RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
I VOTED!
As I’m enjoying watching the old “Monkees” TV series on Blu Ray, I’m rediscovering a lot of their wonderful music. Much of the music in the show gets in my ear and stays for a while, but “I Wanna Be Free” has been in my head consistently all week
Monday the 7th – PREPPING TO POLL! – When I got up at 12:30 I did a little work around the house, and then took off to get my dry cleaning. I decided to have lunch at Paty’s on the patio, enjoy the day, and go over my Voter’s Guide. I wanted to read all of the propositions and make my selections in the guide, so all I had to do when I got to the polls was check off the associated numbers. I picked up my packages at my mailbox, went to Marshall’s to do some shopping, and then headed home to feed the pets. I walked Roxy over to the local hardware store to get some screws for the new gooseneck microphone mount that just arrived in my mail. I’ve been using the same microphone stand in my Voice-Over studio for years. I decided to get rid of it to make more room, and mount a gooseneck fixture on my computer desk. Hard to believe that when I installed my studio back in 2000 I had a huge mixer, Sennheiser 416 microphone and mic stand, and a music stand for the copy. A while back I decided to get rid of the music stand and just read my auditions off of my computer screen. That saved a lot of space. Then I eventually got rid of my mixer and just used a small interface box to connect my microphone into my computer. Now, without the mic stand, it’s become highly streamlined. Now when I do an audition, I can just bend the microphone down on the 19 inch gooseneck, record my files, and then bend the microphone back up and out of the way. Easy squeezy! But the gooseneck mount didn’t come with screws, so I needed to get some appropriately sized screws in order to mount it properly. I got back home and mounted the fixture, screwed in the gooseneck, and attached the microphone. It worked VERY well! I walked over to my church to attend a pre-election prayer vigil, and then came home to relax in the Jacuzzi. I took a short nap and then got up for my auditions. I fed the pets and then worked on finishing Wally’s Week all night. I looked up at the clock and realized it was 5am! I took Roxy out for our late-night stroll through the complex, and noticed that our centrally-located clubhouse and meeting room was all set up as a polling place. I remembered hearing that the polls opened at 7am and had an idea as I walked back home. I could either go to bed now and get up later to vote, or I could just kill an hour and a half and vote when the polls opened. Then I’d have it out of the way. I busied myself in my makeshift scanning station and spent an hour and a half scanning some old photos from the 70’s and 80’s. Perfect!
Tuesday the 8th – THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN! – Around 6:45am I threw on my warm clothes (it was quite chilly outside) and walked over to the clubhouse and meeting room in the center of our complex and got in line to vote. Oddly enough, I was standing behind my old pal Eric Schwartz in line! I first met Eric back in 1994 when we were both doing radio comedy at the Premiere Comedy Network. He’s been doing a lot of stand-up comedy lately, so it was fun to catch up. When I got into vote I received ballot #26. 13 has always been my lucky number, and since 26 is 13 times two, it’s usually REALLY lucky! Maybe this time I’d get lucky and the election would actually go my way! (Some things did end up going my way, and some did not) I walked back home, jamming to some Eddie Money tunes on my iPod all the while, and then went inside to do some more work. I was too excited to sleep, but it was pointless to turn on the TV to see the results because it was far too early. So I made myself some soup and a sandwich and went to bed to watch a few more “Monkees” episodes. But after the “Monkees,” I watched some TV coverage until noon, when I forced myself to go to sleep. I managed to sleep a measly four hours, and got up at 4 to walk Roxy and check e-mails. I began to monitor the election results and it was fascinating to see the whole process unfold. I called my “adopted grandma” Shirley and we went to Lancers to eat an early dinner. On our way home we listened to the results on the radio and it was becoming clear what some of the results would be. I got back home and had intended to nap, but I turned on the TV and couldn’t stop watching the tabulations come in. It was part of our American process and it was amazing to watch. I kept the TV on and texted and talked to friends as the results became imminent. I witnessed the moment when they called Pennsylvania which gave the President Elect enough Electoral votes to win the election. Then I watched his victory speech. It was a very historic day that I’ll probably be telling my grandkids about in the future. I took a short nap, and then got up to feed and walk Roxy. When I got back inside I made a pizza, watched more “Monkees” episodes and got ready for bed. Just before I went to sleep I made sure to watch the losing candidate’s concession speech on TV, and tried to get information on how some of the state propositions fared in the election. It was a crazy election, and one wacky election day!
Wednesday the 9th – WORK-A-DAY WEDNESDAY! – I got up at 2 for a quick Voice-Over session for “Naruto.” When we finished I stopped by my box to get my mail, and then I headed home. I answered some e-mails, did some random stuff, and unwrapped the new Daniel Craig James Bond figure I just got in the mail. It was amazing! I grabbed a short nap and then got up to do my nightly auditions. I did some other work, but then had to turn in for an early session on Thursday. What a week it’s been so far!
Thursday the 10th – WORKIN’ THE WESTSIDE! – The trusty alarm clock went off at 9:30 and I was out the door by 10:15 and heading to West L.A. for a session. I used to live down in that area, and the studio I would be recording at was literally blocks away from where I first lived when I moved to L.A. back in 1987. It’s always fun to see the old neighborhood! At the session I got to revisit the M.O.D.O.K. character I did for “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” several years ago. It was a fun, but brief, session. Since I was in my old neighborhood, I enjoyed grabbing lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant Campo’s. Then I headed over to Robinson Beautilities to check out their costume inventory. I used to rent from them all the time and it was like stepping into a time warp walking into their store. My old pal Rick was still behind the counter and we chatted for a bit. I drove back home in busy afternoon traffic and did a few auditions. Then I relaxed with a quick nap on the couch. My friend Emily came over and we went to Jerry’s to grab dinner. I got back home and did my nightly auditions and finished up some work around the house. I made a pot pie and watched a few more “Monkees” episodes (which I’m really enjoying, by the way) and then I tuned into the news channels to watch the President lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, something I like to do every Veteran’s Day.
Friday the 11th – FAREWELL, FREDDIE! – I grabbed a few hours of sleep and then got up at noon to meet up with my pal Scott Sebring. We drove over to the Smokehouse restaurant for the memorial lunch for our old pal Fred Westbrook, who passed away from cancer a week earlier. It was sad, of course, but there were also a lot of funny stories from some of his clients. Peter Marshall, Wink Martindale, Monty Hall and even Adam West all offered fun recollections of working with our friend Fred. Unfortunately I had to leave the event around 3:45 in order to make a Voice-Over job at 4pm in Sherman Oaks. It only took about a half hour to record the pick-up lines for the George Jetson job I did a few months ago, but unfortunately the managers of VOLA didn’t know that Fred had passed away. So I had to be the bearer of bad news. I went back home and checked my e-mails and got settled for the weekend. I enjoyed taking a very loooong nap. It was a weird day. Weird week! I got up later to get some groceries, pick up some food at Denny’s, and then came back home to spend the night scanning more vintage photos from my personal collection. I managed to get through all of my old 70’s and 80’s South Dakota photo albums, and next it’s on to scanning all of the photos from my past 30 years living in L.A.! I went to bed to watch more “Monkees” episodes and enjoy my dinner from Denny’s!
Saturday the 12th – BACK TO NORMALCY! – After having spent a Saturday fighting off illness, and then spending another Saturday enjoying the Eddie Money concert, it was good to be back to our usual Saturday night Planet Wallywood movie nights. My pal Edi dropped off her dog Bunny at my house while I slept the day away. I got up around 4 and Edi was just returning from her appointment. She was hungry, and since I just woke up I was famished! So we went over to Paty’s with Roxy and Bunny and had an enjoyable dinner on the patio as we watched the sun set. There were really cool clouds in the sky that literally changed colors as the sun moved further down behind the horizon. Stunning! We got back to the house and got organized for movie night. We watched “The Legend of Tarzan” on Blu Ray and it was pretty darn good! The “L.O.T.” Blu Ray set also included a 3-D Blu Ray disc, so now that I’m 3-D capable in the Puppet Room, I’m going to watch it in 3-D in the coming days. After the guests left I grabbed a quick nap on the couch, and then got up to make my usual Saturday night Super Salad and watch an episode of the old BBC show “The New Avengers.” Just as I was heading to bed around 1pm Sunday afternoon, Edi was packing up her stuff in the Puppet Room and heading back to Palm Desert. I got to say goodbye to her and Bunny, and then I hit the hay.
Sunday the 13th – SUNDAY SERENITY! – There was an auction that I wanted to win on eBay that was ending at 5:45pm. My evening church service starts at 5:30, so I told Shirley to save my place since I’d be a little late. I tried to get the item, but got outbid at the last minute. So Roxy and I walked over to church and enjoyed the remainder of the service. As Roxy and I strolled back home I realized that I was very tired. It was a strange, strange week with a very strange and spotty sleep schedule. I enjoyed catching up on sleep by napping all night. I got up later to do a little work around the house, fed and walked Roxy, and then made some lasagna and watched a few more “Monkees” episodes. Though the tickle and cough in my bronchial passage was mostly gone, occasionally it would rear its ugly head and need to be beaten down. I think lots of rest will send it to its final demise, so I’m happy to just take it easy for a few days.
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
What is it about sleeping on Daddy’s clothes that makes catnaps so much more enjoyable? Spooky’s not talking!
The amazing Daniel Craig figure by Black Box!
While scanning old photos, I came across this pic of me as Dr. Frank N. Furter from our “Rocky Horror” cast back in 1982.
This is a picture of the late great Leonard Nimoy back in 1981 as he’s waiting to go on the set of KELO-TV news for an interview. He was in town doing his one-man show “Vincent.” For you trivia buffs, the guy at the far right picking his beard was the director of the Sioux Falls Community Playhouse at the time. His voice and demeanor served as partial inspiration for my Riddler characterization in the “Arkham” videogames.
