RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
I just purchased this Walther P1 last week (along with a German-made Walther PPK-S). It was made in the 40’s and shows signs of a little wear and tear. But if it was well used, then that has to mean it works well! Right? I mean, why use a gun that doesn’t work very well?
I was just going through a folder of random songs in my computer and came upon a gem I had NEVER heard before. I really thought I had heard it all. But when I came across “Heaven” by Los Lonely Boys, I couldn’t get it out of my head all week! In fact, in a few weeks, my pal Bruce Kulick and I will be performing it at my church’s evening service! Where has this song been all my life?!
Monday the 4th – GOOD TO BE BACK! – I got to sleep in for a bit, which was very nice. Roxy was on the bed and we cuddled as we snoozed. I put on my biking gear, pumped up my tires and biked to “The Tonight Show.” It was an absolutely beautiful day! A fantastic bike ride. It felt great, and it was awesome to be back in business at “TTS” after a week-long hiatus. When I biked home I must’ve pushed it a little too much. My legs felt like stretched out rubber bands. I showered and went to dinner with my friend Kristy at Miceli’s to get some Italian food. One of the gals there had commented on my friend Edi’s “Marilyn” sweater during a previous visit. It took me awhile to locate one, but I finally did and I brought it in for her as a gift. She LOVED it! They are beautiful sweaters, and they’re knitted in the same style as the sweater Marilyn Monroe wore in her famous photo shoot on the beach. I got home and took a nap, then got up to do some auditions in my home studio. I e-mailed them all to my agents. Then I scanned some checks to get them ready for a deposit. I worked around the house the rest of the night and got ready for an on-camera interview in Planet Wallywood I’d be doing Tuesday night.
Tuesday the 5th – I KNOW THAT VOICE! – I got up at 11 to record a bit for “TTS,” e-mailed it in to the guys in the office, walked Roxy and headed over to Voice Trax West to do another session for US Airways. We’re wrapping up another phase of recording prompts for their interactive phone system. When we finished I went over to the bank to deposit some checks, then I headed home to get ready for “TTS.” I went to NBC and taped the show, and then rushed home to clean up for an on-camera interview I’d be doing that evening for a new documentary about voice actors called “I Know That Voice.” The crew came over around 7 and set up the gear, I corralled Roxy into my bedroom so she wouldn’t get in the way, then I sat down in my living room and we did an hour-long interview. it was a great time, and I hope they got all the quotes they needed. Afterwards I took my assistant Sara to dinner at Little Toni’s. Her sister Heather was in town so she tagged along. It was fun. When I got home I grabbed a quick nap on the couch, then got up to spend the rest of the night doing auditions, working on my i-Tunes music files, and then I hit the hay.
Wednesday the 6th – GREAT GUNS! – I got a hotline call to be in early to “TTS” to tape a comedy bit. So I walked Roxy, showered up and headed to NBC. I did the bits they had for me, and then I had a few hours to kill until we taped the show. My pal at Gun World called the day before and said they had a German-made Walther PPK-S in the store. So I stopped by the store and checked it out. It was in great shape, and will be a great addition to my collection of pistols, which includes 3 other Walther PPK’s. While I was there I also bought a Walther P1, probably made in the 40’s. It had some signs of wear to it, but it looked like it was well loved. After a 10 day waiting period , they’ll be mine! I stopped over at Wendy’s for lunch, then I got another call from “TTS” asking me to be in a little early for the show to change a few lines on one of the bits I recorded earlier. I went in, redid the bit, taped the show and then headed home. I did some work and then napped a bit. I got up late in the evening to do my auditions, and then my pal Edi and Sara met me at Jerry’s Famous Deli for a late dinner. As of a month or so ago, Jerry’s (who used to be open 24/7) started closing at 1am. It makes it tough if you’re hungry about 12:30am. So we rushed over to get seated before they closed the doors. It’s becoming such a hassle, we’re thinking of finding another late-night hangout and abandoning Jerry’s altogether. I told my server at Jerry’s that the reason their patronage dropped off at night was because people who had just spent a hundred bucks hanging out all night at a club, probably didn’t have the cash to pay $25 for a bowl of soup. So maybe if they did late-night specials or something, they could augment their late-night guests. But who knows. I got home and did some more work around the house and hit the hay.
Thursday the 7th – 1 TO 1000! – I got up for another US Airways session at Voice Trax West. We finished a TON of prompts. This phase involves me having to read every number from 1 to 1000 in one inflection. Then next week I’ll have to read the same numbers in a different inflection. It’s so they can piece these digits into their system. We did all those numbers before, but usually they had some other word after it…like miles, or dollars, or points. It’s a lot of work. Just try it sitting at home tonight. Read every number out loud from 1 to 1000 in the same inflection. If you get to 200 and you’re not sick of it, I’d be very surprised. But in voice-over work, you need to do all sorts of different projects, and you have to keep your energy up for all of it. After the session I exchanged a pair of shorts at Banana Republic. Then I went next door to Lucky Jeans and bought a few more pair of shorts. I was wearing my NBC ID and a gal at Lucky named Jenn told me she worked as a page on “TTS” about 12 years ago. It was fun hearing about the old days of “TTS” and all of the goofy fun. I hit home for a bit to get some stuff, then headed to NBC for the taping of the show. When we wrapped I got home to get cleaned up for the big Tony Clifton Show at the Comedy Store. My friend Joe works with the legal firm who represents The Comedy Store, and he invited a bunch of friends to check out the Tony Clifton show. Tony’s playing there on Thursday and Friday nights all through June. If you’re in the L.A. area, DON’T MISS IT! It was good to see Tony back in action. I had last seen him live two years ago, also at the Comedy Store. Since it was a Thursday night, and I had a session Friday, I couldn’t stay for the second half. But I did get to see the Tony Clifton marionette (originally built for Andy Kaufman’s PBS special in the early 80’s) close up. It was awesome! I was beat. I was able to get my auditions done, worked a bit on the computer and hit the hay!
Friday the 8th – MY BABY’S BACK! – I was going to ride by bike to my VO jobs, but I ran out of time. I hit Subway to get a footlong tuna, and then headed to Studiopolis to record a few episodes of this new anime show I’m doing. While I was there I recorded a bit for “TTS” and e-mailed it in. We finished the session and I drove off to NBC to tape the show. After we finished taping my pal Bodie Stroud brought my Gran Torino back. I hadn’t had it in my possession in about a month, because I was getting some work done on it. Satellite radio antennae placement, recharging the A/C, and putting on new weather stripping. The type of weather stripping I needed was back-ordered, so it took awhile to get it in. But it was great to get my baby back again! I left my Mustang at NBC and drove my Torino home. I walked Roxy and relaxed a bit. But then it came time to find the remote to the garage I park my Torino in…my auxiliary parking spot. But I couldn’t find it anywhere! My contractor and pal Terry came over to do some work, and when we went to dinner my pal Edi joined us. But the busy week had me dragging ass, so I had Edi drive me to NBC to get my Mustang. Unfortunately, since I never did find my remote I couldn’t park it in the auxiliary space. So I had to park it on the street, while my Torino was parked in my garage. I was exhausted! Thank GOD it was Friday! I crashed on the couch for about 3 hours, then got up and spent the rest of the night working around the house, looking for my lost remote, and preparing for my maids to come clean on Saturday!
Saturday the 9th – IT’S DEAD, JIM! – My maids were right on time, so while they started I walked Roxy over to the groomers to get her a bath. On the way I met some people who were staring at Roxy. They were dog lovers like me. The guy in the group told me that his family had a Rudd Wetherwax collie in the 50’s from the Lassie named Laddie. He said he was amazingly smart and loving. I told him that his dog would have probably been Roxy’s Great Great Great Grandfather. After dropping Roxy off I walked back home and stopped at a garage sale. My dad had been looking for a hard-side briefcase for awhile. He said all the ones he sees now are soft-sided. He wants to have something to carry some personal effects in, and I found the perfect one! And for only 20 bucks! It used to belong to a private detective! The lady who sold it to me opened up one of the pouches and pulled out a telephone-listening-suction-cup device (which wasn’t included in the sale). I laughed and said her husband must’ve been quite the private eye! I got home, my maids finished the house, I took a shower and looked at the broken light in the back entry way. While cleaning it the fixture came undone. I think it had become unscrewed and fallen out of the ceiling. I was worried since it was hanging by the wire that powered it. I called Terry to see if he could come disconnect it or repair it. Then I hopped in the Torino and picked up Edi for lunch. We got the Torino washed, and then met some friends at Paty’s for lunch on the patio. My friend Kristy joined us, as did aspiring voice actress Kaitlyn and her friend Hal. We finished a great lunch on a beautiful day, and I drove Edi home. I got about 6 blocks from my house, and was stopped at a light to turn left, and the Torino JUST STOPPED DEAD. No warning at all…no chugga chugga…no hesitation…nothing. It just stopped working. I was dead in the water in a left turn lane. I couldn’t push it myself through the intersection, so I just sat there and called AAA. Luckily 3 young men ran up and helped me push it off the road so I could wait for the auto club guy. The starter sounded fine, it had plenty of battery power, but it just wasn’t getting fuel. I also called Bodie to see if he knew a way to get it started. He said it sounded like the fuel pump. Since I still didn’t have the remote to my auxiliary garage, I had an idea that I could leave it in my church’s parking lot until Bodie could come get it. I was about ready to call the groundskeeper at my church to see if it would be OK, and I turned around and he was riding up on his bicycle with his girlfriend. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?! He said it would be fine in the church parking lot for awhile. So I had the tow truck driver haul it over to the lot and leave it. But Roxy was still at the groomers waiting for me patiently. I had become very late! I walked down to get her and boy was she glad to see me! On the way home we ran so I could get her some exercise. Then I got on my bicycle and ran her up and down the driveway a few times. She had so much pent-up energy, she needed to run and play for a bit. I think I had successfully pooped her out. She gets so excited at movie nights and she gets in everybody’s faces. So perhaps now she’ll be mellow. My theory worked, as she was totally calm all night. We watched “Yellow Submarine” on Blu Ray. I noticed during the opening credits that it was co-written by Jack Mendelsohn, the co-creator of “The Groovie Goolies!” I had interviewed Jack for the DVD boxed set back in 2005, and he mentioned that he also wrote for the Beatles cartoon. I could definitely hear Jack’s writing influences in some of the bits in “YS.” After that we watched one of my favorite films…”A Perfect World.” Everybody was so great, especially T.J. Lowther who played young Philip. Some in our group hadn’t seen it before and we’re really surprised at how wonderful it was. It was masterfully directed by Clint Eastwood. When my guests left, I walked Roxy and did some work on the computer. But I could hardly keep my eyes open. I was beat! I hit the hay and prepared to sleep well into Sunday afternoon!
Sunday the 10th – SNOOZE-AWAY SUNDAY! –I slept until noon, got up to walk Roxy, did some work, then went right back to bed until it was time to get up for evening church. The previous week had me totally exhausted! So it felt mighty good to recharge. I walked Roxy over to the church and everyone enjoyed seeing her. She loves to give hugs, and she gets plenty there! I rushed home to participate in an eBay auction, then I headed back to church to pick up my friend Amanda who was there helping to clean up. We went over to the Coral Cafe for dinner with my friend Edi. When I got back home I did my auditions, e-mailed them into my agents, finished up some work around the house, and hit the hay. I had to be up early for another Garfield session first thing Monday morning.
And how was YOUR week??!!
