This week was a get-everything-done-before-the-holidays-arrive kind of week! Whew!
Read on…

Monday the 15th – MANIC MONDAY! – First I went to the Voicecasters in Burbank in the morning to audition for a commercial voice-over. Then I went to Kalmenson and Kalmenson in the afternoon to audition for another one. Then I headed over to Studiopolis Burbank to do the voice of a Medical Ninja for an upcoming episode of “Naruto.” After that I flew over to Salami to do the voice tracks for The Riddler for the upcoming videogame “Batman: Arkham Asylum.” It was a huge thrill to do such an iconic character, and working for Collette Sunderman is always a delight! We had a lot of fun and I think we got some really good stuff. Later that night I met up with Chuck McCann and Fred Westbrook for dinner. What an exhausting day! And tomorrow there’s even more!

Tuesday the 16th – FAREWELL GARFIELD! – In the early morning I went to Patches Recording in Hollywood to record a commercial for a Lithia dealer in Portland. I had to be there super early because my session for “Garfield” started at 9. I made the “Garfield” session on time, but this would be the last day we’d be recording for awhile. We finished the first 26 episodes today and we may not be recording again until the spring. But I’m sure I’ll be seeing Jason, Frank and Gregg at other sessions. We had a good run with “Garfield” and I’m positive it’ll go to a second season. Stay tuned for info as to where you can see the “Garfield” series on TV! That night I was exhausted so I turned in early. I had to make it another early morning the next day.

Wednesday the 17th – WET WEDNESDAY! – I drove down to Mattel’s offices in El Segundo to do a voice session for a project I can’t talk about (sworn to secrecy) but once I’m able to talk about it I’ll let you know. It’s totally cool! I drove the long road to El Segundo in the rain. It was actually quite nice. But the traffic was so great I ended up getting to the area early. So I went to the Jack-In-The-Box drive through and got some breakfast, and then I filled up my car with gas. I went to the session, did the gig and was out in no time. My old pal Scott Page-Pagter works there and it was good to see him again and catch up. After the session I headed back out in the rain and went home. The traffic on the way home wasn’t as good as it was on the way down to El Segundo, so it took quite awhile to get home. Once I walked Sass and caught up on some e-mails, I got back in the car and went over to Skylark studios to finish up my recording for ‘Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children.’ Though the movie came out about 3 years ago, it’s being retooled for a Blu-Ray release, and as a result they’re adding more lines for some of the characters, including mine….Rufus Shinra. We got to the very last line and we were stuck. The translation from Japanese wasn’t working well with the lip articulation in the animation, so Bob the director told me to go chill out for awhile and they would rewrite the line. Well, since I had gotten up so early two days in a row, and the sound of the rain outside and the gray day, I just kind of nodded off on Skylark’s couch. It was kind of neat. Then, after about 30 minutes, Bob came out and had me get back in the booth. We finished up the lines and it all worked out great. That night I had plenty of auditions to do in my home studio. I e-mailed them to my agent, and then went to bed to pass out. Whew!

Thursday the 18th – THREE-FER-THURSDAY! – I had not one, not two but THREE sessions today. First, I did a commercial for Clear Channel broadcasting in my home studio early in the morning. Then I got ready and headed out to Technicolor in Burbank. The producers of the ‘Vegas’ videogame added some lines for one of my characters. In addition, they had me do this gibberish military-speak, which turned out to be a lot of fun. I always tell people who ask me about getting into voice-over that vo work is more than just using your voice to say words. Sometimes you have to get a meaning across without words at all, just an inhale, a gasp, a subtle mouth sound, or in this case utter gibberish. But we got the point of the lines across with this military-speak, and it ended up being a lot of fun and quite challenging. I loved it! After that it was back to Studiopolis Burbank and another episode of “Avengers; Earth’s Mightiest Heroes!” We’re having so much fun on this show, and Jamie Simone’s direction is nothing short of stellar! He’s handling it marvelously, and all involved are ultra talented. I can’t wait to see this show when it’s all animated! After the sessions, I again went home to pass out in front of the fireplace with the Christmas music playing on the satellite! Ahhhhhh!

Friday the 19th – COUNTDOWN TO THE WEEKEND! – I only had a few more things to do before I was free for the weekend, and possibly for the Christmas/New Year’s break. I did one audition at Voicecasters in the morning, then I did some shopping at Office Depot to get some supplies. Then I went to Studiopolis; The Annex in Studio City to do another Naruto promo. Then I got some dog food for Sassie and headed home. It was delightful to feel like I had completed a terrific week, and now all I had ahead of me was rest and relaxation for the holidays! What a week!! That night I got some food at Denny’s, brought it home and watched two episodes of “Night Gallery” before bed!

Saturday the 20th – WHEW! – I slept in really late. It felt wonderful. Then my friend Kristy brought her cat Oscar over so I could watch him while she went back to her home state for Christmas. Oscar is not as outgoing as my cat Spooky, so it’s always an adjustment process for him when he comes over. But we had a lot of fun and I think he’ll get acclimated soon enough. I had been fighting a cold for the past few days, and luckily it stayed away so I could finish my work. But I could feel it was starting to settle in a little more, so I just slept, slept and slept.

Sunday the 21st – CHURCH DUTY! – I got up early so I could be at church to do my turn as an elder. It was my turn to give the communion meditation. After church, I bought some delicious caramel apple cookies at the bake sale, and headed home. I took a brief nap, then headed over to Gun World in Burbank. My buddy in Sioux Falls, South Dakota sold me his stainless steel Walther PPK (just like the one Austin Powers uses) and I had to go fill out the paperwork at my local gun dealer to get the process rolling. After that I went to Best Buy and bought two new Blu Rays…”House Bunny” and the “Austin Powers” set. I didn’t want the other two Austin movies, but I didn’t want to wait until they sold them individually. So I’ll probably sell the other two on eBay. After a quick meal at Wendy’s, I went to evening church and said hello to everybody. Then I went home, ordered a pizza and fired up the Blu-ray player to watch “House Bunny.” But something was wrong. My TV kept showing NO SIGNAL. I couldn’t believe it. Did my Blu Ray player crap out already? I just got it a week before Thanksgiving. I tried everything…reconnecting it, everything. Then, figuring it might just need a reboot, I unplugged it for awhile and let it sit. When I plugged it back in, sure enough it worked. Lesson learned. I watched the opening of the first “Austin Powers” movie, and it’s amazing in Blu Ray. The Electric Psychedelic Pussycat Swinger’s Club scene is fantastic! Then I watched “House Bunny.” I noticed that one of the girls in the cast was Kat Dennings, who was also in “40 Year Old Virgin.” Awesome. She’s terrific. Kat, if you’re reading this. Call me. I love you. Anyway, it was also fun to see a special appearance by my pal Bridget Marquardt from “Girls Next Door.” It’s zany fun, and a lot like this generation’s “Revenge of the Nerds.” Later that night I did some work around the house, and hit the hay. It was a VERY long week!

And how was YOUR week??!!