael Kay: Did you have any teammates who didn't swear?
David Cone: None that I trusted!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: What goals have you set for this fall? How well did you do with your goals for the summer?
Have a great week!
Monday, August 25, 2008
GKN Weekly Update 8/25/08
Good Monday to Ya!
Can you believe that Labor Day Weekend is almost here? Then it's back to school! The only thing I miss about school is buying new stuff. I love office supplies!
We had some good things happen last week...
I had a great recording session for my buddy Chad Orr of Rennert Translation Group. I narrated a commercial for their website at CKP Media. I'll post it when it's ready!
Speaking of stuff that's ready to post, here is the online tutorial I narrated for Knovel courtesy of Eyeview Digital.
I also had a great audition for Computer Associates at Acting Management courtesy of Ingrid French. While there I ran into fellow GKN member Tiffany Clementi. It was great seeing you, Tiff!
I recorded more lines and Foley stuff for Angelo's latest sci-fi radio drama "The Empress Blair Project". I got to play a soap opera actor! Saying that I was over-the-top was an understatement...
TIP OF THE WEEK: My personal highlight of the week was watching my friend Carly's three-month old girl Asha for a day.
Isn't she beautiful? I called that day "baby-daddy training". Mostly we danced to Beatles tunes and she slept a lot, but it meant a lot to me. For those of you who don't know, I am "clinically single" but would very much like to have a child someday. Why? For a bunch of reasons, but one of the big ones is that life is meant to be shared. To be alone is both safe and scary at the same time and I'm very happy that so many people are willing to share their lives and the lives of their children with me. Be thankful that you are, too.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: He attacked everything in life with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, and it was often difficult to tell which was which. Douglas Adams
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Who shares their life with you? When was the last time you thanked them for it?
Have a great week!
Can you believe that Labor Day Weekend is almost here? Then it's back to school! The only thing I miss about school is buying new stuff. I love office supplies!
We had some good things happen last week...
I had a great recording session for my buddy Chad Orr of Rennert Translation Group. I narrated a commercial for their website at CKP Media. I'll post it when it's ready!
Speaking of stuff that's ready to post, here is the online tutorial I narrated for Knovel courtesy of Eyeview Digital.
I also had a great audition for Computer Associates at Acting Management courtesy of Ingrid French. While there I ran into fellow GKN member Tiffany Clementi. It was great seeing you, Tiff!
I recorded more lines and Foley stuff for Angelo's latest sci-fi radio drama "The Empress Blair Project". I got to play a soap opera actor! Saying that I was over-the-top was an understatement...
TIP OF THE WEEK: My personal highlight of the week was watching my friend Carly's three-month old girl Asha for a day.
Isn't she beautiful? I called that day "baby-daddy training". Mostly we danced to Beatles tunes and she slept a lot, but it meant a lot to me. For those of you who don't know, I am "clinically single" but would very much like to have a child someday. Why? For a bunch of reasons, but one of the big ones is that life is meant to be shared. To be alone is both safe and scary at the same time and I'm very happy that so many people are willing to share their lives and the lives of their children with me. Be thankful that you are, too.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: He attacked everything in life with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, and it was often difficult to tell which was which. Douglas Adams
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Who shares their life with you? When was the last time you thanked them for it?
Have a great week!
Monday, August 18, 2008
GKN Weekly Update 8/18/08
Good morning!
Man, is the summer just ripping by or what? I hope you've been able to hit the beach/lake/park or whatever floats your boat. I was supposed to go to a BBQ yesterday but I had to redo a project since I recorded it in mono and they needed it in stereo. Whoops!
Here's the latest entry in the "Saga of the Stone"; the good news is that it moved, a lot! So that means surgery is held off for three more weeks since they want to give it time to pass. The bad news is three more weeks of power-chugging water, cranberry juice, etc. and the occasional bouts of discomfort and (hopefully not!) pain. OK then, on to less icky things!
Last week I had two VO sessions for ETS in Princeton and I landed a new client! Have any of you heard of Obama Girl? She makes these goofy videos where she sings about how much she loves Barack Obama. I've watched some of them and they're pretty funny! Anyway, "Obama Girl" is Amber Lee Ettinger and she released a song online which has gotten some attention. They're shooting a music video to go with it as well as a promo video promoting the whole thing. I was hired to narrate the promo video! I recorded it at Young & Rubicam last week and it should air online soon.
We had a lot of Project TERRA action last week! The EPK has been overhauled and it looks great! We also have an updated storyboard which also looks great. We found a production company in California to produce the series once we raise the funds. Now all we need is the money. So, does anyone have $5.4 million on them?
TIP OF THE WEEK: Many of my fellow VO talents returned from the VOICE 2008 conference in LA. I heard that a wonderful time was had by all, including some fellow GKN members. We would love to hear your stories so please share!
Anyway, some interesting dialogues have popped up on various blogs & forums as a result. In one of the threads came up those pesky traits which we all have: fear and ego. It's amazing how many of our choices are influenced by them. For some people, ALL of their decisions are fear/ego-driven. This year one of my focuses has been to determine how many of my decisions are based on those lovely attributes. The answer is: less than there used to be but still far more than I'd like. I won't bore you with which parts of my life they dominate but needless to say they get in my way more than I care to admit.
So here's the tip: don't let fear and your ego control your life. Both are good in small doses but too much drives other people & opportunities away from you. Don't restrict your life!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: If you can't be a muse, at least be amusing! Anonymous
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: What are you afraid of?
Have a great week!
Man, is the summer just ripping by or what? I hope you've been able to hit the beach/lake/park or whatever floats your boat. I was supposed to go to a BBQ yesterday but I had to redo a project since I recorded it in mono and they needed it in stereo. Whoops!
Here's the latest entry in the "Saga of the Stone"; the good news is that it moved, a lot! So that means surgery is held off for three more weeks since they want to give it time to pass. The bad news is three more weeks of power-chugging water, cranberry juice, etc. and the occasional bouts of discomfort and (hopefully not!) pain. OK then, on to less icky things!
Last week I had two VO sessions for ETS in Princeton and I landed a new client! Have any of you heard of Obama Girl? She makes these goofy videos where she sings about how much she loves Barack Obama. I've watched some of them and they're pretty funny! Anyway, "Obama Girl" is Amber Lee Ettinger and she released a song online which has gotten some attention. They're shooting a music video to go with it as well as a promo video promoting the whole thing. I was hired to narrate the promo video! I recorded it at Young & Rubicam last week and it should air online soon.
We had a lot of Project TERRA action last week! The EPK has been overhauled and it looks great! We also have an updated storyboard which also looks great. We found a production company in California to produce the series once we raise the funds. Now all we need is the money. So, does anyone have $5.4 million on them?
TIP OF THE WEEK: Many of my fellow VO talents returned from the VOICE 2008 conference in LA. I heard that a wonderful time was had by all, including some fellow GKN members. We would love to hear your stories so please share!
Anyway, some interesting dialogues have popped up on various blogs & forums as a result. In one of the threads came up those pesky traits which we all have: fear and ego. It's amazing how many of our choices are influenced by them. For some people, ALL of their decisions are fear/ego-driven. This year one of my focuses has been to determine how many of my decisions are based on those lovely attributes. The answer is: less than there used to be but still far more than I'd like. I won't bore you with which parts of my life they dominate but needless to say they get in my way more than I care to admit.
So here's the tip: don't let fear and your ego control your life. Both are good in small doses but too much drives other people & opportunities away from you. Don't restrict your life!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: If you can't be a muse, at least be amusing! Anonymous
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: What are you afraid of?
Have a great week!
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