RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
I recently came across this shot of Jim Henson and Rowlf in an office, and I love the “candid” quality of this shot!
Shortly after landing at the airport on Tuesday the 25th, I got in my car and made the journey home. But the high of the amazing weekend was quickly wearing off, as the awareness of things to come were starting to weigh on my mind. Spook’s passing, my upcoming gum and thyroid surgeries, end of the year wrap-up stuff, and a few other things were rapidly diminishing the euphoria of the past weekend. Fun was over, and it was time to start “adulting” again. But then “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift came on my device, and it started to change my attitude a little bit. Yeah, I just need to ‘shake it off’ and do what needs to be done.
Monday the 17th – THE END OF AN ERA! – Still feeling a bit sad about letting my cat go the night before, I tried to keep my chin up. It’s the first time in about 24 years that I’ve been totally petless. I got Sassie in 2001, and then got Spook in 2005. Sassie died in 2011 so it was just Spook and I for about a year, and then in 2012 I got Roxy. Then when she passed away in 2023 it was back to just Spook and I again. Now that he’s gone, the house is really quiet. I cleared out the last of Spook’s stuff. I cleaned out the bathroom on the second floor, which was Spook’s bathroom. I threw away all the potty pads and his litter box. I sealed up the remaining cat litter and I’ll give it away to one of my friends who has cat. The second floor shower, which served as Spook’s private potty, was all cleaned out and scrubbed. Then I turned my attention to the kitchen where he lived out his final days. Because of his “inconsistent” potty habits, I had him living exclusively on the second floor. For the last several months of his life he was blocked from access to the living room, and the upstairs bedrooms. The beanbag that he used as a bed got bagged and thrown out, along with a blanket he had been sleeping on. It was too full of poo-poo stains to try and save. When the maids come on Thursday I’m going to have them do a deep clean of the kitchen and bathroom areas. I packaged up all of his remaining food and treats, and I’ll give them away to interested parties. I made a few calls, and then contacted the office of the surgeon who would be doing my thyroid surgery. I postponed the surgery that was going to occur on 12/2 because there’s just too much going on right now. The Kansas City trip, Spook’s passing, my never-ending tooth issue, Thanksgiving, etc. It was all too much. When the weight of everything started to get too heavy, I relaxed and meditated on the issue last week. The words I heard were “one thing at a time.” I always seem to get the best advice when I relax and open my mind and heart. The little voice was correct – one thing at a time. I’d get this tooth issue settled, and then tackle the thyroid surgery after the first of the year. It was still quite rainy out, so I decided to go back to bed and sleep to the rain for a while. It’s soothing and relaxing. Later I got up and did some work, and then started getting a craving for roast beef. I called my pal Chris Malmin to see if he wanted to meet me at the Coral Café for dinner. Despite the heavy rain, we both ventured out to get some good ol’ comfort food. It was a nice dinner, and it was good to see him again. During dinner the temporary crown on my #31 tooth came off. I heard a crack on that tooth and thought it was odd, since I wasn’t chewing anything particularly hard. I mean, it was roast beef, after all. But the crown came off cleanly, so I put it in a small Ziploc baggie that I had with me. I’d visit the dentist this week to have it reattached, as it seems like it’ll be a while before I’m ready to have the permanent crown attached. I still have to have a “crown lengthening surgery” before that happens. That involves cutting away about 1mm of my gum to expose more of the tooth so the crown has more of the original tooth to grab on to. I got the leftover roast beef to-go, along with a couple orders of their delicious beef and barley soup. But with everything on my mind lately, I realized when I got home that I had left without taking my food. Ugh. My brain simply was not working at its optimum. It was pouring rain on the way home; the heaviest that it’s been since our rainy spell started. I rested and relaxed for a little bit, and by the time I got around to taking my nightly WOG (walk/jog) the rain had subsided, and had given way to a cold, thick fog. Had it not been a chilly 47 degrees it would have been a pleasant time. The previous nights had temps around 55, but it would seem that the heavy rains brought on winter. Seemingly, temps in the mid 40’s during my WOG times will most likely be the rule for the foreseeable future. I came back inside and wrote Wally’s Week, but recounting the whole situation with Spooky made me a bit sad again. But all sorrow aside, it was the right thing to do. He was ready to go, and he had enjoyed a long, spoiled life of 20.5 years. You just can’t ask for more than that, I guess.
Tuesday the 18th – A “CROWN”-ING GLORY! – My dentist was able to get me in just after noon to reattach my temporary crown. He said it likely came off because it was riding a little too high. He said that’s sometimes a problem, because when the temp crown is seated the patient’s mouth is so numb they can’t very well tell if the temp crown is sitting properly. Once it got reattached, I sped off to the local Toyota dealer to get some regular maintenance done on my Rav. While they worked on it I walked over to Ernie’s Taco House to get some lunch. This has become my tradition whenever I take the Gray Ghost in for service, and I like it. I walked over to McDonald’s to get an ice cream cone for dessert, and just then I got a call that the Gray Ghost was ready to roll! Perfect! I went to my box to pick up a package and then I headed home. Finally, the rain had subsided and it was a gorgeous, sunny day. But there’s more rain on the way, apparently. Our weather “faux-cast” said it would be raining in the afternoon, but I saw no sign of rain at all. When I got home I brought in my mail, which included my corporate bank statement. While perusing it and reconciling it against my receipts, I noticed a service charge that seemed odd. I called the bank to see what it was for, and it was for “excessive transactions.” What? According to the guy I spoke to (Axel in Florida) if you put too much money in the bank, they charge you – for putting too much money in the bank. WHAT?! Absurd! The rule is – if you put more than 20 checks in per month you’re charged. For an institution to charge you for putting too much money in the account you have with them is beyond my grasp of common logic. It looks like I’ll be needing to make a bank change in the new year. This boggles my mind. I asked young Axel to please explain the logic behind this, and he got flustered and didn’t really have an answer other than, “I don’t make the rules.” I asked him if he knew what “residuals” were, and he didn’t. I told him that actors in Hollywood get residual checks from the union periodically, and this would no doubt send them over the 20 check threshold for certain deposits. He still didn’t get it. This further aggravated me and I guess I must’ve gotten a little too heated, because young Axel terminated the call. After running this by my team of accountants they said that the rule is common among banks. It’s like if a producer called me for a lot of Voice Over sessions and I told them, “Sorry, I need to charge you extra for hiring me so much.” I just can’t understand the reasoning behind this. Bizarre. I think I will find a bank that’s more “entertainment industry” focused in the new year. I got some rest and then recorded my auditions for the day. I took my nightly WOG, and then finished reconciling my corporate bank statement. I sent out a Tweet to my bank and they responded right away. But wouldn’t you know it, the link they sent me so I could respond via direct message wasn’t working. Gee…convenient. I made a pot pie and watched a few more episodes of the second season of “Tiger and Bunny,” but the recurring audio dropouts were so bad I gave it up. I’m not sure it it’s my internet connection, or my wi-fi router, or what – but this streaming thing is frustrating.
Wednesday the 19th – CARPET CLEAN-UP! – One of the difficulties I had with owning a cat was his penchant for wanting to “mark.” This was very tough on my carpet, and was especially trying after I got the new carpet installed several years back. The first part of the post-cat clean-up was to hire my regular carpet cleaners to come deep clean the area carpets. I pointed out all the areas were Spook had marked, and they got to work. They did a terrific job. One of my agents contacted me about doing a session for a TV commercial, but the days they asked about were this coming Friday and Monday. I told them I’d be in Kansas City those days. Then they asked if I might be able to record at a studio in Kansas City on Monday. I told them I could absolutely make that happen. But after all the back-and-forth they were able to get the session locked down for Thursday morning in my home studio. Cool! The carpets were looking great, and the maids would be coming on Thursday afternoon to do the second and final phase of the post-cat cleanout. I have a ton of stuff to do before I leave for Kansas City on Friday morning, so I’d better get organized. I rested for a bit, and then did my nightly WOG. I assembled my home studio for the session early Thursday, and then hit the hay.
Thursday the 20th – THUNDERY THURSDAY! – The session for the TV commercial was short and sweet (and fun!). After we wrapped I got cleaned up and headed to the local branch of my bank to ask about the weird “excessive transaction” fee. I spoke with the bank manager who assured me that every bank he’s ever worked at has had the same bizarre fee. But he said that whenever I was going to deposit more than 20 checks, I should go see him so he can reverse the charge immediately. Nice gesture, but that doesn’t negate the absurdity of this rule. I asked him how other actors (who have a considerable amount of residual checks) handle the “excessive transaction” fee. He said most of them don’t even notice it and just let the money be taken out of their account. To me this seems like a bit of deceptive thievery on behalf of the bank. Well excuse me for having an insistent, annoying and obsessive sense of observationalism! I guess ignorance IS bliss. I went over to CVS to print a few 8 X 10 prints of J.P. from “Street Fighter 6.” While checking my photo inventory before my upcoming trip to Kansas City, I noticed that I was out of prints of one of the J.P. images. I headed to the local Jersey Mike’s to get a sandwich, and then went back home to eat my lunch and wait for the maids. I packed a few things while I waited for them. When they arrived I explained that we had to say goodbye to Spook, and that I needed a deep clean of the kitchen and bathroom. When they finished I went to my box to get some packages, which included the new Blu Ray of “Laurel & Hardy; Year 3,” and some prints of Rufus Shinra from “Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.” But when I opened up the package of prints, I realized that the printer had printed the wrong image. I have two different images of Rufus from the film. I had enough of the first image, but I needed the second image. But the printer had printed more of the first image instead of the second. Uh oh. I needed those prints for the upcoming show, but it was too late to do anything about it now. I called them and asked them to rectify the situation as soon as they could. They apologized and said they would. But this didn’t help me much for the weekend. So I went back to CVS and printed up a few prints that I could take with me to Kansas City. I got back home and started packing furiously. I needed to leave the house by 7am the next morning to make it to the airport in time for the flight. I also had auditions to record before I left! By the time I got to bed it was tough to sleep, because we were getting some amazing thunderstorms and heavy rain. It seemed like the thunder was right over my head, and the lightning show was stunning. WOW!
Friday the 21st – KANSAS CITY HERE I COME! – As is usual the night before a flight, I didn’t sleep very well. The thunderstorms contributed to that considerably as well. But I got up on time, cleaned up, and headed to the airport to meet my pal Mark Fullerton. He would be going along with me to take photos and tour Kansas City with me. I’ve had a good friend for over 43 years named Steve Van Dyke who has lived in Kansas City for a very long time. He will be showing us around the city next Monday. I’ve known him since 1982 when he appeared around the Sioux Falls area as The Phantom Juggler. He even taught me how to juggle and do balloon animals back then. I was a radio DJ on a local station that he listened to regularly, and we started hanging out. In The Phantom Juggler’s secret identity as Steve, he worked with computers and technology. In late 1983 he took a job in Kansas City. I was elated to learn that a local UHF station in K.C. ran the 60’s “Batman” TV series every morning. Steve was kind enough to make regular Bat Tapes and send them to me in Sioux Falls for my friends and I to enjoy. When I left Sioux Falls in January of 1987 to make my move to L.A., the first night I stopped over in Kansas City. He and his wife Winnie were kind enough to let me crash on their living room floor for the night. When I recently signed the contract to appear at Planet Anime in Kansas City, I sent Steve a note telling him I’d love to see him while I was in town, and that I would NOT need to crash on his living room floor again. The convention was getting me a hotel room. Hahaha. Steve knew me back when the situations in my life weren’t so good, and he was always a good friend who was there for me. I was looking forward to seeing Steve and Winnie again. By the time I got to the airport it was raining quite heavily. I hauled my luggage into the airport and found Mark. We checked in, got food, and got on the plane to Salt Lake City. While on the plane it occurred to me that I hadn’t been to the airport in Salt Lake City in about 50 years. Back in 1976, when my family took a vacation to California, the connecting airport was the one in Salt Lake City. I was recently reminded of that fact when I uncovered the journal I wrote about that trip in a storage bin in my garage. Obviously, that trip was a life-changing experience for me. The flight to Kansas City was delayed by about 1 and a half hours, but it’s better to have the connecting flight delayed than the originating flight. So we just hung out in the airport and waited. We started talking to a couple who were traveling to K.C. with their cat in a carrier. They had lived in Taipei for many years, but were moving back to Kansas City. Their cat seemed like he was doing pretty well, considering they had been flying about 20 hours. It didn’t take very long to get to Kansas City, but by the time we landed the entire cabin of the aircraft was hearing the protestations of a pissed-off cat. We were all laughing because the cat had clearly had enough traveling. Poor kitty. When I stood up to get off the airplane, a flight attendant named Chris asked if he could have a word with me. I got out of line and stood in the galley to chat with him. He said, “I know you had the meatballs for your in-flight dinner, but wouldn’t you have rather had lasagna?” I said, “Yeah, that would have been nice I guess.” Then it occurred to me what he was saying. In my Jon Arbuckle voice I said, “You mean like the kind I make for my cat Garfield?” He laughed and he said he recognized my name on the flight manifest. Then he said, “We hardly ever do this, but could I get a picture?” I told him I’d be glad to, and we took a shot together. I love when stuff like that happens! Mark and I made our way down to baggage claim, and there before us was a guy holding a tablet with my name on it. It was Anthony, our driver. Fabulous! After getting a quick shot, we apologized for the flight delay, and he drove us to our hotels. He dropped Mark at the Phillips hotel, and then he dropped me at the Loews. I checked in, but the lobby was buzzing with all sorts of drunks in wacky costumes. It WASN’T the convention-goers, but rather a group of drunken H&R Block accountants who were wrapping up a week-long convention. I got my luggage to my room, and then made contact with the Celebworx on-site staff to let them know I was there. They said they were in the lobby doing some work and I needed to go down and get my credentials. This trip I traveled with my Kermit replica Muppet, so I took him downstairs with me to have some fun. The Celebworx folks were amazed! Each year the volunteers assign an animal mascot to the convention as a theme, and oddly enough, this year’s animal mascot was a FROG! We took some shots and had some laughs. I was a bit hungry, so I got some fried chicken from the hotel restaurant and headed to my room. On the way up to my room I didn’t take Kermit off my hand, so I just kept him on during the ride up in the elevator. There was a very drunk lady in the elevator with me who kept saying in a throaty voice, “Kermit D Frog. Kermit D Frog.” I just shook my head and smiled and said, “Yup.” Weird and annoying. I was glad to get back to the quiet and solace of my room to eat, unpack and relax. It was going to be a great weekend!
Saturday the 22nd – PLANET ANIME KANSAS CITY: DAY 1! – Just after 10am Mark arrived at my hotel lobby and we were walked over to the convention. Luckily, Mark was given an all-access pass so he could shoot photos at will whenever and wherever he wanted. I was introduced to Lance, who would be my assistant for the weekend. I named him Lancelot because he was so gallant and effective. As is common in the Midwest, the people were very, very nice. I had a great time meeting everyone. Just before noon we were walked over to the panel stage for the “Invader Zim” panel, and I was soon joined by my “Zim” cast mate Melissa Fahn. Though there were only two of us we would make sure the Zim fans in the audience had a great time. Just before the show I decided to take a potty break in the backstage bathroom. When I came out one of the locals said, “Did you like the urinals with no partition between them?” I said, “What?” I went back in and sure enough, the partition between urinal 4 and urinal 5 was gone. I got a funny idea. When going to these conventions it’s my habit to try and do something so outrageous and funny that it’s talked about years later. At one convention I had pizza delivered by Domino’s during the panel. I had some pieces leftover, as very few of my panel mates wanted to partake, so I had audience members come up to the stage and grab pieces of pizza. The moderator was a guy named Zach Wilson, and Zack and I had spoken via Zoom many years ago for an on-line interview. I asked Mark to grab his camera, and I asked Zack to join. The picture we took speaks for itself, but I like to call it “Peeing With Partners.” Everyone got a great laugh out of it, and the word spread quickly. (I know what you’re going to ask, and the answer is no.) I’m sure many KC con-goers will be talking about “Peeing With Partners” for a long time to come. After the panel it was time for lunch, and the con had catered in delicious Kansas City barbecue from a well-known restaurant called Q39. It was fantastic! As I got back to the convention floor, I saw that my friends Steve and Winnie Van Dyke had arrived. I gave them both a big hug and invited them to stay and watch while I did some signing, and posed for some photos. They stayed around for a little while, but since it was their first “con” experience, they wanted to go looking around. They ended up having a GREAT time, and even bought a few things! During a break, I took Kermit out on the floor for a while to have some fun. Kermit had some fun with May Hong of “K-Pop Demon Hunters” fame. My granddaughter Natalie is nuts about that movie, so I’m going to get an autograph and video shout-out for her on Sunday morning. But her line is always so long! I got a signed pin-up and video shout-out from Gabe Kundun, who plays King on “One Piece.” My grandson Elliot had requested it. Mark continued to take a ton of pics and video, I got great gifts from a lot of fans, and it was great to see so many “Tiger and Bunny” cosplayers! I’m hoping that means that the show (which I truly adore) is getting more fanlove! As I spoke with a few female “T&B” fans, they explained to me that most of the female fans are into the heroes’ secret identities; Kotetsu and Barnaby. They like Kotetsu particularly, because they feel he’s a good guy and he’s funny. That would explain why I sign mostly Kotetsu stuff for the ladies, and the guys like to have Wild Tiger stuff signed. It totally made sense! I also met two sisters named Rachel and Jordan who had driven 3 hours to meet me and my “Bleach” cast mate Dan Woren. Unfortunately Dan had to cancel at the last minute for a medical reason. So I spent some time chatting with them and admiring their Soul Reaper costumes. I loved all the nice people I met from the area. Really top quality people! The convention ended for the day so I headed back to my room to freshen up. The guy at the front desk suggested Mark and I hit a place called Grinders for casual sandwiches and pizza. But when Mark booked an Uber to take us there, he took us to an empty building. Apparently Uber’s mapping system hadn’t updated to the new address. And also, it seemed like there were several Grinders to choose from. There was a restaurant, and there was a bar – both with the same name. We found an alternate address and when we arrived it was pretty unspectacular. The bar was to the left, and the dingy little restaurant was to the right. We walked in and the atmosphere seemed sub-casual, but we stayed anyway – keeping in mind the hotel desk clerk’s recommendation, and the fact that he said that Guy Fieri had given them some sort of recommendation for their Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. The music was extra loud, and extra annoying – bordering on torturous. I didn’t recognize one song, and it all seemed angry and abrasive. We put our order in (me a pizza, and Mark was going to try the “award-winning” Philly Cheesesteak sandwich), but the waitress didn’t write down the order. In fact, when she repeated it back to us she got it wrong. Uh oh. After about a half hour, we still hadn’t gotten our order. But yet people who had come in after us were getting their orders. Something was up. Either the waitress forgot to submit our order, or something else was awry. After about 50 minutes I got up and asked a guy who seemed to be the manager if things were getting close to being served. He said, “Well, ya know, it takes about 25 minutes for a pizza to be finished.” I told him we had been there 50 minutes already, and could we just get our food to go. The abrasive, annoying music was getting to us and starting to ruin our day. If the restaurant thought they were being hip and edgy with their horrible choice (and ear-bleeding level) of music, they were sadly mistaken. It was more likely they wanted to close and were hoping to drive everyone out. If so, it was working. We finally got our order and went outside to meet the Uber back to the hotel. But Mark noticed that the bag containing his “award-winning” sandwich seemed really light – considering all of the hype we heard about how great the sandwich was. He went to go back in to ask if that was all there was to it, but the doors had been locked behind us. It was 8:30 on a Saturday night! WHAT!? Disgusted by our unfortunate dining experience we headed back to my room to throw down our dinner and call it a night. Grinders was a bad, bad mistake – and the desk clerk was shocked at our review!
Sunday the 23rd – PLANET ANIME KANSAS CITY: DAY 2! – Since I wanted to beat the line for May Hong, so I could get her autograph and a video shout-out for my granddaughter Natalie, I got up early and headed to the convention. It took May a while to arrive, but I was the very first customer. And her video shout-out apparently left Natalie speechless and over the moon. Fabulous! Two amazing Tiger and Bunny (Kotetsu & Barnaby) cosplayers came to my table and I asked them if they had seen Yuri Lowenthal yet. He’s the voice of Barnaby, and was only two booths away. They said I was their first stop, so I jumped out from behind the table, and offered to escort them over to Yuri’s table for a photo. They were over the moon! What a fun interaction and I’m sure it made their convention! Yuri and I are hardly ever at any conventions together, so we took advantage of it. Jordan and Rachel returned (this time sans “Bleach” costumes) and we got the opportunity to chat some more. Just before noon I headed back to the panel stage to do the “Bleach” panel. But without Dan Woren it was basically just me for the entire panel. But I tried to keep the people entertained with fun stories, and even a quick appearance by Kermit! I explained that, even after all these years, I like to cosplay at conventions too. But at this stage in my life, bringing along a Muppet replica is about as far as my cosplaying goes. Mark and I went to the Green Room after the panel to grab some lunch, and then we hit the floor again. It was what’s known as “Sunday Slow,” but it was still a really great time. When the convention ended we packed everything up and headed back to my room to stash everything. Then came the burdensome responsibility to find a place for dinner. Based on our horrible Grinders experience the previous night, we were more than a little gun shy. Since we enjoyed the food that was catered in from Q39 the day before, we decided to give that a try. But because it was the Sunday night after a Chiefs game, getting reservations was impossible by the time we called. They said the wait for walk-ins would be about an hour. I figured we should brave it, so we took an Uber to Q39. But when we got there they informed Mark that they were no longer taking walk-ins. WHAT?! So we figured we’d get another Uber to the local Denny’s. We knew exactly what to expect from Denny’s, so we wouldn’t be disappointed. But the Uber took us to a vacant lot that apparently USED to be a Denny’s. Again, Uber hadn’t updated their mapping system. Totally disgusted with the Kansas City food scene, we headed back to the Loew’s hotel to have food at the hotel restaurant. But when we got back, the restaurant had already closed – at 7:30pm! What the hell was going on?! We sat in the bar area on a couple of chairs and ordered some food from the bar. Note to self for future cons: MAKE DINNER RESERVATIONS IN ADVANCE! And come to find out, the Denny’s that USED to be there, had burned down 3 years ago. Way to keep up with your mapping system Uber! I headed back to my room for some quiet and relaxation.
Monday the 24th – TOURING THE TOWN! – It sure was nice to have a day to sleep in. Around 12:15 Mark had made his way over to my hotel, and Steve picked us up around 12:30 to start our tour. The first stop was the fantastic World War 1 memorial. It also gave us a fantastic view of Kansas City. For a period of time, Steve drove for Uber. So not only did he know the streets and layout of the city really well, he also had an encyclopedic knowledge of the town’s history. We could NOT have had a better tour guide! We saw some more sights, and then headed to a fun restaurant called Fritz’s where your lunch was delivered by a little model train. Kitschy and cool! Then we looked around some more, and took a walkway over to Union Station. It was on this site back in the early 30s when some law enforcement officials were transporting notorious gangster Frank Nash to the prison in Leavenworth, Kansas. But “Pretty Boy” Floyd and his gang showed up at Union Station in an attempt to free Nash. In the process of shooting the place up, they unintentionally killed Nash, along with a few of the law enforcement officers. We saw one of the holes in the marble panels outside where a stray bullet had made its mark. Amazing history! Union Station was beautiful; made even more stunning by all the ornate decorations for the Christmas season. I found a store that sold KC Chiefs merchandise, so I bought a hoodie for my dad for Christmas. He had a good buddy who loved the Chiefs, and by osmosis he started following them as well. My dad has started his workouts again at the local Wellness Center, so I thought the hoodie might be fun for him to wear during his workouts. While we were in the facility it started to rain fairly heavily. We drove around some more to see some more sights. Between the moody, rainy day – and the great music Steve was playing on his radio – it really created (what the kids call) a “vibe.” It was nice and memorable! We eventually picked up Steve’s wife Winnie after she got off work. We headed to a place called “Joe’s” – a gas station/BBQ restaurant that’s legendary. Though we had to wait for a while, we got seated and had an amazing meal! YUM! Steve delivered us back to our hotels, and I got packed up and readied myself for the trip back home early Tuesday morning.
Tuesday the 25th – KC – TO PHOENIX – TO L.A.! – By 4am I was all cleaned up, packed up, and pumped up to head back home. I went to the front desk to check out, made contact with my driver Karen and we were on our way to pick up Mark at his hotel, and then headed to the airport by 5am. When we got into the terminal we saw a young lady and a cameraman getting ready to do a live-shot for the morning TV news. I’m guessing it was to show the TV audience all of the people that were already prepping for the Thanksgiving travel season. Since I had Kermit in the case, I told Mark it might be funny if I put him on and just casually walked by in the background when they went live. How funny would it be for the folks at home to be watching the live shot from the airport, and a guy with a Kermit puppet on his hand just casually walks by in the background? AS funny as it might have been, it was impractical to do – as we had to get checked in and find our gate for our flight to Phoenix. We got to the gate and I got some breakfast at one of the eateries. We got on the flight, I was served another breakfast, and I napped for a bit while listening to some toonz. I woke up just before we hit Phoenix, and we had a 2.5 hour layover ahead of us. When it comes to flying, I always prefer a longer layover than a shorter one. Short layovers make me nervous for a variety of reasons. If I don’t know the airport well, I’m never sure how long it will take to go from one gate to the next. And if the originating flight leaves late, there’s a high likelihood that you could potentially miss the connecting flight. So it’s just safer to have a longer layover. Plus, with the plentiful selection of eating places and stores in airports these days, it’s usually quite easy to kill some time. We talked to some American Airlines flight attendants who were on their way to Las Vegas. I spoke to them about being the voice of American Airlines, and they thought it was pretty cool. (It IS!) We also spoke to a couple who were traveling with their cat to Calgary to spend Thanksgiving with their daughter. They were snowbirds who spent winters in Phoenix, and then they’d go back to Calgary for the summers. Nice folks! This was the second couple we met who were traveling with a cat during this trip. Wild! At 10am L.A. time, Julien’s Auctions would be starting the Jim Henson Company auction. There were about 3 things I had my eye on, but being stuck in an airport I knew I wouldn’t be able to do any bidding. Luckily I had my pal Rob Klein as my proxy bidder. Before I left town I gave Rob specific instructions on the items I wanted to bid on, and what my high bid would be. I was able to get on the airport’s wi-fi on my tablet and monitor the first part of the auction. But it was time to board to plane so I had to pack up and go. However I did see that the first two items I was interested in had gone way beyond my high bid, so I texted Rob to tell him to raise my bid limit on the third item. That’s the one I was really interested in anyway. He confirmed via text, and I turned off my electronic devices so we could take off. The first two items were Jim Henson’s clothes – a jacket and tie he had worn to put his handprints in cement at Walt Disney World, and one of his famous, colorful long sleeved shirts. But I’m sure Jim Henson had thousands of shirts, and the likelihood that more of his clothes will be offered in the future is pretty high. But the third item was a specially constructed “puppet stool” for Gonzo to sit upon in the show “Muppets Tonight.” The stool’s seat had a little divot cut out for Muppet performer Dave Goelz to rest his arm in as he manipulated Gonzo. The stool had 3 legs and a mirror in the back. The mirror reflected the first leg of the stool to make it appear like it had a fourth leg. Then Dave would hide behind the mirror to perform Gonzo. It’s a nice illusion that was first used in “The Muppet Movie” by Kermit. I really wanted that stool to display in Planet Wallywood, considering I also have a wonderful Gonzo replica that could sit on it for the display. But that item wouldn’t come up for auction until later in the day. The flight to L.A. was quick, but we arrived so early that they didn’t have a gate ready for us to disembark. We waited on the tarmac for about a half hour before we got off the plane. But getting outside and experiencing that sunny, warm L.A. weather was quite a change from the weather in K.C. that morning! Nice! Mark and I got our luggage and headed to Paty’s to enjoy the day and have some lunch on the patio. Mark’s wife arrived to give him a ride back home, and we said our goodbyes. What a great trip! I picked up some packages at my box and headed home. It was the first time I had come back from a trip to an empty house in a long time. With Spook now being gone, it was eerily quiet. I guess I’d better get used to it. Before when I came home from a trip, my house sitter would usually be there and I could say hello to the cat. But when I walked into my house it was exactly the way I had left it a few days earlier. When I checked my mail I saw a notification that they had attempted to deliver Spook’s ashes, but I wasn’t at home. They required a signature for release. I’ll go to the post office tomorrow and grab them. I unpacked, did some work, and got on-line to monitor the rest of the Henson auction. When the stool came up for auction I knew that Rob would be on the phone bidding on my behalf. I heard them mention a phone bidder, and the phone bidder maintained the high bid for quite a while. Then the auctioneer said, “Final warning.” I said, “YES!” Then the auctioneer started talking about how great the stool was, and if you had bought any puppets at the auction earlier in the day, this would be the perfect way to display them. I was yelling at the computer monitor, “SHUT UP! STOP TALKING! SHUT UP!” Finally, with no competing bid, the hammer came down and I was the winner! YES! This will be a really nice addition to the Planet Wallywood collection, and my very first “official” Henson-related item! In the evening I napped a bit, and then got up to do some auditions. But after looking them over none of them really appealed to me, so I passed. I got dressed to go on my WOG. It was nice to be out again, and I wasn’t as out of practice as I thought I’d be. I guess doing all that walking at the convention and around Kansas City kept me in practice. I finished up and came back inside to do more unpacking.
Wednesday the 26th – PRE-THANKSGIVING (from) TURKEY! – While other areas of the country were experiencing winter storms, L.A. had a gorgeous 81 degree day! I took the opportunity to take a walk, and drop off some packages at the post office. I also grabbed Spook’s ashes and started walking back home. I stopped at Jersey Mike’s to get a sandwich. I also passed the cigar store on my way home. Since it was such a gorgeous, warm day – I decided to stop in and get a nice cigar to enjoy on the walk home. I wasn’t finished with it by the time I made it back home, so I just sat outside enjoying the sun, listening to toonz on my phone, and finishing up my Monte Cristo. NICE! I went inside and opened up the package that contained Spook’s ashes. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, but I had to break that promise. It was so sad and final. The package contained a beautiful wooden box, a lovely certificate, and a little wooden plaque that contained a scan of his paw. I had to take about 20 minutes to compose myself. I sat outside behind my garage and finished my sandwich while lounging around in the sunshine. I got a notification that I had packages at my box, so I headed over there to get them. I had recently become interested in the show “The Virginian,” so I bought as many seasons of the show on DVD that I could find. Those arrived, as well as a very special package from Turkey. The Turkish sitcom that I dubbed two seasons of for Netflix called “Ersan Kuneri” – starred the hottest comic in Turkey named Cem Yilmaz. Cem and I had become social media friends when the series was first released back in 2022. On one of his posts I saw these really cool “Ersan Kuneri” pin-ups and I asked if those were for sale, as I’d like to buy a set. He said he’d sent me a set gratis. Amazing. I also asked if he would sign one of them for my collection. I was expecting a little mailing tube with the pin-ups inside, but what showed up was a huge package that contained posters from every one of the episodes from season one and season two (all 16 of them)! They were all framed with a clear acrylic facing, and mounted on a black acrylic backing with little tracks for framing. WILD! Not only were they heavy, but very artistic! And two of them were signed to me. These are so gorgeous, that I’m going to share some of them with my “Ersan Kuneri” cast mates! I got back home to update Wally’s Week, clean up, and call the Smoke House to confirm our Thanksgiving reservation for Thursday night at 7pm. All was good. The rest of the night I edited photos and videos, and then took my nightly WOG. I decided I was going to try and stream some more episodes from the second season of “Tiger and Bunny” before bed. So I made a salad and got all set. The audio dropouts were bad at first, but then it settled in and everything was good. I watched three episodes, and wanted to watch the final two, but the audio dropouts started getting bad again, so I gave up. Streaming isn’t for me, I guess.
Thursday the 27th – HAPPY THANKSGIVING! – Later in the afternoon I got up to do some more video editing, and then I got cleaned up and headed to the Smoke House for our traditional dinner with friends. It was a great group and we had a blast. There 16 of us in total. I came back home with a VERY full tummy and noticed that my internet wasn’t working. Maybe all those early-Black Friday internet shoppers had crashed it already. I figured it was a good opportunity to relax and took a nap. I woke up in time for my WOG, but I really didn’t want to go. I wanted to stay in bed. But I dragged myself out and did it. The internet had come back on, and apparently there was some sort of power outage somewhere (not in my neighborhood) that caused the outage. I noticed that, during my WOG, many of the security lights around our complex were out, and I was walking in total darkness. I only had my headlamp to guide me because some areas were pitch black. The nice thing was, the stars in the sky looked amazing from that vantage point! Otherwise, it was pretty creepy and dark at that time of night. So hearing that there was a power outage made perfect sense. I did some more video editing and hit the hay, looking forward to a nice, quiet holiday weekend.
Friday the 28th – KANSAS CITY KICK-BACK! – The whirlwind trip to Kansas City was amazing, but I was going to need the rest of the weekend to recover! I slept most of the day, which felt really good. I did manage to get out to CVS to get some supplies, and get over to the grocery store to stock up on some food items. On the way home I stopped at Jack In The Box to get some food, and headed home to put everything away and eat. I grabbed a short nap in the Puppet Room, and then got up for my nightly WOG. I did some more video editing, and created the Planet Wallywood signage for my Gonzo Puppeteering Stool that I’d be picking up next Friday from the auction house. I made a nice salad and was able to watch the final two episodes of “Tiger and Bunny” from the second season without any problems. What an amazing show! I’m SO proud to have been involved in that.
Saturday the 29th – SLEEPY SATURDAY! – Once again, I felt it best to rest and relax all day to recharge. It was sure nice to have some time off the refresh. I edited some more video clips, took my nightly WOG, and then planned out all of the stuff I’d need to do in the final month of the year (which was fast approaching!). The Blu Ray for the new “Spinal Tap II” movie had come in earlier in the week, and I was anxious to see it. I made my traditional Saturday Night Super Salad and headed to bed in the Tranquility Zone to give it a spin. I was cautiously optimistic about the film, hoping to be exposed to all sorts of new quotable lines, much like the first film. Unfortunately the film seemed very forced. While the first film had a wonderful “mockumentary” feel, this film really couldn’t decide if it was a mockumentary or a regular movie. It kept switching between the two styles, and it was confusing. It’s clear that Rob Reiner hadn’t acted in a while, because he was overdoing it quite badly. And instead of creating new scenarios for the band, they just seemed to want to regurgitate the bits from the first film. There was unfortunately no new ground covered. The celebrity cameos by Elton John and Paul McCartney also seemed forced and superfluous. Having them claim their life-time love for Spinal Tap flew directly in the face of the whole “no respect” thing they established in the first film. It was much funnier when they were the underdogs, and didn’t enjoy the respect of their peers. While there were a few “laugh out loud” moments, overall it was a sad attempt to recapture lightning in a bottle. The highlight was the new female drummer they added to the group. She was amazing!
Sunday the 30th – AAAAAND…A SLEEPY SUNDAY TOO! – Knowing that I had lots to do in the coming week, I took one more “comatose” day before jumping back into real life. I did spend some more time editing videos, typing out some of Wally’s Week, doing my nightly WOG, and doing some things around the house. But I feel rested, relaxed and recharged to attack the new week!
And how were YOUR two weeks?!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
As the rain came splashing down on my windshield, this song came up on my device. Yeah, as a matter of fact, I HAVE seen the rain!
Our driver Anthony is ready to rock!
The first day at the convention, and the table is ready!
I just love seeing Kotetsu cosplays from “Tiger and Bunny!”
And I love getting gifts, especially hand-drawn art!
Thomas had really done his research! He made this compilation of some of the characters I’ve done throughout my career and had me sign it. Amazing!
Melissa Fahn and I tell fun stories from our days working on “Invader Zim.”
I swear that “Peeing With Partners” will someday become a thing. Then again…maybe not. But it sure was funny!
It’s always fun to bring along a puppet!
Melissa Fahn, panel moderator Zack Wilson, Kermit and me backstage!
Getting to see old friends Steve and Winnie Van Dyke!
An amazing Riddler cosplay!
The convention had a seller who offered Dole Whip! I’m a happy man!
Photographer and phriend Mark Fullerton at the table.
I’m doing an improv bit for the convention’s social media page.
This gentleman had 3D printed a wonderful Riddler trophy for me to sign, and he gifted me with a 3D printed Riddler portrait!
What a thrill it was getting to sign this amazing “Arkham” poster!
It’s always great to see Kotetsu AND Barnaby cosplays together.
Off we go to meet the voice of Barnaby, Yuri Lowenthal!
Yuri was also thrilled with the cosplays!
And yet ANOTHER Kotetsu fan comes to the table!
Even though I had to go it alone on Sunday’s panel, it was a blast!
Clowning around at my table. I’m throwing a tantrum that it’s the last day and I have to leave my friends Lancelot (left) and Not Vickie.
Hey! Kermit recognizes that familiar blue monster on that bag!
Getting a photo signed by the great May Hong, Mira from “K-Pop Demon Hunters” for my granddaughter Natalie!
Steve and I overlook Kansas City from the WW1 memorial.
Seriously…it’s REALLY tall!
Time for a fun lunch at Fritz’s!
Outside Union Station, a gangster’s bullet hole!
The sheer beauty of Union Station at Christmas!
A brief break in the rain allowed us to spend some time at Penguin Park!
Someday we’ll find it…the rainbow connection.
Joe’s Gas Station & BBQ Joint! HIGHLY recommend!
Me with Steve, the greatest K.C. tour guide you could hope for!
On the plane, heading home!
I ditched the jacket, and hit Paty’s for some sun and salad!
A perfect day for a brisk walk and a nice cigar!
Turkey gave ME something on Thanksgiving. A gift from my Turkish pal Cem Yilmaz…a signed “Ersan Kuneri” pin-up!
Here’s a screenshot of the puppeteering stool I won at the Henson auction. Can’t wait to get it!
Spook’s ashes arrive back home. Truly the end of an era.
The 2025 Thanksgiving Smoke House gang!
The waiter was kind enough to bring me a large iced tea so he wouldn’t have to keep running back and forth to our table for refills!
Planet Anime Kansas City
