Old School Mic

I like old things.

Riding to the Park

My folks have a sweet dog, Bonnie. Today, they let me ride to the park with them.



Bonnie is a sweetheart, and when I visit, I get all the benefits of dog ownership without having to do any of the difficult parts of dog ownership. Yay.

Children: What's That All About?

You Meet the Nicest People Online

I love the Internet. No secret there, I guess. But I love the magic it makes happen. For instance, today I got a letter from a professor in India. Here's his note.

"I'm a professor at Xavier Institute of Management and am currently working on a book for Business Communication. While researching for my book, I came across your Titanic press release and frankly, was very impressed with the way you've written it. I was hoping that I could use the press release as one of the case studies in my book; with, of course, proper citations and due credit to you. Please let me know if I have your permission for the same. I think students could learn a lot from the press release. Looking forward to your reply. Regards, Prof. Mallika Nawal."

The article in question was written a decade ago (I think), and in reading it again, I'm proud of what it does. It's written as a mock news conference for the White Star Line the day after the Titanic sank. Read the article.

I think it's funny, but also makes some interesting points about public relations "spin" and how companies handle crisis situations. (See how I wrote "crisis situations" there? That was because I didn't know what the plural of "crisis" is.)

Anyway, I love that this professor found me, and I'm always amazed when I hear from people around the world requesting one of my billboards for their seminars, or when they want to use something I've written in a Toastmasters contest or in a textbook.

The world has truly become a much smaller place, even while my world is bigger than I ever thought was possible.

UPDATE (10 MINUTES LATER)

I wrote back to the professor, and he responded immediately. Of course, I have to share his response because he says nice things about my work.

"Dear Scott (I'm taking a liberty here, let me know if you like to be
addressed as Mr. Roeben). I did not only like your work, I thought it was brilliant. It somehow managed to incorporate everything that I teach in class. Therefore, I
really wanted to use it. Just to give you a heads-up on the book, the publishers are Cengage Learning (erstwhile Thomson-Learning) and the book is roughly 400-500
pages, covering all dimensions of Business Communication - Oral, Written, Grooming, Etiquette. You have a very witty style of writing. In fact, it's been quite a while
since I came across something so good. Once I put the manuscript in place (we are expecting to release the book by Nov/Dec), I'll send you a copy. Once again, thank you for your permission. I'm truly grateful."

Told you. You meet the nicest people online.

Yeah, We Got Us Some Culture in Vegas

Does architecture count as culture? If so, Vegas has some of that!



This is the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, designed by world-renowned architect and guy I'd never heard of before today, Frank Gehry.

Not a Dry Eye in the House

This young woman shared her story at the Spread the Word Nevada Storybook Gala on Sep. 11, 2010. Veronica is such a sweetheart, and it took a lot of nerve to get up there in front of hundreds of people to help inspire others to support the efforts of this nonprofit that gives books to at-risk kids.



Kind of the reason I've devoted so much volunteer time to Kids to Kids.

Hogs and Heifers

Yesterday was my first time at Hogs and Heifers, a biker bar in downtown Las Vegas. It's a colorful place, so I thought I'd try and give it a colorful photographic treatment.



A little photo magic, combining three exposures of the same image. Love the look. The place? The jury's still out on that one.

Kids Don't Generally, Y'Know, Look Like That

Sometimes, I wonder if people look at my photos and think, "It's easy to take a photo of that kid! The sparkle in the eyes, the flawless skin. Perfect." Well, yes, kids are perfect, blah, blah. But even good genes get a nudge with Photoshop, people.

Here's an "after."



And here's the before.



The perfect little angel got, well, she got perfecter. Wasn't my fault she dove into that cupcake! Photoshop just makes what's there, there-er. The perfect, perfect-er.

Then again, sometimes, you just show up.

Sometimes, You Get to Meet Your Heroes

A week or two ago, I got to meet a couple of my heroes. I went to the Monte Carlo and saw one of my all-time favorite bands, Wang Chung.

I wouldn't say the show was Earth-shattering, but they played some '80s classics, and it was a good time. I was truly delighted, though, that the guys in the band, Jack Hues (below) and Nick Feldman, stayed afterward and mingled.



It was great being able to just hang out with these guys, and to have the opportunity to let them know how much joy their music has given me all these years. I can't say I'm a real music guy. But their records (along with those of Duran Duran) are a part of me, kind of the soundtrack of my life, as they say.

Thanks, Vegas, for making it happen. Because everybody plays Vegas, eventually.

Happy Birthday, Kiddo

Happy birthday to my nephew. In photos, he almost seems human.

Jeff Dunham, It Ends Up, Is a Nice Guy

I got to shoot some quick portraits of comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham at Rao's restaurant inside Caesars Palace today. Funny, unassuming, nice guy. Multi-millionaire guy.



Jeff Dunham factoid: His video, with Achmed the Dead Terrorist, has 188 million views, and is the eighth most-viewed video on YouTube ever.

I learned about this performer, both in my research about him (research I hoped would enable me to ask him questions that didn't make me sound like an idiot during our interview), and from the man himself.

Among the things I learned was that Jeff Dunham makes all his own characters. ("Puppets," to you and me.) I also learned how incredibly skillful he is at his craft. There were times when his puppet's eyes looked at me, and Dunham was actually looking in another direction, and there was this very, very weird feeling that the dummy was alive. The puppet exhibited a range of emotions, essentially moving on its eyebrows, eyes and mouth. Astonishing and a wee unnerving.

The character in question is Diane (below). Both Dunham and Diane made an appearance in the recent movie "Dinner for Schmucks." According to Dunham, the director of the movie, Jay Roach, asked him to create a puppet that was "creepy hot." Yep, that pretty much sums her up.



See? Freaky!

I also learned, from someone I believe is Jeff Dunham's manager, that manipulating a puppet with that level of sophistication takes a huge amount of focus and dexterity. Dunham makes it look easy, but there's a lot going on inside that puppet's body. His manager also told me that same dexterity helped Dunham learn to fly a helicopter, something that often takes weeks or months to master, in a weekend.

This pic includes Jeff Dunham's girlfriend, helping to primp Diane for her close-up.



I didn't have any idea what to expect before I met Jeff Dunham. But the encounter was completely pleasant, as was Jeff Dunham. I look forward to seeing his show sometime.