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Spring Cleaning My Home Recording Studio

Spring is here and so I thought it was high time I thoroughly cleaned the electronics in my studio: computer and peripherals and audio interface. Perhaps you're thinking it's time to clean your studio electronics as well, so here are the steps I followed; maybe you'll find them helpful. Before I started, I sought out some advice from Apple's web site (since I'm a Mac based studio) and also some from other trusted sources. When I was ready to clean, I gathered together the supplies I needed: a long-handled microfiber duster, microfiber dish towel, cotton cloth (old but clean cut-up tee shirt really) and some [...]

By |2019-11-11T16:27:14-08:00March 20th, 2018|Audio Production, Spring Activity|0 Comments

Recording Booth, version 3.4 – What’s New?

Back in 2015, my husband created an enclosed booth for me, made of moving blankets. Big improvement for me - and didn't cost much, either. Five moving blankets and a couple sets of grommets probably cost a little over 100 bucks. So, what's been added or changed over the last couple of years? Just a few tweaks, really: the straight-back dining room chair was switched out for a more comfy padded office chair; an iPad was added; the music stand was raised up to eye level - much better for the posture and the voice. And what's next? Probably just some more tweaks. Lately, I've [...]

By |2019-11-12T17:42:17-08:00February 20th, 2017|Audio Production, Audiobooks|0 Comments

Introducing My New Recording Fort

Remember when you were a kid and you built a fort out of pillows, blankets, whatever? Same idea here - this one's built out of moving blankets. I put it up and take it down every day that I record but it's really the brainchild of my husband - he designed it, hammered in the grommets and installed the wood screws. This is recording set-up 3.0 for me. When I first started out in voiceover and audiobooks, I set up the mic stand in a corner of the bedroom and hung blankets around me as best as I could. That location, however, proved to be [...]

By |2019-11-12T21:25:27-08:00September 30th, 2015|Audio Production, Audiobooks|0 Comments

Go Ahead – Take a Peek Behind the Curtain

Welcome. I took quite a break from blogging - but now I'm back. And I thought I'd have a bit of an open house, just to kick things off. (And yep, that's my AKG mic peeking out from the curtain to welcome you in.) So, what's been going on lately? Well, my latest audiobook, Kaanapali Beach Paradise, is now available on Audible, Amazon and iTunes, so that's some good news to share. On the personal front, I'm on a quest to read all of P.D. James's Adam Dalgleish books. I've read most of the later ones, but it occurred to me that I'd never read [...]

By |2019-11-12T21:27:09-08:00April 30th, 2015|Audio Production, Audiobooks|0 Comments

Think You Know What “Luck of the Irish” Really Means?

Ironic phrase, isn't it? After all, when you think of how truly unlucky the Irish have been down through the ages, it seems the epitome of irony: pillaged by the Vikings, persecuted by the English monarchy, starved by the potato blight, then despised and ridiculed when they arrived in America. But some of them did quite well during the Gold Rush in California and the American West; apparently some of the most successful gold and silver miners were Irish. Of course, people thought the Irish mining successes couldn't have been achieved through their ingenuity or brains, so it must have been just sheer luck. And [...]

By |2020-04-17T17:20:05-08:00March 15th, 2014|Holidays, Winter Activity|0 Comments

Are You Making a Difference?

I have a policy in my business of giving back to the community. Maybe it comes from being in Scouts as a kid, or the Halloween trick-or-treating nights - holding a bag for candy in one hand and a UNICEF "milk carton" in the other. Doesn't matter how it started but giving of my time, talent and treasure is a vital part of my business and life. But I am blown away by the generosity of spirit and professional dedication of my friend Michelle Tomlinson, who has created an online talk show as a way to give back. Michelle is a cancer survivor and conceived [...]

By |2014-03-01T15:55:14-08:00March 1st, 2014|Giving Back, Winter Activity|2 Comments

Forget How to Have Fun?

One hot summer day a couple of years ago, I ran into an old friend from my CalArts days. As we were catching up, she asked, "So, what are you doing for fun?" Boy, was I stumped. Then she said, "Ann, did you forget how to have fun?" "Wow," I thought, "maybe I have." And since I didn't really have an answer, we both just laughed. Why am I thinking about fun in mid-February? Well, for one thing, it IS my birthday month. (And I DID celebrate with a nice dinner out, followed by some cake and champagne at home, with the hubby.) But I've [...]

By |2014-02-15T22:51:33-08:00February 15th, 2014|Recreation, Winter Activity|0 Comments

Let’s Get Physical – Taking Better Care of My Health

The baseline from which I'm starting is that my health is good; and I'm grateful. But I think I could do better with my routine (or lack of one), my diet, exercise (or lack of it) and the amount of rest I get. We're not talking about radical changes: I'm not going from a sedentary lifestyle to training for a major marathon. I mean making small tweaks now that will yield bigger results later on. Diet. OK, my diet is good. When people learn my real age, the first question they ask is, "What's your secret?" After the initial blushing, hemming and hawing, I usually [...]

By |2014-02-01T15:49:28-08:00February 1st, 2014|Health|0 Comments

2014 – Year of Sea Change

I have dubbed 2014 as the year of sea change. And, so far, it's certainly living up to its name. In the second week of the new year, I joined a theatre company - the Eclectic - the company I so enjoyed working with last summer. Less than a week later, I was asked if I could replace an actor who dropped out of a show due to a family situation. The request was made on Monday - and the show opened on Friday - and there would be only two rehearsals before opening. So, I looked at the script and thought, "Wow, this is [...]

By |2014-01-22T12:15:36-08:00January 22nd, 2014|Winter Activity|0 Comments
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