October 17 – October 23 (2016)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

While scanning some of these old 1970’s photos in my decaying photo albums, I came across this shot. Boy did I think I was something with my bell bottom pants, white denim patchwork jacket, and plaid newsboy hat. I was the King of the 70’s!

The Bee Gees certainly have a way with a musical hook, but of all the songs I heard in their “One Night Only” concert we recently watched on Blu Ray, this is the one that’s stuck in my head. It’s a wonderful song called “Alone.” Robin Gibb’s voice in the bridge is unearthly… ethereal… moving… mournful. He was truly gifted.

Monday the 17th – BACK ON THE BIKE! – Mid-afternoon I rode my bike to go get some supplements and vitamins. It was a beautiful day for a ride and it felt great to be out on two wheels again. Then I went back home to start scanning some more old photos. My photo album collection from the 70’s and 80’s, containing thousands of photos, are literally falling apart. While the photos are fine, the albums themselves are decaying. So I’m having them all pulled out and placed in new albums. But while they’re out of the old albums, I decided to dedicate one whole computer to nothing but scans of these photos. It’s a blast seeing all these old pics again. My assistant Sara has been doing a great job scanning these, but she’s working on a show this week so I’m going to try and do a lot of scanning myself to try and stay ahead of it. True I could always open the albums and look at the photos, but there’s a certain magic to having them scanned into a computer where you can enlarge each photo and look at certain details that had previously escaped me. For example, when I enlarge the photos I can get a better idea of the items in the background. Sometimes it brings back a lot of memories seeing the setting in which the photos were taken. I took a dip in the Jacuzzi and then grabbed a nap. When I got up I did my nightly auditions and then I did some more scanning. I typed out Wally’s Week, made some chili and watched another episode of Lassie from the 50th anniversary DVD set. Watching my dog Roxy’s great-grandfathers hard at work on the show is a real pleasure. Her greatX8 grandfather Pal did the first episode, and then his son Pal Jr. took over as Lassie 2 for the remaining episodes in the first season and into the second season. But early into the second season Lassie 2 became ill, so his brother Spook had to complete the remaining second season episodes. Fascinating!

Tuesday the 18th – MORE BIKE! – When I got up at 1 I did some work around the house, checked e-mails, and then hopped back on the bike and headed to Voice Trax West for a session for a 23andMe commercial. After the session I biked over to Kit Kraft to buy some small square silver studs for the gloves for my Halloween costume. For this year’s Halloween I’m enjoying a first. It’s the first time I’ll ever dress as MYSELF! I’m going as the Dell Glam Rocker from the TV commercial I did. I also plan on wearing the costume for one day at the upcoming L.A. Comic Con on Halloween weekend. Should be fun! I biked over to the hardware store to get some small rubber sticky squares for a project I’m doing regarding my Kermit the Frog display. Due to space limitations in the Puppet Room, the rods in his wrists have to sit outside and below the plastic case I keep him in. But if my plan succeeds, the little rubber stoppers (and how I cut them) should keep the wire rods stationary on the face of my display case. It’s complicated to explain, but after much experimentation I think the little rubber stoppers will work best. Then I got to work putting the little metal studs in the leather gloves for my Halloween costume. I’ve put studs in tons of things, including several Elvis suits, so I have a certain way of doing it. It usually includes a nickel or a dime, and lots of blisters on my fingers. The coin is used to bend the prongs over once the studs are inserted into the leather. It’s a bit tough on the fingers, but that’s the way I’ve been doing it all these years and it’s too late to change it up now. Later on I took a short nap on the couch, and then got up to record a ton of auditions. Then I worked on the Kermit wire project. But before I move forward I need to have a little piece made by my pal Kyle at Plastic Depot so I don’t ruin the face of my display case permanently. Later on I walked and fed Roxy and made some hot dogs. Then we watched some more “Lassie” episodes!

Wednesday the 19th – NATIVE AMERICAN SUMMER? – I was hoping for a third straight day of bicycling, but a heat wave hit the Los Angeles area making it much too hot to bike. (Is it still OK to call it an “Indian Summer?”) I had a session for American Airlines where I needed to be helped by a dialect coach on the phone in ways to pronounce the names of certain foreign airports. We were done in about an hour, and I learned a lot about airports around the world where American and its partners fly. Afterwards I went to CVS to get some supplies, and then I went to my mailbox to pick up some packages. I got a leather vest that I bought on eBay for my Halloween costume, but I didn’t like the cut of it. This year, for the first time ever in my life, I’m going out for Halloween…as me. Yup, I’m going as the Dell Glam Rocker character I did in the TV commercial. I just thought it would be fun to see if anyone will recognize it. I’ll also be attending the L.A. Comic Con in the costume on Friday night, just as an experiment. I got the idea from William Shatner, who said in an interview that he once went Trick Or Treating with his kids while wearing a latex Captain Kirk mask. That makes me laugh. While the leather vest is very nice, it’s not quite what I’m looking for. But I’ll keep it in my costume closet for future use. Luckily, I had a black nylon vest that I bought at It’s a Wrap years ago that will fit the bill. It doesn’t look exactly like the vest I wore in the commercial, but it’s a bit flashier. It has silver piping and gold square studs, and looks very rock and roll. I’m going to paint each of the gold studs silver though, in order to match the color scheme of black and silver. I stopped at McDonald’s to get a quick bite to eat before heading home to nap before the big Presidential debate. When it was over I took a dunk in the Jacuzzi, and then my pal Natalie came over to hang out for a while. Later I did a ton of auditions, scanned more photos, walked and fed Roxy, made some dinner and watched more “Lassie” episodes. It’s funny watching Roxy’s great-grandfathers in these shows. I sit up in bed with a tray of food while watching TV, and there was a scene in the show where Lassie is peering over the kitchen table in hopes of getting some food from the people at the table. At the very same time, just below the TV screen, Roxy was peering up over the edge of my bed in hopes of getting some food. It was almost like a mirror image of what I was seeing on the TV. It made me bust up laughing for several minutes.

Thursday the 20th – WHAT’S HE SO MAD ABOUT?! – My day started around 2 with a trip to Mr. Stitch to pick up some embroidered names on a piece of fabric which will be incorporated into my Batman bowling shirts I’m having made. Then I went back to Kit Kraft to pick up some silver paint to paint the studs on my “glam” vest. Then I headed out to Burbank to Plastic Depot to pick up a piece my friend Kyle made for me. I also took in a plastic bench that my Kermit replica Muppet sits on. The rod that holds the puppet upright is a bit short, so it needs to be removed from the bench, and a longer rod needs to be installed. I stopped by the dry cleaners to pick up my comforter, and then I headed to the Warner Brothers Ranch to do a voice-over project as The Mad Hatter! It’s fun to become yet another famous DC villain! I can’t say much more about the project, but it was an amazing time. I got back home just in time to meet my friend Edi who was dropping off her dog Bunny. I’ll be “bunny sitting” for about a week while she and her husband Elliot go to Tennessee so Elliot can perform his famous Looking Glass songs. (Mad Hatter? Looking Glass? Do you sense a theme forming here?) After we got Bunny settled (she always gets so excited to see Roxy and Spook), Edi, my assistant Sara and I met for dinner at Jerry’s Famous Deli. I came home and grabbed a short nap, and then got up to record all my nightly auditions. I did some random work around the house, and then masked off and painted a row of the square gold studs on my “glam” vest. The paint was working out well, and while it may not be permanent, I’m sure it’ll work for the few days I’ll need it. I made some soup and watched a few more “Lassie” episodes.

Friday the 21st – I LOVE THAT LOOK! – The maids arrived around noon to start working on cleaning up Planet Wallywood. While they cleaned I worked at my desk on several projects. I painted another row of studs (I let them dry for several hours before I paint more) When the maids left I laid down on the couch (I had only gotten about 3 hours of sleep) and I waited for my “adopted Grandma” Shirley to call. She was supposed to call me around 3, but she didn’t call until 5. She was wondering why I didn’t call. I told her she was supposed to call me at 3, but it all worked out OK anyway. She needed me to take her to the local Verizon store so she could get rid of her “smart” phone and go back to her flip phone. She said the smart phone was too much for her. (I feel her pain) They got her old flip phone reactivated and all was right with the world. Now she wants me to teach her how to use it. I told her it would take a little bit of experimentation before she totally learned how it works. We ate dinner at Panera, and then got some groceries. As I was walking through the aisles, a kid who was working there stocking shelves noticed my Arkham Riddler shirt. He asked me where I got it, and I told him it was given to me because I worked on the games. Obviously he was an Arkham fan, so I decided to have some fun with him. I told him to come closer and close his eyes. In the voice of the Riddler I said, “Riddle me this, Batman…you shaved monkey!” His face lit up and beamed, fully recognizing the line. One of the things I always dreamed about when I was first getting into voice-over was the opportunity to make people happy by simply doing a goofy voice that they recognized. I never need to do it for my own ego, but I do it because it’s fun to be able to make a person smile and add a little joy to their lives by doing a simple little voice. I love watching their faces as they transform from passive interest to supreme joy. His dad also worked at the store so he asked if he could get a picture with me. His dad took the photo and I went on my way. What fun! The checkout line at the store was very slow. Clearly they were understaffed. The sign above each checkout line read “3’s a Crowd;” which means that whenever three people line up, a new checkout line is supposed to open. But aside from the express line, there was only one other gal checking people out. And the line was growing larger all the time. People were getting aggravated. The checkout lady apologized and said they were shorthanded. I jokingly told her that I wanted to apply for a job. “I can start tonight,” I said with a laugh. I’m not sure if she thought I was serious or not. Anyway, we finally made it through the line and went on our way. I took Shirley and her newly reactivated flip phone back home so she could start experimenting with it. When I got home my pal Brittney Powell was just pulling into the parking lot. She came in and we got caught up, since I hadn’t seen her in a while. I grabbed a nap after she left, and then got up later to feed all the animals, walk them, and get ready for another couple of “Lassie” episodes. I dashed out to Denny’s to get some food first though. I DO love my Denny’s!

Saturday the 22nd – FOUR TICKETS TO PARADISE? – When I got up late afternoon I got on-line and bought four tickets to the Eddie Money concert for November 5th in Tustin. I’ve wanted to see him in concert since I met him in Thousand Oaks back in May. And now’s my chance! I got the house organized for movie night and started welcoming guests. Since we’re in the middle of “Rock-tober,” we ran the Blu Ray of “The Bee Gees: One Night Only” and it was amazing. I had seen the edited version on TV many years ago, but this was complete. There were several musical numbers I had never seen before! After the guests left I napped for a little while on the couch. When I got up I painted more studs on my vest, worked around the house, made my traditional Saturday night Super salad, and watched another episode of the old BBC show “The New Avengers” before bed.

Sunday the 23rd – LOVELY LOVELY LIGHTNING! – I didn’t get to bed until around noon on Sunday (I know, my sleep patterns are truly bizarre) but I managed to get up at 4:45 to feed Roxy, Bunny and Spook. I showered and then walked Roxy over to evening church. After church I walked Shirley home and it had started to sprinkle lightly. Since the heatwave broke a few days ago it had been very cloudy and humid. I went inside and did some work while listening to it rain lightly outside. It was really pleasant and relaxing. I painted more studs on my vest, scanned some more photos, and then grabbed a short nap. I didn’t have any auditions for the night so I spent some time scanning some more photos. I walked Roxy on our nightly late-night stroll through the neighborhood. As we were winding it up, I felt a few drops of rain on my head. I saw what I thought was lightning, but then I realized it was just one of the security lights in the complex with a flickering bulb that was about to burn out. But as I was getting ready for bed shortly before dawn, I looked outside and sure enough, it WAS lightning! It was gorgeous! We don’t often get lightning here in the L.A. area so it’s a real treat. Then the thunder started. It was kind of cozy listening to the thunder outside while eating soup and a sandwich and watching a “Lassie” 3 part episode with all the pets on the bed. I scarcely think life gets much better than this!

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

Bunny the dog had herself buried so deeply in the beanbag chair at movie night, all you could see of her was her cute little face. But add a few lighting effects and some eerie music, and her cuteness takes on a whole new attitude. This video (done by Officer Mark) makes me laugh so hard I almost wet myself!