Monday, January 28, 2008

RAIN! Yeah, it finally rained pretty heavy this past week. Traffic was ok going into work but coming home was sooo bad ... and it wasn't raining at that time either! But I am glad we finally got some heavy rains, the air is nice and clean (for now) and the mountains are covered in snow. My car is clean too!!! What more can you ask for!? Now I want to know if we will get more rain showers still because we can still use it.

Weekly Update:
Its funny how this past week was a short work week in terms of how many days due to the holiday yet ... it felt like it was longer than a regular week! It wasn't busy or anything, maybe it was too slow and quiet that it felt that way? I do not know and I can't really explain it but that is how it sure felt. I hope this coming week doesn't turn out like that because this is a regular full week!!

At the movies:
THIS IS SPARwhata? Meet the Spartans takes the box office laurel wreath this weekend with a strong 18.7 million, not bad for a spoofed up comedy. New at #2 is the action film Rambo with 18.2 mil, just shy of taking first place but pretty decent for the 4th installment of this series. Holding on to #3 is "27 Dresses" with another 13.6 mil. Dropping down to #4 this week is "Cloverfield" with 12.7 mil added to its name. New at #5 is the thriller Untraceable with 11.2 mil and I am sure it will be un-noticeable soon.

New movies that did not make the top 5: Just one this week that did not even make the top 10! Hmmm, and their homepage is a myspace page, interesting ... the hip-hop step'n How She Move only moved up a 4.2 mil weekend and I am sure it will be lucky if it does half that much next week.

Comment Response:
None at this time.

Other News:
Hollywood gets hit with another tragedy on Tuesday as it loses a young actor who's star was dimmed too soon. The Australian born actor, Heath Ledger was found dead in his NY apartment. Ledger was just making a big mark for himself with film credits already under his belt which included: "A Knight's Tale," "The Patriot," and his Academy Award Nomination performance in "Brokeback Mountain." He is set to appear in the next Batman movie as the infamous Joker opposite Christian Bale. He leaves behind a two-year-old son and many fans wondering "why?" He was only 28.

Facts & Tips:
Chewing bum while peeling onions will prevent you from crying.

"Yeah, that was pretty funny. How 'bout the time Bobby tackled the guy from Louisville, and threw him into the stands?"- Jonathan Loughran as Lyle Robideaux in "The Waterboy."

posted by McDuck @ 00:01 0 comments

Monday, January 21, 2008

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY!

Today is the day we recognize and celebrate a great man and visionary who was cut down too soon. His work of bringing messages of peace, oneness and acceptance are still struggles within this country today. Hopefully we can take a page from his words and just step back a moment and listen.

Weekly Update:
Is it the middle of the winter season yet? Last week during the day it was bright and sunny and it was pretty warm if you were hit directly by the sunlight. Yet the temperature hit a high of 71 degrees which is not too bad. The nights were freezing, well freezing for here and that is around the mid 40's. But where is the rain? Suppose to start raining a bit this week, hope so because I have been putting off washing my car!

At the movies:
The action thriller Cloverfield claims the box office crown this holiday weekend with a nice 41 million. This short movie isn't really getting good buzz so let's see if it will hold out for another week. In at #2 is the romantic comedy 27 Dresses with a tidy 22.4 mil for its debut. Holding strong at #3 is "The Bucket List" with an additional 15.2 mil. Also holding very strong is "Juno" with another 10.3 mil and gaining its way to the 100 mil cume mark. Rounding off the top 5 is "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" with 8.1 mil more and just barely short of the 200 mil cume.

New movies that did not make the top 5: Just one this week as Mad Money shows up at the #6 spot with only 7.7 mil and this chick flick is done.

Comment Response:
None at this time.

Other News:
Sort of a double whammie weekend as we lose two beloved entertainers who brought so many hours of joy. Saturday, Allan Melvin passed away from cancer at the age of 84. Best known for his lovable character Sam the butcher from the TV series "The Brady Bunch," Melvin was also the voice of Magilla Gorilla from Hanna Barbara cartoons. His presence and voice will be greatly missed. On Sunday, the famed and beautiful actress of the "Bob Newhart Show," Suzanne Pleshette passed away from respiratory failure after a bout with cancer. Unfortunately she was due to receive her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 31st, the day of her 71st birthday. Another great actress who will be missed dearly.

Facts & Tips:
Almonds are part of the peach family.

"Sensual blind chick seeks three-ton, rock-hard he-man for deep spiritual relationship."- Kerry Washington as Alicia Masters in "Fantastic Four."

posted by McDuck @ 00:33 0 comments

Monday, January 14, 2008

Summer time in the winter! Yep, its heating up here again in sunny SoCali as it starts to feel like early summer right in the middle of the winter season. In fact, have we even reached the middle of winter yet or is it still early winter? I think its not even a month into the season ... what is wrong with this weather??

Weekly Update:
Another semi-quiet week which is always nice. As I am still on the mend, I take them as I can get them. One thing that has really started to annoying me is when you are watching a movie on TV or just a TV program and then an ad pops in along the bottom. Two things that these ads are and that is simply so annoying and distracting. Another thing is if the program has subtitles, you just missed a section of dialogue! Here is another thing that really bugs me, when the ad is louder than the scene!! What is the deal with that? There are some shows now that I refuse to watch because their stupid ad interfered with my program! STOP IT!

At the movies:
The "list" tops the box office list as The Bucket List comes in with 19.5 million in its wide release debut. Coming in the #2 spot is First Sunday with 19 mil. At #3 and up another 53% at the box office is "Juno" with 14 mil and steadily making its way to the 100 mil mark. Slight dip to #4 is "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" with 11.5 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is "Alvin and the Chipmunks" with an extra 9.1 mil and has actually made more money total than "National Treasure 2" with over 187 mil cume.

New movies that did not make the top 5: In at #9 with only 4.4 mil is the children's film Veggie Tales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything and so did the movie. I am sure it will pick itself up on the home video market ... probably should have gone straight to video actually. Another movie that should have gone straight to video is In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (careful with this site link, it wants to install on your computer yet its the official movie site) with only 3.3 mil and takes the honor of the #14 ranked movie for its debut. I can already tell from a movie with a name this long ... usually the number of letters will outweigh how much money it brings in.

Comment Response:
None at this time.

Other News:
The annual Golden Globe Awards came and went on Sunday ... and did anyone really miss them? Due to the WGA strike going on, the actors (for the most part) refused to participate in the program this year so they made it a "press conference." I watched a little bit of it and it was pretty boring but very fast! I do have to say that it is kind of bad form for everyone to be like this and make the globes what they are this year. These awards are from the foreign press, I think they are missing the boat and "punishing" the wrong people. It was also estimated that the city and everyone involved lost around 80 billion in revenues and I am sure a lot of businesses and workers who depend on this event were hit the hardest ... and for a reason that shouldn't effect this particular event.

Facts & Tips:
Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backward.

"It's a television commercial. With this cartoon leprechaun, and all of these children are trying to chase him, "Hey, leprechaun, leprechaun man, we want to get your lucky charms." Oh! And there are these little tiny pieces of mashmallow just stuck right in the cereal. So when the kids eat them they think, "Oooh this is candy, I'm having fun!""- Mindy Sterling as Frau Farbissina in "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery."

posted by McDuck @ 00:08 0 comments

Thursday, January 10, 2008

BEST and WORST of 2007 EDITION:

Last year I did a special section for some of the "Best of" for 2007. This time instead of a section I thought I would dedicate a whole post to it. The choices and/or sections are completely random and just things I found fun or annoying.

WORST of 2007:

TV Shows:
Reality (non-competition) TV Show: The Real Housewives of Orange County (Bravo) - Talk about one of the lamest shows ever.
Reality (competition) TV Show: Survivor: China (CBS) - Why is this still on???
Drama Series: CSI: Miami (CBS) - The main character makes the show ... boring.
Sci-Fi: The new Flash Gordon (Sci-Fi) - Feels like its all being done so cheap.
Re-made series: The new Flash Gordon (Sci-Fi) - Could have been done so much better.
Over-rated personality: Tie between two! Rachel Ray (Food Network) and Tila Tequila (MTV) - Both should not be on TV, one is overly annoying and the other is not attractive ... you can pick which one is which.

Movies (Based on what I have seen):
Big Picture Film: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney) - Bit of a shock how bad this film was and it felt like 5 hours too long.
Children/Family Film: Shrek the Third (Dreamworks/Paramount) - It wasn't TERRIBLE but it wasn't great ... it was boring for the most part.

Foods and Restaurants:
Restaurant Service: Sam Woo's in Irvine, CA - Unfriendly, not attentive and poorly operated.


Best of 2007:

TV Shows:
Reality (non-competition) TV Show: TIE between Little People, Big World (TLC) and Dirty Jobs (Discovery) - Talk about two fascinating shows to watch and even learn about something.
Reality (competition) TV Show: TIE between The Amazing Race Season 12 (CBS) and Top Chef (Bravo) - Amazing Race is just a great show and has won so many awards while Top Chef is one of the better cooking competition shows out there.
Drama Series: Heroes (NBC) - Starting to get a little bit "out there" but fun to watch for now.
Comedy Series: TIE between Chuck (NBC) and Psych (USA) - I love the made-up yet very similar store and the job Chuck does, its fun! Psych is just a smart and fun show to watch, very enjoyable.
Sci-Fi: Stargate: Atlantis (Sci-Fi) - Not sure how much more this show will go for but I am enjoying it while I can.
Re-made series: Iron Chef America (Food Network) - Not as camping as the original but still fun to watch.
Under rated personality: Mike Rowe (Discovery Channel) - His show "Dirty Jobs" is a great and interesting look at things we don't want to do.

Movies (Based on what I have seen):
Big Picture Film: Transformers (Paramount) - I loved the fact how this movie made fun of itself at times but high action was great!
Action Film: 300 (WB) - A interesting and intense version of the legendary battle.
Comedy Film: Tie between Wild Hogs (Disney) and Norbit (Paramount) - Both were cute and fun to watch.
Children/Family Film: Ratatouille (Disney/Pixar) - This one took me by surprise. Its a fun movie to watch although it does have some moments that may be too intense for kids.

Foods and Restaurants:
Mexican Food: Again Gordo's in San Francisco.
Greek Food: Authentic eats at Papa Cristo's in Los Angeles.
Chinese Food: For the good stuff it has to be Hop Woo in Los Angeles, CA. The parking is bad but the food is great.
Ribs: I still haven't found anything to top Blues City Cafe in Memphis with their meat-fall-off-the-bone ribs.
Cupcakes: This one still goes to Sprinkles.
Potato Salad: Oddly enough but it has to go to Costco brand.
Lettuce Wraps: Still has to be P.F. Chang's, I could eat these as a meal all on itself.
Pastrami Sandwich: Still goes to The Hat, it must be the dip they use.

So that is this year's list. Some categories may be in the "Worst" but not in the "Best" and vice versa but that is just how it works out.

posted by McDuck @ 23:37 0 comments

Monday, January 07, 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The first Monday of the new year and ... it feels like the last Monday. Did get some rain finally but from what the news and weather were describing was coming in, it sounded like a monsoon was about to hit. Fire stations were offering sandbags, telling folks to cancel travel plans and just stay indoors, and constant flash flood warnings. In reality, we just got wet and now the rains are more or less over for the time being. Kind of a let down if you ask me.

Weekly Update:
This past week was pretty quiet. I visited with some friends and played a bunch of fun board-style games. Went to work for a couple of days since it was a short week due to the New Year falling on a Tuesday. January is a good month if New Years falls on a weekday because then we will have MLK day and it makes the month shorter ... for work that is. I like the extended weekends every now and then. I have said this before and I will say it again, each month should have at least one 3-day weekend to break up the routine a little.

At the movies:
Holding down the fort at #1 for its 3rd week in a row is "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" with another 20.2 mil and now at the 170 mil cume. Slight rebound to #2 is "I Am Legend" with an extra 16.4 mil. Heading up the charts at #3 is the small film "Juno" with 16.2 mil and has reached the 50+ mil mark which is amazing for these smaller films. Most do not even seen past 3 to 5 mil it their lifetime. Still singing in at #4 is "Alvin and The Chipmunks" with another 16 mil and making its way to 200 mil cume. Rounding off the top 5 is the suspense/thriller One Missed Call with 13.5 mil, not a great number but respectable for this time of year.

Comment Response:
None at this time.

Other News:
(Democrat) and Mike The US Presidential Caucus' got underway last week as Barack ObamaHuckabee (Republican) took the wins in Iowa. With New Hampshire just a day away, still anyways call this early in the game. Who are the favorites? A lot of places and sites will tell you different things and who will win here and there based on polling and projections. Really a tough call to say in my opinion but I can for certain say who we will NOT see come the actual race for the White House. On the Democrats side it feels clear that Joe Biden will fall out, his presence just isn't strong enough to make an impact. Bill Richardson is just as weak as well. The Republicans have nothing but an uphill battle in this election and I do not see us having another Republican President in office next. Eventually falling out I see Fred Thompson, although a good politician he just doesn't seem to want it enough. Ron Paul has too many bad policies and is a very weak presence in the ring. Good ol Rudy Giuliani, although loved in NY and all around good guy, again presence is not presidential enough. NO WAY will John McCain come close although he probably believes he will be. Saw him on a few debates and interviews and clearly he will not even come close.

Facts & Tips:
Flamingos are pink because they eat shrimp.

"Jesus, Oz! What the hell are you doing? She's a Buttercup Scout."- Natasha Henstridge as Cynthia Tudeski in "The Whole Ten Yards."

posted by McDuck @ 00:04 0 comments