[Note:One of the advantages of the internet is paperless reading with access to vertical sites that aggregate news from around the world. You know the names: The Drudge Report, The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post among the most popular of the genre. Let me recommend your daily reading start with the best of the lot: The Business Insider. Take a look at the home page. It is run by Henry Blodget, a former Merrill Lynch Research Analyst, a very smart guy. Unlike the others, the BI has no apparent political agenda. Just interesting and worthwhile information and analysis about the spectrum of human endeavor, updated throughout the day, free of charge.]
If you haven’t seen Boston violinists Rhett Price and Josh Knowles playing their arrangement of Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble”, watch it now.
Last summer in a Conversations With Grandpa Grundy post, I explored the potential abuse of genetic testing. The post was prompted by the announcement of a new test that can identify 3,500 genetic disorders by taking a blood sample of a woman 18 weeks pregnant and a swab of saliva from the father.
The idea is this test can save a lot of physical and emotional pain and suffering on the part of the child and family, not to mention a financial burden on the parents and society relative to serious disorders like autism, schizophrenia and major birth defects.
Grandpa’s reaction was, “Someone’s gonna play God.”
Wise Old Guy that he is, Grandpa also offered this prediction, “If we can select out genetic disorders, only a matter of time before we start selecting for genetic advantages.”
Unlikely, you say? Hardly. We are controlling creatures.
Yesterday, Japanese scientists announced the successful reproduction of 26 generations from a single mouse. It’s called iterative recloning.
“…Reliable methods for cloning over an extended number of generations could be a boon to farmers who have, for example, a cow that produces a lot of milk, or an animal that is expected to produce particularly high-quality meat…Natural breeding does not guarantee that an animal’s offspring will have the same qualities, but a clone is an exact copy…Overall, the cloned mice have normal biological features, including normal longevity and reproductive capability…”
It’s one thing to clone designer livestock, a cherished pet, or a rare organism for its medical benefits, but why stop there? Why not design and breed cloned humans to perform certain tasks for the general population? What tasks, you ask? Use your imagination (read David Mitchel’s novel, Cloud Atlas, Chapter 5, and his concept of fabricants; a variation on the theme).
Given the technology, will future society and its governing ethics be able to resist this possibility and rise above our innate desire to dominate nature? Maybe.
Fact is, we cannot resist the urge to dominate our fellow humans. Human clones wouldn’t stand a chance. We would design them to be docile and dumb and subject to our commands.
One thing is for sure. Grandpa Grundy won’t be around to find out.
London is a great city. See it like you’ve never seen it before, thanks to the team at 360cities.net
View and explore the 80-gigapixel panoramic photo, made from 7886 individual images, later stitched together to create one remarkable interactive cityscape. The panorama was shot from the top of the Centre Point building in central London, in the summer of 2010.
Zoom in! Zoom out! Go North, South, East and West! You gotta see this! Click the link below. To control the image, use the controls on the screen or click and hold your mouse button on the photo, and move your mouse around. To zoom in and out, use your mouse wheel, or the “Shift” and “Control” keys. Be sure to zoom in all the way to see the full detail of the photo!
The sacrifice of the few on behalf of the many. So it has been, and so it is today.
We can never repay our nation debt to the men and women of our military services and to their families, especially those who served overseas and in combat. We can celebrate their return home and support their transition back to civilian life.
Hat tip to Chrysler and Jeep for producing this commercial for all Americans. It premiered during yesterday’s Super Bowl.
While there is always something special about drawing natural red hair, in this case my goal was also to capture the serenity I saw in the lovely face. This portrait was drawn from reference photos. Used Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils; the 1400/640 for the drawing, with white highlights, and in combination with 1400/645 and 1400/670 for the red hair.
11″ x 14″ pastel pencil on Strathmore Series 400 toned paper – from photo
This portrait was drawn from reference photos. I changed the sight line of the model completely and her head tilt slightly to better capture her wistful nature without compromising her beauty. It was my first opportunity to draw a female with a full head of real red hair. Used Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils; the 1400/645 for the drawing, with white highlights, and in combination with 1400/655 for the red hair.
11″ x 14″ pastel pencil on Strathmore Series 400 toned paper – from photo
“Can’t have a new year without resolutions, boy. Been doing it every year all my adult life.”
“How do you decide on a resolution?”
“I practice the four R’s.”
“Which are?”
“The four R’s, boy. The four R’s. I just told you.”
“No, Grandpa. What are the four R’s?”
“That’s a different question.”
“You gonna answer?”
“Reflect. Renew. Replace. Resolve.”
“Care to explain?”
“Reflect on what you been doin.’ Decide on what you want to keep doin’ and what you want to stop doin’. Then make your resolutions accordingly and get on with the doin’ part.”
“Bet you made a lot of resolutions over a lifetime, Grandpa.”
“Yep.”
“Break any?”
“Yep.”
“For example?”
“Ain’t sayin’.”
“Embarrassed?”
“Nope.”
“Why not, then?”
“Cause I’m about to practice another R. It’s one of my New Year’s resolutions.”
This sketch was made using a Stabilo CarbOthello 1400/625 pastel pencil, with white highlights. The Strathmore Series 400 paper is smooth without any tooth. It does not hold charcoal well and smudges easily. It is better suited to graphite or pastel pencil, in my opinion.
11″ x 14″ pastel pencil on Strathmore 400 series toned paper – from photo
Television has a way of marking holidays, and Christmas makes for the biggest mark of all. Here’s my favorite from A Charlie Brown Christmas, a repost.
Take 8 minutes from your busy life and put a smile on your face:
(Note: Isn’t it interesting how only a few decades ago, Charles Schulz was able to be so politically incorrect, much to our delight. Makes me wish for the good old days when we took other things more seriously than ourselves…)
Life is all about change. You give up golf. You take up drawing.
Yep, drawing. Voice Over Actor Aspiring enrolled in a Portrait Drawing class last fall. My golf game was in decline; I needed a new pastime. A year later, I have completed three portrait courses and two figure drawing classes. I also attend a couple open drawing sessions most weeks. Beginning to see some improvement in my skills. It takes practice, and even after hours of regular work over the past year, most of my drawings fail.
Drawing is a lot like my former passion. A beginner golfer makes lots of big numbers, double and triple bogies. Then, all goes right during one round and he scores a birdie and a few pars. The novice gets a taste of how golf is meant to be played, and it motivates him to keep practicing the skills needed to be proficient. The drawing below went well; call it a birdie.
Like playing golf, drawing is a journey with no final destination because you can’t ever be too good at it.
This portrait was done at an open session with a live model over three hours.
9 x 12 pastel pencil on Strathmore 500 series toned paper – from life
HuffPo featured composer Eric Whitacre in an article about his Global Choirs, made possible through YouTube uploads from singers around the world, all cleaned and edited into magnificent recordings.
As access to each other becomes easier, more innovative people like Eric Whitacre will collaborate through connected networks to create something new for the benefit of people all over the planet.
Here is the third and most recent recording, 3746 videos uploaded and mixed from 73 countries. Enjoy.
Note: Conversations With Grandpa Grundy are fictional and do not depict any actual person or event.
♥
“We will never forget.”
“Anyone born in the 21st century can’t remember, Grandpa.“
“We will show them.”
“But what about future generations who cannot remember? Today is a national day of mourning and remembrance for us. What will 9/11 be for them?”
“It will be a national day of vigilance and a reminder the world is a dangerous place, son.”
“Yes, I suppose.”
“We will never forget.”
“No, we won’t, Grandpa.”
“God bless us.”
“God bless them.”
“God bless us all, son.”
Note:
In time, this war will end. But our remembrance never will. All around this beautiful city are statues of our heroes, memorials, museums and archives that preserve our national experience, our achievements and our failures, our defeats and our victories.
This republic is young, but its memory is long. Now, we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It’s a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only of loss and mourning. It’s also a memory of bravery and self-sacrifice, and the love that lays down its life for a friend — even a friend whose name it never knew.
President George W. Bush, address on the three month commemoration of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, December 11, 2001.
Note: Conversations With Grandpa Grundy are fictional and do not depict any actual person or event.
♥
“Worse this year.”
“What’s that, son?”
“Political ads. Seems every four years we get bombarded with lies and distortions.”
“Yep.”
“And, the funny part is we are donating the money to pay for the ads to lie and distort one another!”
“Is confoundin’, yep.”
“It doesn’t bother you, Grandpa?”
“Nope.”
“How come?
“It’s the nature of the thing, son. Political campaigns is a contest and a contest always has somethin’ at stake for the winner and the loser. For some politicians that means doin’ whatever is necessary to win and not lose, the least of which is lyin’ and distortin’. “
“But, it’s gotten way out of hand this year. Some of these ads are outright lies repeated over and over again.”
“Yep.”
“What do they take us for, a country full of fools?”
“Some.”
“Meaning?”
“Some folks among us are fool enough to believe ‘em.”
“Hey, wasn’t it Lincoln who said, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.” ?
Note: Conversations With Grandpa Grundy are fictional and do not depict any actual person or event.
♥
“I’m worried, Grandpa.”
“What about, boy?”
“The country seems like it’s going to pieces. Unemployment is higher, the debt is higher, my grocery bill is higher. Only thing lower is my 401K and my morale.”
“Those can be worrisome, will give you that.”
“Wall Street financial crisis, Penn St. football scandal, Aurora shooting massacre. Every day brings a new sign we are in trouble.”
“Seems that way, it does.”
“You’re not worried, Grandpa?”
“Not so much.”
“How come?”
“Cause if you’re livin’, you are in a regular state of trouble. Think of it as a kind of dual citizenship. Trouble and whatever place you are residin’ at.”
“Real funny, Grandpa.”
Not funnin’ you, boy. Life is chaos. Life is turbulent. Life is inconvenient. Life is mean. Life is stressful. Life is precarious. It only seems otherwise – safe and easy and organized – when we humans apply civility and cooperation and order to the mix.”
“That’s not true, Grandpa. Life isn’t always trouble.”
“Ahh, and so you hit upon a Principle of the Universe.”
“What’s that, Grandpa?”
“Time is like the tides. It ain’t high tide or it ain’t low tide all the time. Good times come and good times go. And, so do bad times”
“Then, why do I feel so worried?”
“Simple reason, boy. ‘Cause you got no faith. And, when you got no faith, you got no trust.”
“What am I supposed to have faith and trust in, Grandpa?”
Note: Wrote this post last year. With our present day disassembled nationalism and polarized politics, it seems more relevant today than ever. We are so fortunate to live in the USA, blessed are we.
***
In this age of instant communication, where anyone with access to technology can spread an opinion around the world, it is global sport to malign the USA for its flaws. We are a big target made all the easier to hit by the hijinks of some of our elites.
So, on this Independence Day weekend, it is refreshing to be reminded of the unique greatness of our country, its values, its promise, its diverse citizenry, and their many contributions to the world.
Enter John Stossel, the Fox Television reporter known for his investigative journalism and his libertarian approach to news and cultural commentary.
Watch his special, aired last evening, “What’s Great About America” now. Well worth the 45 minutes (it is preceded by 30 seconds of ads, and the remainder of the show is uninterrupted).
Celebrate this Fourth of July by taking a moment to forward John Stossel’s opinion about America to a friend or two who might need to be reminded of how blessed are we to call this place home.
Note: Conversations With Grandpa Grundy are fictional and do not depict any actual person or event.
♥
“Heard about the new genetic test, son?”
“Which?”
“For unborn babies.”
“No.”
“It can identify 3,500 genetic disorders by taking a blood sample of a woman 18 weeks pregnant and a swab of saliva from the father.”
“Wow. So, expectant parents can identify autism or schizophrenia before the birth of their child?”
“Yep. And 3,498 other disorders.”
“It’s a brave new world, Grandpa.”
“Damn lucky for us we’re already in it.”
“How’s that?”
“Another decade or so, not sure I’d make it to my 18 Week Birthday.”
“Come on, Grandpa. This test can save a lot of physical and emotional pain and suffering on the part of the child and family, not to mention a financial burden on the parents and society.”
“Yep. Of course, why stop there?”
“What do you mean?”
“Survival of the fittest, boy. If we can select out genetic disorders, only a matter of time before we start selecting for genetic advantages.”
“Why is that bad?”
“Ain’t, if you want a world full of perfect bodies with pretty faces and high IQs.”
“The parents still decide, right?”
“For now. In the future, who knows? Here’s what I do know for sure, though.”
Note: The below post was published two years ago on Kentucky Derby day, so the picks are moot.Never fear. For you thoroughbred racing enthusiasts, you will find a link to the great Andrew Beyer’s analysis of the 2012 field.
***
It’s Derby Day.
Mint juleps, big hats, and My Old Kentucky Home.
Americana.
When Voice Actor, Aspiring was an undergraduate, a gambling-crazed bartender at the local college dive tried to talk me into becoming a jockey. Just because I rode a few stable horses in high school, mucked a few stables in exchange for rides, and loved to hang on the rail at the track. Luckily, I was too big (come to think about it, I did ride a thoroughbred stallion one time in my life. Fresh from the track to the farm. Let’s just say it was an uncontrolled experience).
Churchill Downs hired Mark Johnson, an Englishman, as the new track announcer last year. Announcing is real-time voice over. You speak what you observe on the fly. It is in-the-moment performance art without edits. Like the horses and jockeys who ride in the Derby today. There are no do overs.
He got to call the great upset by Mind That Bird in his first Derby. Unfortunately, Mr. Johnson failed to notice the surprise winner until midway down the stretch. He missed the move up from the back of the pack entirely. Ooops.
The late Luke Krytebosch must have rolled over in his grave.
Today, my money is on Ice Box. If the track is muddy, Noble’s Promise.
Tune to NBC at 6:24PM to hear Mark Johnson say.…………..Annnnnnnnnnd…They’re off!
***
2012 Update: Visit the official Kentucky Derby sitehere(be sure to check out the hats!). Read Andrew Beyer’s Analysis of the 2012 Fieldhere. Me?This reformed rail bird likes Alpha, the 11 horse, at 15-1.Whoever you pick and whatever your bet, good luck!
This blog features short works of fiction on occasion. Below is one.
I needed to go into the city. It was important.
Just bad luck my car wasn’t running right. I dropped it off at my mechanic’s garage in town. Told him the engine was knocking. Said I hoped it wasn’t a big problem because the car wasn’t worth a big repair. I didn’t tell him there was no money to pay a big bill.
He told me he’d give a listen and check it out.
“It might mean something and it might not,” he said. “Cars are like people. Some days they sound better than others.”
“Welcome to my world,” I replied.
ii
Took twenty minutes to walk to the train station. Bought a round trip ticket from the Station Master and waited on the platform for the train. Nearby, a group of preschoolers was snaking along in a semi-organized row. Several women were on patrol, herding back the strays, and keeping the line mostly intact and away from the tracks. The children’s excitement was palpable, marked by a chorus of squeals and laughter in the high pitch of kids without a care. The women shouted at each other nervously. I was excited and anxious, too, but there was enough noise in the air. I kept mine to myself.
iii
The ride into the city was an hour. Gave me plenty of time to reflect on my last studio audition.
It was a narration job for a religious group. The script was an orison found on Saint Patrick’s breastplate. Legend has it he wrote the prayer before participating in an epic Easter Sunday battle between the Catholic Faithful and Druid Pagans in ancient Ireland. It is a long prayer; I was asked to read one part:
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
That was two weeks ago. Thought I was out of the running for the job. This morning the producer called and asked me to come to the city and read again, for the client this time.
iv
Stepping into the sound booth and closing the door, I could feel the armor of silence encase me. I put on the headphones, lay the script on the sheet holder, leaned into the mike, and said, “Test, test, test.” After the technician got the sound levels he wanted, the director signaled me. I took a minute to read the prayer one last time, saying the words aloud in my head.
“Whenever you’re ready,” he said.
I read the script.
From the booth, I could see the client say something to the crew. The sound technician opened his mike.
“Nice, nice,” the director said. “Now, this time give me more earnest, more purposeful. Like you are really praying for something.”
I laughed and reminded myself it’s called voice acting, though his instruction required no rehearsal.
It is October 29 and snowing in New Jersey. Used to snow occasionally in late October when I was a kid in Buffalo, but never in the 22 years I have lived in New Jersey. To mark this unusual event, below is a repost of a January 2010 entry about snowflakes.
==============================
Came across an interesting story, The Art of the Snowflake, by Jaimie Etkin at The Daily Beast. It describes the work of Wilson Bentley who was the first to photograph a single snowflake. No small feat for a 19 year old self-trained photograper in 1885. He made it his life’s work.
“Every snowflake has an infinite beauty which is enhanced by knowledge that the investigator will, in all probability, never find another exactly like it,” Bentley wrote in Popular Mechanics of his infatuation.
Just now in the middle of doing a voice over job for a well-known major firm. Like most VO gigs, this started with an audition. Producer asked voice talent to submit a portion of the 3-4 minute script. For some reason the copy spoke to me. Decided to record and submit the complete script. Nailed the audition in one take. Got the job.
As usual, when it came time to record, there were minor script changes. Then, the client wanted a fresh tone in the reads. Several recordings later, every recording is different. Even when the script is set, a new reading has its own special sound. Each recording has its own character and charm. It is one of a kind. Unique.
Excerpt from Steve Jobs commencement speech at Stanford University, June 2005:
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart…
…No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
By now you have read about the crisis in Springfield, USA. Fox Television says it can’t continue to produce its long-running animated hit series, The Simpsons, under the current cost model. It wants the cast to take a big pay cut, reportedly 45%.
The Simpsons franchise generates hundreds of millions in profits annually. But not enough, apparently. Seems the producers want to squeeze more profit out of Homer and his gang, and the cast wants a piece of the action.
First run syndication. Reruns. Merchandise. DVD sales. Video games. Feature Films. The Simpsons is a cash cow with many teats.
Voice actors narrating main characters Homer (Dan Castellaneta), Marge (Julie Kavner), Bart (Nancy Cartwright) and Lisa (Yeardley Smith) currently earn about $8 million each per season. The cast tried to negotiate a 30 percent pay cut in return for a portion of the show’s profits.
No deal. No surprise.
Nothing is ever simple with Homer and this situation is no exception. News Corp, Fox Television, 20th Century Fox Television. License fees. Rerun arrangements. Declining viewership. It’s complicated. But in the end it’s all about money. The producers want more. Fox Television wants more. The cast wants more.
Perfect metaphor for our times. Whatever it is, it is never enough. Wall Street profits. Campaign funds. Government handouts. Facebook friends. You get the idea. We are a needy bunch.
In what will be either the season finale or the series finale airing next year, look for art to imitate life with some reference to a labor dispute. The writers won’t be able to resist the storyline. And who better to voice the demands of the Aggrieved and Greedy Everyman?
Homer Simpson is a caricature of the Inner Pea Brain that operates on occasion within each of us.
Just returned from a week at Keuka Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. Crooked Lake, locals call it.
Big house on the water. Big porch on the house. Big dining table on the porch. Big group of family and friends at the dining table. Big bowls of spaghetti and meatballs. Hamburgers and hot dogs. Sweet corn on the cob. Big appetites.
Circle of chairs at the edge of the lake. Campfire inside the circle. Marshmallows on sticks above the campfire. Lots of stories and laughs under a blanket of stars.
Dock on the water. Pontoon boat at the dock. Fishermen and women on the boat. Trolling. Jigging. Drifting. Lures. Worms. Minnows. Crayfish. Hooking. Catching. Releasing. Yellow Perch. Sunfish. Rock Bass. Smallmouth Bass. Lots of fun on light tackle.
Walking. Swimming. Canoeing. Boating. Napping in the hammock. Winery tours. Quaint restaurant fare. Local dairy visit for homemade ice cream and sugar cones making for mile-wide sticky smiles.
Before bed, a cigar in a lakeside Adirondack chair, sated.
Watching the sunset and listening to the gentle lap against the shore, filled with gratitude for all my blessings, a summer season ends, perfectly.
In this age of instant communication, where anyone with access to technology can spread an opinion around the world, it is global sport to malign the USA for its flaws. We are a big target made all the easier to hit by the hijinks of some of our elites.
So, on this Independence Day weekend, it is refreshing to be reminded of the unique greatness of our country, its values, its promise, its diverse citizenry, and their many contributions to the world.
Enter John Stossel, the Fox Television reporter known for his investigative journalism and his libertarian approach to news and cultural commentary.
Watch his special, aired last evening, “What’s Great About America” now. Well worth the 45 minutes (it is preceded by 30 seconds of ads, and the remainder of the show is uninterrupted).
Celebrate this Fourth of July by taking a moment to forward John Stossel’s opinion about America to a friend or two who might need to be reminded of how blessed are we to call this place home.
We gave Bill Clinton a pass. And Barney Frank. And Charles Rangel. And so many others. It stands to reason Anthony Weiner believes he deserves a pass as well. Unlike some who resign voluntarily, add his name to the long list of politicians who insist on remaining in office after public notice of personal misconduct. Narcissism is a common denominator.
Truth is, we allow these men to stay in office. In not so distant bygone times they would have been shamed away like the others instead of remaining in positions of public trust.
Self-preservation is a powerful motive. But let Mr. Weiner be forgiven and tell him be gone to get the help he needs to heal.
Is it any wonder the headlines scream of a culture gone astray? We are losing our collective virtue. But our national press is too busy investigating Sarah Palin’s emails or ridiculing family values on cable television talk shows to find the time to pursue real social stories. Stories that have consequences for all of us, young and old, rich and poor, of every race and every creed.
Stories like exactly when did self-love begin trumping personal virtue? And who are the citizens among us that behave the values we desire to promote?
Where are our leaders? Our leaders in politics, business, media, religion, and education? Too worried about political correctness to speak out? Too concerned about the ACLU to stand up and confront difficult issues? Too focused on their own good rather than the greater good?
We need to start a dialogue in classrooms, in boardrooms, and in living rooms, to rediscover and reclaim our national virtue in schools, businesses, and government. We need to lead by example and promote leaders of our groups who lead us by their example. And when we make a mistake, let us be forgiven and let us fix it.
The Climb of Life has a steep rise. It requires a solid foundation and sure footing to move ahead and avoid the fall. There is an abyss at the bottom of the slope.
At its core, war is loss. Ask any family whose loved one fought overseas and either didn’t return home or returned home with less than a healthy mind, body, or soul.
With antiseptic images presented to us from the war-torn Middle East over the past decade, we can only imagine the horror of war in the safety of our living room. But nearly 150 years ago, America experienced firsthand the death and destruction of war within many of its own cities, towns, and fields.
Yesterday, on the day each year we honor the memories of our war dead, the History Channel premiered its ground-breaking documentary, Gettysburg.
As a young boy, can remember digging for Civil War bullets with my Dad around our home in Sandston, Virginia before it was illegal. It was called the War of Northern Aggression by many in Virginia back then, even nearly a century after the fact. Time heals all wounds, we know.
If you missed the premiere of Gettysburg last night on the History Channel, you can view it on June 2 at 9PM.
If you didn’t see this at The Daily Beast, do watch it now. Time-lapse of the Milky Way shot from El Teide, Spain’s highest mountain, by Terje Sorgjerd. No voice over needed.
What a wondrous world we live on; what a wondrous galaxy we live in.
What would you give to live 1000 years in the future and journey among these stars?
I say, I say, got to give a hat tip to Geico for bringing back another childhood favorite Looney Tunes character in its latest ad campaign.
Foghorn J. Leghorn, voiced originally by the legendary Mel Blanc, and in this ad by voice actor Jeff Bennett. As a bonus, we get a cameo appearance by Henry Hawk as an unhappy Director.
“Son, I say, I say, ain’t no bird mo’ common than da Unhappy Directa. Dat’s a joke, son, I say, dat’s a joke.” :- )
Today also marks the fifth anniversary of Twitter.
Granted, Twitter greases communication. So does texting. But there’s a problem: you hardly need language skills to tweet or text. Follow a couple of the adolescent icons like Snooki or Snoop Dogg for a day or two to understand.
For all the power of the Digital Age, it is contributing to power failure. Ask any high school teacher and they will tell you reading and writing skills are experiencing a major blackout in Teenville. Grammar. Punctuation. Spelling. The whole grid is down.
If you have kids and worry they won’t acquire the language skills to express themselves in anything more than a tweet or a text, you are not alone. Corporations are sending recent college graduates to remedial English classes. It is a generational crisis.
Some think we should teach to the task. Err, text. Call it the if you can’t beat ‘em, lead ‘em approach.
Fact is, language is a living art and changes over time like all living things. But truth is, if you can’t read, write, and speak basic English with a decent vocabulary, you are doomed to operate somewhere outside the sphere of influence and mastery of life in America. Doesn’t matter if you are a politician or a plumber, you are disadvantaged. Celebrities aside, of course.
So, how can you increase the odds your kids don’t end up birdbrains tweeting their way through school and ending up incapable of creating a usable resume or writing a respectable letter?
Don’t depend on our schools.
Take parental responsibility for making sure your kids develop English skills. Start early at home. Read to them. Ask them to write for you. Start with a sentence. Then a paragraph. Work towards a story. About the first day of Spring. About what they did today. Or what they want to do tomorrow. Edit and correct their work. You can nurture their dreams while you’re at it.
And, invest in their future.
Buy each kid a dictionary. A real one; for their backpack. Show them how to use it and teach them a new word every day. Ask them to teach you a new word every day and fake your delight if you already know it. Here’s a word of the day idea: quidnuck. As in, “Son, don’t be a quidnuck. Look up the word!”
Ooops. Exceeded 140 characters. Will end with two words of wisdom and some texting shorthand:
Our world gets mighty small when natural disaster strikes. The internet speeds images of devastation and makes us all observers of the real-time destruction. The global economy interconnects markets and makes us all participants in the financial after effects.
Looking at the markets trading in the US and abroad, the downdraft in prices reflects not so much panic as it does uncertainty about how the Japanese nuclear plant explosions and the attendant economic damage will impact companies worldwide.
The markets will recover. Japan will rebuild. In the meantime, the people touched by the tragedy need our prayers and help.
Here are a few groups that can use your support to fund their relief work in Japan. Just made a donation to AmeriCares. Pick a group to support. It’s easy. It’s needed.
Celebrate a birthday next week. Wow! So soon? Ah, me.
If life were like a round of golf, to use a simile, my new age puts me somewhere on the 14th fairway. Like previous birthdays on the Back Nine, I am compelled to reflect upon my play in the Round of Life so far.
To reflect is to look back. You act as an observer of the past to better guide your approaching choices.
A quick review of the hypothetical scorecard might show a birdie or two, plenty of pars, a few bogeys, and a couple double bogeys, at least. Let’s say I have played enough holes to groove my swing, but have enough holes left to still improve my score. And although the clubhouse is not quite in sight, I am aware it is just ahead.
Can remember learning how to visualize “looking back” through a birthday present my parents gave me, Jon Gnagy’s Learn To Draw Kit. Couldn’t have been more than 10 years old, or just a couple holes into my Round of Life.
Mr. Gnagy introduced me to the concept of perspective. Watch him demonstrate two-point perspective in creating a Grist Mill scene in less than 10 minutes.
Looking back, must have drawn that Grist Mill a hundred times as a kid, wanting to learn how to create a satisfying still life on paper. With practice, I did. And with plenty of trial and error as an adult, I also learned to apply the concept of perspective to create a satisfying life in the real world as well.
Perspective transcends drawing. It is a life skill, assigning proportion to the events of the past in order to allow a realistic sense of the present, and perhaps shape our acts in the future. Perspective informs us that in pursuit of a rewarding life, looking back is a prerequisite to moving forward confidently.
So, where does that leave me as I ponder my next shot into the 14th green in my Round of Life?
As every shot in golf counts, every day in life is dear. Applying perspective to this late stage in my Round, I am mindful the shots and days ahead are still new and full of possibilities, only just dearer now.
This week a supercomputer is competing against past Jeopardy! champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter in an exhibition match. After the first day of a three day competition, IBM’s Watson is tied with Rutter at $5,000 and is $3,000 ahead of Jennings.
Too bad Watson sounds so flat. Just no vocal jazz or expression at all. Note to IBM: hire a voice actor and give the box of bolts a personality.
But I digress.
What interests me is the steady acceleration of computer technology and artificial intelligence. It is akin to the evolution of a species, only millennia faster.
Already, scientists are genetically altering crops like corn, soybean, and cotton; and scientists breed goats that produce spider silk. Ethics aside, how long before human genetics are manipulated to produce high IQ kids? For the moment, it is only the stuff of novels, and though Robin Cook warned of the dangers in his bestseller, Mutation, it may be Homo sapiens next survival strategy.
Like it or not, the genetic engineering genie is out of the bottle, and maybe not a century too soon. Listening to Watson and his progeny issuing two-note monotone orders would be a kind of lifelong purgatory on earth, causing the true believers among us to pray for an early salvation, playing right into the hands of the bloodless contraptions.
Lord, help us. While You’re at it, appears Rutter and Jennings may need some help soon, too.
Update: Night Two of the IBM Challenge ended with Watson at $35,734, Brad Rutter at $10,400, and Ken Jennings at $4,800.
Update: In the finale, Watson racked up total winnings of $77,147, crushing Jennings $24,000 total and Rutter’s $21,600 score. We’ve seen the future, and it is Watson.
Forgive me for regurgitating the news, but I’m fairly confident the target audience will not have seen this item, so you can share it with any young person in your proximity. Consider it a public service.
The Today Show aired a piece this morning on a growing teen fad called car surfing. CBS did a segment last fall on the same trend.
Car surfing isn’t the only dangerous act kids might be tempted to try. Take a stroll through YouTube and get a gander at some of the other stunningly stupid things kids have done. Notoriety among ones peers is powerful stuff, not to mention the number of YouTube views and a chance to go viral.
Why are adolescents and young adults inclined to take bad risks and make bad choices? Seems it is triggered by peer pressure and has to do with brain chemistry. So says Dr. Laurence Steinberg, one of the authors of a study at Temple University. Read about it here in today’s NYTimes.
If you have teens, suggest they watch the two minute CBS video above. Gently point out the laws of physics apply to adolescents, too. All injuries hurt. Some consequences are permanent. Tell them to close their eyes. Ask them to imagine living fifty or sixty years in a wheelchair. Ask them to imagine living a lifetime with a brain injury.
Also, you might ask them to read about the jail sentence handed down to the driver who killed his friend in a Jackass-like stunt.
They will tell you they are not like that tattooed dope. Maybe not. But you can assure them somewhere at this very moment there is a good kid doing something stupid and reckless simply to impress somebody.
As Dr. Steinberg and his colleagues inform us, peer pressure is very close friends with our inner dumbass.
You can end your meeting with some especially effective advice: tell them if you ever find yourself being pressured by your peers to do something stupid and reckless, dig deep and find your courage.
Then, just say no.
Note: The upswing in car surfing is attributed to the Jackass movies produced by MTV featuring people performing dangerous and often self-injuring stunts and pranks. Despite warnings and disclaimers, several deaths and serious injuries have occurred to teens inspired by the movies and earlier MTV television show.
Looking outside my window this morning, think fictional Pittsburgh TV weatherman Phil Connors, portrayed by the inimitable Bill Murray, has the better prediction.
Okay, maybe he was talking about more than the weather. Maybe Phil Connors was just feeling a little cold and gray himself that Groundhog Day. Monotony will do that to you.
But this Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil got it wrong. Surely this winter will last longer than six weeks. Surely the fur ball is punking us all with false hope for an early Spring.
So, perhaps it’s time for a replacement up in Punxsutawney, PA. Perhaps Phil Connors was right.
Every farmer knows good seed can yield a bad crop. A good crop requires nourishment. Good seed needs tending.
This week MTV premiered its new drama series, Skins, modeled after a British series by the same name.
The show follows a group of misfit teens, and explores issues confronting middle adolescents related to drugs, sex, relationship and family issues. Its actors are as young as 15 years old; high school students; amateurs. The premiere attracted 3.3 million viewers primarily in the 12-34 demographic.
Here is the trailer:
Perplexed at the modern teenage lifestyle promoted by Hollywood?
You are not alone.
The show is widely criticized for depicting graphic sex, illegal drug use, and other inappropriate behavior, crossing the line of common community standards. It is condemned by some as portraying child pornography, in particular a future episode.
Between Jersey Shore and Skins, makes me wonder if we aren’t losing our way as adults along with losing a generation of impressionable adolescents as well, perhaps.
Not even parents can supervise what kids watch on television today. Technology makes programming accessible outside the home and far away from parental oversight. So, what is the answer?
Adult supervision starts with programming content itself. Our Hollywood decision-makers are adults. Imagine many are parents of teens. Content producers of adolescent programming can decide to act like responsible parents and adults first; as purveyors of entertainment second.
We can’t hide kids from the realities of modern culture, nor should we. But we can promote the future opportunities and rewards the world can offer to an adolescent life spent in better preparation to reap them. We can produce programming that does not glamorize bad choices. We can produce Hollywood content with examples of more successful adolescent lifestyles.
To paraphrase a wisdom passed down through the ages, “as we sow, so shall we reap.”
It’s time we started tending our crop.
Update: MTV is losing sponsors for Skins. Apparently there is some concern inside MTV about the future of the show. Read it here.
Life is a test. Each day brings new experiences, new challenges, and new problems to solve.
It takes schooling to prepare for successful living. While most instruction takes place in the classroom, there is other learning just as important as the ABC’s. Unless you get this education as a kid, you are left to learn these basics as an adult, and usually after several failures.
If you are lucky, your parents share these lessons with you. You can get this instruction from other adults as well, like teachers and mentors. Thanks to the internet, kids can also learn from some very successful people.
Take Warren Buffet, for example. This self-made billionaire created a website to teach kids the lessons he considers fundamental to success in business and life. The site was featured on AOL today.
Here’s his video on the importance of learning how to learn.
He calls his resource The Secret Millionaire’s Club. Be sure to visit and watch a few episodes, each less than five minutes in length. Sure wish I had seen these videos as an adolescent and had a chance to discuss them with a parent or mentor. Would have saved me several disappointing grades as a young adult in the real life School of Hard Knocks.
But Like Mr. Buffet said, we are never too old to learn. So I’m watching his lessons now. Call it my review course :- )
(Note: The voice over work is well done, in my opinion. Warren Buffet’s voice and image are a perfect match, courtesy Mother Nature.
Also notice his scripts use good grammar sprinkled with advanced vocabulary words, teaching by example the lesson that if you want to succeed in life, you need to speak intelligently. So, be sure to share this site with young people you care about in your world, and offer to discuss the lessons with them.)
As a boy growing up in the suburbs of Buffalo, I played ice hockey. First as a squirt on backyard ice laid down with a garden hose by someone’s Dad, then as a pee wee on a natural ice rink maintained by the local park employees, finally as an adolescent on the town artificial ice arena built for organized youth hockey. We learned to skate outside, play the game outside, competing mostly at night under the lights. It is the same way professional NHL players learned the game as kids, whether in Canada, the USA, Russia, Sweden or any other place in the world.
Every year on New Year’s Day, the National Hockey League celebrates its roots with the Winter Classic, a game played between two elite NHL teams at an outdoor arena in the host city. This year the game was played before 69,000 fans at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Stadium between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals.
As a prelude to the contest, HBO produced a four-part documentary narrated by the incomparable Liev Schreiber. With an informed, observant and resonant voice, his powerful performance perfectly accompanies the film without overwhelming the viewing experience. It is splendid voice over work and terrific television.
Here is the HBO Preview. Even if you don’t have the time or interest to watch it all, watch a few minutes. You won’t be disappointed. And, if you grew up with hockey, you will be transported back in time. Enjoy.
As a Washington Capitals season ticket holder for ten years in the 80′s, two seats, center ice, row 26, on the aisle, I watched many games between the Pens and the Caps. The players have changed but the rivalry persists. It was a pleasure to watch the HBO series and the Winter Classic.
Here is the first hour long episode.
And, here is a two minute highlight film of the Winter Classic, played in the rain on the first night of this new year. If you ever played hockey or you are an informed fan, you will appreciate the “give and go” at 1:40 of the video. This classic play results in a goal and a hockey tradition: a celebration on ice.
You may have seen this video yesterday. It went viral after appearing in the NY Post and making the evening news in most broadcast markets.
What a voice. What a gift. What a waste. Voice talent Ted Williams reduced to panhandling.
But my guess is this fella never lost his faith, just lost his confidence. Never lost his hope, just lost his way. Never lost his desire to be helpful, just lost his ability to be helped. Until a couple years ago when he got clean and sober.
What a triumph! Should be plenty of voice over work for a guy with his talent. Just needs a second chance.
Well, guess what? He got it.
“The Cleveland Cavaliers just offered me a full-time job and a house! A house! A house!,” repeated a stunned Williams, 71, on local radio station WNCI.
A caller to the show who said she represented the Cavs offered Williams, who shot to stardom after the local newspaper the Columbus Dispatch on Monday posted video of his perfectly-pitched panhandling, a full-time job doing voiceover work for the team and parent company and a free home in Cleveland.
Great place, America. What a wonderful example of both the resilience of the human spirit and the charity of strangers. Read about Ted Williams’s new found good fortune in the NY Post
You never know what tomorrow brings. Miracles happen every day.
Update:the NY Post later reported Ted Williams is age 53. It was further reported that Williams has entered a rehab for alcoholism and drug addiction. He admitted he had relapsed because of anxiety after receiving national notoriety and reuniting with his family. Update 2: In late January, Mr. Williams reportedly dropped out of rehab
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,400 times in 2010. That’s about 3 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 44 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 73 posts. There were 58 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 1mb. That’s about 1 pictures per week.
The busiest day of the year was March 9th with 53 views. The most popular post that day was Perspective.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were the7msnranch.com, bigextracash.com, ow.ly, blogger.com, and en.wordpress.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for seeds of imagination, tom donovan voice over, solar system birth, joan baker voice over, and birth of solar system.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
Television has a way of marking holidays, and Christmas makes for the biggest mark of all. Here’s my favorite from A Charlie Brown Christmas:
(Note: Isn’t it interesting how only a few decades ago, Charles Schulz was able to be so politically incorrect, much to our delight. Makes me wish for the good old days when we took other things more seriously than ourselves…)
One special Christmas, Santa brought my brothers and me a Lionel Train set; not many components: a small transformer, a simple oval track, a faux steam locomotive, a coal car, a few box cars, a tanker car, and a caboose. We set it up with our Dad that morning and ran the thing forever, it seemed.
Talked about a larger layout, but we never got around to it. Sports competed for our attention; adolescence beckoned with pretty girls; the big dream of a tiny world was soon forgotten.
What we had in mind, though, looked something like this…
How about that elephant, the hot air balloons, the parachutes, the sunflower field hiding the lovers, Romeo beseeching Juliet, and the monkey on the roof? Somehow the English language voiceover with a German accent works.
Good to know there were at least a few boys who kept their big dream of a tiny world alive after so many years.
With a hat tip to the film Inception, here’s a seasonal commercial masterpiece, courtesy of Coca-Cola. You might never think about Snow Globes the same way again.
Would like it better, though, if Coke had used words and employed me. So, Voiceover Actor Aspiring has no choice but to pledge his allegiance to Pepsi. Diet, of course. No calories.
Nothing personal. Just hope it doesn’t piss off Santa and he doesn’t start goofin’ with my globe :- )
Wind power drives voiceover. Air moving out of the lungs, over the vocal chords, into the mouth and past the tongue and lips. Energy expended to make sound.
What about wind power captured and transformed into a source of energy? Old idea, you say. Okay. But there is a pioneering Cornell University professor who has a new twist that may make wind power more practical.
This video, Turbine- Free Wind Power, was commissioned by the NYT Magazine as part of its 10th Annual Year In Ideas issue. Written by journalist Andrew Tolve, who does a fine voiceover job as well.
After you’ve watched the video, scroll up or down and explore the other ideas highlighted this year by the NYT Magazine. Then, go to the bottom of the page and click the 10 Year Retrospective to see the Best Idea of Each Year and some of the other selected notables.
Here is a a slide show of 50 NYC buildings that no longer exist – found on BI this morning.
an save a lot of physical and emotional pain and suffering on the part of the child and family, not to mention a financial burden on the parents and society relative to serious disorders like autism, schizophrenia and major birth defects.
