Monday, November 24, 2008

White smoke is good! So with the fires last week there was a LOT of black smoke and ash every where, it looked like it was snowing at night. This past week the fires were still around, under containment yet the ash is still on the ground and the smokey smell is still strong. The winds have died down and the temperature dropped nearly 20 degrees which I am sure is a huge relief for the firefighters out on the line. Air quality is already bad in Southern California, what a way to pile on to it.

Weekly Update:
Tuesday was a busy night for me! I first started off the evening at our Young Variety 4th Annual Turkey Dinner at Mel's Drive-In which was fun. We raised a nice chunk of change for the Hollygrove Children and Family center in Los Angeles. So when that event was over, I drove to the other side of Hollywood (only 5 miles away) to a party for a little bit of time. I did get a couple of neat photos with some of the attendees there:

*Howard Hesseman - Probably best known as Johnny from "WKRP in Cincinnati" and a really nice guy!
*Robert Loggia - Someone who has been in many films and TV and a gentle, kind man.
*Tracey Ullman - I know her best from the "Tracey Ullman Show" and an "ok" person.
*Philip Seymour Hoffman - Recently winning the Oscar for his portrayal of Truman Capote in "Capote" and a terrific guy.
*Amy Adams - A very fast rising star with credits such as "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" and more recently "Enchanted" and such an amazing person!

At the movies:
No surprise here as the chick-flick romance-action film Twilight took the box office crown with a big 70.6 million. Just a little bit under from what I guessed but not by much. Will the blood-sucker keep the numbers for the holidays?? Hanging in to #2 with an average drop is "Quantum of Solace" with an additional 27.4 mil and now over the 100 mil cume mark for this newest James Bond installment. New at #3 is the animated action film Bolt with a decent 27 mil and sure to carry over strong into next week. Another animated film hanging in at #4 is "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" with another 16 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is the comedy "Role Models" with an extra 7.2 mil.

Quote of the week:
"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes." - Oscar Wilde

Other News:
Local recap for this one ... with the fires under control and damage assessment is under way, the smell of smoke is still in the air but not as strong. Still need to keep the windows closed for probably another few days till the expected rains to really clean things up. However will the water mixed with ash cause other environmental and health problems to the water supply? More than likely it will so watch what you and your family are drinking, especially pets! But what else is going on? BLACK FRIDAY is coming up and so the holiday season begins!! What is the hottest item out there this year? For the gamer in all of us, the Wii is still the hot ticket because the manufacturer continues to under-produce for the demand sought for. And what makes this an even hotter ticket than most gaming consoles is that it appeals to not just the typical geek-guy ... but the non-geek guys and women! Often you will see a household playing the Wii but not the nerd of the family or the kids ... but Mom and Dad going head-to-head in a round of tennis. Along those same lines, the Guitar Hero series and Rock Band games are another hot ticket which apply to many of the console platforms. What makes these such a hot ticket is not only is the music old and current but it being very interactive and you can play from one to four people easily. Good luck to all those who will attempt this weekend's shopping spree! I'm staying home!

Facts & Tips:
A pigeon's feathers are heavier than its bones.

"I can walk like a man but I'm not one." - David Boreanaz as Angel in the TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Monday, November 17, 2008

The weather ... just when you thought it was cooling down for winter, you get hit with a heat wave. The temps shot up again to the low 90's during the day this past week and looking forward, they sound like they will dip a little but high 80's. Still pretty hot but I will take it, anything as long as it gets cooler. Will this winter bring another dry and warm winter again? I sure hope not because we already have issues with water shortages and another year just compounds the situation.

Weekly Update:
On Tuesday I went to a little DVD launch party for Hellboy II: The Golden Army in Hollywood which was pretty cool and fun. I have never been to a DVD launch party and what was neat was Guillermo del Toro walked the audience through some the unique Blu-Ray features. The event was also designed like the "Troll Market" using props and people in costumes from the film itself. The little details made the event more special. While there I did get a couple of pics:

*Mike Mignola - Creator and Writer of the "Hellboy" comic series and a nice guy.
*Jeffrey Tambor - Really great and funny guy!
*Brian Steele - He was actually dressed in his costume at the event as "Wink." That was pretty cool.

At the movies:
No surprise here as the new James Bond flick takes the #1 spot this weekend titled Quantum of Solace and bringing in 70.4 million. I don't know, I expected a bit more considering the screen count and should be the start of the winter season. Here is the sad thing as well, for some reason I don't see it holding the #1 spot next week. Holding strong at #2 is "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" with another 36.1 mil and just blew past the 100 mil cume mark! Also holding in at #3 is "Role Models" with 11.7 mil. Singing in at #4 is "High School Musical: Senior Year" with an extra 5.9 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is "Changeling" with 4.2 mil.

Quote of the week:
"America is the country of the future. It is a country of beginnings, of projects, of vast designs and expectations." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Other News:
Fires hit the southland this weekend as both the heat went up and the winds were blowing strong. Two of the many fires were pretty close to my house. One was in Brea which is just one city over and the fire under 5 miles away. The second in Corona was under 10 miles away and was bellowing mass amounts of black smoke. Kept all the doors and windows shut to keep the smoky smell out but some still got in. Not to mention the ash covering all over the place and the winds mixing it up with the dirt and leaves ... you would have thought a bomb hit and we are getting the aftermaths. Firefighters from all over the county are battling the mess and I am sure more will come from within the state itself. The two fires close to me both started fairly close to each other in time and distance. It is just too much of a coincidence to be nothing short of arson. Between all the fires going on, thousands of acres burned and I heard several hundred homes combined have burnt down (including other large structures).

Facts & Tips:
A chalkboard eraser is one of the best ways to wipe a foggy windshield.

"I'm not just pussyfooting around this time, Batman!" - Julie Newmar as Catwoman in the TV series "Batman."

Monday, November 10, 2008

History has been made!! Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States. Winning both the popular and the electoral votes, he has a BIG job ahead of him turning this country around. Out of both candidates though, he is probably the better man for the job because let's be honest, McCain's policies were nothing new, nothing helpful and the same rhetoric we have been feed over the past eight years. We need change and change is here BUT it will not happen overnight, it will take time, a LOT of time to undo and then fix the damage the lame duck has placed us in. We should be making history and not repeating it.

Weekly Update:
This past week was pretty good, not to hot during the day and got really cool at night. Winter is here in SoCali, just need a bit of rain to top it off. However, I did finally get my car washed after so many weeks because I kept thinking it was going to rain. Last Tuesday I did see the new Paramount/DreamWorks film "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" as it is the theme of next year's Variety Gold Heart Campaign. The film was very funny and entertaining. I enjoyed it more than the first one, thought the humor was more adult orientated (in that adults will enjoy it more) while at the same time you have talking animals which kids will love. I do recommend this film because it is just fun.

At the movies:
You have to "move it move it" as this weekend goes to the family animated comedy Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa earning a big 63.5 million for a non-holiday weekend! In a very distant 2nd place, laugher Role Models with 19.3 mil. Hanging on to the #3 spot is "High School Musical: Senior Year" with another 9.3 mil and inching its way to the 100 mil cume mark. Showing strong at #4 is "The Changeling" with another 7.3 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is the comedy "Zack and Miri Make A Porno" with another 6.5 mil.

New movies that did not make the top 5: A couple this week so not incredibly bad. In at #6 is the finale film for the late and great Bernie Mac in Soul Men with only 5.6 mil. Sadly, Bernie's last two films opened this week as he also played one of the voices in "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" along with "Soul Men." In a semi-limited release was the horror film House with only 355k for opening and ending by the looks of its per-screen average. This film shows up at #24 on the list but under 500 runs.

Quote of the week:
"One very important ingredient of success is a good, wide-awake, persistent, tireless enemy." - Frank Shutts

Other News:
Sad news as both the Hollywood and the writing community loses a great author. Legendary and young author of "Jurassic Park," Michael Crichton died after his private battle with cancer. Some of his other well known works include great titles such as "The Andromeda Strain," "Disclosure," and "The Lost World" in which Steven Spielberg co-produced and directed. Crichton, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, also received an Emmy Award for the hit TV show he created in 1994, "ER." He was 66.

Facts & Tips:
Hawaii is the only U.S. state that grows coffee.

"This is Nuckin' Futs!" - David Spade as Dickie Roberts in "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star."

Monday, November 03, 2008

Ah daylight savings hit us this past Saturday and this time we all got to set our clocks back an hour and sleep in ... I do like it when we have less daylight for some reason, I guess it just reminds me that winter is upon us and that is more to my liking. The weather gets a bit colder and the air crisper. Though it doesn't snow here, I do hope to have plenty of rain ... we need it! So I hope you remembered to set ALL your clocks back ... even those that still take batteries!!

Weekly Update:
So this is kind of neat, I was on my way up to San Francisco on Wednesday and along the way stopped at the studio store on the Disney studio lot. Started to look around the store and there was a table set up with some people behind it signing some books. I looked at the first person and thought, "He looks really familiar." I paused a said to myself, "He looks like Roy Disney." and sure enough it was him! I couldn't pass up the opportunity since he was just sitting there and it was pretty quiet in the store (toward the end of lunch time). Went up and got a pic!

*Roy E. Disney- Very sweet and nice man, living legend in my book.

At the movies:
Music still sings at the box office as "High School Musical: Senior Year" takes the crown with another 15 million. New at #2 is the HI-larious comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno with 10.7 mil to open. Dropping down to #3 is "Saw V" with an extra 10.1 mil. Showing up at #4 is the wide release of Changeling with 9.4 mil. I saw wide release because the film opened very limited last week so technically it is a new movie this week wide. Rounding off the top 5 is the horror/suspense of The Haunting of Molly Hartley with only 6 mil.

Quote of the week:
"There are a terrible lot of lies going about the world, and the worst of it is that half of them are true." - Winston Churchill

Comment Response:
I have no plans on seeing "High School Musical 3" because that would mean I would need to see 1 and 2. As for Palin, right now she is causing more harm than good for the McCain campaign. I think it is a guarantee that 4 years of a McCain/Palin presidency will throw this country into a full-blown recession in an overt sense rather than what is is now in a covert sense.

Other News:
This Tuesday is the Presidential Election (as well as several measures and propositions both state and federal). Does your vote matter? To be honest most of the time it doesn't but in those rare occasions it can make a difference. I did not even bother voting in the last Presidential Election because 1) neither major candidate I wanted to see in office and 2) by the time I reached the polling place, all the votes from California were already decided so in reality, MY VOTE DID NOT MATTER! People say your vote does but let's be honest, 90% of time it doesn't especially in very large states like California, New York and Texas. However, the votes do matter on everything else besides the President. Regardless, you should still vote because you can say you did it and also if you don't like how something is working, you can at least say you voted the other way (if that is the case.) Also remember when you vote, KNOW what you are voting for. KNOW what the candidates mean and stand for instead of just voting because you like the way they talk. KNOW their policies and how they will effect you or could effect others you know. Simply KNOW the facts. Personally, I do hope we see history in the making rather than history being repeated.

Facts & Tips:
You have to play ping-pong for 12 hours to lose one pound.

"Sweep the leg." - Martin Kove as John Kreese in "The Karate Kid."