Monday, April 26, 2010

RAIN, no wait, no rain ... wait, rain again! Well we had some torrential downpours this past week on a night or two and then it would almost turn off like a flip of a switch and be clear. Really odd weather as of late. So what is up for this week? It looks like it will vary again with some showers and it has been cold enough to really feel like winter here. Kind of weird what is going on lately.

Weekly Update:
Saturday was a long day but it was a good day. I attended another collector's show and it was ok, not great, just ok. While there though I did get to meet and snap some pics with some folks:

*Theresa Russell- Various TV spots and a very sweet person.
*Charlene Tilton- Best known as Lucy Ewing from "Dallas" and very nice.
*Rebecca Staab- A lot of TV appearances and pretty nice.
*Sean Young- So many credits but "Bladerunner" sticks out right now and incredibly awesome person.
*Cloris Leachman- Another incredible talent with "Young Frankenstein" that stands out, she was very nice.
*Gedde Watanabe- From "Sixteen Candles" and "Gung-Ho" and a very cool guy.
*James Hong- So many credits but "Big Trouble in Little China" comes to mind and a really great guy.
*Ralph Macchio- This guy doesn't age but from "Karate Kid" and seems like a likable guy.

At the movies:
The box office king continues to reign as "How to Train Your Dragon" holds on to #1 with another 15 million as it gets closer to a 200 mil cume. New at #2 is the critically bashed comedy The Back-Up Plan with only 12.3 mil in its debut. Slight drop to #3 is "Date Night" with another 10.6 mil as this laugher creeps up to 70 mil. New at #4 is The Losers with only 9.6 mil. Rounding off the top 5 with a BIG drop is "Kick-Ass" with 9.5 mil.

New movies that did not make the top 5: Just one this film week but it really isn't a bad number as Disney releases the 2nd in a series of nature films called Oceans which came in at 8 with 6 million. It was only released on about 1,200 runs and what made this film a mild success is that these pictures were already made and aired on TV/Cable as a mini-series a few years ago. So really all they did was put a little money into physical prints and the rest is just gravy.

Quote of the week:
"I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Other News:
Here is a topical list for what is going on today ... the top 5 most stressful jobs in the US according to CNBC. Going from the least to the most we start off with #5) Police Officer. The consider it moderate time pressure job with low competition. Hours per day is 9.5 and under 4% unemployment. In at #4) Surgeon. Moderate time pressure with high competition. 11 hours per day and under 4% unemployment. At #3) Taxi Driver. Moderate for both time pressure and competition with about 9.5 hours per day. Unemployment is at a high 14+%. In at #2) Corporate Executive. High for both time pressure and competition with about 11 hours per day. Unemployment is under 4%. The most stressful job in the US is ... Firefighter. Time pressure is very high with low competition. Around 11 hours per day and unemployment under 4%.

Facts & Tips:
New York is made up of 50 islands.

"Would you look at that? Real American heroes..." - Sienna Miller as The Baroness in "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra."

Monday, April 19, 2010

Parking! Ok the garage I park in for work has about 20% assigned slots, 60% compact spaces and 20% regular spaces. So when I am looking for a spot, one thing that completely stands out is all the sub-compact and mini's have taken all the non-reserved regular spots!!! WHAT THE HECK PEOPLE?! You can fit two of your cars in that spot and then it forces the mid-sized to SUV's into the compact spots!! REALLY?!?! Because you want that extra space to open all four of your doors to their limit for 10 seconds you take the regular spot?? Ok, it may not be ALL the spots but I was walking down a row of seven slots and this was the order: small, small, small, medium, small, small, big. Ok you five small cars, GET THE HECK OUT!

Weekly Update:
So this past weekend I attended the Anaheim Wizard World Comic-Con and it was like a Comic-Con but mini. I would say it was probably 1/8th the size and magnitude. Didn't really see anything that blew my mind or I thought was ultra-cool but overall it was still a pretty good event. While there I managed some pics from:

*Bonnie Piesse- Best known as Beru from "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" and very charming.
*Mark Ryan- The voice of Bumblebee from "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and quite the funny guy!
*Maria Olsen- Recently from "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" and very sweet.
*Charles Fleischer- Best known as the voice of Roger Rabbit and very funny guy.
*Issac C. Singleton, Jr.- From both Pirates of the Caribbean movies and a cool guy.
*Vernon Wells- The evil right hand henchman to the leader in "Mad Max 2" and a nice guy.
*Adrienne Wilkinson- Various voice projects including many Star Wars projects and an incredibly sweet person!
*Jay Acovone- From the TV series "Stargate SG-1" as Major Kawalsky and a cool guy.
*Aaron Smolinski- the baby from the original "Superman" movie ... the youngest Clark Kent and a very cool guy.
*Ashley Palmer- From last summer's suspense thriller "Paranormal Activity" and very sweet.
*Dean Mitchell- Various odd and ends but more recently from the HBO mini-series "Band of Brothers" and a nice guy.
*John Alexander- Many notable roles from "MIB II" and "Hellboy II" and a terrific guy.
*Treva Etienne- Recently from "Terminator Salvation" and a very cool guy.
*Vince Lozano- One of the cursed crew from the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie and a nice guy.
*David Ankrum- Various TV and movie roles and the original voice of Red Two from the original "Star Wars", a pretty cool guy.
*Gil Gerard- Buck Rogers himself and a nice guy.
*Bob Gunton- Warden Norton from "The Shawshank Redemption" and a very nice guy.

At the movies:
Quiet a surprise at the box office as "How to Train Your Dragon" in its 4th week creeps back up to take the #1 spot for this weekend with 20 million. This film is doing well overall and has just passed the 150 mil cume mark. New at #2 is the comedy action film Kick-Ass with only 19.8 mil. Word-of-mouth is very strong on the film being positive for R-Rated features so this number is surprisingly low! Slight drop to #3 is "Date Night" with another 17.3 mil. New at #4 is the "comedy" Death at a Funeral with only 17 mil. The reason I put "comedy" in quotations is because it was a far reach to be one. Rounding off the top 5 is "Clash of the Titans" with another 15.8 mil as this movie reaches 133 mil cume and needs another 100 mil to probably break even.

Quote of the week:
"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis

Other News:
Crazy things going on in Iceland and its all an act of nature. Mid week the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjoell volcano, has caused more travel hassles than anything else. This eruption has filled the skies for thousands of miles and spread across most of Western Europe with ash due to the winds. Since the residue of the ash is toxic and very damaging to mechanics, hundreds of flights have been grounded leaving thousands of travellers stranded. Reports of foreign dignitaries are showing them flying further south to Spain before heading east to avoid the blackened skies. Another worry of the volcano currently is that this eruption could possibly spark a 2nd volcano to erupt, Katla. An eruption of Kalta, experts say, could be 100 times more than the current one.

Facts & Tips:
In 1878, the first telephone book ever issued contained only 50 names.

"Freddy, as a younger man, I was a sculptor, a painter, and a musician. There was just one problem: I wasn't very good. As a matter of fact, I was dreadful. I finally came to the frustrating conclusion that I had taste and style, but not talent. I knew my limitations. We all have our limitations, Freddy. Fortunately, I discovered that taste and style were commodities that people desired. Freddy, what I am saying is: know your limitations. You are a moron." - Sir Michael Caine as Lawrence Jamieson in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."

Monday, April 12, 2010

More shaking going on! Last week we saw more earthquakes hitting the Mexico/San Diego with the highest being 5.5. The earthquake map is filled with boxes which each represent a tremble in various magnitudes. Earlier in the week Indonesia was hit with a big quake and then the tsunami's hit. The west coast of the US was also hit with some showers and a very cold spell which not sure if it was all a result of the various quakes. What is going on?

Weekly Update:
I have to say this past week was kind of nice and easy. No big events or crazy things that I had to do ... it was nice! The past month had been crazy in general so not doing anything is almost like having a vacation. Over the weekend I slept in and took a lot of naps. Now the next two weeks (from what I can tell) will be a little hectic ... can't wait to see how it turns out and hopefully I will get some rest in there. More to come ... next week.

At the movies:
No surprise at the box off this quiet weekend as Date Night takes top honors with a nice 27.1 million. The studio behind this film has been plugging at this being this year's "Hangover" however with that PG13 rating, I highly doubt it. A big drop to #2 is "Clash of the Titans" with another 26.9 mil however that was enough to help it reach the 100 mil cume mark. Slight drop to #3 is "How to Train Your Dragon" with 26.4 mil more. Big drop to #4 is "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too" with 11 mil and that is a 62% drop which is higher than normal. Rounding off the top 5 is "The Last Song" with 9.5 mil.

Quote of the week:
"It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do." - Moliere

Other News:
Here is another list for you, this is from Consumer Reports (CR) in association with JD Powers which list the five worst cars on the road today. What is interesting, and no surprise, is all five cars on the list are American made vehicles and almost all of them are SUV/Pickup type cars. These may seem like the "macho" cars but in reality ... they suck. In no particular order, the first on the list is the Cadillac Escalade (Luxury SUV). Reliability was fair however both Value and Safety scores were the worst. CR score was 61 out of 100 while JD Power has it at 2 out of 5. Next is the Chevrolet Aveo (Compact) with Reliability: Poor. Value and Safety both worst overall and CR score was 36 while JD Powers had it at a 2. The next car is the Chevrolet Colorado (Pickup) with Reliability: Poor. Value: Not rated worst. Safety: worst overall. CR score of 41, JD Power with a 2. Fourth on the list is the Dodge Nitro (SUV) with Reliability: Poor. Value: worst overall. Safety: Not rated worst. CR score: 33, JD Power: 2. Last on the list is the Ford F-250 (Pickup) with Reliability: Poor. Value and Safety: Worst overall. CR score: 37 and JD Power: 3. So what does this list tell me? Never buy US made cars. Even with the problems facing Toyota, Japanese cars are still far superior in terms of fuel efficiency (outside of hybrids), reliability and dependability.

Facts & Tips:
All porcupines float in water.

"Hi, Gilbert. I'm a nerd too. I just found that out tonight. We have news for the beautiful people. There's a lot more of us then there are of you. I know there's alumni here tonight. When you went to Adams you might've been called a spazz, or a dork, or a geek. Any of you that have ever felt stepped on, left out, picked on, put down, whether you think you're a nerd or not, why don't you just come down here and join us. Okay? Come on." - Robert Carradine as Lewis Skolnick in "Revenge of the Nerds."

Monday, April 05, 2010

Well Sunday was sure an adventure, the Southland was hit with several earthquakes in the late afternoon. I was at my computer and I started to feel a slow wave like motion as if I was on a cruise ship. Then I realized it was the start of an earthquake. It went on for almost a minute because I was able to go to the stairs, had one dog come up stairs, then walk to the bedroom window to see the other dog watching the pool water splash. Then call him into the house, then wait for him to come up the stairs and join us while I watched the pool water escalate in roughness. During that entire time, I continued to feel the waving motion of the house and that was a long time. Within the next hour the San Diego area was hit with several after shocks that hit the 5.0+ scale and that initial quake was recorded at 7.1. Another day in Cali!

Weekly Update:
So I got back to losing sleep during the week ... I just can't fall asleep at night, it takes me a pretty long time and then I wake up pretty early. One day I had to wake up early to get to an early morning meeting. So what happens?? The meeting gets cancelled but I only discover this 15 minutes after the meeting was suppose to start. What is the deal with that? That really annoys me and you should never plan a meeting for first thing in the morning because so many people come in at different times, no one can predict traffic.

At the movies:
No surprise here at the box office as the remake of the 1981 classic Clash of the Titans brings in a hefty 61.4 million. However, the price tag on this film was extremely high especially for the 3-D conversions along with critics almost across the board slamming this film on both story and 3-D. New at #2 is Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too? with a decent 30.2 mil. I for one am just tired of him naming all these films with Tyler Perry ... Hanging on to #3 is "How to Train Your Dragon" with another 29.2 mil. Singing in at #4 is The Last Song with 16.2 mil and this time, the fat lady as sung. Rounding off the top 5 is "Alice in Wonderland" with another 8.3 mil and now over the 300 mil cume mark.

Quote of the week:
"The men the American public admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth." - H.L. Mencken

Other News:
"Good Morning, Angels" was a classic TV line of all time and it was delivered by the voice of John Forsythe who passed away on Thursday of pneumonia in Santa Ynez, California. Forsythe's voice was only one iconic thing about him aside from his suave looks and playing the patriarch in the prime time drama "Dynasty" as the super rich Black Carrington. Not only was he the voice behind the box in the hit TV show "Charlie's Angels" but he returned a generation later to reprise his role in both "Charlie's Angel's" movies. Forsythe was a student of many platforms of the arts which included TV, movies and stage. His other silver screen roles included "Destination Tokyo," "The Trouble With Harry," and "Scrooged" opposite Bill Murray in 1989. He was 92.

Facts & Tips:
Cats can hear ultrasound.

"The idea that the universe is a vast pre-programmed machine does have it appeal." - Lexa Doig as Andromeda Ascendant in the TV series "Andromeda."