RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
With all the craziness of the past few weeks, I stumbled across this cartoon and got a good chuckle out of it.
This song must’ve come up on my iPod recently because I’ve been singing it all week. But I’ve been substituting the words ‘this lockdown’s driving me crazy!’ But here’s Sammy Hagar with the original “Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy.”
Monday the 6th – MAKIN’ A RUN! – When I woke up around 1 I wrote out a few checks for things that need to be paid. I don’t often run into my mailman, so I have to stop by the post office on my weekly grocery run. I started by putting the Gran Torino back in the auxiliary garage and getting out my Mustang. I got some groceries, stopped by CVS to get some supplies, mailed my checks, and then went home to put all the groceries away. I did some work around the house, took a short nap, and then got up later to do a ton of auditions. I typed out Wally’s Week, and then hit the hay for the night.
Tuesday the 7th – SURROUND SPEAKER SILLINESS! – Once again I got up mid-afternoon and started the day by doing some final tweaks on the artwork for my kid’s book demos. I submitted the finalized layout to get some books made. My attorney Stephanie and I have acquired a new agent and she’ll need to send a few copies to send out to potential publishers. Fingers crossed! I worked around the house, made a pizza, and did some auditions. As I sat at my work station editing the audio files, I looked up and noticed that one my the rear surround speakers in my home theater had come undone from the position in which it had been hanging on my wall. The innards had come out from the speaker’s cabinet and were hanging there pathetically, looking like a gutted deer. I got a ladder and unscrewed the speaker’s mount from the wall. I got these speakers over 20 years ago when I had the sound system installed in my house, and over time the plastic joiners in the speaker’s interior (which keep the speaker’s circuit panel connected to the wooden cabinet) had simply dissolved and cracked. But these speakers (made by Energy, by the way) had served me VERY well for two decades, and I fully endorse them. In fact, the speakers probably still work. It’s just that the cabinet’s construction gave out over time. I removed the other rear surround speaker (its mate) and put them on the kitchen table. I replaced the innards back into the speaker and duct taped the cabinet back together. But it didn’t look very pretty. I opened up the other rear speaker, and the plastic joiners in that were just about ready to crack. I duct taped that speaker back together too. So now I have a pair of functioning, but duct taped speakers. I probably won’t replace them into the system, but I can use them for other purposes (maybe out in the garage?) down the line. I got on eBay and ordered a nice used set of Yamaha speakers which should do the trick. They had mounts on them that looked like they would be much easier to install than the ones on the Energy speakers. But the way my theater is configured, I’m going to have to do some major moving of certain implements and displays in order to get back up to the top of the walls to re-install them. But hey, I’ve got plenty of time to do something like that now. That project took me into the evening, and it had started to rain. Settling in for a nap so I could enjoy the nice, rainy ambience, I snoozed for a few hours. I got up later to do one final audition, and begin writing a document I hope to post on my website soon about the procedure I went through to create my Oscar the Grouch replica Muppet. He’s about 90% done, and only needs a hair trim, his body attached, his tongue glued in, and his pupils attached. But in case anyone else is interested in making one, I figured I’d put my process up on the website to share in hopes it will help them. I fed and walked Roxy, made a pot pie and watched another episode of “Bronk.” I’m REALLY loving this show!
Wednesday the 8th – ESSENTIAL “HAIR”-REND! – My hair guy Sergio Lopez has done the hair styling on every one of my 12 full-size figures in Planet Wallywood. He’s also done trimming on several of my puppets and other projects. I met him back in 1993 when we were working at Universal Studios. My Oscar replica Muppet has been needing the fur on his face trimmed for a long time, and as luck would have it, Sergio was going to be in my area for an essential errand. I took advantage of the fortuitous circumstance and asked him to come by to trim Oscar’s face fur. I haven’t seen Sergio in quite a while, and it’s always good to hang out with him. He was on vacation in Paris a few months ago, just when the whole Chinese virus event was beginning. Knowing how Europe was hit hard by the virus shortly thereafter, I started to logically surmise that he had probably been exposed to it during his travels. He said he took subways, ate in restaurants, and of course sat in the airplane for the long journey back to the U.S. So I’m sure he had been exposed to it at some point, but most likely fought it off effectively and didn’t even know he had it. To think that he had been involved in all those activities and wasn’t exposed to it…well…the chances are probably infinitesimally small. But because he stays healthy his body probably had no problem fighting it. Sergio had his mask on, just in case, and we stayed apart at a safe distance. I worked on the computer while he worked on Oscar in the Chaney Room. Every time he comes over to work on a project, I like to turn on the 70’s channel on the satellite so we can listen to music. We’re both children of the 70’s, so we love talking about certain songs that come up in the sequence. But I started having a left channel issue with the system that feeds all the speakers that run throughout the house. (What’s with all the audio problems in my house this week?!!) At first I thought it was a problem with the auxiliary amplifier that feeds the speakers, but it would need closer investigation. As always Sergio did a great job trimming Oscar, and as usual he charged me way too little. I always have to beg him to take more than he asks for. When he left I grabbed a nap, and then got up later to do auditions, and prep for a session in my home studio on Thursday. Roxy and I went for a long walk during our late-night stroll through the neighborhood, and I came back inside to make some lasagna and watch another episode of “Bronk.” This episode not only featured my old pal Eugene Roche (one of the great character actors of the 70’s and 80’s) but it also featured a very young Mark Hamill! Fantastic episode!
Thursday the 9th – AUDIOVESTIGATION! – At 2 I did a session in my home studio for iHeart Radio. It took not quite an hour, and then I hammered out some auditions that I had in my inbox. I called my old A/V guy Mark Ackerman to see if he could help me diagnose the problem I was having with the left channel of audio that was being fed to my house speakers. We stayed on the phone for about 2 hours as he helped me try and ascertain the source of the problem. Come to find out, it wasn’t the auxiliary amplifier at all. But we became 90% certain that the left channel port on my main receiver had become faulty. So the issue was at the source, most likely. My Sony receiver that runs my entire entertainment center was also about 20+ years old. So it stands to reason that parts of it would break down over time. The music that comes through the left channel is there, albeit quiet. So I leveled out the balance on the amplifier so that the right channel would more closely align to the audio level coming out of the left channel – so the audio over the speakers would be more balanced. I’d like to get a new receiver for the entertainment center, but the new receivers probably don’t have the amount of analog inputs that I require for my specific set-up. But I may get some consultations on possible options. But I certainly got my exercise going from downstairs to upstairs to check on the audio feeds throughout the house! It started to rain again and I decided to grab a short nap on the couch with the front door open so I could hear and smell the rain. I got up later to do another audition and feed the pets. I decided to treat myself by getting some Denny’s food-to-go. I put on the bandana that I was using as a face mask (now mandatory in Los Angeles if you’re going out), my protective gloves, my turtleneck and track suit, and headed out the door. You know, when I was a kid in South Dakota reading comics books, I always dreamed of the day when I would put on a mask and gloves, get into a sleek black car and streak off into the stormy night to run a mission. However, this particular scenario wasn’t quite what I had in mind back then. But yet here I was…in a sleek black car, driving through the rainy night, wearing my mask and gloves. It was lacking something from my childhood super-hero fantasies. While in the car, I listened to a talkshow on the radio about what the show’s guests thought was really going on with the Chinese virus situation. It was fascinating listening! When I got back home I turned on the radio to continue listening. Later I watched an episode of “Bronk” and ate my Denny’s.
Friday the 10th – GOOD FRIDAY – Not much good about this Good Friday, I’m afraid. When I got up at 3 I heard the news that the lockdown in L.A. (previously set to expire on April 30th) has now been extended to May 15th. What a drag. While it sucked to not be at church the previous weekend during Palm Sunday, this church-less Easter weekend was going to be an even bigger drag. I know what people are saying, “God isn’t found in a church. God is everywhere.” Which is true. But still, I like being with my good church friends to commemorate the special holiday weekend. I took a chair out into my garage and watched an amazing sunset. Then I went inside to sleep. And I slept. And I slept. Then I slept some more. And then slept some more. I noticed a slight pain under my right eye when I rubbed it. Was it an ingrown eyelash? A clogged tear duct? Luckily my eye itself wasn’t red; just the area below it – on my lower eyelid. It started to swell a bit, so I put some cold packs on it. And then, slept some more. Add to that the continual problem I’ve been having with my left elbow over the past month (tennis elbow?) and I’m a real mess!
Saturday the 11th – A “SWELL” SATURDAY! – The day was simply gorgeous. All the rain we’ve been having (about 250% more than is normal for this time of year) has made everything so green and lush! I continued napping on and off, and putting cold packs on my swollen lower right eyelid. I made a pot pie and had intended to watch Svengoolie on ME-TV, but he was running “This Island Earth.” I started to watch a little bit of it, but all of the lines from the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” version kept running through my head. That has become classic, and is still funny to this very day! So I busied myself with some other work around the house instead. I laid down on the couch with a cold pack on my eye again, and then got up later to do some more work, feed and walk Roxy, and make my Saturday Night Super Salad and watch the second episode of the second season of “Space 1999.” It occurred to me as I watched it, and was mindful of what a different show it was from the first season, that this season is more like a cheesy Filmation Saturday morning show. It had that feel. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it sure was different from the first season. I like the show fine, but it’s a far cry from the magic of the original “Star Trek.”
Sunday the 12th – EASTER ON MY KEISTER! – Normally I would be getting up early in the morning, putting on my Jesus costume, and playing Jesus for the kids at my church in the “Easter Walk.” But not this year. I missed it greatly. I also missed going to the social hall after the service was over and having breakfast with everyone at the annual Easter breakfast. But when I got up around 2 in the afternoon I started thinking about my 93 year old “adopted grandma” Shirley, and how she hasn’t been out of her room in about a month! The place where she lives has a mandatory lockdown in place where the residents can’t even so much as leave their rooms! It’s that scary! Knowing that the normally VERY social Shirley had to be going nuts, not being outside, or seeing friends, or eating out, I decided to try and bring the outside world to her. The last time I spoke with her she seemed a little down (obviously) so I shot some videos of Roxy and Spook (even one with my Oscar the Grouch puppet) and sent then to her e-mail. I spoke with her daughter who gave me her Face Time user name so some of the movie night folks can Face Time with her. Later in the day I dashed out to Little Toni’s to get some food. I had constructed a face mask from an “Invader Zim” bandana that I’ve had for years, and it worked pretty well. I saw on-line how to take a bandana and fold it in a certain way, secure it with hair ties, and make an impromptu protective face mask. My pal Sara came over to enjoy dinner with me and we watched a movie. I have some movies on stand-by that I couldn’t show at my regular movie night (too much nudity, too gory, etc.) but ones that I wanted to see on my own. We watched the 1980 Roger Corman classic “Humanoids From the Deep.” My pal Scott Maguire and I always used to love watching this movie on HBO back in the day, and we still quote lines from it occasionally. This Blu Ray print was amazing, and much bloodier and gorier than I remember it on HBO. But as we were watching the Making Of documentary on the disc, a voice sounded really familiar to me. It was a 1980’s-ish trailer announcer doing a mock trailer for “Humanoids.” Sara said, “That sounds like you.” I said, “Yeah, it does.” I kept listening and started thinking that it WAS me. Then I remembered cutting a quick piece for my pal Reed Kaplan many, many years ago for the “Humanoids” documentary. It all came back to me! That’s how long I had been holding this movie in dry dock! Wow! What a kick! After Sara left I grabbed a short nap, and then got up later to feed the kids, do some auditions, walk Roxy, and then laid down on the couch to enjoy the rain that had just started outside. I got up around 7am, and went to bed.
And how was YOUR week??!!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
I found two more prophetic Bazooka Joe comics from their “worldwide pandemic” story arc. It’s amazing that the cartoonists behind these could predict our future so well!
This is the black and white photo I received back in 1975 when I wrote a fan letter to Jack Palance. No autograph or anything. Just the photo. But still cool.
My cat Spooky loves to watch videos of himself.
As always, Sergio Lopez did a great job trimming the fur on Oscar’s face and making him look more like the original!
While moving some things around in the Chaney Room to gain access to my closet, so I could pull out all my bandanas, I accidentally configured two of the figures in such a way that looked like they were having a conversation. But two more diverse characters taking to each other you couldn’t imagine!
My ersatz “Invader Zim” face mask. (It kind of reminds of the Zim episode “Germs!”)
It was sure a kick to see THIS name come up at the beginning of a “Bronk” episode!
I love seeing fanart featuring some of the characters I’ve voiced. I really loved this one by Olicia Shepard. She morphed the Riddler with many of my own personal characteristics! Neat!
My pal Dr. Doom in Sioux Falls has a daughter who loves Muppets. I put this little video together for her in case she was having an issue with “sheltering at home.”
While making a video for my ‘adopted grandma’ Shirley, I got Roxy to give Spook a kiss. She hates doing it, but she knew there was a treat waiting for her if she did. Cute!
My pal Bruce Kulick informed me that our buddy Zach Throne was having a birthday soon. Zach is the son of the great character actor Malachi Throne who is best known to my circle of Bat friends as False Face from the 1966 Batman series. Bruce asked us all to create little birthday greeting videos for Zach, so I thought this would be an appropriate one. Even though Malachi is no longer with us, his amazing False Face character is unforgettable!
