Duckburg Gazette: April 2012

Monday, April 30, 2012

This may just be me but have you noticed when you travel and if you find yourself sitting in your hotel room, you tend to watch only certain channels the whole time? I wonder if its just a case of not wanting to channel surf since you know know the program layout or those are the only channel(s) of interest. For me, it is A&E and Discovery ... I managed to watch a few of their shows and when I left the room, I didn't bother to turn it off and return to those same shows playing! Interesting.

Weekly Update:

What a tiring week! On Tuesday I headed to Las Vegas, Nevada to attend the 2nd Annual CinemaCon Convention (I know, terrible name) which was formally known as ShoWest (I know, better name!). It was a LONG trip in that you sleep little and are out for long stretches of time. When you go to bed sometime the next morning and get up a few hours later. But, regardless it is fun and always a good time. While there I managed to get some pics with some folks:

*Kathryn McCormick - From the upcoming film "Step Up Revolution" and amazingly sweet.

*Brooklyn Decker - From the upcoming "Battleship" movie and very sweet.

*Jeremy Renner - Best known from "Hurt Locker" and now the upcoming "Avengers," overall nice guy.

*Jennifer Garner- From "Alias" to "13 Going on 30" and very sweet.

*Charlize Theron - From "The Italian Job" to "Monster," she was OK.

*Michelle Pfeiffer - From "Grease 2," "Hairspray" and "Scarface," she was incredible!

*Taylor Kitsch- From the recent "John Carter" and the upcoming "Battleship" movie and just an overall cool guy.

*Chloe Grace Moretz - Best known from "Kick-Ass" to "Hugo" and amazingly sweet and bright!

*Diego Boneta - From the upcoming "Rock of Ages" and a nice guy.

At the movies:

Urban comedy holds off the new contenders this weekend as "Think Like A Man" holds the #1 spot for its 2nd weekend in a row earning an extra 18 million. Also holding ground is "The Lucky One" with another 11.3 mil at #2. Still going strong at #3 is "The Hunger Games" after 6 weeks earning another 11.3 mil as it narrows in at the 400 mil mark. NEW at #4 ... finally ... rom-com The Five-Year Engagement earns 11.2 mil for its debut. Pretty sad and I don't know why they keep letting Jason Segel make comedies ... he isn't funny! New and rounding off the top 5 is the family film The Pirates! Band of Misfits which earns 11 mil this past weekend ... oddly enough I want to see this one but because I am a fan of Aardman Entertainment.

New movies that did not make the top 5: Two big ones this weekend as the non-stop action film Safe comes in at #6 earning a below-average 7.7 mil for its debut. New at #7 is the suspense-thriller of The Raven with only 7.3 mil.

Quote of the week:

"The best victory is when the opponent surrenders if its own accord before there are actual hostilities ... It is best to win without fighting." - Sun Tzu

Other News:

I can not believe that this past Sunday marked the 20th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots over the case of the Rodney King beatings verdict. I remember what I was doing when the reports starting coming in, I was working at AMC MainPlace 6 in Santa Ana and we were also the home of the District Office. At about 1PM, the District Manager came down and said finish the set and then close up for the night and get home safely. So we did and that was the first time I have ever closed a theatre down for the night that early before. We were in Orange County so there were VERY few incidents but nothing like LA and a city in turmoil. After we closed and the last of the customers left, I went straight home and just watched the news seeing cars and buildings on fire. It was quite a sight, pretty unbelievable but then you see this kind of thing in other countries all the time ... we have more rights and liberties so kind of makes you wonder (and glad) why it doesn't happen all the time.

Facts & Tips:

The human brain takes up 2% of human body weight but uses 20% of its energy.

"I don't know a lot about relationships. Most of mine are short and flame out once the sex goes, but I do know you never want to be the rebounder. I'm a good man, Emma. I'll treat you right. I'll put up with all your crazy. They can't fire me 'cause I'm a minority, so I'll always be able to provide for you. You could do a lot worse, and in this town, you're not going to do much better." - Patrick Gallagher as Ken Tanaka in the TV series "Glee."

Monday, April 23, 2012

Trying out this new blog set up and so far, it isn't too bad. Of course there are things to get use to but the look remains the same, just that the interface has changed drastically! Now, it looks like you can possibly do more but it isn't as user-friendly as it was before. I hope it doesn't get more changes to this because I don't want it to get so complicated, have to move to something else! It isn't as bad as looking at some kind of chart but let's hope it doesn't get there!

Weekly Update:

This past week was a bit busy and the weekend a bit quiet. On Thursday I went to this little movie premiere called, "With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story" and it was a nice little film. It was short in minutes but honestly, it felt really long but I think documentaries do that to you. While there though I did run into a couple of folks and got a quick photo:

*Colin Cunningham - I know him best from "Stargate SG-1" TV series and a really nice guy.

*Tom Green - Kind of a off the wall comedian that does his own thing and an OK guy.

Then the weekend was both quiet and busy. Stayed at home to watch the pups but also spent some time at the Orange County Pet Expo which was at the OC Fairgrounds. I went for a little bit on both Saturday and Sunday and it was busy. Of course Sunday wasn't as bad but still busy enough. I am not sure what happened weather-wise but it felt like it dropped 10 degrees from Sat to Sun! It was COLD!

At the movies:

Slight surprise at the box office this weekend as the current champ was dethroned. In at #1 is Think Like A Man gets a hefty 33 million for it's debut ... Sony, can you learn to put together an semi-interesting website at least?! New at #2 is the romance-drama of The Lucky One with 22.8 mil. Slight drop to #3 is "The Hunger Games" with another 14.5 mil as it passes 350 mil cume for domestic. New at #4 is the Disney Nature film Chimpanzee with a nice 10.2 mil for this little film. Rounding off the top 5 is "The Three Stooges" with another 9.2 mil.

Quote of the week:

"I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Other News:

Radio and Television icon Dick Clark passed away on Wednesday after suffering from a massive heart attack. Clark had suffered from a stroke a few years back however that never stopped him from continuing to work, especially on New Year's Eve. Clark is known for the musical variety show "American Bandstand" which lasted over three decades. The show incorporated interviews with so many rock legends as well as feature new artists performing live on the show. Bands and artist like Chuck Berry, The Doors, The Beach Boys, Prince and Aerosmith were amongst the many who had their TV debut on this show. Before this, his humble beginnings started in radio right out of school. He later went on to other TV shows "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes" and under his Dick Clark Productions brand, he also created "So You Think You Can Dance." Clark also had a way of hosting shows aside from the before mentioned such as game show "$10,000 Pyramid" and of course his famous New York New Year's Eve Bash. Clark was 82 years old.

Facts & Tips:

There is a museum of strawberries in Belgium.

"and I'm a PC." - John Hodgman as PC in the Apple commercials

Monday, April 16, 2012

Talk about some crazy weather. So pretty much through the week it remained cool to cold at night, no problem. But then on Wednesday and Friday we got hit with some crazy thunderstorms and mass amounts of rain. Of course this is good but at the same time odd this time of year and didn't last very long at all. When it hit, it hit hard but then went away within almost minutes. Had the thunder but didn't see any lightning and pretty much scared most of the dogs (foster ones anyway). Now this upcoming week looks sunny and a bit more.

Weekly Update:
Kind of a busy week with some errands and appointments but on top of the CRAZY heavy rain we had, it was also long. But the end of the week was the fun part, I ended up going to the last day of this horror convention in Burbank called Monsterpalooza. Every year it pretty much sells out and this year was no exception. I only went the last day though and it was still pretty crazy. While there though, I got to meet a few people and grab some pics with:

*William Ragsdale - Best known for the TV show "Herman's Head" and a cool guy.
*John Landis - Famous director, best know for "The Blues Brothers" and "Animal House" to name a few and a GREAT guy!
*Chris Sarandon - Best known for "The Princess Bride" and Jack from "The Nightmare Before Christmas," a really cool guy.
*Amanda Bearse - Best known from "Married With Children" and super sweet.

So all in all, not a bad week at all.

At the movies:
The games are still in the lead for the 4th week in a row! "The Hunger Games" earns an extra 21.5 mil to not only remain in first place again but not has passed the 330 mil cume mark for domestic box office! New at the #2 is The Three Stooges with 17.1 mil for this slapstick laugher. Also new at #3 is the suspense film The Cabin in the Woods as it earns 14.9 mil. At #4 is the re-release of "Titanic" as it earns another 11.6 mil for this epic film. Rounding off the top 5 is "American Reunion" as it falls to 5th place earning an extra 10.7 mil.

New movies that did not make the top 5: Just one wide release this week as the sci-fi action film Lockout comes in at a terrible 9th place earning only 6.3 mil for this Spring Break time frame.

Quote of the week:
"Rebellion is a consolation prize for not being looked after properly." - Exene Cervenka

Other News:

America's worst airports for connections ... really? #10) Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood International: in Broward County, FL which has a 21% on time record. I guess the on time record reflects the mad dash from one flight to the next. #9) Washington Dulles International - in Dulles, VA with a slightly lower 21% arrival record. #8) Ronald Reagan Washington National - close to Dulles and about 22% off. #7) Philadelphia International - 12th busiest airport in the world and about 23% off. #6) O'Hare International in Chicago, IL - voted "Best Airport in North America" by Global Traveler magazine in the mid to late 2000's but has the third worst departure record last year with 25% off. #5) NY JFK International - Has to be one of the busiest in the world but its on time record was about 22% off. #4) Logan International in Boston - largest in the area and off by 26%. #3) LaGuardia in NY - 2nd largest in the world but off by almost 23% which doesn't strike me as that bad. However, this airport was rated as worst major airport by a Zagat survey because it was "dull and sad." #2) San Francisco International in California - 2nd largest in CA after LAX and almost 29% late arrivals. #1) Newark Liberty International - 33% off!

Facts & Tips:
India has more English speakers than the United States.

"The Mayans saw this coming thousands of years ago." - John Billingsley as Professor West in "2012."

Monday, April 09, 2012

EASTER EDITION

Yesterday was Easter Sunday which also means the start and end for spring breaks across America for schools. Funny how my association with the sacred holiday is based on spring breaks. I guess it is one of those periods of time where you associate certain memories of trips or some crazy fun you had during a special spring break (like summer) ... although I don't remember any, I just liked having the week off from school. And what is with the colored eggs?!

Weekly Update:
Went to Blizzard Entertainment again for lunch on Monday, that is always fun because it is both a quiet and cool place. It is nice when you see employees gathering for lunch to walk their dogs and let them play together on the grassy areas. They are also pretty funny with their online April Fool jokes. Last year or a few years ago they made up a fake dating website for World of Warcraft people to sort of e-harmony themselves but in gaming aspects. This last one, they took some classic computer games (talking 1980's here) and made them ... Blizzard-ized! It was pretty funny but I think you need to be a geek to fully enjoy it. Then for Easter, I drove out to Murietta to hang out with some close friends. I thought it was going to be way hot out there since it was about 80 where I live but luckily it wasn't, only hit 84 and it was breezy so that was good.

At the movies:

The games continue to dominate the box office. For the third week in a row, "The Hunger Games" holds on to the #1 spot with another 33.5 million to now push it over the 300 mil cume mark for its first 17 days! New at #2 is the 4th installment of the "American Pie" franchise with American Reunion as it earns a nice 21.5 mil. Re-releasing at #3 is "Titanic" but now in 3D (why?!) with 17.4 mil being added it on to its previous billion worldwide. Drop down to #4 is "Wrath of the Titans" with 15 mil more. Rounding off the top 5 is "Mirror Mirror" with 11 mil extra as it struggles to reach 50 mil cume.

Quote of the week:
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." - George Bernard Shaw

Other News:
Very sad news, acclaimed painter Thomas Kinkade died on Friday at his residence in Los Gatos, a small community just outside of San Francisco. Kinkade is world known for his painting styles, especially the use of lights in his works that seem to be actually coming off the canvas. He more signature works are cottages, churches, places around San Francisco from the mid 1900's and a few quick painted baseball field images during a game. A native of California, he became known as the "Painter of Light"because "With whatever talent and resources I have, I'm trying to bring light to penetrate the darkness many people feel." quoted from a Mercury News interview. Often associated with Christian beliefs and the use of light was thought to be his vision of God bringing light into those who would see his works. I like his style of brush strokes and primarily using oils, his works from city to Disney never failed to impress. He was 54.

Also in the news, legendary CBS News broadcaster and interviewer, Mike Wallace, passed away on Saturday. He was one of the first correspondents on the weekly show "60 Minutes" when it first aired back in 1968 and had retired in 2006. For nearly half a century he brought on the pop culture for that time, interviewed the icons in both entertainment and politics and brought news journalism to the small screen. In his latter years he started to lose his memory, not remember what "60 Minutes" is and only spoke of his family. It is said his probing and brazing style of interviewing became synonymous with his name and he practically invented it for TV. His commitment and contribution to the world is priceless and immeasurable, not only has the journalistic community lost one of his own, so did the entire world. He was 93.

Facts & Tips:

In some cultures' telling of Snow White, the dwarves are thieves.

"Uhhh... yeah, Preppie, you out to be ashamed of yourself. I'm disgusted." - Mario Lopez as Albert Clifford 'A.C.' Slater in the TV series "Saved by the Bell."

Monday, April 02, 2012

APRIL FOOL'S EDITION

I know it is a day late but I have to say, there are some companies out there who have terrific senses of humor. For the past few years, ThinkGeek.com has been making up fake products you can't believe exist and at the same time, you wish they did! Kudos to them. Also, Blizzard Entertainment has done a couple of things in the past and for the gamer-geek, they didn't disappoint this year with the fake game mix of old classic games mixed with their library of games. I also heard the bag company Timbuk also created a dog carry-all which was funny. Now I know a bag to carry a dog exists but not one that is up to 200 lbs! And strapped to your back no less ... classic.

Weekly Update:

Not a very busy week for me but had some stuff going on. Had my tax appointment on Friday, that was pleasant and learned I will be getting back a nice little return from both Federal and State. Always good to get something no matter how big or small, at least you are not paying. I am just happy that I have so many deductions, they all help and add up. Then on Saturday I went to a poker tournament for a charity event at the Fox Lot. I didn't play but enjoyed the event and the food is always incredible. I even made a non-alcoholic cocktail so essentially it was freshly squeezed juice. The cool thing about this cocktail station, once you are done, you got a free hand-held pewter (or some cast metal) juicer with an engraving on it that you pick what you want to say. What a deal! Everything was sponsored and it was just such a great event to end the weekend on.

At the movies:
Not a big surprise at the box office as the juggernaut "The Hunger Games" keeps the #1 spot for its 2nd week in a row. Earning an additional 61.1 million put its already past 250 mil cume for the its first 10 days. However, the percent drop was somewhat substantial. New at #2 is the movie that shouldn't have been made nor it's original remake, Wrath of the Titans with 34.2 mil for its debut. Not a bad number but considering how much this film cost to make ... not a good number. New at #3 is the slightly comical version of Snow White called Mirror Mirror earning only 19 mil ... that was probably 15 mil more than it should have gotten. Slight drop to #4 is "21 Jump Street" with another 15 mil as this film is just shy of the 100 mil cume but no doubt will get it next week. Rounding off the top 5 is "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" with another 8 mil as it zooms in on 200 mil cume.

Quote of the week:
"Race, like sex, is a subject on which it is near impossible to tell the truth. In each, desire, self-interest and self-image make the truth inconvenient to share not only with strangers (who may, legitimately or not, be viewed as opponents) but also with members of one's own group, and, indeed, with oneself." - David Mamet

Other News:

OK this is a good list I stumbled across, it is a little out dated (2011) but I think given the subject matter, it will still be relevant. Top 10 Overrated Filmmakers! #10) M. Night Shyamalan - great guy and incredible story teller but he had one hit which sparked his career and he hasn't been able to hit gold again. #9) Wes Anderson - not a fan at all of his films, they try to be obscure and artsy and just end up being ... boring. #8) The Coen Brothers - I think they have had a few good films here and there, I slightly disagree with this one. #7) George Lucas - BIG agree here and in fact, he should have been higher up on the list! He had one hit that he directed, the rest have been almost unwatchable. #6) Tim Burton - I liked his earlier stuff but since then, everything is the same! #5) Zach Braff - he's a filmmaker? #4) Dennis Dugan - I like most of his stuff despite it being almost ALL Adam Sandler films but he makes money. #3) Mel Gibson - as a filmmaker he seems fine and I don't think he is overrated in that respect. #2) Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer - many may not know the name but they are mostly responsible for all the spoof films which, are about 25% funny. #1) Tucker Max - who?

Facts & Tips:
George Washington was the only unanimously elected President.

"Hello." - Bonnie Piesse as Beru in "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones."

Duckburg Gazette

Monday, April 30, 2012

Monday, April 23, 2012

Monday, April 16, 2012

Monday, April 09, 2012

Monday, April 02, 2012

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