January 11 – January 18 (2021)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

I love a rebel!

When I was in Palm Springs a few months ago, my friends and I were about to enjoy a wonderful lunch outdoors at a beautiful golf course. The radio station I like to listen to out there in the desert is KWXY-AM, and they play a variety of easy listening, great standards and some big band music. This song came on and had me literally immersed in a happy feeling. And that’s the title…“That Happy Feeling.” It ‘s by Bert Kaempfert. I dare you to listen to it and not get a smile on your face!

Monday the 11th – PRETTY MUCH A PERFECT DAY! – When I completed the impromptu session for iHeart radio I turned in. But it was already mid-morning. When I finally woke up, after having slept all day, I worked on-line for a bit, recorded a ton of auditions, ordered a yummy Domino’s pizza and typed out Wally’s Week. It was pretty much an ideal day.

Tuesday the 12th – MUSIC MESS MASTERED! – The A/V guy who has been helping me with the audio issue in my house (see previous Wally’s Weeks) came back to install my new DirecTV receiver to see if that fixed the issue of not having any right channel of audio throughout my house. He hooked it up and VOILA! It worked! It was nice having full stereo in all of my rooms! It was definitely the case of a bad output channel on my old receiver. We balanced the audio in all the rooms and it sounds terrific – just like the old days! I spent most of the day working on a photo project; organizing my photo files and color correcting those that needed it. I spoke with a guy who runs a recommended body/paint shot for Ford vehicles about getting some paint touch-ups done on my Mustang. Since it’s a collectible 2003 model it needs to be taken to an approved Ford body shop for the work done in order to maintain its collectability. I think I’ll be taking it into the shop in a few weeks. I’m sure it’ll look fantastic when it’s completed. I worked around the house all day, and then I started writing the scripts for some short videos I want to produce to exhibit the Christoween Stalkings I had fabricated. Each of the 14 videos will highlight the attributes to each product. Since my friend Michelle is due to come out for a visit next week, and she’s an actress and model, I’m going to film her exhibiting the Stalkings while I narrate. These will be so much fun! (Why didn’t I do these during the Christmas season!?) Once again I recorded a ton of Voice Over auditions. When I finished those up, I recorded some more of the elf character bits sent to me by the host of my favorite Christmas radio show. It’s such an honor to be involved, and it’ll be fabulous hearing them integrated into this year’s “Christmas Across the Lands” show in Christmas 2021! I spent a little time recording some vocals for a new song my pal Scott Sebring wrote. I sent him four different versions to help build a chorus he’s layering together for the song. I went through my bank statements (both personal and corporate) to get everything settled for the year 2020. It appeared some extra money had been taken out of my corporate account that I hadn’t anticipated, due to a difference in the amount of taxes withheld. I had been told by my accountant one figure, but this figure on my bank statement didn’t add up. Luckily, since it was now early Wednesday morning, I was able to get my accountant on the phone to clarify it. We agreed that next year, he’s only going to give me the two most important figures that I’ll need to settle my account in a way I understand. I was given so many figures at the end of 2020 that I was a bit confused as to what the final figures were. He told me a lot of “accountant speak” which I don’t even pretend to understand, so I told him he has to speak to me like a 2nd grader from now on. “Just the facts, maam,” is my new mantra with him. I had intended to enjoy some chili cheese dogs before turning in, but with horror I realized that I had no chili in my pantry. So I made a sandwich and some soup and began watching season 2 of “The Invaders!”

Wednesday the 13th – STALKING STACKING! – There was some work that needed to be done around the house, and I did some more work with my photo project. It was another day with a large slate of Voice Over auditions, and when I completed those I did some more writing on my Stalking demo videos. These are going to be FUN!

Thursday the 14th – A CLASSY CLASS! – A few friends of mine who live a few hours up north who has a granddaughter in the 8th grade. She’s in a drama class who enjoys having guest speakers via Zoom, who speak about the entertainment industry and the business of acting. They hadn’t had anyone in the Voice Acting industry speak to them yet, so I was happy to get on-line and spend about an hour answering their questions. It ended up being a lot of fun, but it’s so hard to get a read on something liked this because they all have to stay muted until it’s time for them to ask their questions. But the “post-game” review was very good. When I finished I headed out to run some errands. I got a smog check for my Mustang, which is required every other year, and then I got some lunch at McDonalds. I dropped my faulty DirecTV box off at FedEx, so they can return it to the company, and got my Mustang a much-needed bath at the car wash. I picked up my packages at my mailbox (there were a LOT since I hadn’t been there in a while), got some groceries and headed home. My 93 year old “adopted grandma” Shirley told me that the place she’s now living in Palm Springs will be giving out vaccines in a week and she’s on the list. I made some phone calls, did some more photo editing, and recorded the singing part of an audition that I had cut a few days ago. I edited it on to the end of my audition and sent it to my agent. I recorded the narrations for the Stalking videos, and went out in the night with Roxy for our late-night stroll through the neighborhood. Because the days were so unseasonably warm, the night’s weather was very interesting too. Since it’s January it was cool, but not cold, and occasionally I would hit a pocket of warm air that felt very nice. I made some hot dogs on the grill and watched another episode of “The Invaders.”

Friday the 15th – RIDDLES, A STOGIE, AND A WEE DRAM! – Toward early evening I was scheduled to do a Zoom interview with a couple of guys who have a Batman-centric video podcast. The subject was The Riddler. More specifically, what role did Frank Gorshin’s legendary portrayal of him in the 1966 Batman TV series have in securing the character’s place among Batman’s most notably historic villains. It was a blast doing the interview, then I had a few hours to relax, and then I was back on Zoom to do a narration session for an on-line celebration of a Scottish poet named Robert Burns. Normally they have their annual appreciation supper in person, but this year they could not. So all of the presentations will be featured on-line, and I will be introducing all of the events. I even found out what a ‘wee dram’ is! I did some more work with my photo files and frankly, I was ready to put this project to bed. I walked Roxy on our late-night stroll through the neighborhood and had an amazing cigar. Again, it was cool out, but not cold. I came back inside and made some spaghetti and watched “The Invaders.”

Saturday the 16th – JUST LIKE PALM SPRINGS!? – By the time I awoke in the early evening, and was walking Roxy, we heard a bunch of voices out behind our building. Several of my neighbors had their dogs out there and were watching the dogs play. So Roxy and I decided to join in as well. It was gorgeous out – very warm and pleasant. Plus, we were all facing the western sky, so as we chatted and watched the doggies frolic, we also got to watch the sun set. It was amazing. Warm, sunset, doggies – it all reminded me a bit of being in Palm Springs. I ordered some food to go from Ernie’s Taco House and headed out to pick it up. I gassed up the Mustang, picked up a few supplies at the neighborhood market, and came home to enjoy my dinner. Not wanting to wait until Sunday or Monday, I decided now was a good time to record all my auditions, which were due on Tuesday. I recorded a few more elf lines for “Christmas Across the Lands,” and made my traditional “Saturday Night Super Saint Salad” and watched another episode of “The Saint” before bed.

Sunday the 17th – YOU’RE SO NEGATIVE! – My friend Michelle in Florida was due for another visit, but in the past few weeks had contracted the Wu Flu, so she had been in quarantine for a while. She was supposed to visit the previous week, but had to delay her trip because of it. She got a follow-up test and it came back NEGATIVE! Great! So her re-planned and rescheduled trip to L.A. could go ahead as anticipated, and we would be able to shoot those Stalking videos! My pal James brought Barone’s pizza over later, and my buddy Officer Mark came over too. We dined and then watched “Munster Go Home” on Blu Ray. It’s always great seeing the original Munster cast (except for Marilyn) in full, living(dead) color! After they left I worked around the house to get ready for Michelle’s early Monday morning arrival.

Monday the 18th – MICHELLE MONDAY! – A few hours of sleep and I was up and ready to greet Michelle. She was taking an uber from LAX and arrived around 11am. We immediately drove over to Denny’s to get some breakfast and brought it back to Planet Wallywood to eat. We chatted the rest of the day as she got unpacked, and we got caught up on all the goings-on. She also got to catch up on her Roxy and Spook pettings. It was another stellar, warm day – and some neighbors had their dogs out in the courtyard playing again. Roxy loves watching the younger dogs play, and I can tell that she wants to get involved – but she just doesn’t have the same youthful energy those young doggies have. It was kind of like having our own in-complex dog park! I had finished up all of my auditions so I had nothing to record, so we just sat around enjoying the rest of the MLK Jr. holiday. Later I typed out Wally’s Week.

And how was YOUR week?!

PIX FROM THE WEEK