Monday, May 28, 2007

MEMORIAL DAY SPECIAL

This weekend should be about not only remembering those who served in the armed forces but also those who currently are serving and being put in constant harm's way. So take a moment, reflect maybe, and enjoy the freedoms we all love and have ... and remember those who helped obtain them and protect them.

Weekly Update:
This week was kind of exhausting, had some house guest which is always fun but work was kind of draining for some reason. Other departments have summer hours (leave early on Fridays) but we don't which is kind of a bummer. Last Friday we did get to leave around lunchtime but only because today was Memorial Day ... I like weeks like that and weeks like this one where a day is already burnt up from work =) Other than that, its been kind of a lowkey week for the most part. I did catch up on a lot of sleep over the weekend though which is always a good thing!

At the movies:
AHOY Matey's ... it be a pirate weekend! Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End brought in 156 million for its opening weekend (including Thursday night shows) and hauls in for #1. Looks a little low to me but still a great number to kick-off with. Holding on to #2 this weekend is "Shrek the Third" with an extra 69.1 for the holiday weekend which now makes it over 219 cume. Also holding on just by a web is "Spider-Man 3" with 18 mil and now just over the 300 mil cume mark. The web-slinger is just about out of juice. New at #4 is the thriller Bug with only 4.2 mil. Not a number to be smiling about and I think this one was squashed as soon as it came out. Rounding off the top 5 is a little "art" type film "Waitress" with 4 million for the holiday weekend. This is a really good number considering its on about 500 screens and its in its 4th week!

Comment Response:
None at this time.

Other News:
Recently president Bush announced that the war in Iraq will see more bloodshed and casaulties on both sides ... what in the world does that mean?? Instead of an average of 1 to 3 US Soldiers killed daily, it will go up 5 to 7???! Just last Friday we had 6 more US Marines killed in different parts of Iraq and the Monday before 7. This is "unacceptable" as Bush would say to all the exit strategies that are not his own.

On the lighter side, the Stanley Cup finals start today with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks against theOttawa Senators. This will be the first Stanley Cup for either team. Who would have thought a team created and named from a movie would make it this far! Well, I guess I should cheer for the home team ... Go Ducks!

Facts & Tips:
Caterpillars have over 2,000 muscles.

"Oh, oh, and I almost forgot. Ahh, I'm also gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday, too..."- Gary Cole as Bill Lumbergh in "Office Space."

Monday, May 21, 2007

Aaaahhh, nice and cool. It has been pretty sunny for most of the week but it sure hasn't been hot which I like. Its very cool with nice breezes but not strong winds, perfect outdoor weather for me with a pair of shades on, shorts and a t-shirt. This is California living at its peak but I know it will end soon enough when the heat waves hit.

Weekly Update:
The week in general was kind of lowkey for me which is a nice change of pace. Some work drama but its almost expected now on a regular basis which is kind of sad really. But aside from all that stuff, it was a productive week work-wise and just overall ... nice. How long will it last? I don't know but it would be nice if it lasted longer than a day or two. OH, traffic!! Ok, what is the deal?? Lately it has been taking me anywhere from 2 hours to 2 1/2 hours to get into work. No accidents, no bad weather, no nothing ... what is going on? Are all LA drivers that stoopid they can't merge and/or change lanes without slowing down to 2 MPH to do so? I don't get it and it shouldn't be happening!!!

At the movies:
No surprise as Shrek The Third takes the box office crown this week with 122 million. It should enjoy this one week high because that is all it will get. Another 'no surprise' was "Spider-Man 3" taking the #2 spot with 28.5 mil and another huge 51% decline from its already fast dropping numbers. The web-slinger is all dried out with a fast burn. Holding ground at #3 is "28 Weeks Later" with 5.2 mil more. Staying strong at #4 is "Disturbia" bringing in another 3.7 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is "Georgia Rule" with 3.5 mil, that is 3 mil more than I thought it would make!

Comment Response:
None at this time.

Other News:
The Prime Minister of Great Britian, Tony Blair, visited the US this past week for the last time as the PM. He served his country for over 10 years and served it well. His support for president Bush was his downfall with the war in Iraq and with the new PM coming in, I am sure the UK will be out of there completely very soon.

The fighting continues to worsen as well as the country goes from one civil war to several province wide conflicts. Several polls now show Al-Qaeda is gaining ground each day and more and more support for them as polls also indicate the need for US troops out of Iraq by Iraqi's polled.

Facts & Tips:
The only bird that can swim but not fly is the penguin.

"Leslie and I have an amazing relationship and it's very physical, he still pushes all my buttons. People say 'oh but he's so much older than you' and you know what, I'm the one having to push him away. We have so much in common, we both love soup and snow peas, we love the outdoors, and talking and not talking. We could not talk or talk forever and still find things to not talk about."- Jennifer Coolidge as Sherri Ann Cabot in "Best in Show".

Monday, May 14, 2007

HOT!! That pretty much sums up last week. It was so hot but then again I spent the better part of the work week in Indian Wells, right next to Palm Springs. The desert can sure be picturesque but it can also be a scorcher! Arrived over there on Sunday and that was nice. Come Monday it was 106 degrees and then on Tuesday it got to 110. The funny part ... well not haha funny but funny funny, was most of the day I was in my slacks, shirt and camel hair coat ... camel hair! You would think it would repel the heat or something since a camel is a desert creature, right? RIGHT?!?

While there in the desert at the convention, meet a couple of folks:
*Emma Samms- of Dynasty and General Hospital fame. She was an extremely nice person and a great philanthropist.
*Salah M. Hassanein- Producer and an extreme giver to children with life threatening medical problems around the world.

Weekly Update:
So aside from turning over-easy in the desert heat, I attended the 33rd Annual Saturn Awards or aka "Geek Awards" and it was a pretty cool evening. Most of the folks who attend these things are pretty cool and non-celebs are pretty geeky. So a bunch of folks I missed some photo opps but also got a few:

*Masi Oka- as many may know has Hiro from the TV show Heroes, at first he wasn't too friendly but later he was cool.
*Jack Coleman- also from "Heroes" and plays Mr. Bennett, a VERY cool guy!
*Greg Grunberg- from "Heroes" as well who plays Matt Parkman and MC of the evening. He was also a nice guy.
*James Karen- classic character actor and all around nice guy.
*Brandon Molale- TALL, very tall guy but incredibly nice and down to earth (although he is so high above it!).
*Nathan Fillion- Best know as the captain from "Firefly/Serenity" and such a crack-up.
*Doug Jones- another cool and funny guy ... and TALL as well.
*Emmanuelle Vaugier- Very sweet and cute.

At the movies:
No surprise here as "Spider-Man 3" takes the box office crown again with an additional 60 million which is also a 60% drop. Typical drop for average to fair films so I guess this one fit that category. However, to-date the film has grossed over 242 mil. New in at #2 is the suspense-action film 28 Weeks Later which is the sequel to "28 Days Later". This film managed to pull in 10 mil which isn't bad but not so great as well. New at #3 is Georgia Rule with only 5.9 mil, not a good number at all. Holding on to #4 is "Disturbia" with another 4.8 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is Delta Farce with 3.5 mil ... why??

New movies that did not make the top 5: This one didn't even make the top 10 and its no surprise really. MGM's new film The Ex which only brought in 1.4 mil and took the #12 spot. Wow, that really sucks for a semi-major to major release. The cast is great and the story is pretty interesting ... I think it got bite by the MGM stigmata.

Comment Response:
um ... thanks?

Other News:
This is funny, last week vice president Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq and when addressing the troops and mentioned how president Bush sent his regards ... not a single word or clap came from the audience. He had to repeat himself and then you can hear the force claps from the audience. So lets take a poll shall we; Iraqi's do not want us there, other countries don't want us there, majority of US citizens want us out, and the troops obviously there want to be home ... so who wants us there? When it boils down to it, just one person and its more petty pride than anything else at this point. Cheney's trip did have a purpose, he was to convince the newly formed Iraqi congress not to take a 2 month vacation as their country is in a state of chaos ... wow, I didn't think Iraqi politicians would take up democracy so fast!! Saturday saw another 5 US Soldiers killed and 3 more feared captured which Al-Qaida reports that they have them.

Did you know that today the US First Class Postal Service increased to $.41 a letter but they also have introduced the new "Forever" stamp. You can buy as many as you want at the current rate and if the rate were to ever go up, the "Forever" stamp will cover it no matter what.

Happy Be-Lated Mother's Day!

Facts & Tips:
Mosquitoes are attracted to people who have recently eaten bananas.

"Flash, Flash, I love you, but we only have fourteen hours to save the Earth!"- Melody Anderson as Dale Arden from "Flash Gordon".

Monday, May 07, 2007

PALM SPRINGS EDITION

Why is it the Palm Springs Edition? Probably because that is where I am for most of this week. I am attending the Variety International Annual Convention in Palm Springs this year. This one moves around and last year it was in Vegas and next year it will be in Australia which I believe I won't be attending because our studio commitment is over after this year ... greeaaat, what timing. Well, if the weather doesn't get too hot, should be a good time I hope.

Weekly Update:
Work-wise it was another busy and stressful one but I expected as much knowing who was in the office and who wasn't. The start of the week was just insane but toward the end it got better. I attended another table read for The Simpsons TV show. Its amazing because they are working on the 19th season while the 18th is on the air now ... 19 SEASONS!!! With each season being on average around 22 episodes, that is 396 episodes (for the 18 seasons), simply amazing if you ask me and it all started off from humble beginings as little shorts on a TV skit program.

Sunday got to attend the Shrek The Third premiere. The movie was good but I liked the first two way better. I did get one snap of the day:

*Mike Myers- WAY cool guy, not much on words but he is awesome with his fans and took the time out to sign a bunch of autographs and strike a pose with me.

At the movies:
"spins a web any size, lookout ..." its no surprise here that Spider-Man 3 is #1 this weekend at the box office with a tidy sum of 148 million. Of course there is no where but down now but I am sure they are happy over at Sony with this number. With no new films next week, it should bring in another 60 to 85 mil next weekend. Holding in at #2 is "Disturbia" with another 5.7 mil. Staying in at #3 is "Fracture" with 3.4 mil and its pretty done in pieces. Also holding in at #4 is "The Invisible" with 3.1 mil suffering a big 60% drop for its 2nd week. Rounding off the top 5 is "Next" with another 2.8 mil and ready for the video shelves.

New movies that did not make the top 5: Only one this week who was dumb enough to open against Spidey, I guess WB figured the over flow would help them but with no other movies out there and SOOOO many screens, not a lot of sell outs. So new this week at #6, Lucky You with only 2.5 million which is a very sad number.

I also wanted to mention a little film that opened last Wednesday called Waitress starring Keri Russell and Adrienne Shelly who also wrote and directed the film before her murder back in November of 2006. Such a tragic story of her death and such a great film that is added to her legacy and having it cut so short. "Waitress" goes on to earn 111,114 being on only 4 screens which earns it a 22k per screen average for opening weekend. That is a great number for per screen average and hopefully folks will see what is being served up with this touching movie.

Comment Response:
None at this time.

Other News:
This past April came to be one of the highest US soldiers killed since 2004 in Iraq. There is several things wrong with that and the first is being April when we are still being told things are getting better. Yet both military and civilian casualties are at an all time high! The second thing wrong with that is since 2004? 2004! That is 3 years ago! And its only the start of May and there is already 13 US killed in Iraq (as of 5/5/07). The situation continues to get worse and worse, month by month with no signs of improvment since day 1 of this personal grudge ... and becoming a forgotten time. And in all of this, the odd thing is that both military and civilian death toll way exceed the per year numbers compared to Saddam's reign. The country has gone from worse to even worse.

Democratic Presidential Canidate Barack Obama was placed under Secret Service protection. Personally at this point any Republican candidate that is running is purely for show. Not saying Obama is going to win but the Democrats should take the next Presidency in a landslide.

Facts & Tips:
The Library of Congress has 600 miles of shelves.

"We gotta go to White Castle."- John Cho as Harold Lee in "Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle"