Eastbound And Down...

We're loaded up and truckin' (I love it whenever I can make a Jerry Reed reference and show a video of Burt Reynolds)

The visas came in just after 1 PM. I guess that is good news, but I was hoping they wouldn't come in. You see, now we have to take a military-chartered flight. Don't get me wrong, this flight is super nice. Generally speaking there is more leg room on this flight than commercial carriers...However, the showtime is midnight for a 2 AM flight, it will be choke-full of kids, (I know I have three, but all of them are super quite)the booze isn't free, and it drops us off three and half hours away from where we will be living. The civilian flight on the other hand probably won't have as many kids, the booze is free, no crazy showtime, and it would have dropped us off 45-minutes from where we live. Either way..we're very excited to leave.

Ollie was pretty cool last night in the empty house. Shelly explained to him before we got there that there would be nothing in the house except the TV. I think that and the Happy Meal made it all cool. He really seemed to dig the echo in the house. Maddy and Ollie ran like crazy all over the house. By the time we got back to our apartment (hotel) they were beat.

DVR Content Promise...or Our Move!

My youngest is still having a tough time with our move to Italy. Last night we put some "DO NOT PACK" stickers on items staying with the house. Ollie didn't like it too much. He's having a difficult time piecing everything together. He still thinks we're only going for a 7-day trial. Well one of the items posted with a do not pack was our cable box. He wanted to know if we'd still get channel 17, 28...and his biggest question was whether or not we'd have free DVR content. Cox DVR also provides a ton of free content. Everything from cartoons to self-help. The truth is...yes, we will still get channel 17, 28...they just won't be the same as they are here. AFN only offers 8 different channels and no DVR. However...Sky Digital does!

Tonight we move into the hotel. If all goes well, we'll fly off to Italy on Monday morning.

What's In A Name?

To increase blog traffic, you need to know who you you're writing for and what you're writing about! My friends at audio'connell and The D-Ring both just wrote interesting blogs on this topic. I currently have three different blogs. One hasn't even started, the other is dependent on me being on the radio...and this one...Broadcast This! I think lately, it has been a bit scattered...at best. Does this draw people in? Or does it only feed my current friends and family? Well I think I should keep Broadcast This! focused on all things, well, broadcast! New media, challenges, tips, tricks, VO... Kasbah Radio will be focused on all things RADIO. Likewise, Opposites Attract will one day be about...well, I'm not sure yet.

So that brings us up to the present task at hand. What should I call my new blog? It will be about everything else I like to blog about. My day in the life type of stuff. I want to keep it sort of branded with Broadcast This! I'm thinking________________ This! Since, I'm a big fan of new media, and citizen journalism, I WANT YOU TO PICK THE NAME OF MY NEW BLOG! That's right! YOU! Send me in your name for my new blog, then I will post a poll on the side bar. Then starting 1 Jan 08, I will change the name. Are you in? Send your response to my e-mail: afnbroadcaster@gmail.com

Let the fun begin!

Drop Case Trick

I was cruising around the interweb today and went to Beautiful Beta! A cool website where you can learn some slick tricks. There are other tricks and widgets and other cool sites you can hit on. If you're in the mood to see something funny, check out my good friend Chris' latest post. I think there are at least four child labor laws broke, but his little boy is probably better than most of my co-workers. (E-mail me and I'll tell you which ones! HA-HA)

100,000 Miles of Memories, Now In Someone Else's Memory Book

First of all...YES this is an endorsement for craigslist! In just 15-minutes I sold my 1997 Isuzu Rodeo, complete with 100,000 miles of memories. We just shipped our Saab to Italy yesterday and were not sure how long it would take to sell the Rodeo, so we put it up today. Incredible! It seems like yesterday we bought it! Oh the memories...

I remember when we bought the car. I was playing volleyball in Sacramento, and Shelly was really baby-sick. I finished early with my games and I just happened to pick up an advertisement for Rodeo's. I drove over, started talking to a salesman, and got double fish hooked. I called Shelly, and like a trooper, against her better will, she agreed to come down to look at this car. Well, we didn't have enough to get a new Rodeo, but they had this one...last year's model available. So Shelly let me get it. She'll go on record that although she loved and loves the car, it isn't the one she wanted!

I remember the when I drove Maddy home from the hospital...I drove 25 mph the entire way...four months later when for some reason I thought I could drive from Sacramento to Salt Lake City in one day...Maddy let me know she wasn't happy! With a U-Haul trailer in-tow, I drove 85 mph for almost two hours.

I remember the first time Maddy got sick in the car. The first time Oliver got sick in the car...They were very similar. In fact, I think we were off to IKEA both times.
Well, today I sold the car to Noah, Amber, and Layla. Noah and Amber are a young couple, much like Shelly and I were. They are tall folks just like us too. It gets even more interesting. They drive a Honda Civic Hatchback and a beater. That is exactly what Shelly and I drove when we met. There was no way either of us was going to bend into a two-door. That was the first thing Amber said when she say the car..."I won't have to bend down anymore!"

So today, a new family gets to begin the next 100,000 miles of memories.

On a sad note...Ollie is very sad to see the Blue car go. As of right now, we don't have a car. That made him sad too. He said, now we can't go anywhere, we can only order food from the computer. I then showed all of the $100 bills I had and he got a real big smile on his face and said, maybe we could get a taxi!

Who Says There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch?

It all started some seven months ago with a simple e-mail to Voices.ComI must have sent around 30 e-mails that day. Basically, I listened to a ton of voices and sent an e-mail to every voice I liked. I was on my way to AFN Iraq for my second tour of duty and I wanted to freshen up the station image/sound. I had big dreams and was looking for someone (our a lot of someones) to help. About three or four radio stations made a handful of sweepers for the station...BUT...one guy did a lot more than a few.
(No I didn't lose an arm in Iraq!)

Charlie Glaize basically set Freedom Radio up! He voiced, and voiced and voiced. Then voiced some more. Before I even left for Baghdad I already had a few show openers, some liners/sweepers...and a bumber to play between almost ANY FREEDOM RADIO ARTIST Yep! Charlie sent me a liner block that said, "You know you're listening to Freedom Radio when you hear____________" then voiced more than 300 different artists. WOW! His generosity didn't stop there. I was still looking to add some more voices for other shows, when Charlie told me I should e-mail a Friend of his...Bob Souer. Bob quickly sent in three radio spots for my 36-Hour Memorial Day show. He then pointed me to VO-BB, where DB Cooper quickly put everything in line and amazed me with her organization skills. (I could easily write a blog on each of the talented VO folks who helped me out...but not today!)

Today is about Charlie. The two of us had lunch Sunday at The Bier Garden in Portsmouth. In a way, I'm glad no other VO's came. Have you ever met someone who you felt as though you've known them forever? Well Charlie fits that bill. We immediately began talking as if we'd been longtime friends. We talked about everything under the sun...and then some. Thanks Charlie!

So whoever says there's no such thing as a free lunch has never met Charlie. He not only sent me thousands of dollars worth of free VO-work, he also treated me to a great meal and some beer. What a country!

Every voice/station listed on Kasbah Radio volunteered their voice/talent to Freedom Radio.