Monday, March 25, 2013

Started to get cold again at night but the days remain semi-cool.  We are now officially in Spring-time so it should start to really warm up ... but our weather hasn't been normal in years.  Where are the showers?  We need the rain and hopefully will see "April Showers" soon.  But I guess that is what you get for living in this type of area ... desert.  Though one can not complain too much with the weather being in a consistent range between 75 to 85 during the day and the nights just 10 degrees lower than that ... usually!  We do have the exceptions like any region but not very often.

Weekly Update:
Pretty busy week with various events and I think I caught a cold.  The week started off pretty quiet but then on Thursday, I attended the annual Variety Day at the Races at the Santa Anita Racetrack.  I didn't do any betting but took pictures for the event.  The weather was perfect and good times had by all.  Friday I went to the Fox lot for a lunch with friends and caught up with others.  That same night I attended the Lakers versus Wizards game and going into the half, they (Lakers) were up by almost 20 points!  As the last few seconds of the game came down, they were behind by a 3 pointer and didn't make it.  They should have won that one!!  But the evening was about the company of friends and spending the whole game in one of the suites which was a great time.  Now, I am just recovering and trying to shake this cold that has latched onto me.  I think the cold part is pretty much gone now but I can feel a cough coming ... great.

At the movies:
Family fun brings in the crown this weekend as the new DreamWorks/Fox film The Croods earns a hefty 44.7 million for its debut.  Good timing with Spring Breaks starting and a void of family films.  Not to be out done, the "what if" action film takes 2nd place as Olympus Has Fallen earns 30.5 mil.  Holding ground at #3 is "Oz: The Great and Powerful" with an extra 22 mil which makes it that much closer to reaching 200 mil cume.  Slight drop to #4 is "The Call" with an extra 8.7 mil.  Rounding off the top 5 is the comedy Admission with 6.5 mil in its debut.

Quote of the week:
"Whether or not you choose to be a marketer, you are one." - Seth Godin

Other News:
Top 10 Doomsday Predictions Beyond 2012 ... 10) NASA predicts massive solar flares - NASA was predicting that in early 2013 that the sun's growing magnetic energy will combine with the highest levels of sunspot activity and cause a barrage of solar flares that will destroy all of our computers and satellites ... so far no go.  9) Biological Weapons Will Destroy Humanity - This is always a threat but I think we will poison ourselves before an enemy uses any.  8) The Battle of Armageddon (2018AD) - many have tried to predict a final holy battle that will destroy the world but this one says it will happen in 2018.  7) Armageddon (2020AD) - A different author predicts this fight will happen 2 years later than the before mentioned but of biblical proportions.  6) The Sign of Two (2029AD) - the second coming of Christ and end of our history.  5) The Robopocalypse (2030AD) - I like to call this the "West World" or "Skynet" end based from the movies "West World" and the "Terminator" series where the robots take over.  4) Year 6,000 (2240AD - Pictured) - Like the Sign of Two but this comes from The Talmud.  3) The Quran Code (2280AD) - This comes from numerology and picks this date of the divine events.  2) The Earth is swallowed by the Sun (7.6 billion years) - The sun is expanding, plain and simple and will engulf the Earth in just over 7 billion more years. 1) The heat death of the Universe (10x100 years) - Life will simply cease to exist.

Facts & Tips:
"Way" is the most frequently used noun in the English language.

"I'm sure she'll love it no matter what." - Peter Facinelli as Dr. Carlisle Cullen in "Twilight."

Monday, March 18, 2013

I am amazed at COSTCO ... it has just about everything and in mass quantity for low prices, great.  But on a Saturday or Sunday lunch time, it is insane.  They need some sort of traffic control but I guess you have to expect that.  Another problem, they have very low customer service.  I guess they figure if you are there, you are there.  Everyone seems so miserable from the cashiers to person who checks your receipt.  The food station people are OK but not the best.  I guess this rant comes from the other day.  I was walking to my car with my stuff and the car that was parked next to me had an older couple trying to load a flatbed cart of all these heavy flat boxes to return.  I watched two employees clearly going deeper into the parking lot to get shopping carts, not stopping to help these folks.  So, I loaded my car up quickly, dropped off the cart and came back to see if they needed some help.  I helped them out and saw them on their way ... not a single employee stopped to offer any assistance.

Weekly Update:
The last week was pretty busy but nothing big.  I found my old bow and got it restrung.  I haven't pulled it for at least 15 years but according to the shop the bow has a lifetime guarantee and I didn't realize most of the cross strings are actually steal cables and there is only one section that is part that should be replaced every few years depending on use I guess.  I also had lunch on Saturday with an old childhood friend who I reconnected with via Facebook ... it actually works!  We had a great lunch and hopefully we don't lose contact again but we are talking from partially Elementary school but all through Jr. High.  When High School came around his mom moved and we went to another school but we still hung out a lot over the summer and holidays.  I guess after high school is when we lost touch.  Amazing what social network can do and reconnects folks.

At the movies:
Holding strong at the box office for a 2nd week is "Oz: The Great and Powerful" with an extra 42.2 million and now with a domestic cume of 145 mil in its first 10 days. New at #2 is The Call with a decent 17.1 mil.  Also new at #3 is the comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone with 10.3 mil.  Sizable drop to #4 is "Jack the Giant Slayer" with another 6.2 mil as it struggles to reach 60 mil cume.  Rounding off the top 5 is "Identity Thief" with 4.5 mil as it is humming along in the 100 mil club.

Quote of the week:
"Forget past mistakes.  Forget failures.  Forget everything except what you're doing to do now and do it." - William Durant

Other News:
Here is something you may or may not have known about ... 10 Outrageous Entertainment Services!  In no particular order ... 10) Attend your own funeral - yes, I guess people can do this for about $3000 they will arrange everything.  9) Spend a night in the morgue - keeping with the dead theme, this is an extension of the previous services but for an extra 2k you get to spend the night!  8) Kidnapping experience - do you really have to pay for this can you just get some friends to kidnap you for a night?? 7) Manhunt - what is going on here?  For just about 2k, bounty hunters will come hunt you down. 6) Russian fighter pilot experience - I've heard of this one but why does it have to be Russian and simply just fighter pilot?  I think a jet plane is a jet plane. 5) Night dive with manta rays - night diving is kind of dangerous but now with a 20 foot manta ray! 4) Rent a Formula One Car (pictured) - another thing I have heard of but I would prefer the NASCAR version over this one. 3) Extreme Ironing - what? you do ironing while hanging form a cliff or kayaking ... why? 2) Sahara Desert Marathon - if doing a marathon wasn't enough, why not in the desert is what they are asking you. 1) Antarctic Ocean Kayaking - this is interesting because of all the narrow icebergs and falling ice, this can be pretty dangerous.

Facts & Tips:
The Nickname of President Haye's wife was "Lemonade Lucy."

"at would I ever do with out my Em?" - Christopher Atkins as Richard in "The Blue Lagoon."

Monday, March 11, 2013

Daylight Saving Time Edition

Yes it is that bi-annual time of year again where we change our clocks but now we jump forward an hour.  As always, I hate this one because sleep is precious and to lose on hour on a whim, it sucks!  Of course it means more daylight which I'm a night owl at best and it means many folks are going to be late for work and meetings because they forgot.  Nowadays we have so many devices that change the time automatically and you have to wonder ... how does it know to do that?!?!  Especially since one or twice they have either held it back or pushed it up on doing the change nationally.

Weekly Update:
Not much to talk about for this past week, it was pretty dry and tiring.  The only thing I really did was attend the wrap party for the TV show "Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness" from Nickelodeon.  This is the final wrap party however the show will still continue because they are still voicing, drawing and editing the final season.  I guess they wanted to do it now then at the end because various folks are done and moving to other projects soon.  It was a fun party with good food.  While there, I think I got the final voice I was missing from the TV version of the furious five:

*Amir Talai - From "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay" and a very cool guy.

At the movies:
Not a huge surprise at the box office this weekend but what is surprising in is the amount of the winning film for this week made!  In at #1 is the prequel to the classic film "Wizard of Oz" with Disney's Oz: The Great and Powerful earning 80.3 million for it's debut.  Reports indicate that the worldwide cume broke 150 mil thus so far.  Big drop to #2 is "Jack The Giant Slayer" with an extra 10 mil.  Doing well at #3 is "Identity Thief" earning 6.3 mil more.  New at #4 is Dead Man Down with 5.4 mil for its debut.  Rounding off the top 5 is "Snitch" earning another 5.1 mil as it finishes its appearances in the top 5.

Quote of the week:
"Forget past mistakes.  Forget failures.  Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it." - William Durant

Other News:
Here is an interesting and informative list I came across ... 10 issues that are hindering a (manned) voyage to Mars.  #10) Expense: no doubt it would be expensive beyond compare to send a manned flight to Mars.  Unfortunately the might dollar speaks and everyone has to listen. #9) Terrestrial Pathogens: germs are of course a major concern and how to keep things sterile from top to bottom. #8) Propulsion Method: To date all methods of breaking through the atmosphere is rocketry.  Weight of fuel and other logistics makes this hard to do. #7) Space Dementia: Also known as "cabin fever" of spending a long length of time in one space such as a rocket.  The current distance to Mars is estimated to be 8 months ... of doing nothing and in a little and confined space. #6) The spacesuit: A new design would have to be created unlike the current one since the atmosphere is much different than space and the moon. #5) Artificial Gravity: lack of gravity is a problem for a long-term stay in space. #4) Martian Pathogens: Something we do not know about or if they exist at present.  And what if they do exist and we can't combat them? #3) The Spaceship: The current designs are fine for unmanned flights but then the liabilities rise astronomically when man is added. #2) Meteoroids: The distance from here to there is of course vast ... and debris of varying amounts is a lot. #1) Unimpeded Cosmic Radiation (pictured): The Earth has an atmosphere and electromagnetic field that protects us from the sun's ultraviolet radiation.  Mars is a bit different on that front.

Facts & Tips:
The deepest place in the ocean is about seven miles deep.

"You guys know what Greasers are? White trash with long, greasy hair." - Leif Garrett as Bob Sheldon in "The Outsiders."

Monday, March 04, 2013

Hot and cold, it can never make up it's mind.  We had some summer days hit this past week and now back to winter.  One thing you use to be able to count on in Southern California is consistent weather but now?  I have no idea what is going on.  I like cold, don't get me wrong but I also like some consistency in my weather where I live.  Had about two or three days in the 80's with the nights in the mid 70's.  And end of the weekend it dipped back into the 60's/50's day/night respectively.  Still waiting for some rainy days though because as always, we need it!

Weekly Update:
I was helping out our publicity on Tuesday for the press junket at the Four Seasons.  When I was there I realized I have never been there for a junket before.  For some meetings but it was kind of nice to just hang out and be there for a different purpose.  I am sure it costs a ton to stay there overnight but I also have to imagine it being worth it if you are on some kind of special even or honeymoon type of situation.  While there though I did get some snaps with some folks:

*Ed Harris - classic guy and very cool.
*Johnathon Schaech - pretty cool guy.
*Todd Robinson - director of the film and a nice guy.
*Julian Adams - one of the producers and actors in the film and a VERY cool guy.

Then on Wednesday we had the premiere for the film Phantom at the new TCL Chinese Theater (formally Grauman's, formally Mann's and probably not in that order).  While there I did run into some folks:

*Jason Gray-Stanford - Know him best from the show "Monk" and a very cool guy.
*Walter Jones - he was the black Power Ranger and a cool guy.
*Dominic Monaghan - best known as Merry from the original three Lord of the Rings films and a great guy.

This is funny, on Friday night I was at dinner and we ran into a familiar face:

*Ron Canada - been in so many things and a really great guy.

At the movies:
No surprises at the box office this weekend in terms of grosses but the big budget action fairy-tale film Jack the Giant Slayer topples #1 with a nice 28 mil.  This would sound like a great number if not for the 200+ mil price tag to make this film without advertising dollars which I am sure lead up into the high 20's.  Holding ground at #2 is "Identity Thief" with 9.7 mil as it passes the 100 mil cume mark.  The college comedy 21 and Over gets a below expectations 9 mil for its debut at #3.  New at #4 is The Last Exorcism Part II with 8.1 mil.  Rounding off the top 5 is "Snitch" for it's 2nd week earning a decent 7.8 mil.

New movies that did not make the top 5:
Just one this week and really no big surprise considering what they did and didn't do in terms of P&A.  Coming in at #24 is the submarine thriller Phantom with only $460,000 to its name.  Interesting enough, this isn't the worst box office opening in history but it does come very close and a strong #2.


Other News:
Travel + Leisure came out with a list of the Best Chinese Restaurants in the US but they are in no particular order as far as I can tell.  There are not more than 41,000 Chinese restaurants in the U.S.  According to the article that is nearly three times the number of McDonald's!  1) Lao Sze Chuan - Chicago, IL: one of the first to earn three forks from the Chicago Tribune and known for its extraordinary spiciness.  2) Gourmet Dumping House - Boston, MA: called more Taiwanese which I did not know there was a difference.  3) Peter Chang Cafe - Richmond, VA: started simply as a no-frills place in a strip mall and now has 8 locations with a cult following.  4) Ping Pang Pong - Las Vegas, NV: Located in the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino which is off strip and offers dim sum. 5) Xi'an Famous Foods - New York, NY: No frills noodle house in multiple locations in NY.  6) Shandong - Portland, OR: made-in-house noodles and a nice sleek and modern look. 7) The Source - Washington, DC: This is actually a Wolfgang Puck creation.  8) A Single Pebble - Burlington, VT: Another Taiwan style food from a native Taiwanese, Chiuho Duval.  9) Koi Palace - Daly City, CA (pictured): Shanghai style crab dumplings and lobsters.  10) Mandarin - Salt Lake City, UT: ran by a Greek-American  who work alongside Chinese cooks.

At
Facts & Tips:
The largest dog litter was 23 puppies.

 "You say potato, I say vodka." - Megan Mullally as Karen Walker in the TV series "Will & Grace."