RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

Couldn’t have said it better myself!

You just never know when you’re going to find a gem.  There I was, standing in line at my dry cleaner’s last Tuesday night, and the video screen behind the counter was playing this video. I could NOT take my eyes off.  The song was amazing, and thankfully the artist’s name came up at the end of the video.  This guy kicks booty!  John Newman!  Awesome video! Wonderful song called “Love Me Again!”  It’s everything that’s great about rock and roll!

WEEK BODY TEXT

Monday the 6th – CATCHING UP! – The ol’ trusty hotline rang around 11:45, and the voice at the other end told me to be into “The Tonight Show” studios at 1:45 to record some comedy bits. My A/V guy Mark Ackerman was scheduled to come at 2 so he could do some work in my upstairs entertainment center. So I called Sara my assistant to make sure she would be here in time to let him in. I got into NBC and it sure was good to be back after two weeks off for the Christmas and New Year’s holiday break. I recorded two bits and then sped off to Taco Bell to get lunch. After I opened the show I sat at the computer during the taping and worked on Wally’s Week. Because my schedule over the holidays was so nutty, I had three weeks’ worth of Wally’s Weeks to do. We finished show number 23, and we now only have 22 left before we’re done. I stopped by my mailbox and picked up some mail, then got home and napped on the couch for a few hours. When I got up I finished up Wally’s Weeks, which took me several hours to complete. Lotsa fun stories! I did some auditions, sent them into my agents, then fed and walked Roxy and hit the hay to watch “Magnum P.l.” and have some dinner.

Tuesday the 7th – A FISH COME TRUE! – I got to sleep til 1, which was nice, and when I got up I hit the computer and started in on editing my new animation demo. I’m doing all new voice-over demos for 2014, and since most of my new material is from animation, I figured I’d start on that one first. As I was working a call came in to let me know there was a “TS” bit in my inbox. I recorded it and sent it in, then finished up my work and got ready for work. I stopped by Subway to get a footlong tuna on white, then headed into NBC. After I opened the show I walked around and talked to staff members. We only have another 21 shows so I’m going to try to get around and talk to many of the gang before we wrap up for good. After the show I stopped by my mailbox to get my mail and…GLORY HALLELUJAH! My aquarium DVD showed up! This was the video I first fell in love with while staying at the Hyatt in Palm Springs. After much investigation which literally took years (see previous Wally’s Week) I found the correct one and now it’s mine! ALL MINE! I took it home and popped it in, and it looks great! I immediately ordered another copy for my pal Edi, who loves it as much as I do. I grabbed a short nap on the couch for a few hours, then got up to do a TON of auditions! I did some work around the house, then fed and walked Roxy. I needed to get some grocery items, so I loaded up some empty boxes in my car. In L.A. county, plastic grocery bags have been outlawed. So you either have to buy paper bags for 10 cents a piece (paper bags always rip and are utterly useless) or bring your own reusable bags to collect your groceries. Now all this has been passed by some idiotic council in L.A. who obviously has nothing better to do. But you can still (oddly enough) get plastic bags in the vegetable aisle for your fruits and vegetables. You can also still buy plastic garbage bags in all sorts of sizes. Typical politicians. Stupid stupid stupid. I refuse to buy stupid paper bags that are just going to rip and be thrown away. And I won’t buy my own reusable bags because they’re stupid. One gal at the store told me that when people bring their bags in, sometimes they’re not so hygenic. Full of stains and smells from everybody’s houses. YUCK! So I took the groceries in the cart out to my car and loaded them in the boxes. Then I just carried the boxes into the house when I got home. Easy. But since I used to use those plastic grocery bags to pick up Roxy’s droppings, I guess now I’ll just pick it up and throw it in my neighbor’s yard and let them worry about it. (KIDDING!) I made a Tombstone pizza and watched another “Magnum P.I.” episode.

And here’s some video of the aquarium DVD.

Wednesday the 8th – ELVIS WOULD HAVE BEEN HOW OLD??? – The answer is…79! Hard to believe. Even harder to imagine the King of Rock & Roll being close to 80! When I got up at 1 I did some work around the house, made some phone calls, answered some e-mails, and even got a call from Tony Clifton himself! I worked on ideas and concepts for artwork for my new promo package. It’s kind of a “reintroduction” package to the voice-over casting directors and producers whom I haven’t been able to see much the past four and a half years, because of my “TS” schedule. I tried to start the Gran Torino, but it wouldn’t start. I checked my records and the last time I drove it was on December 13th. So it had been sitting almost a full month. Something gradually drains the battery so it won’t turn over. So I hopped in the Mustang and headed to work. I opened the show and then went upstairs to the ticket booth. But as the show wraps up it’s getting harder and harder to get anyone on the list. Most all of the tickets have been spoken for. We wrapped up the show and I headed home to feed Spook and walk Roxy. Just as I was settling down for a nap I got a call from my old pal Dave in South Dakota. It was fun catching up. I felt guilty because we had been having such great weather in L.A., and back in the midwest it was worse than awful. I grabbed a short nap on the couch, then got up to do some laundry, continue working on my voice-over demos, and do my auditions. I fixed a few things around my house, including my dryer’s lint screen. I also fixed the “Roxy-proof” hook on the bathroom door, so she couldn’t slip in and eat Spook’s food. I made a giant salad and watched “Magnum P.I.” before bed.

Thursday the 9th – WATER YA TALKIN’ ABOUT?! – Although I woke up at 11:30, I looked at the clock and rolled over and slept until 1. Roxy was cuddling with me on my bed and since she was panting I got up to get her some water. But I turned on the faucet and NOTHING! No water! I called our complex’s management company and they said a water main had broken around 10 and they were busily fixing it. I went outside and found the plumber and he said it should be on soon. But I looked at the clock and realized that I only had a few hours before I had to be into work. Not wanting to go into work grungy, I started making alternate cleansing plans. It was 2 and still no water! I called to see if I could use one of the dressing rooms at work, and use the shower there. They said it should be fine. But I took a dip in the jacuzzi just in case I couldn’t work it out. But the jacuzzi was also under repair and wasn’t that hot. I went back inside and started packing a bag for work. I put in some soap, a towel and a change of clothes. I was heading out the door to work when I heard a gurgling sound. The water was back on at 2:47! Thank God! I dashed into the shower and got ready for work! Whew! Not a moment too soon! I made it to work and met up with my pal Dave Sebastian Williams and his wife Terri who were my guests at the show that day. Also, Dr. Len and his wife Karen were there too. Dr. Len is cousins with my friend Bruce Kulick, and I met him at Bruce’s wedding last Saturday night. I was just able to squeeze he and his wife on to the list for the taping. I gave them all a backstage tour afterwards, and as I was driving Dr. Len and Karen back to their car I happened to mention that I would be recording voice work for the cartoon “Bleach” next week. Dr. Len said his son is a HUGE “Bleach” fan, so we called him on the phone. I did the voice of Renji and called him. He couldn’t figure out what was going on. He asked his folks, “Is this a soundboard?” He thought they were goofing on him with a computer program! But they explained that I was the guy who did Renji’s voice on the show. He was amazed and asked me to sign something for him that his folks could bring back home. I didn’t have anything on me, so I told them I would bring something by their hotel later. I stopped by KFC to get some food, then went home. I snoozed for a few minutes on the couch until my pal Emily came by to give me a massage. I wasn’t that tense, but since I had spent four days in Palm Springs, my skin was super dry and needed moisturizing. While Emily got set up, I drove over to the Sportsmen’s Lodge with some photos to sign for Dr. Len’s kids. What nice folks! When I got home I took a dip in the jacuzzi (it was hot again!) and then got my massage. Emily said my skin really was dry, as the oil would soak right in as soon as she put it on. I felt pretty good. I did my auditions, then did some more work on my animation demo. There’s such a wealth of material, the tough part is going to be cutting it down to a reasonable size. I fed and walked Roxy, then made some dinner and headed to bed to watch “Magnum P.I.”

Friday the 10th – TORINO-K! – Roxy and Spook hopped up on the bed at 10:30 and wanted to cuddle. And who am I to refuse two very cute animals? I got up to walk Roxy and it was an absolutely gorgeous day! I decided that I was going to try and jump the Gran Torino and get it going. Plan A was to jump it with the little portable battery-jumping device I carry in the trunk of the Torino. However I wasn’t sure if the charge in the device was still active. Plan B was to jump it with my Mustang. Plan A worked perfectly! It was good to hear the ol’ gal purr and roar again. I rolled down the windows and drove to Wendy’s to get lunch. I called my old pal Steve “Hutch” Hatt in South Dakota to see how he was doing. Every time I hear good 70’s music and drive the Torino, it makes me think of my old pal who used to play Hutch to my Starsky when we were 14 years old, and dreaming of someday owning a “striped tomato.” After lunch I headed to “TTS” to start the day. But first I wanted to sit in the car and listen to the 70’s channel on the satellite radio while I finished my lunch. Just before I was due to go in, one of my favorite 70’s songs came on! “The Boys Are Back In Town” by Thin Lizzy rocked the Torino as the memories of days gone by flooded my brain. Fun! We finished the taping and I headed home with a stop at my mailbox to collect my packages. When I got home to walk Roxy her young friend was outside in his little motor car with his nanny. He’s about 4 and loves Roxy. He always looks at my hands and if I’m not carrying a full bag of doggie droppings he says, “No poop?” I said, “Nope…not yet.” He says (in typical 4 year old fashion), “Why?” Explaining the biological functions of my dog isn’t my idea of a good time, so I usually try to change the subject. Roxy loves this kid. She’s so gentle with him. She gets right up next to him (they’re about the same height) and lets him pet her. I went inside to grab a nap on the couch, then got up to do some work around the house. The maids came earlier in the day so it’s completely clean. I worked on the computer organizing photo files, then I started my dubbing campaign again. Now that my mini DV cameras are back from the repair shop, I have about 30 tapes that need to be transferred to DVD before I store the tapes for posterity in my underground storage area. The recently repaired cameras were working well. I dubbed a few and then fed and walked Roxy. While we were on our late night stroll through the neighborhood, I started craving Denny’s. So I phoned them up and got an order to go. I hopped in the Torino and picked it up at 4am. There’s something about driving that car through the gritty streets of L.A. in the middle of the night that’s magical. I watched another “Magnum P.I.” episode and ate my food, then hit the hay.

Saturday the 11th – BEE CAREFUL WITH THAT! – It was time for Roxy’s bath, so I walked her over to Rusty’s around 1pm. When I came back to my house I saw my neighbor Caroline swimming in the pool, so I stopped for a second to chat. My pal Edi came by so we could go to lunch and run errands, and we were talking about the decimation of the bee population. “What do you think’s causing it?” Caroline asked. Just then a bee flew next to us and landed on the ground. It stumbled around for awhile and looked disoriented and confused. “He looks sick,” she said. He buzzed his wings and flew off. I was telling her that I had seen lots of dead bees around our pool area. I wasn’t sure why they congregated around our pool to die. At that moment a bee buzzed by us and took a nose dive directly into our pool! His little legs were flailing about and he was clearly drowning. I waded into the pool and splashed him out of the pool. He was laying there soaked on the cement catching his breath. Good! A bee saved! Then I realized…I’M FULLY DRESSED! Not only did I have my money, money clip, and business cards in my pocket, but I felt on my waist and sure enough…my CELL PHONE was there too! Rats! Luckily my cell phone is one of those Casio models that are advertised as water resistant. Well…we’ll see how water resistant it is. I got out of the pool and opened it up, and it was still on! Amazing! I felt foolish that I had dome something so impulsive without thinking, but at least the bee survived! I showered up and Edi and I went to lunch in the Torino. As we were coming out of the grocery store I saw Ed Asner in his Prius trying to get out of his car. I said, “Mr. Asner, do you need some help?’ He said, “No thanks, I’m just catching my breath.” I wished him well and walked on with Edi. And shortly thereafter I heard him yell, “But thank you!” Pretty cool. I got home and took the groceries in, and then walked over to get Roxy from the groomer’s. When she’s clean she’s so fluffy and bright. I grabbed a quick nap when I got home and then got up for movie night. After my guests left I got busy around the house, doing more organizing of photo folders, and more dubbing of Mini DV tapes to DVD. I even did some artwork for the DVD covers. But I was having issues with the Memorex ExPressit program that I was using. I was betting that it was pretty old, and incompatible with my latest computer. I’ve had this program forever. I also noticed that my phone isn’t holding a charge for as long as it used to. Maybe the battery got wet after all. Luckily I have two back-up batteries I can use if this one turns out to be irreparably damaged. I had my usual “Saturday Night Saint and Salad” night and not only enjoyed an episode of “The Saint,” but watched another “Magnum P.I.” episode as well. By the time I got to bed it was around 10am Sunday morning…a warm, cloudy and breezy morning!

Sunday the 12th – A DAY OF REZZZZZZZZZZT! – After sleeping only five hours, I got up at 4 and walked Roxy. I gave she and Spook a snack and I had a bowl of Frosted Flakes. But I was still pretty tired so I went back to bed. I ended up sleeping another 3 or 4 hours. It was good to have a day of nothing to do but sleep. With all of the colds and flus going around out there, I wanted to make sure to get plenty of rest to fend off any invading illnesses. I started feeling pretty energetic later in the evening, so I cleaned the living room, put away all the chairs, blankets and pillows from movie night, and completely cleaned my couch and the riser it sits on. I put away some CDs in my rack, then set about dubbing more mini DV tapes to DVD. I did a bunch of auditions, then fed and walked Roxy. I made some Spaghetti-O’s and watched another “Magnum P.I.” episode. I only have another 7 episodes to go until I’m done with the second season. Wow! Time flies!

And how was YOUR week??!!