Rob Paulsen with Michael Fleeman, Voice Lessons November 7, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Audiobooks, Books, Comedy, Health, Media, Music, Personal, TV, Video.add a comment
Posing with Rob Paulsen (right) and Michael Fleeman (left) after they discussed Voice Lessons at Strand Bookstore
Four weeks ago today, I attended a discussion and signing at Strand Bookstore for voice actor Rob Paulsen‘s memoir (with Michael Fleeman), Voice Lessons: How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky, and an Animaniac Saved My Life. Two weeks passed before I began simultaneously reading the book and listening to the “read by the author” audiobook.
On the afternoon of October 24, I read the front and back covers, Rob and Mike’s signatures, and the “Praise for Voice Lessons.” Then, I opened the Audible app on my iPhone and began the simulcast. I read and listened to the dedication, foreword (written and read by Rob’s son Ash), introduction, and the first chapter. I took care of the rest of the book, including photos and the “about the authors” page, over nine of the next thirteen days. It was a quite a literary journey.
Voice Lessons recalls key moments in Rob Paulsen’s life and career, including growing up in Michigan, leading a cover band, moving to California to pursue acting, his biggest roles, and winning an Emmy Award.
The last 40% of the memoir covers the harrowing journey through Rob’s throat cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. I felt like I was there and I sympathized. I cheered inside as his recovery progressed. I remember listening to the first Talkin’ Toons podcast Rob did after his recovery, which he cited in the last chapter. His lead sentence even served as the chapter title: “faith, kindness, passion, humor…and Cheez-Its.”
There is also a heartwarming story about Chad Gozzola, a Duchenne muscular dystrophy patient whom Rob first met at a charity hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and remained in touch with – along with his family – over the rest of his life.
The book concludes with the return of Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain, which will premiere next year on Hulu. Rob also announced that at the book discussion.
This humble review only scratches the surface. Voice Lessons is about 200 pages long and worth reading. The audiobook is seven hours and seven minutes long and worth listening to. I recommend both at the same time, although you’ll occasionally notice differences in phrasing.
I’ll leave you with a photo of my copy and my log:
I kept in Strand’s Post-It note, indicating I’m in signing group 1, as a reminder of my experience last month. As for the log, I tracked the content I read and how many pages it was. For example:
11/1/19: Chapter 7 (27)
Ryan and Mike at LIU Post, Teddy and Abe on exhibit October 30, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Art, Education, History, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Technology, Travel, TV, Video.add a comment
I concluded my Monday post this way:
With a pair of loose ends successfully tied up, it’s on to the next post, whenever that may come.
It turns out you only had to wait two days for the next post. The focus this time is another trip to LIU Post, including a stroll down memory lane as I recall my undergrad years.
I walked the campus with my friend, Ryan Grabow, who graduated with me in 2004:
I also had a chance encounter with another friend of mine, LIU Post artist-in-residence Dan Christoffel, leading to a tour of his latest art exhibit. More on that later.
For many years after graduating, Ryan Grabow had been living in Fort Myers, Florida, where he directed newscasts for two TV stations owned by Waterman Broadcasting. This year, he decided to look for the same position upstate in Orlando. He now directs the morning newscast at WOFL-TV, FOX 35 Orlando.
My trip back to LIU Post with Ryan, one week removed from Homecoming Weekend, was arranged in a text message conversation we struck up during Instrumental Invasion on Friday, October 18, after I played a song by the Rippingtons. As I wrote in my comprehensive recap:
… [M]y friend Ryan Grabow texted me after I played “Silver Arrows” by the Rippingtons. When he would appear on The Mike Chimeri Show 15 years ago, he’d always say “a ripping good time” whenever I played a Ripps song. Coincidentally, the next song I played was “Dear Friend” by Patrick Bradley, a fitting title.
You can watch the airchecks here:
Ryan told me he was driving up to New York for a week-long vacation and chose Monday the 28th as our day to hang out. He would pick me up at 10AM.
This was our first time at Post together in two years. I brought along my Nikon D5500 camera and the two CDs I made to alternate between for my show. As we listened to the music on the ride to Brookville, we told one another what we’d been up to lately and I provided commentary on what was happening in my show as each song played on the CDs.
Once we arrived on campus, Ryan acknowledged the change in color on the signs, which I had first seen ten days earlier and photographed a day later. Case in point:
He quipped that the speed bumps hadn’t changed. The reference was a running gag that originated with a TV production project: “Speed control: good idea or just plain nuts?”:
Naturally, our first stop after parking was WCWP, where we spoke to receptionist Janine Celauro, my mother Lisa’s bowling teammate, and Dan Cox, Director of Broadcasting.
Ryan’s next task was going to the bursar to update his alumni contact information. So, we walked north to Kumble Hall, passing signs with alumni names on them. One of them was Fred Gaudelli:
Fred is the executive producer of NBC’s Sunday Night Football and was inducted into the WCWP Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Another was Brian Kilmeade:
Brian, a Massapequa native, co-hosts Fox & Friends on Fox News Channel, hosts The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio, and has authored a handful of books about American history. His latest is called Sam Houston and the Alamo Avengers: The Texas Victory That Changed American History.
Passing Brian’s name reminded Ryan that he helps set up remote guests for Fox & Friends and other national Fox broadcasts for the aforementioned Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, and Fox Sports 1.
I photographed Kumble’s exterior before we walked inside:
Kumble was a place I visited when meeting with my academic advisor each semester. My aunt Robin Rose was an advisor in the 1990s and early 2000s, which is how I ended up at what was then C.W. Post. Her presence was invaluable. It helped that she knew so many faculty, which made things easier for me in my first two years. It turned out the place I had the most success, WCWP, didn’t require her connections.
The bursar’s office directed us to the Alumni & Employer Engagement building, which housed the campus bookstore while Ryan and I were students.
On the way, we stopped in the Crafts Center, home to ceramics:
Professor Frank Olt was among the faculty that was connected with Aunt Robin and she recommended one of his courses to me in my second semester when I switched out of photography. I couldn’t handle film development or manually setting aperture and F-stop. It was overwhelming. I thrived in ceramics, sculpting many works that semester. I would sculpt more works in the spring of 2002, after switching out of an intimidating journalism course, and fall of 2003, the only time the course was my first choice. Via grainy digital camera photos from 2003, here are a few of my works:
I don’t know what happened to those, but here is what I was able to find in my house this morning, starting with the first thing I ever made in 2000:
I called it “Hertz Fieldhouse” because I was inspired by Conseco Fieldhouse, the recently-opened arena in Indianapolis. Since I made an outdoor stadium, I should have just called “Hertz Field.”
Lastly, a piece I photographed on film in April 2000:
I hadn’t visited Frank Olt in years – he wasn’t there when Ryan and I walked the campus in 2017 – so we were both happy to see each other. I told him about the jazz shows I had been to recently: the aforementioned Rippingtons in March, David Benoit in June, and the Bob James Trio last November. I forgot to tell him about seeing John Scofield two weeks after Bob.
Frank and I posed for a picture as he sat at a pottery wheel:
I’m so glad to know Frank, and to have known his colleague Linda Marbach while she was a professor.
This was Linda in April 2000 with graduate student Ji-Hyun:
Frank directed me and Ryan to the back room where Dan Christoffel was situated. I hadn’t seen him since he attended his friend and fellow artist Charlie Fillizola’s exhibit at Wantagh Public Library in 2013; six years and two days before Monday, in fact. Dan told us that he was about to present his latest exhibit in the Steinberg Museum of Art on the lower level of the B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library. Ryan would have to wait before updating his alumni contact info. Luckily, he didn’t mind.
Dan spoke to an audience of LIU Post art majors (at least, I think that’s what they were):
Shortly after Ryan and I came in, Dan had us introduce ourselves.
Here are some of Dan’s works, starting with Now He Belongs to the Ages on the Abraham Lincoln wing of the exhibit:
Unfortunately, I can’t make out the title on the left, but the painting on the right is Thinking Beyond:
Justice, a trompe-l’œil (deceive the eye) painting:
Two paintings of Walt Whitman: Oh captain, my Captain, inspired by Whitman’s poem after Lincoln’s assassination:
Walt Whitman in His Prime:
On to the Theodore Roosevelt wing:
In his deepest hour:
Colonel Roosevelt:
Sagamore Hill:
Nobel Prize:
Rough Rider:
At the Elk Horn Ranch, Dakota Territory:
1901 – A Very Young President:
A Young Assemblyman:
Fighting the Good Fight:
A portrait of Booker T. Washington to mark a milestone occasion: First Black Man to Have Dinner at the White House:
His Love of Reading:
Little Texas:
T.R. – His Wife and Mother Died on the Same Day; He Went out West to Deal with His Deep Grief:
The exhibit concluded with Taking the Bull by the Horns:
A Newsday article on Dan’s artistry:
A picture with Dan before departing:
Thank you, Dan, for inviting us to your exhibit. It was wonderful. I highly recommend the exhibit if you, the reader, will be at LIU Post in the near future.
Ryan and I made our way east to the Alumni & Employer Engagement building:
Leftover from Homecoming:
Ryan was given a notepad to write down his new contact information and that was that.
We took the scenic route back to Hillwood Commons:
Ryan stopped in the Arboretum Walk so I could photograph him with his iPhone for a Facebook post. I also took a photo with my camera:
Ryan has been inside The Doll House, but I never have:
Post Hall:
As an undergrad, the southwest corner of the building was home to the Academic Resource Center. It was my home away from home. I made many friends in the form of fellow students, directors, learning assistants, and annual social work interns. I remain in touch with some of them.
The northeast corner of Hillwood:
Before going up the stairs to the current campus bookstore, which was once home to the museum, we passed a sign that explained the presence of Dan Christoffel’s exhibit:
Once in the bookstore, I planned on buying a sky blue polo shirt that said “Long Island University,” convinced to buy one after seeing Jeff Kroll (right) and Neil Marks (left) sporting them during the Homecoming game:
I was hoping for a shirt that said “LIU,” but when I initially visited the bookstore ahead of my radio show, it seemed only shirts emblazoned with the full name were available. But seeing Jeff and Neil in the shirts convinced me to buy upon my return with Ryan. On this day, I searched the rack where the shirts hung to look for my size: medium. Once I saw the letter M, I blindly reached for the shirt, and was surprised to find the holy grail: an “LIU” shirt!
Meanwhile, Ryan bought a windbreaker that said “Long Island University,” something to wear on cool winter mornings in Orlando. I’m proudly wearing my “LIU” shirt as I write this post, and it will be part of my warm/hot weather rotation.
We made one more stop at WCWP to say goodbye to Dan Cox and Janine Celauro. I had Janine take our picture:
Coincidentally, our friend Bernie Bernard was on the display behind us.
Ryan planned on stopping at Wendy’s on Glen Cove Road in Greenvale, but it was closed for renovations. So, we proceeded to our next stop – Micro Center in Westbury – looking for a place to eat on the way. We settled on Applebee’s in Roosevelt Raceway Center. Inside, besides eating our entrees, we talked about Ryan’s job at FOX 35 Orlando, about former WCWP Director of Operations Joe Manfredi (now at SUNY Old Westbury where he serves as station manager for OWWR), and other things. We walked around Micro Center for 45 minutes, browsing but not buying. Ryan didn’t leave empty-handed, though, buying a few mouse pads.
Ryan was nice enough to take me grocery shopping at the Levittown Stop & Shop, then we hung out at my house for an hour. After talking about a few YouTube channels in the car, he recommended the channel Technology Connections. I chose a couple of videos to watch on the CED (Capacitance Electronic Disc). (A third video on the subject was released yesterday with a fourth still to come.)
After that, we said our goodbyes until his next visit. It was enjoyable 7 1/2 hours.
It’s always great to see you, Ryan. As I said on the air, you’re a dear friend. I hope you don’t mind that I dipped into the archives with the speed bump video.
2019 LIU Post & WCWP Homecoming Weekend October 21, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Football, History, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Military, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel, Video, Weather.13 comments
Other recaps: 2008, 2009, WCWP 50th Anniversary (2011), 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Another WCWP Homecoming Weekend has come and gone at LIU Post. This is a recap of all three days of the campus radio station’s alumni-hosted block of programming, including coverage of the LIU Sharks‘ Homecoming game against the Saint Francis Red Flash.
Before the proper recap, an explanation about what’s changed since last year. Starting with the fall 2019 semester, Long Island University athletics for the Brooklyn and Post campuses have merged, which means one color set, one team name, and one big move to NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision). The LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and LIU Post Pioneers are now, collectively, the LIU Sharks. Now, the recap.
Two days in advance, I scheduled an Uber pickup at my house on Friday at 10AM. The driver was prompt, parking at the curb. With my equipment in tow, I hopped in the backseat and the drive began. I was dropped off at the Abrams Communications Building, home to WCWP, at 10:28. I set down my equipment and set up my laptop in studio 3 on one of the computer tables. After visiting the campus bookstore in Hillwood Commons, I returned to the station and set up the tripod, camcorder, and shotgun mic in studio 4. I was going to record the first show of Homecoming Weekend: Art Beltrone’s PostScripts talk show. Back by my laptop, I connected a portable radio tuned to 88.1 FM to an audio recorder and began recording at 11:50. Then, I walked into studio 4 and waited for PostScripts to begin.
To my left was this banner:
The Long Island University colors are blue for Brooklyn and gold for Post. As you’ll see in the Saturday pictures, the campus’s green signs were all painted sky blue.
Show time:
Art’s first guest was Joan Yonke, the LIU Post Campus Director of Employer and Alumni Engagement (I accidentally left out the “Employer and” part in the show video):
Art’s next guests were Jeff Kroll, who engineered the show…:
…and his wife Pat, who coordinated the guests:
After playing the Krolls’ (and the Yonkes’) wedding song, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” by Frankie Valli, a milestone was acknowledged:
Exactly 58 years ago – October 18, 1961, at 12:15 PM – WCWP signed on as an AM carrier current station. Art Beltrone was the first student voice ever heard on its air. In honor of the occasion, the sign-on was played at 12:15 in 2019.
Art listened fondly:
When the first non-student voice, Dennis Sullivan, tossed back to Art on the tape, Jeff cued Art in the present:
Following “Hello, Dolly!” by Louis Armstrong, Bill Mozer dropped by:
Jeff Kroll joined in the conversation:
For the last hour, Art spoke to fellow alumni and Vietnam Veterans, Jack Cassidy and Mike Padula:
Jack Cassidy:
Mike Padula:
Art, Jack, and Mike also spoke to guests over the phone, including John LiBretto, Jim Harley, and Ron Zappardino. I had to leave studio 4 at 1:30 to set up for my show, Instrumental Invasion with Mike Chimeri, in studio 2.
Here are portions of PostScripts, some of which were photographed above:
When 2PM came, Art handed off to me, I played a legal ID, and began my show. I thanked Art and all of his guests, then played my first song: “Flash Back Friday” by bassist Julian Vaughn, guitarist Nick Colionne‘s nephew.
As the song played, I went back into studio 4 to take a picture of Jack Cassidy, Jeff Kroll, Art Beltrone, and Mike Padula:
While my second song, “Illuminate” by Steve Oliver, was playing, Pat Kroll took the obligatory photo of me at the board in studio 2:
There was also time for Art’s friend Ed Keller to take our picture:
The show proceeded from there with little to no hiccups. Here were my surroundings:
During my show, Bill Mozer moved the livestream webcam from studio 4 to 2. We spoke while I was off mic. One of the liners I played was of Dan Ingram, legendary New York DJ and commercial voice talent, while visiting the station in 1968. Back then, the university was known as C.W. Post College. The liner went like this:
Hi there, Kemosabe. This is Big Dan Ingram. Whenever I’m on the Merriweather campus, and my bosses in New York don’t know about it, I always listen to WCWP, at 88.1, in Brookville, New York. Love it.
“Merriweather” referred to Marjorie Merriweather Post.
Bill, who worked with Dan at WABC, remarked that he was never “on the Merriweather campus” – besides that day – so he therefore never listened to the station. I replied that he was humoring the students that recorded him.
Bobby Guthenberg, a.k.a. Bobby G., complimented my playlist on Facebook, and my friend Ryan Grabow texted me after I played “Silver Arrows” by the Rippingtons. When he would appear on The Mike Chimeri Show 15 years ago, he’d always say “a ripping good time” whenever I played a Ripps song. Coincidentally, the next song I played was “Dear Friend” by Patrick Bradley, a fitting title.
Before I knew it, I was signing off and playing my last song: “Nu Som” by Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber Fusion.
Here are the show airchecks…:
Direct link
…transitions, with the aforementioned Dan Ingram liner…:
Direct link
…and the video:
Jeff Jensen was next at 4PM:
Here are a couple of his airchecks:
I headed home just before 5:00 and was home half an hour later. After editing the airchecks that you heard above, day 1 was complete.
I started my Saturday by editing videos, synced with the aircheck audio, and photos. Then, I got ready to return to LIU Post. While waiting to turn onto Northern Boulevard, I took out my camera so I could photograph what once was green and now is blue.
It was 1:05 when I turned into the campus’s east gate:
MyWCWP, which was WebRadio WCWP when I was a student, was renamed The Wave:
The Wave is also the name of a Southern California radio station that used to play smooth jazz: 94.7 The Wave. Since I’m not on this Wave, there’s no smooth or contemporary jazz to be found.
During the second quarter of the Sharks’ Homecoming game against Saint Francis, I walked over to Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium to take in some of the action:
I was given media access, which allowed me to go up to the press box…at least at first. Saint Francis did not bring a crew to broadcast the game, but LIU did, from the roof. To get there, you had to climb this ladder:
Jeff Kroll (right) and Neil Marks (left) called the game:
A view from the top:
Considering the Sharks were winless coming into the game and were unlikely to score while I was on the roof, I left after I took the above pictures. Before I left, I had Pat Kroll take a photo of me:
2:25 PM UPDATE: Jeff informed that the NEC (Northeastern Conference) had a room in the press box for the video feed and conference announcers. He added:
The video equipment is also used for all play reviews. Cameras manned by WCWP students! Ours was the only radio broadcast of the game.
The walk back to WCWP:
Pioneer Lane is now Shark Street:
The Sharks fell to 0-6, blown out by the Saint Francis Red Flash 30-0. It was 9-0 after three quarters, but SFU exploded for 21 points in the first six minutes of the fourth. Factoring in the Pioneers past, this was the team’s first loss on Homecoming since 2011. It was also the first loss Jeff and Neil called since the Pioneers lost to the Iona College Gaels 9-2 in 1989.
Air traffic was moderate and a couple of planes were low enough for me to get high resolution crops. This is a DHL plane:
I think this might be Alitalia:
After the dust had settled on the Sharks’ loss, studio host John Zoni ran the “highlights”…:
…and listed the scores elsewhere in the NEC:
Due to a lung infection early in the week, Bernie Bernard was unable to make it up from Florida. Bobby G. and Mike Riccio expanded their show to fill in for her. Due to the short length of the football game, the show began at 3:45, 45 minutes early.
Bobby flew solo while Mike was in transit:
Hanging out in the studio were Jay and Arlene Elzweig…:
…and Jett Lightning, who I wanted to get a picture with:
I would pose for more pictures later.
Mike Riccio arrived in time for Bernie Bernard to call in:
Wanting to be a part of the call, I got on my knees by Bobby’s mic, holding up a Rick Wakeman CD at one point:
Once Mike was at the controls, the playlist turned to artists that appeared at Woodstock:
I came on at one point to promote the rest of the weekend, including my second Instrumental Invasion that would air at 2AM:
The big WCWP Hall of Fame announcement was set for 6:00. Before then, I went outside to the barbecue for a burger and hot dog, and some cookies for dessert.
Then, I got to meet fellow alumni Joel Mahan and Jerry Reilly, posing here with Bill Mozer:
I was so glad to see M.J. Lonardo and K.J. Mills:
M.J. complimented me on my running, which I had been writing about on Facebook, with a few milestone posts on Twitter and Instagram.
2019 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee Pete Bellotti made the announcement:
Here’s how things looked on the livestream webcam during this segment (courtesy of Ted David):
The 2020 inductees are…:
Alan Seltzer and Christina Kay!
I stood in front of the camcorder and applauded the inductees:
With the announcement complete, I began to pack up for home, but not before taking the obligatory shot of Mike and Bobby:
John Zoni’s postgame and the segments from Mike and Bobby’s show can all be seen here:
Me with John Zoni:
Dan Cox:
I owe my career in radio to Dan. He was my Broadcasting 4 professor in the spring of 2001 and recommended me to then-station manager Judy Cramer the following semester. A few weeks later, on October 5, I was on the air for the first time.
Bill Mozer:
…and Pete Bellotti:
Joel Mahan wanted a photo with Pete, as well:
The last pic of the weekend for me was Bill Mozer and Alan Boritz, who followed Mike and Bobby at 10PM:
Bill photographed the weekend with his own DSLR camera. Via the WCWP Alumni Association Facebook group, here are his photos – with “no film in the camera” – starting with John Zoni during his 6PM show on Friday:
Jay Mirabile and Pete Bellotti during Friday’s 10PM DFK Show:
The picture was taken with Jay’s phone, but Bill cropped it.
On Saturday, it’s Art Beltrone and Jay Elzweig:
Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh:
Pat Kroll and Lew Scharfberg:
And at the mic for his 10PM show, Alan Boritz:
From midnight to 4AM, WCWP had the one-two punch of Strictly Jazz with Hank Neimark, John LiBretto, and Rita Sands – which they recorded in late August – and the second Instrumental Invasion with Mike Chimeri – which I recorded at home back on September 26. It was chocolate and peanut butter back to back. In SiriusXM parlance, they were Real Jazz, I was Watercolors. Hank told the aforementioned Facebook group he was listening to the station, including his own show, from Greece, expressing what a thrill it was.
Here are the airchecks from Strictly Jazz…
Direct link
…and Instrumental Invasion:
Direct link
And of course, the latter show’s transitions…:
Direct link
I try to work in as many of the notes I write on my playlists as I can, but some notes stay on the paper.
Unfortunately, Magick Mike Hendryx’s show didn’t run, making for the second year in a row where that’s happened to a file designated for Sunday at 4AM. Strictly Jazz reran at 6AM as scheduled.
I spent Sunday working on this post and periodically listening to WCWP. Like last year, Jay LaPrise (“la-PREE”) had the first live show of the day at 8AM. Here are his last two airchecks:
Direct link
The ladies of Prison Break Radio, Jamie Mazzo and Sara Dorchak, were next at 10AM. Here are their first four airchecks:
Direct link
Billy the Kid (Billy Houst) followed at noon. He was later joined by Joey C. (Joe Conte) and Big L Lou (Lou Raio). Here are airchecks from Billy’s first hour:
Direct link
Bill Mozer photographed Billy…:
…Joey C. …:
…and Lou Raio:
Billy the Kid was followed at 2PM by Joe the Honerkamp. Here are five airchecks from his show:
Direct link
And one picture of him by Bill Mozer:
That is his index finger, not the other one.
The last three photos in this post were taken by Pat Kroll.
At 4PM, Lew Scharfberg:
Direct link
Jeff Kroll ran the board:
6PM had a Homecoming Weekend edition of Rock ‘N’ Soul Gospel with Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh:
Direct link
Next to last was Alana at 8PM with The Rockin’ Sunday Show, following an introduction by Jeff Kroll:
Direct link
And turning out the lights on the 60-hour block was Jeff himself from 10PM to midnight, following Alana’s lead-in:
Direct link
I was singled out in Jeff’s credits:
Mike Chimeri! Oh, Mike, a great jazz show; in fact, two of them this weekend. And always with the pictures and the videos. Thanks so much, Mike.
Thank you, Jeff. This is a labor of love for me as I know putting together Homecoming Weekend each year is for you and Pat. If it means I have restless nights as my brain contemplates what tasks I have left to do, so be it. The fruits of my labor make it all worthwhile.
It was great catching up with my fellow alumni throughout the weekend. It warms my heart to be among you.
Thank you to those that stayed with this recap to the end. I leave with Jeff’s last words last night:
Thanks to all here at WCWP. It’s been a wonderful 2019 Homecoming Weekend. We’ll get the schedules together and see what happens a year from now. And it’ll be a new decade: 2020! Thanks for tuning in to the WCWP Homecoming Weekend.
And for posterity, the schedule:
Rob Paulsen at Strand Bookstore October 13, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Audiobooks, Books, Comedy, Health, Internet, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel, TV, Weather.3 comments
I traveled to the borough of Manhattan for the second Thursday in a row. This time, my destination was the Strand Bookstore in the East Village to see voice actor Rob Paulsen discuss his new memoir, Voice Lessons: How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky, and an Animaniac Saved My Life. He was joined by his co-author Michael Fleeman, and later by Randy Rogel, the brilliant mind behind many great songs and episodes from Animaniacs and Histeria!, among other credits, and animation writer, including for Batman: The Animated Series, which I began watching on the DC Universe app and website on September 27 and will complete today.
The trip to Strand Bookstore marked my first time on the east side of Greenwich Village after a few years traveling to the West Village for performances at Blue Note. My most recent trip there was for John Scofield’s Combo 66 last November.
A nor’easter had been churning offshore since Wednesday and was supposed to push back west, giving the region rain and wind until Friday or Saturday. I woke up Thursday morning to unexpected sunshine. It turns out the rain wasn’t going to start until the afternoon. I regularly run for exercise, so I took the opportunity to get in 10.4 miles, an outdoor personal best that I would break by .1 miles only two days later.
The sun held out much longer than I thought it would and I was able to walk to the Wantagh LIRR station without needing to take Uber to avoid walking in the rain. I only had to contend with light rain for the last quarter-mile and for ten minutes on the platform. As the train proceeded west toward Penn Station, away from the nor’easter, the skies cleared. The ride was uneventful except for the sight of a Southwest Airlines plane approaching LaGuardia Airport. If only I had my camera out of my backpack.
After arriving at Penn Station, I proceeded up West 34th Street to 6th Avenue, where I went down to 34th Street-Herald Square Station and took the Q train to 14th Street-Union Square Station.
These are the sites I took in as I walked through Union Square and down to Strand:
It was 5:58 when I walked into Strand. Rob’s discussion was on the 3rd floor, the Rare Old Books floor. I walked up the stairs where a few people waited by the door until we were allowed in at 6:30. The line grew over the next half hour, but before long, the door opened and those of us that were on the guest list checked in. We were given a copy of Voice Lessons with a Post-It that had a number written on it. Mine had the number 1, which meant I was in group 1, the first to get books signed by Rob Paulsen and Michael Fleeman.
I sat in the front row, right next to Rob and Mike’s chairs. To my right, a laptop was connected to a TV for slides and a couple of videos that would be shown during the discussion:
Rob and Mike entered the room at 7:09 and the discussion began.
Rob’s brother Mike was in attendance, along with his high school friend, his agent, and a few others. Randy Rogel sat with them until the musical portion of the event. The rest of the attendees were, like me, hardcore Rob Paulsen fans.
Here are select close-ups of Rob Paulsen:
…and Michael Fleeman:
Rob and Mike discussed the structure of the book and went over its highlights.
They also talked about Rob’s signature characters, starting with Raphael from the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Donatello from the 2012 series:
Carl Wheezer from The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius:
Yakko Warner on Animaniacs:
Genetically-enhanced lab mouse Pinky of Pinky and the Brain, which began as shorts on Animaniacs and were spun off into their own series:
This portion led to a reading of the book’s introduction: “Pinky Gets Bad News”:
Then, Mike introduced a pair of commercials Rob appeared in:
The first was his first role: a 1979 ad for west coast fast food chain Jack in the Box during their Fring (french fry/onion ring) campaign:
Here is that ad:
The second was the infamous “Aaron Burr” Got Milk? ad where a radio call-in contestant fails to coherently recite the correct answer because he doesn’t have milk to wash down his peanut butter sandwich:
You know the one: “Awwin Buww!” Rob voiced the radio personality, Sean Whalen played the unfortunate caller, and Michael Bay – yes, that one – was the director! Watch:
The discussion inevitably turned to Rob’s throat cancer, which he thankfully survived (knock on wood):
The stage then turned to Randy Rogel:
Referring to the sign behind him, he quipped: “I like how this is ’18 miles of books,’ and now it’s 18 miles and one inch.”
Rob explained how Randy got into showbiz:
Randy talked about when Rob told him he had cancer:
“…but the truth is, the doctor said to Rob, ‘Rob, you have a very rare form of cancer. It’s called The Rob Paulsen Cancer. And he said, ‘why me?!'”
Jokes aside, Rob and Randy were part of Animaniacs LIVE! at Joe’s Pub the night before. Unfortunately, I was unaware of the event and did not attend. For those of us that couldn’t make it, and even for some that did, we were treated to a few songs.
To the Joe’s Pub attendees, “if I had known you were gonna be here tonight, I’d have written a new song”:
Rob replied, “Not too far from the truth.”
The first song was “When You’re Traveling from Nantucket,” from Animaniacs episode 87, which focused on the concept of time:
“… The international date line’s an imaginary cleft. Today is on the right side and tomorrow’s on the left. …”
“… that it was mildly amusing, but then totally confusing, and we bet you wish we hadn’t sung at all!”
Next was a song from Histeria! episode 32, “Writers of the Purple Prose.” Chronicling the works of William Shakespeare, it’s “That’s the Story That’s Told by the Bard”:
It was a duet:
Singing of MacBeth: “… Then he kills others, it’s really quite vicious, Until in the end, he gets stabbed in the duff!”
“No, that’s wrong. By MacDuff.”
The third and final song was Randy’s first: “Yakko’s World“:
“United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru…”
“… Tunisia, Morocco, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Botswana-aaaaa, …”
“…Crete, Mauritania, then Transylvania, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Malta, and Palestine, Fiji, Australia, Sudan!”
Michael Fleeman returned for Q&A:
Rob and Mike fielded four questions:
And that was it!
“Thank you, guys. Randy! Mike Fleeman!”
With the discussion complete, it was time to sign. While waiting in the group 1, I passed by a Remington Standard 10 typewriter:
I had Andrew, a Strand employee, take a picture of me with Rob and Mike:
Both of them signed my copy, Mike first and Rob second. Thinking ahead, Mike wrote:
To Mike,
What he said
(arrow pointing up)
Mike
Rob signed with a variant on Yakko’s “Helloooo, Nurse!” catchphrase:
Hellooo, Mike!
Rob Paulsen
I told Rob we were friends on Facebook and that I’d met him two years ago at New York Comic Con. He instantly remembered.
I said my goodbyes and went back to my chair, but before I packed up and headed back to Penn Station, I got to meet Randy Rogel:
I told him I loved his music and his Emmy-winning writing work for Batman. He liked that, looking back fondly.
Within ten minutes, I was at 14th Street-Union Square Station and back aboard the Q for 34th Street-Herald Square. Unfortunately, power disruptions on the Broadway corridor delayed the ride. We were stuck on the center track at 23rd Street Station for about five minutes, though it felt longer. At Penn Station, I bought a frozen yogurt to eat on the ride back to Wantagh. Since I missed the 8:56 Babylon branch train, I’d have to wait until 9:31. But as I stood by a timetable waiting for a track number for the 9:31, I noticed there was a 9:13 Babylon train. It didn’t stop at Wantagh, but did stop one hamlet west in Bellmore. So, I took that and was picked up in Bellmore. The forecast of rain didn’t pan out. That light rain I encountered earlier in the day was the extent of it. Once I was home, I unpacked and went to sleep.
It was a great night at Strand, and a pleasure to see Rob Paulsen again, and meet Michael Fleeman and Randy Rogel for the first time. In the days ahead, I will read Voice Lessons and simultaneously listen to the “read by the author” audiobook. I have done this in years. When I finish, I’ll write a review. Until then, thanks for reading this post.
NOTE: Strand recorded the event to add to their YouTube channel. Once added, I will update this post with their video.
10/14 UPDATE: The video is up. I’m in it, taking and checking pictures, and otherwise listening intently. Watch:
10/22 UPDATE: The day after appearing at Strand, Rob appeared on Fox Business Network anchor Liz Claman‘s eponymous podcast, Everyone Talks to Liz Claman. The episode went up a week later. You can listen to it here.
My experience at Day 1 of 2019 New York Comic Con October 5, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Art, Blu-ray, Broadway, Comedy, DVD, Internet, Media, Personal, Photography, Technology, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.4 comments
Previous New York Comic Con recaps: 2012 Day 2, 2014 Day 1, 2017 Day 1, 2018 Day 1
Thursday marked my fifth time at New York Comic Con, and third year in a row. It’s become tradition to attend, meet actors, and tour the show floor. NYCC is held annually inside the Javits Center in Midtown West.
I waited by my computer for about two hours back on May 5 to buy my Thursday badge. I didn’t know what guests would attend, but I found out a month later. The ones I was interested in meeting were Paul Reubens, James Arnold Taylor, Laraine Newman, Jennifer Hale, and Tom Kenny. Once again, this was my sole reason for attending because there weren’t any panels worth seeing.
One day removed from record heat, the weather that greeted me when I left my Wantagh home at 8:30 was cool and cloudy. As I stood on the LIRR station platform waiting for the 8:47 train, I briefly wished I brought gloves. Keeping with my train travel routine, I chose to sit in the first car. There were a few people seated ahead of me that were also on their way to New York Comic Con, but I didn’t want to bother them. I just listened to David Benoit and Friends and ate my protein bar with a can of orange seltzer.
The ride to Penn Station took about 45 minutes. When I exited at 8th Avenue and West 33rd Street, I greeted by persistent drizzle. It followed me all the way to the Javits Center. It took a while for the massive throng of attendees to get through security, but my search was quick and scold-less. After I was checked, I walked toward the entrance and then zipped my backpack compartments back up.
Once inside, I made my way to the autographing area:
It turns out there were two autographing areas: 1C and 1E. I was looking for Paul Reubens’ table in 1C, but he was actually in 1E. So, I walked toward there and waited in line at his table. Thank you to the staff members who aided me.
Like most 1980s children, I grew up watching Pee-wee’s Playhouse. I didn’t realize Pee-wee Herman was a character created and portrayed by Paul Reubens until the mid ’90s. That was the first time I saw Paul out of that character, on Murphy Brown.
I rediscovered Pee-wee’s Playhouse on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim in 2006, then rediscovered it again ten years later on Netflix. Watching it there wasn’t enough. I had to buy the series on Blu-ray, especially for the bonus features. I sometimes find myself quoting not just Pee-wee, but other series characters like Globey, Mr. Window (particularly when I see Lynne Marie Stewart [Miss Yvonne] on TV), Jambi, Pterri, Conky, Randy, and occasionally Clocky.
So, it was a thrill to meet Paul, albeit briefly, on Thursday morning. I told him I met Phil LaMarr last year. Phil played Cowboy Curtis in the Broadway run of The Pee-wee Herman Show. I had noticed Paul was making a surprised face while posing with attendees ahead of me, so I tried to do the same:
I look more shocked than surprised, but I still like it.
I returned to 1C to meet four voice actors:
First up was James Arnold Taylor:
I discovered James through Johnny Test, but learned more about his illustrious career through his website, JAT Vlogs on his YouTube channel, and appearance on the podcast Talkin’ Toons with Rob Paulsen. I told him I liked how for his Fred Flintstone voice, he combined Alan Reed’s original portrayal with Henry Corden’s subsequent version. I also expressed my love as the voice of Fox’s Sunday primetime promos, to which he said he recorded the latest set of promos in his hotel room the night before. There was one thing I neglected to discuss. I’ve never played a Final Fantasy game, but I am aware of an infamous cutscene he voiced as Tidus in Final Fantasy X. In the cutscene, Tidus let out a loud, wooden, staccato laugh: “haaaa ha ha ha ha ha ha!” James explained that scene in a March 2016 JAT Vlog:
I chose a character collage at his table to sign, and he wrote:
Mike – You’re awesome!!
James Arnold Taylor
5:05 PM UPDATE: James recorded another promo from his hotel room yesterday, as he shared on Instagram:
After James, I moved one table to the right (his left) and spoke to Laraine Newman:
You may know Laraine from her days on Saturday Night Live, and I’ve seen a handful of sketches from that time, but I’m more familiar with her voice over work. She was Queen Jipjorulac, Mark Chang’s mother on The Fairly OddParents. Mark Chang was voiced by Rob Paulsen as an energetic surfer dude with awkward syntax (pronouncing assistance “ah-sis-TAHN-say,” for example). When Rob interviewed Laraine for Talkin’ Toons, she mentioned Histeria!, the Warner Bros. edutainment animated series they co-starred in. I was not aware of the series when it originally aired, but my curiosity was piqued after that interview. Unfortunately, unlike the other ’90s WB series, Histeria! was not yet on DVD. When it was finally released years later, I bought it, watching for the first time over the 2017 Christmas vacation. I loved it! So, it was that DVD that I brought to NYCC for Laraine to sign. She was thrilled. I told her how much I loved the show and loved her characters: Miss Information, a bubbly Southern tour guide with a penchant for getting things wrong, and Charity Bazaar, a sad girl who frequently lamented, “I’m not happy.” I said I sometimes find myself saying that in certain situations.
Laraine signed the following on my DVD:
To Mike (Heart)
Laraine Newman
Laraine and the aforementioned Paul Reubens, Lynne Stewart, and Phil LaMarr are all alumni of The Groundlings improv and sketch comedy troupe. It’s where Paul created Pee-wee Herman.
Jennifer Hale was next:
Jennifer has a wealth of video game credits, but I know her mostly for her work as Ms. Keane on The Powerpuff Girls, various characters on Johnny Bravo, and T.U.F.F. Puppy. Someday, I will play some of the games she appeared in.
As with James, I chose a collage for her to sign:
To Mike!
Jennifer Hale
And finally, Tom Kenny:
Of course, Tom is the titular character on SpongeBob SquarePants. I love that show, but also love Futurama, where Tom’s credits include the all-purpose commissioner Abner Doubledeal and Leela’s bland eye doctor boyfriend Adlai Atkins, and the aforementioned Johnny Bravo, where he played Johnny’s (Jeff Bennett) nerdy friend Carl Chryniszzswics (“cruh-SIN-uh-wits”). He was glad to hear Carl get some love at the convention, as one attendee ahead of me had a drawing of Carl. We talked about his co-star, the late Larry Drake, who voiced Pops. I even imitated Pops (“Hey, Johnny!”). Tom told me about Larry’s horror film background, which I wasn’t aware of but glad to learn. Prior to Johnny Bravo, I only knew him from L.A. Law.
I thanked Tom for taking the time to meet with everyone in line, as the line extended down to one of the panel “chutes,” requiring security to let people know which side was the panel chute and which was the line for Tom (or “SpongeBob,” as the guard said). I brought my copy of the eighth season of SpongeBob SquarePants for him to sign:
10-3-19
Mike Ahoy!
Best fishes from “SpongeBob”
Tom Kenny
Thank you to Paul, James, Laraine, Jennifer, and Tom. It was a pleasure to meet all of you. Thanks, as well, to Anissa and her eldest son James, who I met in Tom’s line. It was nice to meet you, too, and I hope we can stay in touch.
After nearly four hours in autograph land, I was ready to head for home, but not before touring parts of the show floor:
Within 20 minutes of walking the show floor, I exited the Javits Center:
25 minutes after that, I was back in Penn Station where I boarded the 3:03 Babylon-bound train, which was packed with commuters. The crowd thinned a little at Jamaica, then further at Rockville Centre, but a handful of passengers exited with me at Wantagh one hour later. I was once again in the first car, which meant that I was on the east end and exited above Beech Street. (The first car westbound is just west of Wantagh Avenue.) After walking 20 minutes in the mist, I was home.
Once inside, I unpacked and photographed my autographed merchandise and my badge (with the codes blurred out):
I hope to be back at New York Comic Con next year. In the meantime, thank you for viewing this post.
2019 Long Island Retro Gaming Expo recap August 14, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Books, Internet, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Technology, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.Tags: bob neal, brown box, completely unnecessary podcast, coury carlson, cradle of aviation, frank cifaldi, Genesis, hardcore gaming 101, hg 101, ian ferguson, jeremy parish, kurt kalata, leonard herman, Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, long island tabletop gaming expo, marc duddleson, mega drive, microsoft, mlig, museum row, my life in gaming, NES, Nintendo, pat contri, pat the nes punk, phoenix iv, ralph baer, retronauts, retrorgb, rgb master class, rob russo, sega genesis, SNES, Super NES, Super Nintendo, the video game years, try, try4ce, ultimate nintendo, vghf, video game history foundation, xbox
1 comment so far
Previous LIRGE recaps: 2017 (Sunday), 2018
This is a long and comprehensive post, so buckle up.
Last weekend, I attended the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo for the third year in a row and my second year for both days.
John Hancock and The 8-Bit Guy weren’t at LIRGE this year, but making return appearances were Bob Neal from RetroRGB, Jeremy Parish of Retronauts and Video Works, Kurt Kalata and Rob Russo of Hardcore Gaming 101, and video game historian and author Leonard Herman.
Among those appearing for the first time were Frank Cifaldi of the Video Game History Foundation, Pat Contri (a.k.a. Pat the NES Punk) and Ian Ferguson of the Completely Unnecessary Podcast and The Video Game Years, and the My Life in Gaming duo of Coury Carlson and Marc “Try4ce” Duddleson (as in the Triforce from The Legend of Zelda).
The Long Island Retro Gaming Expo is held at the Cradle of Aviation Museum along Museum Row in East Garden City, as indicated by these signs I took on the way there Saturday morning:
Based on the “date taken” info of the above pic, I arrived at the museum at 10:09. Before getting in line to get inside, I photographed a historic marker:
The weather outdoors was much better this year: sunny, warm, and comfortable. You could leave the rain gear at home or in your hotel room.
While on line, I passed a trailer with arcade machines inside:
This was the only time I noticed it. I was focused on what was in the museum.
I set foot inside Cradle of Aviation half an hour after arriving:
The rest of this post is divided into four parts:
- Panels
- Meeting and Greeting
- Pictorial Tour
- Pickups
Part One: Panels
After walking around the first floor for nearly 15 minutes, I made my way into the theater planetarium for the first panel:
It was Jeremy Parish (center) along with Kurt Kalata (right) and Rob Russo (left):
Titled “Love for the Unloved,” the trio discussed several underappreciated consoles, accompanied by Powerpoint slides.
Before we see the slides, here are close-ups of Jeremy:
Kurt:
…and Rob:
A few wide shots:
The slides of underappreicated consoles:
The slide for the Bandai WonderSwan went up, but they didn’t have time to discuss it:
9/26 UPDATE: The expo’s YouTube channel has posted video of the panel:
Next to speak was…
Frank introduced himself…
…and his work with Digital Eclipse…
…before moving on to the main topic:
Frank is pictured with Kelsey Lewin, who was at Game On Expo in Phoenix, Arizona, that weekend hosting a similar panel:
The last 35 minutes of the panel were Q&A:
10/10 UPDATE: Video of the panel was posted today:
I spent the next two hours touring the exhibits, buying games from vendors, meeting and greeting Frank Cifaldi, Coury and Try, Pat and Ian, and Leonard Herman. You’ll see photographic evidence in parts two and three. I made time in between to eat a few snacks from the Cradle of Aviation Museum’s Red Planet Café.
Pat and Ian had a panel after Frank’s, which you can hear in part in the latest Completely Unnecessary Podcast, starting 17 minutes in.
Then, it was on to Leonard’s panel, which was in Panel Room 2:
Leonard talked about the late Ralph Baer and Ted Dabney, and the friendships he developed with them.
After arriving on Sunday, I tried out Ralph Baer’s Brown Box with a man named Jeff:
I played poorly, but had a good time.
There were two panels that I attended on Sunday. First, the My Life in Gaming RGB Master Class:
As noted earlier, My Life in Gaming is run by Coury Carlson:
…and Marc Duddleson, better known as Try:
Coury and Try periodically ran excerpts from upcoming episodes profiling figures in the fields of video game modding, repair, and history:
Bob from RetroRGB, who was seated next to me, was included, but I kept his screenshot out of this post since he told me he didn’t like how he looked.
I found those excerpts enlightening. It put faces and voices to names I’d heard of in previous episodes. I was already familiar with Bob, Kevin, Frank, Ste, and Dan.
The excerpts can be seen in this unlisted link.
Time for Q&A:
I asked what it was like shooting the M2 documentary, seen here:
(NOTE: Unless you’re fluent in Japanese, I suggest selecting “English – Japanese Translation” in the CC [closed captioning] settings.)
More Q&A shots:
Coury made the panel available for listening here. (My attempts to embed it failed.)
After exiting the theater, Bob talked shop with fans:
10/30 UPDATE: Video of most of the panel (ending abruptly after 57 minutes) was posted today:
The second panel I went to on Sunday, my last of the weekend, was Jeremy Parish, Frank Cifaldi, and Coury Carlson:
It was like the finale of a revue where all the acts return to play together.
After introducing themselves for those that hadn’t seen their other panels, Jeremy, Frank, and Coury talked about what avenues are available for playing old video games.
Close-ups of Jeremy:
Frank:
…and Coury:
Wide shots:
Part Two: Meeting and Greeting
I caught up with Frank Cifaldi after his Saturday panel. I told him I was in a similar situation preserving photos, videos, and documents digitally. Then, Try took our picture:
After that, Frank took a picture of me with Coury and Try:
I caught up with Leonard Herman his table before his panel:
I was finally introduced to Pat Contri:
…and his colleague Ian Ferguson:
I spent a lot of time at the table shared by Coury, Try, Pat, and Ian, along with Ian’s wife Vani. I watched as fans came by to meet them and had in-depth conversations with them. The topics ranged from games to travel to video production to my running. Coury was surprised that I had run 8.8 miles early Sunday morning.
I briefly spoke to Bob Neal from RetroRGB once I got back to the table after the RGB Master Class and Try took our picture:
Following my last panel, I briefly spoke to Jeremy Parish, complimenting him on his recently-wrapped Virtual Boy Works series. After 21 proper episodes on the 22 releases (13 in North American and Japan, 9 exclusive to Japan), he posted this retrospective:
Ryan, a staff member I grew accustomed to in the theater planetarium, took a picture of me and Jeremy before I left for the weekend:
Part Three: Pictorial Tour
This is a pictorial tour through all three floors of the expo, starting on the first floor:
This game is actually part of the museum, unaffiliated with the expo:
The second floor:
Among the musical performers were the band Consoul, who played music from several video games:
At the time, they were playing the main theme from Super Mario 64. For reference, here is the original music:
