Monday, August 31, 2009

Tis the season ... for fires! Yep, with our recent heat wave comes the fires. I would say 90% of the time it isn't the heat but the really stupid people who create them to just watch them burn. Current news shows that two fire fighters were killed in a crash amid all the fires going on. Not to mention the homes lost or threatened and wildlife killed or displaced due to the raging blazes. Currently there are three fires in the Southland. Two of the bigger ones are Northridge and Palos Verdes with a smaller blaze in Glendora. Last I heard was that the Palos Verdes fire was fully contained while the other two were uncertain. Interesting thing about the Palos Verdes area as well, air drops of water went on for 24 hours while the other fires only received them during the day. The temps did not help any as they reached in the 100's since Thursday when the fires began. One area saw 110 degress while the others were around 107. Some rain would be good about now ... or just at least cooler temperatures!

Weekly Update:
Last Monday I went to the Extract movie premiere after party and it was a very small venue ... but a lot of people there and managed to get some shots with some folks:

*Amy Poehler - Very sweet, best know for being on SNL.
*Aziz Ansari - Nice guy and on various movies and TV shows.
*Beth Grant - Very sweet and has a lot of character parts in many movies.
*Clifton Collins, Jr. - Way cool guy and another character actor. I think he wants to go hang out with me.
*Jacob Vargas - Nice guy and best known as the older brother to Selena in the film "Selena."
*Jonathan Schaech - Another really nice guy and best known as the lead singer of The O-Ne-Ders from the film "That Thing You Do!"
*Jessica Stroup - Very sweet and currently on the new "90210" series.
*Macaulay Culkin - Yep, the one and only ... he was a pretty cool guy too!
*Mike Judge - Pretty cool guy and best known as the creator and voice of Hank on "King of the Hill."
*Mila Kunis - VERY nice and sweet, best known from "That 70's Show" and the voice of Meg from "The Family Guy."
*Simon Pegg - Cool chap and best known as Shaun from "Shaun of the Dead" and Scotty from the recent "Star Trek" remake.
*T.J. Miller - Really cool guy and an up-and-coming actor who is in the film "Extract."
*Will Arnett - Nice guy and has been seen on "30 Rock" and "Arrested Development."

At the movies:
Horror takes the box office crown this weekend as The Final Destination chimes in with 28.3 million. This is the 4th and maybe final installment of this dead franchise (no pun intended) as it was also in 3D. Good hold on to #2 is "Inglorious Basterds" with another 20 mil as it slowly makes it way to a possible 100 mil. New at #3 is Rob Zombie's H2 with 17.4 mil. This is the continuation of his version of the Halloween series and did not fair too well up against the #1 movie this week. Dropping down to #4 is "District 9" with another 10.7 mil and just shy of 100 mil at the moment. Rounding off the top 5 is "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" with an extra 8 mil.

New movies that did not make the top 5: Just one this week as the historical film Taking Woodstock comes in at #9 earning only 3.7 mil. It wasn't a HUGE wide release but well over 1300 screens.

Quote of the week:
"When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of putting it into practice." - Otto Von Bismark

Other News:
If one family out there is so much in the public eye and has been stricken with much tragedy and loss ... the Kennedy's. United States Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy has died last Tuesday night in his home in Hyannis Port, Mass. Ted was diagnosed with brain cancer back of May 2008 and continued to work till he couldn't function publicly. Just recently, Ted lost his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver earlier this month (she was 88) which he was unable to attend the funeral services due to his illness. The Kennedy's are no stranger to US Politics and have helped shape America throughout our later history. The family has suffered loss through tragic means. From plane crashes to assassinations, they have persevered and will continue to do so no doubt. Ted was a towering figure in the Democratic Party and their family line could be the closest thing we have to royalty. It can definitely be said that Ted and this whole family loved America and devoted their lives to serving it. This death also has dealt a blow as the Democrats seek to answer President Obama's call for an health care system overhaul. This issue has always been the signature cause for this family. Our country has suffered a great loss on many different levels from politics to image ... we can only hope to step-up and strive like Ted has done. He was 77.

Facts & Tips:
Hawaii is the only state with one school district.

"Pull Over!" - Erik Estrada as Officer Francis Llewellyn 'Ponch' Poncherello from the TV series "CHiPs."

posted by McDuck @ 00:08 0 comments

Monday, August 24, 2009

It got hot and then it got cold. Then it got hot again and stayed there for the days while the evenings did cool down. I am not sure if we are in summer or if Fall is hitting us now. Usually the heat is unbearable during this time of year with the evenings unbearable too. I think we need to reset our calendars or something so it should be September now, close to October. Ah the calendar ... it has some issues with it but back then who really knew the changes of the stars every 100 of years.

Weekly Update:
So what happened last week ... too much! Mostly busy for me during the days as I had extended lunches on Monday and Thursday. Tuesday night I met up with my good friend John who was potentially signing up a new client for PR and good news, he signed him! I drove over to the UCB (Upright Citizen Brigade) Theatre to meet his new client and catch his podcast show. While there, I ran into some other folks at the show:

*Doug Benson- Funny comedian and a really nice guy. This is my friends new client.
*BJ Novak- Best known for being on the US version of "The Office" and also a VERY nice guy!
*Kristen Bell- Veronica Mars herself and a very sweet person.

On Wednesday I helped out with a pitch reel/promo spot for a potential TV show at Amalgamated Dynamics. That place is amazing because what they do there are the creatures and costumes for movies such as "Aliens" and "Predator" along with other sci-fi type of films. The place is basically a working warehouse of cool and creepy things. Then Friday went to a special sneak peek of the upcoming James Cameron film "Avatar" which my friend at Fox wanted me to go check out ... someone owes me 16 minutes back for that!

At the movies:
After 2 years, The Weinstein Company finally pulls off a hit as they take top honors this weekend with Inglorious Basterds earning 37.6 mil. Their future was pretty questionable and this also marks a new box office opening record for director Quentin Tarantino. Slight drop to #2 is "District 9" with another 18.9 mil. Hanging on to #3 is "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" with an extra 12.5 mil and now just over the 120 mil cume mark. Dropping to #4 is "The Time Traveler's Wife" with 10 mil more. Rounding off the top 5 is "Julie & Julia" with an additional 9 mil.

New movies that did not make the top 5: We do have a few this week but no surprises here. The family film for the end of summer is Shorts which only did 6.6 mil, however, it is enough for the #6 spot this week. Showing up at the #10 is the comedy Post Grad with a disappointing 2.8 mil. And finally, showing up at the #21 spot is Disney's X-Games 3D: The Movie with only 800k this weekend. It was a limited release but still over 1200 screens.

Comment Response:
Yeah let me know when you two are in town, we should definitely do that. As for the comedian, his name is John Di Crosta (mentioned in the Weekly Update section). Humor wasn't exactly clean but I am not sure what your definition of that is.

Quote of the week:
"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything." - Alexander Hamilton

Other News:
Another Hollywood legend and Disney Legend has passed. A little bit lesser known but Virginia Davis died at her home last Saturday (8/15) in Corona from natural causes. She can be called the first real live star for Walt Disney Pictures when she did a series of shorts in the 1920's known as the "Alice" series. Davis was only 4 years old when the series was being created by Walt. I have had the unique and distinct pleasure of meeting Ms. Davis last year and she couldn't have been any nicer and charming. A little gem from both the Hollywood and Disney scene that will be missed. Davis was 90 years old.

Facts & Tips:
China only has one time zone.

"Newton, we are wasting valueless time here." - Fisher Stevens as Ben Jabituya in "Short Circuit."

posted by McDuck @ 00:10 0 comments

Monday, August 17, 2009

The other day I was driving to work and it dawned on me, are university police like regular police? I guess it depends on the state and the county but were I live, the cars look just like regular police but they say University Police and the officers are dressed the same but I haven't seen one walking around to tell if they are carrying a firearm. The school is part of the Cal State system ... is their budget by school funds or tax payer? Are they just officers but assigned to campus duty? Huh, I wonder ... if they are regular police, where does their jurisdiction start and stop? Too many questions, I guess I could just go ask one of them if I see one next time.

Weekly Update:
Sunday night went to a comedy show last minute due to someone I know Facebooking about performing ... Facebooking ... or FBing it, when did that become a verb? Well, he wrote about performing at a restaurant that was very close to my house so we decided to grab dinner and then stay for the show. The food was good at the Cantina Lounge, the service was great and the show ... AMAZING! The last act, I haven't laughed that much in a very long time. The first two comedians were good but the last one (who was the guy I went to go see) was HIGHlarious!!! I was almost crying at some of the stuff he was saying. It was a really good evening and I got some pics with a couple of folks:

*Mark Christopher Lawrence- May have seen him on the show "Chuck" as Big Mike, the store manager for the Buy More and a nice guy.
*John Di Crosta- The guy I went to go see and I think I made a new friend. We will see if we do lunch in the next couple of weeks. He was VERY funny and VERY cool.

At the movies:
Sci-Fi reclaims the box office this week as District 9 takes the #1 spot but with only 37 million. Not a great number by summer standards but we are starting to wind down. Dropping down to #2 is "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" with another 22.5 mil and now just short of 100 mil which no doubt will make that sometime today. New at #3 is the sci-fi romance (?!) of The Time Traveler's Wife with 19.2 mil. Another low number but this is also a very confusing story. Slight drop to #4 is "Julie & Julia" with another 12.4 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is "G-Force" with 6.9 mil and amazingly almost to 100 mil cume mark!

New movies that did not make the top 5: We have three this week which are not too surprising. The first one comes in at #6 as The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard earns 5.4 mil. Not a terrible number considering it also only released in less than 2,000 runs compared to the #1 movie this week with over 3,000. Showing up at #9 is the animated film Ponyo with 3.5 mil. This is also a really good number consider it showed up at about 900 screens! Bombing at #13 this week is the tween film Bandslam with only 2.3 mil and having over 2,000 screens and an exclusive new "New Moon" trailer with it ... this film gets thrown into the pile of Summit Releasing bombs.

Quote of the week:
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain

Other News:
For me, it was kind of a slow news week but for the music industry it saw two greats pass away. Famed guitar designer Les Paul died on Thursday due to complications with pneumonia. He was surrounded by family and friends at a White Plains, NY hospital. Paul helped bring rock'n'roll to a whole new level with his work and in 1952, Gibson Guitars began production of the Les Paul guitar. His guitars and designs were and still are some of the most widely used in music on all levels. Paul was 94 ... a good life.

On another side of the music industry, band LIT drummer Allen Shellenberger lost his 1 year battle to brain cancer on Thursday as well. The Fullerton based rock band had some top hits like "My Own Worst Enemy," "Miserable," and "The Best Is Yet to Come Undone." The band can also be heard on numerous soundtracks from such movies as "American Pie 2" and "Mr. Deeds (2002)." The band has a successful restaurant in Fullerton as well called "Slidebar" which has some of the best mac and cheese I have ever tasted. Huge loss to such a young band. Allen was 39.

Facts & Tips:
Pigs were banished from Philadelphia's city streets in 1710.

"No it wasn't a dolphin, because if it was you would be over there playing with it!" - Blanchard Ryan as Susan in "Open Water."

posted by McDuck @ 00:09 1 comments

Monday, August 10, 2009

The annual Orange County Fair ended yesterday and I actually got to go before it left. The last day during the day is a pretty good time to go because it wasn't that busy till we left in the early afternoon. The weather was good because it wasn't hot and there was some good breezes going. This time around I had a gyro, some Australian potato things (which were really good) and a big glass of watermelon drink ... I love me some fresh watermelon drink. The Fair's theme this year was "Think Big" which I am not sure what that means in relation to what I saw. Regardless, it was still a good time, good eats and bought some things while there. There is talk of the fairgrounds being sold which I hope is not the case because I would hate to see this tradition disappear ... I have only been going the past, maybe 5 years? I would like to go every year that I can!

Weekly Update:
So-So week last week, hot during the day and at night it was nice and cool. Did some swimming while trying to get the foster dog into the pool. She goes onto the first step but that is about it. She loves to play with the water and even splashes it herself so she can catch it. On Saturday, one of the two foster dogs we are caring for was adopted ... by us!! So now one dog is officially a member of this family/household while the other is still waiting to be adopted but not by us. The foster dog is just too hyper (yet listens to all her commands) and has a really weird and bad odor which we can not figure out where it is coming from or why it won't go away. Some days it's worse than others but one thing for sure, it is always there. So the dog we adopted was formally known as Onyx which, to be honest, is not a great name. We have been calling her Shadow and it seems like she is responding to it only after a couple of days. Shadow needs more training in general though but she is young, only 2 years old. I don't think Shadow is a pure German Shepherd but pretty close and probably the runt of the litter.

At the movies:
Action takes command again at the box office as G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra earns top billing with 56.2 million. This will no doubt be the last time we see a number this big for an opening weekend for the rest of summer. Also new at #2 is the "chick-flick" of Julie & Julia with a nice 20.1 mil. Slight drop to #3 is "G-Force" with another 9.8 mil and actually may reach 100 mil cume. Another size-able drop to #4 is "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" with only 8.9 mil extra however might reach 300 mil by the time summer is over. Rounding off the top 5 is "Funny People" with a big drop and only 7.9 mil more.

New movies that did not make the top 5: One comes up this week and no surprise here either. Showing up at #7 (and better than I had thought it would do) is the thriller A Perfect Getaway with only 5.8 mil.

Quote of the week:
"If you would have gold in all your days, ascertain where it will exist in the future, and be there when it occurs." - Voltaire

Other News:
Over the month we have lost so many entertainment icons that not only shaped our culture but could also explain it with those from an outside view. Thursday morning another icon passed as writer/director John Hughes dies in NYC. Hughes' name is pretty synonymous with 80's teen films and if you do not know the name, you need to start watching some movies. His list of credits include directing such coming-of-age 80's films like "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" to name a few. His writing credits are just as impressive with titles like "Home Alone," "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," and "Uncle Buck." His other various credits include: "Planes, Trains, & Automobiles," "Pretty in Pink," "Some Kind of Wonderful," "Mr. Mom," "Weird Science," "101 Dalmations," "Maid in Manhattan," and "Flubber." Almost all of his works have become instant cinema classics and a big loss to not only the entertainment industry but Americana. Reported cause of death is a heart attack during his morning walk. Hughes was 59.

Facts & Tips:
Honeybees navigate by using the sun as a compass.

"The only group in America that deserves to scrutinize what we are doing... are parents." - Jack Valenti, former Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America.

posted by McDuck @ 00:30 0 comments

Monday, August 03, 2009

Next! I swear to you, the month of July just flew by for me! Did it happen? I don't remember!!! I know a lot of stuff did happen but now its just a quick blur and here we are in August already. You say this all the time, where did the time go? Or, boy that month flew by but this time, it really did! And to add it also had 31 days in that month! What is weird for me is that both May and June did not feel like they flew by for me and I remember them well and some of the key things I did ... July, blur! I think I am just tired.

Weekly Update:
They say the more the merrier ... not sure if that applies to animals or not. So a couple of weeks ago the one dog we were fostering was adopted and we do miss Mabel very much. She was an older, sweet and gentle German Shepherd who really couldn't hurt a fly unless said fly accidentally flew into her open mouth and she closed it ... then sure, she could I suppose. Last Thursday we received a new foster named Ava and she is much younger (about 4 years old) and very active. She is almost non-stop and actually wears you out quiet easily and still have energy for more. She knows her commands VERY well so outside of dealing with her energy, she is a well behaved dog. THEN, Sunday morning we picked up another foster ... while still having Ava. This one is Onyx (terrible name) and she is only about 2 years old but very calm. She isn't really good with commands yet but she just likes to be around people and veg out. The two of them are getting along ok with some minor issues but hopefully that will go away in the next day or two. So, we go from no dog, to one dog, back to no dog, to another dog and then another! We have become our own little kennel club and both dogs are German Shepherds or mix of.

At the movies:
No surprise here as Funny People film but about average for a takes the #1 spot this week and also no surprise it only brings in 23.4 million. A low number for a SandlerApatow movie. Holding in at #2 is "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" with another 17.7 mil and now past the 250 mil cume mark. Dropping to #3 is "G-Force" with 17.1 mil. Steady drop to #4 is "The Ugly Truth" with another 13 mil as this R-Rated laugher is falling short of overall expectations. Rounding off the top 5 and new to the scene is Aliens in the Attic with an expected 7.8 mil and probably the only time we see it on the top 5 charts.

New movies that did not make the top 5: Just one this week as the suspense-thriller The Collector with an above expectation of only 3.6 mil and that made it enough to rank #11 this week. Personally I thought it would make only 2 mil so it beat my estimations.

Quote of the week:
"In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one class of the citizens to give to the other." - Voltaire

Other News:
Former President of the Philippines Corazon Aquino who swept away a dictator with the power of the people revolt and then brought democracy and sustained it by fighting off seven coups attempts in a six year span, has died on Saturday. Aquino was the first female leader of the island country and led an uprising in 1986 which ended a 20-year regime under Ferdinand Marcos. Her nonviolent protests inspired a world-wide movement which also guided the end of Communism in Eastern Europe. She carried about her a trademark look of a yellow dress along with her rounded eye-glasses which made her a beloved figure for the country. Because of that she was looked upon more like a relative rather than a leader. Last year, Aquino was diagnosed with colon cancer which later spread and made her too weak to continue treatments. From her political life, she ran a troubled country for 6 years where she stepped down in 1992. Despite her leaving the office, she remained very active in both social and political causes. She was 76.

Facts & Tips:
The sun evaporates about a trillion tons of water a day. "How do you get to Fort Courage? That's easy. You take a right at the rock that looks like a bear, then a left at the bear that looks like a rock..." - Larry Storch as Corporal Randolph Agarn in the TV series "F Troop."

posted by McDuck @ 00:06 0 comments