Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Rain on ... rain off ... no sun ... so bright ...

Lately I feel like I am in the tropics like Jamaica or something becasuse on Tuesday in the span of one hour in the afternoon it was overcast to raining to the sun being so bright and then a high wind to overcast again ... while the entire time it was completely humid. I like the rain and all but not the humidity which is not the typical fare here. Well, either way, at least I can stay in a nice A/C'd office.

Weekly Recap:
Drove out to Hemet on Saturday ... talk about boonie-ville and brush-fire country. It is quiet far and extremely HOT!! Why anyone would want to live out there ... I guess its like living in Texas or Arizona with the heat but more like AZ because of no humidity. Also Hemet is much like AZ in the fact that many seniors retire in these areas and or states (Florida and New Mexico are big retirement states as well). I have been in the area before when I did a work weekend for Camp Ronald McDonald last year. At least that was in the mountain area so it was cooler and more serene. This is just open, plain and hot! But for the rest of the weekend, just enjoying the time off for 4th of July, WOOHOO!!

At the movies:
Flying high so far this 4th of July weekend is WB's latest "return/begin" film from acclaimed (now) comic book director Bryan Singer, Superman Returns zooms into the #1 spot. Opening weekend number is about 52.1 million and the 5-day cume (including the Tuesday midnights) of about 84.2 mil. Have to imagine WB folks are happy with the number but I am sure they were hoping for a 100+ opening week, but the buzz on the film is very mixed. Taking the #2 spot is Fox's The Devil Wears Prada with a nice 27 mil for the three days. Sandler's "Click" holds in the top 5 with the #3 spot tuning in with another 19.4 million. Pixar's "Cars" still running on #4 with an additional 14 mil, now bringing in a total of 182 mil with more summer racing left to go. Rounding off the top 5, "Nacho Libre" winding down fast with 6.4 mil more.

Q & A:

None at this time.

Other News:
So they are discussing about doing away with the penny these days. The one side wants to eliminate it because the cost of producing per penny is more than its value. In fact the cost is one factor that makes the penny expensive to make, the value of the US dollar declines hence making the penny weaker (or in reverse, the cost that much more). Why not take a lesson from the cousins across the pond in merry ol England and round off? The other side wants to keep the penny and why? Nostolgic purposes? Ok, I can go with that but other than that, is there any real agruement here? If we can someone save money in the government (wow!) then why not start there. I do think pennies should still be printed but do they need to be done as often? Would doing a penny print run every other time instead help? I do remember when I worked at the movie theatre we went from $x.99 to the nearest dollar or quarter. I thought it was the best thing since I discovered the internet! When handling money, pennies on average (to me that is) are the most grimey and gross of the coins ... is it because of the zinc content? I don't know but a lot of times they were pretty nasty. So keep the penny or lose the penny? Doesn't matter to me either way, its just a penny and I will always have tons of them around regardless.

Facts & Tips:
Nearly 9,000 people injure themselves with a toothpick each year.

"Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?"- Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson from the TV show "Diffe'rent Strokes".

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

A bicycle built for ... four??

There has been these kind of cool four seater bicycle's for sale on the lot. They are a little big but its the kind of thing that would be a cool ride around the lot on or in a park ... they are selling them for $1,000 each which I guess is a decent price if they are constructed well. I think I would still prefer a golf cart though ... I love me them golf carts.

Weekly Recap:
Went out to Malibu on Saturday for the 5th Annual Pat Notaro Surfers Healing event. Children with autism got a chance to go out on the surf and it was a very cool event. Free food, awesome weather and autistic kids having the time of their lives. I only got lost by 15 miles, not too bad! This event also helped raise $15,000 for the organization and its also in memory of Pat Notaro.

Last Wednesday the charity in which I am the treasurer for had another mixer at Joseph's in Hollywood. We raised a little money but it was a good time. We were competing against two other events that evening that the same folks would come to our mixer so turn-out was noticably less than normal. But, what can you do ... still was fun!

Also during the week I met Don Payne, the writer for an upcoming movie called My Super Ex-Girlfriend. He is currently one of the writers of The Simpsons and was signed up to do the screenplay for the next Fantastic Four film recently. Very nice guy!

At the movies:
Adam Sandler's new laugher Click (warning, this is one of THE worse websites I have seen) takes the box office lead with a strong 39.5 million. Pixar's Cars held on to the #2 spot with an additional 23.2 million bringing the cume to around 156 (I bet M:I:III thought that would be their first week gross ... and unfortunately it probably won't see that as a cume). Nacho Libre in its 2nd week falls to #3 with a big 59% drop for another 11.7 million. Waist Deep opens with a nice 9.4 million considering it only had about 1,000 playdates. Universal's Fast/Furious: Tokyo Drift manages to hang on to #5 with a shocking 9.4 million however it is a 55% drop.

Q & A:
None at this time ... I don't think.

Other News:
Interesting stuff going on in the (of course) political circle. I guess it was considered "bad form" and "simply do not do it" to talk/discuss ill of your own political party publicly. Senator John McCain recently spoke about the lack of plan in Iraq and basically the party needs to fix itself if they are going to win in 2008. The president's popularity drops even more (can you go negative?!) and sadly as I posted before, 17 troops were killed in Iraq this past week not counting the two soldiers who were captured and beheaded. Bush keeps saying, "Stay the course ..." but there is no course. Also McCain discussed the economy and the even growing deficit since Bush took office. The surplus we were heading for after Clinton completely disappeared within the first year of Bush's term ... I don't see how they can fix anything with 1) only 2 years of a Republican President in office and 2) Bush.

Another interesting occurance is Schwarzenegger refusing Bush's request to send additional reserves to the US/Mexico border. Good for him ... however, the wall continues to be built. Funny how they say the reservist are there to help police the area (yet can not arrest anyone). Everytime they show a clip on the news or photo of the wall being built ... hey, lookie ... those guys look like reservist, not construction workers. Talk about building on the cheap and also, talk about avoiding the red tape for this legacy he is creating.

Facts & Tips:
The mouth of the Statue of Liberty is 3 feet wide.

"You know, there's a lesson here, which is never try to make life or death decisions when you're feeling suicidal."- Warren Beatty as Senator Jay Billington Bulworth in "Bulworth".

Friday, June 09, 2006

TIMBER!!!

There is a lot of construction going on around work, mostly with lumber. I think they are building sets for either 1) upcoming movies or 2) sets for the Fall season of TV. I am not sure which but there is a good and bad to this. The bad being the noise, hearing saws and bandsaws going off in the high pitch hum, a little distracting while you are on the phone or just simply trying to work. The good though is there is a nice sawdust scent as you walk around the area ... its a pleasant scent.
Weekly Recap:
Traveled to San Francisco and to UC Davis from Thursday to Sunday ... have to hit
the usual haunts such as Gordo's ... the best Mexican burritos and quesadilla's I have ever had!! Its a "must stop at ..." everytime I go. You know, in SF I can get lost VERY easily but no matter what, I can always find my way to
Gordo's ... odd. There is only 3 to 5 of them up north and 2 in the city (that I know of). So if you are in the area, visit Gordo's but be warned ... the carnitas quesadilla is HUGE and a meal in itself. And all for a very reasonable price. The one I stop at is on Geary and 19th Street.

At the movies:

Well this is a bit of a surprise but "Cars" takes the #1 spot with a photo finish of 33.4
million (-32%) just beating out the new kid Nacho Libre with its (probably disappointing) 28.6 opening. I guess the Jack Black laffer wasn't able to bring in the crowds ParaWorks hoped
it would. A BIG surprise is the #3 seat with The Fast and The Furious: Toyko Drift speeding in with 23.1 mil, seeing as the 2nd one didn't fair to well they bring in the a third ... go figure but I suspect a big drop next week from this one but it probably exceeds all opening expectations. The Lake House floats in at #4 with a like-able 13.5 million and rounding off the top 5 is "The Break-Up" with an additional 9.4 million. Other big openings not in the top 5 is Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties which shows up at #7 dragging in what the cat coughed up at 7.1 million.

Q&A:
None at this time.

Other News:
I found this amusing on the radio on Sunday that Bush is not going to let what the polls say on when he will bring back the troops from Iraq ... duh! I mean when did he ever read or listen to a poll?? If that was the case, he would be out of office still. I believe currently no President in US history has ever had an approval rating so low before and it continues to drop. On top of that, gas companies say they can not lower their profit margin to lower the cost at the pump because it will effect supply and demand ... what?! Their solution is to increase supply and the Bush adminstration has approved of exploratory oil research sites in areas that were deemed national preserves and wildlife reserves ... I am shocked though because this will be the first campaign promise Bush has lived up to ... but will our national wildlife and forest be gone within 10 to 20 years? Funny how little to no funds/help is given to private/public industries who are looking at alternative fuel sources.

Facts & Tips:
A banana is a giant herb.

"Well, if I am to die on my first day in Paris; at least it will be at the hands of a Musketeer"- Michael York as D'Artagnan in "The Three Musketeers".

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Make up your mind!!

I seriously have no clue what is going on with the weather around here. Last weekend it was hotter than Hades (Holy Hanna!) and what is funny about that (well, not really funny) is I had to spend most of the weekend outside in the sun helping with a charity event last Sunday. So Monday rolls around, is it winter again?! The temps dropped like 20 degrees for the day and at night its borderline turn on the heater. This year has been nothing but unusual weather for So Cali, I mean I like the cool temps and all but make up your mind, I never know if I should wear long sleeves or short .... jeans or shorts ... 3 ice cubes in my soda or 1! CHOICES!!

Weekly Recap:
This past week has been full of meetings for me and on top of all of that I am still trying to get sleep recovery from my recent trip from Vegas. Wednesday night I laid down just to lay down and "snap" I feel asleep! This was like around 10/1030 which is very much not me. I plan to catch up on sleep this weekend though ... finally.

Got new furniture for the bedroom and its 90% all set up. The room got re-painted ... colors ... now that is a topic. Why can't tan be called tan instead of Gobi Desert? Red called red isntead of Crimson! Orange called orange instead of orange ... oh, wait a minute. Well the set looks like the image to the left except that its all dark color (one tone) and we have a couple of extra pieces not shown ... Costco, who would have thought and they would completely bring everything upstairs and assembled it.

At the movies:
Pixar's Cars was the weekend winner zooming in with a solid 59 million (reported 62.8) at the box office. A much better debut than the #5 seat "Over the Hedge" which brought in an additional 10.3 million for a running total of 145 mil. The #2 spot goes to "The Break-Up" as the romantic comedy boast another 20.5 million. "X3" holds tight on the #3 spot with another 15.5 million and also puts it over the 200 mark domestically. The Omen with its 6/6/06 debut raises 15.4 over the weekend with a 6-day total of 35.7 million.

Q & A:
None at this time.

Other News:
So last week the big news is the US airstrike and killing of terrorist leader Al-Zarqawi. Bush is claiming this as a major victory and immediately following the announcement several bombings took place killing over 40 Iraqi civilians. I personally think the violence will escalate in retaliation. I do hope I am wrong however, I hate to admit this but my predictions and thoughts on the situation have been accurate or are happening which I wish was not the case (ie: increased US death toll, collapsing infra-structure, and more US resentment growing worldwide).

Facts & Tips:
A rainbow can only be seen in the morning or late afternoon.

"It is anchor*man*, not anchor*lady*. And that is a scientific fact." - David Koechner as Champ Kind in "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy"

Thursday, June 01, 2006

HEAT WAVE ...

has started, now the summer is in full gear as the temps rise to the 90's and close to a 100. However the nights are gentler with the breeze and are do-able for me. We got this thing hooked up to our AC unit from Edison that regulates and monitors our usage over the summer and then we get a montly rebate for a certain amount based on the usage. It can actually turn off our AC but it only works during peak hours. I like to conserve if I can, maybe this will help.

Weekly Recap:
The Vegas convention last week was pretty much ... a snoooze. What I do not understand is why do you need an open bar during lunch when you have a full agenda of meetings and seminar type stuff well into dinner? Wine service as well as the bar during lunch, it doesn't make sense! In fact, they probably could have saved thousands of dollars if they eliminated those for lunch. Dinner, I totally get it.
Lunch too if it was the only or last thing planned for the day but it never was!! These people do not make any sense to me.

At the movies:
Universal's new romantic comedy The Break-Up with Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn takes the box office reigns of #1 bringing in just under 40 million. Not a bad number and I am sure its above expectations with the so-so press going on about the two. X-Men The Last Stands falls to #2 with an additional 34.4 million making the domestic total over 175 million in just the first 10 days. Over the Hedges rakes in another 20.1 and this animated feature is holding in there at the #3 spot. I am sure it will get knocked further down as Pixar Animation "Cars" opens next week. The Da Vinci Code makes its way further down to #4 with a good 19 million in its 3rd week. And rounding off the top 5 is M:I:III during the 5th week with an additional 5 million bringing its current total to a struggling (and non-profitable) 123 million.

Q&A:
Question was brought up about Bush and his wall - YES, Bush is building the wall himself! Didn't you see him in
his construction overalls with some tools and bricks? He may be our dumbest president ever but he can work up a wall. Actually I am not 100% sure but I do believe he could build a wall if he wanted to using troops instead of contractors. Today governor Schwarzenegger finally approved the sending of CA National Guard Troops to help secure/patrol the border because the Bush adminstration agreed to pay the bill for them to be there. How would I solve the immigration problem? Not an easy question ... but I would probably start with more funds to border patrols as a start. More men, more and better equipment like night vision and dune buggies along with helicopters. And I like the idea of a work-visa program as well.

Other News:

On May 27th, Paul Gleason passed away. Many may not know the name but what they will know is Principle Vernon from The Breakfast Club. Additional famous roles include Clarence Beeks from "Trading Places" and Police Chief Dwayne Robinson in "Die Hard". However he was the principle ... and always will be. He was 67 and died of a rare form of cancer, will be missed...

Facts & Tips:
The US is the largest country named after a real person (Amerigo Vespucci).

"Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns."- Paul Gleason as Principal Richard Vernon in "The Breakfast Club".