Monday, July 27, 2015

I am not use to taking more than one shower a day but I have had to do that a lot lately.  Also been bringing an extra shirt with me in the car just in case.  Twice this past week I did use that extra shirt but I am not sure if I 100% needed to but felt I should just because.  One of those days I wish I had brought a third shirt!!!  This weather is just simply not natural for us here in Southern Cali!  Heat, sure but it is mostly dry.  I tend to just be uncomfortable but now I am that plus all sweaty and that is just not good.  You know what is interesting if I keep moving I do not sweat, it is when I stop then it hits all at once ... I don't understand the physics of that or why it happens like that!  But please, make the humidity go away and now!  I would like a good rain storm to wash it all way.

 Weekly Update:
Had a pretty busy and fun week this week.  More busy than fun but at least I got some fun in there!  So the only big thing aside from running all over the place, we had our annual Variety Poker Tournament at the Paramount Studio Lot.  This is one of my favorite lots to visit and hang out at.  While there I ran into a lot of old friends and made a few new ones.  Also managed to grab a picture here and there with some people:

 * A.J. McLean - part of the band Backstreet Boys and a pretty chill guy.
* Samm Levine - from "Inglorious Basterds" and awesome guy!
* Rex Linn - know him best from "Rush Hour" and a really nice guy.
* Patrika Darbo - from various TV shows such as "Growing Pains" and very sweet.
* Tommy Habeeb - producer of the show "Cheaters" and cool guy.
* Giles Marini - Currently on "Devious Maids" and a really awesome guy!
* Tito Ortiz - UFC MMA fighter and really down to Earth.
* Corey Maggette - Former NBA player and not sports commentator and way cool guy.
* Dennis Haskins - "Saved by the Bell" fame and very cool guy!

 At the movies:
Small things continue to dominate the big Summer box office as "Ant-Man" holds on to #1 for a second weekend with an extra 24.8 million.  This helps it just barely cross over the 100 mil cume mark and should have enough tiny legs to get halfway to 200 mil.  New at #2 is Pixels with a soft opening of only 24 mil.  Below overall expectations but also kind of what we expect from a Sandler film.  Holding ground at #3 is "Minions" with 22 mil and now at 260 mil cume domestic.  Should get to 300 at least when it is all said and done.  Holding at #4 is "Trainwreck" with another 17.3 mil and not a bad number despite the bad press of the theatre shooting.  It just happened to be this movie the incident took place in but there was no significance to it, just random and senseless.  New at #5 is Southpaw with 16.5 mil to open.  Very low number but as mentioned last week this film had low buzz and I think that box office reflects that a bit.
 
New movies that did not open in top 5:
Just one this week as Paper Towns only opened with 12.5 mil and enough for the #6 spot this week.  Below expectations but even those were not that high or strong.  This film might have some legs but not enough.

Quote of the week:
"I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick." - Muhammad Ali

Facts & Tips:
Cleveland, OH is home to the first electric traffic lights.

 "I do not understand American workers. They come five minutes late, leave two minutes early. They stay home when they are sick. They put themselves above company." - Gedde Watanabe as Oishi Kazihiro in "Gung Ho."

posted by McDuck @ 01:57 0 comments

Monday, July 20, 2015

I am not sure what season it is anymore.  Is it warm, is it cold, is it humid or is it just plain heat?  It is such a wish-washy weather pattern and they say global warming doesn't exist.  I remember when Summer was warm, sometimes hot but never humid here.  I remember the nights being either cool or warm and again, our air was not heavy like it is now.  I remember Winters being cold but never freezing but instead we have Summer Part II.  This is all messed up.  Just make it stop already ... I don't know how but some how please!  I miss consistency and normal temperatures for where I live.  I am sure other parts of the world are messed up as well so they would appreciate it too I am sure!

 Weekly Update:
What happened this weekend?  BUSY is what happened.  I ended up driving all over the place for different things, mostly for other people but that is OK.  I have a few friends who are doing Uber and Lyft, I wonder if I should try that?  I end up driving all over the OC and LA at times.  Not sure about having strangers in my car though but both companies seem to be doing really well and if I am not doing anything anyway, maybe I can make a few bucks.  I will have to think on that a bit more but my car does need a tune-up and an oil change again soon.  Maybe I will decide after I get that done when I get that done.

 At the movies:
One of the smallest heroes takes the big screen and the #1 spot!  Crawling into the #1 lead is Ant-Man with a decent 58 million for its debut.  Just shy of expectations but still very solid.  Average drop to #2 is "Minions" with another 50.2 mill and now well over the 200 mill cume mark.  Still doing well and should hit 300 when it is all said and done.  New at #3 is Trainwreck with a showing of 30.2 mil.  Much lower than expectations but pretty much what I expected.  Hanging on to #4 is "Inside Out" with 11.7 mil and crossing the 300 mil threshold.  It is losing it's steam so it should cap out around 340 or less.  Rounding off the top 5 is "Jurassic World" with another 11.3 mil in its 6th weekend and a cume of over 611 mil.  Getting closer to capping out for the Summer but it was sure a heck of a run!

Quote of the week:
"A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work." - John Lubbock

Facts & Tips:
The Japanese word "judo" means "the gentle way."

 "Are those guys coming after me? Those guys are coming AFTER me." - Geoffrey Lewis as Orville Boggs in "Every Which Way But Loose."

posted by McDuck @ 01:41 0 comments

Monday, July 13, 2015

The heat wave continues!  OK, it is not as bad as Africa or the deserts in Mongolia but it is pretty dang warm for here.  I guess we have had this weather several times before and I suppose it does not matter to much to me since I am an office all day with AC blowing non-stop but I hate heat.  Things melt, cost 10x more to cool down than to warm up, sometimes even more than 10x.  Wait, now that I think about it is 100% more.  Thanks heat, you suck!

 Weekly Update:
So they are starting to prepare a small group of us to WAH, or as the regular folks call it, Work-At-Home.  They are very anxious to start this and I will be one of 5 people to test pilot this program for the West Coast.  It is funny, I pretty much sign up for anything and everything they put in front of me and then deal with the consequences later ... or benefits, not sure how this will land as of yet.  I hope the latter but some times you just don't know till you are in the process or thick of things.

 At the movies:
Universal continues the box office domination but now with Minions earning the top spot with a debut of 115.2 million! Fairly close to expectations in general and word-of-mouth is very strong for the film. Holding on to the #2 spot is "Jurassic World" earning another 18.1 mil and now just shy of the 600 mil cume mark. It should get that by the end of next weekend. Also holding ground at #3 is "Inside Out" with an extra 17.1 mil and getting very close to 300 mil cume! Hanging on to #4 is "Terminator Genisys" with another 13.7 mil and will struggle to try and reach 100 mil cume if it is lucky. Rounding off the top 5 is the new horror film, The Gallows with 10 mil and pretty much what I expected. Very quick burn on this film despite all of its ad campaigning.

 New movies that did not make the top 5:
One this week as Self/Less only reached 5.4 mil at the box office. The little exposure sure paid off on this one.

 Quote of the week:
"Pop changes week to week, month to month. But great music is like literature." - Ravi Shankar

 Facts & Tips:
Leonardo da Vinci discovered that a tree's rings reveal its age.

 "Pavarotti!" - Ned Vaughn as Seaman Beaumont in "The Hung for Red October."

posted by McDuck @ 01:44 0 comments

Sunday, July 05, 2015

Warm, so so warm ... I guess we are in the typical time frame for this weather but it is sad since the Winter was not typical. I feel like we are in some major global influx here or something, like the world is off base and now we are getting the seasons of Florida or just simply not our weather.  How does this even happen or can it even be caused internally?  It feels like such a drastic change in just a year or two that you would think stuff like this takes decades if not centuries.  But maybe there is both external and internal things happening that are speeding it up?  I'm sure if I were a scientist I would know this stuff but I am not, I am just a standby guy who notices that things are not the same and it was just a few years go when the norm was cold winter, warm summer for decades and not that has completely changed or maybe it is just temporary?

 Weekly Update:
So had a semi-decent 4th of July holiday.  Went to a friend's house who happens to live right above the high school that does this a big firework show every year.  Good food and fun fireworks but what really caught my eye that night, drones!  So when the show started, I noticed four objects go straight up from the surrounding area with some blinking lights.  First I thought it was maybe police drones trying to find illegal firework activity going on but then I realized they were either private drones or maybe the city was filming the show from a sky-view?  The four drones were surrounding the show and then one of them starting flying around in circles where the show was.  Eventually they started to disappearing and I am guessing maybe they were running out of power but I thought it was pretty interesting.

 At the movies:
Holding off the competition for its 4th week in a row is "Jurassic World" earning another 30.9 million and now over 550 mil domestic. Still on track to break 600 mil but uncertain how far it will go past that with more Summer films continuing to open. Disney's "Inside Out" also holds strong at #2 with another 30.1 mil, so close to the #1 spot. New at #3 is Terminator Genisys with a mild debut of 28.7 mil which is below expectations, I guess since the last film it has soured the followers a bit. Dancing into #4 is Magic Mike XXL with 12 mil and also below expectation but some of this could all be due with 4th of July being on a Saturday and everyone is out enjoying the night sky shows instead. Rounding off the top 5 is "Ted 2" with 11 mil extra and quickly coming to a crawl.

Quote of the week:
"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week." - George S. Patton

 Facts & Tips:
Polar bears can smell a seal from 20 miles away.

 "We are part of an ancient secret society. For over three thousand years we have guarded the City of the Dead. We are sworn at manhood to do any and all in our power to stop the High Priest Imhotep from being reborn into this world." - Erick Avari as Dr. Terrence Bey in "The Mummy."

posted by McDuck @ 01:17 0 comments