RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
While my cat Spooky was relaxing on a chair enjoying a sunset that was coming in through my kitchen window, I snapped this shot. Cute or what?!
This song came on the radio the other day while I was cruising home in my freshly washed Mustang, and it sounded great! I hadn’t heard it in years! All weekend, I had it stuck in my head and it wouldn’t leave. One of the greatest music videos ever! Weezer’s “Buddy Holly!”
Monday the 2nd – BREEZIN’ OUT OF THE DESERT! – My eyes shot open at 10am and I knew vacation was over. I was ready to get back home. I threw some last minute things in my bag, packed up the Mustang and headed down the 111 at 11am. Good luck? The drive home was a breeze…nice and easy with good flowing traffic. I got home easily by 1 and unpacked. I did some stuff around the house, which included some heavy cuddle time with the pets. I checked e-mails, did a few other things then caught a nap later in the afternoon. I got up in the evening to finish up Wally’s Week and do a few auditions that had come in. I settled in with soup and a sandwich and watched another episode of “Magnum, P.I.” with the pets on the bed. It was a good vacation, but it was great to be home again!
Tuesday the 3rd – DOROTHY IN! SCARECROW OUT! – As I’m approaching the final stages of work on my four “Wizard of Oz” character busts, I went over to my seamstress’ studio to pick up the Scarecrow. She had finished his tunic while I was in Palm Springs, and it came out looking great! I dropped Dorothy off with her so she could be fitted for her shirt and blue gingham dress. My seamstress Karyn’s husband is a set builder, and had a bunch of his crew over working on a new set. They all said they’re going to miss seeing the Scarecrow hanging around, but I showed them the weird-looking, bald Dorothy bust and they said she would make more than make up for the loss in the “strange” department. I also dropped off my Cesar Romer Joker 8” figure and fabric so she could start working on making him a new tuxedo. I also spoke with her about the way we’re going to make the bat ears for some more batcaps I’m making. We just need to find the perfect formula for making them durable, yet pliable, and then covering them with the bat fabric. On the drive back to my house I talked to my folks on the phone. I hadn’t spoken to them for a while since they had been on a two week vacation with my sister’s family in Orlando. I got home and fed Roxy and Spook, then sped off to the local hardware store to get bolts for the Scarecrow bust. For presentation purposes, I’d like him to lean forward a little more, so I need to get some bolts installed into the bottom back of the bust for height adjustment. If I need more I unscrew the bolts, if I need less I screw them in deeper. With a quick stop at Rusty’s Pets to pick up another tub of vitamins for Roxy, I dashed back home to start work on the Scarecrow. The bolts worked OK, but not what I had hoped. Back to the drawing board. I think I need to get a different kind of bolt and nut to achieve the desired result. I took a quick dip in the Jacuzzi then napped on the couch. When I got up there were a ton of auditions waiting for me in my inbox, so I got to work on those. Then I enjoyed the final “Magnum, P.I.” episode from season 3 and had dinner before bed.
Wednesday the 4th – “HAWAII FIVE-OOOOH!” – I met for lunch with my buddy Pete, the Co-Producer on “Hawaii Five-O.” We talked about some exciting things and ideas. We’re working on a project together so we needed this time to toss around ideas. I got back home and did some work around the house, and my assistant Sara came over to start photographing stuff and listing it on ebay. When the day came that I couldn’t squeeze another shirt or pair of pants into my closet space without a hydraulic wedge, I knew it was time to purge. So I tossed out every shirt and pair of pants I no longer wear. Some no longer fit, some were no longer my style, and some I had never worn. But the types of clothes in my closet aren’t exactly the types that are just given over to Goodwill. They’re a little on the “odd” side, to say the least. So to appeal to a niche crowd I had her list them on ebay. I don’t care if I make any money on them, I just want them to go to a good home. I grabbed an evening nap and then again got up to do a ton of auditions. There’s a huge TV franchise that’s doing a videogame, and there were 17 characters in this one audition alone! WOW! I sent out my movie night invites to my guests, fed and walked Roxy on our late night stroll, and went out to get some grocery items. I got back, put the groceries away and settled in for “Wonder Woman” season 3. But the first episode was really awful. It featured Leif Garrett as a kidnapped teen idol who had a twin who substituted for him while he was abducted. While it was dumb, the irony struck me. It was just five nights ago when I was laying around the Hyatt pool in Palm Springs talking to some ladies about 70’s trivia and they brought up Leif Garrett. I told them he was famous for the song “I Was Made For Dancin’ (A-A-A-All Night Long).” They had never heard of the song before, but the song figured prominently into the episode (And NO, it’s NOT going to be my “What’s Wally Humming” song of the week!) I’m hoping that all the third season “Wonder Woman” episodes aren’t going to be this awful.
Thursday the 5th – YOUR ‘LION’ EYES! – My pal Sergio Lopez came over in the afternoon to talk about plans for the “Wizard of Oz” Cowardly Lion bust. We figured we needed to build him up considerably, since he was pretty bulky in the movie. Sara came over to do more ebay stuff, and when I wrapped up with Sergio I headed over to the legendary Barron’s Hats in Burbank to start the process of making the Scarecrow’s hat. I had several photos of him for them to follow, and it looked like they had just the thing! They were so impressed with the Scarecrow bust that they were taking photos of him to put on their Facebook page! Though it’ll take several weeks for the hat to be completed, I think it’ll turn out perfect. Now I just have to deduce the formula for how they made the Scarecrow’s hat band. It looks like a different fabric than his tunic, but the same color. And it’s braided in parts, and not braided in others, but still knotted. Very tricky, but I think I need to pop the movie in a few more times just to be sure. After all, it’s my favorite movie of all time, so it won’t be a difficult task! I went over to Toys ‘R’ Us to find something to approximate the Lion’s shoulders. The busts I used for the figures don’t have shoulders, but since the Lion is so bulky we need something to attach to the bust to fill out the visual. I found the greatest pieces! It was a kid’s Ant Hill toy, with a clear plastic cover shaped like a shoulder pad…round and tapered! I could detach the plastic pieces from the Ant Hill and bolt them on to the Lion bust. Perfect! I hit the Wendy’s drive thru for lunch, and then went to Staples to buy a mailing tube to make arms for the Scarecrow. They don’t need to be necessarily big, but I just want some sort of presence in his shirt sleeves to denote arms of some sort. In the parking lot at Staples I saw my buddy Chat and we chatted for a while. I stopped by the bank on the way home to make a deposit, and then I hit the hardware store again to get some more nuts and bolts to attach the Scarecrow’s new arms to the bust. I got home and cut some leather strips to attach the tubes to the bust with, and started working. It all worked out very well, but I need to go back the next day to get some more for the Lion’s shoulders. I took a break from working to meet up with my pal Brittney Powell for dinner at Coral Café in Burbank, and then I came back home to grab a nap. I told myself I was going to wake up exactly at 1am and my body clock worked! I sprang awake exactly at 1. I did several auditions and then prepped the house for my carpet guy who would be coming first thing in the morning to replace some worn out padding under the carpet on my stairways.
Friday the 6th – CRAZY CREATIVE DAY! – I got up at 10am (rare for me) to meet my carpet guy Shaun…but no Shaun. I called him and didn’t get an answer. I called the carpet company and they said they would find him. About a half hour later he called and said he had gotten held up on another job, but would be over around noon. That gave me just enough time to hit the hardware store again to get some more bolts for the Lion’s shoulders. I also went to my printer to get some new Batman emblems printed for my 12” Adam West Batman figure. I hit Taco Bell for lunch and made it home just in time to meet up with my pal Sergio. We set about bolting the “Ant Hill” shoulder pieces to the Lion’s bust. They worked like a charm! It will give Sergio exactly the contours he’ll need to start padding up the Lion for his “furring” and “hairing” process. Shaun arrived and started working on the carpet. Then my electrician Electric Bob came by to discuss plans for re-doing the bathroom in the Puppet Room. Since Kermit the Frog is a centerpiece in the room, and now the Oz busts will be as well, I’m going with an emerald-colored theme! While Sergio started padding up the Lion, I started working on the Scarecrow’s height-adjusting bolts in the back of the bust. The bolts, nuts and washers I found worked perfectly! The time came where Sergio had to leave, so we committed to continue next week. Shaun finished up the work and cleared out his stuff, and I went over to my neighbor’s house to walk their dog Abby…a beautiful (but shy and timid) greyhound. I gave her some dinner, then came back home to feed my own pets. I took Roxy out for a bit and then came back inside to do some last-minute auditions that were due within the hour. But while I was at it, I also did my auditions that were due on Monday. That way I would have them all out of the way. I napped on the couch for a few hours, and then got up to do some work around the house. I did dishes, laundry, cleaned up, fed Roxy and took her on our late night stroll through the neighborhood, did some writing, and then made some spaghetti and watched another “Wonder Woman” episode. It’s sad, but it seems like the third season is a jinx for a lot of shows.
Saturday the 7th – THIS HORSE IS CLEAN! – By the time I got up at 2 I had tons to do before movie night. First stop was the KFC drive-thru for some lunch, then over to my box to get my mail. I got a few great samples of fabric from Spoonflower, an on-line company who prints fabric based on your designs. Since I had been making the famous Tony Clifton orange damask tuxedo pattern for jackets and shirts, I decided to do something really weird! Several years back I transformed a Mod Hair Ken doll into a Tony Clifton action figure, complete with rings and a cigarette. The seamstress at the time hand-made some fabric for his jacket, but now that I have the pattern and can print fabric in any size, it was time to upgrade! The print on the fabric came back 1/6th the size of the regular stuff, which was perfect for the figure. I got three different fabric samples and chose the one that worked the best. Now to get Karyn to replicate the miniature Clifton tuxedo for Mod Hair Ken Clifton’s new threads! I dropped off a comforter at the dry cleaners, and then hit the car wash. I had planned to get the Gran Torino out for a spin today, but I was sick of looking at my filthy Mustang. So it was time for a good wash and wax! It looked beautiful when it was finished. Particularly since it had just been repainted, polished and buffed a month ago! It was looking sharp for a 11 year old car! I drove home and got ready for movie night. I fed Spook and walked Roxy, and grabbed a short nap on the couch. Sara arrived around 7 to start cleaning up and laying out the snacks. We had a great evening watching a classic film from the 80’s! “The King of Comedy” had just been released on Blu Ray and it’s a masterpiece. Watching the panel discussion on the disc afterwards was great too. Scorsese, DeNiro and Jerry Lewis were all on the panel and it was hilarious! After the guests left I worked around the house, cleaning up and feeding Roxy. I took her for our late night stroll and then came back inside to make a huge salad and enjoy another Saturday Night Saint and Salad night! I didn’t get to bed until around 9am, but it was a nice, cool, gray Saturday morning. VERY peaceful and calm!
Sunday the 8th – DAY BLAHS – EO – Ever have one of those days where you just don’t feel like doing anything? I think Bruno Mars had a hit song about this very subject, though in the song he goes on to do a LOT of stuff. I woke up around 2 and had a case of the blahs. The week had been so busy and intense I just enjoyed kind of shutting down. I walked Roxy, gave the pets some treats, had a bowl of Lucky Charms, and then went back to bed. When I woke up at 6 I was still mellow and relaxed, so after feeding Spook and giving Roxy a snack and a walk, I hit the hay again and slept until 11:30pm! My body must’ve needed the sleep! But it didn’t stop there. At midnight I got up and moved from my bed to the couch and slept until 1:45am! What the heck?! I got up to feed Roxy and do some stuff around the house and started to feel some energy kicking back in again. I cleaned up from movie night, did some bookkeeping and paid some bills. I made dinner and watched “Wonder Woman” and went to bed for good around 7am! What a weird day! But maybe there IS something to that “resting on the 7th day” after all!
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
Here’s my Adam West Hot Toys figure with customized costume by Tony Mei! Astounding!
My Tony Clifton action figure will soon have a new, more accurate tuxedo thanks to the fabric printing prowess of Spoonflower, Inc.!
Though he still needs his hat and hatband, some straw embellishments, and a touch up on the paintjob to get his face to match the burlap bib around his neck, the Scarecrow of Oz is almost complete!
The last step to completing the Tin Man of Oz bust is to replace his eyes with a pair that “pop” better. But other than that he’s pretty stunning to behold!
My pal Sergio Lopez has begun the padding process on the Lion of Oz bust. Once he sculpts the desired contours in foam, the whole thing will be covered with a beige canvas, and then fake fur will be attached with wig pieces woven in to achieve that multi-layered lion hair look! Then he’ll finish the hair on his head and face.
Here’s some video of the busts so far.
Sergio had brought over a small sample of the type of fake fur he wants to use on the Lion, and it was laying on my desk. When my friend Amanda was over Spooky the cat got up on my desk to say hi. She put the swatch of fake fur on his head and he sat there with it patiently until we were done photographing Mohawk Cat! Hilarious!
