Comedy Always Wins
…Comedy is much more difficult than tragedy. It’s much easier to make people cry than to make them laugh.Â
Vivien Leigh
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Working
VO Coach – Ten Voice-Over Commandments
My first VO Coaching client is off and running, getting jobs and making his clients happy, Once in a while, I’ll devote a blog post to VO coaching tips. Even if you’re not in voice-over I hope these posts will lend a little insight into the VO world.
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Gossip Mongers
I was looking for some info about my first book, Celebrity Tantrums, and hit up Google. The book was published in 2003 so some of the details are fuzzy in my memory. Google never forgets. One link seemed a little strange so I investigated further and that’s how I found out about a mistake I’d made in the manuscript.
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Gigging 101
Every week, someone asks me about the freelance life. What’s it like to work for The Man all your career and then do your own thing? Lots of people are taking the plunge. Some who have been working from home since the pandemic will never go back into an office and now gig instead.. Others have seen the freedom and benefits of working for themselves. I’m no fortune teller, but I got lucky. My freelance/self-employment career began before the pandemic started. It gave me a chance to get a foothold on it before the latest spurt of growth in the gig-economy.
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Efforts, Big and Small
“Every disaster movie starts with a government official ignoring a scientist.”
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Digital Decluttering
Somehow I let my email inbox accumulate more than 10,000 emails. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to spend a few minutes every day clearing them out.
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When Older Eyes Are Smiling
Sometimes, as a typical human, I ruminate about getting older, while also trying not to do the math. You know – the math on life expectancy and that sort of thing. Getting older is the goal, so mostly I’m damn grateful to be doing it.
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Volunteering Made Easy
There came a time during the height of the pandemic that I wanted to do more. Not more work, just something for my soul. So, I pointed my browser to Charity Village and scrolled through the Volunteer Positions. I landed on an organization I’d never heard of: Student Links.
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The Pain/Pleasure Principle
People often ask me why I’m no longer on the radio and whether I miss it. Radio and I had a long love affair. I loved it and it mostly loved me back. After a long career for which I’m eternally grateful, I grew frustrated with corporate owners who didn’t care about radio. When these giant companies swallowed up smaller players, the CRTC forced them to take radio stations even though all they wanted was TV. TV – specifically flagship TV stations in Toronto – is the favourite child. Radio is an afterthought. No, I don’t miss it. I miss the people, not the culture or the work.
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Brushes Before Fame
Someone on Twitter recently asked whether anyone had seen a band or knew an actor before they became famous. Most of us radio types have had the good fortune to experience loads of those moments. But the questions took me further back, to my days of beer and bars. There were several times when I saw bands before they hit it big.
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On The Other Side of Business
It was Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. You may have had the day off. If you freelance like me, you kept your eye on the ball. Most of my clients didn’t have a long weekend.
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My (Unlikely) Replacement
All through the voice-over trade, worries are bubbling like simmering soup that artificial intelligence will replace human voices. Some in the voice-over game full-time are wringing their hands that work will dry up, AI will take over and the voice will become obsolete. I’m in the VO game full-time and I’m not worried. With a caveat.
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