RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
I really love this painting. Genius!
While driving to the convention center this weekend for Anime Pasadena, I made sure to crank up my iPod while I cruised down the freeway in the Mustang. When “Light Up” by Styx came up, I turned it up loud! As I did, some funny remembrances about that song flooded my brain. When I was in Junior High, Styx played a concert in Aberdeen, South Dakota. They had a few hits by then, but they weren’t quite HUGE yet. So playing a small-town venue like Aberdeen wasn’t too odd of an occurrence. Pablo Cruise (another group on A&M Records) also played Aberdeen, so perhaps the A&M promo guys liked Aberdeen as a concert venue, or something. I didn’t go to the concert, but a friend of mine did. I overheard him talking to somebody else about it later, and he said when the band played “Light Up” everyone in the audience sparked up. (My friend had an older brother so he was more wise to the ways of partying than I was.) As a kid, I always thought the song “Light Up” was about improving your attitude; like how you “light up” when somebody you like walks into a room. (Like I did when I saw my old pal Keith Evans this past weekend.) I was so naive. I guess I never really thought about the line in the song “All I need is just one hit to get me by.” But eventually I realized they were singing about lighting up a doobie, and then it occurred to me what the song was really all about.
Monday the 14th – HELPING A CAREER! – My old pal Brittney Powell came over to hang out at Planet Wallywood for the week. She was in town for the “Xena” convention which was coming up this weekend. She performed one of the fan-favorite characters on the show several years ago, and she’s been appearing at the Xena cons on a regular basis ever since they started having them. The fans love her, and she loves hanging out with the fans. It’s a lot like visiting with family during these events, as she’s made so many good friends over the years. But since she moved away from L.A. several months ago, she came to stay a little bit extra so she has time to visit with friends while she’s here. It was a tightly scheduled day for me, as I had a lot to do. I had just enough time for the dog groomer to come over and give Roxy a bath before I had to run out for another errand. But when he texted to say he’d be arriving an hour later than expected, I postponed it to another day. A few months ago at Son of Monsterpalooza, a young man named Jaden approached me and asked if I was Wally Wingert. He was wearing a mask reminiscent of the rock group Slipknot, as well as a Slipknot t-shirt. I told him I was and we chatted for a while. As luck would have it, that very weekend the lead singer of Slipknot was supposed to be at the convention promoting his new involvement in the relaunch of “Famous Monsters of Filmland” magazine. But because of flight delays and cancellations he wasn’t able to make it to the convention at all. I took him over to the “Famous Monsters” booth so he could talk to my pal Eben McGarr, the co-publisher. I also told Jaden that my buddy and effects guy Jim Ojala made several of the actual stage masks for the band. I told him I’d try to arrange a tour of his studio someday. Well, today was the day. Jaden and his mom drove in from the home in a distant California city for a quick visit with Jim at his studio. It was a dream come true for him, and listening to Jaden and Jim talk about Slipknot masks sounded like they were talking in another language. It was a great tour. He learned a lot by talking to Jim, and Jim got a chance to see his work, which was quite impressive for a guy Jadens’ age. After that Brittney, Jaden and his mom and I went to Little Toni’s for dinner for a “post-game” wrap-up. Then we got back to Planet Wallywood, and while Brittney set up her quarters in the Puppet Room, I grabbed a nap in the Tranquility Zone. Later I did my nightly auditions, packed up some stuff to mail off, did some accounting work, and typed out Wally’s Week. What a great day!
Tuesday the 15th – AN “EGG-CELLENT” DAY! – The day was absolutely gorgeous, so Brittney and I put the top down in the Mustang and headed to lunch. It was the first time I would be meeting the new Head Pastor of my church. He called last week to set up a lunch to tap my brain for ideas to launch a new evening service. The regular evening service (the “rock and roll” service, as I liked to call it) hadn’t been held since February of 2020, and many things have happened since then. But Pastor Jonathan believes it’s time for a redesign, a retooling, and a relaunch of a Sunday evening service for those people like me who aren’t morning folks. When we finished I hit the post office to mail some stuff off, and then I drove by my friend Marcos’ house in Burbank to drop off a “Donnie Druthers’ Christoween Capers” book for a charity drive he’s involved with. He’s known as “thatcreepycoolkid” on Instagram, and he’s got all sorts of great projects going. I met him and his mom last year at the “Season’s Screamings” convention in Pasadena, and we’ve kept in touch since. He asked if I would donate a book to a book drive he’s doing to get books donated to Children’s Hospital of L.A., and I said I’d be glad to! When I dropped the book off at his house, his mom was there and showed us the chickens they have in their backyard. They occasionally sell fresh, organic eggs, so she sent Brittney and I off with a half dozen farm fresh eggs! Sweet! I got home in time to meet up with Roxy’s groomer (who was able to reschedule some things and make up for yesterday’s postponed appointment), and it sure was nice to have a nice, clean dog again! But it had been a while since she had been bathed, so the amount of hair he brushed out of her coat was enough to make FOUR dogs! Later my friend Chris Malmin and I went to dinner at Ernie’s Taco House to talk about his pet sitting responsibilities for the upcoming weekend. I would be at the Anime Pasadena convention all day on Saturday and Sunday, so Chris agreed to come by and look in on the pets this weekend while I was gone. I came home with a full tummy and grabbed a short nap. I got up for auditions, and did some work on a new Christoween document. It’s called a “one-sheet” – which are used as brief descriptions of the property when it’s being pitched around to producers. Brevity is key in this business!
Wednesday the 16th – BAT RAV? – As I mentioned several weeks ago, when I was having mechanical issues with my 2003 Mustang convertible, I think it’s time to designate my old gal as “classic” status and park her next to my Gran Torino in my auxiliary garage. I’ve been looking at getting a new daily driver vehicle that’s a standard “point A to point B” car, and one that has a little more roominess to it than the Mustang. Brittney and I stopped by the local Toyota place and I spotted a Rav 4 with a flat gray paint job and black trim. It looked a lot like the Batman colors! So I started referring to it right away as the “Bat Rav.” I test drove it and it was nice, but I still want to look around at a Subaru and a Honda. My mechanics at The Burbank Auto Doctor suggested either a Toyota or Honda, as those are two brands they never see in the shop for major repairs. Then Brittney and I drove over to Marshalls so she could pick up a new bra. When she first appeared at the “Xena” convention many years ago, I went with her. I was backstage with her before her big presentation, and she was talking about wanting to do something memorable and crazy. I suggested that she offer to take off her bra and auction it off right then and there for charity. And she DID IT! And it made a lot of money for the charity of choice too! And every year she appeared after that, it was just understood that they would do another “bra auction” for charity. But as opposed to individuals bidding for it, the “Xena” fans now split up into two groups to bid against each other. That way they can make the biggest donation possible to the charity. And instead of a single person taking custody of the “bra of the year,” it apparently goes on tour among the “Xena” fans at various functions. It’s turned into a really cool event. We met up with our pal Edi for dinner, and the girls had fun catching up. I was tired, so I grabbed a nap when I got home. Later I did my auditions, and worked around the house for a bit.
Thursday the 17th – “WEIRD!” – Brittney and I stopped at my mailbox to pick up my packages, and then we grabbed lunch. We headed to Staples so I could grab some supplies for the Anime Pasadena convention, which included paint markers for autographs. We got a few grocery items at the store and headed back to the car. I noticed a lady who had the hood of her car propped open. Her car was nose to nose with mine, but was one car space over. I asked her what the problem was and she said her battery had died. Then I asked her if she had jumper cables, and if so I’d try to give her a jump. The man who was with her said he had some that would probably reach just fine. They had been waiting around for the car that was parked directly in front of her to leave so her pal could drive around into that parking spot and give her a jump. But this would work just as well. The cables were long enough to reach, and she started right up. I stopped by the vet’s office to get some meds for Roxy, and then Brittney and I went back to Planet Wallywood, ordered a pizza and watched “Weird; The Weird Al Yankovic Story” on Brittney’s Hulu device. It was very entertaining, and fun to watch a completely fabricated and intentionally sensationalized version of the life of “Weird Al” Yankovic. We packed up all of Brittney’s luggage and I drove her to her hotel down by the LAX airport. That was the host hotel for the convention for the weekend, and they wanted her to check in by Thursday night to prep for the weekend. I got back home and napped for a bit, then got up for a ton of auditions. I edited together the Christoween Aspiring Voice Actor submissions I had received for that week’s story, made some lasagna, and watched a few episodes of “The Lone Ranger” before bed.
Friday the 18th – ENCHIRITO-O-O-O.M.G!!!! – There was a fair amount of prep work I needed to do for the Anime Pasadena convention, so I set about doing that. I like to be as prepared as possible so I’m sure not to forget anything. But inevitably I’ll end up forgetting something. I worked around the house, did a few auditions, and checked the internet for the latest news. I saw an Instagram post from a friend of mine that just said “ENCHIRITO,” and she posted a picture of one of those delicious vintage delights from Taco Bell that I used to love all those years ago. Apparently, they’re back at “The Bell” through the end of November! I went crazy! I hopped in the car and headed to my local Taco Bell and got three of them to go. They are DELICIOUS! Honestly, I never thought I’d get to enjoy one of these things again. (Now if they also relaunched the Bellbeefer, I’d be totally ecstatic!) I continued working around the house, napped a bit, did some more convention prep, and got a few hours of sleep before I had to be up early Saturday morning.
Saturday the 19th – ANIME PASADENA; DAY 1! – Spook jumped on the bed and woke me up much too early. I hadn’t been sleeping that well anyway, as the heating blanket had gotten much too warm and it woke me up. So I was up at 8 and got ready to head out to Pasadena for the convention. The actors needed to be on-site at 9:30am to get set up and ready for a 10am opening. I made the mistake of stopping at McDonald’s for breakfast on my way out of town, which took about 20 unnecessary minutes out of my day. But even still I got to the convention center just before 10am and my handler Sheri was already there to meet me and help me set up the table. I was right next to my old pal Brian Beacock, whom I’ve known for close to 30 years! He and I worked at the “Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue” at Universal Studios back in the 90s. We had great fun chatting about those days and catching up. I got to meet a lot of great people and I had a blast! At lunch time I got to dine with the great Bill Farmer, a fellow Voice Actor whom I’ve known for many years. I figured the day would wind down around 6pm or so and I could sneak out the door early. But it stayed pretty busy all the way up to closing time at 7pm, and then headed home. But on the way home I was craving Enchiritos again. So I stopped by Taco Bell and got 3 of them. I got home around 8pm and ate. I napped a bit, and then got up to prepare the materials for the new week of Christoween festivities on the website. As I mentioned before, I inevitably forget something during these conventions, and sure enough I had forgotten to bring a few necessary items. I threw those into the bag for tomorrow (along with my Cookie Monster replica Muppet so I could have some fun) and slept a bit.
Sunday the 20th – ANIME PASADENA; DAY 2! – I allowed myself to sleep a little bit later, which felt great! I got to the convention around 10:45, spent some time talking with some folks, and then walked over to the theatre to do the “Bleach” panel at 11:30. But then the surprise of all surprises happened! The house soundman at the Pasadena Convention Center used to be the soundman for “The Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue” – Keith Evans! Brian and I were shocked beyond belief! And we were just talking about him the day before during our reminiscences about working on the show! WILD! That really made my weekend! After the panel I grabbed lunch, and then headed back to my table. I brought Cookie Monster out to play and the kids loved it! There was a dog at the convention that I absolutely loved; an Aussie Shepherd named Cora. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her stroll by my table with her family, with those mesmerizing eyes of hers! I was happy to get a shot of Cora and Cookie together. But she thought Cookie Monster was a huge dog toy so she kept trying to chew on Cookie’s fur! It was another great day, but by the time the convention ended at 6 I was completely exhausted. I drove home in total quiet. It was nice. However, I did manage to slide by Taco Bell and pick up another 3 Enchiritos! YUM! I got home, ate, showered, and napped very soundly. Later I got up to do some work around the house. I unpacked from the weekend and reflected on what fun it was. I want to do more of these convention appearances, because I really love meeting the people! Later I made my traditional Saturday Night Super Saint Salad (but on Sunday night!) and watched the final fourth season episode of “The Saint.” When I start on the new season, all the episodes will be in color!
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
My friend Brittney loved visiting the chickens in Burbank!
Whenever somebody comes to visit, Spook loves to sit on their luggage. That cat is nuts!
Here they are. Delicious, delectable Enchiritos – back through the end of November at Taco Bell!
Here is the hand-painted Renji cap I made to wear at Anime Pasadena. The design is a reproduction of the forehead tattoos my character Renji sports in the cartoon.
These are some shots I lifted from various Instagram accounts. They represent just a few of the really cool people I met this past weekend!
It sure was great seeing my old pal Brian Beacock again!
Fellow “Bleach” actors Brian Beacock, Dan Woren, and I with our fantastic handlers!
The gorgeous Cora and Cookie pose for a photo.
The Beetlejuice cast and crew reunited! Brian Beacock played The Phantom of the Opera, I was Beetlejuice, and Keith Evans was our magnificent soundman! So great to see them again this past weekend!
Cookie Monster fun at Anime Pasadena!
