I thought this was interesting ... I went to lunch the other day and they had a "Meat Lover's Wrap" and it came with two kinds of tomatoes and lettuce. I then thought to myself, "Not really a true meat lover's if it has three veggies in it." So I got it without the veggies and it was pretty dang good. But seriously, any true meat lover will tell you that why would I want those veggies if I am a meat lover? I feel like it is the same as getting a vegetarian platter with some bacon on it. You know what I mean??Weekly Update:So last week I accept a job on a consultant basis. They originally wanted me to be a full-time salaried employee but ... sort of wanted to check it out first. I must say, I was really enjoying the break from working and thought I would have the month of February off. I guess things sometimes don't work out that way but at least I got to enjoy half the month of not doing much. I do miss sleeping in the most!!! Sleep, it is so under-rated and under used in my book. So since Monday was a holiday, I started the new job on Tuesday and so far so good. Pretty easy stuff to be honest but no complaints here on that. Trying to get things up-to-speed there and figuring out the systems in place so I can use them quickly and efficiently. The people there are very nice and it is a pretty small company, only about 60 people altogether but then they are part of a MUCH larger parent company. So, we will see what happens but for now, just working again and looking forward to the weekends.
At the movies:No surprise at the box office this weekend as Shutter Island takes top honors. What is surprising is the 40.2 million opening for this snoozer. Holding ground and a big drop to #2 is "Valentine's Day" with an additional 17.2 mil. Jumping back up in ranks to #3 is "Avatar" with 16.1 mil more. Hanging on to #4 is "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" with an extra 15.3 mil. Rounding off the top 5 as it quickly drops off is "The Wolfman" with only 9.8 mil more.Quote of the week:"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see." - Arthur SchopenhauerOther News:
Did you know the Olympics where happening? Yeah, neither did I!! I think they started about a week ago Friday or something like that and to be honest, there is very little buzz on anything other than Shaun White winning the gold for snowboarding half pipe on his first run. As of today the US has 24 medals (7 gold, 7 silver, 10 bronze) while 2nd place (in medal count) Germany has a total of 18 (6 gold, 7 silver, 5 bronze). I think everything ends this coming Friday but what is interesting is this Olympics that are taking place in Vancouver, BC, Canada ... they did not need to build any new facilities or arenas unlike many other countries. Since I didn't know the Olympics were going on, I did miss the opening ceremonies which I tried to either watch or record. I did hear from so many people ... China's Olympics were 100x better. I guess the timing, the spectacle of it all was very lack luster for such an event but still would have liked to have seen it. Well, maybe the closing ceremonies will be better and hopefully I won't forget to watch them.
Facts & Tips:Antarctica has as much ice as the Atlantic Ocean has water."That punk put a hole in my Versace." - Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell in "Mission: Impossible II."
PRESIDENT'S DAY WEEKEND EDITIONDo you remember when we had two separate holidays off from school in February? The first one was for Lincoln's birthday and the second for Washington's ... or vice-versa, I can't remember which was first. That was TWO whole 3-day weekends in the shortest month of the year while I was in Jr. High and High School. NOW, they combined them and gave us "President's Day" so you only get one big weekend ... that is a bummer.Weekly Update:Saturday I attended my quarterly Hollywood Collector's Show or what I like to call "Geek Fest 2010." I got to meet a bunch or really nice people on this particular venture on top of making some new contacts which was kind of odd for me. Not sure why but some folks just gave me all their contact information for whatever reason. Well, thanks? But, I did my usual thing and got some pics with a bunch of folks:*Caroline Williams - a lot of little horror films and minor TV appearances but a very cool person.*Meg Foster - I know her best from "They Live" and those unforgettable eyes and she was extremely sweet.*Jill Schoelen - various TV and small movie parts but an incredibly nice person.*Christopher Atkins - best known from "The Blue Lagoon" and a really nice guy.*Butch Patrick - Eddie Munster from "The Munsters" and an extremely nice guy!!*Michael Biehn - best known from the original "Terminator" film and pretty cool guy.*Linda Hamilton - from "Terminator" and T2, also a very sweet person!*Robert Patrick - from "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" and an incredibly cool guy!!*Edward Furlong - from T2 fame and an ok guy.*Rena Riffel - from "Showgirls" and a very nice person to meet.*Russ Tamblyn - from "West Side Story" and just a very neat guy.*Debra Wilson - from "MAD TV" fame and you could not meet anyone more approachable and kind.*Larry Thomas - best known as the Soup Nazi from "Seinfeld" and a cool guy.*Morgan Fairchild - the one and only and what an incredibly kind person on top of looking amazing.At the movies:
No surprise here as the romantic movie wins the box office weekend considering it was also Valentine's Day Weekend! In at #1 is Valentine's Day with a huge 4-day gross of 52.4 million. New at #2 is the children's book brought to the big screen Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief with 31.1 mil and that title is WAY too long. New at a disappointing #3 is the remake The Wolfman with 30.6 mil. Still a good number but not for this film. Hanging on to #4 is "Avatar" with an extra 22 mil. Rounding off the top 5 (and a big drop) is "Dear John" with another 15.3 mil.Quote of the week:"When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber." - Winston Churchill
Other News:I came across a nice little list that hits more home to me than many others ... PC Gaming! When you go to a gaming store for electronic devices, the amount of PC games is drastically shrinking while the console games grow. What is funny is that they grow as a whole but not for any individual gaming console because there are so many out there now between X-Box, PS3, Wii and some older ones as well. So here is a list of the top 5 reasons why you still need PC gaming! #1: Cheaper Games - for console games the average price is $60 and that is if you do not need any accessories with it. For PC gaming, about 95% of them never need accessories and the average price now is under $50 for the big ticket games but the bulk of games usually run under $20. There is even a slew of free games as well! #2: Better Controls - I can't agree with this more with one exception, driving games. PC's have way better control with the keyboard and mouse combo especially for those online games where typing is required. #3: Play the Classics - PC Gaming has a catalog of games that spans decades and typically even if you get the bigger and better machines you can still play them. Console gaming has its limits in this regards simply because the manufacturers have placed them. You use to be able to play Playstation (PS) games on a PS2 but when the PS3 came out, you can no longer play those PS and PS2 games anymore. #4: Online Worlds - Not a big fan of almost all online gaming or MMORPG but between PC and console, there is no comparison. The PC beats them all out hands down and it goes back to the use of keyboard and mouse. #5: Play the Bleeding Edge - This isn't a strong point in my book but PC is more cutting edge with stereo sounds and potential 3D on the horizon. Sound is not a real draw because if it sounds good, then that is all you need. 3D? Eh, for gaming not a real care there either.Facts & Tips:
Eleven percent of people in the world are left-handed."You know, going back in time, changing history... that's cheating." - Chris Pine as James T. Kirk in "Star Trek."
More rain, more rain! Most of last week was relatively sunny but very cold. Friday we got hit with some light rain but Saturday morning was a big thunderstorm!! All that morning it came down like crazy and the water is MUCH needed but again, not enough. When you have had a drought for several years, one week or even one month of rain will not solve the problem although it will always help. On top of that, good ole Punxsutawney Phil came out of his hole and saw his shadow which means six more weeks of Winter if you believe in that gauge of weather prediction. I would like a longer winter, we need it!Weekly Update:For what was suppose to be a nice quiet week for me, turned out a little hectic! My plan was to sleep in and do nothing, take a nap here and there and relax. I ended up with 3 lunches (2 in LA) and a meeting ... also a very loud foster puppy late at night and early in the morning. So much for the relaxation but hopefully this next week I will get that but who knows. Oh did you know that the Super Bowl happened and the New Orleans Saints won? I guess they were the under dogs for this year but ... I really didn't care because neither team (other was Indianapolis Colts) appealed to me. Plus I do like to catch the commercials but there are so many websites now where you can see all of them broken down by quarters that missing the game is no big deal.
At the movies:It was bound to happen and this weekend was it. A new leader at the box office as Dear John earns the crown with 32.4 million. Never underestimate the power of the female viewing audience! Drop down to #2 is "Avatar" with 23.6 mil and may drop a little further next week. New at #3 is From Paris with Love with 8.1 mil. Dropping down to #4 is "Edge of Darkness" with another 7 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is "The Tooth Fairy" with an extra 6.5 mil and the last we will see this one on the chart.Quote of the week:"Last words are for fools who haven't said enough." - Karl MarxOther News:
So one of the big stories surfacing lately is the huge Toyota recall on several makes and models throughout the company's lines. Why is it a story surfacing? Well maybe because the first recorded incident was from 2003, nearly 7 years ago and now the Federal Government and Toyota are looking into the problem of unwanted acceleration. The main problem, most of the reports have been the accelerator pedal getting stuck and people can not stop the car. Since the 2003 incident, which was a man's car lurching forward but jumped in speed and hit the car in front of them, has lead to hundreds of complaint letters and several deaths as a result of the problem. Just this past week, the CEO of Toyota offered a public apology which many felt was not genuine and also came way too late in this dilemma facing the major auto maker. Right now, Toyota has recalled 2.3 million vehicles over the concerns that the gas pedal could get stuck or fail to return to the idle position. How will this effect future sales of Toyota vehicles? Unsure as of yet but another week or two will give us some interesting results. I can only imagine when it comes to family line of cars, those sales will plummet as both the auto manufacturer and the US Transportation Department are in full swing on this too little too late situation.
Facts & Tips:A twit is the technical term for a pregnant goldfish."Hello, Echo. How are you feeling?" - Fran Kranz as Topher Brink in the TV show "Dollhouse."
FINALE!
Last Friday was my final day at Miramax as they closed down the studio wing. It was a fun short ride as I worked there under 2 years but the people were great and the benefits as well. Sad as we get scattered into the winds but I think I will enjoy a short break to recharge the batteries as it were. Hopefully I won't be out of work too long because then I know I will get antsy and bored ... just enough to enjoy and then I am good to go again. Well, we will see but till then, I'm sleeping in!!Weekly Update:So a much quieter week for the evenings than the previous week. I only went to ONE event on Wednesday which was a bit on the amateur side but still fun. Apparently a film called "Boondock Saints" came out in 1999 and they celebrated their 10th year anniversary ... yes, 1999 and its 2010, I know I know but I didn't say they were very bright. But while there I did get some pics with some people you either A) MIGHT have heard of before or B) NEVER heard of before ...*Sean Patrick Flanery- Best known from the "Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" and an extremely nice guy!*Norman Reedus- From "Blade II" and more recently "Pandorium" also a like-able guy.*Bob Marley- More of an stand-up comic and a pretty cool guy.*David Della Rocco- Only been in "Boondock Saints" 1 and 2 ... but a nice guy.*Brian Mahoney- Only a few things and no real big roles but still was a nice guy.At the movies:
The blue people continue to rule the box office as "Avatar" earns another 30 million for the #1 spot. The film has surpassed the #1 spot of all time however the numbers aren't actually accurate if you account for inflation and such. If you adjust the numbers it would actually come in around 5th of all time. New at #2 is Edge of Darkness with 17.1 mil and the edge is closer than it thought. New at #3 is the rom-com When in Rome with only 12.1 mil to open and I guess the money all stayed in Rome. Hanging on to #4 is "The Tooth Fairy" with another 10 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is "The Book of Eli" with an extra 8.8 mil.Quote of the week:"Nice guys finish last, but we get to sleep in." - Evan Davis
Other News:I sort of feel like this past week was a very slow news week ... no lists to share, nothing exciting to note. Kind of weird but let me see if there is some general headline stuff. The Grammy Awards were held last night and to be honest, didn't watch or care. I heard Taylor Swift and Kings of Leon won some of the major stuff but don't listen to Swift and Kings of Leon are a really crappy band. I like the music of Kings of Leon but the lead singer ... sucks. Miss Virginia won the Miss America Pageant ... that is still going on? Do they still do the Miss Universe at all? The US Air Force plans on buying 1700 PS3's to build a massive super computer ... that is kind of cool and interesting but I wonder how you link that many gaming consoles together and to what purpose? I guess it is cheaper than building a computer of that size if you just buy 1700 pre-made parts. And that is the week in news ... zzzz.Facts & Tips:
The bullfrog is the only animal that never sleeps."Hurry, David." - Julie Adams as Kay Lawrence in "Creature from the Black Lagoon."
I thought this was interesting ... I went to lunch the other day and they had a "Meat Lover's Wrap" and it came with two kinds of tomatoes and lettuce. I then thought to myself, "Not really a true meat lover's if it has three veggies in it." So I got it without the veggies and it was pretty dang good. But seriously, any true meat lover will tell you that why would I want those veggies if I am a meat lover? I feel like it is the same as getting a vegetarian platter with some bacon on it. You know what I mean??
At the movies:
Facts & Tips:
