RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
Here’s a Blast from the Past pic. This is 2 month old me with my Grandma Marcella. Wow! I remember it like it was yesterday!
When there’s nothing else to watch on TV I’ll flip the satellite over to channel 857 to the “Zen” music channel. Every once in a while I’ll hear something I really like. This this tune from Dining Rooms called “You.”
Monday the 16th – WINDS-DAY ON MONDAY??! – I got to enjoy lunch with my old “Tonight Show” pal Barbera, who used to book all the musical acts on the show. I hadn’t gotten a chance to catch up with her in a while so it was fun dining and chatting. We were supposed to meet at the Studio Café and eat outdoors, so I could bring Roxy along. But it was so incredibly windy we decided to eat indoors instead. So I left Roxy at home. I took my framed “Live and Let Die” movie poster to Aaron Brothers to have it swapped out with a new “Live and Let Die” movie poster. The one in the frame is signed by several castmembers, but not James Bond himself; Roger Moore. The new one is signed by the same castmembers, AND Roger Moore! They wanted $65 to open up the frame and put in the new movie poster. I told them for that price I’d take it home and do it myself. Which is exactly what I did. Pretty crazy. I stopped by Staples to get some office supplies, and then I headed home to work on some new signage for my new Michael Myers mask. The credits on the sign has changed a bit, so I got busy working on the new layout with the new credits. I sped off to my vitamin shop to pick up some new supplements, and I waited around Prints Charm’n for a few prints to come in. They were supposed to be in by 5:00, but by 5:30 they still hadn’t arrived yet. I was tight on time so I ran off and told them I’d come back the next day. I fed Roxy and Spook and then went over to DuPar’s to meet with my friend Mike the Photog to talk about a 70’s-themed live show I have in mind. It was a good meeting and hopefully it will bear fruit. I got home and did my auditions, made some dinner and hit the hay.
Tuesday the 17th – DIRTY DIRTY DIRTY! – I had to be up early for a morning session at Dave & Dave in Studio City for a financial institution. It was a quick session so after about a half hour I was out the door and on with my day. My first stop was Fast Signs to get some new signage made for Planet Wallywood. I hit the comic book store next door to pick up the Star Trek Meets the Planet of the Apes comic book series. I had bought the volume of all the issues together, and was hoping to find another copy to give to my friend Dorothy Fontana, who was one of the writers on the original “Star Trek” series. There’s a specific reason I wanted her to read the five part series, because something she wrote into a “Star Trek” episode was referred to in the comic book series. I grabbed some lunch at KFC, got some gas for the Mustang, and headed to Prints Charm’n to pick up the prints I wasn’t able to get the night before. I went over to UPS and popped the photos into frames and sent them off to my sister. It’s the fabulous “Wonder Women” piece that my pal Scott Sebring did (last week’s Random Pic of the Week) and I just know my sister and niece will get a real kick out of them! It had literally been about a month and a half since I had the Mustang washed, and it was absolutely filthy. So I spent the time at the car wash getting her all polished up. I got home to do some work, recorded some tracks for Go 96.3 in Minneapolis, recorded some auditions, and had my assistant Sara come over to do some work. I took a short nap and then met Sara for dinner at Little Toni’s for some Italian food. I came back home and spent the entire evening doing bookkeeping work for my corporation. That included logging expenditures and debits, going through receipts and filing them, and checking my work against my bank statements. I hadn’t gotten around to doing that sort of work for a few months, so there was a LOT to do! It took literally all night, but I got it done! I finished up writing Wally’s Week and then did some more auditions. I made some chili and watched “The Addams Family” on DVD. It’s the next TV show I’m watching during my pre-bed TV viewing time.
Wednesday the 18th – MANNEQUIN MOVERS! – Being completely exhausted from the previous busy days, I took the liberty of sleeping all day. It felt really good catching up on rest. When I arose at 3 I did some last-minute auditions, did a little work around the house, and then napped some more on the couch. When I got up later I met Sara for dinner at Miceli’s for a second night of Italian food. I picked up a few grocery items on the way home and then headed back. When I got home I did my auditions, typed out my movie night invites and then undertook a huge project. I needed to move my Jack Lord “Hawaii Five O” mannequin from the Chaney Room to the living room. I want to have all of my TV detectives stuff together, so instead of living in the Chaney Room, Jack’s costume will hang out with Mannix’s sport jacket, and Hutch’s green and white letterman jacket. But in order to make the move permanent I need a specific type of bracket to anchor him into the base. It’s earthquake country, after all. I watched more “Addams Family” before bed, but I must be honest. I don’t really dig this show so far. It’s a one joke show and very formulaic. The same old stuff is done over and over from episode to episode. And the comedy seems to be derived from outsiders coming to the Addams Family house and being shocked and frightened by all the crazy antics that go on inside the house. Well, it’s funny the first time. It’s even kind of funny the second time, but every episode it was the same premise, but with different people. I hope it gets more interesting.
Thursday the 19th – MANNIX, McGARRETT & HUTCHINSON! – No, it’s not a new law firm, but the arrangement of my new living room display, which I worked very hard on. My first stop of the day was to the hardware store where I needed a specific type of bracket to hold the base that supports the Jack Lord mannequin on to the shelf. But they not only didn’t have what I was looking for, the hardware guy said he had never heard of such a thing. It’s a metal tab about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide. On one end there are a few screw holes, and then it juts up at a 90 degree angle for a quarter of an inch, and then flattens. So it’s kind of like a funky letter Z. The guy at the store did take a few L brackets, put them in the vise grip and made exactly what I was looking for! I told him I was going to run right out and patent the idea and make a million dollars! This type of bracket allows me to screw one end into the wood shelf upon which the mannequin is standing. Then the lip goes up over the side edge of the metal base that holds the mannequin, and the other end of the bracket holds the metal base in place so it won’t tip. I went to see my pal Kyle at the Plastic Depot to pick up a special piece he was making for me for a brand new, SUPER SECRET display! Then I went to my mailbox to get my mail, and then I went back to the hardware store to get more bolts for the plastic piece I just picked up from Kyle. I got some food at Taco Bell and then headed home. I spent literally all evening moving mannequins up and down a huge ladder and placing them in their new positions. It was a lot of work, but it really paid off. The new display looks great. While I was up on the latter I readjusted the lighting and cleaned the giant mirror. I watched more “Addams Family” episodes and they seem to be getting much better. I guess they realized that the same old formula wasn’t going to carry them very far.
Friday the 20th – A DENNY’S DOWNER! – Electric Bob came over just after noon to do a little painting and patching. Shortly after he left my maids came over to clean Planet Wallywood. With all the wind and change of weather my allergies were acting up again. In fact, I had to cancel an audition I was scheduled to be at because my sinuses were giving me a headache. My pal Brittney Powell came by to say good bye. She was going out of town for two weeks and I wanted to catch up on all the latest news before she left. Later, my effects guy Jim Ojala came over with part of the new super secret project we’re working on, but something still wasn’t right. So he took it back to make the change. Sara met me at Denny’s, but it was a bad idea. I love their food, but often times the service is horrible. It was a combination of a few things…a bad server, and only one cook. The servers were lined up at the window waiting for their orders. About an hour we finally got our food, but my appetizers came just in time for dessert. I had never had appetizers for dessert before. I got home and napped on the couch for a bit, and then got up to feed and walk Roxy. I did some more work around the house and then turned in to watch some more “Addams Family” on DVD.
Saturday the 21st – SATURDAY SOLACE! – The night before I realized with horror that I was all out of hard cat fud. (I’ve spelled it that way ever since the super-funny Gary Larson cartoon) So I stopped by the vet’s to get a new bag. But since it’s a prescription food, and Spook the Cat is due for his annual exam, they won’t sell me another bag until I bring him in for his yearly physical. Oh boy he’s just going to LOVE that! I got some grocery items and came back home to put them away. I got in a quick nap, and then friends started showing up for movie night. We watched the 1995 flick “Tales From The Crypt Presents: Demon Knight.” I’ve always loved that movie and it’s held up well! When my guests left I grabbed a short nap, and then got up to do work around the house. I made my traditional Saturday night salad and watched “The Persuaders.” I did some writing for a new feature on my website, and then hit the hay around noon on Sunday!
Sunday the 22nd – PRE-THANKSGIVING PREP! – After sleeping about four hours, I got up and got ready for evening church. I walked Roxy over for the service, and when it was over we came home so I could do some work around the house. I got in a short nap on the couch, and then got up to record some stuff for Go 96.3 in Minneapolis and do a few auditions. I’m getting the house all ready for guests I’ll be having in over the Thanksgiving holiday. I made a Tombstone pizza and watched some more “Addams Family.”
And how was YOUR week??!!
