RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
1974 was a glorious year for music. When I came across this chart from L.A.’s KHJ radio on the internet, it really brought back some good memories!
As I pulled up to CVS to get some supplies, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” came on the device in my car. I finished listening to it before I went inside. But as I shopped around the store the same song came on the overhead music system! Wow! Hearing the song twice in a 10 minute period really sunk it into my brain. Nice tune!
Monday the 1st – BACK IN ACTION! – The day started with some auditions that needed to be recorded and sent into my agent. Then I headed over to Ernie’s Taco House to have lunch with my friend Sara Raftery. I hit my box to pick up some packages, went over to CVS to print out a few images of my late cat Spooky, and picked up a nice frame. With my two collies who have passed on, I have the boxes containing their ashes on display in the house, and next to their boxes are nice photos of them. Now I’ll have the same for Spook. I got home and did some work, recorded a few more auditions, and then learned my friend Amanda was in town. We went over to Bob’s Big Boy for dinner, as is our usual tradition when she’s in town, but they were just closing early for some reason. Odd. So we hit Denny’s to have “breakfast for dinner.” I went back home to relax for a while, and then took my nightly WOG (walk/jog). I sat down and typed out TWO WEEKS’ worth of Wally’s Week! It was a huge job, but worth it.
Tuesday the 2nd – SWISS MISS! – A few auditions poured in during the afternoon, so I recorded those and got those delivered to my agents. Later I enjoyed dinner with my old pal Dr. Alan Cowen. We try to meet for pizza before we have our Sons Of The Desert meeting (the Laurel & Hardy fan club) so we can catch up on everything that’s going on. In addition to being a great guy, he’s very knowledgeable about virtually anything medical! We got to the meeting early and got settled. In addition to several other films they were showing that night, they played the hilarious feature film “Swiss Miss.” Very, very funny! I went back home to do some work, rested up a bit, recorded some auditions, and then went outside to do my WOG. The rest of the night I spent inside doing some video editing for a Christmas gift I’m working on.
Wednesday the 3rd – MISSING WINGS!? – A lot of producers must be hustling to get their stuff recorded before the end of the year, because there was another considerable load of auditions for me to record before starting the day. Recently, I ordered the new double CD set called “Wings,” which is a ‘best of’ set of the works of Paul McCartney and Wings. But even though Amazon reports that it has been delivered to my box, the guys who work at my mailbox place can’t find it. Rats! Later I’ll contact Amazon to have a replacement sent. I met my pal Edi for lunch at Paty’s on the patio. She and her husband Elliot Lurie (the singer/songwriter of the famous song “Brandy”) are going to be celebrating their 10th anniversary this coming Friday, and since I introduced them, I was like a proud papa! I drove over to Michaels crafts and met Edi there, since she wanted to pick up some new Christmas décor for their house. We saw lots of great stuff, but I only bought one small, glass Christmas tree for the Tranquility Zone. It was made from dark purple glass, so it’ll look great when I put a light inside it! I went back home and did some work, and opened up a package I had received earlier in the day that contained a small, resin statue of a white cat. I wanted to get this to mount onto the box that contains Spook’s ashes. I glued it on, and it looks terrific; especially with the new 5 X 7 photos of Spook I just framed. Later I did some more auditions, took my nightly WOG, and spent the rest of the night editing videos. I was hungry and interested in some video entertainment, so I popped in the first season DVD of “The Virginian” while I ate my salad. I recently became interested in this show when I saw an episode in passing while scrolling through the satellite channels. I bought all the seasons on DVD that were available, so I’m going to add that to my viewing regimen. The first episode called “The Executioners” was EXCELLENT! It guest-starred Hugh O’Brien and was stunningly good. I can’t wait to see the rest of these episodes. Unlike the usual TV fare of the day, all of the “Virginian” episodes are 90 minutes. So it’s like watching a feature film.
Thursday the 4th – PUPPETY POSTPONEMENT! – When I rolled out of bed I checked my email, and one of my agents informed me of a booking I had for Friday morning in my home studio. This was a job that was too good to refuse, so I had to cancel my other plans for Friday. I was supposed to travel to Julien’s auction house in Gardena, California to pick up the “Gonzo Puppeteering Stool” that I had recently won in the Jim Henson Company auction. So I went on their website, canceled my Friday morning appointment, and got an alternate pick-up date for a few weeks down the road. I packaged up some stuff for the post office, drove over to the post office to drop them off, got a sandwich at Jersey Mike’s, got a few grocery items, and then went home to do some work. With the sun going down so early now, and on the days I sleep late, I hardly get any daytime to do my errands anymore! Later I did my auditions, and set up my home studio for the session on Friday morning. When I took my WOG I was shocked at how cold it was! But I soldiered on and completed it anyway. I spent the rest of the night editing videos for a Christmas gift I’d be sending someone.
Friday the 5th – FUN, FUN FRIDAY! – The session I did was for a new TV commercial. I provided a lot of announcer bits that sounds like a basketball play-by-play announcer, and we got everything we needed in about an hour. It was a blast! My maids arrived shortly after, and got Planet Wallywood all cleaned up. I have the maids come to the house every two weeks, but now that I don’t have pets any longer, I’m wondering if I should switch to once every three weeks. My house doesn’t get that dirty now that I don’t have a dog and cat. When they left I was pretty beat (since I had gotten up so early for the session) so I took a short nap. Later I went over to CVS to get some photo prints made and pick up some supplies. But when I walked out their door I had my bag of supplies, but I totally forgot my photo prints! I went to the grocery store to get some food items for the weekend and then headed back home to do some work. Later I took another VERY chilly WOG! I did some video editing for a Christmas present I’m working on. I also read through the directions for another device I purchased as a Christmas gift, but this one is a bit more complicated than the other ones I had been working on. This is going to take some coaching from a pro to have it all made clear to me. I made a salad and watched the second episode of “The Virginian.” Utterly astounding! I’m starting to see why this show went for 9 seasons! The writing, the acting, the costumes, the sets – it’s all utterly amazing!
Saturday the 6th – TWO WINGS! – Mid-afternoon I headed to my box to pick up some packages, and lo and behold, there was my missing Wings CD – along with the replacement they sent! Now I have TWO copies of the exact same CD. Obviously I’ll send the replacement one back to Amazon right away. Not sure why the guys at my box were unable to find it all this time when Amazon said it had been delivered a week ago. I drove over to CVS to retrieve the photo prints I had forgotten the previous night, and I also stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few more items. I met the most adorable little Sheltie named Amber, who was 9 years old. I asked her owner if I could meet her and he consented. What a gorgeous little doggie! It made me miss my collies! I stopped over to my stylist Andie’s salon to get a touch-up on my color, and then headed home to relax. I had some time, so I figured I’d bang out some auditions I needed to record and have delivered by Monday. I took my WOG and then did some more work. As it was the first Saturday of the month, that meant that it was time again for my personal tradition of watching Laurel & Hardy films. Since I draw two of their short films at random, I’ve been waiting for a while to draw one of my favorites – “County Hospital.” I finally drew it, and I was NOT disappointed! Hilarious! After I watched that film, I watched it again, but this time with the commentary track done by L&H historian Randy Skretvedt. I learned a few things! The second film of the night was “The Fixer Uppers,” which was also delightful. Next month, for January’s “Laurel & Hardy Theatre,” I’ll delve into the new Blu Ray release “Laurel & Hardy: Year 3 – The Restored Silents.” Can’t wait! I wasn’t quite ready for bed yet, so I watched an episode of “Collector’s Call” that I had recorded.
Sunday the 7th – WILD WEEK AHEAD! – After a VERY restful day, I planned out the new week. I had three video game sessions on the docket, in addition to needing to have gum surgery on Thursday to prep me for a new crown on my #31 tooth. Fingers crossed! I’ve never had gum surgery like that before! Later I recorded the last of my auditions that were due Monday morning, took my nightly WOG, and did some more work. Man time flies!
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
Naughty naughty! Clowning around with my pal Edi at Michaels.
