Monday, October 25, 2010

This October is kind of a weird month because this time around (being 2010) it has 5 weekends from Friday through Sunday. Apparently this happens every 11 years and it is both odd and interesting at the same time. Despite it being that long, it still flies by when you are past the halfway mark and you look back and wonder, "Where did the month go?" Also, usually in October we see Daylight Savings Time were we fall back an hour or as I like to think of it, an extra hour of sleep. But not this time, it won't happen till the first weekend in November.

Weekly Update:
So the week itself was uneventful but Saturday was fun. Helped out with the 2nd Annual Hollygrove Halloween Event. Hollygrove is a foster care or foster placement service and facility. Back in the day it was basically an orphanage that Marilyn Monroe use to be a child at herself. The families with their foster kids were all invited to get faces painted, make cookies and masks and play all kinds of games. It was a pretty good event and the weather was nearly perfect for it. Last year it was so hot but this time had overcast the entire day without any rain. But everyone seemed like they had a great time and it was a good event.

At the movies:
Finally a horror film takes the box office crown this weekend as Paranormal Activity 2 earns a scary 41.5 million in its debut. Average drop to #2 is "Jackass 3D" with another 21.6 mil and just shy of 90 mil cume for its first 10 days. Slight drop to #3 is "Red" with another 15 mil. Big jump to #4 is "Hereafter" which was originally released in limited runs and went wide to earn 12 mil for its 2nd week (also a 5349% increase in revenue). Rounding off the top 5 is "The Social Network" with an additional 7.3 mil.

Quote of the week:
"Half the failures of this world arise from pulling in one's horse as he is leaping." - Augustus Hare

Other News:
October is not a good month for Hollywood as of late. Tuesday morning Tom Bosley passed away at his Palm Springs, California home after a long battle with lung cancer. Bosley is best known as the iconic father figure from the hit TV series "Happy Days" through the 70's and 80's. It was often noted that Bosley was the on and off screen "dad" to many on that set for the show and offering up his sage advice and guidance. Bosley have many guest roles on other TV shows such as "Route 66," "Dr. Kildare," Marcus Welby, M.D." and "Bonanza" to name a few. I grew up watching "Happy Days" and remember the infamous shark jumping episode which the phrase was coined "Jumping the Shark" in which a TV show has passed popularity and is on the quick road to decline. I met Tom Bosley briefly last year and he was in a bit of a slump but kept a smile on his face. He will be sorely missed by generations as if their own father passed away. Bosley was 83.

Facts & Tips:
The first sailing boats were built in Egypt.

"Don Lucchesi, you are a man of finance and politics. These things I don't understand." - Andy Garcia as Vincent Mancini in "The Godfather: Part III."

Monday, October 18, 2010

Well, its raining and cold. Talk about changing weather on a dime and what makes it worse is that when it rains, just even a little drop, people in Southern California suddenly do not know how to drive. It is pretty simple, drive like you normally would but with headlights on and windshield wipers on. Did you know that if it is raining, no matter what time of the day it is, you have to have your headlights on or you can get pulled over? Lot of nutty laws like that but it is a safety issue which I can understand. I am glad my car has daylights so they are always on.

Weekly Update:
Quiet week but crazy weekend!!! I am beat but it was fun at the same time. My buddy Joe came in on Saturday morning and that is where the craziness started. We went to a couple of conventions in town and met a bunch of interesting folks. The first show was at the Universal Marriott and got some pics with some folks:

*Walter Koenig- Best known as Pavel Chekov of the original "Star Trek" series and an ok guy.
*John Billingsley- Best known for "Star Trek: Enterprise" series Dr. Phlox and a really cool guy.
*Jonathan Frakes- Better known as William T. Riker of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and a nice guy.
*Lorraine Newman- Best known from the original "Saturday Night Live" cast and a nice person.
*Patricia Tallman- Best known from the TV series "Babylon 5" as Lyta Alexander and very sweet.
*Henry Hill- Not an actor but a real life gangster whose life was immortalized by Ray Liotta in the film "Goodfellas" and a really sweet guy.

During that day we also had lunch with a new friend of mine, Stephen Furst who is best known as Flounder from "Animal House" and just hanging out with him was a lot of fun. Sunday was INSANE due to some heavy traffic around the Beverly Center and I also played Tech Support for my friend James Hong who somehow broke his computer monitor but, got it working again. I'm tired now!

At the movies:
No surprise who is #1 at the box office this weekend but what is a surprise is by how much! Winning the crown this weekend is Jackass 3D with 50 million to open! Mindless humor every once and awhile brings it in. Coming in at #2 is Red with 22.5 mil. Slight drop to #3 is "The Social Network" with another 11 mil. Dropping down to #4 is "Secretariat" with an extra 9.5 mil as it struggles to end at about 50. Rounding off the top 5 is "Life As We Know It" with another 9.2 mil.

Quote of the week:
"Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting." - Franklin Roosevelt

Other News:
Another star on Earth falls from grace while perhaps another one starts to shine up above. Barbara Billingsley, who is best known as June Cleaver from TV fame "Leave it to Beaver" show, has passed away due to polymyalgia, a rheumatoid disease, at her home in Santa Monica, California. Known as the Americana classic and classy lady of the 50's who kind of gave the stereotype of the American housewife. Raising two boys and taking care of a husband on a sitcom comedy show made her the charm of the TV golden age. She also appeared on many other shows and various movie projects. One of my favorites was the sweet old lady on the classic film "Airplane" who was able to speak Jive and translate what the two brothers were saying ... and she swore! Definitely an icon for generations and showed us classic American living and standards ... with a smile. Ms. Billingsley was 94.

Facts & Tips:
Fish can drown.

"It's mostly dull routine, of course, but every now and then you get to sail on a beautiful evening like this. And sometimes work with a decadent agent of a corrupt Western power." - Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin in "Tomorrow Never Dies."

Monday, October 11, 2010

This section sure has become the weather opener for the blog ... it wouldn't be but just this past week it went from warm-rain-thunderstorms-mist-warm-hot! I don't mind the middle stuff but no clue how it went from 60 to 100 in 1 day. At least at night it went back to being in the high 60's on the days it was hot. Lately there is no consistency in our weather over the past month and it just does not make sense at all. WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!?

Weekly Update:
Yet another uneventful week for me. I was originally going to do something semi-interesting fun on Saturday but that fell through which was fine with me. But the rest of the week was either staying dry or staying cool depending on the day. This upcoming week should be fun though. Have a lunch on Tuesday with a good friend and then another friend is coming in town for the weekend. I am suppose to have either dinner or lunch with James Hong again this coming weekend so that should be fun. He is always interesting to have around and hear him talk or tell me one of his crazy ideas.

At the movies:
Very lack luster at the box office as of late but then again, this time of year it tends to be. Holding on to the #1 spot is "The Social Network" with only a slight percentage drop and another 15.5 million. New at #2 is Life As We Know It earns 14.6 mil for its debut. Also new at #3 is the bio-pic drama Secretariat with only 12.6 mil. Slight drop down to #3 is "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" with another 7 mil as it struggles to reach a possible 50 mil cume mark. Rounding off the top 5, yet another horror film that bites the dust (no pun intended) as My Soul to Take with only 6.9 mil for its debut. Will there be a horror-suspense film this fall at all that will be a hit? So far ... no.

Quote of the week:
"To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead." - Thomas Paine

Other News:
Are you sinking? You could be! There are seven cities that are slowly sinking and might be a good time to move. Check out this list ... at #7: Bangkok, Thailand - sinking pretty fast but this city is built on a very weak foundation. It is literally resting on a river and as water level rise, causing the city to "sink" and this is a direct result of global warming. #6: New York City, New York - due to this city sitting at the mouth of the Hudson river, it suffers the same problem as Bangkok with direct effects of global warming and water levels rising. Check out the city now, could be Atlantis in 30 years. #5: Houston, Texas - did you know this city is built on a foundation of sand? Apparently it resides on four major bayous that empty into the Gulf of Mexico. Add oil extraction and the foundation is slowly sinking. #4: Shanghai, China - sprawling city was built on swamplands and probably one of the oldest on this list. Because the city is quickly growing and expanding due to population density ... there is no hope to save this city staying above ground. From the 1920's to the 60's this city has dropped two inches a year. #3: New Orleans, Louisiana - This one is no surprise after Hurricane Katrina hit. This city was built already below sea level! That disaster should have been the wake-up call but this city is still save-able. #2: Venice, Italy - Another old city and this is no surprise (to me) that this city is sinking, after all it is built on a sea and the main roads are canals. This city as sunk almost a foot over the past 100 years. May not sound like much but as time goes, it gets progressively worse. #1: Mexico City, Mexico - This is no surprise to me at all. For years sinkholes have been appearing and you can even see buildings that have sunk several feet. Parts of the city have sunk at least eight inches in just one year and the city is prone to flooding from groundwater flowing down from the mountains. There are plans to save the city by building drainage to carry the excess water away but what about the sinkholes??

Facts & Tips:
The largest cheesecake ever made weighed 57,508 lbs.

"Every child is born the same way, not as a conflict of color but as a human being with a role to play on the planet. So we rejoice and do everything to make the future of that child be the best." - International singer Angelique Kidjo

Monday, October 04, 2010

Finally the weather broke!! Sunday ended the week long heat wave which also brought rain and thunderstorms while it remained in the high 90's due to humidity. This is not our typical weather and days were it was just straight heat hit the 100's over several days. I believe downtown Los Angeles broke a record on Tuesday by hitting 117 degrees. This is crazy weather we have been getting and all just in time for the Fall! Not sure what we are suppose to have this coming week but I hope it was nothing like this previous one! Post summer felt like summer than summer did ... what?

Weekly Update:
Not a whole lot went on this past week other than trying to avoid the heat! Spent most of the days doing nothing ... well, nothing productive I should say. I don't see too much going on this week but maybe on the weekend, not sure yet, haven't planned that far out yet! Just a day in the life I guess ... sloooooow.

At the movies:
No surprise at the box office this weekend as the crown went to The Social Network opening to 23 million. Slight drop down to #2 is "Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" earns an extra 10.9 mil. Bigger drop down to #3 is "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" with another 10.1 mil. Hanging on to the #4 spot is "The Town" with 10 mil more. Rounding off the top 5 is "Easy A" with 7 mil.

New movies that did not make the top 5: We have a couple this weekend and I think due to how these features placed, kind of sends a message that thriller-suspense is kind of dead right now ... no pun intended. In at #7 is Case 39 which earned 5.4 mil this weekend and makes you wonder what case 1 through 38 were. In at #8 is Let Me In with only 5.3 mil and no one really went in to see it.

Quote of the week:
"When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion." - Voltaire

Other News:
The stars above Hollywood just got a little dimmer ... Hollywood loses another legend of the silver screen as renowned actor Tony Curtis passed away in his Las Vegas home on Wednesday from cardiac arrest. He died peacefully surrounded by loved ones. Curtis is father to actress Jamie Lee Curtis from his first wife actress Janet Leigh (Psycho). Curtis leaves behind a tremendous legacy of film which include such titles as "Sweet Smell of Success," "The Defiant Ones," "Some Like it Hot," and "The Great Race" to name but just a few. Curtis became the movie screen hearth-throb in the 50's and into the 60's. His only Oscar-nominated role remains "The Defiant Ones" where he played opposite Sydney Poitier. Curtis born Bernard Schwartz was the son of an Hungarian Jewish family that emigrated to the US after World War I. When he started acting and got a job at a studio in the late 1940's, they changed his name to Anthony Curtis since Schwartz sounded too Jewish. After his eighth film, he became Tony Curtis as the studio helped smooth out his rough edges. An incredible man and actor who gave us some of the most memorable characters and scenes forever. I had the pleasure of meeting him once and he was nothing short of inviting and asked for your name. Curtis was 85.

Also this past week, a behind-the-scenes legend passes. Award winning producer and writer Stephen J. Cannell passed away in his home in Pasadena, CA on Thursday from complications associated with melanoma. Amongst his producing (as well as writing) credits include "The Rockford Files," "21 Jump Street," "The A-Team," "Riptide," and "The Greatest American Hero." Many of these amazing TV shows were an integral part of my childhood. Every one of his shows ended with his signature logo of him smoking his pipe while typing away at the electric typewriter and grabbing the sheet while throwing it up in the air as it formed in the shape of a "C". A creative genius who will be sorely missed. Cannell was only 69.

Facts & Tips:
One brow wrinkle is the result of 200,000 frowns.

"Everybody knows about Pearl Harbor. The thing that really fascinated me is that through this tragedy there was this amazing American heroism." - movie director Michael Bay