Monday, March 30, 2009

VIVA LAS VEGAS EDITION!

That's right, I am in Las Vegas all this week for the annual ShoWest convention at the Paris/Bally's Hotel and Casino. Supposedly this is the last year at this place and it will be moved to Caesar's Palace but I haven't gotten any official word on that yet since it is still a year away till then. So ... what will happen this week? Lot of boring meetings, that I know for sure but aside from that I do not know yet. Hey, it is only Monday and I am already ready to come home. One thing nice this year though is I get to stay at the Bellagio which is across the street from the Paris. It's very nice!

Weekly Update:
After being in Vegas for one day, I can't even remember what happened last week or what was like for me ... was it busy? Was it mellow ... I can't remember!! VEGAS!! ARGGHHH ... I do know the weather was pretty dang cold in the evenings but the days were sunny and bright. I did have a lot of lunches, ok, so my memory is starting to come back!!! A lot of lunches but now the memory ends. Oh well, on to this week and I know it will seem and feel loooooong.

At the movies:
Animated comedy wins huge at the box office this weekend as Monsters Vs. Aliens earns 58.2 million. Earning a scary #2 spot is the horror The Haunting in Connecticut chimes in with 23 mil. Dropping down to #3 is "Knowing" with an extra 14.7 mil. Also dropping to the #4 spot is "I Love You, Man" with another 12.6 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is "Duplicity" with 7.6 mil for the weekend.

New movies that did not make the top 5: Just one this week as the action film 12 Rounds comes in at #7 with only 5.3 mil. I guess not all wrestlers can make the transition to the big screen.

Quote of the week:
"It's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's been swimming naked." - Warren Buffett

Other News:
Earth Hour, did you partake? Saturday was Earth Hour where no matter where you lived but at 8:30pm you were asked to turn off all household/work lights for one hour. Why? Well to send a message to the politicians of the world that we need to take care of our natural resources. Seeing photos taken across the world, it was pretty interesting to see things like Big Ben in London, England go dark. The skyline of Sydney, Australia fade and a biggie was the strip in Las Vegas go dark for that one hour. Was the message and the symbolic gesture effective? Who knows but it was a simple thing to take part in and maybe save a couple of bucks off your electric bill. Who knows, maybe some folks liked it so much that they will make it a regular practice. It is kind of cool to think that over a billion people around the globe unite in one project ... a simple flip of the switch.

Facts & Tips:
Seals sleep only one and a half minutes at a time.

"Somebody took my phone number and called Afghanistan. Afghanistan. I've never talked to anyone in Afghanistan, I don't know nobody in Afghanistan, and even if did know anyone, I wouldn't talk to that Afghan ass for three hours. I won't talk to my daddy for three hours." - Chris Rock as Detective Lee Butters in "Lethal Weapon 4."

posted by McDuck @ 00:22 1 comments

Monday, March 23, 2009

Happy Post St. Patrick's Day!!!

Last Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day and ... nothing exciting happened. I don't drink and the holiday has really boiled down to drinking a lot of Guiness to celebrate which I am sure most folks are not even sure what for. Just the fact it is another reason to drink!

Weekly Update:
Semi-busy week for me this past one but had some fun times along the way which was cool. I went to an annual charity event called "Variety Day at the Races" where our industry honors someone in distribution and at the same time we have a fun day at the horse race track. This year it was held at Santa Anita Race Track and that place is so much nicer than Hollywood Park which, to be honest, is a dive. Even earlier that week before this event, I went to the reception for a movie releasing first week in April called Adventureland which I have seen already and it just isn't my kind of movie. But while at the reception, I did get to meet some folks there which was cool:

*Bill Hader- Probably best know right now as one of the current SNL cast and such an incredibly cool guy!!
*Kristen Wiig- Another current SNL cast member and extremely talented.
*Christopher Mintz-Plasse- Best known as McLovin from the film "Superbad" and just an overall really nice guy to meet.
*Kristen Stewart- Very laid back person and very nice on top of that.

At the movies:
A little action and a lot of puzzle takes the box office top spot this week as Knowing comes in with 24.8 million. The comedy I Love You, Man laughs in at #2 with 18 mil. The spy-action film Duplicity sneaks in at #3 with 14.4 mil. Small drop to #4 is "Race to Witch Mountain" earning another 13 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is "Watchman" with 6.7 mil as this will likely be its last time in the top 5.

Quote of the week:
"When a true genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that all the dunces are in confederacy against him." - Jonathan Swift

Comment Response:
"Twilight" um, yeah ... sure. I will have to pass but thanks! However, the last time I checked I wasn't a 15 year old girl.

Other News:
An amazing life and career cut way to short. Wednesday the talented Natasha Richardson, who comes from acting royalty being the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson. She comes from a family of both screen, TV and stage talent so naturally it was in her blood. My most memorable role of her was from Disney's re-make of "The Parent Trap" playing opposite both Lindsay Lohan and Dennis Quaid. Her numerous other roles include "Nell" and "The Comfort of Strangers" which gave her critical acclaim in both performances. From "Nell" she later married co-star Liam Neeson and had two sons (Michael and Daniel). Richardson fell during a skiing lesson in Quebec on Monday where she was attended too immediately and at the time felt "fine" with no visible problems. She was later hospitalized that day at which point Liam left the set of his current movie being filmed to be at her side. Later on Wednesday, she was transported to New York for further care and then taken off life support which she was then pronounced dead. A great loss to our community and the entertainment world of such a gifted actress. She was 45.

Facts & Tip:
A gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds.

"I just don't know what I'm supposed to be." - Scarlett Johansson as Charlotte in "Lost in Translation."

posted by McDuck @ 00:05 0 comments

Monday, March 16, 2009

Cold! The evenings have been somewhat chilly but the days remain mild which isn't too bad for this time of year. We normally have rains going on but they have seemed to stop or in this case, dried up! We do need some rain and soon because we are constantly in a drought that will never stop and the less we get during the year, the worse it is compounded. Even if one year we get HEAVY rains, it still won't be enough but at least it will help ... our rain/water situation is like the national debt!

Weekly Update:
Um, what a crazy week this was!! I have had busy weeks but I think I had a slight cold during this one so it made it that much worse. Dinner on Monday, lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday and then another lunch on Friday ... plus the weekend was packed with events and I have class on Sunday noon for the month of March. Ok, I think I need to look into have a little vacation soon just to sleep. I know a lot of times I do nothing but those nothing times do not ever seem long enough. OH, and what world do I live in when I am having an e-mail debate about Memphis, TN BBQ with the Academy Award winning group Three 6 Mafia?? How weird is that?

At the movies:
Not too much of a surprise here as the remake takes the box office crown this week, Race to Witch Mountain earning a decent 25.0 million. Hanging in to the #2 spot with a sizable drop is "The Watchman" with another 18 mil. New at #3 is the horror remake of The Last House on The Left with 14.7 mil. Holding strong at #4 is "Taken" with an extra 6.7 mil and rounding off the top 5 is "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail" with 5.1 mil more.

New movies that did not make the top 5: Just one this week as the "comedy" movie of Miss March shows up at #10 with only 2.4 million to its name. I say "comedy" because the jury is still out on that one.

Quote of the week:
"Justice limps along ... but it gets there all the same." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Comment Response:
I don't think you took down Facebook all by yourself =)

Other News:
Watching the news this week was kind of depressing in the fact that it was all really dumb news. Not the reporters per say but the stories themselves and certain folks just do not seem to get it. First we have the octo-mom who has no sense of responsibility and is just flat out insane. Not to mention she says she won't do one thing yet she turns around and does it. Then the whole debate between comedian/news reporter John Stewart and "Money Man" Jim Cramer who, when you break it down is a fool. I like comedians and it's not to say that I would take their advice on money but Cramer is one funny guy, in a VERY bad way. He attacks John Stewart because he called him out on the economic situation and how he is suppose to know the ins-and-outs of the financial world. Yet he calls John Stewart the "comedian", which he IS!! However, you look at the show Cramer puts on and who is yelling, carries a baseball bat and uses gadgets and noise makers during his show?? Jim Cramer accused John Stewart of being a comedian and calling him out on not knowing the financial situation ... Stewart AGREED! He doesn't and openly admitted that but when a person who DOES claim to know the market and economy yet failed to tell or advise everyone correctly ... he attacks the comedian! News ... what a really silly thing it can be.

Facts & Tips:
The tongue is the fastest healing part of the body.

"They're politicians, Rodney - they're all creepy." - Joe Flanigan as Lt. Colonel John Sheppard in the TV series "Stargate: Atlantis."

posted by McDuck @ 01:00 1 comments

Monday, March 09, 2009

DST!! Did you remember yesterday that it was Daylight Savings Time again? This time, we lose that precious hour of sleep we all deserve! Nowadays with online, Internet and cell technology it is done for us so we don't have to worry about remembering. I am sure we have many devices in the home that still require us to adjust the clock on them though ... I want my hour back!!!

Weekly Update:
Last Tuesday we had our 3rd Annual Young Variety Pool Tournament and it was a big success. New venue, new look, new everything (almost) and it was just a great evening. We had more attendees than previous years and made almost an additional 25% from the previous year. One nice thing about this last event was a friend of mine who I have e-mailed back and forth several times, I actually got to meet her in-person! She has done a couple of movies (one of them a TV movie) that aired on Lifetime in January and she is just a very very sweet person. Hopefully we will see more projects from her soon: Rebecca Miller could be a rising star!

At the movies:
No surprise here as the much advance superhero movie The Watchman takes top honors earning a hefty 55.7 million. Comic book fans embrace, however general opinion is still out on this one. Still hanging strong at #2 is "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail" earning another 8.8 mil. Also holding strong at #3 is "Taken" with an extra 7.5 mil. At #4 is "Slumdog Millionaire" with an additional 6.9 mil as it breaks the 125 mil cume mark. Rounding off the top 5 is "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" continuing with another 4.2 mil.

Quote of the week:
"When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters. One represents the danger and the other represents opportunity." - John F. Kennedy

Comment Response:
That is a tall order to comment on for this little topic area ... let me see. I thought the Oscars in general were just "ok" but it did feel like a throw-back to the shows from the 1980's with all the musical numbers and such. Which, it does make sense since Hugh has a big Broadway background. The other comment, I think California has always gotten their water from CO. I mean honestly Southern California is just a big dessert. But being a dessert, the weather is rather consistent but over the last 2 years this has not been the case. Global warming basically has a lot of different levels to it but it isn't a myth. Of course it may not be as extreme as a lot of folks may make it out to be. The term "Slumdog" isn't a term but rather just the name of the movie, "Slumdog Millionaire" and "A-List" are the caliber of the star. And example would be George Clooney, he is an A-Lister while Maureen McCormick (Marsha Brady from the Brady Bunch) isn't.

Other News:
So I stumbled across an interesting article that says Facebook is on the way out. Or rather that the twitting social site is uncool now. The target demographic for a lot of these sites like Facebook and Myspace has been the late teens through the college crowd. It seems like Myspace lost a step or two back when 20th Century Fox bought the company and has gone from being a hip new music site to nothing but commerical and confusing. Facebook was to be the next generation as Myspace became more of a techno-geeks playground with customizing and applications. So what is making Facebook the uncool site to use now? Apparently the majority of users on it are 30+! END OF THE WORLD!!! I guess age does pay a factor in the business of the Internet and as more adults log into the hip site, the younger audience moves away to something else. I suppose some of the adults on there could be using it as a way of keeping an eye on their children and watching you they are "friends" with. Younger generations just do not want the parents in their "business" and start going else where.

Facts & Tips:
The average woman consumes six pounds of lipstick in her lifetime.

"Old Steve. He always said you'd be somebody and I bought it, too. If that's the way Steve wanted it that's the way it was going to be. Even after he told me he wasn't my dad, once I knew the full score, I understood why he treated you just a little bit better than me. I'll just hang around for the leftovers, like a dog. That's how much i loved him. Like a goddamn dog." - Esai Morales as Bob Morales in "La Bamba."

posted by McDuck @ 00:05 1 comments

Monday, March 02, 2009

What happened?? All the windows are open in the house, almost to the brink of closing them again to turn on the A/C because the heat rolled in. What happened? Just last week we were having moments of hail storms with pouring rain to this week of near summer-like weather. This is SO unlike Southern California and to those who do not believe in global warming ... you are stupid. After living here all my life and knowing A) what the weather should be like right now and B) how the weather always changes here, this isn't right! We are not the tropics or a middle US area where the patterns can be erratic and unpredictable. This is not SoCali weather.

Weekly Update:
I forgot to mention someone I met a couple of weeks ago when I attended that Malcolm McDowell event at the SAG Foundation. The only reason I didn't mention him was because I didn't think he was in a picture taken with a group of us at the time. So, my friend e-mailed me the pic just this past week and there he was! I wanted to mention this young bloke who is from the UK originally and now does entertainment work here in the states. I sat and chatted with him for a bit that evening with Malcolm and it was just fun. He has some acting credits to his name but I believe he is more known for his DJ work and being a radio personality than anything else. His name is Rick Adams and not sure what he has coming up but wanted to at least put him down as a very cool guy.

At the movies:
I guess you can't under estimate the urban comedies as "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail" holds on to the #1 spot for its 2nd week in a row with an additional 16.5 million. New at #2 is the concert movie The Jonas Brothers- The 3D Concert Experience earns an easy 12.7 mil considering it probably cost next to nothing to make. Rising up to #3 after is Oscar wins is "Slumdog Millionaire" with another 12.2 mil and now over the 115 mil cume mark. Still strong at #4 is "Taken" earning an extra 10 mil and pass the 100 mil cume mark. Rounding off the top 5 is "He's Just Not That Into You" with 5.9 mil added to its total.

New movies that did not make the top 5: A couple this week as the Fox release of Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li opens in the #8 spot earning only 4.7 million. I guess folks are tired of the game and movie franchise ... if there ever was one. New at the #23 spot is the smaller release of Echelon Conspiracy earning only 554k for its debut.

Quote of the week:
"If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians." - Warren Buffett

Comment Response:
That one segment of the Oscar's every year is probably the one best single part of the whole show ... and they blew it.

Other News:
As some folks may know, I love lists! Best of, worst of, that sort of thing just fascinates me to see how people vote or chose and if they sort of coincide with what I have seen or experienced. This particular list is the "Worst in Customer Service/Care" and let's see what people are saying. First place is Victoria Secrets which I can't really judge since I do not shop there. Second on the list is Books-A-Million ... never heard of it. Third is Dillard's which is more of a mid-west department store that I have seen so few of and just am not impressed with. Fourth is a family-style restaurant mostly in the Northeast called Friendly's. I have been to a few and they all seem like a dive to me with just so-so quality food. Fifth we have FedEx which to me is just fine although they are a bit more pricey than others. Sixth is The Dollar Store which I have heard of but not seen one ... so don't know. Seventh up is Dell which isn't my favorite brand of computer but nowadays the choices are getting very slim. Eight we have Rite Aid which I can completely agree with because every time I go to one I feel like the employees do not care and do not want to be there. Ninth is kind of a funny one, Atlanta International Airport. I have been there myself about two times and it is just a terrible place to go period. Tenth on the list is McDonald's and honestly, do you expect that much from them? It's fast food and not fine dining so I say cut them a little slack. The list is interesting and had a few others but I took the top 10 to look at and share.

Facts & Tips:
A jiffy is an actual time measurement equaling 1/100th of a second.

"Yeah, Pete told me if I ever hurt you; that he would tear me to pieces with his bare hands or with his rhetoric." - Josh Duhamel as Tad Hamilton in "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton."

posted by McDuck @ 00:02 5 comments