September 22 – September 28 (2025)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

I found this post on Instagram which pretty much sums up why I take my nightly WOGS! And you should too!

And speaking of Instagram, I stumbled across a post made by a friend of mine, and the music he used sounded really familiar. I hadn’t heard “Oxygene; Part IV” by Jean Michele Jarre in many, many years. We used to play it on 94.7 The Wave back when I was on the air. But it sounded so good on his post I had to find it and download it for my collection. Hard to believe this song was done in 1976. This guy was WAY ahead of his time!

Monday the 22nd – BUREAUCRACY! BAH! – The first order of the day was to email a rep at my actor’s union, SAG-AFTRA. Over the weekend I had gotten a letter stating that, even though I was delinquent on my dues, they would go ahead and clear me for work under some rules that were passed for Covid, etc. etc. blah blah blah. First of all, I’m NOT delinquent on my dues! I dug out the invoice that was sent to me in May, made a note of the amount, looked up the check stub that I recorded in my bank book, confirmed that it was the same amount, and then went on-line to look at the canceled check. Yup, same amount. SAG-AFTRA was definitely smoking something. Armed with all this information I sent a rather ‘strongly worded’ email to the rep and asked what the heck was going on. In their defense they got right back to me and said I was $4.84 delinquent. But since I sent them their original invoice, along with the cashed check for the same amount, I asked how they arrived at that figure. He explained that after they invoiced me in late April, some additional funds were reported which raised my dues $4.84. However, they never EVER made me aware of this fact until just now. When were they planning on telling me that, exactly? I told him that, had they just explained to me in the letter the exact thing he just told me in the email, I would have happily paid it and all would be good. But the letter was so convoluted and confusing, it made absolutely no sense. It’s odd that it took me writing an email to get a freakin’ solid explanation of the issue at hand. He apologized for the poor communication and I asked them to try and do better in the future (which likely won’t happen.) Since he included an invoice for $4.84, I printed it, cut a check and mailed it off. Problem solved. It sure would have been nice if they would have let me know about this back in May. Stupid SAG-AFTRA. I often wonder what those people are sniffing over there. Bureaucracy. I hate it. My gal Angi stopped over and we headed out to Ernie’s Taco House to have dinner. Later I did some work around the house and laid low. I’m still trying to get as much voice rest as possible, particularly since it’s just now starting to come back, and I have some cool sessions this week. I rested for a bit, and then got up to take my nightly WOG (walk/jog) around the neighborhood. Afterwards I sat outside under the stars in my anti-gravity chair and relaxed. It sure is peaceful in the middle of the night! I saw some great shooting stars, as well as a perfectly-shaped V of geese flying high overhead. They must be night travelers. I started humming Rush’s “Fly By Night” in my head, in their honor. I came back inside and typed out Wally’s Week and hit the hay.

Tuesday the 23rd – NO AGUA! – As we’re in the middle of a huge repaving project in our complex, we’re getting set for a large number of inconveniences over the next few weeks. The first of which was no water for the entire day of Tuesday. Apparently a water main needed major repair before any of the repaving could commence. This meant the city would be working all day, and we wouldn’t have access to running water. I slept most of the day away, luckily. But when I got up I was going to be without the luxury of turning on the tap at least until 5pm. I had a Sons of the Desert meeting at 6, so I was hoping they would get the water back on right on time so I could clean up and make my meeting! I called my neighbor at 3 and asked him if he had heard anything. He said he heard the work had been completed, and they were waiting for the glue to cure on the freshly repaired joints. WHAT YEAR IS THIS AGAIN? We’re waiting for glue to dry? Absurd. I did a few auditions and worked around the house to pass the time. Then 5pm rolled around. Then 5:05. Then 5:10. Then 5:15. I called our manager to ask what was up, but he didn’t know anything. Odd. Luckily, right at 5:16pm the water came shooting back on. I jumped in the shower and got cleaned up and headed to the Sons Of The Desert meeting. After picking up some food at McDonald’s, I got to the meeting, parked, ate in my car, put on my fez and headed inside. Early on in the meeting I saw my buddy Tom Kenny arrive. He’s a fellow Voice Actor, and best known as the voice of Spongebob Squarepants. I had no idea he was a Laurel & Hardy fan. He said he usually goes to the meetings at the Hollywood tent, but he was in the area so he figured he would bring his daughter Nora to this one. What fun! After watching a couple of great shorts, including the fourth sound Mickey Mouse movie ever made called “Karnival Kid,” we all watched “Blockheads.” This is one of my favorite L&H features of all-time. It’s brilliant! I got back home and relaxed, and then took my nightly WOG. I spent a little time outside in the anti-grav chair to unwind and enjoy the night, and then I came back inside to eat and call it a day.

Wednesday the 24th – MEETING MINNIE! – At noon I headed over to Rocket Sound to work on a video game for about a half hour. As I sat in the lounge, waiting for my turn to go in, Voice Actress Kaitlyn Robrock came in. I hadn’t seen her since Wonder Con back in May. She was in the audience of the Cartoon Voice Actor’s panel that I was on, and her dad bears a passing resemblance to Muppet performer Frank Oz. So I had made several references to it on stage, and turned it into a bit. Kaitlyn has been on several panels in the past as well, as she’s quite an accomplished Voice Actress herself – including being the new voice of Minnie Mouse! After my session was over I drove over to my box to pick up a few packages, and then I met my pal Chris Malmin for lunch at Paty’s. It was a gorgeous day. After lunch I headed home to do some auditions and rest for a bit. Later I did some more auditions, edited some videos, took my WOG, spent some time in the anti-grav chair meditating and praying, and went back inside.

Thursday the 25th – “I’LL JUST BE OVER HERE FANBOYING OUT!” – In anticipation of a really cool session I was scheduled for today, I woke up WAY too early. So I spent the time by doing some work around the house. Then I drove to Taco Bell and got some lunch. I drove over to Skylark Studios in Burbank and, being so early, just sat there and listened to toonz and ate my lunch. I went inside and checked in a few minutes before my session was to start, and chatted with Renee the Voice Director about what we were going to do in the session. I can’t say a single word about what the session was for, as it’s going to be a total surprise, but just know that I can’t WAIT to tell you. However, this project won’t be out for at least another year, so the secret is going to have to sit with me for a very, very long time. But suffice to say it was a “dream come true” session! After I recorded for a bit they picked their selected takes, and then said they were going to watch what I did against the video. Knowing that I was about to see my voice coming out of this iconic character, which I’ve loved for decades, I told the producer, “Don’t mind me. I’m just going to be over here in the corner fanboying out.” He laughed and said, “Yeah, me too.” Clearly he was also a fan. Watching the playback of my voice tracks with the video was nothing short of thrilling. I love this industry. After the session was finished I drove the Rav over to get some gas and a car wash. Then I went home to relax, do some auditions, and do my nightly WOG. Just before I went outside with my iced tea I made note of the fact that the weather would soon be cooling off considerably. This could very well be the final warm night we have for a while. So I took my last cigar out of the box, cut the tip, and headed outside to enjoy one final cigar for the season. It was overcast, but still fairly warm. The evening was extremely enjoyable. I came inside to eat something and head to bed. What a day!

Friday the 26th – GOLD! I STRUCK GOLD! – Most of the day was spent sleeping and relaxing, but when I got up later in the afternoon I was craving Barone’s pizza. So I phone one in and headed over to pick it up. After I got the pizza I went to the 7-11 next door to get a Diet Pepsi. I would most likely be eating in the car on the way back home. Gotta get it while it’s hot, ya know! I got my soda, and then started perusing the candy aisle. Nothing looked interesting, so I went to the baked goods area to see if anything caught my eye for dessert. Fully intending to grab a Twinkie, I pulled my hand back in amazement. SUZY-Q’s ARE BACK! I haven’t seen Suzy-Q’s in a long, long time, and it was great to see them. I saw that they had 10 left, so I took the entire box to the checkout stand. The clerk said, “Do you want all of these?” I smiled and said, “Yes sir!” Since I’m not sure when they’ll be back again, I’ve gotta grab them while I can! On the way home I stopped at a store called Kreepy Halloween, which has taken up residence in the old JoAnn’s fabrics building. They had a lot of cool stuff there, and I had a fun time looking around. The amount of animatronics that are for sale now is astonishing! And they have some VERY cool stuff too! I came back home and relaxed, and later took my nightly WOG with subsequent time in the anti-gravity chair. The sky was cloudy again, but the low white clouds acted as a reflection and diffusion filter and reflected the lights of the city. So the sky was actually quite bright, considering it was the middle of the night! Then I felt a few drops of cool moisture on my face, and I realized that those clouds also held some precipitation. It never did more than lightly sprinkle, but it was nice and enjoyable. I came inside to make some food and watch the seventh episode in the second season of “Ersan Kuneri” on Netflix. At first it seemed like I was going to have to endure a boatload of audio dropouts, so I went down and shut off my cell phone and the computer so it wouldn’t compete with the wi-fi. After I did that, all was fixed.

Saturday the 27th – DOGGIE DAY! – My friend Edi and I hadn’t gotten together in a long time, so we agreed to meet for lunch at Paty’s on the patio. It was overcast and cool, and very pleasant. She brought her 2 year old Maltese Charlie along, and my gal Angi brought over her dog Khloe to join in on the fun. We had a great time, and it was a blast hanging out. Then Angi and I came back to Planet Wallywood to hang out for a while. She’ll be leaving for several weeks for work in a few days, so I wanted to get as much Angi time as I could. I relaxed the rest of the day, and later did some work around the house. I took my WOG and then spent some time in the anti-grav chair. It was great watching the sky get painted with a variety of clouds of varying thicknesses and colors. It was gorgeous, peaceful and quiet. I came back inside to do some work and make my traditional Saturday Night Super Salad. Tonight’s episode of “Boris Karloff’s Thriller” was one of the best I had ever seen. As soon as I discovered that the episode would feature one of my favorite character actors, a guy named Walter Burke, I knew I was in for a good time. Being of diminutive stature, Walter Burke mostly got cast playing little creepy guys, leprechauns, hoodlums, etc. I first became aware of him a long time ago when I noticed how much he reminded me of my beloved Grandpa Joe. Walter and my grandpa had a lot in common physically. I knew Walter Burke was a good actor, but I had no idea just how good he was! The episode, entitled “Man of Mystery,” was written by the famous writer Robert Bloch. And it had an all-star cast including William Windom, Mary Tyler Moore, and a guy named John Van Dreelen. I have seen John in many old TV shows, and I’ve always thought he could have played Roger Moore’s younger brother. They had a similar look, and their voices even sounded similar. I can’t go into the complex storyline of the episode, but it had a surprise ending that was fantastic! If you can dig up the episode, I fully encourage you to do so. And watching a young, up-and-coming Mary Tyler Moore was incredible! This episode was released in 1962, and the Dick Van Dyke show started in 1961, so I’m not sure if she had shot this BEFORE she started working on the DVD Show, or during. But she definitely had the makings of a star!

Sunday the 28th – COMATOSE SUNDAY! – Normally my Sundays are exclusively reserved as “me” days, where I do nothing but rest, reset and relax. I was comatose most of the day, but I did get up for a bit in the afternoon to feed Spook, and then I hit the hay again. Later I had a bunch of auditions to do, and then I took my WOG. The overcast had gone and the sky was clear. It was nice to see some stars again. But as beautiful as the sky was, the night was notably chillier than recent nights. Summer really IS over, I guess. I think having my final cigar of the season the other night was a good move. I came back inside to rest a little more and plan for the upcoming week.

And how was YOUR week?!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

At one point during lunch last Saturday, the sun broke through the clouds and a slight, cool breeze came up. Angi’s dog Khloe happened to be sitting on her lap. She put her little doggie face into the breeze, closed her eyes, smiled, and enjoyed the myriad of smells coming her way. She was so cute I just had to snap a picture!