February 22 – February 28 (2021)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

I bought a bag of Bazooka Joe bubble gum at the store and found out that all the cartoons were in Hebrew! Can anyone translate?

This song reminds me of a happy tune I’d hear in the 70’s. It’s by a group called “Real Estate” and it’s called “Paper Cup.”

Monday the 22nd – TIRED TORINO TRICKLES! – On my way to a video game session I decided to give the ol’ Gran Torino a try, but it was plum tuckered out. It had been sitting so long that the battery didn’t have enough juice to turn the engine over, and I didn’t have the time to jump it and mess around with it. I’d handle it later. So I hopped back into the Mustang and headed over to Igloo studios in Burbank for a Disney video game session. I would be voice-matching myself, re-doing some tracks I had previously recorded for them a while back. The original tracks I recorded weren’t contracted for usage in a video game, so they figured they’d just have me come back in for a half hour, record the new lines and off I’d go. It was a quick session, but a boatload of fun! Since I was in the area I went over to Hobby Lobby and picked up a few items, and then I got some lunch to-go at Burger King. I stopped by my mailbox to pick up my packages, and then I went back home to my auxiliary garage to jumpstart my Torino. I swapped it out for the Mustang, and when I got it home I put it on my trickle charger so the battery could charge up all night and be ready to roar tomorrow. I went inside to do some work, and hang up the new Star Trek plaque I had just bought at Hobby Lobby. My friend Michelle sent Spook a catnip banana, which he absolutely went nuts for. I did my nightly auditions and typed out Wally’s Week.

Tuesday the 23rd – ANNUAL HACK! – It seems like every 14 months or so my credit card gets hacked. It’s bound to happen since I use it for so many on-line purchases. Well, it happened again. But unlike last time, where there were thousands of dollars’ worth of charges (none of which I was ultimately responsible for, thankfully) this month’s credit card statement only had one small charge on it for about 15 bucks. It was tucked away in between all the other charges there WERE mine. But I could tell by the name of the business that 1) I would never shop there, 2) even if I would shop there I never would have used that particular card for that type of purchase. I immediately called my credit card company to close the card. While speaking with the attendant I found out that another small charge to the same company was made after my credit card statement was issued. These types of charges are done as a test. The hackers get a number and buy a few small things to see if the card is still functional. If the small purchases go through easily, then the floodgates open up and all sorts of expensive things are charged to the account. (Why don’t the businesses who were scammed by these phony purchases just look up the address to where the merchandise was shipped, and send the cops there to arrest them? Bizarre.) I got lucky this time. The total amount of the two fraudulent purchases was under $25. Last time I got hacked it was around $4-5,000! One of the fraudulent purchases charged to my card back then was for in-flight services on American Airlines. Ironically, the thief who used my credit card number for those purchases probably heard my voice on the overhead announcements on the flight, and will likely never know that the guy who was telling them to fasten their safety belt was the victim of their very theft! When I got off the phone with my credit card company, I called the number of the company through whom the fraudulent purchases were made. I looked them up on-line and called the contact number listed. But it ran me through an unending series of voice prompts and asked me for a membership number. Not only was I totally unfamiliar with this company, but I certainly wasn’t a member! I found another number and called it, but I spoke with a totally clueless receptionist who (as much as she tried to help) kept putting me into the voicemails of people who weren’t at their desk. I also tried the company’s on-line chat, but the robot on the other end finally ended up disconnecting me after promising me an immediate phone call from a supervisor (the call never came). Now I can see why this idiotic company is such an easy mark for hackers. There’s virtually no oversight or accountability at that company! A frustrating hour and a half later, I stopped my efforts and focused my attention on two last-minute auditions. I drove over to my mailbox to get my packages, ate a quick salad at Paty’s, drove past my seamstress’ house to drop off another project, went to CVS to pick up some prescriptions, and then headed home. In a few hours I ordered a steak from the Smokehouse and relaxed after my delicious dinner. Later I fed Roxy and took her out on our late-night stroll through the neighborhood. It was gorgeous and clear…and not cold at all! I decided to enjoy a nice cigar while on our walk. In addition to the beautiful mostly-full moon I saw set in my immediate horizon, Roxy and I were serenaded by a night bird sitting in a tree. I love this time of night, and all of the fascinating wonders it offers. I was feeling very happy and mellow, and I came back inside to get ready for my semi-regular viewing of old TV episodes I call “TV Time.” I made some of my infamous Buffalo Mac and went upstairs to set up the Tranquility Zone to enjoy my meal and entertainment. But when I engaged all of my relaxation lighting effects, I realized that one of my power strips must’ve blown a fuse. Several of the other outlets on the strip were working, but three were not. I enjoyed watching another episode of “The Invaders.” The second season of this show is utterly amazing!

Wednesday the 24th – STRIP TRIP! – When I finished recording a few last-minute auditions, I did a little work around the house and prepped for a Zoom interview. But unlike most of the interviews I do, this one was about being self-employed. It was a fun interview and I hope the information we imparted will help others who are considering becoming their own boss. I drove over to my local Staples to get a new power strip for my Tranquility Zone. The local hardware store only had 6 outlet strips, but I needed a 10 or 12 outlet strip with surge protection. I bought one of each; unsure of which one would work best. Besides, in Planet Wallywood, I can always use another monster power strip somewhere down the line. I was craving McDonald’s so I headed over to pick up some dinner at the drive-thru. But the line was a mile long so I moved on. Maybe Taco Bell would be the thing. But it wasn’t really “ringing” my hunger bells, so I made a U-turn and headed over to Jersey Mike’s to get a #13 on white. I got home, ate ¾ of my sandwich (I’ll save the other ¼ for TV Time later) and hooked up my new power strip in the Tranquility Zone. I figured the second power strip might come in handy in the Puppet Room, but it’s going to take a lot of diagnostics to figure out how to best rig that to achieve the lighting effects I desire. That’s a project for another day. Later I enjoyed the rest of my #13 with some soup and an episode of “The Invaders.” I sure wish this show could have gotten a third season. But I caught a HUGE mistake in this episode. Two aliens ambushed the hero and a scientist to get a key they needed to a file cabinet. The two aliens were each brandishing revolvers with silencers attached. A fight ensued and during the struggle a few shots were fired into the ground. The scientist fell down the stairs to his death, and one alien (holding a gun) fell off the balcony to his death. When the aliens die they immediately incinerate, along with anything they might be touching. Since he was still holding a gun when he incinerated, that incinerated too. Our hero managed to get the other gun away from the alien and shot the alien. The alien incinerated, and our hero took the gun and fled. Later when the police were investigating the scene of the accident (remember, the only body left was the scientist’s – who was human) one of the detectives found the empty shell casings that were expelled during the gun battle. See anything wrong with this scenario so far? Well, revolvers don’t expel spent casings when they fire. Only semi-automatic guns do that. In order to expel the spent casings in a revolver, you have to open the chamber and empty them out onto the ground by hand. And that didn’t happen in the scene. None of the characters had time to empty their casings on to the ground during the struggle. OOPS! The prop guys didn’t read that part of the script and deduce that the aliens should be carrying semi-automatic handguns in order for the scene to work. And it was important to the scene that the cartridges be found, otherwise the police would have just thought the scientist died from a simple fall, and no gunplay was involved. But since they suspected there was gunplay, that motivated them to move on with an investigation which played into the rest of the show. Oh well, despite that tiny little detail, the episode was terrific.

Thursday the 25th – HOME HO-HUM! – It was a very sleepy day and I didn’t get much done. But the relaxation was very welcome! I did some work around the house, ordered a Domino’s pizza, recorded a few auditions, and later I made some stew and watched “The Invaders.”

Friday the 26th – ROXY LOOKS TASTY! – Roxy and I drove to my mailbox to get my package, which was a shipment of food for her from Chewy.com. Then she and I had a great lunch at Paty’s. Anyone who saw us pull up had to know I was a TV kid from the 60’s and 70’s. A Starsky & Hutch Gran Torino pulls up, and from the backseat comes Lassie! Yup, that’s a TV kid for sure! It could have only been better if I had been wearing a Star Trek costume carrying a Batarang! After lunch I came back home to do some work, and record a few auditions. Later I got inspired to clean up a section of my garage that was quickly populating with a bunch of junk. I needed to consolidate a lot of things in storage bins to shore things up a bit. I spent 3-4 hours in the garage listening to talk radio while I grouped all of my fabrics together in bins (a lot of puppet fur and fabric!) and listed the inventories of the bins for my database. I threw a bunch of stuff away that I no longer needed, organized a box of clothes and things for a Goodwill donation, and by the end of my work – everything looked pretty sweet! I still have a bit more to do to really get it shored up. I fed and walked Roxy on our late-night stroll through the neighborhood. As Roxy and I walked along, I noticed something overhead. It was a bird, silently swooping over with a wingspan that had to be about 3-4 feet! It was most likely an owl who, from an aerial view, thought that Roxy might be a tasty meal. Only when it got closer did it realize that Roxy would be a pretty big piece of prey, and one who would most likely put up a fight. I hit the owl(?) with my headbeam (the headlamp device I wear on our walks) and it turned to fly away. But based on the shiny reflections coming from its head, I surmised that it was indeed the big eyes of an owl. It was striking to see and a bit unnerving at first. And the fact that it flew so silently was really freaky! I guess that’s what makes owls such great hunters. During our walk the wind really started to pick up so we came back inside. I sat down at my computer and typed in all of the contents of the new bins in my storage area. I hit the hay with a deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment after a good night’s work.

Saturday the 27th – TRADING A SAINT FOR A DEVIL! – On a very windy Saturday, I took a bunch of clothes and mannequins to a local second-hand store to donate them. But not only were they full up of donations for the day, they said they would soon be closing that location. So now I have to find another place to donate my stuff. I did a little grocery shopping, and then hit McDonald’s for some food. Even though the line was long I had a craving, so I stayed in the long drive-thru line. I went back home, worked around the house, put a bunch of stuff away, and noted that I still needed to do some more work in my garage to truly get things settled. But it would take many more hours of sorting through stuff, discarding the things I no longer needed, consolidating the stuff I DO want to keep, and relabeling all of the bins and boxes. Luckily, the nights will start warming up again soon, which will make working in the garage at night more pleasant. Later I did some photo editing, and then it came time for my Saturday night TV Time viewing. On the first Saturday of every month I do Laurel and Hardy Theatre, but that won’t be until next week. All other times I’ve been viewing the old Roger Moore show “The Saint.” But earlier in the evening Svengoolie on ME-TV ran a movie from 1962 called “Devil Doll,” about a possessed ventriloquist dummy. It looked intriguing so I DVR’d it for viewing later. So after making my Saturday Night Super Salad, I decided to forego “The Saint” for the night and instead watch “Devil Doll.” It was a bizarre, but highly entertaining film.

Sunday the 28th – SHIRLEY IS 94! – Our ‘adopted grandma’ Shirley turned 94 on this day! But when I called her to wish her a happy birthday she couldn’t talk long because she was surrounded by friends and they were playing cards. I’m SO glad she moved out to the desert where she’s enjoying a much freer living experience. Come to find out she had been fielding phone calls all day from those who love her. Fantastic! I had a dinner meeting at Bob’s Big Boy and then I came back home to do some work around the house. This was one of those days where Roxy was feeling lethargic and didn’t do or eat much. I worry about her on days like these. Even though she’s 12 and a half, she’s normally in pretty good shape. But occasionally, she sleeps a lot. But then again, so do I. So maybe I won’t worry so much. Later I recorded an audition, drove out to Denny’s to get some food, and then came home to watch a fantastic episode of “The Invaders!” This one had our hero having to side with drug lords to fight the aliens, and it was FANTASTIC! Roxy and I enjoyed a nice night-time walk under a gorgeous mostly-full moon!

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

In order to help visualize the new Prairie Dawn replica Muppet I was making, I put the fabrics together with the color of hair I like along with the eye pieces. It’s all coming together nicely!