{"id":3382,"date":"2016-08-15T05:25:53","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T12:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/wallysweek\/?p=3382"},"modified":"2019-04-26T16:17:50","modified_gmt":"2019-04-26T16:17:50","slug":"august-15-august-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/august-15-august-21\/","title":{"rendered":"August 15 – August 21 (2016)"},"content":{"rendered":"

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK<\/h3>\n

I saw this on-line this week and it sure explains a lot!<\/p>\n

\"ww_20160815_00\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While revisiting some old CDs in my collection, I happened across a song my pal Verno Urquiza recorded in the Production Room of 94.7 The Wave when I was working there back in the 90’s.  While I did my overnight radio show, I let him use the production room to record some music demos. After I got laid off from the station in July of 1993, I particularly bonded with a song he wrote called “Better Myself.” <\/span>It served as an anthem to me as I was looking to change my life and discover where my future would lead me.  Though it’s in rough demo stage, I still love listening to this song and its positive admonitions.  Verno is singing and playing guitar, and I’m playing keyboard on the track.  I hope you enjoy Verno’s “Better Myself” as much as I do.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/wallysweek\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/better_myself.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Monday the 15th \u2013 THE LAUNCH OF LORD! \u2013<\/span> Boy did it feel nice to sleep into the afternoon. I didn\u2019t get up until 3pm, and it sure felt nice to sleep in air conditioned comfort after the AC snafu I had on Sunday (see the previous week\u2019s Wally\u2019s Week!<\/a>).  When I got up I did some work around the house, and then headed to my mailbox to pick up some packages.  Not only did I get the new back cushion for my window seat (the fabric matched the window seat cushion I had made by the same company several months back), but I also got a new mannequin for my upcoming Jack Lord figure project.  I\u2019ve been the proud owner of a complete Jack Lord custom-tailored suit and boots that he wore in \u201cHawaii Five-O\u201d from 1968-1980 for quite a while.   While I\u2019ve been able to get actual life-casts or sculptures of the actors featured in my displays, I never had access to a Jack Lord likeness.  But I recently met a guy named Larry Torro; an amazingly talented sculptor and effects master who did a Jack Lord mask for another project.  After contacting the original person who commissioned Larry\u2019s work for the Jack Lord project and getting their approval, Larry was able to sell me a copy of his Jack Lord face.  It was a beautiful casting in latex rubber.  After I got home my effects guy Jim Ojala came over to get the Jack Lord face and the new mannequin so he could begin working on it.  It just so happened that Jim has a few free weeks between projects that will allow him to complete my Jack Lord project.  I would have used the mannequin that the Jack Lord costume is presently on, but it doesn\u2019t have a head.  So I\u2019ll have to use that mannequin for some other purpose later.  When Jim left I grabbed a quick nap on the couch, and then got up to record my nightly auditions.  I wrote Wally\u2019s Week, edited some new music that I had downloaded by Olivia Newton-John (see previous Wally\u2019s Week) and the group Passengers; which includes Bono, The Edge and Brian Eno, and rediscovered an old song I had long forgotten about called \u201cBetter Myself.\u201d  I\u2019ve made it my song of the week under What\u2019s Wally Humming.  Check it out.   I walked Roxy on our usual late-night stroll through the neighborhood and we had a gorgeous orange full moon over our shoulder as we walked.  I took a few minutes to watch the moon dip behind the parking structure at the movie studio that\u2019s out my back door.  When you really study it, you realize how fast the earth actually moves!  I got inside to finish  Wally\u2019s Week, make some spaghetti, and watch another \u201cBarnaby Jones\u201d episode on DVD before bed.<\/p>\n

Tuesday the 16th \u2013 SUPER SHIRLEY & THE STRIPE! \u2013<\/span> Once again, I didn\u2019t get up until 3 in the afternoon.  Of course I didn\u2019t really get to bed until 10am, but that\u2019s how my nutty body clock works.  The industry is still in a slow period, so I\u2019m taking this opportunity to catch up on my rest and a few things around the homestead.  My car guy Bodie Stroud texted me and said he needed me to make a decision on my Gran Torino right away.  As you may know, my beloved Starsky & Hutch-style Gran Torino was stolen from his shop back in January, and it\u2019s taken this long to get it back.  There are a lot of extenuating circumstances surrounding the reasons that I can\u2019t go into here, but it\u2019s been very frustrating.  They had completely repainted the car from top to bottom because it had been damaged so badly in the theft.  But a few months ago they painted the strip incorrectly.  I had a template for the stripe that I wanted them to use, but they painted it without me.  So they had to sand it all down again and start over.  But the template for the stripe I had was inconsistent. The stripe on the driver\u2019s side wasn\u2019t exactly the same as the stripe on the passenger side.  What to do?  I consulted with a few experts who suggested that I take the template for the driver\u2019s side and flip it, and make it the stripe for both sides.  That\u2019s exactly what I told him to do.  But still he still wanted me to be there while the paint guys taped it out.  I had planned on taking my \u201cadopted grandma\u201d Shirley to the Sons of the Desert meeting to watch some Laurel and Hardy movies.  But it looked like we were going to be late. It was necessary to stop by Bodie\u2019s before we went to personally eyeball the laying on of the strip.  And boy am I glad I went!  Even Shirley helped me eyeball the strip and offered her opinion.  All the guys at the garage loved her!  The painter outlined the stripe with pinstriping tape, and we made a few adjustments and alterations until it looked right.  It\u2019s going to look better than ever when it\u2019s completed!  When Shirley and I got to the Sons of the Desert meeting the meeting had already started. Which meant that they had already sung the club\u2019s theme song (I always love doing that!) and had already done the customary toasts to all of the Laurel and Hardy actors and personalities.  I love to do the traditional toasts as well.  But it was well worth me going to Bodie\u2019s to get my car straightened away.  Shirley and I had a few hot dogs, enjoyed some movies, and then headed to the grocery store to get a few items before going home.  I got back and did my auditions, worked around the house, made some chili and hit the hay.  No time to watch TV tonight, because I had to be up early Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Wednesday the 17th \u2013 ORION aka ELVIS \u2013 IS BACK! \u2013<\/span> My contractor Electric Bob met me at my house at 11am so he could paint my new garage door.  It has to be a certain color to comply with homeowner\u2019s association rules.  So while he painted, I got ready for a quick Voice-Over session at Voice Trax West for the University of Texas.  But when I got there at my appointed time of 12:30, there had apparently been a mix-up.  The session wasn\u2019t going to start until 1!  But I had a worker at my house that I had to get back to, so I called my agent and we worked it out so they could take me sooner.  It was a quick session and a ton of fun!  On the way home I stopped by the post office to stick some letters in the mail slot.  But when I drove up their driveway there were lots of available parking spaces.  Were they even open?  Come to find out, they were open, but it was a particular time of day when they were slow.  I wasn\u2019t used to seeing the post office EVER slow!  So I took the unique opportunity to go inside and get some stamps as well.  Shirley had forgotten to get stamps when we were shopping the night before, and I remembered that she needed some. So I got a book for her and a book for me, mailed my letters and sped off.  After a quick stop at McDonald\u2019s for lunch-to-go, I headed to Shirley\u2019s to deliver her stamps.  She was very grateful.  Then I made it back home.  Electric Bob had already finished the painting job and had left.  My agents had contacted me about redoing a few auditions I had sent in the night before. I had mispronounced a few things they wanted fixed.  One wasn\u2019t my fault, and one was.  I guess I need different glasses!  I grabbed my new Animal Muppet and headed to my pal Mike Moore\u2019s studio in North Hollywood.  He\u2019s a master when it comes to repairs on lots of different types of props, particular puppets.  I love my new Animal, but the little tab inside the puppet\u2019s head that manipulates his eyebrows is just a little too short for my index finger. So he\u2019s going to have to cut open the back of the head, extend the length of the tab permanently, and then close it back up.  Luckily, where he needs to make the cut is under a thick brush of ostrich feathers (Animal\u2019s hair) so the incision won\u2019t be noticeable after it\u2019s repaired.  It was fun touring his studio and get a glance at all the cool stuff he\u2019s working on.  I got back and took a short nap.  Then I got up to enjoy dinner at Jerry\u2019s Famous Deli with my friends Bruce Kulick and his wife Lisa.  I came back home and took a slightly longer nap, and then got up to do my auditions.  I was craving Denny\u2019s, so I drove off to get some food to go, and then came back home to send out my movie night invites.  Roxy and I took our late-night stroll through the neighborhood again, and enjoyed another full moon overhead.  As we were winding up our walk, I noticed the eastern sky.  While the moon was setting in the western sky, I made note of the Orion constellation now appearing in the eastern sky.  It was good to see it again.  We don\u2019t get to see the Orion constellation in the summer time, but as it gets closer to fall and winter we\u2019re going to see it consistently.  I guess it\u2019s a seasonal thing.  I like to refer to Orion as the Elvis constellation, because I think it resembles the body of Elvis Presley on stage doing a karate pose while he sings.  It also gives me comfort to see it, because it heralds the coming of fall.  My pal Officer Mark and I recently bought two tickets to see Electric Light Orchestra with Jeff Lynne at the Hollywood Bowl on September 11th. I\u2019m REALLY looking forward to seeing them, and attending the concert will be a \u201cbucket list\u201d kind of thing for me.  I\u2019ve been enjoying them since the mid 70\u2019s.  I think one of the first 45 rpm records I ever bought with my own money was \u201cStrange Magic.\u201d  When I was about 17, I used to put on the album \u201cOut of the Blue\u201d and just chill in my room.  A fellow radio DJ gave me a bank of blue lights that he used to use at his personal appearances and disco dances he would perform.  I loved turning on those blue lights in my room, listening to the music of ELO, and being transported into another realm while I relaxed.  While other friends of mine back then were starting to experiment with drugs and booze, I didn\u2019t need to.  I was able to alter my mind, mood and consciousness with lighting and music.  Now that I look back upon it, I realized that I was meditating and didn\u2019t even know it!  Even today I still enjoy it.  In my \u201cTranquility Zone,\u201d most of the lighting I installed is blue (it relaxes me) and instead of listening to my old record player, I have an iPod to supply the meditational music.  I guess everything really does come full circle!  I also enjoyed remembering that I wrote an essay as a senior in high school about my \u201cOut of the Blue\/Blue Light\u201d experiences for composition class.  The teacher enjoyed reading it so much she gave me an \u201cA\u201d!   I ate my Denny\u2019s and watched another \u201cBarnaby Jones\u201d episode before bed.<\/p>\n

Thursday the 18th \u2013 SARA SMILE \u2013<\/span> Since getting up at 3 in the afternoon was working so well for me, I decided to do it again.  I called my assistant Sara to meet me for lunch at Paty\u2019s.  While we ate, she told me about her new Go Fund Me campaign to help her with some dental issues she\u2019s been enduring.  Poor girl has been through the mill, and as an actress you\u2019re not much without a great smile.  If you want to check out her campaign it\u2019s https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/smileforsara<\/a>, and if you can help that would be great too.  I picked up some packages at my mailbox, mailed off a package to my friend Panda in San Diego, and headed back home to work on the computer.  My friend Jasmine came over to hang out for a bit. After she left I grabbed a short nap, and then got up to tackle my nightly auditions.  I also dug into my bookkeeping responsibilities, reconciled my bank accounts, organized and filed my receipts and got it all situated nicely.  I gave Roxy her dinner and we went on our nightly walk.  I came back inside and did some work updating my database.  Then I made some pizza rolls and watched \u201cBarnaby Jones\u201d before bed.<\/p>\n

Friday the 19th \u2013 \u201cBATMAN: RETURN OF THE CAPED CRUSADERS!\u201d \u2013<\/span> When I got up at 1:30 it was too hot to walk Roxy to the groomer\u2019s, so I put her in the car and drove her over to drop her off for a much-needed bath.  I came back home, grabbed a shower, and headed out for my errands.  My first stop was to get some lunch and take it to the car wash. As dirty as my dog was, my car was even dirtier!  I went over to Michael\u2019s crafts to see if they could linen-back an old poster that had just been given to me by my friend Bob.  But they said the poster was so old they didn\u2019t want to risk putting it through the bonding machine because it gets very hot.  I appreciated their honesty.  I went to my mailbox to get my packages, and then went back to pick up Roxy at the groomer\u2019s.  When I got home I received several e-mails from friends telling me about the teaser trailer that had just been posted on-line for the new animated film \u201cBatman: Return of the Caped Crusader.\u201d  It\u2019s a direct-to-video animated film that features the voices of Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar reprising their original roles!  It was fun to watch and it should be an amazing movie!  I can\u2019t wait for it to be released in November on Blu Ray!  Here’s the teaser… https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=a6xvuhn7pc8<\/a>   I grabbed a short nap on the couch, and then got up to work around the house.  I did some work in my garage reorganizing things, and stashing my portable AC unit back in its storage place.  Hopefully I won\u2019t need it again for a very long time.  (Read the previous Wally\u2019s Week for more info)  I\u2019ve got a lot of garage reorganization to do in the coming weeks.  After my water heater leaked, and my garage door was replaced, my garage is a total mess.  But it\u2019s going to be a very substantial job!  I walked Roxy, made a delicious Chef Boy Ar Dee pizza-in-a-box, and retired to watch \u201cBarnaby Jones\u201d again before bed. I\u2019m LOVING this show!<\/p>\n

Saturday the 20th \u2013 STAND BY WE! \u2013<\/span> Late afternoon, my pal Larry and Kerry Strothe came over so I could give a tour of Planet Wallywood to Kerry\u2019s parents who were visiting from San Jose.  It was a great time and they enjoyed seeing everything.  Shortly after they left, my friends Jeremy and Holley came over for a visit.  They were in town from Las Vegas, and they wanted to chat and catch up before my usual Saturday night movie night hubbub started.  In honor of Jeremy and Holley\u2019s visit, and by their request, we ran the movie \u201cStand By Me\u201d on Blu Ray.  The last time I had seen it was on VHS back in the 90\u2019s.  But seeing it on Blu Ray was an amazing experience.  It was a beautifully photographed movie, and the Oregon landscape was simply gorgeous.  I had forgotten about how amazing that movie was.  As we watched the film, there wasn\u2019t a guy in the room who wasn\u2019t thinking about their own friends they had at the age of 12.  I started thinking about my old pal Kent Stolz, and I got very nostalgic.  I would love to see him and talk to him again and chat about the fun old days of sleeping over at his house, staying up late to watch \u201cThe Outer Limits\u201d and getting a Lu\u2019s pizza delivered to his house.  After everyone left I grabbed a short nap, and then got up to prep for the song I\u2019d be singing at church on Sunday.  I decided to turn in early and get some extra rest so I was fresh for the service.  That meant that I would be enjoying my traditional Saturday night Super Salad on Sunday night instead.<\/p>\n

Sunday the 21st \u2013 DOOBIES AND NEWBIES! \u2013<\/span> It sure felt good to get some quality sleep before getting up and rehearsing my musical number that I\u2019d be performing at church later.  My pal Bruce Kulick was going to join us later that night and play guitar for the performance of \u201cJesus Is Just Alright\u201d by the Doobie Brothers.  But he sent me a text telling me that he got hung up in Dallas because of weather.  He had played with Grand Funk Friday night, and had intended to be back by Saturday afternoon.  But the weather delayed his flight so he wouldn\u2019t be back in time.  But we still had Luis Oliart playing lead guitar, so we were going to be in good hands.  I ran through the song several times, warming up the old vocal cords, and printed out the lyrics.  I got ready for evening church, and when I walked in to rehearse with the band they were already running through it.  I just walked up, put my lyrics on the stand, and joined in.  They are a wonderful group of ultra-pro musicians, and it\u2019s always a pleasure, an honor and a privilege to perform with them.  I invited my friends Jeremy and Holley to come to the service and check it out, so it was nice having them there too.  Holley and Shirley hit it off really well, and seemed like old friends.  They had been inseparable since they met at movie night.  The song went really well and the house was rockin\u2019!  A big group of use went to the Smokehouse after the service to celebrate Jeremy\u2019s birthday.  What a great group of folks!  I said goodbye to Jeremy and Holley and wished them a safe drive back to Vegas on Monday.  I got back home and took a short nap, and then got up to do a ton of auditions.  During my late-night stroll with Roxy, a lot of funny things happened\u2026right out of a Laurel and Hardy movie.  A few nights earlier, I had bought a Montecristo cigar to enjoy at some point over the weekend.  Since I was singing at church on Sunday night, I didn\u2019t want to fire it up on Friday or Saturday night.  But tonight I decided to have it on my walk with Roxy.  It\u2019s 3 in the morning so I can enjoy it freely as I stroll through the complex without offending anyone.  But as I started to light it, I realized that I had forgotten to have it cut!  I didn\u2019t want to go back inside and find my cutter, so I just bit off the tip.  I got a mouth full of tobacco leaves, so I\u2019m spitting them out as best as I could.  Then I got it lit.  As usual, Roxy went to a grassy area and did her business. I grabbed my pooper scooper to pick it up and deposit it in the waste receptacle. But right in the middle of picking it up, the sprinklers fired up and started soaking Roxy and I to the bone.  To make matters worse my cigar was getting drenched!  I quickly dumped the poo-poo in the container and ran off.  But as we walked on, we both air dried nicely.  I came back inside, did some work, and got ready for bed.  Since I postponed my traditional Saturday night Super Salad by one night, I got ready to enjoy it while watching a new show.  The week before last, I finished up watching the old BBC show \u201cThe Avengers.\u201d  I loved watching an episode of that every Saturday night with my Super Salad, but sadly I had run out of episodes.  I consulted with my pal Bob who told me about a follow-up series they did in the mid 70\u2019s called \u201cThe New Avengers.\u201d  It had a few new actors, but still starred Patrick Macnee as John Steed.  I was interested, so I bought the set on Amazon and had it delivered.  After watching the first episode, I think I\u2019m going to really enjoy it.   And since there are 26 episodes in the series, it will be well into 2017 before I run out (given that I watch one episode a week.)  Peter Cushing was in the first episode playing a German doctor.  And since the year it was filmed was 1976, it was most likely right around the time he was also doing the first \u201cStar Wars\u201d movie!  That was kind of cool to see a \u201cStar Wars\u201d era Cushing.  Life is RICH!  But spend it wisely!<\/p>\n

And how was YOUR week??!!<\/p>\n

PIX FROM THE WEEK<\/p>\n

\"Here's<\/a>

Here’s the amazing cover to the upcoming direct-to-video animated feature starring Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar! I want this NOW!<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

The morning after I went to my pal Bodie Stroud’s shop to supervise the preparation process to paint the new stripe on my Gran Torino, he sent me this picture of the results. IT. IS. GORGEOUS!<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wallysweek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}