July 17 – July 23 (2017) – Wally On The Web

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

When my “adopted grandma” Shirley isn’t around, my cat Spooky misses her. He holds vigil next to her pillow.

There are few that can tell a story to music like Charlie Daniels. I’ve always loved “Uneasy Rider.”

Monday the 17th – THE SLOOOOOW WEEK BEGINS! – The whole week is going to be slow because most everybody in town is in San Diego for the Comic Con. I decided not to go this year for several reasons. First, I’m fairly burned out on cons. I’ve been going to the SDCC fairly regularly since 1994. I’ve pretty much done and seen everything there is to do that’s fun at the San Diego Comic Con; cosplay/buying/events/doing panels. Secondly, when it came time to register for badges, I was sinus-deep in nasal problems with no immediate end in sight. I didn’t want to plan for a trip I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make due to my nutty sinuses. So I decided to take it easy this week, get some stuff done and basically enjoy the hot summer weather. I did a little work around the house, recorded a few auditions, read and sent some e-mails, made some phone calls, and did an interview at 6pm about my relationship with the late great Adam West. Then my pal Brittney Powell came over and we went to dinner at Jerry’s Famous Deli. It was a gorgeous night that reminded me a lot of what I like about the nights in Palm Springs. I came back home and grabbed a short nap on The Most Comfortable Couch in the Universe. When I woke up it was pretty hot in my house. So I turned the A/C back on and did a ton of auditions. Later I fed and walked Roxy on our late night stroll through the neighborhood. It was gorgeous, again like Palm Springs; there were a lot of stars out. I came back inside to write Wally’s Week. I made some pizza rolls and watched another episode of “The Outer Limits.” I’m digging the heck out of this show!! WAY ahead of its time!

Tuesday the 18th – TWISTED TUESDAY! – Boy was it a weird day! I was awakened at noon to the sound of a dog next to me getting ready to barf. Roxy had thrown up for some reason the night before, so I sprang awake and moved her quickly to the floor and put the waste basket in front of her. But the rapid-fire movement surprised her so much, she forgot to actually barf. The look on her face was that of utter surprise! I put her in the vanity area (with the marble floor) so we could get a few more hours’ worth of sleep. When I got up later I did a few last-minute auditions in my home studio, and then I drove off to Voicecasters in Burbank to do an audition for an Arco radio commercial. Any time I’m in that area, I like to get a yummy pizza at Roundtable Pizza. While I really love Wendy’s, Arby’s and Roundtable Pizza, I’m VERY thankful there aren’t any close to me. Otherwise I’d be 500 pounds! While I was waiting for my pizza a gal with dark hair, facial piercings and tattoos up to her neck started talking to me. She looked at the cap I was wearing with the Starsky & Hutch Gran Torino swoosh on it and she said, “I have that cap.” I told her I didn’t think so, since it was a show that was on about 20 years before she was born. She thought it was a Nike cap. Then we started talking about movies. She said she was going to smoke pot and go see Spider-Man. (I think she was inviting me along). I told her I saw it and though I had tried pot about a half dozen times in the early 80’s, I hadn’t smoked pot since. Then we started talking about the new “Planet of the Apes” movie. She said, “You’d be fun to hang around with high.” I told her I was more fun to hang around with not high. Clearly we had nothing in common. She asked if I was a musician, “Musicians always break my heart.” I told her while I was a session singer and songwriter; I was more of a Voice Over artist. Then she told me about her two kids and the cartoons they watch. Just my luck! I hardly ever get hit on, and when I do it’s by a girl who only wants to hang around with me while she’s stoned out of her mind. She realized the conversation wasn’t going where she had hoped, so she got her pizza, said goodbye and took off. Sheesh. I ate my pizza on the way to my mailbox and picked up a package. Then I went to the cleaners to pick up my comforter, and then headed home. The day had gotten even weirder when I got home. My internet was totally out. It happens sometimes in the middle of the night when they’re doing maintenance, but hardly ever in the middle of the day. So, considering there wasn’t much I could do in the way of auditions or e-mails, I grabbed a nap on The Most Comfortable Couch in the Universe. When I got up later the internet was back on and I did a ton of auditions. I did a little design work on the computer and then fed and walked Roxy. I enjoyed some leftover Roundtable pizza and another episode of “The Outer Limits.” Though based on the day I had, the “Outer Limits” episode was tame by comparison! But it was a VERY sexy episode called “ZZZZZ” and starred a gal who was WAY too sexy for 1964! Her name is Joanna Frank (I was so taken with her I looked her up) and she looked like this in the episode. Stunning and sexy! WOW! What a face!

Joanna Frank

Wednesday the 19th – PRINTER PROBLEM! – When I got up at 2:30 I had a few last-minute auditions to record and send into my agent. Then my neighbor Bob and I walked over to my church to check out the social hall. His mom’s 100th birthday is coming up in April and I may help him throw a huge shindig for her, similar to the one we did for my “adopted grandma” Shirley last March. I got back home and loaded my Brother laser printer into my car. The “fusing unit” had gone south which was putting horrible wrinkles in my paper. I figured something was wrong when little bits of orange plastic started coming through the print rollers. According to the repair shop, this happens with those printers a lot. It’ll cost about $250 parts and labor, but considering that a new laser printer of this type is about 500 bucks, it probably makes more sense to fix this one. I got some lunch at the McDonalds drive-thru, and then headed to the hardware store to get some Gorilla glue. A wheel on the rolling table I keep in the Tranquility Zone had fallen off. I know this glue will do the trick permanently. (Does everything in my life need repair!!??) I went home to do one audition, work on-line, and then my trainer Natalie Duran came over for a workout. She wore me out, so when she left I grabbed a long nap. I got up later and fed the kids, walked Roxy on our late night stroll through the neighborhood, and then came inside to make some food and watch another episode of “The Outer Limits.” I gotta say…this show is consistently amazing. This was one of the best episodes yet, and it was called “The Invisibles.” Really compelling and exciting! It starred Don Gordon, “Dick” Dawson (later known as Richard), and Neil Hamilton; Commissioner Gordon from the “Batman” TV series. What a cast!

Thursday the 20th – TWO-FER! – I did a little work when I got up at 11, and then headed to Voice Trax West for a quick session at noon. I headed over to Staples to get some ink for my inkjet printer, since my laser printer was in the shop. I stopped off at home, and then headed over to the local car wash to get my Mustang bathed. It really needed it badly! I hit Taco Bell on the way home to get some food, and then went over to Studiopolis in Burbank for my second session of the day. This was for a “Sailor Moon” episode. I play a guy named Yuichiro who is wildly in love with the character named Rae. It’s always a fun time because it’s such a wacky show. I stopped by my mailbox on the way home to get some packages and checks (yay checks!), I swapped out the Mustang for the Gran Torino, and then headed home to relax. I got a short nap, and then got up for a bunch of auditions. When I finished I prepped a couple of deposits to take to my bank on Friday. Then I made some chili and watched “The Belarus Shield,” an “Outer Limits” episode starring the late Martin Landau. He was amazing, as always.

Friday the 21st – #gladimnotatcomiccon – Though I was reading all the Tweets and posts from Comic Con, I sure was glad I wasn’t there. I was having way too much fun lazing around the house and enjoying life. The thought of fighting my way through a mob of people with sore feet and a sore back didn’t appeal to me much. My old pal Joe Garner came over for a tour of Planet Wallywood at 2. After he left I hopped in the Gran Torino and drove over to The Wizard printing to pick up my Elliot Lurie baseball tees. The silk screen process turned out very well! I took my deposits to the bank and then headed home. My neighbor Caroline said she could go to Paty’s for dinner, so I texted my assistant Sara and had her meet us there. It was a very enjoyable dinner with good friends. I kept laughing thinking about the one hour wait at all the food places near the Comic Con, just as my chicken Caesar wrap arrived. I saw my old pal Chad Randau and his girlfriend Lisa, so we chatted for a while. We also met a couple who had just moved to L.A. from New York and we talked to them about their Havanese dog Zoe. Caroline had her Havanese named Ridley with us, so it was funny seeing them together. Even though Zoe put Ridley in his place more than once! It was a gorgeous evening with a cool summer breeze blowing through the patio area of Paty’s. I made sure to get a picture so I could Tweet out later with the hashtag #gladimnotatcomiccon! I got home and did a little work, grabbed a short nap, and then got up later to do some work around the house. I called Sara and had her run to Denny’s to get some food to go, and then she came over to enjoy and episode of “Outer Limts” with me.

Saturday the 22nd – #stillgladimnotatcomiccon! – Sleeping until 3 sure felt good! I walked Roxy and then worked on re-labeling the audio files in my personal log folder. I took the Torino out to get some groceries and came home to unload them. Brittney came over so we could meet up with a bunch of friends at Bob’s Big Boy for a big dinner. Since some of our regular movie night gang was at Comic Con, the rest of us “stay-behinds” met for a yummy dinner. It sure was a fun time! I got home to relax, did a little work around the house, napped for a bit, and then got up later to feed and walk Roxy. On our late-night stroll around the neighborhood I enjoyed a nice, leisurely Montecristo cigar. I came back inside to do some more work on my personal log folder. Then I made my traditional Saturday night Super Salad and watched a terrific episode of “Hee Haw.” That show was utterly amazing! I wish we didn’t live in such a cynical world. That way maybe a show like “Hee Haw” could be reinvented and done for today’s audience. But the charm and simplicity of “Hee Haw” just wouldn’t play to today’s jaded audience. It would need more violence and darkness in order to fly; not to mention some zombiefied Hee Haw Honeys. Ugh. Pass.

Sunday the 23rd – SCANNING SCARE! – The pets and I slept until 4, at which time I got up to get ready to attend a meeting at church at 5:30. The normal service I attend is on a hiatus for a few weeks so the venue can be repainted and the format of the service can be tweaked. This was a brainstorming session involving many of the attendees to see what new ideas we can come up with. They had pizza and beverages. It was a good meeting. But when I walked home I had a slight headache, so I laid down for a short nap. I got up later feeling much better and did some auditions. I went through some of my old photo boxes and found a few pictures that didn’t get scanned during my extensive scanning process recently. Then, with horror, I found two big binders of photos of my kids that didn’t get in on the scanning project! Since they were photos of my kids from when they were very small, I put them in a secluded, protected place. But during the scanning procedure they totally slipped my mind. They were TOO well protected! So now I need to scan both of the books myself and transfer the files over to my “photo computer,” as well as the external hard drive I have set up for photo archiving. Later I enjoyed a ham and Swiss sandwich on a baguette and watched another “Outer Limits” episode! While I was glad I stayed home from Comic Con this year, I’m thinking that next year I may need to go. With the new “Invader Zim” movie special coming to Nickelodeon next year, I wouldn’t be surprised if they do some huge launch at next year’s convention. So I’d better keep my “con gear” handy!

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK