This past week the weather was very Fall season like. The days were not hot or warm but cool with some breezes and the sun fully out. The nights dropped down to the mid 50's and chilly. But ... where is our rain? We had a couple of days with overcast but no water came with it. Also had some nights with cool fogs, I love it when it fogs up but again, no rain. We are in desperate need of sky water ... my car is so dirty.
Weekly Update:
Not much to report on this week ... pretty quiet and kind of boring. The other week, forgot to mention this story, I went toJ. Scott Campbell who I have several friends who are big fans of his. Apparently he was there to show Stan a new Mary Jane sculpture from his Spider-Man series and Stan signed it for them. He has done work for both DC and Marvel as well as some of his own books such as "Danger Girl" to name but one. I got to meet him for about 10 minutes and chatted. He was a very down-to-Earth guy and just relaxing. He is from out of state so he was in town for a few days. I had the chance to take a quick photo with him along with the sculpture and it was just neat.
POW! Entertainment to get some stuff signed by Stan Lee for Disney. I caught up with some folks there as well and a couple of them were talking about someone who was at the office and is talking with Stan at that moment. At first the name didn't register who it was and it sounded so familiar to me. Then it hit me, they were talking about artist
At the movies:
The urban comedy "Ride Along" maintains the pole position for the 2nd week in a row earning another 21.2 million as it hits 75 mil cume, should be an easy 100 mil domestic box office when it is all said and done. Universal's "Lone Survivor" also maintains a top spot with another 12.6 mil as it gets VERY close to the 100 mil cume mark. No doubt will have it by the end of next weekend. Slight drop at the box office but holding well is "The Nut Job" with another 12.3 mil. Still solid at #4 is "Frozen" earning another 9 mil as it is just shy of 350 mil cume domestic after 10 weeks at the box office. Rounding off the top 5 is "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" earning another 8.8 mil as it struggles to possibly reach 50 mil.
New at the box office that did not make the top 5:
Just one title this week as the action/thriller I, Frankenstein comes in at #6 earning only 8.3 mil. The experts were pretty off the scale with their 20 mil range opening ... I think I called this one being under 20 mil but not that far under. I think folks are waiting for the Guillermo del Toro version of Frankenstein if they can ever get it off the ground.
Quote of the week:
"Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand." - Mark Twain
Facts & Tips:
A baby caribou can outrun its mother at 3 days old.
"That this was an Ancient ship." David Blue as Eli Wallace in the TV series "SGU Stargate Universe."
This was an interesting week of weather and other forces of nature. Again this past week the weather was pretty warm during the day, borderline turning on the AC. But that wasn't the highlight of the week ... the fires. The hill area between LA and the Inland Empire got hit with some brush fires but I am not sure of the cause. Those lasted for about 3 or 4 days and caused some evacuation of homes. Then in the midst of all that, a pretty good feel earthquake hit close to the same area of the fires in the we hours of the morning! While the majority of the country is being hit with crazy snowstorms and complete frost, we get heat, fire and earthquakes. Now ... if we can just have some rain? A little rain? Any rain?? Hello? Is this thing on?
Weekly Update:
So this happened on Saturday, I was hanging out at the comic book store and a large group was forming by the police station that is next door during the day. It kept growing bigger and bigger and since Wednesday, people have been out there protesting. I guess the verdict of "Not Guilty" for two policeman came down in a case of killing someone about 2 years ago. I am not sure what the situation is but these things do happen and it does go both ways. So I guess the local public decided to exercise their right to protest. They always claim they are peaceful and non-violent but they are total 1) idiots and 2) liars. I saw at least 3 acts of violence and destruction of property including the comic book store's little metal A-frame sign that was on the curb, not even blocking or on the sidewalk but some a-hole felt it he had to knock it over and attempt to destroy it. I saw this same person walking in the middle of the street and smash a glass bottle on the street. Saw a picture of another person throwing a plastic chair belonging to a restaurant at their own patio ... these people are 90% jerks and in my opinion should all be arrested. All they do is cause traffic, cost everyone money for their actions and I am sure most of them do not even know the details of the case and just do this because they want to cause trouble. Another issue with these protesters is how cowardly they are. They scream and yell profanities at the police while wearing masks and bandanna's covering their face. If you are really behind this cause and know the details, show yourself and your level of education. I have no respect for protesters of this kind. I have more respect for the police, their job is already a life-and-death occupation. One other thing about this protest, it was pretty weak. I've seen ones on TV with thousands, tens of thousands of people ... this was maybe 200 to 300 people tops at its highest point but otherwise stayed around 50 people at most.
At the movies:
Pretty interesting box office this weekend as things seemed a bit all over the place a little bit. Cruising into the #1 spot is the urban comedy of Ride Along bringing in a hefty 42.2 million for the holiday weekend! Nearly doubling all estimations from last week. Holding solid ground at #2 is "Lone Survivor" as it earns an extra 23.2 mil and now about 2 weeks away from hitting the 100 mil cume mark. New at #3 is the animated film The Nut Job which exceeded expectations as well with a big 20.1 mil opening. This could finally break the studio's record for their highest grossing film yet after 3 years! Also new at #4 is Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit which fell a little short of expectations at 17.2 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is "Frozen" with another 12 million as it hits 333 mil domestic cume and continues to keep on going!
New movies that did not make the top 5:
Just one this week as the thriller Devil's Due comes in at #7 with only 8.5 mil, very close to expectations and solidifies the theory of the first horror out of the month makes the rest shadow in comparison.
Quote of the week:
"You can't make up anything anymore. The world itself is a satire. All you're doing is recording it." - Art Buchwald
Facts & Tips:
The mango is the most consumed fruit in the world.
"So, we're fighting to protect Serbia, a tiny country no one's ever heard of. That's what this wars all about?" - Sean Patrick Flanery as Indiana Jones in the TV series "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles."
