December 14 – December 20 (2020)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

My grandpa loved his Polaroid camera. He took this shot of my dog Ralph a long time ago. My folks had this photo lying around and decided to send it to me. I love this shot!

If it’s possible to “sing a city” this song does that. The music itself is New York City. No other city could be the subject of this song, given the way it’s written. It just “sounds” New York. And while I’ve never been a fan of New York City, this song is very catchy, and my new favorite Christmas song! It’s “My Favorite Time of Year” by Peter Cincotti!

Monday the 14th – WHAT LOCKDOWN?! – Even though the state of California is supposedly on another “lockdown,” nobody is paying much attention. It might have something to do with the hypocrisy of our feckless leader, which I would be good money that it is. I took Roxy to the groomer to get a bath, and then I drove to the bank to make some deposits for the end-of-the-year. I hit the post office to mail off a few bills, and I could barely get into the parking lot for all of the mobs of people and stacks of cars. I drove to my Ford dealer to have them check the creek in my steering wheel (a recurring problem), and they told me to bring it in over the next few days. I went to my mailbox to pick up my packages, but when I arrived I saw a line of people out the door and spilling into the street. NO THANKS! So I moved on to McDonald’s to get some lunch at the drive-thru. Then it was over to CVS to get some supplies, and back to the groomer’s to pick up my freshly washed doggie. I worked with the balance of the red and green lights on my patio. I did a little work on my computer, organized my auditions for the evening, and then took some “Christmas Nappies” on The Most Comfortable Couch in the Universe. When I got up I attacked the throng of auditions I had waiting for me, typed out Wally’s Week, reheated some of the sloppy joe mix my pal Sara made for me Sunday night, and enjoyed some good ol’ Midwestern sloppy joes while I watched another episode of “The Mod Squad.”

Tuesday the 15th – MY FAVORITE THINGS! – All afternoon I moved stuff in, out and around in my living room for an upcoming video shoot. My pals Mark and James would be coming over later to eat dinner and watch a movie, as well as assist in getting a few of the final shots I needed for my end-of-year video called “My Favorite Things.” People wondered how I managed to stay sane during the past year of craziness, and I think my new video pretty much says it all. It’s on my homepage if you haven’t seen it yet. When Mark and James first got there we filmed a few of the scenes I needed. Mark worked the camera while James was responsible for audio playback. We got the shots we needed and then Mark shot a Cameo greeting for me. Cameo is a company that connects fans with actors who will do personal greetings for you, or someone you love. Unlike the other ones which usually revolve around some characters I’ve voiced in a show, this one asked for some puppet-making and puppeteering advice for someone in their family who is interested in the artform. This was a LOT of fun to do! Then we ordered our dinner from The Smokehouse; the Tuesday night filet mignon dinner special! The food arrived, we ate a delicious dinner, and then we retired to the Planet Wallywood Theatre to watch a VERY underrated James Bond movie called “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” It was George Lazenby’s one-and-done Bond film, and I actually enjoy his performance quite a bit. Plus it has a nice Christmas theme in one section. I love watching this movie on Blu Ray, because I’ve never seen this movie quite as clear as it is on Blu Ray. The reason? VHS. Because “OHMSS” is over 2 hours long, it wouldn’t fit on the standard VHS tape at SP speed; the highest quality speed. They had to bump it down to EP when they made the videos, and the quality suffered greatly. This quality loss is especially evident during the night-time scenes in the blowing snow. It all looked so grainy. But this film is a delight to watch – virtually every frame! I looked at the video clips we shot earlier in the evening and decided I wanted to try one clip over again; the big finale in the living room. After wrestling with an uncooperative camera, we finally got a good one and the evening was a total success! Now I have to edit these final clips into the piece and finish it up! The guys took off, I did my auditions and then hit the hay! Whew!

Wednesday the 16th – BORED AT FORD! – After a brisk lunch at the Taco Bell drive-thru, I drove over to my local Ford dealer to turn my car in for repairs. It had been giving me a loud creaking noise every time I would steer left, but the problem was irritatingly intermittent. Normally, when I would get it to the dealer to demonstrate the problem, it would go away. But it seemed to be happening more frequently now. The day was gorgeous and I had the top down. I pulled into Ford and asked for the technician who was familiar with the problem. My usual service advisor was on vacation, even though on Monday he promised me he’d be working today. I waited for the tech to show up…and waited…and waited…and waited. After a half hour I decided to just leave and forget getting the car serviced there at the dealership. The guys at Burbank Auto Doctor (who service my 1974 Gran Torino) are top notch, and one of their guys is a Mustang specialist. So I think from now on I’ll just start taking it there and stop paying all the exorbitant “dealership” prices for repair. I got back home and did some auditions, and some phone prompts for an on-going client of mine. Later, I did even more auditions. I sat down and edited my end-of-year video “My Favorite Things” and put on some finishing touches.

Thursday the 17th – HANUKKAH HILARITY! – My next dental check-up and cleaning was due today, so I went in to get some X-rays taken and have the usual dental maintenance performed by Dr. Alex. I happened to have on my Starsky & Hutch hat, and he flipped out. Come to find out he’s a HUGE fan of the show! He said when he was growing up in Lebanon, he never missed the show. I started talking about my Gran Torino and we discussed some of our favorite scenes. It’s funny how that show, which aired over 40 years ago, still resonates with people. On my way into the building, there was an electric menorah in the lobby. And being one day away from the final day of Hanukkah, all the electric candles were lit except one. On my way out of the building, I stepped out of the elevator and saw an elderly gentleman screwing in the last bulb on the menorah to get it to light up. I said, “Is it the final day of Hanukkah today?” He shot me a puzzled look. He said, “This bulb was out so I figured I’d fix it. It was just unscrewed a little.” I laughed and told him I didn’t think it was supposed to be lit until tomorrow, the final day of Hanukkah. He said, “Well, you’re talking to the wrong guy about that.” Apparently he wasn’t familiar with the tradition, but was just trying to do a good deed and reconnect a faulty light bulb in the display. I briefly explained to him the tradition, and together we unscrewed the final light bulb to be in compliance with the holiday observance. It was funny, and I think the gentleman learned something that day! I went over to Burger King to get some lunch at the drive-thru, and then stopped by the Burbank Auto Doctor to explain the problem in my Mustang. Greg, the resident Mustang expert, explained that it could be as simple as spraying some brake fluid on a dry bushing. It would be great if I could correct the problem with something so simple and inexpensive! I told him I’d bring the car in first thing next week to get it looked at. I stopped by my mailbox and got my packages, which included my new Crystal Shield face visor. It’s an alternative to a cloth mask, and shields the lower part of your face with a clear, molded barrier. It fits around your ears like a pair of glasses. I saw it on-line and thought it looked neat, so I bought one. I got a nice comment about it from a lady while I was getting gas in my car, so perhaps more people will find out about them. I got home to do some work and feed the pets. Then I took “Christmas Nappies,” which is a tradition of mine this time of year. I put some Christmas music on the satellite (DirecTV channel 858), turn on the fireplace, make up a little bed for Spook in a chair next to the fire, get Roxy’s beanbag fluffed up and ready, and I retire on The Most Comfortable Couch in the Universe to snooze for a few hours. It all started many years ago when I had my dog Sassie, and I began calling it “Christmas Nappies.” I got up later and did a ton of auditions, and then drove over to Denny’s to get some food, and I brought it home to eat and watch “The Mod Squad.”

Friday the 18th – TESTING, TESTING…! – Early in the day I fired up my home studio so I could get on-line with Side LA studios in Marina Del Rey. They needed to make sure my home studio set-up would be suitable for an upcoming video game session in early January. I’ve done one other home studio session with Side LA for a Marvel project recently, so it was pretty easy just to go through the motions again. I set up my camera to shoot another Cameo greeting for a fan, and then did some work around the house. My weekend project was to paint my kitchen ceiling for my “star window” – a section of my ceiling (which was recently dismantled and repaired) which I was turning into a faux nighttime sky. Since the section of the ceiling was opened up to fix a water leak, and had to be repainted anyway, I figured I might as well make it something cool. So I’ll be painting the area deep blue, and putting glow stars on it of varying diameters. My plan was to paint the ceiling over the weekend to give it plenty of time to cure and dry, so I could punch and apply the glow stars for my annual ‘creative’ Christmas Eve project. If you remember, last year I started in on making my Oscar the Grouch replica Muppet. My annual Christmas Eve tradition will have to be modified a bit this year due to everything going on. But luckily my favorite Christmas radio show “Christmas Across the Lands” will be aired on my buddy’s radio station in Sioux Falls, so I can stream that while I work. I always like to take Roxy over to the church on Christmas Eve to see the Living Nativity; a menagerie of various animals in a manger-like setting. She loves meeting the rabbits, goats, sheep and other animals that the church hires for atmosphere. This year it’s a drive-thru event, but I think Roxy and I might just have to be walking in the area right around the time of the event. Then I come home and nap until it’s time for the candlelight service at 11pm, but with no church services this year, there won’t be any candlelight service – which makes me really sad. So I’ll stream “Christmas Across the Lands” and work around the house doing my usual creative project – a specially selected effort just for that particular evening. Christmas Eve of 2018 I started building my Rowlf the Dog replica Muppet. Last Christmas Eve was Oscar, but I don’t have any more room for additional puppets. So this year it’s my “star window” that will get all of the creative Christmas Eve love. I made some soup and a sandwich and watched another episode of “The Mod Squad” before bed.

Saturday the 19th – ROOKIE MISTAKES! – Nothing helps me think better than a full stomach. So I ordered a Domino’s pizza and started plotting out how I was going to paint my kitchen ceiling and create my “star window.” I started by putting tape all the way around the section which is framed by molding. This would allow me to paint the ceiling deep blue, without getting any paint on the white molding. Then I spread out the plastic drop cloth. But the drop cloth wasn’t big enough to accommodate the amount of space I had in mind. Drop cloths are made for those who are painting vertical walls, so they’re not exceptionally wide or long. I needed a drop cloth that could be attached to the ceiling, run down the length of the kitchen cupboards, the counters, across the floor and back up the other side across the counters, the cupboards, and attach to the ceiling. Since I only had about half as much as what I needed, I decided to paint half of the ceiling, and then move the drop cloth to the other side to complete it. Rookie Error #1 – measure out the amount of drop cloth you’ll need. I gently dipped the roller in the tray and tried to squeeze out as much excess paint as possible, while still giving me enough to cover a certain amount of area. I didn’t want a soaked roller splattering paint everywhere; all over me and the kitchen – even though I did have a drop cloth down. All went pretty well, but I realized Rookie Error #2 – I should have cleaned the ceiling well with alcohol and a paper towel to remove any residue. I cleaned the little metal rings which go around the lighting fixtures thoroughly in order to get the paint to adhere, but I should have cleaned the ceiling as well. But it was all going on pretty well, and THANK GOD – there were no “Laurel and Hardy” moments; with me getting clumsy and spilling paint everywhere. I remember the days when my dad would paint around our house, and the smell of the oil-based paint and the turpentine thinner you needed to use to clean the brushes. UGH! But no longer. Everything cleans up nicely with water now. This is the type of job my old pal and contractor Terry used to love doing, but he’s been gone now for many years. I always think of him fondly when doing something like this, and it’s not uncommon for me to yell out, “Terry! What should I do?” Though I covered the majority of the area with a roller, I needed to paint the edges with a corner brush. This would allow me to do the edges neatly and cleanly. I was assisted by all of the blue masking tape that I put up earlier. I painted all around the edges with the edge brush and was pretty happy with my work. But then – Rookie Error #3. I should have taken the tape down immediately after I painted the edges. Because when the paint goes on the edges, it also slops over on the masking tape, which is the whole point. But if you remove the tape AFTER the paint has dried, then you end up pulling off clumps of paint along with the tape. The paint on the tape and the paint on the ceiling joins when it dries, and pulling off the tape after it dries rips sections of the paint on the ceiling. So now I’ll need to retape it all, repaint the edges, and take the tape off right after I’m done to prevent this from happening again. I’ll also take a small, flat paint brush and touch up the edges at the transition line between the molding and the ceiling. I can also use a razor blade to gently scrape off any blue paint and create a nice clean transition line. These are things I learned and will be aware of the next time I do something like this. I made my traditional Saturday Night Super Saint Salad and watched another episode of “The Saint” from the first season DVD set. It featured Shirley Eaton, who is best known as the “golden girl” in the movie “Goldfinger”! It was neat seeing a future Bond girl, with a future James Bond.

Sunday the 20th – SUNDAY SLEEPIES! – As is my habit, from time to time, I spend the entire Sunday resting and relaxing. Even though I did a little work around the house, I basically did a whole lot of nothing. And it felt great. Sometimes you need days like these! In the coming days I’ll touch up the edges of my “star window” and this coming Thursday night I’ll apply all of the stars.

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK