June 29 – July 05 (2026) – Wally On The Web

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

This is so wrong, but it made me laugh so hard! Would this be called a “Mahna Mahnage a trois?”

I recently downloaded the 2024 album from Washed Out on Amazon called “Notes From a Quiet Life.” There are lots of good tracks on that album, but “Got Your Back” really stands out to me.

Monday the 29th – TAKING AN IMPORTANT “FOAM” CALL! – One of my favorite stores to purchase puppet-building supplies is Foam Mart in Burbank. They’ve featured me on their Instagram page, and they assisted me with my Muppet exhibit at the recent Monsterpalooza convention. We scheduled an appointment for a call today so they could discuss the possibility of me doing a workshop at Foam Mart for people who wanted to learn puppet building. I love that Foam Mart is thinking of expanding their customer base by offering various workshops for their “crafters,” but I told them with all honesty that I didn’t think I was their guy. I’m strictly an amateur builder at best, and there are plenty of people in L.A. who knew MUCH more than I did, and they would be better suited for such a workshop. I told them I appreciated the faith in my abilities, but I’d be happy to introduce them to professional puppet builders if they decided to go ahead with these workshops. Personally, I think the idea for a series of workshops is a GREAT idea. As long as the customers are buying supplies from Foam Mart for costumes, puppets, special effects, sets, etc. – you may as well offer them pro-tips for making their projects even better! I told them I’d be happy to be a “guest builder” at a workshop, but I don’t believe I have the professional experience that some builders in L.A. have. My pal Sara Raftery met me for lunch at Paty’s, I picked up a package at my box, and then headed home to clean up Planet Wallywood for a tour later. Last Sunday, at Fan Expo, I ran into my pal Scott who was in town from Australia. He asked about a tour and we scheduled it for Monday night, seeing as how he’s flying back to Oz Tuesday night. Later I met Scott at Ernie’s Taco House for dinner, and then gave him a tour. My friend Amanda happened to be in my part of town, so she dropped by later to chat and say hi. Then I rested for a bit, did my nightly WOG (walk/jog) and worked around the house. It’s GREAT to be back home!

Tuesday the 30th – GETTING SETTLED BACK IN! – There’s a good reason I jokingly refer to Paty’s (one of my favorite restaurants for patio dining) as “the office.” It’s because I’m there so much it may as well BE my office! For the second day in a row I met a friend for lunch at “the office.” Edi Lurie met me so we could get caught up on all the news. Her husband Elliot (writer/singer of the hit song “Brandy” from 1972) has been out playing shows like crazy! I think it’s fantastic that he’s out there getting the love he deserves from his fans! I mailed off some bills, and then came back home to relax. I’m still a bit exhausted from the whirlwind June I just experienced. While it was boatloads of fun, I DO need to relax for a bit. I recorded some auditions, worked around the house, and later I took my WOG. I made a salad and watched an episode of “The High Chaparral,” but it was a bit preachy. I’ve noticed that some of the episodes in this season have decidedly taken on social issues in their “old west” kinda way. But it gets a bit overbearing and preachy, so I hope this isn’t the beginning of a trend in this season’s episodes!

Wednesday the 1st – HALF OVER?!!! – Hard to believe the year 2026 is already half over. Man did it fly by! Late last week I saw a posting on-line that Taco Bell had brought back their famous Enchirito for one month only (ending July 22nd!) So as a long-time Enchirito fan, I’ve been indulging whenever possible. I visited my local Taco Bell tonight and bought 6. SIX! However I didn’t eat them all in one sitting. I found out that they taste pretty good at room temperature later! So I nibbled on them throughout the day. I did some video editing, worked around the house, and tried to figure out this new MP3 music player I bought for 40 bucks. It’s a new player that was just released, but it feels a lot like a toy…very cheap and flimsy. The problem with most “modern” MP3 players is, they try to make it do everything. I really don’t want it to record voice memos, or listen to FM radio. It’s clutter and overkill, if you ask me. It’s why I still prefer the good old classic iPods! I bought some new Bluetooth noise-canceling headphones to use on a long upcoming flight. I want to watch movies on my tablet to pass the time, but I’ve got to delve into the instructions to see how they work, exactly. Late next week my computer guy Brian is flying in from Denver to set up my brand new computer. It’s a computer that was built by my friend Thor, and it’s literally been sitting in storage for over a year! But I’m glad I bought it when I did, because anything computer-related is MUCH more expensive these days than it was a year ago. I just hope that Brian is able to find all of the vintage versions of the programs I like to use, as I don’t have time to figure out how the new versions work. I’m the kinda guy who lives by the rule – “when I find something I like that works, I stick with it!” While some folks love exploring new versions of things, I’m happy just to stay with what I know. Now that I’m back home for a while, I’d like to get back into my L.A. photo album project, and I really need to start building my Guy Smiler replica Muppet! SO MUCH TO DO! On my WOG I saw something fly overhead and land on the corner of one of the buildings right in front of me. It was virtually soundless as it flew. It was a HUGE, beautiful owl. I stopped and shined my headlamp on him, and he moved his neck from side to side to try and figure out where the light was coming from. Gorgeous! I bid him a nice night and continued on. I also ran into my neighbor Robert and his two dogs Emmy and Maggie, who were out taking a late-night pee-pee break. All in all, it was a fantastic WOG. I came back inside to do some video editing to end the day, but I didn’t end up sleeping very well unfortunately.

Thursday the 2nd – FOOD, FRIENDS, FUN! – It’s been quite a while since I saw my pal and webmaster Scott Sebring, so he came to my neck of the woods so we could go have lunch at Bob’s Big Boy. Then I came home to relax for a bit, and later I met my friend Rob Richards and Ed Torres for dinner at the Smoke House. Rob has been a friend since I was 14 years old, and he’s the organist at the famous El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. Ed is the organist for the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre. I was shocked (but not really surprised) to learn that Ed got into the business BECAUSE when he was a little kid, he saw Rob perform at the El Capitan! Young Ed decided right then and there, “That’s what I want to do.” And he does it brilliantly! It was great chatting with these guys, but then I headed home to relax after a yummy steak dinner. I recorded my auditions, took my nightly WOG, and prepped the house for the maids, who would be coming on Friday to clean up Planet Wallywood. I sure am looking forward to the weekend!

Friday the 3rd – WONDROUS, WONDROUS WEEKEND! – Just after noon the maids arrived and cleaned up nicely. I got hungry, so I headed over to Taco Bell to grab some more Enchiritos. I got some groceries and then headed home to put everything away. I got curious about a musical artist I like called Washed Out, so I got on-line to see if he had released anything new lately. Sure enough, he released a new album in 2024. How did I miss THAT!? I bought the album on Amazon and listened to all the tracks. I pulled off what I liked and put it on my devices. GREAT music! This would be the first quiet, relaxing weekend I’ve had in a while. No particular place to be…except home. I edited some videos, and did a little work around the house. I took my WOG and then spent some time outside in the anti-grav chair. Our warm weather is starting again, so I expect this will become a nightly event again. Since it was “4th of July eve” there were people around the area lighting off fireworks. I couldn’t see them, but I definitely heard them. However, overhead I saw a brilliant shooting star that lasted in the sky a good 3 seconds easily! Since there was no accompanying boom, I knew it wasn’t regular fireworks, but rather God’s fireworks. Stunning! As it was now officially the 4th of July, I grilled some hot dogs on the grill and watched “High Chaparral” before bed. I can’t believe I downed FOUR hot dogs!!! With chili, cheese and kraut to boot!

Saturday the 4th – HAPPY 250th BIRTHDAY AMERICA! – I remember commemorating the 200th birthday of America back in 1976 very well. Our family took an extended vacation to see our cousins in Idaho, and then flew from Idaho Falls to Los Angeles for a week’s vacation. It was something I’ll never, ever forget! I relaxed all day and got some much-needed rest. In the evening, from my bed in my upstairs bedroom, I saw two amazing fireworks displays. I believe they originated from Universal Studios and the Hollywood Bowl. Brilliant and beautiful! The atmosphere was alive with amateur pyrotechnicians blowing up their arsenals of celebratory fireworks. The noise didn’t bother me at all. In fact, it was quite festive. My first dog Sassie used to hate fireworks, but my second dog Roxy could not have cared less. As I laid there hugging my pillow, watching the beautiful fireworks, a cool night breeze gently blew in. Heaven! But I had some work I needed to do. I was far behind on posting Wally’s Week entries because of all the travel I had been doing. So I dug in and got started on writing a month’s worth of entries. Luckily, I kept fairly copious notes about all the activities, as I travel with a journal for such purposes. But now I need to compile all the info and put it in a readable form. When I finished up through the second week of June, I called it a night. I went outside to do my WOG, and then sat in the anti-grav chair, listened to area fireworks, and enjoyed a nice cigar. I kept hearing coyotes howling in the distance. Though the fireworks had mostly subsided, they sounded very agitated. Maybe they didn’t like all of the noise and flashing earlier. Since it was the first Saturday of the month, I commemorated “Laurel & Hardy Theatre.” I watched the last two shorts I had on my schedule. As they were all drawn at random, the final two films were “Busy Bodies” and “Our Wife.” Both, very funny films! It’s good to go to bed with a smile on your face!

Sunday the 5th – REST, RESET, RECHARGE, REFLECT! – It’s a proven fact that taking one day a week to do absolutely nothing is good for a person’s constitution. I’ve been doing my “comatose Sundays” for quite a while, and I love it. Today was no different. I slept most of the day, got up to do a few things, have a bite to eat, and then I went back to bed. I typed out a little more of the Wally’s Weeks that I needed to do to get them ready for posting on Monday, and then took my WOG. Since it was such a gorgeous night, I took the opportunity to enjoy another nice cigar in the anti-grav chair after my exercise. I went back inside to do more writing, made a salad, and watched “High Chaparral” before bed.

And how was YOUR June?!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK