{"id":3461,"date":"2016-09-19T06:17:15","date_gmt":"2016-09-19T13:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/wallysweek\/?p=3461"},"modified":"2019-04-26T16:11:42","modified_gmt":"2019-04-26T16:11:42","slug":"september-19-september-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/september-19-september-25\/","title":{"rendered":"September 19 -September 25 (2016)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

A friend recently informed me that the Urban Dictionary attributes my last name to meaning something really great.  I thought this was really cool, even though the British meaning of my first name is still quite uncomplimentary!  I guess they cancel each other out.<\/p>\n

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I’m still singing songs by Electric Light Orchestra, as the amazing concert on 9\/11 is still running through my mind.  The song I’ve been humming most of the week is “Evil Woman.”<\/span><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/wallysweek\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/evil_woman.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Monday the 19th \u2013 T.T.F.N.P.S. \u2013<\/span> My eyes shot open at 11am and my body was ready to go home; back to L.A.  It had been a great visit to my beloved Palm Springs, but I was ready to get back home and get back to business.  I packed up my last-minute items, walked Roxy one last time, checked out of the Hyatt by noon, and hit the road at 12:30.  It was very overcast; hot and humid.  They were expecting a few days of rain and thunderstorms, so I was getting out just at the right time.  On my way out of town I like to listen to 1270AM KVGH for as long as I can receive the signal well. As luck would have it, just as I was making my way down the road, the 1972 million selling hit \u201cBrandy\u201d came on the air!  It always makes me laugh, especially considering I had just enjoyed dinner and some time spent at the Palm Springs street fair with the singer and writer of that song; Elliot Lurie.  It happened right on cue, just like it was in a movie.  Of all the oldies out there, isn\u2019t it strange that particular song just \u201chappened\u201d to play right at that time?  I always get a chuckle out of \u201ccoincidences\u201d like that.   It was a great drive home at top speeds, and I made it back by 2:15.  I unpacked my bags, and my assistant Sara came over to clean up, since she had been housesitting all week.  My friend Edi came over later in the day to pack up her stuff and hit the road for her home in Palm Desert.  She and Sara had been holding down the fort while I was away.  Once Sara and Edi left, I got settled back into life in Planet Wallywood and relaxed.  I grabbed a short nap, and then got up later for a few auditions, and I wrote up Wally\u2019s Week.  I ate some cereal and hit the hay.<\/p>\n

Tuesday the 20th \u2013 BACK TO BIZ! \u2013<\/span> When I got up at noon I sped off to my seamstress Karyn Hutchinson\u2019s studio. She notified me last week that she had completed another one of my Tony Clifton bowling shirts, but I didn\u2019t have time to get it before I left for Palm Springs.  This one was being done for my buddy Jeremy Johnson, who was Tony Clifton\u2019s assistant and A\/V guy for several years.  The back of the shirts are emblazoned with a huge embroidered Tony Clifton logo applique.  I picked up the logo last week at Mr. Stitch, and now I needed Karyn to sew the applique on before I took possession of the shirt. Then I needed to take the completed shirt BACK to Mr. Stitch to have Jeremy\u2019s name stitched over the front pocket.  This shirt makes only the fifth in the entire WORLD of its kind!  They\u2019re very cool, but the problem is they\u2019re very expensive to make since they\u2019re all made custom.  I have two, I gave one to the real Tony Clifton, Karyn\u2019s brother has one (it\u2019s his lucky poker shirt!) and soon Jeremy will have the fifth one.  While I was there I dropped off my newly acquired Starsky & Hutch \u201cTorino\u201d jacket to have a patch sewn on.  My first one had been stolen from my Gran Torino when it was ripped off back in January from BS Industries in Sun Valley.  I headed up the 5 freeway and went to Plastic Depot in Burbank to have another special piece fabricated for the \u201cScooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed\u201d poster in my garage.  I need a little clear \u201coffset clip\u201d made to keep my poster flush to the interior of my garage door.  Kyle is always really good at doing that sort of thing. Then I drove over to HMS Props to talk to my pal Mike Moore.  When I got my Animal replica Muppet I noticed that the little tab inside the head that works the eyebrow mechanism is a little too short for my index finger to manipulate.  So Mike, a preeminent expert in Muppet repair issues, had to cut the back of Animal\u2019s head open carefully so he could access the finger tab.  It was like surgery!  Once he could actually see the tab, he had me put my hand in Animal\u2019s head so he could see just how much he would need to extend the tab.  He\u2019ll have me return once he\u2019s done the work so he can tailor the extended tab to my finger\u2019s contours.  Then he\u2019ll stitch Animal\u2019s head back up and he\u2019ll be as good as new!  I drove home and fed Roxy and Spooky, and then relaxed.  Though it was nothing like Palm Springs, it was fairly overcast and humid in L.A.  I got a little nap before my hair appointment at Floyd\u2019s.  While I was in Palm Springs, I decided I needed to take a few inches off my hair.  The bathroom in my room at the Hyatt has a full complement of mirrors that show you from all angles.  I was noticing how the ends of my hair in the back weren\u2019t looking very good, and it needed a good clean-up back there.  So while my stylist Andie worked away on me with a cut and color, my \u201cadopted grandma\u201d Shirley walked over to keep me company.  I liked the new, slightly shorter length.  It would grow back before you knew it, but it was already looking healthier.  I walked Shirley back home and then headed back to Planet Wallywood for a nap.   I got up later and did my auditions and did some work around the house.  I went to bed in a timely manner so I could be up for an early session on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

Wednesday the 21st \u2013 GET SPOOK AND SQUIRREL! \u2013<\/span> The first event of the day was a session at Voice Trax West for an east coast power company.  The character in the spot was a dramatic \u201csoap opera\u201d character. It was a lot of fun.  Then I was patched in with another Voice-Over actor from Canada to do a partner read.  The session took about an hour, and when we finished I took the finished Tony Clifton bowling shirt to Mr. Stitch to get Jeremy\u2019s name embroidered on the shirt.  But Jeremy didn\u2019t want his own name; he wanted \u201cAndy.\u201d  Funny.  After I dropped the shirt off at Mr. Stitch I headed over to Taco Bell to get some lunch.  I talked to my parents, and they\u2019re very excited for their trip out here in early October.  I stopped off at CVS to pick up a prescription, then got some groceries, stopped by my veterinarian\u2019s office to pick up some cat fud (since the famous Gary Larson \u201cFar Side\u201d cartoon came out, I always spell it that way), stopped by Rusty\u2019s to get Roxy a new bag of food, got my mail at my mailbox, and then headed back home to unpack my groceries and do some work.  Whew!  The folks at American Airlines asked if I could record a few pages of stuff for their in-flight programming.  I was able to record it in my home studio and e-mail it over to them.  Easy squeezy!  Then I did a little work on my computer.  My pal Natalie Duran came over and we went to dinner at Jerry\u2019s Famous Deli.  Natalie\u2019s one of the famous \u201cAmerican Ninja Warrior\u201d contestants, so it\u2019s always fun to watch what she eats. She\u2019s so darn healthy!  And she\u2019s so fit she could literally toss me overhead like Droopy dog did with Mr. Bull in the old MGM cartoon!  I got back home and grabbed a nap on the couch, and then I got up for my nightly auditions.  I fed and walked Roxy, and then made some hot dogs on the grill before I hit the hay to watch \u201cBarnaby Jones.\u201d  Just as I was getting to bed around 8am, I came back into my room and saw my cat Spook staring at something outside my third floor bedroom window.  What the heck was he looking at?  I moved around to the window and there was a cute, bushy-tailed squirrel staring at Spook through the glass.  He saw me and moved EVEN CLOSER!  He wasn\u2019t swayed by the little cat noises Spook was making, as he was trying to persuade me with his cuteness to bring him out some peanuts for his breakfast.  Guess what\u2026IT WORKED!  It was really funny watching them look at each other through the window.  The squirrel was well aware that Spook was safely contained behind double-paned glass.  I honestly believe the squirrel was taunting him!  I love going to bed after a good laugh!<\/p>\n

Thursday the 22nd \u2013 INSURANCE INSANITY! \u2013<\/span> Late in the afternoon, after I woke up, I called the California Department of Insurance to see what my rights were in regards to my Gran Torino being stolen from my pal Bodie\u2019s shop back in January.  His insurance company wasn\u2019t covering the repair costs, and it\u2019s going on 10 months now.  I really want my car back!  The agent on the line told me how the pecking order of insurance works.  My insurance company sent me a big check for the damage back in May, but I\u2019ve been holding on to it.  I figured that Bodie\u2019s insurance company would pay for the damage and get the car fixed (since the liability was theirs\u2019), and I could send this money back to my insurance company.  That way my rates wouldn\u2019t go up.  But the merry-go-round way the agent said the industry works left my head spinning.  Picture this:  My car gets stolen from a body shop.  The car is found a few days later, stripped and damaged. I report the damage to my insurance company.  My insurance company sends me a check to get the car repaired.  I give that money to the body shop for the repairs. Then the body shop\u2019s insurance pays for the damage, and the body shop has just made money on the theft of my car.  But the CDI agent told me that\u2019s insurance fraud.  So what happens instead is that my insurance company will now go after the body shop\u2019s insurance agency to get reimbursement for what they paid me.  Brother!  What a strange circle.  But once I understood that concept (as nutty as it is) I called Bodie\u2019s shop and told them I was bringing a check over to get the Torino finished.  Now they\u2019ll be able to put a guy on the car full-time and have it turned back around for me in a few weeks.  Bodie actually had no idea that\u2019s how it worked either, which is why we\u2019ve been at an impasse for so long.  But now it\u2019s all settled.  I first stopped at my mailbox and picked up some neat artwork from an old TV show called \u201cMidnight Macabre.\u201d  It was a local show on KELO-TV that I used to watch on Friday nights at midnight.  They ran a package of syndicated horror movies like \u201cLittle Shop of Horrors\u201d and \u201cThe House on Haunted Hill.\u201d  The show opened with a creepy, sharp-toothed skull talking to the viewer through a wavery filter.  The skull\u2019s voice sounded a lot like the KELO-TV weatherman Dave Dedrick, but it was still creepy.  It had a lot of reverb on it, and the show opening was a lot scarier than the majority of movies they ran.  I had seen the cardboard talking skull pull tab puppet in the archives of graphics when I used to work at the station back in 1984.  But I had always wondered what happened to it.  I called my old pal Larry Hofer, who is now the new graphics head at KELO.  He said what I described sounded very familiar, and in fact he located it for me in his office!  He sent it to me to be framed and placed in a place of honor in Planet Wallywood!  I pulled it out of the packaging and all those memories came flooding back!  This thing used to scare the crap out of me as a kid, but now I love having it in the collection because of its simplistic, gorgeous design, and what it meant to me as a young horror fan.  Then I went over to Guns Direct to sign about seven petitions to overturn some recent legislation California\u2019s Governor and Legislature passed.  The deadline for signatures was this coming Saturday, so I wanted to hurry and get over there to do it before it was too late.  Then I drove to BS Industries to give Bodie\u2019s office guy a check for the full insurance settlement.  Hopefully this means I\u2019ll have my Torino back in time to enjoy the nice fall weather that\u2019s coming.  I stopped by Jersey Mike\u2019s for a sandwich, and headed home to enjoy it.  Then I grabbed a short nap.  When I got up I did my auditions and did a little work on the computer.  I settled in to watch another \u201cBarnaby Jones\u201d episode and finish my Jersey Mike\u2019s sandwich.<\/p>\n

Friday the 23rd \u2013 FREAKY FRIDAY! \u2013<\/span> I\u2019m convinced that technology hates me.  I got up at noon and did some work reconciling my bank accounts, statements and receipts.  I found a HUGE discrepancy that I initially thought was fraud.  It took me a while to get a person from my bank on the phone to see what was going on.  I tried wading through the sea of phone prompts to get to a live person, and at first it didn\u2019t work.  I had to call back and try again.  Finally I got somebody on the line.  They looked at the discrepancy and, without saying too much about it, discovered that it was basically the fault of their system which misread another check\u2019s account number, and debited it to mine. Whew!  But it still took about an hour and a half to get a final answer, as I had to speak with about four different people. Then the maids showed up to clean Planet Wallywood.  I wanted to take the \u201cMidnight Macabre\u201d artwork to Michaels Crafts to be framed.  But when I called to talk to the framer, once again I had to wade through a sea of phone prompts.  Once I got a live person, I got disconnected during the transfer process.  I called back, and then waited on hold for about 5 minutes.  I finally found out that somebody would be in the framing department until 9. But it was a very frustrating process.   And all day my cell phone has been having trouble sending out texts and photos.  To top it all off, my computer was acting strangely.  My computer guy Brian Crisp now lives in Denver, but he said he would fly in this weekend and install a new machine.  I told him to hang tight and let me figure out what was going on before he bought a plane ticket.  I let the computer rest for a bit while I drove to Michaels.  Lucky me, I got a newbie framer who didn\u2019t really understand what I wanted to do with the \u201cMidnight Macabre\u201d artwork.  (I\u2019m now referring to the talking skull as \u201cMac\u201d\u2026which is short for macabre.)  I went back home to let my friend Edi in, who had just driven in from Palm Desert.  She dropped off her little dog Bunny (whom I\u2019d be dogsitting all weekend) and then we went off to Jerry\u2019s Famous Deli to have dinner with her husband Elliot and my friend Ninja Natalie.  It was a very fun dinner, and it relieved some of the stress from earlier in the day. I was so glad it was Friday!  On the way home I did some grocery shopping, and then went home to nap.  I turned on the computer again, but it was acting very sluggishly and wasn\u2019t even responding to commands.  I decided to nap and see how it was later in the evening.  When I got up later I had to restart it a few times, which it didn\u2019t seem to like very much.  It was only handling one task at a time.  I turned my back to it and worked on some other stuff for a few hours.  But when I came back to it a few hours later, the computer was operating completely normally!  What?!  It was a very strange day and I was glad it was over.  I made some delicious Summer Sausage Spaghetti and watched \u201cBarnaby Jones\u201d before bed.  I ended up hitting the hay around 8am Saturday morning.<\/p>\n

Saturday the 24th \u2013 CHRIS, CLIFTON & CRAZY COMPUTERS! \u2013<\/span> My computer guy Brian had an appointment to \u201cremote\u201d in at 1pm and look at my computer\u2019s log.  Sure enough there were a ton of operational errors and problems.  I told him I could keep the hamster in the wheel going one more week, but during that time I wanted him to put together a brand new machine\u2026bigger and better than ever\u2026and fly in next weekend for the install.  At 2, I went over to my church to help my buddy Chris Malmin do a drum demo video he wanted to make.  He didn\u2019t have a location to do it, so I got our church\u2019s social hall as a venue, and it worked out very well.  My \u201cadopted grandma\u201d even came over to observe for a while.  After they got up and running, Shirley and I drove to Taco Bell to get some tacos.  As we were pulling back into the parking lot, our friend Christy was there setting up the parking lot for an event.  Come to find out, at 5:30 there was a church potluck barbecue planned; with all sorts of food \u2013 hot dogs, burgers, chips, pizza, etc.  MORE FOOD!  The video shoot wrapped up at 5 so Chris, Shirley and I walked to the little market across to street to get some food for the barbecue. While I was there I also got a few bottles of wine for my friend Emily\u2019s birthday party later that night.  Chris, Shirley and I sat around and had some food and chatted.  But I was running late for the party.  I sped home and fed the pets, hit the shower, and headed down the freeway to the party.  I drove to Encino, heading west on the 101 freeway.  At the time of day I was driving, it took me directly into the freshly set sun.  The direct sunlight was no longer a problem, and it was gorgeous!  A beautiful orange sky directly ahead of me, and I had the top down to enjoy the weather. What a night!  I got to Emily\u2019s 40th birthday party in good time.  Edi and Elliot were there, as was my old pal (and fellow Voice-Over Actor) Billy West.  I decided to wear my Tony Clifton bowling shirt.  It was quite the topic of conversation.  I didn\u2019t wear the one with WALLY over the pocket. I wore the one with TONY over the pocket.  It was known that everyone at the party would be paying for their own food, and nobody had a problem with it.  We were there to celebrate Emily\u2019s birthday.  Since I had eaten so much food during the course of the day, all I had was an iced tea and some mozzarella sticks.  So when the tab arrived, everybody\u2019s food was all on the same check.  Everybody just threw in cash for their part of the check.  Edi and Elliot were sitting across the table from me, so I went into my Tony Clifton voice and said, \u201cWhat the hell is this?!  I don\u2019t need to pay for my meal.  Don\u2019t you know who I am?  I don\u2019t pay. YOU pay!  I\u2019m gonna sue you!\u201d  Edi and Elliot were in hysterical laughter, as were a few people around me who knew exactly what I was doing.  But the lady next to me, whom I did not know before that night, slipped me 20 bucks.  I smiled and asked what that was for.  She said, \u201cWell, it\u2019s for you since you have a problem.\u201d    I said, \u201cI do?\u201d  She wouldn\u2019t say any more, but I was really confused.  Then it hit me.  She didn\u2019t know I was doing a Tony Clifton impression.  She thought I was really complaining about paying for my iced tea and mozzarella sticks!  I tried to explain gently that I was just doing a character to make my friends laugh, but she wouldn\u2019t take the 20 bucks back.  She wouldn\u2019t even accept my 20 bucks in exchange.  So, realizing that I wasn\u2019t going to win, I just gave the money to the server and shut my mouth.  And now Edi and Elliot are laughing even HARDER.  The evening ended with a long chat with Billy West (I love that guy!) and once again I popped the top in the Mustang and headed home. What a gorgeous night!  I gave Roxy and Spook some treats and then I grabbed a short nap.  I got up around 4 and the computer was still working fine.  Odd.  I fed and walked Roxy and then made my traditional Saturday Super Salad, and then settled in to watch another episode of the BBC show from the 70\u2019s \u201cThe New Avengers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunday the 25th \u2013 SUNDAY TURNAROUND! \u2013<\/span> Edi and her daughter Ems came over later in the afternoon to pick up Bunny the dog so they could drive back to Palm Desert.  Then I headed off to evening church, but without Roxy.  It was still much too hot.  After church I came home to goof around and take a dip in the Jacuzzi.  I grabbed a nap, and then got up to do some auditions.  Thankfully my computer was still fully complying.  I made some lasagna and watched \u201cBarnaby Jones\u201d before I went to bed for the night.  But just before I turned in for good at 10am, I checked my e-mail.  I found out via e-mail that eBay had refunded my money for a 3-D TV I bought, but never received.  I was dreading the fight that was no doubt ahead on the transaction.  But all I did was contact eBay about the issue, and they refunded my money easy squeezy!  Neat!  The guy I bought the TV from had 0 feedback, so he must\u2019ve been a flake. Or maybe it was a scam.  All I know is that I got all my money back.  Thanks eBay!!<\/p>\n

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

PIX FROM THE WEEK<\/p>\n

\"WHO<\/a>

WHO WILL YOU VOTE FOR?! The monster cereals get into the election vibe with new cereal box art! YUMMY! Since they’ve returned to supermarket shelves that must mean Halloween is right around the corner!<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"My<\/a>

My seamstress’ dog Jack waits for me to throw the ball for him.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Here's<\/a>

Here’s Jeremy’s Tony Clifton bowling shirt…with the name Andy on it.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Cute<\/a>

Cute puppies at a dog adoption in Palm Springs…just because.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Here<\/a>

Here Karyn stitches on the Tony Clifton applique.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Mike<\/a>

Mike Moore, propmaker extraordinaire, works on my Animal replica Muppet by performing surgery on his head. Careful there, Mike!<\/p><\/div>\n

https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/wallysweek\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/waykey.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div><\/p>\n

It’s a trifecta of tranquility!  I’m watching Navajo musical artist Waykey play music in his booth on a warm evening in Palm Springs under a full moon…with my faithful dog Roxy by my side!<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/wallysweek\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/brandy.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

On the way out of town (and just before I lost the signal) “Brandy” pops up on the radio!  NEAT!<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/wallysweek\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/midnight_macabre.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Here’s the original artwork from KELO-TV’s “Midnight Macabre” – circa 1970!  Great collectible!<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/wallysweek\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/traffic_light_cereal.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Once again, I visit with the Smartest Traffic Light in The World. How DOES he know all the answers to my questions??!!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3461","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\/3461","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=3461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wallyontheweb.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}