Jay Allen's Blog

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

As most of you have heard or read, Iran "tested" at least 7 missiles today. This has increased tensions in the Middle East and around the world. Israeli minister, Ze'ev Boim stated that "Israel should prepare itself to do what is needed to do."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7498214.stm

In the United States, Obama and McCain offer vastly different ideas. McCain suggests a militaristic approach by building a missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland. Obama suggests the United States should engage in more direct, aggressive diplomacy. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080709/ap_on_el_pr/candidates_iran_missiles;_ylt=Aq5BR1EOmJcKBWVvwCCVDK5h24cA

While I cannot say for certain what the United States should do about this Iranian issue, I do know that we have far fewer options because of "w" pushing our country into a war in Iraq. What do you think?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Many of you are familiar with the TLC show "Flip That House" and other similar shows on HGTV.  Do you all find these shows to be informative or simply a form of entertainment?

It seems to me that these shows provide as much educational value for remodeling and construction as Dr. 90210 provides for plastic surgery.  The expression, "the devil is in the details" can apply to these shows - simply because these shows exclude many of the tedious, but necessary details involved in "flipping".  For years, television has made professional sports look as easy as brushing your teeth, but when you actually try to shoot a basketball or hit a baseball, you quickly realize that it is very difficult and requires a lot of practice.

Let me know what you think... Useful or Useless?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

An article in the current Time Magazine by Amanda Ripley looks at "10 Good Things About $4 Gas" - Below are a few highlights...

• 4 day work weeks - government and private companies are moving away from the 5 day work weeks
• Less traffic - (in Boston, turnpike use declined by 600,000 cars in May)
• Less obesity - ("A permanent $1 hike in prices may cut obesity 10%, saving thousands of lives and billions of dollars a year, estimates Charles Courtemanche, an assistant professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.")
• Less pollution* - less driving means fewer emissions

*As a closing thought, I have noticed that my allergies have been much worse this year than ever before - less pollution may mean more pollen and perhaps my lungs are better equipped to handle pollution than pollen!

If you have any thoughts on this story or my blog, I would love to hear your opinion!

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

I'm not the biggest Starbucks fan, but I was surprised to read that the company is planning on closing 600 stores (8.5% of its total stores).  The article appeared on CNN/Fortune's website - http://dailybriefing.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/07/01/starbucks-has-a-bitter-plan/.  It looks like the economy is to blame for Starbucks misfortune, but I wonder how much of a role, with $5 cups of coffee, Starbucks has had in hurting the economy.  It's quite a big stretch to suggest that Starbucks has hurt the economy.  And don't get me wrong... Starbucks does make a great cup of coffee and I'm sure there are stories of people who met to start careers and marriages at Starbucks, but I would say that the majority of Starbucks consumers would be in a slightly better financial position if they could trade those Starbucks cups from the past for McDonalds or Folgers.

If you have any thoughts on this story or my blog, I would love to hear your opinion!

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Jay Allen has performed and produced professional voice overs since 1995. He records all voice overs via digital technology and provides them by Internet download, email, CD or any method you need. Jay provides a professional male voice for almost every budget.

Jay Allen's previous projects include television commercials, radio commercials, promos, voicemail, phone systems, on-hold messages, training/business presentations, web sites, documentaries, on-camera, and live announcements/emcee.

Your voice over will be recorded with high quality digital sound including mp3, wav and aif. And you save money by not having to cover the cost of ISDN connections and equipment. For more samples of my voice work, visit http://voice123.com/jayallen.

Cadiz, KY
- Cadiz is a city in Trigg County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,373 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Trigg County. It is an old town located close to the Land Between the Lakes, a popular recreation area, and was a base of Union and Confederate operations in the American Civil War. It has become known as a tourist location, with its tourist information center located in an authentic 19th-century log cabin in its original location.

Geography
- Cadiz is located at (36.867781, -87.817374).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.0 km²), all of it land.

Climate
- Cadiz has a borderline humid continental climate and four distinct seasons. The warmest month of the year is July, with an average high temperature of 90°F. The coldest month is January, with an average high temperature of 44°F.

Source: Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadiz%2C_Kentucky

Murray, KY
- Murray is a city in Calloway County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 15,725 as of 2006 census estimates and has a micropolitan area population of 35,421. It is the county seat of Calloway County[2] and is the home of Murray State University.

Geography
Murray is located at (36.609494, -88.315656).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.7 square miles (25.1 km²), all of it land.

Murray is situated 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of the 170,000 acre (688 km²) Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, which offers fishing, boating, swimming, camping, and a large wildlife population.

Climate
Murray has a borderline humid continental climate and four distinct seasons. The warmest month of the year is July, with an average high temperature of 90°F. The coldest month is January, with an average high temperature of 44°F.

Source: Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray%2C_Kentucky

HGTV has a variety of shows.  House Hunters is the one that seems like it's on the most at my home.  While the camera work and editing is good, the music played in this show has got to be the most annoying music in existence!  It is a repetitive mix of mind numbing techno.  Has anyone else noticed the music on this show and others?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

I just noticed that the Favorite Beatles Album blog post is a featured article at Localism - not sure how long it will stay there, but good nonetheless...

Best regards,
Jay

Hello everyone in ActiveRain land!  Today, I noticed that AR had no group pages dedicated to Elvis Presley.  If you're an Elvis fan, check out, join and post on the new Elvis group page - http://activerain.com/groups/elvis.

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

We've started the discussion on favorite Beatles albums - now for the songs (an impossible question).

The first 10 favorite songs that came to my mind are:  A Day in the Life, Eight Days a Week, Eleanor Rigby, Helter Skelter, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Let It Be, In My Life, Things We Said Today, You Never Give Me Your Money, Yesterday.

I'm curious as to what everyone else thinks!

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Benton, KY
- Benton is a city in Marshall County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 4,197 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Marshall County[1].

Shape-note singers gather annually at Benton on the fourth Sunday in May to sing from a tunebook called The Southern Harmony. This event, organized in 1884 and called The Big Singing or Big Singing Day, is considered by many to be the oldest indigenous musical tradition in the United States. Benton is also known for an annual festival called "Tater Day" at which Marshall Countians gather on the court square to eat, listen to music and political speeches.

Geography
- Benton is located at (36.855231, -88.354047).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10.2 km²), all of it land.

Source: Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benton%2C_Kentucky

Jay Allen has performed and produced professional voice overs since 1995. He records all voice overs via digital technology and provides them by Internet download, email, CD or any method you need. Jay provides a professional male voice for almost every budget.

Jay Allen's previous projects include television commercials, radio commercials, promos, voicemail, phone systems, on-hold messages, training/business presentations, web sites, documentaries, on-camera, and live announcements/emcee.

Your voice over will be recorded with high quality digital sound including mp3, wav and aif. And you save money by not having to cover the cost of ISDN connections and equipment. For more samples of my voice work, visit http://voice123.com/jayallen.

Jay Allen has performed and produced professional voice overs since 1995.  He records all voice overs via digital technology and provides them by Internet download, email, CD or any method you need. Jay provides a professional male voice for almost every budget.

Jay Allen's previous projects include television commercials, radio commercials, promos, voicemail, phone systems, on-hold messages, training/business presentations, web sites, documentaries, on-camera, and live announcements/emcee.

Your voice over will be recorded with high quality digital sound including mp3, wav and aif. And you save money by not having to cover the cost of ISDN connections and equipment.  For more samples of my voice work, visit http://voice123.com/jayallen.

About Me
Jay Allen has performed and produced professional voice overs since 1995.  He records all voice overs via digital technology and provides them by Internet download, email, CD or any method you need. Jay provides a professional male voice for almost every budget.

Jay Allen's previous projects include television commercials, radio commercials, promos, voicemail, phone systems, on-hold messages, training/business presentations, web sites, documentaries, on-camera, and live announcements/emcee.

Your voice over will be recorded with high quality digital sound including mp3, wav and aif. And you save money by not having to cover the cost of ISDN connections and equipment.  For more samples of my voice work, visit http://voice123.com/jayallen.

About Me
Jay Allen has performed and produced professional voice overs since 1995.  He records all voice overs via digital technology and provides them by Internet download, email, CD or any method you need. Jay provides a professional male voice for almost every budget.

Jay Allen's previous projects include television commercials, radio commercials, promos, voicemail, phone systems, on-hold messages, training/business presentations, web sites, documentaries, on-camera, and live announcements/emcee.

Your voice over will be recorded with high quality digital sound including mp3, wav and aif. And you save money by not having to cover the cost of ISDN connections and equipment.  For more samples of my voice work, visit http://voice123.com/jayallen.