hypothalamus in brain Are blood sugar levels monitored in any way by the brain or is it soley done by the endocrine system?
I'm pretty sure one of the outputs of the hypothalamus does include endocrine hormones. Please help...
Blood sugar levels are monitored by the pancreas. If they become too high, the pancreas releases insulin which causes the cells to take in glucose and form glycogen (the storage form of glucose). This occurs in the liven. When blood glucose levels fall, the pancreas releases the hormone glucagon which stimulates the breakdown of stored glycogen back into glucose so it can be released into the bloodstream to increase blood sugar levels.
Using a multidisciplinary approach, it combines anatomical, cellular and physiological studies by preeminent experts. Features important insights into the function of the hypothalamus.
What is a hypothalamus? How do reflexes work? Why is water important for a healthy brain? The Human Machine asks the questions that young people want answered. Each chapter contains a different question, so readers can develop their knowledge.
Nutritional support for the hypothalamus, considered to be control headquarters for the limbic system.* The hypothalamus controls most of the vegetative and endocrine functions of the body, as well as many aspects of emotional behavior.* These functions include regulation of body temperature, regula
Key Differences Among the Most Commonly Used Keyword Suggestion Tools Part 1
Rigid, unchanging procedures threaten any business activity. With Internet-enabled and -related enterprises, keeping up with technological progress is absolutely essential to survival. As opposed to static (unchanging) websites that are not looking to strengthen or increase their industry share, any dynamic (changing) website will have new copy, even new strategies, on an ongoing basis. Regular, extensive, ongoing keyword research is not a luxury, but a basic survival tactic.
Understanding how people actually use words, and the relationships these words have in the context of an Internet search, is key to threading these words and phrases through the fabric of your site. Because the Internet is so very dynamic, with word relationships changing seemingly by the minute, this is a huge and growing challenge for more and more people and companies. After all, the Internet is growing into the major commercial and communication hub of the world. Accurate and useful keyword suggestion tools – and their intelligent implantation into business and marketing strategy, are a major part of the solution.
There are a plethora of keyword suggestion tools available, from free to cost-based, including NicheBot, Wordtracker, KeywordDiscovery, SEOBook, and the various Google keyword tools. In this two-part article, we will consider these tools and the differences among them. Part one will cover the first three on the list, while part two will cover the Google tools and SEOBook’s Keyword Suggestion Tool.
Most importantly, perhaps, these tools help you estimate the relative (rather than absolute) size of the search referral “market” produced by particular words and phrases. You will develop a better understanding of what terms appear how often in search queries, and what other terms are correlated with them, and how many times they are searched compared to those other terms. The analytics you develop with the tools will also give you a good idea of how their suggestions will fare, and provide a means of understanding “competition levels” for specific words and phrases.
Naturally, there are differences both large and small among these keyword analysis/suggestion tools. Google, of course, compiles its tool data from its own search network of sites and offers tremendous functionality at low or no cost. The subscription-based services, such as Wordtracker and KeywordDiscovery, take advantage of databases of multiple sites and data that can be assembled, broken down, repurposed and presented in myriad ways.
Specific tool functionality Wordtracker aggregates its keyword data from the leading meta search engines, primarily Dogpile but with input from MetaCrawler and others. In Wordtracker’s attempts to mine keyword gold, it will discover how many times a certain term or phrase shows up in its database of over 316 million words. This is quite a trick in itself, as English (according to linguists) has between 600,000 and two million words, depending upon how we define a “word.” It is clear that Wordtracker leaves no permutation or word-form uncounted, which is a distinct benefit.
Wordtracker’s brain trust asserts that metacrawlers process the queries of the leading search engines with some precision, and that the software robots that continuously check site rankings and such do not interfere with the count. In a different approach, KeywordDiscovery relies on its global “premium database” of some 4.5 billion searches based solely on user data, thus diminishing the distortions inherent in some other strategies.
If you are considering which tool to use, you can still get free trials of most tools, except that you usually need to provide contact information, with phone numbers and e-mail addresses required. There are few ways to use and compare the tools anonymously, so the next best approach is “meta-analysis,” in which we look at various published third-party reports on the actual use of these tools.
In a study published last year, one technology writer performed keyword forecasts for "dog food" with KeywordDiscovery, Wordtracker and several other programs. Despite using different original data sets, all of these tools try to supply reliable estimates of the available search referral traffic without “data inflation.” There are numerous ways to analyze and present the results.
On average, KeywordDiscovery predicted there would be some 1,088 searches for "dog food" daily, while Wordtracker calculated the probable search referral market for "dog food" to be about double that. KeywordDiscovery does have a unique and quite useful algorithm that considers “seasonality” in its results, letting you review the seasonality of terms historically, as monthly estimates or even as a component of annual trends. Search engine market share is developed, as well.
KeywordDiscovery and Wordtracker results can both be repurposed to estimate just Google referral traffic or that of any other major engine. In the tech columnist’s example, the Wordtracker daily estimate for Google's "dog food" search was 1,043, or almost half of all the “Daily Prediction” information. KeywordDiscovery had Google accounting for 67 percent of its “Average Daily” results, thus suggesting that 738 "dog food" searches would be made in Google every day.
Perhaps this does not seem to be much of an absolute difference, but when considered over a 30-day period, the difference scaled up considerably in this particular test. KeywordDiscovery estimated some 22,000+ "dog food" searches that month, but Wordtracker projected over 31,000 "dog food" searches for that same period.
A ‘niche’ player Nichebot came on the scene with some degree of fanfare. It is a complex program, with a tightly specified methodology that lacks flexibility in some important ways. On the other hand, it gathers data from more sources than Wordtracker – leveraging the results from KeywordDiscovery and Google – and provides a great selection of explanatory videos, instructive screenshots and excellent “Help” functions.
However, Nichebot recommends a five-step system, which can be time-consuming and confusing, even for veterans. There are, of course, some free “quick-dig” tools, including, oddly enough, Wordtracker and its thesaurus. While it is free to search Wordtracker via Nichebot, you get only basic counts, and must pay for a premium search if you wish to see competition data and the Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI).
You can dig a bit “deeper” without additional cost by clicking on a term or phrase in the results, which provides a list of associated phrases. One savvy forum poster declared that the primary purpose for using Nichebot is “to find as many keywords from multiple sources to cover as much territory for the maximum traffic for your website.” In practice, he explained, one can start “from a broad search and just keep refining, merging, narrowing in.”
The proliferation of “niche” tools and functions would seem to be a sensible development given Nichebot’s name, but the added functionality comes at a price. For instance, you can get the addresses of the sites that have the greatest number of backlinks for a particular term, but the learning curve involved with this program makes the more arcane data difficult to develop.
Generally speaking, Nichebot results are excellent, and it allows better organization of projects and searches via its folder hierarchy. Further, the program checks your site for keyword density "red flags" that Google may note (and disapprove of). As premium search charges kick in a bit early compared to others, the question for users has to be, Do the premium charges return enough value to offset the time and money spent to obtain it?
Time and tide While meta-analysis of user comments at a random selection of forums discloses that they don’t find Nichebot particularly intuitive, it is considered an impressive software achievement.
Even its appearance gives Nichebot the impression that using it takes time and discipline. While KeywordDiscovery and Wordtracker can be used in a stream-of-consciousness manner at times, Nichebot does not lend itself to brainstorming or “fluid” search styles. This is a direct result, of course, of its having the power it does. Despite that power, it does have a number of anomalies that are commonly reported. For one thing, it applies its vaunted “Jackpot” rating to keywords for which it finds no competition, even if that is the case because of error or anomaly.
Finally, a number of users report that advanced searches can get stuck in a “holding pattern” (in a queue) and take from 15-20 minutes to generate results. With the tide of the Internet forever washing new waves onto the shore, time is of the essence. Even though advanced keyword research searches can return valuable data, it is no stretch to say that many marketers might consider 20 minutes per keyword tool inquiry to be a barrier to frequent or consistent use.
Rating the tools Wordtracker is easier to use for most people, but the possibilities are certainly expanded with Nichebot. Doing random or unassociated searches “by the seat of your pants” is among Wordtracker’s great strengths, but Nichebot works well to focus your work and helps you take a step-by-step, measured approach. It can be said that Nichebot can not only return search terms and numbers, but can actually sub as your defacto keyword research process. As one user commented at a KEI forum, Nichebot “takes a lot of the guesswork out [but] getting there is somewhat painful.”
KeywordDiscovery’s “9-in-1 tool” approach (check their site, it’s even divided up this way) is popular with many users. It goes some 10,000 keywords deep and the more you pay the deeper you can go. Nichebot does provide more information, but it has that steep learning curve and much harder to learn than the more “friendly” Wordtracker and KeywordDiscovery.
What works best for you will most likely be a product of trial and error – and for many will be a combination of the tools. Because you have to give up more and more personal data to get the “free trials,” however, you may want to let other people’s fingers “do the walking” and continue to do meta-analyses of others’ results. Thee is a lot of wisdom to be gleaned from multiple opinions, yet there is nothing like running your own research your own way. Trust the judgment of tech columnists and meta-analysts, or acquiesce to giving up some personal information to see for yourself.
Remember, because of the many search engines and the multitudes of sources the keyword tools get their numbers from, all of the results are relative. For starters, check out the most important, relevant and highly “trafficked” keywords and terms already associated with your site's content. As we move to Part Two and consider the Google tools and SEOBook’s program, don’t forget that ongoing study, research and testing are the most fruitful ways to stay abreast of an ever-changing universe of words – and all their relatives, too.
About the Author
AdGooroo is a leader in online competition analysis. With a cutting edge keyword research tool and providing free keyword research, AdGooroo is a must-have for any search marketer or agency.
This book provides a fascinating introduction to the main issues and findings in current brain research. It describes the historical developments behind our understanding of what the brain is and what it does, and explores the key questions neuroscientists face concerning the relationship between the brain and thought, memories, perceptions, and actions. - ;How does the brain work? How different is a human brain from other creatures' brains? Is the human brain still evolving?. In this fascinating book, Michael O'Shea provides a non-technical introduction to the main issues and findings in current brain research, and gives a sense of how neuroscience addresses questions about the relationship between the brain and the mind. Chapters tackle subjects such as brain processes, perception, memory, motor control and the causes of 'altered mental states'. A final section discusses possible future developments in neuroscience, touching on artificial intelligence, gene. therapy, the importance of the Human Genome Project, drugs by design, and transplants. - ;'O'Shea writes with real enthusiasm.' - The Guardian
Brain takes a 21st Century look at the major concepts that will help the young reader understand the complex structure and function of the brain. In amazing detail and with lavish illustration the book looks at every aspect of the amazing organ we share with animals and even plants. An amazing number of questions are answered from does size matter? to how does it sleep? Brain is a companion volume to Bones Brains and DNA.
Graham Dunstan Martin delves into areas as diverse as quantum physics, cosmology, artificial intelligence, brain science, biology, mysticism, and philosophy to assess the possibilities that the materialists are right. Are we living souls? Is our universe really the result of intelligent design? He concludes that computers will never become conscious; that the mind is not the same as the brain; that we geniunely and creatively possess free will; and that our experience of diverse levels of consciousness simply cannot be explained by a strictly materialistic approach to reality.
From the inventor of the PalmPilot comes a new and compelling theory of intelligence, brain function, and the future of intelligent machines Jeff Hawkins, the man who created the PalmPilot, ...
Ethnicity and regionalism in voice over, is your race or culture a burden?
This article has been on the shelves in the back of my mind for a while. I was waiting for the time to write it as much as I was waiting for the right words and phraseology to come to the forefront. This is and always will be a sensitive subject so I will attempt to treat it as such. I was further inspired to get it on paper now, by the recent departure of Isaac Hayes from the hit comedy cartoon South Park. Though the story of his departure includes religion and politics, neither one applies to this article. Isaac Hayes was the voice of the character Chef on Comedy Central's animated series because of who he was and what he sounded like when he spoke. Why he left the show has nothing to do with this article, but his situation while working for the show may have some correlation. It seemed now was just as good a time to write it as any other, with a little national attention being given to a topic in the same family.
So ok already, enough with the justification for writing it. Get on with it...
In several years of learning the ins and outs of the voice over business, I have always wondered if voice over might someday become a great pillar of equality. Something that leveled the playing field for the diverse multicultural society we call America; a business with open doors for all, regardless of where we came from or what color our skin happened to be. As I continue to ponder the possibilities of such a level playing field, the answer to the overall question is a resounding no. It will not be a playing field of equality anytime soon, but maybe not for all of the same old reasons you might suspect.
In no other business would it be acceptable, or for that matter legal, to post a job opportunity or listing with criteria or parameters such as "Wanted, African American male or female." or "looking for north American Caucasian male for this job."; job postings that in their limits not so subtly say, "No others need apply."
But in the voice over industry, the ability to pick and choose between male or female, black, white or Hispanic is not only an every day occurrence, it is the way business is done. Producers and casting directors are at liberty to be as finite as they like in their pursuit of the perfect match for their part. Does this make them evil, horrible people? No. But there is no shortage of talking points when it comes to how equally opportunities are spread among performers in the movie and television industry. Imagine the front doors of a large American corporation covered in posters to this effect: "wanted, computer programmer must be black female with a slight urban tinge to her voice." The idea should be so far from the realm of possibility as to be laughable, at least in this day and age. But in the voice over industry there are daily postings that don't imply or infer this. They come right out and say it.
No one will ever be able to tell the true intentions behind the people hiring for the project, and for our own sanity we might as well assume their intentions are good and with merit. With all of the attention and criticism Mel Gibson received for his hand in The Passion of the Christ, I don't think the thought of a black male lead ever crossed the minds of the people in the casting department, and oh what a ruckus there would have been had that been the direction they decided to take that movie in. Did they cast a white male lead actor for the part of Jesus in order to preserve the accuracy of the story? If so, there are many in this country and the rest of the world that question that accuracy.
Wait a minute... I can feel this article spiraling... Apply breaks, return to original intention, and get back to the topic...
Ok, I think I got it.
Suffice it to say, that people's true intent is generally buried so deep it is pointless to begin looking for it. If we want to move beyond the possibilities of prejudice and exception in this business, we will have to find a way to fool the directors and casting people. A way to beat the system that may or may not be in place. A way to overcome, so to speak, an obstacle that to this point remains faceless and so illusive it may never be tackled. We wont know what we are fighting, or if we are fighting anything at all. Not a very bright prospect.
Breaking Down Barriers.
When I have the opportunity to coach voice over talent with ethnic backgrounds different from my own, my mind opens to the fascination of the unknown. I am peering into a crevasse so deep and different from my own, that my receptors are on high alert. Inside that crevasse are many things I haven't ever seen, culture I may have never witnessed, beliefs and experiences that I may have never considered. Many are portions of human existence that I have never encountered, and as they have shaped this person, might shape me a little as well. I must witness them, learn from them, feel them and hear them in order to better mold my approach to teaching this craft. That is usually much easier said than done. Many times I encounter actors or broadcast talent who have fought so hard to suppress their regionalism, ethnicity or nationality that getting them to lower the wall they have been at times forced to create, is not an easy task.
Much of my ability to break down these barriers is simply a developmental approach to building trust. You may ask why I would try to break these walls down at all; why not just leave them be and skim over them? Probably for the same reason when I speak to someone I want them to look me in the eye. As a coach, it is my job to dig as deep as I can to find the raw talent. Then I need to bring that talent to the surface where it can breathe, grow and flourish. This is a performance art, a human business, an art form that requires people be their true selves. I am trying to teach voice actors how to create characters, not teach one character how to become another. I need to be able to see the real person. It is there I will find the voice I am trying to coach. I cannot coach the person adorned with a shallow façade. I need to talk to the real person behind the wall.
Reality dictates that societal pressures and socioeconomic status along with cultural background will be the strongest influences governing how a person presents themselves to others. In the far from Utopian community of commercial voice over talent, producers, and companies that hire freelance talent outright, if the above mentioned factors lead you to speak anything but "The Kings English" (along with his accent) the world of opportunity in voice over will be forever very small for you. The way we speak, our intonation and the regional artifacts in our sound play a huge role in whether or not we see any success in this industry.
Becoming better versions of ourselves.
So many people pursuing voice over or broadcasting careers are forced by some unwritten word of law to mold their sound into something considered more user friendly. Who makes those laws or sets that policy is unknown to me, as well as the rest of us, but more often than not it dictates that: Urban accents and dialects are eliminated or suppressed. Culture is lost and regional flavor is buried. What is left over is a completely manufactured sound which in turn becomes the person's permanent public or professional voice. Many times it sounds forced, which in turn makes it sound fake. When it sounds forced or fake the announcer sound starts to creep through. Forced, fake announcer style reads are not at the top of the hit list in the voice over business.
Producers and even regular people who might be casting voice talent are looking for the voice and/or feeling of real people; the guy or girl from the coffee shop, a person they met at the bank, the people who provide their daycare services, the people at the deli's and small shops they frequent. In essence, people they choose to interact with during their normal course of business. When many voice over jobs are cast, it is the feeling we get when we see a familiar face or hear a familiar voice that producers and casting people are trying to recreate.
When we see a familiar face, or hear a familiar voice and it is one we want to see or hear, it is generally comforting. When something is foreign to us, or strange and unrecognized, we are usually anything but comfortable. That in a nutshell is why we don't want our voices to be strange, unrecognizable or foreign to the general audience. Our ability as voice actors to create the desired imagery with our voices is what gets us hired and lands us jobs. What gets us overlooked if not pigeon-holed completely is not being able to deliver these voices without some sort of regional, urban or ethnic affect. When a voice actor auditions with any of the above artifacts in their voice for a job that does not expressly require or request them, they most likely will not get the job, and the person hiring for that job, by making a discriminate judgment, will have in essence discriminated against them because of the sound of their voice.
Understanding the brisance of the word "discrimination" I ask that you please entertain all definitions of that word before going off the deep end over my use of the word. It is not at all meant to imply the producers in the world are directly discriminating against anyone who sounds as if they are anything but white. That was not the intention of the comment, but the reality of that idea, is we will never know if they are or not. The only way to remove it as a possibility is to subvert it by becoming a better, more versatile voice over talent and learning to speak with or without our regional or ethnic affect. Essentially through training and practice becoming better versions of ourselves.
Embracing our natural character.
I can think of nothing more hurtful, insidious or nefarious than telling a person of any color, culture, race, nationality or creed that the way they were born into this world isn't good enough to participate in - and prosper from its harvest. However, that is the message received daily by people of various cultures from directions and sources that are too many to name. There are some who may conclude by my simply writing this article, I have become one of those sources. I beg to differ, but at this time decline to argue. Once again, I will not allow this article to spin out of control. My only comment is this: The longer we go on without talking about these issues, the longer we will ultimately end up talking about them.
Our natural character, more than how we sound when we speak, is what makes us whole. Though some of us might not entirely like ourselves, when we are free to be ourselves we seem to be most at ease. When it comes to the business of voice over, being at ease is one of the main keys to success in front of the microphone. We want to be relaxed. We want to be able to focus and concentrate on the task at hand, both of which are quite difficult when a portion of our energy is spent trying to be someone we are not. The best example would be the type of discomfort a singer experiences when they try to sing a piece that is out of their range. That experience is identical to the experience of the voice over talent who is trying to bury an accent or dialect, and sound like someone he or she is not.
However, if our natural character is one that speaks with a southern draw, an urban accent or foreign dialect, any time we speak as ourselves, we will be speaking in fashion not very well suited to performing voice over here in America. So what are talents of various regions and ethnicities to do? To answer that question we need to explore the implications of hiding or learning how to perform around who we really are. That brings forward the dilemma I alluded to a few columns back; how do you wake up, look in the mirror and accept that the way you were born into this world isn't good enough to participate in this business? It's a rather tough pill to swallow.
On every forefront, in every corner of our society forces are struggling to preserve their culture, and this industry in many more ways than one, asks that you abandon it. Not to say there aren't opportunities out there for people of different culture, color and dialect, but the majority of voice over jobs are going to the average Joe or Jane who speaks with a typical middle America type affect.
My first opportunity to coach an African American student came several years ago. She was a young woman, very poised with a charming smile. She came to my studio with a fair amount of acting experience which was a true advantage for her. Due to some of her Shakespearian stage experience her regionalism and dialect were only very subtle attributes to her voice. I found her to be a very pleasant speaker, and after hearing her behind the microphone, thought that with a little tweaking, we could produce a demo reel that had no identifiable characteristics that would announce to the listener what she looked like, how tall she was, what kind of shoes she liked to wear, and yes, what color her skin was.
After some discussion about the concept of having her demo be ethnically neutral, she and I both agreed we would work to have it not be completely neutral, but instead trickle some of her natural flavor in with the more mundane, conservative reads on her reel. It was important to me that she was able to demonstrate her ability to turn her urban dialect on and off, and not have it lean more in one direction or the other. I didn't want to suppress or try to hide that fact that she was a young, dignified, intelligent black woman. I wanted her demo to show that she was a young, intelligent, dignified woman who by the way happened to be black.
We both wanted to embrace her culture. My overwhelming desire was that she got a fair shake when someone listened to her demo. I wanted them to get a few tracks in before they discovered that there were more layers to the product. My primary concern was that someone would pop in her demo reel, hear the first track and disregard it as an ethnic demo, or add it to the black pile if there was such a thing, or worse throw it out. We discussed all of these possibilities and took them into consideration when crafting her demo. I knew from the beginning I was treading in ethically unknown territory by bringing these issues to the forefront, just as much as I am by writing this article. But I felt as strongly then as I do now, that until society finds a conscience and some decency, or we can turn back the hands of time, it may do more harm than good by choosing to pretend the world isn't the way it is.
When it came time to select cover art for her demo reel, the question became whether or not she should put her headshot with her demo. My answer to that question was not to. After all, this business is called Voice-Over, not Face-over, or Where-Did-I-Come-From-Over, or What-Color-Am-I-Over. In this business, as with any other business, it should make absolutely no difference where you come from or what you look like. The only thing that should matter and often does is what you sound like.
Isolating your abilities
One of my greatest concerns when a new talent comes to my studio is that they understand the difficulty of achieving success. It takes a great deal of investment, time and energy to move forward in the industry, and informing a talent of what obstacles stand before them up front before they ever get started, or ever spend a penny on the business only seems fair to me. Most people have the same obstacles when getting started: Lack of experience, cold read ability, and audition technique, lack of technical knowledge when it comes to editing and uploading files to servers and configuring home studios. All of those obstacles are pretty general. But when a talent has a regional, ethnic, or cultural background that directly effects their delivery of voice over copy, it becomes much more of a challenge for them as a talent and me as a coach.
In my early days of coaching, commenting on someone's cultural background as a hindrance to their success felt a little like walking a tightrope. I wasn't exactly sure of what approach I should take and saying anything at all was a little uncomfortable. But when I considered the alternative of not telling the student and letting them go into their training only to have someone tell them later, I felt I might as well take the risk and tell them up front. Each time I have had to do it, there has been a mixture of responses, most of them non verbal so it is hard to tell exactly how the talent perceived what I was saying. I can think of no easy way of saying it. So up to this point I just come right out and tell people that their accent or way of speaking is going to have a negative impact on their success as a voice over talent. I usually try to explain the process of installing a switch that rather than completely ridding them of their natural style of speaking, enables them to turn it on and off. Installing this switch takes time and effort, and time of course in the pursuit of coaching costs money. Money continues to be the one major prohibitive factor that keeps people for entering this business or continuing to pursue it for very long. When someone considers the prospect of spending some of their coaching budget on getting rid of something they never saw as a problem in the first place, it occasionally prompts them to throw in the towel early and decide this business isn't for them.
Though it may sound cruel or untoward, when most students decide to back out at this point I am elated. Turning tail and running at the first sign of difficulty is what keeps everyone and their brother from having a voice over demo on the market. But when a talent from an ethnically diverse background decides to back away upon being informed of this, it hits me a little closer to the core. I can't help but feel that I am just another in the long chain of people that has said throughout the course of their lives, "I am sorry, but because you are (place ethnicity here), this business isn't right for you." One, it is not at all what I am saying and two; it couldn't be further from the truth. Though on a human level, this is what it feels like I am saying and I never wanted to be a person who said things like that.
I have known for a long time that the truth hurts and people's perception is their truth. How people perceive what I am saying can lead to it being be misconstrued. I have also known that in order to be a leader you sometimes have to make some very unpopular decisions. This is why I continue to follow a path of honesty, and provide assessments of how I see this business to all comers and how I feel they will fit into it. I find it an act near criminal to take a person's money, push them through training and launch them into the world with less than the appropriate tools and barriers standing in their way. I am afraid that not all in this industry share the same foundation of principal. This is certainly something I think voice over talent with ethnically diverse backgrounds should be aware of when entering this marketplace.
If you are a voice actor who feels some of the characteristics of your voice may have something to do with your lack of success in this business, then I try to offer you a hand of understanding. In such a detail oriented business where even the slightest variation in our voice can mean the difference between getting hired and not getting hired, it is of the utmost importance we are able to analyze our product and see if there is anything holding us back. If we lack the ability to self analyze, it is a process that can be learned through steady coaching. Also, don't feel as if your natural style is something that needs to be crushed, wiped away or stuffed into some deep dark corner because it doesn't. Look at it as a tool, another arrow in your quiver, and another voice with which to demonstrate your versatility. Try to look beyond it as your only voice and see it as one of the many things that make you unique, diversified and intriguing. It can be a very valuable piece of your portfolio, but as your only piece, may be a detriment to your success.
There are walls all around people of culture in this country, let alone the world. Some are made of granite; some are not so easy to see. Some have fallen in the last 25 years and some are still in the process of being constructed. Some are meant to keep people in, though many now are meant to keep people out. These are the realities of the world in which we live. They may continue to be realities for as long as we live. Though this doesn't mean we have to bow to them, or attempt to tunnel our way beneath them, we only have to imagine there are ways to rise above them and make them disappear. In the faceless world of voice over, a little training can go a long way toward creating a new reality. A reality where we are not judged buy the color of our skin or where we come from, but by the content of our demo tape.
About the Author
Michael Minetree is the owner of MineWurx Studio, a voice over training studio in Washington D.C. He has been training new voice talent for 10 years and works in the industry on a daily basis. You can find out more about him by searching for his studio on the Internet or by going to http://www.minewurx.com
Difference between Male and Female Orgasm (COMEDY/FUN) - MUST WATCH IT!
with Kathleen DeBoer,American Volleyball Coaches Association Executive DirectorIn this coaching DVD, Kathleen DeBoer share valuable information regarding the differences in response to competitive situations between male and female athletes...
with Kathleen DeBoer,
American Volleyball Coaches Association Executive Director;
former Division I Coach of the Year, Olympic Team Advisor, and successful University Fundraiser.
In this informative and entertaining video, DeBoer shares with you valuable information regarding the differences in response to competitive situations between male and female athletes...
In most animals, from bees to bulls, mice to men, it is possible to see at a glance whether an individual is male or female. How and why these differences in appearance and behavior developed and the nature and extent of the differences between males and females is a complex subject. This book reviews the latest molecular, genetic, hormonal, anatomical, and behavioral data in a wide range of species in a series of lively and highly readable articles from the world's leading experts in this field. Unashamedly Darwinian, this book brings sexual selection up to date and discusses not only a dazzling array of differences between the sexes, but probes the mechanisms by which they are produced and the adaptive significance of the differences themselves. It should have a wide appeal, especially to undergraduates and graduates in the biological and medical sciences, and should help to bridge the gap between those who study genes and molecules in the laboratory and those who study the behavior of animals in the wild.
In most animals, from bees to bulls, mice to men, it is possible to see at a glance whether an individual is male or female. How and why these differences in appearance and behavior developed and the nature and extent of the differences between males and females is a complex subject. This book reviews the latest molecular, genetic, hormonal, anatomical, and behavioral data in a wide range of species in a series of lively and highly readable articles from the world's leading experts in this field. Unashamedly Darwinian, this book brings sexual selection up to date and discusses not only a dazzling array of differences between the sexes, but probes the mechanisms by which they are produced and the adaptive significance of the differences themselves. It should have a wide appeal, especially to undergraduates and graduates in the biological and medical sciences, and should help to bridge the gap between those who study genes and molecules in the laboratory and those who study the behavior of animals in the wild.
The analysis reported here compares male and female rape reporting behavior. Results from an analysis of National Crime Survey data indicate that the characteristics of rape, and factors that influence a rape reporting decision, differ by sex, and that sex role socialization may largely influence the rape reporting decision for both males and females. Both men and women were more likely to report victimization when there was physical evidence, but only women were affected by such variables as the victim/offender relationship, the age of the offender, and whether or not the victimization was perceived to be completed. The analysis also found that women reported victimization more frequently than men, and that there were differences between male and female victims with respect to the characteristics of the rape itself.
with Kathleen DeBoer, American Volleyball Coaches Association Executive Director; former Division I Coach of the Year, Olympic Team Advisor, and successful University Fundraiser. In this informative and entertaining video, DeBoer shares with you valuable information regarding the differences in response to competitive situations between male and female athletes. She draws upon her vast experiences as an athlete, coach, athletics administrative fundraiser, and as an informed observer of gender response situations in athletics today. She identifies Five Gender-Related Differences that Influence Males and Females in Competition: 1) Different Rewards and Penalties for Competitive Success 2) Different Responses to Feedback 3) Different Definitions of Fun 4) Different Interpretations of Failure 5) Different Responses to Authority In her discussion, DeBoer shares stories from her experiences that enhance and address these factors. This valuable information will certainly stimulate your thought process as to how you have handled gender response issues in the past and most importantly, better equip you to handle them in the future. Whatever and whomever you coach; this video will make you a better coach! 56 minutes. 2002.
A comprehensive examination of the evidence for functional differences between the male and female brain in an accessible and straightforward manner, whilst at the same time, providing substantial scientific material for the academic reader.
For many years the dominant focus in gender relations has been the differences between men and women. Authors such as Deborah Tannen (You Just Don''t Understand) and John Gray (Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus) have argued that there are deep-seated and enduring differences between male and female personalities, styles, even languages. Elizabeth Aries sees the issue as more complex and dependent on several variables, among them the person''s status, role, goals, conversational partners, and the characteristics of the situational context. Aries discusses why we emphasize the differences between the sexes, the ways in which these are exaggerated, and how we may be perpetuating the very stereotypes we wish to abandon. For psychologists and researchers of gender and communication, this book will illuminate recent studies in gender relations. For general readers it will offer a stimulating counterpoint to prevailing views.
God’s Ways are Above Men's Ways (or so the Saying Goes)
With liberality we churchgoers throw around the phrase, “God’s ways are higher than men’s ways.” Because this saying is so uncomplicated and, especially after we have repeated it so many times, it seems unbelievable that we still fail to understand it. One indication that we do not understand this saying, “God's ways are higher than men’s ways,” is our inability to live it as everyday, relevant truth.
Because this is an overused statement, I want to say the same thing in a different way, that God, because He is God, works in many unexpected ways.
Does religion or any man-made invention ever succeed spiritually? No, these things left to themselves can never affect any spiritual reality.
So let’s avoid smugness over the few times that God seems to have worked through man-made religion. If God ever did this, then it is only a greater proof of His patient grace. That God continues to establish His kingdom despite men’s religious roadblocks makes this spiritual work of His even more miraculous.
Ironically, it better serves the purposes of religious experts to have little or nothing to do with God, because there’s a good chance that He’ll put them out of business if He gets too close. Therefore, religious experts are more foolish than openly Godless people because they know about God and yet, instead of acknowledging Him as God, they would rather keep their titles and positions.
If there is one quality we can expect from God, it is that His ways always exceed human expectation. For this reason, it is only by God's otherworldly method, which is death ourselves in Christ, that we can ever begin to appreciate the hidden wisdom of God in Christ. When our fleshly estimations are dead and gone, only then will we appreciate God's divine genius and worship Him just as He is.
“But wait,” I hear someone say, “Look at this stuff we’ve been inventing! Look at these ways we have to communicate religion to the masses, not only quickly, but with all sorts of smells, bells and whistles! We can have a single church service with ten thousand people in attendance… isn’t that something?” I will admit that Christian pop culture has devised some elaborate worship methods and technologically advanced evangelisms. But much of these things were birthed either out of a fear of man or else out of a spirit of business-like expedience. Modern religious methods are like self-heating cans of soup… just push the button and, voila, a hot meal ready to eat!
Consider the systematic methods by which churchgoers speak about God or their faith with un-churched people. These systematic methods are derived from a field of study called “apologetics,” which is supposed to “prove” or “defend” our invisible, eternal, untouchable, unapproachable God. Apologetics sounds nice on paper, but it amounts to an elaborately misguided effort to communicate spiritual truth via intellectual means.
Apologetic success is achieved through overwhelming the cerebrum of an un-churched person with a barrage of argumentation that clears a path (as dynamite clears a path) for a guaranteed opening to this poor person’s soul. The goal is to blast away enough intellectual space in a person’s callused mind to make room for the spiritually-loaded truth about Christ. This scholarly onslaught resembles shelling a hostile fortification by sea in order to soften it up for the ground attack. The part that I fail to comprehend about this, and other highly-praised churchy practices, is where faithful practitioners transition their fleshly efforts into something led by God's Spirit.
This is one of a variety of ways in which mainstream church practice is useful for churchgoers who want to hit the road with their faith without ever bothering to ask God if this is really what He wants. It’s not that I’m out to get apologetics, it just so happens that this field of study is especially suited to illustrate the control-happy mindset that pervades mainstream Christianity.
The way that we churchgoers reach out for Christ is a dependable indication of our inward convictions about Christ. And the ways that we try to expand the church is an extension of how we suppose the church ought to function inwardly. Therefore, if our communication of God to the “un-churched” depends primarily on the cerebrum or on some fleeting emotional appeal, then our private relationships with God must be based on such things as well.
Apologetics is a predictable, step-by-step run-down of all the really good reasons why a person really really should believe in Jesus Christ. And this is popular because it makes sense to average Joe Churchgoer.
Mainstream evangelism, or apologetics, amounts to backing people into an intellectual corner with the “truth” of Christ. The apologetic Christian approaches his prey locked and loaded with his devastatingly logical arguments, all of which point menacingly toward a warm, nurturing relationship with Jesus Christ. It is the apologetic expert’s job to know how to shoot down every conceivable objection to Christ and also be able to dismantle, with machine-like precision, any argument that opposes the wonderful, fluffy truth of the gospel. The apologetic Christian does his congregation proud with his arsenal of right answers.
But neither this method nor many other methods of “practicing one’s faith,” have anything to do with faith. Neither apologetics nor commonly practiced church-isms spring from an eternal hope in one’s heart. Sadly, a churchgoer needn’t even know Christ to excel at churchy activities.
Choosing haphazardly to “defend” or “practice” one’s faith is not inherently virtuous because there is never a point where obedience ends and then starts up again in a Christ-follower’s life. In other words, a Christ-follower needn’t stress out about when to start acting like a Christ-follower because following Christ is already his or her permanently-installed identity. On the same note, a genuine Christ-follower recognizes the nonsense of trying really hard to make God happy or earn heavenly brownie points.
“Defending one’s faith,” as it is known in mainstream church circles, tends to spring from an insecure desire to be more right than one’s opponent. This cannot result from knowing Christ or from following His example because He was never inspired by insecurity to be defensive. Granted, He spoke harshly to religious hypocrites. And He took some time to reason with the reasonable. But anyone who is acquainted with Him cannot liken Him to Rambo.
Whether or not Christ is like Rambo, it would be more useful for us westerners, in our current, headstrong state, to imitate Christ the Lamb. He is a Lion as well, true enough. But for the sake of us control-laden churchgoers, let’s consider first how Christ was the Lamb of God.
He was like a lamb in His death, led willingly to the slaughter, never raising His voice in self-defense. Is this weakness? No, but rather this shows an otherworldly strength by which Christ, grounded in His perfect trust in Almighty God, conquered a whole world of sin. Did God consider Him faithful because He bickered really well? No, but rather, Christ's unexpected honor was to keep quiet when assaulted and trust in God to work out even the most adverse circumstances. Evidently, God requires much more than a life well-argued.
It would be inconvenient for students of mainstream apologetics to consider whether Jesus Himself ever cared to make intellectual sense to His listeners. And it would be dangerous for anyone dedicated to this field to ask whether Christ’s methods were ever systematic, predictable or easily measured. The obvious fact is that Christ rarely makes sense to people, even to His own disciples. And what’s more, He depends far more on supernatural manifestations than on intellectual appeals to get His point across.
Doing traditional outreach, or any other same-old-churchy-thing, is like pounding away at cold iron. “But at least we’re doing something,” is the thought of many Christian self-starters. “And we’re certainly not going to give up our trusty old hammers now that we’ve finally got the hang of banging them against the cold metal of church tradition. Besides, we like noisy loud things!”
But God gives a greater grace. The grace of God in Christ is far superior to anything the human mind can concoct. It does not make sense to us naturally and yet it blows to bits every lofty thought and every intellectual defense that people raise up against the knowledge of God.
We who have tasted the riches of knowing Christ cannot resist esteeming every worldly institution as nothing and even less than nothing in comparison. Our only treasure is our nearness to Him, and our only success is our living likeness to Him. Daily dependence on Christ is our only game plan.
Anyone who has experienced Christ's authority to save will take it for granted that He demolishes the most guarded little world of the most stubborn doubters. And every time we catch a glimpse of His authority to save we also catch a glimpse of the power He has to subject the whole universe to Himself. This is the Savior we know and love and trust. Do our actions reflect this?
It is an unassuming kind of authority we Christ-followers embrace. Our Savior is Christ. Christ is God. He is who He is, even when I don’t feel like admitting it.
Christ frees His followers and simplifies their outlooks so they no longer feel the need to assert themselves. Words fail to describe how liberating this is.
This is truth that stands apart from my ability to explain it or anyone else’s ability to defend it, that those who belong to Christ are fundamentally different from those that are not His. Christ living powerfully through us is our only argument. He validates Himself by being Himself through His people.
We can boldly follow Christ because He is unlike natural humans, who have to stumble about to find any truth. Apart from Him we can’t even know ourselves. But Christ knows exactly who He is right now, just as He has always known who He is. He is fully God. He is who He is.
Only real-life experience can prove the validity of this statement, that Christ-followers are completely different from everyone else who does not follow Him. I can’t give you a canonized run-down of all the things that set Christ’s people apart, but I can at least tell you that He is the One who accomplishes every impossible thing on behalf of His people. He proves Himself to be the Truth as He sets His people free to follow Him.
Our western ways of procuring spiritual success resemble an impatient city-slicker who goes out on an impulse and purchases a non-fruit-bearing tree. What he wanted was a fruit-bearing tree, so he goes to the grocery store to buy as much fruit as he can so he can tape that fruit to his tree and make it at least look like a fruit-bearing tree. For all of one day he goes to work taping fruit to his tree. And, for a few days afterward, his tree vaguely resembles a fruit-bearing tree, sort of. But, before long, either the tape will give way and drop the fruit, or the transplanted fruit will shrivel and die as it hangs there, disconnected from the tree’s nutritional flow.
In a similar way as this city-slicker, we churchgoers habitually disregard God's spiritual direction. And, as far as we’re concerned, it isn’t we who are failing, but rather it is God who is failing to produce the immediate results that we expect.
For this reason most of us churchgoers aren’t big fans of patient prayer. But we can understand big numbers. We crave juicy statistics or any substantial number we might punch into our churchy calculators. We estimate, according to our short-sighted calculations, that reaching so-many-people with a single, well-worded email is more expedient than reaching whomever God permits, over however many years He requires us to persevere.
God's priorities are generally difficult for us westerners to grasp, because our daily lives are swallowed up by a shallow, expedient mindset. Therefore, our best option at this point is to humble ourselves and wait for God to do the talking, the directing and the providing.
And it will continue to be impossible for us to look inward at ourselves from a spiritually objective point of view until the Spirit of Christ compels us. In the same way, it is indisputably difficult to see anything wrong with the culture, traditions and religious methods that envelop every aspect of our life-understanding. Therefore it remains for us to cry out to the Lord for any Spirit-led understanding we can get, even if that means He has to start all of us again from scratch.
by Patrick Roberts
This is an excerpt from To the Church of the West, Scattered Throughout the World, find this book as well as other resources at www.BooksByPatrick.com
About the Author
Patrick is an average Christ-seeker. His goal is to turn people to Jesus Christ.
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