RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

There’s not a single day that I don’t think about my dog Roxy, who passed away almost two months ago. When I saw this graphic on Instagram, I just had to grab it. Very touching.

During the Anime Las Vegas convention this past weekend, I enjoyed spending time at the karaoke stage. One of the kids sang Smash Mouth’s “All Star.” I had always wondered what happened to that band. They had such promise and a good handful of hits. Not sure what the story is there, but I sure do love this song. I walked through the Las Vegas airport humming this all Sunday night!

 

Monday the 17th – DELIGHTFUL DOPL! – Even though I got up fairly late, I wanted to get to my box to pick up the Dopl miniature that I posed for two months ago at the Henson Studios just before the “Puppet Up!” show. Though it took a while to arrive, it was fantastic! It captured my friend Angi and I perfectly, and the computer even added in the Skeksis Chamberlain from “The Dark Crystal!” It’s an amazing 3 figure piece that’s about 9 inches tall. It will figure prominently in the Puppet Room. Since my friend Emily was house sitting for a neighbor a few doors down, I brought her along with me so we could get an early dinner at Paty’s after I picked up my Dopl. We ate on the patio at Paty’s, and then I came back home to do some work, record my auditions, and take a nap. When I got up later I worked on the computer, typed out Wally’s Week, and tried to dye some socks green. First I tried to overdye yellow socks with some blue dye (in hopes they’d turn green) but they were too dark. Then I tried to dye some white socks with a dye called Green Apple, but they weren’t as vibrant as I had hoped. Since I was so happy with the miniature figure that Dopl sent me, I scheduled time this Thursday to do another one. This figure will be just me and two puppets, and I’ll call it “At My Happiest.” If you’d like to see Dopl’s work check out their website at dopl.com! I need green socks for what I’m planning for my new miniature figure!

Tuesday the 18th – WINDY WALLY WALK! – It was pretty darn windy out, but I walked to the grocery store to get some supplies. But it was a great workout! I felt like a mime doing a “walking against the wind” routine! On the way back home I stopped at the hardware store and found some Kelly Green dye that hopefully will work for my socks. The outfit I’m planning for my Dopl shoot involves a lot of Muppet clothes, and I wanted some Kermit-green socks to go with my Kermit Adidas shoes. This piece will be a birthday gift to myself. When I got home I called the new Roundtable pizza location that just moved into my area, and ordered a large pizza. The total with taxes, delivery charge and tip was about 50 bucks! This better be GREAT pizza! While I waited I did auditions. The pizza arrived and it was pretty delicious! But at 50 bucks, it’ll probably be a while before I order another one. I took a nap, and then got up later to do some work around the house. I organized my outfit for the Dopl shoot on Thursday. It includes my vintage “Muppet Show” t-shirt (it’s green), and my new “Ernies!” The “Ernies” are my new custom Vans that have the design of the famous shirt worn by Ernie on “Sesame Street.” I thought I would wear my Kermit Adidas shoes, but the Kermit figures on the shoes are so small that the computer probably wouldn’t be able to interpret them properly. They might just turn out as small green dots by the time the figure is printed. I’m also going to wear my Animal cap that I made custom. This should be a fun shoot! Animal hat, “Muppet Show” t-shirt, black shorts, green socks, “Ernie” Vans, and two Muppet replicas I made. Fun! I did some packing for my upcoming weekend trip to Las Vegas to attend the Anime Las Vegas convention. I decided to randomly check my blood pressure to see how it was going, and I was shocked! It was higher than I would have liked, and with each successive check it was getting higher. WHAT?! Then I thought about how I had woken up from my nap very, very thirsty. Then I thought about the pizza I ordered and how it was very, very salty. I’m going to try and avoid a lot of salty meats in the future, as my pizza was topped with pepperoni and ham. From now on, my pizza will only have pepperoni, and I’ll pick off half of them. It was a bit concerning so I emailed my doctor. I made a huge salad and watched a few episodes of “The Muppet Show” from the fifth season. But they were very odd episodes. One featured a British guy named Chris Langham as a guest. I had never heard of him, but he’s always listed in the credits as one of the writers. Perhaps a scheduled guest star had to cancel and Chris was a last-minute replacement? The other host was named Wally Boag. I had no idea who he was, but Kermit explained that he held the record for most performances in a Disneyland Vaudeville show. While it was cool to hear Kermit say the name “Wally,” it was another weird episode.

Wednesday the 19th – …LIKE A RABBIT! – An email arrived from my doctor that said blood pressure variations and fluctuations are normal, but if it continued I should contact him. I walked to the post office to mail off some bills. Again it was a bit windy, but absolutely gorgeous out! I decided to eat like a rabbit all day; unsalted nuts, carrots, pineapple, bananas, low-salt bread, a blueberry muffin, etc. I’ll see if that works to bring my blood pressure down. I did my auditions and then napped for a little bit. I got up later to prep for my Dopl session and do some packing for Las Vegas. I continued eating un-salty things, in hopes that all the salt from yesterday’s pizza would work out of my system. I did make a huge salad to watch a few episodes of “The Muppet Show” and then I hit the hay. I only have two more episodes to watch before the series is complete. Sad.

Thursday the 20th – CELEBRITY GOOD DEED! – My cat Spooky was very, VERY annoying. He kept waking me up wanting attention or treats, and it was difficult for me to get sleep. I fed him and then went back to bed to get some more sleep. Then the time came to head to Century City to the Dopl office to pose for my new miniature piece. I picked up my friend Sara on the way so she could assist at the session. Since both of my hands would be busy holding puppets, I needed a separate set of eyes and hands to help out. We drove to the Century City Westfield Mall and found the Dopl location. I dropped the puppets at their office and we went to CPK to have lunch. Then it was time for my appointment at Dopl. It was really cool, and they made sure I was absolutely pleased with the final photos they’ll send to the designers to create the miniature. The gal behind the desk said it was the most fun she’s had all week! I can’t wait to see how the figure turns out. I had sketched out a concept drawing of how I’d like the figure to look, so the gal used that as a template for the pose. It was a long, slow drive home in late-afternoon traffic. But it was nice anyway. When I got home I decided to go for an early-evening walk to CVS to get some supplies for my trip. When I got on the main avenue near my house, I noticed that a guy who was about 10 yards ahead of me had pulled something out of his pocket, and something had dropped to the sidewalk. I thought it might just be trash, so when I got closer I bent down to see what it was. It was a card marked Tesla and looked important. I looked at the reverse side and it wasn’t a business card or anything, so I figured it might really be important. I called out to the guy, “Sir. You dropped this.” He turned around and thanked me profusely for picking it up and said it was a very nice thing to do. As I moved closer to him I started to recognize him. I handed it to him and said, “Is this the card that makes the car go?” He laughed and said it was. As I walked away I realized that it was 80’s sitcom superstar Jaleel White, who played the iconic Steve Urkel “Family Matters.” Then I laughed thinking about how wild living in L.A. is. Then I laughed some more thinking that it would have been funny if, after pointing out that he dropped a possibly-important card, he would have said his famous line, “Did I do thaaaaaat?” Too funny! I got the stuff I needed at CVS and headed back home. I napped for a bit, and got up to do my auditions and do some last-minute packing for my trip to Vegas.

Friday the 21st – VIVA LAS VEGAS! – Emily came over to begin her house sitting gig for the weekend, and I drove to my box to pick up some prints I had made of one of my “Family Guy” characters. It’s a screenshot from an episode where the two bald weightlifters sing “Steak and Eggs.” That had been brought up to me a few times when I was in Sacramento, so I figured I’d have a print made up to sell at the show. Before my flight took off I had time to enjoy a salad on the patio at Paty’s, and then I sped off the airport. I valet parked, and then found out that my flight had been slightly delayed. In fact, most ALL of the Southwest flights that day were delayed. I hoped they wouldn’t cancel it altogether! But it all worked and I got to Las Vegas easily. The flight is very, very short; not even an hour. I was met by Michael the driver, and we drove through Las Vegas to head to the hotel. Since the venue for the show was closer to the downtown area than the famous “strip,” they had us all staying at the Golden Nugget. I’m not a fan of Las Vegas, particularly. And I’m really not a fan of downtown Las Vegas. I had heard that the downtown hotels had been upgraded, but I was a bit skeptical. Sure enough, as we pulled up to the hotel, the G was burned out on the Golden Nugget sign. “THE OLDEN NUGGET.” Perfect. Olden…like the olden days…the days when this hotel was actually relevant. When I checked in the gal at the desk noticed my Jeff Lynne’s ELO hoodie and said she was a fan. It was fun talking music with her. Then I lugged my carry-on bag, my luggage and my photo case all the way across the casino to the VIP tower. It wasn’t easy, but I did it. I got settled and Beth, one of the representatives from my management company Celebworx, brought me a jug of distilled water for my nasal rinse. Right around the same time my pal Officer Mark arrived and we decided to grab an Uber and head to the Peppermill (one of our favorite places in Las Vegas) for dinner. While we were there my pal Amanda texted me to let me know she had just landed in Las Vegas and was on her way to the restaurant. While we waited for her to arrive, we went next door to the Walgreens and picked up some supplies for the weekend. I had no idea that Walgreens sold fresh fruit, so I grabbed a few bananas for breakfast! When Amanda’s cab arrived at the restaurant Mark and I hopped in and joined her and headed back to the hotel. We decided to go out on Fremont Street to see the Fremont Experience. The Fremont street area is considered “old Vegas,” but they’ve covered the entire main drag with a huge arched video screen that shows wild videos and advertisements. They had a deejay playing music at ear-bleeding levels. The street is pedestrian-only now, and no cars are allowed on the street. It’s a huge party area, and the smell of weed was everywhere. In fact, it became kind of a game to try and dodge all of the pot clouds we encountered. We got Amanda some food at White Castle, and then headed back. With all of the people on the street dressed as showgirls, Chippendale dancers, and robots, it was refreshing to see a guy dressed up as Dr. Doom from The Fantastic Four comic books. Come to find out he was there for the Anime convention, so we chatted for a while. But we all had endured enough of the craziness so we headed back to our rooms. In all of the times I’ve been in Las Vegas I’ve never seen so many things malfunctioning before. But there seemed to be a lot of things “not working” there. Last time I was there it was 2019 and everything was working well, so perhaps these days it’s more of a supply chain issue. My hotel room was good, but the shower was odd. First off I’m not a fan of the “rainshower” shower head. They had one of those in the shower, and the shower never really fully turned off. When you’d crank the handle all the way closed, it was still leaking. Oh well, it’ll suffice for two days. I got organized for the next day and hit the hay, as the van would be picking up the actors at 9:45 to be at the show on time.

Saturday the 22nd – ANIME LAS VEGAS: DAY 1! – When 9:45 arrived I was joined in the lobby by my fellow “Bleach” Voice Actors Johnny Yong Bosch and Michelle Ruff. There were many other Voice Actors in the group as well, and we headed to the World Market Center for the convention just before 10. As we pulled up we saw the line of fans waiting to get in that was wrapped around the building, down the block, and into the parking garage! This was going to be a GREAT show! As always it’s great meeting all of the fans of the shows I’ve worked on. One guy told me a wonderful story about how the show “Tiger and Bunny” positively impacted him after the death of his father. He loved how my character Kotetsu was a good single dad, and he commented on how much heart I put into the performance. I love hearing words like that, and knowing that the work has meant so much to people. It was a very touching story, and when I put on the Kotetsu hat for him, he said he was going to try not to cry. Amazing. There were a lot of amazing cosplays at the convention too. Our lunch never arrived, so I didn’t take a lunch break at all. I did get some food at the concession area and brought it back to my table, but I continued signing all day. Officer Mark took a ton of great photos, and Amanda had fun making friends and running around the convention. A guy named Mauricio came up to my table and told me that he was working with Tyler Kaufman, the nephew of Andy Kaufman, on the proliferation of the Kaufman estate. Tyler is the son of Andy’s brother Michael, and it seems like Tyler is very proactive in promoting the Kaufman brand. That’s GREAT news! I told him I would participate in any way possible to continue the legend of Andy! I can’t wait to see how this develops! When the show closed at 6 we all got in the van and headed back to the hotel to change clothes and freshen up. Mark, Amanda and I got a cab (Uber wasn’t working very well on Mark’s phone) over to the Green Valley Ranch casino to meet my pal Bruce Kulick (legendary rock guitarist) and his wife Lisa for dinner. After the fray of the day it sure was nice to eat a nice, quiet dinner with friends in a relaxed atmosphere. After we took our leave we decided to walk around the area outside for a while. I had gotten a bag of popcorn from the movie theatre in the building, and I just walked around with Mark and Amanda outside enjoying the warm, desert evening and eating my popcorn. It made me excited for my upcoming trip to Palm Springs! We managed to find an Uber to take us back to the Olden Nugget, and when I got back I got packed up and organized for the final day at Anime Las Vegas!

Sunday the 23rd – WHAT’S YOUR NAME AGAIN?! – OR – THE NAME GAME! – For me, Sunday was more fun than Saturday at the convention. I had the chance to do some running around and exploring. The day started with a young guy named Dominic who came to my table to get a Renji Funko Pop signed for his mom. I asked where his mom was, and he said she was a vendor at the show and was tied down to their booth. So I grabbed Officer Mark and Dominic and told him to show me where their booth was. I was going to show up and sign the Funko Pop for her in person! I’m glad I did because she was really surprised! Here’s the video of the delightful interaction with Dominic and his mom Domenica….

They were just delightful people and I’m glad I met them. Then one of the best Renji cosplays I’ve ever seen came to my table. Her name was Skye and she did, what I call, “Rehab Renji.” It’s how my character Renji looks after he’s been in a serious battle. She had the robe tied around her waist, and her chest was bandaged up. But she went through the entire process of having Renji’s profuse number of body tattoos faithfully recreated all over her body. It was amazing, and certainly took a lot of work! Absolutely fabulous! I took part in a panel discussion about the show “Naruto,” an anime show that I’ve only had small parts in from time to time. In addition to not knowing very much about the series, it was very hard to hear the other panelists because there weren’t any stage monitors. But we managed and we had a lot of fun. Then I headed back to my table to sign for a bit, and then I went to lunch. When I finished my lunch I stopped over at the karaoke stage and sang “Twist and Shout” by the Beatles. But many of the kids in the audience didn’t know what the song was, or even who the Beatles were. But at least it was fun for me! I went back to the table for a bit, and then we did the huge “Bleach” panel in the main hall. It was hilarious! We had about NINE cast members from “Bleach” on the panel! It was never a dull moment. When we were introducing ourselves to the audience, many of the Voice Actors were also introducing themselves as Johnny Yong Bosch, the star of “Bleach.” It turned into us all changing the name on our name plaques to Johnny Yong Bosch. Hilarious! By the time the panel was over there was only a few more hours left in the show, so I did some final signing and posing for pictures and then we all got packed up to leave. The majority of the actors were heading back home that night, but a few were leaving the next morning. Amanda checked the flights on her phone and found out that hers would be on time, but mine would be delayed almost an hour! Not sure what’s going on with Southwest these days, but if they don’t get their stuff together, they’re going to have real problems. Officer Mark caught an Uber back to the hotel, because he’d be leaving on Monday morning, but our van took us straight to the airport. We got checked in and everything was good. Since we had a lot of time before take-off, Amanda and I went to grab a bite to eat in one of the restaurants on the concourse. I saw her off as she boarded, and then I headed over to my gate. I just waited and people watched for a while. I watched the estimated time of takeoff for my flight move a little further and further behind. I was hoping all was going to be OK. Our flight was packed, and some of the other Voice Actors were also on the flight, including Johnny and Michelle. I was very close to the front in the boarding group, so I had my pick of seats when we got onboard. I decided to head back to the exit rows and pick an aisle seat there. I started kibitzing with one of the flight attendants who was a cool guy. I assisted a woman with the stubborn handle on her luggage that wouldn’t retract fully. I got it to retract and lifted her luggage into the overhead compartment. When the flight attendant came back to the exit row folks to do the usual “you’re sitting in the exit row and you have responsibilities” speech, he said his name. RENJI! I said, “Scuse me, WHAT’S your name?” He said his name was Renji. I couldn’t believe it! I told him I had just spent all weekend signing photos at a convention featuring my character RENJI from the “Bleach” anime! Unbelievable. It’s one of those little comical things that life throws your way to keep us amused! He said we needed to get a selfie together later. I couldn’t wait to tell my fellow “Bleach” cast members about the amazing happenstance when we got off the plane! I spent the short flight talking to a guy next to me whose name was Pedro, and he was an accountant in L.A. He asked me all sorts of questions about the field of Voice Over and what our lives were like. As I was disembarking from the plane I took a picture of Renji’s name tag. NOBODY was going to believe this! As we got to the baggage claim area I told Michelle and a few of the other Voice Actors about our flight attendant. They couldn’t believe it either! Just then, Renji and the rest of the flight crew walked through the doors to get their ride to their hotel. We started chanting “Ren-ji! Ren-ji! Ren-ji!” He burst out laughing and the other flight attendants started shooting video on their phones. He asked if we could do it again so he could shoot it on his phone, and I said, “Hey. We’re actors. We have no problem performing on command.” So we shot a nice video for him and, I believe, totally made his week! Just another one of those weird things in life that leaves you shaking your head. I mean, WHAT ARE THE CHANCES!? I got my car from the valet and headed back home to unpack and unwind. What an amazing time!

And how was YOUR week?!?!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

Here’s the new “Steak and Eggs” print I’ll be offering for sale soon in my on-line store on my website

Here’s the miniature I received from Dopl. It features Chamberlain from “The Dark Crystal” (voiced by my late friend Barry Dennen), myself and Angi. What a COOL piece!

This is the concept sketch I drew out to show the people at Dopl what I wanted my new miniature to look like.

Here’s what the booth at Dopl looks like. There must be 200 cameras in there capturing you from every angle!

Preparing “Beautiful Day” for the shoot.

The Dopl gal shows me the shot compared to my concept sketch.

Ready for our close-up!

My “Ernies” are firmly planted inside the circle of action! (I think my green socks turned out pretty well!)

They let you check the shot to make sure you like it before they send it to the printers.

Here’s a short little video I put together of the day’s activities at Dopl!

 

The very expensive, and very delicious (and very salty!) pizza from Roundtable!

I found out that these cool new Riddler puzzle boxes are going to be released for sale in June!

While we take a break on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, Amanda shows off the cool new digital glasses she bought.

I decided to try them on too!

Getting to meet some Anime fans on Fremont Street!

Ya know, with a drink in his hand, Dr. Doom isn’t really such a bad guy!

Viva Las Vegas, baby! Yeah!

Busy night on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, but it’s time to call it a night!

Officer Mark and I always enjoy a good meal at the Peppermill!

Back to the Olden Nugget hotel!

My driver Michael meets me at the airport using my “official” name!

Adversaries? Or partners? My “Bleach” castmate Johnny Yong Bosch and I get ready to head to the convention.

All set up at the show and ready to rock!

Alex, my assistant from Celebworx, and I are eager to meet the fans!

The first customers of the day on Saturday at Anime Las Vegas! Havin’ fun!

 

The couple we met on Fremont Street the night before shows off their horrifying costumes!

Turning a lemon into lemonade. While signing this fan’s amazing Batman piece, my green paint pen decided to blob! So I took the paint blob and made a sloppy thumbprint, so it would resemble the Riddler’s famous “graffiti” motif.

I’ve known and have worked with these guys for a very long time. Fellow Voice Actors Michael Sorich (left) and Brian Beacock (right).

Though signing cloth items is never easy, I think this “Bleach” blanket turned out fairly nice!

This fan’s amazing “Bleach” poster is finally complete! He got all the signatures he needed!

Amanda finds a new friend in the same costume!

The tentacle girl frightens me!

And that’s a wrap for Day 1 of Anime Las Vegas!

After a change of clothes, it was time to head to dinner. We were getting a little punchy.

It’s always great to catch up with my pal Bruce Kulick and his wife Lisa!

Sunday started out with a surprise for a veteran-owned business owner at her booth!

 

Another Tentacle Girl invades the convention. But this one was my friend Amanda.

Seeing people cosplay as one of my characters always thrills me.

Skye does an amazing “Rehab Renji” cosplay, complete with all the body tattoos!

No matter what I’m doing, I always have time to roll around on the floor with a cute doggie!

Hey those treats look good! Can I have one too?

 

Though very few of the Anime fans knew who the Beatles were, it was still fun singing “Twist and Shout” at the karaoke stage!

Answering a question on the “Naruto” panel

I spotted my friend Dr. Doom on the floor with his compatriots!

At the “Bleach” panel, we all decided to be Johnny Yong Bosch, the star of the show!

Jamieson Price and I are having a terrific time on the panel!

I got to photobomb this shot from the stage!

Domenica visits the booth and has me sign a very rare Renji figure from Japan!

It was a great convention, and Officer Mark and I called it a day!

Here’s the name tag of our flight attendant to prove that his names really WAS Renji!

The two Renjis…the real one, and the one who just plays one on TV. (Why does it look like I have a dog in my pocket?)