RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
I’ve always said this, and it’s nice to see that somebody put it in a cartoon! If you’re feeling depressed or down, go to a dog park! You won’t be blue for long!
While surfing through my satellite TV channels last Saturday night, I settled on the Zen channel (channel 857 on DirecTV) for a bit. I heard a wonderful piece called “In Travel” by (+) Comfort. Not only did I really dig on the band’s name, but I like the song too! I got on iTunes immediately and bought it.
Monday the 23rd – LAZY LIZARD! – My plumbers were supposed to be over at 1 to do some work installing an overflow valve in my recently installed water heater. That would involve having to move a ton of stuff away from my north garage wall so they can get access to run the copper line down the length of my garage, and put an output spout through my garage’s exterior wall. That way if there’s a problem with my hot water heater any excess water will flow outside instead of flooding my garage. That overflow valve wouldn’t have helped in my recent situation, because the base of my old water heater simply cracked due to years of metal fatigue. I was up in time to let them in to the garage, but they called me and told me they’d be about an hour late. They ended up being about an hour and a half late. Plus, the plumber showed up by himself and not with a partner. Then he told me that he would need his partner to hold the copper pipe in place while he installed it. DUH! Now it was too late in the day to do any work, plus he didn’t have his partner anyway. I was quickly losing interest in them getting their overflow valve installed, and thus getting their inspection done. Furthermore, I don’t think he was that interested in getting it done either. So I’m going to keep holding them off as long as I can in hopes they’ll lose interest and leave me alone. When I opened my garage door to let the plumber in, once he arrived, I saw a small lizard clutching on to one of the springs of my garage door. I tried to shoo him away, but he wouldn’t leave. I figured he was there to enjoy the buffet of bugs caught in spider webs behind my garage door hardware. But I had to close the door soon to go back inside the house. But he wouldn’t leave. So I took some pictures of him. My neighbor Bob came by and said that maybe the lizard was caught in the spring. But since I couldn’t remember if the spring expanded or contracted when I closed the door, I didn’t want to take a chance of the lizard getting squished. My contractor Electric Bob came over with his assistant Ernie to install new garage door springs. My garage door had been rumbling and I figured my springs were getting old. Ernie waved his hand right in front of the lizard. The lizard tried to escape but we could clearly see that his claws were trapped between the coils of the springs. He must’ve been on the spring when I opened the door and got caught. So Ernie stretched the coils open and the lizard skittered away. I wish I would have known that earlier, it would have saved the poor little guy a lot of agony. But since he didn’t seem injured when he scampered off, I think he’ll be OK. They replaced the springs on my garage door, but the door was just as wobbly and noisy. Electric Bob suggested I call a garage guy and see about getting a new garage door installed. I called the guy who installed my opener several years back and we arranged to meet Tuesday afternoon between 2 and 4. I closed up the lizard-free garage door and went inside to finish up on some work. I napped for quite a long time, and then got up to do a ton of auditions. I went through my corporate bank statement and got everything reconciled. I fed and walked Roxy, had a bowl of cereal, and then went to bed.
Tuesday the 24th – D.C. MEETING! – I had a pick-up session scheduled at 11am in my home studio for an NBC pilot presentation. I had done the main session a month or so ago (the day I discovered that my water heater was leaking all over my garage!) and now there were a few line changes I needed to record for the final mix. We finished up in about 20 minutes, I uploaded the tracks so they could access them, and I hit the shower. I went to Jerry’s Famous Deli to meet with my pal, “Star Trek” writer D.C. Fontana. We discussed her upcoming guest appearance on “Wacky Wally’s Vintage Toys,” among other fun things. I went back home to wait for my garage guy, who was scheduled to show up between 2 and 4. But he never showed up! What a wasted afternoon! So I called another company and they agreed to come over to make an estimate on Thursday. Sheesh! I napped on the couch a bit, and then my friends Scott and Vickie Sebring came over with Vickie’s Catwoman costume so a young actress could try it on this Saturday. I’m trying to get a cool Catwoman appearance arranged for another upcoming “Wacky Wally’s Vintage Toys” episode, and the Catwoman costume I own is too small for this actress. It was good to catch up with Scott and Vickie since I hadn’t seen them in a few weeks. I did some more work and then my assistant Sara came by so we could get dinner. We stopped at Mel’s Drive In in Sherman Oaks before we headed over to the movie theater to see “Nice Guys.” It’s a fun movie which takes place in polluted L.A. in 1977. The cars, clothes, and references to life in the late 70’s were fun to watch. But 3 of the songs they used in the soundtrack weren’t released until 1979 or after! OOPS! It was a fun movie though. I got home and did my nightly auditions and then started “Lost In Space” season 2 before bed.
Wednesday the 25th – LAZZZZZZY WEDNESDAY – You know, some days you just have to give yourself permission to have the day off. Today was one of those days. I got up at 1, did an audition, took care of some e-mails, and then I decided to go back to bed. I wasn’t feeling sick or under the weather; I just felt like going back to bed and resting. I ended up sleeping until 5:30, when I got up and fed Roxy and Spook. After walking Roxy I figured, what the heck, I’d go back to bed again! I slept until 9pm! It felt good, but I did sleep the day away. I did my auditions, typed out Wally’s Week, and then went to Denny’s to get some food to go. It felt rather good to take the day off like that. I ate my dinner and watched another “Lost In Space” episode.
Thursday the 26th – EASY COME! EASY GO! – When I got up around 1 I did some work around the house, scanned some checks, got a few deposits ready for my bank, and then met with Dan the Garage Door guy. But the estimate he gave me was REALLY expensive; and the type of door he said I had to get was overkill for my purposes. So I’m going to explore some other options, ie: less expensive options. I went back inside and did some more work, made some calls, and prepped for the end of the week. My friend Jasmine was in the area so she stopped over for a bit to say hi. I got ready to head over to Lancers in Burbank to have dinner with my old friend Christian Malmin. We hadn’t gotten together in a while and it was fun catching up. On the way home I stopped by the bank to drop the deposits in the night depository. I grabbed a short nap, and then got up to do my auditions. After a little work on the computer I made a Tombstone pizza and headed to bed to watch another “Lost In Space” episode.
Friday the 27th – THE BLOCKING BONEHEAD! – After snoozing until 2:30pm, I got up to do some work. Then I got on my bicycle and biked over to my neighborhood vitamin store to pick up a ton of new supplements. I got back and hopped in the car to pick up my “adopted grandma” Shirley for dinner. We headed over to eat at DuPar’s in Studio City. While I was there I ran into my Voice-Over pal Colleen O’Shaughnessy who was dining with her family. Shirley and I finished dinner and when we went to the parking lot to get into my Mustang I was shocked. Somebody next to my car had parked so close to me that I couldn’t open my door to get in. Their car was WAY over the line, and I don’t even know how they got out of THEIR car! Luckily I’m pretty limber, so I was able to get into the car with little difficulty. But it made me mad. So I left a nasty note on their windshield. If you see somebody in L.A. driving a grey Saab convertible, they might be the one! (Jerkwad!) I got home and grabbed a nap, and then got up to feed Roxy and so some work around the house. At 3am Roxy and I took our usual nightly walk around the neighborhood. It was overcast, cool and quiet. I had bought a Monte Cristo cigar earlier in the day, so I decided to enjoy it on our walk. It was a very pleasant and relaxing stroll. I came back inside, got ready for bed and made some “buffalo mac” (mac and cheese with buffalo chicken chunks and celery in it…YUM!) As I was going to bed I watched the sun rise behind a thick, bluish-gray overcast sky. It was gorgeous! May Gray in Los Angeles continues! Now we’ll have a few weeks of June Gloom before summer gets underway officially.
Saturday the 28th – CHRISTINE’S FURY! – Mid-afternoon my friends Mark and Connie came over to hang out for a bit, while we waited for the actress to come try on the Catwoman costume. Stevie arrived and we had her try on a couple different costumes, as we tried to figure out how best to utilize her talents in an upcoming “Wacky Wally’s Vintage Toys” episode. After they left I picked up Shirley and we got some groceries. Then I went home to get ready for movie night. It was the first Planet Wallywood movie night we’ve had in about a month. I had been out of town and having a colonoscopy. But it was good to have the old gang back together again, this time screening the 1983 John Carpenter film “Christine” on Blu Ray. I knew that 1959 Plymouth Fury was a beauty, but it looked even better in Blu Ray! It was our friend Teri’s birthday, so we did an impromptu birthday celebration for her. After walking Shirley back home I grabbed a short nap. I got up to feed and walk Roxy and do some work around the house. Then I got to revisit an old friend; my normal Saturday night routine. It includes making a super salad and watching an episode of the old BBC show “The Avengers.” Because of my wacky weekend schedules of late, I hadn’t been able to indulge in my Saturday night routine. It felt good to be back in the normal Saturday night groove. But just before bed I made the mistake of surfing through some of the TV channels. On Turner Classic Movies I happened upon Laurel and Hardy in “Pack Up Your Troubles.” It’s a very funny movie and of course I couldn’t turn it off and go to bed until it was over. I didn’t get to bed until about 11am Sunday morning!
Sunday the 29th – SAD PUP! – The pets and I slept until 4pm, and we got up so I could indulge in another favorite routine I’ve been denied lately; evening church. I hadn’t been there in four Sundays. First I was in South Dakota, then I was “cleansing” for my Monday colonoscopy, then I was in Palm Springs, and then I was at the “Alice Through the Looking Glass” screening in Hollywood. But it was good to be back. Once we got to church Roxy seemed rather lethargic, and maybe even a bit sad. I suppose dogs can get sad and have off days like people. But it was so noticeable that even Pastor Bob mentioned it. Shirley and I tried to keep her spirits up as we walked back home. We got back home and I gave her a treat, and then we napped for a bit. I got up later and did some odds and ends around the house, and made some hot dogs on the grill to usher in Memorial Day 2016. I watched “Lost In Space” before bed and enjoyed my hot dogs!
Monday the 30th – A MEMORABLE MEMORIAL DAY! – Wishing people a “happy Memorial Day” always seemed odd to me. We’re not really “happy” that America’s finest military veterans had to give their lives in service to this country, but we’re glad they did and we honor them. So I wished everyone a poignant, memorable and reflective Memorial Day. That’s a much better way to frame it I think. I was just about to drive to my seamstress’ studio when I got an e-mail from my pal and webmaster Scott Sebring telling me that our new music video had been posted on our YouTube channel. Several years ago I was listening to Kenny Rogers’ version of “Ruby (Don’t Take Your Love to Town)” on my iPod and I came up with an idea. I’ve always loved that song, but I felt it needed updated to reflect what modern-day veterans from the recent Middle Eastern wars were going through. After putting it off for years, I finally got it together and recorded the new version. I asked my pal Mark Fullerton if he would put a video slideshow to the song so we could post it on the internet. But after he did, we agreed that some extra video needed to be shot to help illustrate the song’s story. He engaged some friends of his for the shoot, shot the footage and edited a stellar music video to the song. Make sure to click on it below and see what you think. If you like it please Tweet about it, post it on your Facebook page, and most of all, send it to a veteran you know and love. After Tweeting the link, and posting it on my Facebook page, I headed to Karyn’s studio to pick up some sewing work I had her doing for me. I drove home and did some work until my assistant Sara came by so we could go to dinner. But we were both so tired I fell asleep on the couch, and she fell asleep in a chair. We woke up a few hours later and we headed to Little Toni’s to get some Italian food. I came back and did my auditions, did some more work on the computer, and prepped for a brand new week. It was promising to be another interesting one!
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
Here’s the new “Ruby (Don’t Take Your Love to Town)” music video we created in tribute to America’s veterans. Please share it.
This is my little lizard friend who hung around on my garage door spring for a bit. Cute little guy.
After posting on my “Wacky Wally” Facebook page about my little lizard friend, Tracy Bailey offered up this bit of artistic inspiration I thought was very funny. Thanks Tracy!
