Cameron Anthony Park

Sorry about the lack of updates. Work, life and all the rest of it has a funny way of wanting / needing attention at it’s own pace regardless of your best laid plans. I guess that’s why they say: “Life’s a bitch”.

“Life’s a bitch”… the punchline was, “Life’s a bitch”.

Ahem…

(long beat; crickets chirp)

Okay, enough of this horseshit let’s get down to business:

Tomorrow morning, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will battle for the third straight grand slam final for the second time in a month.

Right.

It’s The Power…

So the challenge for Nadal would be to finally break out of the “one surface pony” moniker that’s given his critics so much fodder over the years. He can officially break out of the mold with a victory in one match.

Nadal can also silence many inner voices that I’m sure whispers droll nothings into his ear from time to time about his legacy. It can also place him as the world’s number one player in 2008 and validate his position among the tennis elite — if not via computer points system, at least among the hearts and minds of peers and fans alike, including Federer himself.

And if that wasn’t enough, will history repeat itself and allow a potential Nadal win to cause Federer to pull a “Borg” and quietly disappear if his legacy continues to be sullied by this brash young Spaniard much in the same way that a brash young punk from New York did for Borg back in the early 80’s?

And if Nadal loses, what happens to his mind? Does he begin to question his mental abilities when there isn’t a bed of crushed red clay underneath his feet? Does his season kinda end as it has historically in the past few years after Wimbledon? With his ground pounding style of play, can he merely say: “maybe next year” and leave it at that? Federer was destroyed at the French but Rafa got damn close just a year ago at Wimbledon. And as anyone who’s ever lost a close battle in anything will tell you, the close ones hurt much much more.

… Vs. The Glory

And what about Federer?

What happens if he loses tomorrow’s final to Nadal? Will it be as simple as moving onto the Olympics and then looking forward to the 2008 US Open then the year end championships? Can it be that easy?

There’s no doubt in many a minds that this year has been the most challenging of Federer’s modern day legendary career. Only a paltry two titles (paltry by Federer’s standards)… zero grand slams… straight set losses to jabronis like Mardy Fish and Radek Stepanek… and three straight convincing losses to Rafael Nadal, the last of which was such a thrashing that it’s got journalists and aficionados alike literally writing Federer off the page like his real name was “New Coke”.

If Federer loses the 2008 Wimbledon final to Rafael Nadal, two significant things will happen in my opinion:

1) It will devastate Federer. No matter how cool he tries to play it off, it will force him to retreat mentally and reassess his legacy. It will not be “business as usual” in club Federer.

2) The press will be so unrelenting to Federer’s game and mind that it will literally force an end to the Federer era as we fans know it today.

It will be akin to something like when some chick we all know made this dude eat an apple from this tree that someone implicitly told her not to pick and eat from (she didn’t listen and we were punished by, among other things, the birth and inexplicable career of Carrot-Top).

Federer’s record breaking six consecutive Wimbledons will come to a screeching halt the same way it did for Borg back in ‘81. Federer’s legacy will be tainted in some slight way. This will hurt more than losing a record five consecutive at the US Open. This will hurt more than the record third consecutive loss at the French Open finals. Oh yes, this will hurt indeed.

Make no mistake about it, Federer is a smart egg. He’s very aware of his stats, legacy, history, momentum and place in tennis. Monday July 7, 2008 will play VERY DIFFERENT for Federer depending on how it goes on Sunday July 6, 2008. A win will allow him to carry on and move on to the Beijing Olympics, US Open, Masters Championships and take a stab at recovering this challenging year.

A loss on Sunday and life will never be the same again for everyone involved.

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Federer Defeats Hewitt: 7-6 (7), 6-2, 6-4

After a tough first set tie break that went beyond the distance, World Number One Roger Federer defeated 2002 Wimbledon Champion in straight sets on Monday.

Second seed, Rafael Nadal had an even easier time to the quarters by defeating Russia’s Mikhail Youznhy: 6-3 6-3 6-1.

All signs continue to point to these two tennis giants meeting for the third straight Wimbledon final.

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Federer feels confident about the upcoming second week of the 2008 Wimbledon Championships

On the eve of his fourth round collision course against Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt, Roger Federer discusses a few lingering questions that have plagued him throughout the 2008 season.

Points to keep in mind:

- Hewitt is only a mere six months younger than Federer.

- Both players turned pro in the same year (1998).

-Although Federer has defeated Hewitt in their last 11 matches, three of those have been in the finals.

-Hewitt is also the last man to win the Wimbledon gentlemen’s singles championship prior to Federer’s modern day run.

- Hewitt is a former world number one.

Although on paper it certainly doesn’t seem that Hewitt has enough strengths to snap his losing streak against Federer, there are a list of intangibles that make this match something to keep an eye on including: speed, experience, an improved serve and some calming knowledge that he has absolutely nothing to lose.

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Roger Federer defeats Marc Gicquel: 6-3, 6-3, 6-1

In a fairly unpredictable 2008 Wimbledon Championships so far with the early exits of Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, David Nalbandian and Maria Sharapova, it’s nice to see that some things are still reliable.

Roger Federer showed virtually no sign of any stress or “2008 French Open-itis” en route to a routine straight set victory against France’s Marc Gicquel.

With major threats disposed of early from both Federer’s and Nadal’s halves of the draw, the final Sunday’s participants look more and more likely to meet for the third straight year. I was too young to appreciate the Becker and Edberg dominated 80’s at Wimbledon but I know enough to know that the Federer-Nadal match up is a very worthy modern version.

Federer next opponent will be former world’s number one Lleyton Hewitt who is now the only other former Wimbledon champ (2002) left in the draw. Federer leads their head to head: 13-7.

My only gripe is that we won’t have too much fresh tennis in the middle weekend as Wimbledon is the only grand slam that goes dark in that middle Sunday.

Oh well, maybe I can use the time to catch up on some work and publish some more non-tennis posts. That would be something! =)

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Third Seed Novak Djokovic loses to Marat Safin: 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-2

In the biggest upset of this year’s Wimbledon so far, the man who was expected to be Federer’s second greatest threat was dismissed on Wednesday by Russia’s Marat Safin in straight sets.

Displaying shades of the former glory that earned Safin two Grand Slam titles in the past (2000 US Open, 2005 Australian Open) plus a former world number one ranking, he never allowed the Serbian tennis machine to get into rhythm and just outplayed the unforced error plagued Djokovic.

Federer also just defeated Sweden’s Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3).

Now, here’s the issue: yes it’s good and dandy that Djokovic is out of the tournament for Federer fans like myself but at what cost? If Safin continues to play as well as he had today, there’s no telling how far he can go. Safin has a long established reputation of being a mental mess. But every couple of years, something clicks for Marat and he finds himself playing the type of tennis that exceeds everyone’s expectations and turns him into a top five threat. It’s the same game that destroyed Pete Sampras at the 2000 US Open finals which launched him into the world’s top spot for nine weeks. It’s the same abilities that allowed him to beat Federer at the 2005 Australian Open in the semis just before destroying Lleyton Hewitt in the finals. Make no mistake, Djokovic may be out, but Marat Safin could be a bigger threat.

Fortunately for Roger, he can take a moment of relief in Djokovic’s dismissal and not have to really think about a potential Safin semi-final for another week.

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Ben Diskin is a young, successful, extremely talented and versatile actor who’ll be working for a long time to come.

Ben Diskin started out in his profession at a very early age. So early that even at his current young age, he’s considered something of a veteran to the voice over game. With a long list of credits already under his belt, Ben also has the rare distinction of transitioning quite smoothly from super young child actor to an equally successful adult voice over career, a rare occurrence indeed.

Ben plays the new Eddie Brock / Venom (far right) in The Spectacular Spider-Man

However, despite all his successes, personally I think that Ben’s most impressive aspect as a young maven is his well grounded principals and down to earth attitude. Always professional, always diligent and always always talented, success couldn’t come to a nicer guy.

Of course I always suspected that his quiet, nice demeanor was all really just an elaborate ruse to get unsuspecting bullies to give Ben an excuse to practice his martial arts skills. =)

Some of Ben Diskin’s credits include playing Eddie Brock / Venom in The Spectacular Spider-Man, Numbuh 1 & Numbuh 2 in Codename: Kids Next Door, Kai in Blood+ just to name a few.

Thanks to Ben for sharing some of his valuable time for this exclusive interview:

cap) How did you get introduced to the voice over industry?

bd) I was introduced to the voice over industry at a really young age.
As I got older and learned to speak well enough, my agent at the time,
Bob Preston, had me read some voice over dialog before I was even old
enough to read. I’d just mimic his line-readings and we’d go from there.

cap) How long have you been in the voice over industry?

bd) I guess you could say I’ve been in the voice over industry since I
was about 4 or 5 years old, so I’ve been in this around 20 or 21 years now.

cap) What would you attribute most to your voice over success?

bd) I’m really fortunate to have great parents. Both my mom and dad are
actors, so when they put me in the business I always had plenty of good
coaching as well as reasonable parents who never tried to force me into
“stardom” as many stage parents do to their kids.

cap) How long did it take you to land your first voice over job?

bd) I can’t really remember WHAT my first voice over job was, to be
honest. I’m guessing it was a radio commercial or something. I’m going
to go out on a limb and say….. 3 years? *shrugs*

cap) What was the first job you earned that really got you noticed in the voice over community?

bd) Although I had the lead role in a cartoon show (Problem Child: The
Animated Series) when I was around 10, the first job I got that REALLY
got me noticed was my work on Codename: Kids Next Door for Cartoon
Network in which I played two of the main characters.

Ben plays Numbuh 1 & Numbuh 2 in Codename: Kids Next Door

cap) Finish the following statement: “One thing you might not know about voice over is…”

bd) One thing you might not know about voice over is that it’s all
secretly a cover-up for various top-secret professions. Fred
Tatasciore? Ninja. No joke! … No, really the only thing I can
think of is that a lot of people don’t really consider VO to be “real”
acting because only the voice is used. From what I’ve seen and
experienced, total character immersion is the best way to get the
desired take and reads that are half-assed are easily recognizable by
casting directors and audiences alike.

cap) Do you feel that the industry has changed since you first started in the business? How?

bd) I wouldn’t say the INDUSTRY has changed, but the technology the
industry uses has gone through leaps and bounds. With people recording
their voices on computers instead of tapes, takes can be instantly sent
to casting directors, modified by audio programs, cleaned up by superior
editing techniques, etc. It’s made things easier on the recording
artist, but at the same time it probably makes things more difficult for
casting directors. It’s hard to tell if a person has sent in their
first take or just the best lines edited together from a series of poor
takes. This can cause a casting director to seriously reconsider hiring
outside of a select few group of actors whom he/she knows can handle the
various roles. It’s a risk to just hire someone from a take they
recorded at home or at their agency.

cap) What’s your favorite part of the job?

bd) My favorite part of the job is the work itself! I know there are
many hard-working people out there who hate their jobs and I’m very
fortunate to be in the minority of folk who love what they do for a living.

cap) What’s your least favorite part of the job?

bd) If I were to find something I actually DIDN’T like about voice work,
it might be that occasionally I’ll play a character that leaves my
throat very sore for a while afterwards. Really, though, most
characters are rewarding enough that I don’t mind the occasional blood
throat.

Ben plays Eddie Brock / Venom in The Spectacular Spider-man

cap) Finish the following sentence: “If it wasn’t for voice over, I’d probably…”

bd) If it weren’t for voice over….., I’d probably be screwed, blued,
and tattooed. My on-camera career is pretty much non-existent and
although I love writing and camera work, I don’t think I’d be able to
get a job too easily since there’s so much competition and I’m terrible
at self-promotion. So, if it weren’t for voice over…… porn, I
guess? Yeah, I’m sure EVERYone would just LOVE to see ME naked.
*passes out vomit bags*

cap) If you were just entering the voice over industry now, would you do anything different?

bd) If I were just entering the voice over industry now, I’d probably
lick a lot more boot. It’s hard as all heck to get people to give you a
chance in a business where there are already sooo many talented people
who’ve been doing this for many years longer than you. I’d have to do a
lot more to get casting directors to give me a shot since they wouldn’t
have a clue who I am or why they should hire me.

cap) With several automated online based marketplaces opening up in the voice over industry like voices.com, voice123.com, etc., do you think this changes the playing field in terms of competition, agent value, barrier to entry in the field?

bd) The online marketplaces are interesting but I’d be cautious about
them as well. There’s pretty much no protection on those sites in the
form of agents or managers, so actors trying to get into the business
can easily get involved in projects they shouldn’t be doing and not
being paid what they rightfully deserve. It’s all fair in love, war,
and work, so I don’t have anything against any actors who are trying to
get noticed by eliminating the “middle men,” so to speak, and going
right to the casting directors.

Ben plays Kai in Blood+

cap) Do you have any voice over tips you’d like to share?

bd) My best advice for playing characters in a cartoon show would be to
remember the characters’ sense of self and reality. You’re not “playing
a character” and giving him/her/it a voice; you’re a real entity who
just happens to have a voice that’s different from your own. It’s
pretty easy to tell someone who’s just trying to say “Look at this cool
voice I can do!” with their reads from someone who’s actually put
themselves into the world and mind of the character.

cap) When you’re not working, how do you typically spend your time?

bd) When I’m not voice acting, I typically spend a lot of time at my
dojo where I’m an assistant karate instructor. When I’m not teaching
karate or acting, I’m relaxing, shopping, or just hanging out with friends.

cap) Being an actor who also works on-camera as well, do you think there is a difference in how you approach the two acting avenues? How so?

bd) On-camera acting usually involves a lot more subtlety and an
ability to throw one’s self away. If you’ve got the line reading down,
but your eyes say you’re thinking about something else, it’ll ruin the
scene. This won’t always get in the way of your voice acting unless you
let it come out in the read. Oh, having to memorize lines rather than
reading them from a script changes things too, but I think that’s pretty
self-evident.

cap) Complete the following sentence: “I wish…”

bd) I wish I had super powers. That’d be bitchin’. I seriously wasn’t
sure how to answer this question ;D

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After his first round cruise, Roger Federer sat with Chris Fowler and Patrick “I’ll just copy everything my older brother does… just not quite as well… ya know, to keep it interesting” McEnroe.

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Roger Federer had a less than difficult time in his 2008 Wimbledon debut

Needing just under two hours, Roger Federer showed no scars from his last Grand Slam match to defeat the once top 15 player Slovakia’s Dominik Hrbaty 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. This clinches Federer’s 60th straight win on grass and his 36th straight win at The All England Club.

Previously 2-0 against Federer, Hrbaty had been nursing chronic elbow troubles in the 2007 season which saw his world rank dip to 273. Nonetheless, their past records and Federer’s recent public drubbing at the hands of Rafael Nadal seemed to be a thing of the past as Federer never even faced a break point in his 2008 Wimbledon opening match.

Other interesting stats show Federer served 69% of his first serves and produced ten aces and ten unforced errors in a relatively clean looking match.

Next up for Federer is Sweden’s Robin Soderling who needed four sets to defeat US player, Kevin Kim. Roger Federer is undefeated against Soderling in their previous six matches.

On the ladies side, new minted world number one Ana Ivanovic advanced easily against some chick named De Los Rios dropping a mere three games along the way.

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Yeah, bitches! What!

As expected, Roger Federer takes the top gentleman’s seed position. A potential semifinal threat treat: Federer vs. Novak Djokovic & Rafael Nadal vs. Andy Roddick.

The 2008 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Draw

New World Number One Ana Ivanovic takes the top ladies’ seed position. Though Serena Williams is on the same half of the draw as Ana Ivanovic, several of the top threats are on the other half including: Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic, Dinara Safina and Venus Williams.

The 2008 Wimbledon Ladies’ Draw

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As expected, Roger Federer is named the top seed at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships

1. Roger Federer (Switzerland)
2. Rafael Nadal (Spain)
3. Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
4. Nikolay Davydenko (Russian)
5. David Ferrer (Spain)
6. Andy Roddick (United States)
7. David Nalbandian (Argentina)
8. Richard Gasquet (France)
9. James Blake (United States)
10. Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus)
11. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic)
12. Andy Murray (Britain)
13. Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland)
14. Paul-Henri Mathieu (France)
15. Fernando Gonzalez (Chile)
16. Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic)
17. Mikhail Youzhny (Russia)
18. Ivo Karlovic (Croatia)
19. Nicolas Almagro (Spain)
20. Lleyton Hewitt (Australia)
21. Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain)
22. Fernando Verdasco (Spain)
23. Tommy Robredo (Spain)
24. Jarkko Nieminen (Finland)
25. Dmitry Tursunov (Russia)
26. Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia)
27. Nicolas Kiefer (Germany)
28. Gilles Simon (France)
29. Andreas Seppi (Italy)
30. Gael Monfils (France)
31. Feliciano Lopez (Spain)
32. Michael Llodra (France)

As expected, Sania Mirza is named the 32nd seed at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships

1. Ana Ivanovic (Serbia)
2. Jelena Jankovic (Serbia)
3. Maria Sharapova (Russian)
4. Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)
5. Elena Dementieva (Russia)
6. Serena Williams (United States)
7. Venus Williams (United States)
8. Anna Chakvetadze (Russia)
9. Dinara Safina (Russia)
10. Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia)
11. Marion Bartoli (France)
12. Patty Schnyder (Switzerland)
13. Vera Zvonareva (Russia)
14. Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)
15. Agnes Szavay (Hungary)
16. Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
17. Alize Cornet (France)
18. Nicole Vaidisova (Czech Republic)
19. Maria Kirilenko (Russia)
20. Francesca Schiavone (Italy)
21. Nadia Petrova (Russia)
22. Flavia Pennetta (Italy)
23. Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia)
24. Shahar Peer (Israel)
25. Lindsay Davenport (United States)
26. Sybille Bammer (Austria)
27. Virginie Razzano (France)
28. Alona Bondarenko (Ukraine)
29. Amelie Mauresmo (France)
30. Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia)
31. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark)
32. Sania Mirza (India) (Mirza is so hot right now. Just like Hansel.)

The official draws are expected this Friday.

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