Entries from May 2006 ↓

I did some more voiceover work for the Baseball Hall of Fame today. They contacted me a few weeks ago about doing some television public service announcements for them that will air across the country during Major League Baseball games. Of course I agreed and it was just a matter of matching schedules with the studio. They were recorded at the facilities of Major League Baseball Productions, the production arm of Major League Baseball, who provided their services as a favor to the Hall (the two are separate unaffiliated entities).

MLB Productions has their offices in the beautiful, relatively new Chelsea Market, which long time ago was a Nabisco factory on 9th Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets. The ground floor houses a variety of food-related retailers and wholesalers, and the upper floors have many media companies, including the Food Network. They�ve got about a dozen digital editing suites, lots of digital tape logging bays, a voiceover recording studio, lots of tape library space for the tons of game footage they receive daily, and two floors of offices. Pretty cool modern industrial design with a baseball motif.

We had about 15 :05 second tags to record and I of course knocked them out in no time. The MLB producer and engineer liked my sound and it was good to make that connection. Their offices are not far from mine and there could be more work down the road. For a guy not actively pursuing the business, fortune seems to be smiling down on me.

Speaking of baseball, this Sunday being Mother�s Day, players and teams across the league will be honoring mothers and raising awareness about breast cancer by swinging pink bats.

More than 50 major leaguers have ordered special pink-dyed versions of their lumber for use on that day, and all on-field personnel will be wearing pink bracelets. The bats and other commemorative items will be auctioned off later, with proceeds to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

And you thought Memorial Day was the only thing worth celebrating in May.

I can�t wait for the parades!

I�m back at home after a few relaxing and stimulating days away from NYC. (No J, it was not a vacation.) Wednesday through Friday I was at a management retreat paid for by my employer that took me and several co-workers upstate to areas where Internet and cellphone access was quite limited. I also had to share a room and eat vegetarian food the whole time, but it was all good. I got a better sense of the agency�s strategic plan, my own role in it, and my ability to have some say in the ways in which I can shape the direction of the company. It was all quite positive.

Then I got to spend the weekend at home with Mom and my oldest brother. I happily assumed the kitchen detail and they happily ate the results.

Being away from outside information means I missed a few news items. I won�t bother to comment on most, however I will note the passing of Earl Woods, father of Tiger. If people question the ability of Black men to be good fathers and strong role models, they need to study his life and the results he achieved in inspiring his son. As today marks five months since my own father�s passing, I found certain similarities and was also impressed by Terrance�s remembrance of his own father who recently transitioned.

My Mets are playing some of the best baseball in the majors and took 2 of 3 from the hated Braves this weekend. The NBA is still a long way away from crowning a champion but who knew the best team in LA did not have Kobe Bryant on it.

A couple of new bloggers added to my links. Pica 12 and Taylor Siluw�, both join my growing list of over-40 bloggers. I find the 35 and over crowd has a bit more to say. Taylor has an additional tidbit on the CocoDorm story.

I’ve been out of town (and even out of web and cellphone access) for the past three days. I’ll be back by the end of the weekend.

The plot thickens:

Fake charity bilks Clemente Academy