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Tuesday the 26th \u2013 PHOTO ALBUM PHOLLIES! \u2013<\/span> Since not much will be going on this week, I plan on sleeping a lot, and sleeping very, very late. Since I\u2019ve been having voice problems from some recent acid reflux issues, it\u2019s good to just rest and shut the hell up anyway. Later in the day I did some work around the house, and looked through some more negatives to take into Harry\u2019s Camera on Wednesday. Based on where I\u2019m currently at in my photo album process, I\u2019m starting to realize that I have a lot of the prints from this batch of negatives already in my possession. It was great looking at the early \u201clife in L.A.\u201d negatives \u2013 because I didn\u2019t have a lot of the prints that went along with those negatives. But at the point I\u2019m at currently getting prints and scans of these negatives would be unnecessary and redundant. First off, I already have usable prints for the new photo albums. Secondly, back in 2017 I had Sara scan every print that I had in my archives. So I already have scans of these images anyway. I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll find a few sets of negatives down the road that don\u2019t have companion prints, but for now I think I\u2019m doing pretty well. Most of the negatives I\u2019m looking at currently all have the associated prints which are already posted in my old photo albums. Speaking of the old photo albums, the \u201cgumminess\u201d on the photo pages has waned and has gotten very dry over the past 35+ years. So it\u2019s good that I\u2019m redoing them on fresh, new pages \u2013 and throwing all the old pages out. Later I wrote Wally\u2019s Week, took my nightly WOG (walk\/jog), spent some time in the anti-grav outside just looking at the sky, enjoying an iced tea and thinking about life, and then came back inside to make a salad and watch another episode of \u201cBoris Karloff\u2019s Thriller.\u201d<\/p>\nWednesday the 27th \u2013 WOG IN THE FOG! \u2013<\/span> The first stop of the day was to Harry\u2019s Camera to drop off some more negatives to be scanned and printed. I\u2019m realizing that there are several sets of South Dakota negatives I\u2019d like to get scanned and reprinted. The original prints I had made from those negatives back in the 80\u2019s were done on inferior paper and don\u2019t look very good. But there are about four or five sets of negatives from very pivotal moments in my life that I would like to have scanned for posterity, and reprinted on the new digital system. I\u2019m looking forward to how they will come out! But with a few exceptions here and there, I\u2019m expecting that these will be the last batch I\u2019ll take into Harry\u2019s for a while. I went to Paty\u2019s to eat a nice lunch on the patio, mailed off some checks for bills, hit Baskin-Robbins for some ice cream, and then went to CVS to get some supplies, and the grocery store to get some groceries. When I got home I unloaded the groceries, worked around the house, and did some more photo album work later. The first album is really coming along nicely! When I went outside to take my nightly WOG it was very, VERY foggy out! Whenever I\u2019m walking or jogging in the fog I can\u2019t help but hum Gerry Rafferty\u2019s \u201cBaker Street.\u201d It just seems to fit the moment. It was a great WOG, and spending time in the anti-grav chair afterwards was also pleasant. I got back inside and did some more photo album work, and I\u2019m almost done with the first book! I made a salad and watched another \u201cBoris Karloff Thriller\u201d episode. These shows are really great, and the sets and costumes are really amazing for a TV show.<\/p>\nThursday the 28th \u2013 CHRISTMAS COMA CONTINUES! \u2013<\/span> Since I was up so late working on the photo album I slept most of the day. Later I went out to get some food, and I did my usual nightly WOG and anti-grav time much later in the day. There was a great big ring around the moon, and sitting there in the anti-grav chair looking at it was amazing. It was back inside to do more work on the photo album, and then I made some spaghetti and watched another \u201cBoris Karloff Thriller\u201d episode.<\/p>\nFriday the 29th \u2013 PLEASED AS PUNCH! \u2013<\/span> The previous night was a long one, once again spent working on the photo album. So I slept very, very late. Later I took my WOG, and while I was out in the anti-grav chair enjoying the late-night it began to sprinkle. It felt good for a while, and then it got heavier. So I came inside. After a long, laborious week I\u2019m pleased to announce that I finished the first photo album! It\u2019s pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. I just need to print a few more photos to fill in some gaps, but most all of the photos are in place with the appropriate companion narratives. It\u2019s been fun going through all these old photos and remembering the old adventures. I\u2019m very proud of it. Soon, I\u2019ll begin work on the second photo album.<\/p>\nSaturday the 30th \u2013 MR. MAGOO IS WELL HUNG! WHAT?! \u2013<\/span> My buddy Mike McGee was supposed to come by in the afternoon to help me hang the giant cartoon cutouts of Popeye and Mr. Magoo that his wife Alex at Alex In Wonderland made for me. However, he texted me that he and Alex were both down with colds and sore throats. So we postponed to another day. The cutouts are fairly heavy and can\u2019t easily be hung on the wall, because if you don\u2019t anchor them into a wall stud they\u2019ll just tear right through the drywall. I went to Harry\u2019s Camera to drop off some negatives, and then I went over to CVS with a few needed photos on a flash drive to get prints made. These photos will fill in some gaps in my first photo album. I\u2019m realizing that I had taken a bunch of pictures on my camera, but some of the prints I have in the old photo albums were given to me by friends. So I don\u2019t have the original negatives for those. This gave me the chance to make scans of those prints, color correct them digitally, and then reprint them for the new album. While I was out and about I decided to drive over to Barone\u2019s to pick up a pizza to-go. I headed home to eat dinner, and then put the finishing touches on the very first photo album! It\u2019s so much fun! I couldn\u2019t wait to get started on the second album, so I dug right in. The beginning of the second album will feature pictures from Labor Day of 1988. Though I had been living in L.A. for over a year at that point, a bunch of friends and I decided to do a promotion at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls as a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Back in the \u201colden\u201d days, it was a tradition every Labor Day to watch Jerry Lewis host a telethon on TV to raise funds for MDA. In the times before conventions had proliferated, and the word \u201ccosplay\u201d was just a distant glimmer in its daddy\u2019s eye, I had a bunch of friends who had home-made superhero costumes. It all started with the creation of my own 1966 Adam West Batman costume in 1981. And then my friend Chris Malmin made a Robin costume. Then I made a Superman costume. My sister Peggy made a Wonder Woman costume, etc. etc. etc. Our idea was to have a big fundraiser at the local zoo for MDA. My folks had sent me a story from the Sioux Falls newspaper in the summer of 1988 about how the zoo had just acquired a brand new penguin exhibit. Since the 1966 Batman series was back in syndication on TV stations everywhere (in anticipation of the forthcoming Batmania resurgence of \u201889), I thought it might be fun to stage an event where Batman\u2019s foe The Penguin would make an attempt to steal the new penguin exhibit for his own. Of course Batman and his team of heroes would have to be on duty to defend the exhibit from The Penguin and his dastardly allies The Joker and Catwoman (along with many henchmen). I contacted a bunch of my actor pals from the local community playhouse, and we started hatching the plot. Without going into too much detail, suffice to say that the day was a monumental success, with crowds of kids and parents there to watch the Dynamic Duo and company defend the new exhibit \u2013 and all for the good, charitable cause of helping raise funds for MDA. During the commercial breaks of local \u201cBatman\u201d airings, we had a PSA running that featured my pal Trent as The Penguin making the public threat to steal the penguins. This worked the TV-viewing audience into a lather! The title of the event was \u201cThe Zoo Coup for MDA.\u201d I had a professional photographer working the event who shot about 8 rolls of film. Obviously not every print is going to make it into the photo album, but there are a TON of gems in the mix. Looking at those photos and remembering that amazing day would make me smile – then I\u2019d laugh \u2013 then I\u2019d cry \u2013 then I\u2019d laugh again. The looks on people\u2019s faces were priceless. Since cosplay wasn\u2019t a thing at the time, the kids in the audience were looking at us like we were the REAL DEAL! In the morning we visited several children\u2019s wings of the local hospitals, and then in the afternoon we visited the zoo for photos and meet-n-greets. Then the villains arrived and after they were subdued we locked them up in one of the monkey cages; which had been conveniently emptied and cleaned the day before by the zoo staff. We called it the Bat Super Villain Containment Facility \u2013 which of course, was clearly marked as such. At the time I was friends with Batman creator Bob Kane, who was kind enough to donate an original color sketch for the raffle. There are so many wonderful shots from that day that I may create a special page on my website just for that event. For a bunch of 20-something kids, we created an event which will live on in the memories of people in Sioux Falls for quite some time to come. And it occurred to me while looking at the photos, that a lot of the kids in the photos are now 40 years old!!! Since Mike wasn\u2019t able to help me hang the cartoon cutouts earlier in the day, I figured I\u2019d give it a go myself. However, once I found the stud in the wall where I had intended to hang Popeye, I realized that the stud is about 2.5\u201d away from where the hanging hardware was mounted on the back of Popeye. That job will take Mike\u2019s expertise, so I decided not to mess with it. However, the place on the wall where I had intended to hang Mr. Magoo worked out perfectly. I drilled two screws into the stud, side-by-side, about 7\/8\u201d apart, and hung Magoo perfectly. It looks SO good! As it was Saturday night, I made my usual Saturday Night Super Saint Salad and watched an episode of \u201cThe Saint.\u201d It\u2019s funny to see how, toward the end of the series, they were really working Roger Moore up to become James Bond someday. They put him in a lot of \u201cBond-like\u201d situations, and even the music score seemed to mirror that of a typical Bond movie.<\/p>\nSunday the 31st \u2013 LAST LUNCH OF 2023! \u2013<\/span> The final meal of 2023 was with two good friends, Edi and Elliot Lurie. We had a great meal at Paty\u2019s and got caught up on all the happenings. I showed them the first, finished photo album. But since it was New Year\u2019s Eve, Paty\u2019s would be closing early. So we had to be quick about it. Then I came home and lounged around, worked around the house a bit, and started doing my end-of-year organizing and labeling. I was actually working on the computer when midnight came, and the only reason I knew it was the New Year is because I could hear the fireworks going off outside. Other than that, I hardly paid it any mind. Later I took my WOG, and came back inside to do some more end-of-year stuff. I made a salad and watched another episode of \u201cBoris Karloff\u2019s Thriller.\u201d<\/p>\nMonday the 1st \u2013 HAPPY NEW YEAR! \u2013<\/span> Though I slept all day, I realized that I needed to get back into \u201cwork mode.\u201d I started thinking about my upcoming trip to the convention in St. Petersburg, Florida. Since I\u2019d be leaving Thursday night I had better start thinking about what I\u2019m going to pack. I took my WOG, but since it was very chilly I passed on the time spent outside in the anti-grav chair. I spent some time putting all of my 2023 receipts and pay stubs in envelopes for storage. Then I typed out Wally\u2019s Week. Then I made another salad and watched another episode of the great series \u201cBoris Karloff\u2019s Thriller.\u201d<\/p>\nAnd how was YOUR Christmas-to-New-Year\u2019s-week?!<\/p>\n
PIX FROM THE WEEK<\/p>\n
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