RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
One of the things my computer guy Brian suggested was to get a new mouse pad. I looked up custom mouse pads and I decided to have my own printed. Here’s my design…
As I was driving around in the Gran Torino listening to 70’s on 7 on Sirius XM, a song came on I didn’t care for. So I switched it to 80’s on 8. Still didn’t like the song. I went over to Elvis Radio and it was an interview. So I clicked on 60’s on 6 and heard this song that really took me back! I’m lucky because in my household when I was growing up, there was always music playing on the radio, on the 8 track, or on the phonograph. Glen Campbell, Patsy Cline, Elvis, and The Four Seasons. When the 60’s channel played “Candy Girl” by Franki and the Four, it gave me chills. I hadn’t heard this song in a long time and it took me right back to sitting my living room, studying the Four Seasons’ record album cover where they were standing in a haunted house. I always wondered why they took a photo like that. But they made some darn good music!
Monday the 9th – WONDER WOLFMAN! – I took Roxy out for a walk when I woke up at 11 and I noticed that there were a ton of helicopters hovering overhead. Both Police and media choppers were present. What was happening in the Hollywood area? Did Miley Cyrus pass gas or something? Alert the media! I came back inside and tried to do a few auditions, though with the helicopter noise outside it wasn’t easy. Apparently there was a high speed chase and a guy with a gun got out and started wandering around. It didn’t really affect me because I was quite a bit further away. Besides, my pal Pete Tassler was picking me up so we could head downtown to check out Roxy Display. They’re a store fixture distributor who sells all sorts of display cabinets, lighting and mannequins. Pete was interested in a particular cabinet to house some of his Batman collection. While I was there I purchased a turntable. It’s about 18” across and spins slowly so you can exhibit all sides of your display. Not sure what I’m going to use it for, but I’m sure it’ll come in handy for something. Then Pete took me to a roast beef place downtown called Phillipe’s. They claim to have invented the French Dip. It was a darn good sandwich! I got back home and switched my Mustang for my Gran Torino and headed over to JoAnn’s Fabrics to get some cloth that matched the material on my Scarecrow of Oz tunic. The tunic fabric is a fleece, but it doesn’t fray that well. For the Scarecrow’s hat band I need a material in the same color as the tunic, but one that frays easily. That’s so it’ll match the look of the film costume. While I was shopping there I ran into my old pal Bridget Marquardt from “Girls Next Door.” I did an episode of the show in which Chuck McCann and I helped teach Bridget how to do Voice-Over. It was fun catching up on what she’s been doing lately. I also found some more Bat Cape fabric for my Adam West action figure upgrades, and my Bat Caps. While I was there, I also picked up some light blue gingham fabric for my Dorothy Gale bust. I got home and ran into a delightful gal and her dog. The gal’s name was Karina, and her feisty little dog was a Min-Pin named Karmey. She had a fairly bad attitude and wanted to attack everybody and everything. Though at first she was threatened by Roxy’s size, her gentleness calmed Karmey down to the point where she could give her a sniff or two and relax. Karina was hoping to get her trained but thought that Karmey might be too old at the age of 2. Roxy’s a master at reading other dog’s attitudes, so she just relaxed and let Karmey do her sniffing. By the end of the encounter, they were standing together like old friends! I went inside to do some work and grab a quick nap. Then I got up and did a bunch of auditions, and wrote Wally’s Week. I fed and walked Roxy and settled in to watch another “Wonder Woman” episode from the third season DVD set. Wolfman Jack was one of the special guests, and though he didn’t have much to do in the episode, it was GREAT seeing him!
Tuesday the 10th – TOO COOL TUESDAY! – I got up around noon and went to my neighbor’s house to walk their Greyhound Abby. She’s a very sweet dog, but very nervous when she gets outside. Having lived with a timid Collie for 11 years I’m used to how a timid dog thinks. But she’s extremely sweet. I’ll scratch her neck for a bit and then purposely quit. She’ll look up at me and move closer as if to say, “More please!” I did some auditions in my home studio and e-mailed them into my agents, then hopped in the Torino and headed to Paty’s in Toluca Lake to enjoy a wonderful lunch on the patio. I plugged my headphones into my i-Pad and lost myself in thought and a really great fried chicken salad. What a beautiful day! I hit my mailbox and the flash drives containing all my new demos had arrived! My mass mailout project is ready to commence! After a few errands I headed home and it was time to feed and walk Abby again. Then I went home to walk and feed my own dog. I reserved my rental car for my upcoming trip back home to Sioux Falls. I did some more work on the computer and then organized some stuff around the house. I grabbed a short nap and when I awoke, I set about doing my auditions. The “Wonder Woman” episode I watched was absolutely awful. I’m hoping the episodes get better as we get deeper into season 3, but I’m not holding out much hope.
Wednesday the 11th – BOGUS BUDS! – Roxy and I took a walk after I got up at 12:30, and then I called my old pal Richard Horvitz to catch up. It was great to talk to him again. I hopped in the Torino and headed to the Coral Café in Burbank to meet up with my friend Caya. While I waited for her I listened to music on my i-Pad with the little ear bud speakers that are included in the package. But they kept falling out of my ears. It was very annoying, particularly when one of my favorite all-time songs came on…”Crackerbox Palace” by George Harrison. I made a mental note to buy a better set of ear buds soon. Caya arrived as did my assistant Sara, and we had a fun lunch. Then Caya and I went over to Firing Line in Burbank to do some target shooting. We shot my new CZ Rami 9mm, my Beretta Cheetah .380, and my vintage Smith & Wesson 3913 9mm. While I love the look of the Cheetah, I don’t like shooting it because the slide is too narrow. When I need to rack the slide to load a round in the chamber, it’s tough to get a grip on it because it’s too small to wrap my fingers around. It’s one of those that looks a lot cooler than it is to shoot. After shooting with Caya several times before we made a new discovery. She’s better as a leftie! She was having trouble closing her left eye and shooting with her right hand. So I suggested switching hands and eyes. Sure enough it worked. Bang! Right into the target where she intended it to go! That’s why we practice, I guess. We finished up shooting and I bid her farewell. I took the advantage of heading over to Krispy Kreme and getting a donut. Then I stopped at Best Buy to pick up some Plantronics ear buds that stay in your ears! Plus, they’re wireless! They communicate with the i-Pad via Bluetooth technology. Neat! I stopped by Target to buy a beach ball, to replace the one owned by some neighbor kids that Roxy popped accidentally. But they were all out. I went to Staples to buy some neon stickers to add to my Voice-Over demo flash drives. Each flash drive is individually wrapped, so I wanted to label them with information about what they were. Most would figure instantly that they were my new demos, but just to be safe I want to put a label on them stating as much. I had a great time driving the Torino around, and I always get tons of thumbs up, honks and waves. It reminds me of when I used to drive around Mitchell, South Dakota with my Grandpa Joe in his old Model A Ford. He would honk and wave at people all the time. But instead of just being a passenger, now I was the driver! Maybe someday I’ll get to drive around with MY grandson, honking and waving at people! I got home and took a dip in the Jacuzzi, worked on my computer, and then grabbed a nap on the most comfortable couch in the galaxy. I got up and did a bunch of auditions, learned how to charge up my new Plantronics ear buds, opened up a bunch of mail, composed my movie night invites, downloaded the templates for the new labels I just bought, printed and labeled all my flash drive demos, and got them all ready for shipping. The final piece in the puzzle is my shipment of imprinted light –up pens I ordered. When I get those I’ll have all the components ready to roll. I made some dinner and watched “Wonder Woman” again. But I didn’t get to bed until 10am because I was watching all of the coverage about the “fall of Iraq.” Wow, what a horrible situation!
Thursday the 12th – MAYA OH MY! – After only 3 hours of sleep I sprang awake and drove Roxy over to the groomer’s for a bath. I switched cars back to my Mustang and headed to Studiopolis to pick up a check. I went to lunch at Panera and enjoyed some music with my new wireless ear buds while I ate. I also found some beach balls at the local CVS pharmacy, bought some bottles of my favorite soda at BevMo, and then got some groceries. I dropped off the groceries and walked to the groomer’s to pick up a freshly bathed Roxy. When I got back I saw the cutest little Pomeranian at the pool named Maya. She was a cuddler! I sat around talking to my neighbors, petting Maya and relaxing. And Maya really took to Roxy! I went inside to do some auditions and answer some e-mails. I took a short nap on the couch then got up to do some stuff around the house. I did some prep for Friday’s “Sonic Boom” session, watched “Wonder Woman” and made some soup.
Friday the 13th – SAYONARA SONIC! – With a quick stop at McDonald’s for some fast eats, I was on my way to Studiopolis Burbank to record the final episodes for season one of “Sonic Boom,” a new cartoon featuring Sonic the Hedgehog which is set to premiere later this year. Here’s the trailer… https://www.sonicthehedgehog.com/en/sonic-boom/ It’s always sad to wrap up a cartoon like this, but fingers crossed for a second season and more fun and frolic! I can’t tell you anything about the episodes or how it ends, but it suffices to say you’ll LOVE it! In addition to voicing Cubot, I’m tasked to voice several other characters in the Sonic universe. And BOY have they been fun and challenging! Sometimes we’ll craft a character right on the spot, along with Executive Producer Evan Baily and Voice Director Jack Fletcher! We finished up and I headed by Little Caesar’s to grab a pizza and MMMMMM some Crazy Bread! I bought some cat litter at a local pet store, and then headed home. I started working on organizing for my upcoming trip to New Jersey and South Dakota. I like to jot down a detailed list of everything I need to pack for a trip, so when the time comes to pack I just run down the checklist. Since my upcoming trip involves three legs, I think it’s best to pack for New Jersey, and ship the clothes I’ll need for South Dakota via Fed Ex. That way my box of clothes will be there to meet me when I get to Sioux Falls, and I can ship the dirty clothes from New Jersey back home. My maids came by to clean while I took a short nap on the couch. When they left I took a dip in the Jacuzzi in preparation for my masseuse Emily to come by to give me a much-needed massage. After she left, I did some work on the computer, napped a bit on the couch, got up to do some work around the house, and went to Denny’s to get some take-out food. The “Wonder Woman” episode I watched featured my old pal Brian Tochi and was excellent! It was about dolphins, and they’re always fun to watch too! Almost as fun to watch as Brian!
Saturday the 14th – COMPUTER BLUE! – My pal Brian Boyd was scheduled to come do some things on my computer at 2, and it’s a good thing. When I woke up and checked e-mail it totally froze and wouldn’t restart properly. Had he not been coming over, it would have been panic time! But Brian got into the meat of the problem and worked everything out. He also did a few other things that it needed. I ran over to Taco Bell to bring us back lunch while he worked. After two and a half hours he had everything working beautifully again! I did some laundry and got a nap before movie night. It was a fun one, as we screened the classic 80’s raunchy romp called “Bachelor Party!” I miss the funny Tom Hanks! When everyone left I finished up laundry, did some work around the house, worked on the hat band for my Scarecrow of Oz bust, did some writing, and cleaned up around Planet Wallywood. And since it was Saturday night I enjoyed my “Saturday Night Saint and Salad Night,” with a huge salad and another episode of Roger Moore as The Saint!
Sunday the 15th – NO MORE MOURNING MORNINGS! – Since my usual routine is to go to bed just as the sun is about to rise, I’ve really been missing my Mourning Doves lately. They used to sit outside my window and coo early in the morning, but lately they’ve been scarce. They’re so cute and I love their cooing. My neighbor told me she saw a Hawk in our complex recently that would lay in wait and chase down any unsuspecting Mourning Doves for a quick meal. I’ve seen a Hawk chase them before, but it’s been a long time. But I guess he’s back again. If I see Mr. Hawk in my area this time, I’m going to turn the high pressure garden hose on him and blast him in the beak. I really miss my Mourning Doves and wish they’d come back. Stupid hawk. Anytime somebody asks me if I’ve tried being a vegetarian I have the same comeback. “When animals stop eating each other, I’ll stop eating animals too.” Sometimes the circle of life seems very cruel and unfair. I slept until 4pm and got up to walk Roxy. We got cleaned up and headed to evening church. I came home and did a TON of auditions that needed to be turned in later that evening. I napped on the couch briefly, and then got up to do a bunch more auditions that were due on Monday morning. I paid some bills, did some bookkeeping, and settled into watch another episode of “Wonder Woman” with a helping of my famous Buffalo Mac!
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
As I’m preparing to emcee this year’s “Starsky & Hutch” tribute con in New Jersey called Surcon, the promoters sent me some photos from last year’s event. This is when I talked Paul Michael Glaser, one of my childhood heroes, into wearing the trademark sweater for our ride in my Gran Torino together! What a moment that was!
