Sad news: the passing of Johnnie Cochran. NY Times has an article already posted.
A hilarious Ad Report on Slate.com: celebrity voiceovers in ads. Seth Stevenson writes on the curious development of Julia Roberts doing AOL ads (huh? really should pay attention the next time), Richard Dreyfuss being the voice of Honda (which I recognized for awhile), and Gene Hackman (!) the voice of Oppenheimer Funds and Lowe’s (which explains why I kept thinking that Gee Whiz Authoritative voice sounded strangely – well – authoritative). So weird! The funny thing I like about celebrity voiceovers (more than mere celebrity appearances/endorsements) is that if you even recognize the voice, it’s like your own little secret. I’ve enjoyed recognizing Liev Shrieber’s voice (yeah, I watch way too much PBS documentaries if it’s getting to the point of recognizing Liev Shrieber’s voice in a tv commercial), and – of course – Patrick Stewart (doing Goodyear commercials – oh, yeah, sure, reliable tires; although, still not quite sure what to make of his voice doing Dr. Seuss style poetry for that stomach problem medication – I mean, geez, Patrick Stewart, are you endorsing this stuff or are you doing it because you need the money?).
On a sidenote, regarding celebrity endorsements: I think Earl Grey tea people should give Patrick Stewart/the Powers that Be of Star Trek a small residual for getting Earl Grey tea out there. I mean, it’s turning into one of my favorite teas, and I just don’t think I’d ever know about Earl Grey tea if it hadn’t been for watching Capt. Picard’s ordering of “Earl Grey, hot.”
Oh, and for cool PBS documentary voiceovers, there’s always Morgan Freeman. Thumbs up – I was watching this documentary on the artist Romare Bearden, and Morgan Freeman’s voice was just awesome.
Are we ever going to see the sun again? Hmm.