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Planting seeds, harvesting crops

Career Advice, General, People

Being a farm kid from rural Minnesota as I am originally (or as I sometimes say, you can take the Minnesota boy to North Carolina, but you can’t make him like the hot summers) I rather like planting and harvesting metaphors. Not only because they hearken back to the time of my childhood, but also because they nearly always hold more than a kernel of truth in them.

My friend Brian Haymond talks on his blog about some of the seeds he recently planted and how they bore a bumper crop for him. In so doing he demonstrates a couple of truly important principles.

The first of which is that being nice isn’t just nice, it’s good business.

And second, he demonstrates how a relatively modest gesture of gratitude on the part of Apple has turned him from not just a committed customer, but a raving fan … someone willing to shout his gratitude to them and admiration for them from the cyber-rooftops.

This is Twenty-First Century marketing. Brian’s demonstrating it and so is Apple.

What about you? Are you trying to sell or are you building relationships with people?

Scott Brick’s pain is your gain

General, People

If you’re a fan of science fiction and fantasy, the fact that Dragon*Con is going on this weekend in Atlanta is all ready on your radar screen. Scott Brick’s latest blog post notes that he had planned to be there, but can’t. So, where does the gain come in? You’ll need to read his blog post to get all the details, but the essence is that he has a $5 coupon off Brick By Brick audiobooks, but only for a week after the end of the Con.

New update on Don LaFontaine

General, People

This is the latest bit of news released today by Don’s best friend of 30+ years, Paul Pape.

Update 8/28/08. 3:23 PM.
Steady as “he” goes. Don continues to improve and stabilize. The
optimism for his recovery grows by the hour. While there is the need
for a lot of caution still, the relief and sense of hope is palpable.
He is slowly but surely making his way.

Nita and the rest of Don’s family continue to feel humbled and touched
by your support and kindness. Nita heard some of the Audio Get Well
Cards already posted this morning, as did Don’s daughter Christine and
other members of his family. They are just awestruck by your kindness.
A huge thanks should go to Rick Party, whose Voiceover Universe has
brought a sense of family to the Voiceover World in a way perhaps
never seen (or heard) before. For a business as competitive as ours,
you would not know it at this particular moment. All such notions have
been cast aside for the concern of one terrific individual. John
Taylor had the idea for the audio get well messages and what a great
idea it was. He has jumped in with both feet to assemble and edit all
the mp3’s that have been coming in and believe me, there are many that
you haven’t even heard yet…many! Feel free to keep sending them
because as far as I know, there’s no set limit on prayers and good
thoughts. John and Rick have been gathering messages from all over the
world and when Don hears them, I think he will be speechless..which
for him is a most unusual thing. Thanks also to My Business mgmt
direct, Norman Lee and, most especially, to each and every one of you
in “the Universe” and elsewhere who have taken time out of your life
to express your feelings or record a message for Don.
All the best,
Paul Pape

Keep praying. I certainly am. And if you want to send an MP3 file with your best wishes for Don, email them to me and I’ll pass them along to John Taylor.

ACTOR’S TOOL-KIT #20

Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover

Here’s another in the on-going series of posts from Bob Fraser that I’ve been featuring.

THE TRUTH ABOUT INSPIRATION

by Bob Fraser

In our little part of the business world we hear the word inspiration a lot. “His performance was inspired.” “Her voice inspired a generation.” Not to mention the claims of inspiration we lay claim to, when we relate our own successes … or once in awhile our qualified failures – which the French call “success d’estime.” (Please don’t write in about spelling, I don’t really know a lick of French.)

My humble opinion (LOL) is that there are many mistaken notions about the entire concept of inspiration and what it means to those of us who ply our trade on “the boards.”

For instance, there are those actors who don’t believe in inspiration at all. Who think that everything we do is a function of methodology, rules and plotted out behaviors. Not to put too fine a point on it … they are just wrong.

Or those of us who think that inspiration will come out of the blue, like a bolt of lightning, a falling Granny Smith, or a brilliant performance by Pauly Shore. They are also mistaken.

Most at risk are those folks who believe that inspiration is a gift from God. They are almost right – but generally use their belief as an excuse to skip over the most important part.

THE GIFT MUST BE OPENED

No matter who (and let’s not discuss the various Entities who might be the benefactor to our muse) gives us the gift of inspiration, it is important to recognize that it is a gift. And, as with all gifts, inspiration must be unwrapped, opened and used – for it to have any impact on our actual results.

Like a set of golf clubs, a food processor or an exercise bicycle, your inspiration won’t help you at all – if it’s left in the box it came in, and never used.

Here’s where many of us ‘come a cropper.’ We are often inspired to write the great American screenplay, but somehow never manage to sit down and start typing. Oh, we can tell you about our “great idea” until the cows come home – but pages are not forthcoming. Those of us who act, too, are subject to this ‘slothful’ phenomenon.

One week we are a flurry of crazed activity, doing all we can to pursue our dream of performing success. But the next week we vegetate in front of the idiot box (pick your poison … TV, Playstation, or computer), or we waste time at parties filled with other actors, like ourselves, who are doing their best to remain calm, collected and – above all – cool. Oh, we will hear a lot of “balloon juice” at these conventions, which generally never helps our forward progress an iota.

There is just no question that we all get inspired, it’s true. Almost constantly, in fact. But we, invariably, forget the dictum of Thomas Edison (who was probably not the first to say it):

“Success is 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration.”

The truth is that too many of us have a half-right, totally wrong or grotesquely twisted vision of inspiration – which is why we often expect it to do more than it’s required (and limited) 5%.

Worse, because of our less than perfect understanding of this phenomenon, called inspiration, we generally don’t even bother to find out how to use it. Believe me, inspiration must be USED – to have any value at all.

So how to use inspiration?

It’s my deeply held conviction that you must use it to encourage yourself – to convince yourself – to exhort yourself – to compel yourself – to shame yourself if necessary – into DOING the other 95%.

In other words, it’s in the DOING of the 95% where inspiration shines. DOING always results in something real, something concrete, something special, something useful – in other words, something worthwhile. Even failing at what you DO, has great lessons to impart.

If you don’t believe in inspiration at all, or you totally depend on it for forward motion, or you think that it is the “be all and end all” – then take my word for it, inspiration is as useless to you as a Christmas fruitcake from my Aunt Imelda.

My advice? Get inspired – but then get sweaty, too. It’s the only way to enjoy our precious gift.

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However, in order to comply with my copyright, you must also include the following paragraph with your reprint:

“Reprinted from ACTOR’S TOOL KIT, the email course just for subscribers of Show Biz How-To — The Free Actor’s Monthly. Get your own free subscription by going to: showbizhowto.com
Copyright © 2006 Bob Fraser Productions All Rights Reserved”

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Yet more updates on Don LaFontaine

General, People

On the Voiceover Universe, updates have been posted both yesterday and today …

OFFICIAL UPDATES FROM DON’S BEST FRIEND OF OVER 30 yrs, Paul Pape

August 27, 2008 – UPDATE 2:12 PM PST (5:12 PM EST)

He’s doing good…continuing to stabilize and improve slowly but
surely. Lots of reason to be optimistic. It’s really good to see him
making progress.

August 26, 2008 – UPDATE 5:24 PM PST (8:24 PM EST)

To all of Don’s friends in the Voice-over Community:

Don’s condition continues to stabilize. There is significant progress
and while he has quite a ways to go yet, there is every reason to keep
the faith. Many of you have expressed your feelings and chosen to
respect the privacy that Don and his family need right now. One could
ask no more of you. This show of respect is deeply appreciated by
those closest to the situation. Don and I often remark that we are
more brothers at this point than just best friends. Yet, as your
outpouring of support shows, Don has many “best friends.” He is
clearly important to us all .

Don’s wife, Nita, read every single comment that has been posted and
was truly touched and strengthened by your words and prayers. Please
see Nita’s response below. As for me, please accept a simple “thanks”
for being there for my ol’ pal.

Sincerely,

Paul Pape

————————————–

To all of you beautiful voice angels,

I am overflowing with gratitude for the responses you’ve sent on
behalf of Don and our family. I read each of your comments and tears
of joy fell with each sentence, prayer and good wish. It’s so easy to
live your life in pursuit of your dreams and not realize how you are
affecting others in a positive way; that in some way by living your
dreams you inspire others to pursue theirs. I am so honored to have
you all praying and rooting for us during this time. Don is a
warrior, larger than life, but in all this he is always slightly
amused that you find him some sort of “guru”. He never gets used to
that and lives his life with a kindness, humility, and dignity of a
“small town boy who done good”. Your kindness overwhelms me and fills
me with great peace. My husband is a great man to me not just because
of his work and the trail he’s blazed in your business, but because he
is so generous of spirit, a terrific husband and father, and the love
of my life. Thank you for being in our village of believers and
pray-ers as Don works his way back to the mic! I’ll be sure he knows
of your kindness.

Peace and blessings,

Nita
Wife of Don

I’m very glad to read these excellent updates, and continue to pray for complete and swift restoration.

Further update on Don LaFontaine

General, People

This was posted earlier today on the Voiceover Universe by Paul Pape, one of Don’s best friends …

To All Don’s Friends In The Voice-over community:

First, I want to thank you on behalf of Don’s friends and family for your outpouring of support and your prayers. For those of you that don’t know, Don is continuing to try and recover from successful treatments for an illness that he had. He has been looking forward to getting back to his regular schedule. Sometimes the treatments can be harsh and the after effects can create problems even after the initial illness itself has been beaten. These after effects are what Don is currently experiencing and they are causing problems for him. He has had a rough few days but he is currently stable and showing signs of progress with each passing hour.

Don is, for the time being at least, in the Intensive Care Unit. As a result, calls and visits are severely restricted. Flowers also cannot be sent as they are not allowed in ICUs. However, your prayers are needed and your continued good positive thoughts and wishes. Outside of that, the best thing we can all do right now is give Don and his family the space they need to get him back on his feet, which there is every reason to believe will happen. Your cooperation in this aspect would be greatly appreciated. As one of his oldest friends, I promise to bring you updates as often as I can, so that you are not left wondering.

Thanks for your understanding.

Sincerely,

Paul Pape

I would just add, please continue to pray for Don’s complete recovery. Thank you.

Radio Imaging workshop in Charlotte

Career Advice, General, People

Gabrielle Nistico, director of operations at VoiceHunter.com, was a presenter at VOICE 2008 on the subject of radio imaging. Now she’s going to offer an extended presentation on that subject in Charlotte, NC on Saturday, September 27th, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

This will be held at Charles Holloman Productions. Cost is just $350.00. Participation is limited to 10 and I’ve all ready reserved my place so if you’re interested you’ll want to quickly contact Gabrielle at 704-405-2100 or email her at gabby@voicehunter.com

Update on Don LaFontaine, keep praying

General, People

Deb Monro emailed this out just a few minutes ago. She in turn received it from Julie Williams. What follows is from Don LaFontaine.

Update from Don
I thought it was about time that I brought everybody up to speed with what’s been happening in my world.

You haven’t been hearing a lot from me lately, and that’s because I have been fairly seriously ill for the last several months.

In order to give you the complete picture, I need to go back over some material of which many of you are already aware, but this thing needs to be seen in its full context.

Last fall, I began to notice that I was having trouble catching my breath during exercise. Subsequent tests revealed a suspicious growth on my lymph nodes and left lung. This required an exploratory surgery called a Media Stenoscopy, which was performed At Cedars Sinai Hospital in late November of ’07. The biopsy ultimately proved negative for any tumor, but there was a spot on the lung that still needed to be checked. Unfortunately, sometime during the operation, one of my lungs was nicked, and I developed Pneumothorax, which basically means that the lung collapsed, releasing all the air into my upper body, causing a condition called Subcutaneous Emphysema – Which blew me up like a balloon from the ribs up to my eyebrows. This happened three times over the next six days. The “cure” for this condition is to place chest tubes and small catheters under the skin to drain off the excess air.

Unfortunately, all that air also accumulated around my vocal cords, causing me to sound like an ambassador from Munchkinland. This condition, I was told, could last for a number of weeks.

We decided to put off a Bronchoscopy to determine the status of the spot on my lung until after the new year, by which time, my breathing had become even more labored.

Again, the test failed to reveal anything more than a few “suspicious” cells – but no cancer. I had also scheduled, months before, a standard Colonoscopy, which I had in January. This revealed a growth on my colon.

Are we having fun, yet?

So – I go back to Cedars to discuss laparoscopic surgery to get rid of that growth, after first undergoing CAT and PET scans. During my consultation with the surgeon, my Oncologist came in with another doctor to tell me that I had a tumor growing under my lung and threatening to encircle my Aortic Valve to my heart.

Suddenly, the surgery was put on hold, and I was scheduled for thirty-seven sessions of intense radiation and four sessions of Chemotherapy, which stretched over the next seven weeks. This included four blood transfusions.

During this time, the effects of the Subcutaneous Emphysema had worn off, and I was able to work again.

After treatment, I was told that it was completely successful, and the growth had been completely eradicated! I was also told that the radiation therapy would continue to work in my system for a number of weeks.

Well, it did.

In rare cases – like mine – it spreads into the lungs and causes a very persistent condition called radiation pnuemonitis. This reduces the lungs capacity to about a quarter, making it almost impossible to walk ten paces without having to stop for air.

The treatment for this condition is massive doses of steroids, which balloons the face and body, and it also settles on the vocal cords in a major way, creating a good deal of gravel and hoarseness. In short – it has brought my career to a near stand-still.

Steroids can also have a major effect on one’s heart rate, and blood sugar count – each of which sent me back to Cedars on two separate occasions for four and three day stays within a week of each other. Because of the blood sugar influence, I now have a temporary form of diabetes, and need to take insulin.

This condition will pass as soon as I get the pnuemonitis under control, but it’s a balancing act between doses of steroids and insulin.

As I mentioned earlier, this lung thing is incredibly resistant, and to this date, I am still looking for some improvement.

I do work from time to time, but my voice is nowhere close to where I need it to be. Fortunately, I have incredibly faithful friends and clients who have shown me what loyalty really means by working with me, even in my diminished capacity.

I am now recovering from the recovery. When this is cleared up, I still am facing the laparoscopic stomach surgery, but that will be a cakewalk.

But the real point of all this is the Genisis of the condition. I was a smoker, on and off, for thirty years. I quit nearly twenty years ago, but that crap has a tendency to lie doggo in your system. It finally caught up with me, and as you’ve just read – it ain’t pretty. For those of you who are in the Voice Over business, and you think that smoking is adding some wonderful quality to your instrument – WAKE UP! Quit! Today! Whoever you are – if you smoke – Stop! All you are adding is garbage to your vocal cords, and a nice deep layer of tar and poison on the linings of your lungs.

I tell you all this, because I need to clear the air, because there has been a lot of speculation out there, and because it should serve as a cautionary tale. Even though the growth on my lungs has been erased, there are still a few miles to go before I’m back to 100%.

But that, I can assure you – is going to happen!

-Don

I’m praying for you Don. God bless you.

Please pray for Don LaFontaine’s health

General

Don’s wife Nita sent out the following letter yesterday, August 25, 2008 …

Dear friends and family,

I need you help and I’m reaching out to all of you. My wonderful husband is in critical condition at Cedar Sinai hospital; a blood clot is lodged in his lung and he is fighting for his life. This happened on Saturday after I’d taken him in for shortness of breath on Friday. He was doing very well and I left him talking and being funny on Friday evening. Without all the details, I got a call on Saturday morning as I was heading there to visit. There has been some lovely improvement yesterday but he is very sick right now. We need your concentrated prayers! Have your churches synagogues, temples send out prayers for Don’s healing and wellness. Light a candle, chant, whatever you do to send that loving energy and light to him, I would appreciate. And save a little for the girls and me. We have had small miracles already and if we all shout up to God collectively, I know how powerful that can be. He is fighting and we all are fighting with him. He is strong and is a warrior so I thank you in advance for your prayers, good wishes and kindness on behalf of my family.

With a hopeful heart,

Nita and family

I’m praying for Don’s full and swift recovery. I hope you’ll do the same.

Play Among the Stars with Pat Fraley

Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover, People

Pat Fraley is holding a special day of training with Ed Asner and several other top voiceover pros on Saturday, September 20, 2008 at World Famous Buzzy’s Recording in Los Angeles.

Here’s an audio recording of Pat with a quick preview.

[audio:https://bobsouer.com/pix/PlayAmongTheStars.mp3]

Details on price and registration are on Pat’s web site. I wish I could be there, but I’m all ready booked that weekend.

While you’re on Pat’s site, you can check out the rest of his schedule this fall. I see that he’s holding events not only in Los Angeles, but also Chicago, New York City, Vancouver, and Atlanta.