Last Thursday was the official day of summer, June 21st is the Summer Solstice and supposedly the longest day of the year for sunlight ... where its the longest, that I do not know but I prefer the first day of Fall and first day of Winter myself.Weekly Update:I have a strange feeling its going to get busy soon for me in July. Not sure why that is but I suppose that is the time you start to plan for Fall and Winter. The past few weeks have been pretty quiet and I sure was enjoying that. I only wish I had wi-fi available at work then that would really make the time fly by fast. But noooo, only hard firewalled connections, dang work keeping us down! Making us watch movies and giving us extra days off at work ... boooooo, Wi-Fi, Wi- Fi, Wi-Fi!! NERDS UNITE!!
At the movies:The flood came and its on the way out as Evan Almighty takes the box office crown with 32.1 million opening. Showing up at #2 and with a BIG surprise is MGM's 1408 with 20.2 mil. Surfing in at #3 is "The Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer" with an extra 20.2 mil and a cume of just 100 mil in just 10 days. Holding at #4, "Ocean's Thirteen" with 11.3 mil and about out of steam. Rounding off the top 5 is "Knocked Up" with 10.6 mil more to the cume of just over 100 mil.New movies that did not make the top 5: Only one this time around, coming in at #10 is A Mighty Heart with only 4 mil, the heart in this film just wasn't mighty enough.Comment Response:None at this time.Other News:
Interesting, turns out North Korea has agreed to bring down its nuclear program for a period of time and in exchange for this, the US will offer to un-freeze some over seas account which are around 25 million. First stories out reported sending them also fossil fuels, rice and lifting some economic sanctions against North Korea. I don't know, 25 million doesn't sound like a lot for a country yet the fossil fuels sounds like they may actually get some light at night now. I am sure more concessions will be offered to them and to allow continous inspections to make sure the program remains shut down. I have a feeling this is just the start of something bigger and we haven't seen the last of North Korea's nuclear program.
Facts & Tips:The only bird who can see the color blue is the owl."I built an atomic bomb for my grade six science fair exhibit."- David Hewlett as Dr. Rodney McKay in the TV series "Stargate: Atlantis."
Last Friday there was a big protest in Century City (West Los Angeles) with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU for short). Talk about being a major pain for those who have to get to work or just simply work! Protest are one thing but when it disrupts so much and what was the message?? I have no clue. But I guess that is also one of the reasons for the protest, to annoy and make people think, "Look at them!"
Weekly Update:
HOT, it got warm fast and I guess that means summer is in full swing for business and weather-wise. I was enjoying the warm days with the really cool breezes. Or I wonder if part of it is because my AC in the office doesn't seem to be working for some reason? Naw, I will blame the heat because it just seems easier. I hope it cools down though because toward the end of last summer it was brutal with triple digits! Aside from that, work was pretty dang boring. That isn't a bad thing but I know it won't last all that long either.
At the movies: 
Its shiny at the box office this weekend as Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer takes the crown with a 57.4 million opening, a very decent number! Holding on to the #2 spot in its 2nd week is "Ocean's Thirteen" with another 19.1 mil. Third week, third place is "Knocked Up" with an extra 14.5 mil and almost at the 100 mil cume mark. Fourth week, fourth place is "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" with 12 mil more to add to its booty of already over 270 cume. Rounding off the top 5 is "Surf's Up" as it waves in with 9.3 mil more. Not a great number for it at all as it's summer, animated and school's out.
New movies that did not make the top 5: Showing up at the #7 spot and with only 7.1 mil to boast is the young crime dectective from books to screen, Nancy Drew. Not a good number at all which it can only go one direction from here. Also opening semi-limted (over 500 screens) is the video game to the big screen DOA: Dead or Alive with only 232k and a per screen average of $460.00, hit the snooze on this one as it takes the #17 spot and the title pretty much describes its opening.
Comment Response:
None at this time.
Other News:
Buena Vista Pictures (Disney) and a well known "Bollywood" studio are joining forces to make and distribute animated Bollywood movies in the US (probably internationally as well). Think of it, animated Disney films with musical and dance num ... wait a minute! Well, it will still be an interesting twist to a Disney movie with some out of place dance numbers set to the Bollywood beat.
Facts & Tips:
A duck can't walk without bobbing its head.
"Do you want to keep the money or trade it to win the prize in the mystery box?"- Monty Hall from TV's "Let's Make a Deal."
This week we saw Paris Hilton go into jail and then out ... then back in. What a yo-yo of a situation and do I care? NO, but its in the news constantly. What is really sad is a lot of her news over shadowed a lot of other important and just plain "better" news stories. America ... what can ya do!Weekly Update:
Not a whole lot this past week ... weather was good, work had a BBQ on Friday and everything else was just quiet for the most part. I like weeks like this, what would have put the icing on the cake is a 4-day work week ... and what is wrong with cake with no icing? I actually prefer it more than with icing ... does that make sense?? I guess icing tends to get too sweet for me most of the time, go figure.
At the movies:Odds were good as the cast returns (plus more) in the third installment of Ocean's 13 as it takes the box office winnings with a 37.1 million jackpot! Holding course at #2 is "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" with another 21.3 mil and a cume over 253 mil. Also doing well at #3 is the comedy "Knocked Up" with 20 mil more. New at #4 and the waves are flat, Surf's Up with only 18 mil as we are now well into summer time. Rounding off the top 5 is "Shrek The Third" with another 15.8 mil and a cume well over 280 mil to-date.New movies that did not make the top 5: Only one film didn't breach the top 5 mark and chimes in at #6 is Hostel: Part II with only 8.8 mil. I guess horror right now is not a summer thang!Comment Response:None at this time.Other News:
Last Wednesday night the Anaheim Might Ducks closed the deal against the Ottawa Senators and won their first ever Stanely Cups on the 5th game (4-1) and doing so in Anaheim. Hockey in general is not a big sport in the US, even less so in California. This is not only their first ever championship but also the first time a team in California has won it (LA Kings and San Jose Sharks still zero on the championship). Quack Quack, congratulations Ducks!
Facts & Tips:The Sahara Desert stretches farther than the distance from California to New York."I don't think I could ever get used to being poked and prodded. I told my proctologist one time, "Why don't you take me out to dinner and a movie sometime?""- Fred Willard as Buck Laughlin from "Best in Show."
This past week has been a really good time to hang out outside for Southern California. Not too hot and breezes keeping you cool ... it does make it hard to stay inside which is usually my thing but with a nice Jamba Juice, shaded chair and just hanging out ... it's nice!
Weekly Update:
Thursday was another treat for me as I attended a special "The Simpsons" TV show table read. What made it special was they had a guest voice talent who was reprising a previous role some 15 years ago on the show ... 15 years ago!!! So I was very fortunate to hear that and got a snap or two:*Beverly D'Angel- Incredibly nice and best know for Ellen Griswold from the National Lampoon 'Vacation' movies.*Harry Shearer- Nice guy and best know for Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns and Waylon Smithers from "The Simpsons."
Later that same night, I attended the VIP opening of the new Landmark Westside Pavilion in west LA. It is a beautiful new theatre and caught some pics with some folks who were in attendance:*Andy Garcia- Not a very approachable guy.*Jennifer Westfeldt- Most know her from her film Kissing Jessica Stein, she was extremely nice.
*Judge Reinhold- WAY cool guy and he started chatting with me for about 5 minutes.*Mark Cuban- VERY nice and friendly guy who also happens to own Landmark Theatres, produced a bunch of film and also owns the Dallas Mavericks basketball team.
At the movies:AAAARRRGGGgggggg ... no surprise be here as "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" takes #1 gold at thee box office with an additional 43.2 million. This is a pretty big drop from the previous week (62%), however it was probably expected since last week included the holiday and Thursday night openings. New at #2 is the comedy Knocked Up with a very nice 29.3 mil. Goes to show you that R-rated comedies are in high demand ... if they are good. Still reigning at #3 is "Shrek The Third" with an extra 26.7 mil and well past the 250 mil cume mark. In at #4 is the new suspense thriller from ... MGM?? Mr. Brooks with 10 mil, wow, they must be thrilled over there that a film they released made more than 2 mil opening weekend! Rounding off the top 5 is hanging on still, "Spider-Man 3" with another 7.5 mil and probably the last time we see this film in the to 5.New films that did not make the top 5: Based on the true life story (more-or-less) of Elizabeth Shue comes her story of Gracie as it takes the #7 spot with 1.4 mil on a semi-wide platform.
Comment Response:None at this time.
Other News:
Across the globe, another 15 US Soldiers killed in Iraq over the span of 3-days. That makes it 5 a day so I guess Bush was right and saying things will get deadlier there. This also comes at a time when troop build up into Iraq was completed at 150,000 US troops. With the increase violence recently, talks have started about increasing that number soon. So when does it end and how many more soldiers need to be killed? As of this past Saturday, 2007, at least 3,479 members of the US military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March of 2003. We are past the 4 year mark and the count keeps growing and in higher numbers as of late.
Facts & Tips:
It is illegal for a portrait of a living person to appear on U.S. postage stamps.
"Hallo. Vould you like a roll in ze hay?"- Teri Garr as Inga in "Young Frankenstein."
Last Thursday was the official day of summer, June 21st is the Summer Solstice and supposedly the longest day of the year for sunlight ... where its the longest, that I do not know but I prefer the first day of Fall and first day of Winter myself.
At the movies:
Facts & Tips:
