Two years ago, otisfodder.com launched this year-long project called “365 Days Project” wherein a new mp3 was introduced to the web every day of the year. These came from corporate industrial musicals, school bands, religious oddities, vanidy recordings and just plain fun audio.



The project (365 mp3 files/1.7GB) is archived in its entirety, complete with images and commentary on each selection by UbuWeb.


One of my favorites was on March 1st (#60). It featured an mp3 of Orson Welles’ outtakes during a Frozen Pea Spot for some British Pea company. It was simply hilarious to listen to Orson badger these producers.

Excerpt from otisfodder.com:

Rob Eads writes:
I work with voiceover talent, and have been told of this recording, but never heard before today. Interesting note: to the layman, it sounds like Welles is being a jerk, but most voice talent folks enjoy hearing Orson take the copywriters to task for writing bad copy. A vicarious thrill, I’m sure, since most of the time they are “directed” by inexperienced producers/writers, but since they (the talent) wish to continue working, they will tacitly ignore bad writing. BTW - this also reminded me of the infamous Buddy Rich tantrum tape, where he throws a walleyed fit on the tour bus. One of the meanest, nastiest, vitriolic spewings ever recorded.

Knotty Klown! writes:
I am sure you already aware of this,.. but the Orson Welles commercial outtakes was copied almost word for word in an episode of the Warner Brothers cartoon series “Pinky and the Brain”. The bit never made a lick of sense to me until just now. And I am rolling over at the memory of it, now knowing what it was based on. Every line in the bit was taken damn near word for word from this recording. Later the same fellah who did the voice for the brain in that series did anther gag based on this bit for the show “family guy” i believe, in which “Orson Welles” becomes peeved doing a commercial for peas that ends with the lines “full of buttery goodness and green pea-ness” As I said I am positive you already have experienced these voice over treasures for yourselves, but on the off chance you have not I suggest you dig them up immediately and give them a listen. Thanks for sharing your collection.

Colin Kish writes:
I may have some additional information about this. Back in the early 90’s I had a number of friends who were working at television commercial company in Toronto. There was this rumor of a tape of Orson saying things like “I’ll go down on you…” kicking around. Sure enough the guy in the dubbing room had it. He claimed it was recorded here in Toronto in the 80’s near the end of Orson’s life. The other voice in there I beleve is a comercial producer I met who worked for McLaren when they were merged with another agancy back in the 80s.

Aden Nak writes:
I was delighted to actually hear the original copy of the Orson Wells Frozen Peas clip. But I did notice something not quite correct on the page. The guy who did the voice of the Brain later did go on to do a fake spot where he was advertising frozen peas as Orson Wells. “Full of green pea-ness.” But it was on the show “The Critic” not “The Family Guy”. I remember seeing it there, as he often played Orson Wells for them (since the show itself was about a movie critic), and you can verify that by catching it on Comedy Central if you really want to (although for the life of me I can’t remember the episode off the top of my head).

I have a fondness for speeches in American History. I especially like hearing the original recordings, more than merely reading the text of these speeches, or having someone else recite them. A bit of the orator’s charisma is transferred to you when you listen to the original recording, and you get a bit more out of it. Try it out. Have a listen.



I found three speeches on my computer today that I decided to share with you all:

1. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Speech
   
   

   “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself…”
   (See full text) (Listen in mp3 Audio)

2. Martin Luther King’s speech Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963
   

   “…I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed…“
   (See full text) (Listen in mp3 Audio)

3. President John F. Kennedy’s speech announcing the quarantine against Cuba
   

   “…missiles in Cuba add to an already clear and present danger…“
   (See full text) (Listen in mp3 Audio)

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

It has been known that some sand dunes have the peculiar ability of emitting a loud sound with a well defined frequency, sometimes for several minutes. The origin of this sustained sound has remained mysterious, partly because of its rarity in nature.



Host Aaron Schachter of “TheWorld.org” finds out what makes a sand dune sing. He speaks with French physicist Stéphane Douady, who’s compiling a CD of tunes from the dunes pulled from his research on sounds made by the hills of sand.

Apparently, Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza strip wasn’t enough to satisfy Palestinians, at least not the hard-liners. CNN (and others) showed video footage of Jewish Temples being burned and purported the fires to have been started by Palestinians. These were temples that had been abandoned because of the forced withdrawal of Gaza. This gave the more angry of the Palestinians a “field day” on places of Jewish worship.


Palestinians are worried about the practical consequences of a withdrawal that has left issues such as the regime at border crossings unresolved. Israel continues to insist that it wants to maintain control over movement of goods and people between Gaza and Egypt by closing the main passenger terminal at Rafah for at least six months.


There are many questions left unanswered by the withdrawal, and Ariel Sharon insists that it can still re-invade Gaza (if attacked).

Read more on this if you’re interested. (news.ft.com)

I decided to wait a while before posting about New Orleans. There’s simply a wealth of stuff already out there on CNN, Foxnews, Drudge, and pretty much every other press agency in existance. I think I waited out of shock. I still can’t believe this has happened. I grew up in Louisiana and knowing a hurricane was coming was usually not a big deal–they ALWAYS came. I have many connections to people in New Orleans and the stories make me sad.



One buddy of mine from college had just bought a house in Metairie–That’s between New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. He doesn’t even know the status of his home right now because he had to evacuate and they aren’t letting anyone back in.


Another buddy of mine had to siphon gasoline from another car just to get out. They were stuck down there for a while, and couldn’t get gas anywhere. They were lucky.



I was born and raised in Louisiana, and it holds a special place in my heart. I’ve spent a lot of time in New Orleans and have had some memorable moments there. It saddens me to think it’ll never be the same.




There are many dead. None of my friends are among them, luckily. There are some people out there who blame the government, but this was an act of God–or at least that’s what the insurances companies are calling it. The government in New Orleans knew this was possible, they even predicted it to happen. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know that if a city is below the sea level, it’s going to have a bad day–eventually. I grew up wondering when it would happen, knowing it was only a matter of time.


The government is doing a great deal to help. Other countries are pitching in too. Will it be enough? Who can say. All I know is this– Change takes time and time brings change. I just hope we can cram a lot of change in a short time period. I’m ready to see New Orleans again, as a happy place to go.