It's hard to believe 10 years have almost passed since that terrible day when Al Qaeda Terrorists attached our country. We were all touched by loss that day, either directly, or indirectly. A High School friend of mine, Ted Hennessy was on the first plane that crashed into the World Trade Center.
Ted and I weren't super close friends. He was a year older than I, but we were in Cub Scouts together. His father was the Pack leader. We were in band together for many years, went to the same church. Ted was a very talented musician, and what a whit. Cutting, hysterical and... kind.
I didn't see Ted much after he graduated High School, but he worked for a company that provided printing software that was used in my parents' business. He trained my folks how to use it. In short, both our families lives intersected in many ways.
It's odd, sometimes, how we as people measure time and that somehow, in some way 10 years, a decade... has slightly more significance than say 7, 8 or 9 years. It's something we all do. And so we do it this year in remembering that terrible day, that horrible and painful time.
I went through my archives and came across an audio montage of clips I pulled from our sister station WBZ AM 1030's broadcast on 9-11-01 and the days following. I combined it with other clips we had archived from coverage of another tragedy here in Worcester, Massachusetts where several fire fighters were killed battling a warehouse blaze a few years earlier.
I set the piece to Aaron Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man." Putting it together was part of my grieving process. It was what I could contribute at the time. It was the only thing I could think to do.
It aired several times during the few days after 9/11/01. It has not aired since.
I present it to you now, in memory of Ted, the First Responders and Service Members and all of us who lost a little more innocence that day.

9-11 Firefighters

Ok... In the land of Equality of Opportunity Vs. Equality of Outcome, this one has me a little more than bewildered. Indulge me, for this post is dripping with sarcasm. You might want an umbrella.

Economics professor Daniel S. Hamermesh of the University of Texas at Austin is proposing another class for Affirmative Action... for ugly people. The professor has done some research and from all appearances he's got figures that prove "Ugly people" earn fewer dollars over their lifetimes than "Good Looking people." Life just isn't fair, is it?

Hey professor! When I was a kid I wanted to play in the NBA. Guess what? I'm 5 feet 11 inches and I can't shoot straight to save my life. That's not fair either.

He claims ugly people can't really change their ugliness. Therefore, in his opinion, ugly people should get affirmative action... uh... what's the term here... benefits/protections?

Seriously? How are we going to determine this? Isn't "beauty in the eye of the beholder"?

What if someone dropped a few pounds or got a different haircut, or a nose job, or dental bonding, etc? Will this take them out of the "Ugly" pool? Will plastic surgeons be put out of business because people won't get as much plastic surgery because they get better benefits being ugly? Did you ever think of that, professor? Maybe we should then give affirmative action protection to plastic surgeons to help them out too.

Will we be setting up yet another government review board so people who feel less than comfortable in their appearance can get their official "Ugly Stamp of Approval"? What kind of acronym can we come up with for this? Here's one: "BURP" Board of Ugly Review Process. Here's another: "DUPE" Department for Ugly People Equality. How about another? "BUPKIS" Bureau for Ugly Persons Kindness In Society"

Picture this. A person walks into the "BUPKIS" and says: "I want to be a protected class, because I think I'm ugly. Please label me 'Ugly'."

"Whaddya think? Is he really ugly or not?"

"Looks pretty ugly to me."

"Me too."

"Whoooooooooo Weeeeee! You're Ug-guh-ly!"

"All those in favor of deeming the person 'Ugly' say 'Aye'."

"Aye!"

"Congratulations, you're officially 'Ugly.' Here's a paper bag. Please put it on."

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much!"

What about the Fugly people? Will they get "Uber Ugly" Status?

I don't think I'm ugly, but I've "got a face for radio" and I've done pretty well, if I do say so.

To me this is utter nonsense. Our economy is on the ropes. Businesses aren't hiring because of the uncertain business environment and costly regulations and this guy Hamermesh wants to add "Ugly" into the mix. Spoken like a true professor who hasn't a clue about running a business. Maybe he does, but I doubt it if he's got time to study ugly stats.

This is an ugly idea that should get neither affirmation nor any action to further the cause.

I voiced 3 Animated Characters for this video. Can you guess which ones? (Hint: I first show up at 2:05 into the video)

Enjoy!

John

Last week I sent out an email to my newsletter subscribers and asked them to share some of their weirdest experiences, while recording or performing.

The winner of the voted best story will win a $50 Starbucks gift card, or something of equal value if you're not a coffee drinker.

I'm happy to say the stories I've received so far are great, so if you have a great recording session story, send me an email to: John@JohnMelley.com and share it with us. I'll post them and the story that receives the most votes will win the $50 Starbucks gift card, or something of equal value if you're not a coffee drinker.

Read On!

Hi John, good to hear from you

I specialize in audiobook narration, and a big part of my enjoyment in doing this comes from volunteering at RFB&D.  I get to read/record all sorts of books for them, from technical instruction manuals, to medical textbooks, to fiction.  Recently I had a children's book by author Jon Seizka (sp?) called "Spaceheadz".  I was having great fun with it until I got to a chapter 4 pages long of the hamster speaking.  4 WHOLE PAGES of "eeek weeeeek eeeeek eeeeeee, weee eeek"! This one got me both laughing and out of breath.  I can now add a 3rd language to my capabilities..... hamster!

Kind regards,

Ann

Hey John,

My nightmare has reoccurred a few times, recording my interviews over the phone and nothing on playback.

Flipped the wrong switch.

We’ve been caught saying some things with the mics open at the Meadowlands.

Once I called an entire race with the mic off, or they didn’t record the race, so I had to improvise over the replay.

Watched the replay show with bad edits inadvertently left in.

I’ve done spots with the wrong dates or inserted words that weren’t in the script (Freudian slip)

Ken Warkentin

Dear John,

The funniest and most embarrassing thing to ever happen to me was at a recording session in Berlin, Germany.  I was assigned to the American Forces Network and scheduled to do an interview with the incomparable Count Basie.   First of all, I was so doggone nervous meeting such a giant of a talent, and would you believe - the Count was in his
underwear in his hotel room eating peanuts from a planters bag?

He greeted me and asked me to take a seat.  In hooking up my Nagra Reel-to-Reel and plugging it into the wall socket as a safety precaution in case the battery failed I began my interview.  Half way through it, I happened to look down and notice that the mic cord was dangling.  The darn thing wasn't even connected to the recorder.  You talk about a red face. Whew!  By then Mr. Basie noticed it too and he began to laugh and laugh - then I began to laugh and laugh as tears rolled down my face.  Being the kind gentleman he was, he said don't worry sonny, we can start all over again whenever you're ready.

Ed Tooma

 

Hi John,

About 25 years ago, I had a client who sounded like a sloth on downers, but insisted that he do his own tag line.  This was many years before digital manipulation would have allowed me to time compress him, so I used an old trick I learned years before.  Several wraps of tape around the capstan increased the speed of the tape slightly, speeding up the delivery but not so much that it distorted his voice.  Judicious splicing of the resulting tape made him sound a lot less like he was on Quaaludes.  What they say about multimedia these days was always true: it's all about the workarounds.

Calvin B. Littlefield

Dear John,

Does singing the Ave Maria in church and swallowing a bug interest you?  I was singing a solo and straight out...... mouth open....bug in and gag, cough, gag! 

It was difficult to explain to the congregation what had happened, so I continued and re-grouped. Maybe that's how you all got your show-biz genes.

Elinor Melley A.K.A. “Mah!”

So send YOUR  great recording session story to: John@JohnMelley.com and share it with us. I'll post them and the story that receives the most votes will win the $50 Starbucks gift card, or something of equal value if you're not a coffee drinker.

Tuesday night I had an opportunity to meet 2 musicians I admire a great deal. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of my all time favorite band RUSH.

I'm not the type of person who is into the celebrity for the sake of the celebrity, but rather I admire a person's talents, gifts and efforts. These two guys have serious chops and they've stayed true to their music. The band rocks! As a musician I've always admired their playing ability.

I grew up playing music in bands and on my own playing the piano, clarinet and saxophone. And while I enjoy simply listening to their music, I've also studied it and picked it apart. And now I've started studying the drums. Learning how to play the drums has given me an even greater appreciation of what these guys are doing.

Meeting them gave me an opportunity to thank them in person for all the great music they've performed over the years. It's been a huge part of the "music part" of my life. It was nice to be able to do so and I think they appreciated it.

Here's a picture of me with them backstage before the show.

People ask me what I'm reading/Listening to.

I just finished listening to Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers" performed by the author himself. Interesting theory in that he believes successful people take advantage of opportunities presented to them, but that the opportunities are available to them as a result of a series of events that may not be available to everyone.

One example he gives is that most Hockey players from Canada have birthdays in the first 3 months of the year. The cut off date to enter a league is December 31st. This results in the players born in the first part of the year having at least a 9 month head start over the players born in December and therefore better developed skills which allows them to advance to higher levels in various leagues. This in turn weeds out folks born in the latter part of the year. That's how you wind up with about 60% of the players in the NHL celebrating birthdays in Jan. Feb. and March.

Who knew?

His question is: If there was another cut-off date, say June 30th in addition to the December 31st date, would you double the talent pool available for selection and give more people a shot at higher levels of training. Are the man-made cutoff dates prohibiting other talents from developing? Perhaps hockey teams would be even more competitive and reache higher levels of proficiency if there was more talent to choose from instead of one so heavily weighted by birthday.

He also explores the opportunities that Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and the founder of Sun Microsystems enjoyed that propelled them to Billionaire status.

I'm not sure I agree with all his theories, but there are some interesting questions raised.

Now I'm listening to Harry Dent, Jr.'s "The Great Depression Ahead."

This is a fascinating look at demographics, history and economic cycles. It may sound like dry stuff, but if you're a history buff in any way, you want to check this out. He does a nice job of presenting the information in an interesting way.

Based on his theories that the largest sector of the Baby Boom Generation has shifted from Consumers to Savers since their kids have grown and they need to save for retirement he contends this last recession is nothing compared to what's ahead and the stimulus package just delayed the inevitable.

He says watch for a major stock market crash later this month or by August/September this year. Yikes!

I'm also reading a book about Walt Disney's life. More later.

John

Voice over is a fun business, but keep in mind YOU are an important part of making your clients' dreams come true! Honor them by giving them your best every time.

Some thoughts.

Watch this short video, then click the link below the video for more information.

Here's the link to get the the Video: How Did You Do That DVD and FREE Sound Effects CD! Thanks!

Today after much trepidation, I opened a Twitter account. I must admit I didn't know what to expect and really did it because I felt I should in order to learn about what's going on in the world of communication.

That's what I do... and I want to stay current, as best as I can.

I had to figure out what all the Twitter Terms meant. Twitter has its own language. So after I set it up I sent out an email to some people in my address book and the results have been fascinating. Some of the comments have been downright laugh out loud funny!

I'm not sure I "get this" social media stuff either, but here are the results:

After 4 hours I have 8 "Followers" - which is kind of a creepy term if you ask me, but I didn't make it up.

I've received 2 job offers for voice over services - very cool.

And I received a number of messages politely declining my offer...

And I got a bunch of emails with some very funny comments pretty much along the line of "I don't Twitter and here's why." I have removed the names to protect their identities but these are fun. You've gotta read these....

Hi John –

I'm not on it I'm still trying to master the hammer and chisel!

Ok.... Here's the reply from one of my best clients:

"Hi, John:
Glad to see you're young enough to want to participate in the vapid void.
I myself see no point in it.  <On coffee break at Starbucks.>  Knew you'd want to know that.
But my daughter is a professional PR person specializing in social media for her clients.
I'm surrounded, out-gunned, and may have to give up my grumpy ways.
<BTW I like my grumpy ways>  Knew you'd want to know that too.

As for business, I need...."

Here's one from a former employer I've stayed in touch with over the years.

"Not on it and I frankly don't 'get it' everytime it is explained. Unless I have someone counting cards for me at a nearby table, planning a military maneuver, or really care so much about someone else that I need to know in real time the short highlights of their lives like—just sneezed and almost hit a squirrel—I'm not sure why I want to hear the newest happenings in anyone else's activities as it is happening.  

It is even worse when I think of someone like you---I'd get 15 different messages from the various personalities about the same event – it would be like a bad cartoon:  the anatomy of re-taping a script  as experienced real time from 15 different voices.  But hey—thanks for the invitation."

Jeepers Mister! I only work on good cartoons ;-D but here's his follow-up, perhaps feeling a twinge of remorse over the previous message:

Eric says you may be rusty at sarcastic humor and the dead squirrel will feel happier than you after my reply. So disregard everything in last email after “ I don’t do it and I don’t get it.“

Beautiful... priceless.

This one is from my Bride, The Lovely Ann. I'm comfortable sharing this because she's so openly "not into the Social Media thing."

"Oh please, I can't even text."

Thanks, Babe. Here's a polite "No"

Thanks John, but if you don't mind I'll stick to your johnmelley.com
blog page.  I have friends that want me on Twitter, Facebook and
Linked In and I don't participate on any of these sites.  Hope you
understand.  Trust you had plenty of Lob-Sta while in Maine over
Memorial Day.  Lucky you!

Yeah, lucky me... did you watch this video yet? Click here to see how I spent Memorial Day Weekend.

Here's another comment:

Hi John, Never even been on it.   I'm really trying to curb all of this facebook/myspace/twitter stuff.   I'm on youtube and that alone eats up a huge chunk of my day as I make vids and watch vids.

But, I'm open to anything that can bring me some income. I think it's just a matter of so many people doing vo and it just waters down your odds if you don't have an agent.

Then I got this:

Hi John,
Glad to hear from you. We are working on a video for which I will need a voice talent. Are you interested in working with me again? It's almost a 3 minute long video... not ready yet.  If interested, I will share it with you when ready.
Cheers,
ps: I didn’t know you are in Boston. I was just visiting my brother in Weymouth and worked at the Parker House Hotel back in 2000-2001. I love Boston!

Hmmm....

Answer to his question. Yes, I'm interested in working with you again on another project. Maybe this Twitter/Facebook stuff ain't that bad afterall.