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[For Scott Snyder, Toastmaster for the Ohio Valley Filk Festival, October 2004] Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to flight OVFF 20.Ê Your Toastmaster for this journey will be Scott Snyder, but you can call him Cosmo. Our travel time will be two and some fraction days (depending on just when you plan to de-plane). Please take a moment to note the numerous safety and convenience features that have been included with your Toastmaster. He has decades of experience with a wide variety of stringed instruments.Ê He considers mandolin to be his primary instrument, but you'll be hearing plenty of kick-booty guitar out of him during the trip.Ê (He owns 18 guitars, in fact, although he's just bringing one with him.)Ê Scott's music background started with guitar lessons at age 4 or 5, and has been very diverse in genres, as well as instruments, including chamber singing, MANY musicals, and a few bluegrass bands.Ê He's been involved with filk for 10 years, during which time he has picked up a song-writing prize or two, as well as a SAM award and 2 Pegasus nominations. In the event of a cabin fire, no in-floor lights will be needed to lead to you to the exits.Ê Just follow the smooth baritone voice of your friendly toastmaster through the smoke to safety. Should there be a sudden loss of drama during the trip, fear not: your toastmaster has extensive experience in theater, having starred in shows both domestically and abroad.Ê Whipping together an emergency production of Godspell or Fiddler on the Roof would be not merely possible, but his pleasure. He has also had extensive training in all manner of audio equipment, even earning a Master's degree in Theater Sound Design.Ê So you should have no problem understanding the pilot's in-flight commentary. In the unlikely event that Martians swarm the plane, don't panic.Ê Mr. Snyder is a decorated military veteran.Ê He's been trained by Armed Forces Radio and Television to provide whatever broadcast expertise may be required, as reporter, cameraman, DJ, producer, or editor.Ê So media coverage of the invasion will be excellent. Scott's also a gamer from way back, with a vast body of D&D and other role-playing experience (from both sides of the DM screen).Ê The name Cosmo came from a character of his, in fact.Ê Feel free to ask your toastmaster any question that may be perplexing you about character classes, races, equipment, skills, or spells.Ê (And who among us hasn't had an otherwise excellent flight ruined by worry, just because you couldn't remember how many fireballs your 5th-level wizard could cast per day, with your Player's Manual locked away in the cargo bay?)Ê His knowledge is encyclopedic.Ê His gaming naturally moved on to include computer games, and that came to be a significant fact for his resume... For yes, Cosmo has been in the video game industry for about 7 years now, working as an audio director.Ê (Sensing an aural pattern in his background?)Ê He has, in fact, just moved from California to Vancouver, BC, Canada to work for Electronic Arts.Ê He would welcome any tips that Canadian passengers might have on fitting into the culture of the northern climes. Likewise, Scott's wife Amanda (present on this flight; ask her about her work as a fish handler) is looking forward to the new experiences brought by transplantation to Canada.Ê Being an excellent cook, she would especially appreciate any moose, beaver, or maple recipes you may have lying around.Ê Amanda and Scott originally met when they were in a play together.Ê They also share their role-playing hobby in weekly on-line sessions. Rounding out the family is Zo‘.Ê At age 3, she doesn't quite fully understand the move yet, but is expected to adapt well.Ê She is not present on this trip, but is normally amongst her father's biggest fans.Ê You can try comparing wallet photos of your children with the Snyders if you must, but be warned: she's a damn cute little girl.Ê Your kid's going down.Ê Why suffer the embarrassment? Both Scott and his guitar case can be used as flotation devices in the case of a water landing.Ê How survival-friendly is that? (Although he has lost weight lately, and may have to tread water a little harder than he used to.) On your in-flight audio programming, you'll find Scott's tape "Bardic Lug", a fine album on Dodeka Records, featuring a couple of bluegrass standards amongst his filk originals.Ê He'll have another album coming out in the indeterminate future, tentatively entitled "Folkslinger". Oh, and Scott seems quite popular with our female passengers.Ê But you can make that call for yourself. Thanks for flying OVFF.Ê We know you have a choice in your filk air travel, and if you choose not to patronize OVFF in the future, pppppppppllllllllllllllllpppbbbtt! |