RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
ONE HELLUVA NICE NIGHT! While checking the weather on-line recently, I laughed at the current temp.
While driving around Palm Springs and listening to 1270 AM KVGH I heard a song I hadn’t heard in about 30 years. “I Dig Rock and Roll Music” by Peter, Paul and Mary was one we played all the time on the oldies station where I used to work. I sat in the parking lot at the Spaghetti Factory in Rancho Mirage listening to this on the AM band in my car under a gorgeous, starry sky!
Monday the 12th – CAN’T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD! – I’m still reeling from the amazing experience that was the ELO concert at the Hollywood Bowl. It was such a life-changing event, I’m sure it’ll be on my mind for years to come. It was very moving to see that amount of people pulling together to perform a singular focus like this. Utterly astounding! First thing in the morning I was on my way to Playa Del Rey to a studio called 740 Sound to do a voice in a new Kia TV commercial. I made several calls in my car on the way to help the long commute go by faster. It was a very fun session, and it involved being the announcer of a basketball game. It brought back memories of when I used to call all the basketball games for our radio station team called the KELO Super Shooters. All that experience came rushing back to me during the session, and it was really cool! After the session I went to Toys ‘R Us to do some shopping, and then got lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant called Campo’s. For dessert I got ice cream at Rite Aid. I drove back home and had a look at the video clips and photos that my buddy Officer Mark sent me from the ELO concert. I did some more work on the computer while I waited around for a phone call from my agent about a pick-up session on Tuesday morning. That was in case there was some extra stuff they needed recorded that they didn’t get at the original Kia session. But my agent called and said they got everything they needed and I was clear for Tuesday. I took a short nap and then woke up to do my auditions. I typed out Wally’s Week, and then walked and fed Roxy. My cat Spooky had been vomiting after he ate, but I think he’s just eating his food too rapidly. I’m going to parse out his food in small portions and see how he does. If he doesn’t improve I’m going to take him to the vet. It was a cool, overcast evening, so I made some tomato soup and a sandwich and watched another “Barnaby Jones” episode on DVD before bed.
Tuesday the 13th – PACKIN’ FOR P.S.! – To start the day, I did a few last-minute auditions and signed, scanned and set some contracts that needed to go in. I called my “adopted grandma” Shirley and took her to lunch at Paty’s. It was a nice day so we ate on the patio. I went over to Michael’s to pick up some iron-on letters, and then I went back home to do some work. I met for dinner with my friend Natalie who’s going to become my personal trainer. Then my pal Edi came to town from Palm Springs. She would be staying at my house with my assistant Sara while I was in Palm Springs. Edi came to town for several days to do some work in L.A., and while she was here working she’s staying at my house. So Natalie, Edi and I went to grab some food at Jerry’s Famous Deli. I got home and grabbed a nap, and then got up to do a few auditions and pack for my upcoming trip to Palm Springs.
Wednesday the 14th – WILD WEDNESDAY! – When I got up at noon I did some work, and then headed to UPS to pick up my mail. Among my packages was a piece of artwork from my friend Amy Woods; acclaimed watercolor artist. After I got my “Jungle Book” animation cel at an auction a few months ago, I needed to have some sort of background created. All of the original backgrounds done for the movie were done in watercolor, so they all have a very specific look. I contacted Amy and gave her specific measurements for the piece, and the artwork turned out amazing! I stopped by Fast Signs to pick up some signs I had made, and then stopped at the comic book store next door to get some new comics. I stopped off at the grocery store to get some supplies for my Palm Springs trip, and then I headed over to Michaels Art Store to get my Jungle Book cel and background framed and mounted. It’s going to look amazing! While I was driving around I made some calls to a few old buddies from Sioux Falls. I had been looking feverishly for stills from an old kid’s TV show I used to watch when I was a kid living in South Dakota. Captain 11 was the show to watch for cartoons when I was young. I had even been on the show a few times as a youngster. He had several huge cartoon cutouts hanging on his studio wall that I used to love, and I’m trying to find good photos of those cutouts so that I can possibly reproduce them for my house. My old pal Paul Farmer, who was in my radio and TV class in high school, is now the Promotions Director at KELO, the station I used to work at when I was a DJ back in Sioux Falls. I called him and he sent over a few photos from the archives that featured the big cutouts I was looking for. I also talked to an old pal named Larry Hofer who does graphics at the station. He said the original cutouts are long gone, but he knew which ones I was talking about. Then I brought up the subject of the old “talking skull” that used to open a local late-night show called “Midnight Macabre.” I had seen the artwork back in the 80’s when I was hanging out in the graphics department at the station. I was amazed that the graphic that used to scare the crap out of me as a kid, was a small, painted skull with a cardboard lower jaw on a pull tab that allowed it to talk. He said he thought that piece was still around at the station somewhere in their files. I told him I would pay any amount of money to have it. Within an hour he texted me with a few pictures of the piece, and told me it was now mine! TOO COOL! I’m going to frame it immediately. What a great memory from childhood! “Midnight Macabre” was a local show at midnight that would play any number of scary movies from a syndication package. It included “Little Shop of Horrors,” “House on Haunted Hill,” etc. What great memories, and now that scary skull is going to be on the wall at Planet Wallywood! THANKS LARRY! I stopped by the car rental agency and picked up the SUV I’d be renting for my Palm Springs weekend. I got it home and got into my car and headed to Studiopolis Burbank for a Sonic session at 3:30. I just barely made it in time! Whew! What a day! We finished up by 5:30 and I headed back home to pack up a few last-minute things and grab a short nap before my trip. I packed the car, got gassed up, and hit the road by 9:30. On the way I always like to listen to KTNN 660 AM out of Window Rock, AZ. It’s a station owned by the Navajo Nation, and they play classic country. There’s a certain magic to driving through the night time desert listening to old country songs on the AM band. The DJ on the air was named J.J. and was very fun to listen to. Most of the songs I didn’t know, but when he played “Never Stop Lovin’ You” by Gary Morris I flipped out. It’s one of my all-time favorite country songs, and hearing it on the AM band was nothing short of magical! When I stopped at Denny’s to get my food-to-go I was once again amazed by the incredible weather. The feel of Palm Springs is something I can’t describe; it must be experienced! I got checked into my usual room at the Hyatt, but the new building next door had added too much light to the beloved balcony where I love spending all night watching the stars in the sky. I think the next time I’m there I’m going to move a few rooms down the hall away from the new bright lights. There was a beautiful full moon out, but it flooded the sky with light so not many stars were visible. As if in a movie, George Harrison’s song “Here Comes the Moon” came up randomly on my iPad just as the full moon moved around into my view. It was great. I got some amazing pics of the full moon setting behind the mountain outside my hotel room. Now THIS is relaxing!
Thursday the 15th – P.S. is A.O.K.! – After just a few hours of sleep, I got up around 9 to walk Roxy in the doggie run area outside the hotel. There was more construction going on outside my room, so I ordered some breakfast to the room and enjoyed it on the balcony while I watched them work. Then I hit the hay again and got up around 2 to check some e-mails. Roxy is very popular with the hotel staff and guests. She actually likes to walk around the lobby and greet each guest. I got back to the room and relaxed some more before my friend Elliot and his son Jon came by to go to dinner. Elliot’s wife Edi was back in L.A. staying at my house while she was doing some work in town, but here I was in Palm Springs with Elliot. Funny how things work out. We had a delicious dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Las Casuelas, and then we hit the Palm Springs Village Fest street fair. Apparently, September is the slowest month for the street fair, so many of the usual vendors I love to see weren’t there. But the beef jerkey guy was there, as was the Pillow Lady. I walked Roxy up the street and then back down again, and boy was she tired out! We got back to the room and grabbed a short nap, and then it was up all night, sitting on the balcony to watch the moon and stars. It was great when the full moon moved around to shine in on our balcony. It literally bathed our area in bright moonlight! It was fun watching it set behind the mountain again, and I’m always amazed at just how fast the earth really turns!
Friday the 16th – RUBY’S WITH RON! – Once again I woke up at 11, only after a few hours of sleep, and walked Roxy. I went back to bed to sleep for a few more hours, and then got up to walk to Ruby’s Diner in downtown Palm Springs for a lunch meeting with my old pal Ron Chaney. It was too hot to take Roxy along so she stated in my room. It was great catching up with Ron again at lunch, and when we finished I got a delicious Dole Whip at Lappert’s Ice Cream. I love those things! I got back to the hotel to relax for a while. Later in the evening my pal Brittney Powell arrived, so we went across the street to get some food at NYPD. We went out to the back part of the hotel where they have some tables and chairs set up on an observation deck. The sky overhead was full of stars, as the full moon hadn’t risen high enough yet to wash them out. It was very nice enjoying dinner under the stars. But later when I was on the balcony, the moon had risen to its full standing and the stars had become scarce. The normally quiet Palm Springs was very noisy until late in the evening. It was probably due to the Friday night downtown bar traffic, but it was still nice relaxing on the balcony.
Saturday the 17th – PALM SPRINGS RACEWAY! – I slept virtually all day, and while it looked good on paper, it was not a good idea. I must’ve slept wrong as my lower back was in serious pain. Brittney and I walked to Ruby’s to grab a light lunch in the late afternoon, and while I sat at Ruby’s in the comfortable booth, my back started to feel better. After Ruby’s we got Dole Whips at Lappert’s. It was the first time I tried strawberry Dole Whip! It was great, but I still prefer the pineapple. We headed back to the hotel to relax for a bit. When it was time to leave for Rancho Mirage for our reservations at the Spaghetti Factory, I noticed the gorgeous huge full moon looming over the eastern horizon. As we stood at the valet stand waiting for the car to be brought up, I got some shots of the enormous orange moon peering between a few palm trees. On the way to the restaurant we listened to KVGH 1270 AM. It’s a great AM oldies station that was featuring the year 1970. They played a lot of great hits from the year, as well as news clips and other trivia. I love this station! When we got back to the hotel I went downstairs to the back observation deck and enjoyed a cigar under the stars. Later on the balcony during star watching time, I almost had a guest join me. As I sat there with my feet up watching the skies, a small bat fluttered up to my balcony, spun around a few times, and then flew away erratically. His sonar must’ve told him that my balcony was not the place to be. But since I know that bats eat a ton of mosquitoes every day, I was happy to see him. In the past I’ve been aware that Saturday nights are the noisiest nights of my extended Palm Springs stays, but this night was almost unbearable. I’m not sure when Palm Springs became a raceway, but there were a lot of loud racecars and hot rods speeding around the city until about 4am, making my relaxation on the deck very difficult. I think the Palm Springs city council needs to install more stop signs. Obviously the hot rodders love the wide open roads where they can get up to top speeds. And perhaps a few more police wouldn’t hurt either.
Sunday the 18th – SWEET SUNDAY SILENCE! – Around noon Brittney headed back home, and after walking Roxy for a bit I headed back to bed. It was the hottest day of the week, so I was committed to staying inside with Roxy as much as possible. I vowed not to venture out until the searing desert sun was well behind the mountain. In the evening, as the sun had just set, I sat on the balcony to read some comics. In my past Palm Springs trips I used to leave on Sunday afternoon. But after staying an additional day on a whim back in May, I’m now sold on staying the extra day. It really is peaceful and enjoyable. And my Palm Springs Sunday night has turned into “comic book night.” I spent some time reading the first three issues of “Batman ’66 Meets Steed and Peel” by the waning evening sunlight. It was very nice. Once it cooled down enough I walked Roxy over to Ruby’s Diner for dinner on the patio. Then I grabbed another Dole Whip and headed back to the room. I finished up the comics on the balcony, and then went to preview another room down the hall. I wanted to see how the new bright lights on the building next to the hotel would look on that balcony. The room I always get is at the end of the hotel on the top floor, but it’s become too light polluted with all the new construction. The room I looked at about four doors down is far enough away from the new lighting that I think I’ll get that room next time. That way I’m insured as dark an environment as possible for maximum stargazing. I took a short nap, and though I had the balcony door open, it was getting hot and humid. Thunderstorms were imminent. Later when I woke up I got another pizza at NYPD across the street, and ate it on my balcony. I spent the rest of the night watching the skies and listening to music, just meditating and relaxing. Though there wasn’t any lightning over the Palm Springs area, I could see it behind the mountain outside my room. The lightning was flashing in some of the other desert cities just to the west of Palm Springs. It made for an amazing light show. The Sunday night calm and quiet was much appreciated and I fully enjoyed it. As morning approached, the city came to life and it started getting noisy again. I did some preemptive packing before hitting the hay so I could get a head start on my Monday exit. What a fun week!
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
The gorgeous full moon sets behind the mountain outside my hotel room.
Elliot plays “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” on the Hyatt’s piano.
Another great moon-set shot!
How do you sue a statue for stealing your “look?”
Is it me? Or not?
Coke? Check. Popcorn? Check. Binoculars? Check. Faithful dog? CHECK!
Though it takes a few minutes, this video I shot outside my hotel room last Friday night illustrates how quickly the earth really does move. You can watch the moon set behind the mountain as Native American artist Waykey plays on my iPad. Gorgeous!
This week, we interview The Smartest Traffic Light in the World. Listen and hear its wisdom, and you’ll be amazed!
Here’s one shot that shows the Captain 11 set from my childhood. It looks like Quick Draw McGraw’s left leg broke off, and it looks like Yogi fell off the wall! But those cartoon cutouts are GREAT!
At Michaels Art Store, I lay the “Jungle Book” cel over the watercolor background Amy Woods painted and it looks amazing! I’ll post a picture when it’s framed.
This is the creepy talking skull graphic that I’ll soon be adding to my collection!
