The 2013 Book List

A couple of years ago, I stole an idea from a friend. He mentioned he keeps a record of all the books he reads. I thought that was a great idea.

I have an Excel sheet with the month, book number, author, and title. (I actually have a plot summary also, but I will leave that off here. Comment if you want any of the summaries.)

After doing this, I have come to appreciate how much I read. I didn't quite realize it before---and this is just the books, never mind my subscription to Discover and Museum magazines.

It is quite an eclectic list. There's a little of everything from history and biography to science fiction to children's.

So here is the book list for 2013.  Thank you for joining me this year, and see you in 2014!

Month

Book Number

Book Title

Author

January

1

Flash and Bones

Kathy Reichs

2

Lucky Man: A Memoir

Michael J Fox

February

3

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

March

4

The Casual Vacancy

JK Rowling

April

5

Catching Fire

Suzanne Collins

May

6

The Mockingjay

Suzanne Collins

7

Sincerely, Andy Rooney

Andy Rooney

8

DNA USA

Bryan Sykes

June

9

How To Create The Perfect Wife

Wendy Moore

10

Break No Bones

Kathy Reichs

July

11

Benjamin Franklin: An American

Life

Walter Isaacson

12

Gulp: Adventures on the

Alimentary Canal

Mary Roach

August

13

Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary

Sherman Morgan: America's

First Female Rocket Scientist

George G Morgan

14

Samuel Adams: A Life

Ira Stoll

September

15

Freddy the Frogcaster

Janice Dean, Illustrations by

Russ Cox

16

How We Do It: The Evolution and

Future of Human Reproduction

Robert Martin

17

A Princess of Mars

Edgar Rice Burroughs

18

The Gods of Mars

Edgar Rice Burroughs

October

19

The Warlord of Mars

Edgar Rice Burroughs

20

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Tracy Chevalier

21

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold

Story of the Women who helped

Win World War II

Denise Kiernan

November

22

William Shakespeare's Star Wars

Ian Doescher

23

The Joy of X: A Guided Tour of Math:

From One to Infinity

Steven Strogatz

24

Starfleet Academy: The Assasination

Game

Alan Gratz

25

Fatal Voyage

Kathy Reichs

December

26

1776

David McCullough

27

George Washington's Secret Six:

The Spy Ring That Saved The

American Revolution

Brian Kilmeade and Don Yeager

Diary Of A Voice-Over Artist In Training, Part 1

This is the first of an occasional series on my journey into the world of voice-over acting.


Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 7:00PM EST--A couple of weeks ago I was flipping through a brochure of adult education classes at a local high school. I came across one about how to break into voice-over acting. I've always harbored an interest in movie/TV production--I took a TV production class in high school, and had a radio show on the campus station in college--and this seems interesting.

Tonight is the class, taught by Such A Voice (SAV) founder and president Dan Levine. He went over the basic aspects of the industry and some technique. For instance, there are two basic types of voice over--commercial (i.e. advertising), and narration (Mike Rowe on Deadliest Catch). And it's amazing all the different technologies that use voice over, from audiobooks and video games to GPS systems to corporate phone systems. It certainly isn't just commercials and animation anymore.  Dan even mentioned that the voice of Apple's Siri was an early student of his.

In the second half of the class Dan has us read some practice scripts and he will assess our voices. Later tonight he will send us all emails with that assessment, and offers to have his company call us tomorrow if we want more info.


Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 11:30PM EST---I check my email before going to bed and I got one from Dan. Here's what he says:

"Bill has a friendly, honest, and informative voice...unpretentious and genuine which are both great qualities. He could do announcer spots for tech related products and services plus a wide array of spots that call for a good, solid, male announcer voice. I would encourage Bill to move forward."

Very exciting!

Friday Oct 18, 2013 9:00AM EST-- I get a call from SAV. I tell them I am interested in going forward, but I can't find any pricing info on the website. They will email me the 3 plans and we plan on talking again tomorrow.


Saturday Oct 19, 2013 11:30AM EST--I decide on the Platinum plan.  Among other things, I get fourteen 1 hour coaching sessions via Skype, some home studio equipment, and when the time comes, professional studio time to record my demo, with an original script written just for me by the SAV copywriter. 10 minutes and roughly $3500 later, our meeting is done and I'm officially a client.


Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 7:00PM EST--I've never used Skype before, and after a practice call with my sister, I'm ready tonight for my first coaching session. I've also downloaded a free audio recording program called Audacity. My coach is SAV coach/producer and voice talent in her own right Angela Castonguay out of Macon, Ga. (This is officially a national project now---I'm in Massachusetts, Angela's in Georgia, and SAV is HQ'ed in Vermont. )

Over the next 14 sessions (approx. 17 or 18 weeks because of the holidays) we will go over all aspects of voice work, from how to analyze a script to working with different emotions, pacing and tone. We will work with both narration and commercial scripts. And she will help me with tips on how to use studio equipment and set up my home studio. Over all, she will be my guide in successfully entering the business.

Your humble correspondent, doing his homework.

Tuesday,Nov 12, 2013 3:30PM EST--Arrive home from work to find a delivery from Sweetwater Music and Pro Audio. (Another state heard from...they are in Fort Wayne, Indiana) It's my home studio equipment! I got:

One set of Yamaha RH2C stereo headphones
One Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB recording interface (Pro Tools ready)
One Rode NT1-A microphone (w/ free popshield, shockmount, and XLR cable)
One Euroboom microphone stand

Looks like I have homework to do. By the way, we have gone international now--Focusrite is a British firm, and Rode is Australian.


Wednesday, December 4, 2013 7:00PM EST-- Tonight is our 5th coaching session. The lesson tonight is on breathing technique and how to read numbers. These are actually more important than it might seem. For breathing, you don't want to stop in an awkward place. I'm shown how to mark my script for natural places to breathe--it's more than simply at the end of a sentence.

In terms of numbers, you go with your instincts. For instance, if you have to read the year 2013, do you say twenty thirteen or two thousand thirteen? The natural way is twenty thirteen.

One last bit of business tonight....last week Angela told me my voice reminds her of someone, and she thinks she has figured out who......It's a younger John Ratzenberger, the guy who played Cliff Clavin (the mailman) on Cheers. I say that's great-- I like him!

Do We Really Need The Moon?

That is the title question of a 2011 hour long documentary co-produced by BBC Worldwide and Discovery. Hosted by space scientist  Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock, and using state of the art CGI effects, the film explores why the Moon is necessary, and why it is so important to our planet.
.
In the search for answers, Aderin-Pocock travels across the US, UK, and Bahamas speaking with other space scientists, chemists, astronomers, and even the police.  She investigates how the moon was formed, and what would happen to life on Earth, and Earth itself, if the Moon were closer or further away.

Aderin-Pocock has had a life long obsession with the Moon; all she's wanted to do since discovering science is to study it. This excitement really comes through.

In reality, it is amazing how much the Moon affects our lives and planet. Take the tides, for instance. The tides are because of the Moon's gravitational pull on Earth.

Think of a 10g metal weight on a scale. The scale would naturally read 10 grams. Now, hold a magnet above the weight. The scale would read less than 10 grams because of the attraction the magnet has toward the weight. Similarly, the Moon (magnet) has a gravitational pull on the Earth (weight) which makes it slightly bulge. The oceans pull toward that end, and New England has high tide. Twelve hours later, the Earth and Moon have repositioned and now London has high tide.

And this works for us, everything is fine. But what if the Moon were 20 times closer? The gravitational effect would be 400 times stronger--and New York and London would be flooded during their respective high tides.

The Moon also has an effect on the length of our day. The length of our day is directly related to the distance from the Earth to the Moon, because the Moon has a "breaking effect" on the planet--the faster the Earth spins, the shorter our day is. Right now, as you know, the day is 24 hours long. But back in the Devonian Period, the Earth spun faster, and the day was 21 1/2 hours long.

But let's say the Moon is 10% further away. What would happen then? For one thing, the Earth would tip on its side. The planet is currently tilted at a stable 23 degrees off its axis. If the Moon moved only a little further away, our 10%, the planet would become wobbly and tip right over. Sea levels would rise by as much as 60 meters. And Las Vegas would become a dark, cold, frozen wasteland in the winter; in the summer it would be extremely hot and the sun would never set.

And what do the cops have to do with any of this? Our host goes on a ride-along with the police to look into the myth that the full moon causes people to "go a little crazy". According to the film, there really isn't any evidence of this. But it did probably originate from the days before electric light--the full moon gives a brighter night sky, allowing people the chance to stay out later, and therefore have more opportunity to commit crime.(The logic makes sense to me, although I don't think criminals care what phase the moon is in.)

These are only a few of the questions answered in the film. But the bottom line is this: Do we really need the Moon? Yes. Yes, we do.

William Shakespeare's "Star Wars"

I know what you're thinking: "Dude, what the hell are you talking about?"

Don't worry, I'll explain. And I'll start with this--you never know what you'll find at the library.

On a recent trip there, I was wandering the stacks and I came across a book by Ian Doescher called William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily A New Hope. I thought, "That's interesting."

Written in iambic pentameter (IP), Doescher's book tells the story of the first* Star Wars movie in the style of a Shakespearean play. Nothing is left out, from the first scene, where the chorus takes over for the famous scroll of the movie, to the last, where the chorus wraps everything up. It's a perfect recreation, beat by beat.

The dialog is also of Shakespeare's day. As a result, there are a lot of words, such as "thou", "thee", and even "verily" itself, that aren't used in our times. Sentence structure is also a bit different, partly because IP requires a very specific pattern of syllables. If you are unfamiliar with Shakespeare and/or Star Wars, these may make it a little more difficult to read. But you can still get the idea, and be entertained.

As the story goes along, there are opportunities to really get into what characters are thinking. These are done, as the stage directions call them, with "Asides". Here, the character breaks out of the action and talks directly to the audience. One of my favorite asides actually addresses the infamous, and never-ending,  controversy of  "Who Shot First?" As Greedo lies dead, Han says, "And whether I shot first, I'll ne'er confess!"

While most of R2-D2's dialog are whoops, beeps, and other usual R2 sounds, even he gets asides in plain English, such as this one as he moves away from C3PO after landing on Tatooine. He says:

Now I shall leave his company awhile--
Belike my absence shall alleviate
His obstinate resolve, and teach him thoughts
Of kindness, care, and good humility.

Actually, all of the best asides, from the Rebel side of things, anyway, show annoyance with C3PO. There's a lot of comedy in that.

The very idea of Star Wars getting Shakespearean treatment actually makes sense. It really is a Shakespearean story. As Doescher writes in the afterward, relationships like Vader/Skywalker are very reminiscent of those in Macbeth or The Tempest; similarly, Obi-Wan brings to mind Prospero or King Hamlet (before or after death, respectively.) The same goes for the themes of destiny and fate, as in A Midsummer's Nights Dream or Romeo and Juliet.

As one who enjoys both Star Wars and Shakespeare's plays--not the sonnets, just the plays--but who is by no means an expert in either, I like this book, and the idea of it. Will and George's work are a great combination.



* Just in case there's any non-Star Wars people reading, "first" refers to the first movie produced and released. In the overall chronological story arc, this is actually the fourth movie.

Papi and Caroline

With the exceptions of the Olympics, the Boston Marathon, and whatever my sister is doing, I truly could not care less about what happens in sports. However, from a pop culture frame of mind, I do admit to a curiosity as to how the song Sweet Caroline became the "unofficial"-maybe official- theme song of the Boston Red Sox. 

The song, written and recorded by Neil Diamond in 1969, was inspired by a 1964 magazine cover which included a then-eleven year old Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy. It would eventually reach #4 on the Billboard chart, and would go on to sell millions of copies.

Zip forward 29 years to 1998 Boston. Amy Toby was Fenway Park's musical director; a big part of her job was to choose the music to play between innings at the Sox games. She chose to play Sweet Caroline because she had heard it at other sporting events, but she played it  only if the Sox were winning, and only in the later innings of the game. The fans took this as a good luck charm.

The tradition as we know it today, however, didn't start until John Henry and partners bought the Sox in 2002. At that time, Toby's new bosses requested the song be played during the eighth inning of every game, no matter what.

In the time since then, other Fenway musical directors have put their own take on the song. For instance, Megan Kaiser turned off the volume during the most well known parts of the song, as the fans know the lyrics so well, they just sing it on their own.

And so it's gone through the years. But, it seems now that the romance may be over: Caroline is out, and a new song is in--At Fenway, by Haverhill, MA native Brian Evans. As reported in this April 1st, 2013 post by the Boston Dirt Dogs, Evans' song has taken Caroline's spot in the eighth.

According to the report:

The Red Sox brass behind this effort, specifically Tom Werner and Dr. Charles Steinberg, are reportedly hoping fans sing this part of the chorus aloud: "Gonna spend the day, over at Fenway. Gonna see them hit that ball ... a mile high. No matter where you sit. You’re in heaven for a little bit. It’s gonna be a great day, At Fenway."

Given the date of the BDD post, and the fact that I cannot find any other media sources that reported this, I'm thinking it's not true. (Readers-Can you help with this?) One thing I know for sure is, if it's true,  I'm not convinced Evans' song is going to work. It's OK, I suppose, for a jazz song, but this guy is no Neil Diamond. And, as I said at the top, I'm no expert in sports, but I think this will take some of the energy out of the crowd. The appearance of Shatner in the video is a plus, however.

Either way, Sweet Caroline will always mean Boston to me.

Odds and Ends

Now that summer is over and fall is starting to get into full swing, I'm looking through my desk doing some fall cleanup and finding little interesting stories I've collected the last few weeks. Nothing really to make a whole post over individually, but interesting none the less. So, I present some "Odds and Ends", which you may or may not have missed.



Miss Piggy Goes To Washington

In celebration of Jim Henson's 77th birthday, his daughter Cheryl Henson and other family members have donated over 20 puppets and props to the National Museum of American History. The new collection includes early versions of  Miss Piggy-- Kermit the Frog's girlfriend--among other characters such as Gonzo, Rowlf the Dog, and several Muppets from Sesame Street including Count Von Count and Bert and Ernie.

The announcement included a photo shoot in Smithsonian Magazine, in which Miss Piggy wore a silver evening gown, and posed with Dorothy's ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz" and the real Hope Diamond.



Who Knew? Gates Hates Ctrl-Alt-Del

Well, hate is a bit of a strong word, but he certainly thinks it was a mistake. Speaking at a Harvard fundraiser for his foundation on Sept 26th, Microsoft founder Bill Gates says that he wanted a single-key solution for rebooting a PC,  but "the guy who gave us our IBM keyboard design," referring to IBM engineer David Bradley, "wouldn't give it to us."

Bradley, for his part, says that he invented what Gates calls the "three-fingered salute" because it is too easy to accidentally bump the left side of the keyboard and reboot by mistake. Since Ctrl-Alt-Del has to be typed with both hands, this problem is eliminated.

In any case, Gates is proud of the work the two companies did together. And Ctrl-Alt-Del is one of those things Gates made famous.


Potter Revisited

In mid September, JK Rowling announced she is working on her first movie script, based on the Harry Potter-related book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The spinoff book, written by a character called Newt Scamander, was one of Potter's textbooks at Hogwarts.

The movie's plot will feature Newt's story, and will take place in New York 70 years before the start of Harry's story.

"I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it," said Rowling.


Earthquake Island

After an earthquake off the coast of Pakistan on Sept 24th, a mud island appeared out of nowhere.

Scientists believe the island is a result of the eruption of a "mud volcano", which erupted as the earthquake released trapped gasses.

Based on the history of previous such events, the island should not last more than a year, as erosion from monsoon waves washes it away.



For my chemist friends.....

I'll end with a joke....


Two chemists walk into a bar. The first guy says, "I'll have a glass of H-2-O".

Second guy says, "I'll have a glass of H-2-O, too."

Second guy dies.

An encore for my physicist friends.....

Heisenberg gets pulled over.

Cop says, "Do you know how fast you were going?"

"No," says Heisenberg, "But I know where I am."