Duckburg Gazette

So last Monday a parody video hit youtube that I help with a key element in and a week later it is almost at 300,000 views.  Kind of cool and interesting.  If you are familiar with the "Gangnam Style" song and video, it is a parody of that but set to "Lo Pan Style" from the 1986 film "Big Trouble in Little China."  I think you may know where this is going, yes, I got James Hong to do a cameo in the video.  The video is here if you haven't seen it, the parody that is for Lo Pan Style and you can just search for the original song and video from there.  It was a fun shoot and overall the video turned out pretty good.  The guys who did the video had a previous one mixing "Call me Maybe" to the new Dark Knight movie and titled it "Batman Maybe" which saw over 1.3 million hits in the 3 to 4 months it has been out.  Hope this one hits a million!

Weekly Update:

This past week was exhausting ... did some moving around of boxes, not much but heavy ones, and attended some really strange events.  One of those events was the Chinese American Film Festival, or CAFF for short and ... it was a total mess of a festival.  I have been to a couple of these film festivals that center around Asian or more specifically Chinese ... please stop.  These have all been really kind of pathetic and disorganized that  it is embarrassing.  I don't really know what the point of their festivals are because they have no direction and people just talk over people, especially during the important announcements.  They are pretty rude.  At one point, someone was making an announcement and these two ladies decided to talk over them because they couldn't hear themselves speak ... seriously??  I think I may pass the next time one of these comes up and attend real film festivals.  These are just really bad parties with cold appetizers (which are meant to be warm or hot) and not getting my glass of water out of a punch bowl because they ran out the first 10 minutes of regular beverages.

At the movies:

A little bit of a surprise as the film "Argo" takes top honors being in its 3rd week in a row.  It has declined since it's initial opening but the rate at which it has dropped is well below industry standards and made 12.4 million this past weekend.  Another surprise at #2 is the family animated film "Hotel Transylvania" with another 9.5 mil as it now reaches 130 mil cume.  New at #3 is the sci-fi fantasy big budget film Cloud Atlas with only 9.4 mil for it's debut.  Big drop to #4 is "Paranormal Activity 4" with another 8.7 mil, one would have thought this film should have a big more better legs than it did.  Rounding off the top 5 is "Taken 2" earning another 8 mil as it reaches 117 mil cume thus so far after 4 weeks.

New movies did that did not make the top 5:

Several this week, in fact 3 out of the 4 new films this week!  In at #6 is the over-the-top horror Silent Hill: Revelation 3D only making 8 mil for it's debut ... probably a major issue with this film is that it had 3D in the title yet only half the screens were in actual 3D.  PLUS, 3D is pretty much a dead and over priced feature no one cares about anymore.  In at #10 is the college comedy of Fun Size with only 4.1 mil to open with.  New at #13 is the action-drama of Chasing Mavericks only earning 2.2 mil for this wide release feature ... very sad.

Quote of the week:

"Elitism is the slur directed at merit by mediocrity." - Sydney J. Harris

Other News:

Business Insider online came up with a list of the top 10 states to retire in ... so where should I go in my future ... #10 is a tied between California and Texas.  California has a struggling economy and high cost of living but the climate is consistent.  Texas' economy is much more solid but crime is in the top 10 in the nation plus the heat is pretty unbearable I hear.  #9) South Dakota - A tad cooler but it seems that older folks are starting to seek that out.  #8/7) another tie - Florida and New Mexico.  Florida has always been a senior state with its humidity, I guess that is good for the joints.  New Mexico also known for seniors but crime is very high in this state.  #6) Colorado -fast growing but not with just seniors but in general. #5) Virginia - mild climate but this state stands out for its violent crime rate.  #4) Arizona - pretty sunny and hot but dry heat from what I understand.  Also has seen a hefty population boost lately. AZ does have a higher than average crime rate. #3) Utah - both picturesque and cooler with a very low cost of living.  #2) Idaho - pretty quiet and very low crime rate.  #1) Hawaii (pictured)- very high cost of living but who doesn't want to live on a tropical island 24/7.

Facts & Tips:

The National Park Service manages over 350 parks on 80 million acres of public land.

"Well, I got her number. How do you like them apples?" - Matt Damon as Will Hunting in "Good Will Hunting."