December 16 – December 22 (2024)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

If you’re a fan of “The Never Ending Story” like I am, you’ll love seeing this photo of Falkor the Luck Dragon before he got his fur applied. I will most likely always love this film!

While I enjoy the Beatles music quite a bit, I also like much of their solo material. This song from George Harrison came up this past week and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since. Here’s “You!”

Monday the 16th – DIET DILEMMA! – Because of all the resting I did over the weekend I got to bed very late – at 2 in the afternoon! But after only a few hours of sleep I got up and headed over to my box to get some packages. I mailed off some stuff and then headed over to Jersey Mike’s to get a sandwich for dinner. I headed back home to eat, relax, and catch up on the news. Luckily, my voice is slowly returning. I’m going to try and start eating foods that are known to minimize acid reflux, but it’s tough because I don’t like most of them. I like apples, carrots, bananas, oatmeal and sometimes nuts. But the rest of what they recommend I find are simply awful. Later I did some auditions, and then took my nightly WOG (walk/jog). When I came back inside I made some brown rice with tuna. I’m also trying to drink more water and lay low on the caffeinated drinks. I’m trying out a lot of different things to see what works. I typed out Wally’s Week and then hit the hay. In addition to the pain acid reflux causes, I can’t be losing my voice every month.

Tuesday the 17th – END OF THE YEAR BIZ! – After doing a little work at home, I picked up my friend Emily and headed to Paty’s to get some lunch on the patio. She just had gallbladder surgery and was telling me about it, and thought it might be my problem too. But I don’t have the symptoms she described so I doubt it. I picked up a package at my box, went to the vet’s office to pick up some more prescription cat fud, got some groceries at the store, and then headed home. I did some auditions, relaxed, and later I took my nightly WOG. I spent the rest of the night doing some video editing.

Wednesday the 18th – COLLECTING ADVICE! – My pals Rob Klein (he was on my “Collector’s Call” episode) and my old buddy Pete Tassler (he was the supervising producer on “Hawaii Five-O” and “MacGuyver” on CBS!). I knew they would get along famously as they both have a ton in common! I told Pete about my acid reflux problem and he told me about a surgery he had a few years ago for an esophageal hernia. He said he had the exact same symptom I’m having. When his antacid medication ceased working he got an endoscopy and they determined that he had a hernia. EEK! I’m not sure that’s quite my problem, but it’s possible. (When I got home I immediately called my internist to schedule a consultation for another endoscopy to see what’s going on.) Despite the gloomy conversation, it was quite a fun lunch! I picked up a package at my box, dropped off a package at the post office, and enjoyed a wonderful drive on a warm, gorgeous day. After doing a little work at home I headed over to Alex In Wonderland to consult with Mike McGee about some customization I needed done on the display case for my 100+ year old cane once owned by Stan Laurel. Mike also had some good advice for mitigating acid reflux which included eating papaya and drinking a daily glass of cabbage juice. He said they both coat the esophagus with something called mucosa, at least according to the studies at the Cleveland Clinic. When I got home I did some auditions and then took a short nap. I took Mike’s advice and propped a bunch of pillows under my back and tried to sleep slightly upright. The head of my bed is already elevated, but I thought this might help some more. But sleeping on my back isn’t good for me under any circumstances, let alone propped up. I tried it for a little while but eventually ended up on my side again. Later I did my nightly WOG, and I even spent some time afterwards in the anti-gravity chair outside. It was clear and really nice out. I finished the day by doing some work around the house.

Thursday the 19th – 28 & 29! – Before the end of the year I wanted to get my semi-annual dental check-up and cleaning out of the way. Unfortunately he found two small cavities in my #28 & #29 on my lower right side. Those will have to be attended to as soon as possible. So I scheduled an appointment for after the first of the year. He said I need to floss better, as the cavities were down in between the teeth. Sometime in the new year I also need to have the crowns redone on my #30 and #31. There are slight divots underneath the crowns on both teeth indicating that there may be some decay happening under the crowns themselves. Sheesh. It looks like 2025 will have a fair amount of health-related issues in store for me to take care of. After the cleaning I headed to Chick Fil-A and got some lunch. I sat in the sun in my car, listened to tunes and enjoyed my lunch. Then I went over to Wienerschnitzel for a strawberry sundae. I hit a local flower shop to have a nice bouquet made up for my gal Angi, because tonight marked the 2nd anniversary of our first meeting. I did a little work around the house and got ready for Angi and her dog Khloe to come by. As is our growing tradition, we went to Paty’s for a quick meal on the patio, just like we did the first night we met. Later I took my WOG, and it was a stunningly gorgeous night! Both Jupiter and Mars were bright and high in the sky. I went inside afterwards and did my nightly auditions and finished up some other work around the house.

Friday the 20th – ROCKSTAR ON A TRAIN CAR! – The maids came over shortly after noon and gave Planet Wallywood a good pre-Christmas cleaning. Then I headed out to Staples to get a few supplies, but they no longer carry the kind of ink I need for my laser printer. So, it’ll be off to Amazon for me, I guess. Since I was in the area, I went next door to Carney’s to get a hamburger. Carney’s is a famous burger and hot dog place in L.A., and their trademark is having a working restaurant inside an old train car. It’s pretty amazing. But when I got in I saw a few friends of mine, including Eric Singer of KISS! I hadn’t seen him in a while so we chatted for a bit. I went out to my car to eat and listen to some music. One thing I’m learning about the acid reflux issue is to eat more slowly. I’m really working on that, and I’m hoping it helps me digest things better. I went home to relax, but later my reflux was pretty bad. I guess going to Carney’s earlier was a bad idea. My consultation appointment with my internist is on Christmas Eve day, so hopefully I can get some more insight on the problem and get an appointment for the endoscopy to see what’s going on. I laid around most of the night and drank a ton of water hoping that would help.

Saturday the 21st – CHRISTMAS “COOKIE!” – Since Angi’s plane wasn’t going to leave until 11pm, so she could go see her family for Christmas, she stopped by so we could go grab a quick bite to eat. She wanted fries and a shake at Bob’s Big Boy, but before heading out I asked her if I should bring along my “Travel Cookie” (my Cookie Monster replica that I can take out of the house for fun). She thought it was a great idea, and we could get some pictures with him at the restaurant! It was a great time. We got some wonderful pictures next to the Bob’s Big Boy statues. But I was interested in stopping by the new Randy’s Donuts location in the area to get a few donuts to go. The ladies behind the counter remembered Angi and I from a previous visit last summer! We started talking about all sorts of stuff, and we got on the subject of Christmas plans. One of the ladies said she’d be going to visit her 3 year old niece who was crazy about puppets. I asked her if she was into Cookie Monster, and I was delighted when she said she was! I traipsed off to the car and brought in the black plastic bag that contained “Travel Cookie.” I told the lady to get her phone out and we’d shoot a Christmas video for her niece. It turned out really well, and it was fun hearing the other people in the dining area laugh at all the jokes. I also invited her and her niece over to Planet Wallywood for a tour. I told her she would really enjoy seeing the Puppet Room. In the car on the way back to my house I told Angi that early exposure to puppets could set the kid on a course for a lifetime interest in puppetry! After all, it was my great-grandpa who planted the idea in my little head! After Angi took off to catch her Uber to the airport, I got on the phone with my computer guy Brian, and we worked on solving a few issues I was having with my back-up program. Later I took my nightly WOG, and worked on my computer the rest of the night.

Sunday the 22nd – UNEXPECTED PARTY! – December is turning out to be a great month for Laurel & Hardy! In addition to having one of our Sons of the Desert meetings on December 3rd, on Saturday the 7th I enjoyed my own personal commemoration I call “Laurel & Hardy Theatre,” where I randomly select a couple of their shorts to watch. But today a few fully restored Laurel & Hardy films screened in Hollywood at the legendary Egyptian Theatre! They ran the short called “Dirty Work,” followed by the feature “Our Relations.” Both films are uproariously funny, and I always love seeing their films with an audience that appreciates them as much as I do. I picked up my pal Sara Raftery at 1 and we headed into Hollywood, which is always a dubious adventure. We got parked, got to the theatre and found seats. I bought a book which was on sale called “Collecting Laurel & Hardy,” a book whose release I had been anticipating for quite a while. The authors and Leonard Maltin were supposed to appear and speak for a bit about the book, and then sign books afterwards. But we were picking up chatter around us that one of the authors had unexpectedly died suddenly within the last few days! And today, of all days, was his memorial. So obviously, under the sad circumstances, while the books were on sale, the speakers would not be attending. My pal Scott Sebring arrived and took the seat that Sara and I had been saving for him. There was some restored and never-before-seen interview footage from the 50’s of Stan & Ollie that ran before the films. It was amazing to get a little insight into their creative process. Just as soon as the films were over, I saw that I was getting a call from my friend Maggie, who does all my sewing for my puppets. She and her friends were in the audience and we met up out in the lobby! I asked them to join us for dinner at Mel’s Diner in Hollywood and we all walked over together. But while we were there, our friend Alex Zsolt (who was in town for some holiday concerts) joined us as well. As did our pal Ben Bentley, who drove a few hours from up north to be with us. Alex and I got the idea to call our pal Rob Richards to see if he was between shows at the El Capitan Theatre (just a block away) so he could join us. Rob is the organist at the theatre, and he opens each performance of the film with a short organ presentation. Luckily he was between shows, so he came right over. It was a real party! We finished and Sara and I headed back to the parking structure to hop in the Gray Ghost and head home. I dropped her off at her house, and then I got back to Planet Wallywood to relax. Later I did my nightly WOG, and then I set about working on my audio system to get ready for my usual Christmas Eve ritual. I like to stay up all night on Christmas Eve and work on a creative project while listening to the syndicated radio show “Christmas Across the Lands.” It’s my favorite Christmas radio show, and I’m even a part of the show! I play the part of Wally the Elf, who pops in once an hour with some amazing Christmas trivia. It’s a real honor to be a part of this amazing show! I love it! But since radio in L.A. royally sucks, the show isn’t being carried locally. This means I have to listen on the internet through my buddy’s radio station in Sioux Falls who will be carrying the show not once, but three times in a row! So I need to break out my extra-long patch cable so I can plug it into the aux input in the receiver downstairs in my living room. There is also an auxiliary amplifier which feeds all the sound coming off the main receiver to the Chaney Room, The Puppet Room, and the Tranquility Zone. So no matter what floor I’m on, I can hear the show uninterrupted! But because I hardly ever use the auxiliary amplifier (and it’s rather old) I need to fire it up early to ‘blow the dust out of it.’ The balance and volume knobs get a little dusty inside, so I need to blow some compressed air inside to clean it out so I get a pure signal. Sure enough, the knobs were in need of a good cleaning. But once cleaned, they sent both channels of audio very clearly throughout the house. I take the extra-long patch cable and run it up to my second level where my computer is. I find the radio station’s live feed on their website and continually stream it. I plug the patch cable into the headphone jack of my computer and VOILA! Christmas Across the Lands! Now that I’ve done all the prep work I need, I’m ready for Christmas Eve!

And how was YOUR week?!?!

PIX FROM THE WEEK