The Like Ship
(Prequel to The Love Boat)
Pilot Episode Theme Song
In 1990, after a successful 10 year run of “The Love Boat” the producers decided to make a prequel: “The Like Ship”
Pitch: Like “Love Boat”, but with dogs.
It was an utter disaster.
This theme song is all that remains…
(dedicated to the memory of Gavin MacLeod 1931-2021)
Copyright 2021, Joe J Thomas, Joe’s Dump, JoesDump.com
All Rights Reserved.
Not a Quinn-Martin Production.
~~~ Lyrics: ~~~
(vo) Love Boat prequel “The Like Ship”, pilot episode, reel 1…
Like… Your balls may turn blue
She’s so hot, but not into you!
And Like… You just wanna score
We all know, it’s not her it’s you!
The Like Ship! Everyone thinks that you’re just no fun
It’s Friendship! Just stick a fork in you ’cause you’re done
There’s no course to adventure, you won’t get a second chance
And Like… No need to feel sore
It’s a wave goodbye from a closing door
It’s LIKE!
You will be bored with LIKE!
All content written and voiced by Joe J Thomas online at: JoeActor.com
As I walk down the street in Barcelona, I pass shop after shop with breads and pastries. There are people enjoying a beer and bocadillo (small sandwich) at 10 in the morning. For lunch, you’ll see paella (rice), pastas, and pan con tomate (bread with tomato). The thing I don’t see much of: overweight people.
I’ll often hear of my friends having success in their weight management by doing Keto or Atkins. Or with some similar plan that restricts carbs, sugar, or otherwise cuts out an entire food group.
But does that really help?
Disclaimer: In the end, whatever works best for you, long term, is what works. Just make sure it’s a diet and lifestyle you can live with.
So, is there a disconnect? What I see in Spain just doesn’t bear out the idea that carbs are bad for you. What’s going on?
I suspect it’s a combination of the difference in lifestyle, food, and other factors. Barcelona is a walking city. I haven’t been in a car in months. Most days I get 15,000+ steps just doing my daily routine plus a bit of exercise. Another factor is the portion sizes. Most things are pretty small by comparison to the US versions. And even when I eat the same thing, there seems to be less sugar used. Other things like fresher meats, fruits and veggies make a difference too.
So… Is it just eating less and moving more? Well, no. But that’s a part of it. It’s also what you eat, but without cutting out entire food groups or feeling deprived.
I walk. I still eat pastas, rice, breads and pastries. Even dessert. But the quantities are smaller and the qualities are better, in my opinion.
One other factor to consider: Stress. There seems to be a lot less of it in Spain. Lower crime, no shootings, a social safety net, health care, etc. All of that combined with a “No pasa nada” attitude seems to bring the general level of stress way down for daily life.
Can this be achieved in the USA? Maybe. I suspect it would be a bit more difficult. For it to really change for everyone, a lot of things would need to change too. Cars. Restaurants. Food supply. Health care. Even the government.
That doesn’t mean it can’t be done. It would just take much more effort to achieve.
Whatever your path to good health, I hope you find it and are happy with your lives.
Be well,
Joe
All content written and voiced by Joe J Thomas online at: JoeActor.com
I often see posts on social media where someone who is new to voice acting says that they’re using P2P (Pay-To-Play) sites to practice. Although I understand this line of thinking, that’s not the best way to practice… Here’s why:
The point of practicing is to improve your skills. For acting, a very important component is missing when practicing on your own: Feedback.
Constructive feedback helps to improve your acting ability. It can come in many forms. In an acting class, the teacher will provide feedback and guidance. Coaches perform a similar function, but in a more focused 1-on-1 manner. Performing on stage has many forms of feedback: the director, reactions from other actors in the scene, and the audience.
“So, Joe, what’s the harm in practicing on my own? It’s still practice, right?”
Although it may improve your reading skills and even the speed at which you can scan the copy, it may actually be a detriment to your skills as an actor. Instead of learning where your flaws and weaknesses are and addressing them to improve, you may be blind to the flaws you have. Continuing to practice without any feedback may reinforce your bad habits. Those can be even more difficult to un-learn in the future.
Let’s take the classic “You have a great voice! You should be doing voice acting!”. After hearing that, maybe you become enamored with the sound of your own voice. You join a P2P site “just for practice.” Reading one thing after another in a cool way, or an artificially deep voice, or a style that isn’t used in the industry. Spend enough time reinforcing the idea that this is the “right” way to read copy without any guidance can lead you down a path that will be difficult to correct in the future.
Other examples are speech impediments and thick accents. Learning about the issues that may impede your progress and correcting them early on will make your journey to become a voice actor that much easier.
In my opinion, the best way to a solid career as a Voice Actor is to learn acting first. And that requires training, direction, and real-world experience.
For now, due to the limitations of in-person opportunities, try to find some online ways to play. Improv Zoom groups. Classes. Audio drama (directed). There are even some VO reading groups that meet on a regular basis. These could provide a good start.
Once the pandemic is over and it is safe, get involved with a local theatre. Join a choir. Take some improv classes. Get training and direction and perform in front of live audiences. All of these will improve your acting skills and give you a solid foundation for voice acting.
Best of luck on your journey!
Joe
All content written and voiced by Joe J Thomas online at: JoeActor.com
Compound words
A compound word is two or more words linked together to produce a word with a new meaning:
tooth + brush = toothbrush eco + friendly = eco-friendly animal + lover = animal lover
However, there are some words that could be Compound Words… but aren’t.
Some examples are:
Furrow: (Fur + Row) a straight line of hair on an otherwise hairless area
Pigeon: (Pig + Eon) a really long time for a large pink farm animal
Legion: (Leg + Ion) one or more charged particles in a lower limb
Parking: (Par + King) when a person does really well at golf
Cooking: (Coo + King) the most powerful bird in the city
Can you come up with more examples?
If so, comment below and I’ll add them!
Cheers,
Joe
All content written and voiced by Joe J Thomas online at: JoeActor.com
Why did it take me over a month to make a donut and coffee?
Because it’s not real!
Most of this scene was made in “Blender”, a 3-d modeling and animation software program. That includes the Donut, Coffee, Plates, Cup, Spoon, Wall and Counter.
The animation was also (partially) done in Blender. However, I’m only running on a laptop, and graphics processing takes a loooooooonnnnngggg time. It took my system 4 hours to generate one second of animation!
So, to make the final video a bit longer, I padded it out with other tricks.
It starts out with a static image of the coffee on the table.
The donut slides in (1 second of real animation).
Added steam to the coffee (green screen fx), and a glowing logo.
Used background audio and plate sliding sfx to finish the scene.
The logo was generated separately and added as an overlay in my video editor (Vegas). I also added a green screen movie of some steam for the coffee (found on YouTube). All of these embellishments make it *seem* that there’s 10 seconds of animation. But that would have taken 40 hours or more on my system.
Here’s the final still shot from my project (click for full-size):
The story revolves around a bee named “Zuzu” and her friends in a kingdom of food. Every episode is a fun little adventure (there’s even a witch and her hench-spider!).
Here’s a sample episode from YouTube named “Food House” (I’m the Announcer and Hot Dog):
Copyright 2021, Joe J Thomas, Joe’s Dump, JoesDump.com
All Rights Reserved.
Not a Quinn-Martin Production.
~~~ Lyrics ~~~
“Have You Killed Me?”
Parody: of “Have You Seen Her?” by the Chi-Lites
By Joe J Thomas
Ah…ah…ah…ah…ah…ah… Ooh…ooh…ooh…ooh…ooh…ooh…ooh…ooh…
One year ago today, I was hired to play a part
My job as a voice actor, talkin’ to a mic, recording in the dark
Doin’ a character in a video game, the one the children play
For me, it was just another gig, but they play that shit every day
They all follow me online, They seem to know my name
I get likes and comments, But it still doesn’t ease my pain
There’s no way I can beat ‘em, They’ll play ‘til their brains are fried
I keep sayin’ I’ll win someday, Seems I’m just not qualified
Oh, they chase me down for my treasure hoard. Crack me on my skull like it was a gourd
Have you killed me? Tell me why’d you kill me?
Yeah they fight in groups on their tv screens. Isn’t fair when it’s one against a team.
Have you killed me? Tell me why’d you kill me?
Why, oh why did you have to stab me with a sword?
Oh…oh…oh…oh…oh…: I’ve been used for gamers’ entertainment
And I lost, baby, I lost!
ow, ow, ow… ow, ow, ow… ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow ow…
Have you killed me? Tell me why’d you kill me? [Tell me why’d you kill me?]
ow, ow, ow… ow, ow, ow… ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow ow…
Have you killed me? Tell me why’d you kill me? [Tell me why’d you kill me?]
Oh you cast a spell with your mystic art, Then you plunged a dagger in my heart
Have you killed me? Tell me why’d you kill me?
Yeah they slay me from the dusk till dawn, Don’t they know in this game that I just respawn
Have you killed me? Tell me why’d you kill me?
Why, oh why did you have to set my head aflame? Oh, no!
Oh…oh…oh…oh…oh…: I’ve been shot, and stabbed and hit with boulders
And I lost, baby, I lost!
ow, ow, ow… ow, ow, ow… ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow ow…
Have you killed me? Tell me why’d you kill me? [Tell me why’d you kill me?]
ow, ow, ow… ow, ow, ow… ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow ow…
Have you killed me? Tell me why’d you kill me? [Tell me why’d you kill me?]
As another game comes to an end, I’m lookin’ for a potion or somethin’
Anything that would put me on the mend, With all the powers I have, hmm
I’m still a wounded man, You know it’s funny
Here I thought the bosses were the ones in command
3X: Have you killed me? Tell me why’d you kill me? [Tell me why’d you kill me?]
— original lyrics —
“Have You Seen Her” by the Chi-Lites
2X: Ah…ah…ah…ah…ah…ah… Ooh…ooh…ooh…ooh…ooh…ooh…ooh…ooh…
One month ago today, I was happy as a lark
But now I go for walks, To the movies, maybe to the park
I have a seat on the same old bench, To watch the children play, huh
You know tomorrow is their future, But for me just another day
They all gather ’round me, huh, They seem to know my name
We laugh, tell a few jokes, But it still doesn’t ease my pain
I know I can’t hide from a memory, Though day after day I’ve tried
I keep sayin’ she’ll be back, But today again I’ve lied
Oh, I see her face everywhere I go, On the street and even at the picture show
Have you seen her, Tell me have you seen her
Oh, I hear her voice as the cold winds blow, In the sweet music on my radio
Have you seen her, Tell me have you seen her
Why, oh, why: Did she have to leave and go away?
Oh…oh…oh…oh…oh…: I’ve been used to havin’ someone to lean on
And I’m lost, baby, I’m lost
Oh, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo; Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Have you seen her; Tell me have you seen her [Tell me have you seen her]
Oh, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo; Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Have you seen her; Tell me have you seen her [Tell me have you seen her]
Oh, she left her kiss upon my lips, But left that break within my heart
Have you seen her, Tell me have you seen her
Oh, I see her hand reaching out to me, Only she can set me free
Have you seen her, Tell me have you seen her
Why, oh, why; Did she have to leave and go away
Oh…oh…oh…oh…oh…, I’ve been used to havin’ someone to lean on
And I’m lost, baby, I’m lost
Oh, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Have you seen her
Tell me have you seen her [Tell me have you seen her]
As another day comes to an end, I’m lookin’ for a letter or somethin’
Anything that she would send, With all the people I know, hmm
I’m still a lonely man, You know it’s funny
I thought I had her in the palm of my hand
Have you seen her; Tell me have you seen her [Tell me have you seen her]
Oh (Oh, yeah…eah…eah…), doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
6X: Have you seen her – Tell me have you seen her (with echos)
All content written and voiced by Joe J Thomas online at: JoeActor.com
After 15 years of voice acting gigs, it’s time for a little celebration!
Here’s a collage of a few of my roles so far… Looking forward to many more:
(click on the image for FULL-SIZE!)
Joe J Thomas: Characters (JoeActor.com)
Top Row: Loken & Krik’Thir & Arcurion (World of Warcraft), Leoric The Skeleton King (Diabol III & Heroes of the Storm), Professor X (X-Men Live!)
Middle: Raven/Schwann (Tales of Vesperia), Tibarn (Fire Emblem), Stormtrooper (Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge), (me!), Ch’Gren (Star Trek Online)
Bottom: Nobunaga (Hunter X Hunter), Professor Oak (Pokémon), Lex Luthor (Mortal Kombat vs. DCU), Namor The Sub-Mariner (Marvel Ultimate Alliance) Yodeling Pickle (Archie McPhee)
All content written and voiced by Joe J Thomas online at: JoeActor.com
