A big shoutout to my friend Mike Villani, one of the top voiceover artists in the biz. He has snagged one of the best gigs in the world: stadium announcer for the figure skating events at the Olympics.I've known Mike since we were paired as a fictional anchor team in the movie Volcano. He gave me some great advice: "Be sure you like your hair and makeup, because when they show this in a theater you are going to be as tall as a six story building!"
You've also seen Mike as a TV anchor in "Up Close and Personal" and he frequently guests on shows like CSI. You'll recognize his voice instantly from "Di-tech Funding" commercials.
I treasure Mike's friendship and have turned to him frequently for advice over the years.
I just love it when good gigs happen to good people. I know he has a great announcing partner in PJ Kwong... but if the seat ever opens up, count me in.
While we're on the subject of figure skating, my Facebook friends know I am outraged by NBC's coverage of this beautiful and athletic sport. Don't bother me during the US nationals or world championships. I have followed figure skating since I was a kid, although I can barely slide around the rink myself. I actually like the new scoring system which rewards a combination of artistry and athletic ability and is less corrupt. What I don't like is the way NBC refuses to show the events in real time because they know figure skating is a ratings winner. So they'll show a couple of routines and then cut away for stuff that happened yesterday or a feature story, just to pump their ratings. They also have relegated the great Dick Button to a sideline role, where he is patronized by Bob Costas after the competition, instead of joining the great Scott Hamilton to comment on the athletes from his unique perspective. No other sport is cut up like this. Here's hoping that NBC never bids on the winter Olympics again, and the coverage from Russia will include some respect for figure skating as a sport.
And, oh yeah, if they need a female announcer, I'm available.
The flap over the notes on Sarah Palin's hand recalls a similar dustup during a statewide political debate in California involving Dianne Feinstein. I was a panelist on the debate, and she clearly had something written on her palm, in a clearly visible violation of debate rules which required the candidates to speak without notes. When I asked her about it after the debate, she quickly hid her hand behind her back and left the room. A few days later, her campaign put out a press release saying that Feinstein's palm contained the key words of her campaign, something like, "choice, economy, education." The Republicans had a field day, and put out a press release comparing Feinstein to Bart Simpson. 
Like Feinstein, Palin appears to have written some of the key themes of her speech on her palm. No doubt the anti-Palin crowd will paint this as another example of the former Alaska governor being too dim-witted to hold a national office, but Feinstein survived her handwriting-gate, eventually winning a seat in the US Senate.
