Monday, January 26, 2015

I think I smell smoke ... mid-week I got home in the evening and it was warm.  It smelled like there was a fire some where with the winds going a bit but I did not hear anything.  That smokey smell lasted maybe two days and never found out what it was but I guess whatever it may have been, it wasn't serious enough for reporting?  I checked a couple of news sites, nada.  I did not notice the usual heavy ash on the ground and cars you would see.  Well, I hope whatever it may have been it was not anything serious.

Weekly Update:
I still do not understand parking lots and why big SUV's need to park in compact spots.  For that matter, when there is a dozen compact spots, why a small car needs to park in a regular spot.  They are there for a reason
people.  The worse was a couple of days ago in a parking structure, one half of a row was compact and the other regular.  So I saw over a dozen compact and maybe 6 or 7 regular spots.  A Fiat was in one of the regular but that is not the worst of it, the worst was a regular mid-sized car in a compact leaning over the line on the right.  WORSE yet ... a big Ford truck taking up two compact spots ... why did they not take one of the regular spots?!  People are dumb (truck picture is not actual truck I saw but same idea ... and same color and type of truck too!)

At the movies:

Staying on target, "American Sniper" holds the #1 spot for a 2nd week in a row earning another 64.4 million and now hitting the 200 mil mark!  Strong lead in making its way north of 300 mil.  New at #2 is The Boy Next Door with 15 mil and just as expected too.  Holding at #3 is "Paddington" with 12.4 mil and so far decent legs post-holiday.  Drop to #4 is "The Wedding Ringer" with 11.6 mil and losing steam fast.  Rounding up the top 5 is "Taken 3" with 7.6 mil and will definitely fall short of 100 mil cume target.
 
New movies that did not make the top 5:
Coming in at #7 is Strange Magic with only 5.5 mil and well below all expectations.  Not a great time for animated films perhaps with all the award titles going strong?  Appearing at #9 is Mortdecai with only 4 mil and well below all expectations as well.  This comedy did not deliver on any laughs despite the pedigree of talent associated with it. 

Quote of the week:
"It's not voting that's democracy; it's the counting." - Tom Stoppard

Facts & Tips:
A group of goats is called a trip.

"Well, good luck murdering your husband." - Dane Cook as Zack in "Employee of the Month."

Monday, January 19, 2015

Did we get more rain?!  OH wait, it was a drop from the sky teasing us again.  Got a little rain and when I say little, I mean just enough to cover the ground for 30 minutes and it was gone.  We need so much more but what can we do about it?  I wish there was such a thing as a rain machine that shot chemicals in the air (natural of course) and made the clouds suck up water to bring us rain.  Of course knowing our luck, that would work and then the clouds would keep moving to some place that already gets rain and unload thus us not getting the rain we need and spending all that time and money in this crazy machine.  Curse you irony and what you do ... you know that is what would happen, right!

Weekly Update:
Not to much going on this week except long hours.  Each day for me has started around 7 or 8 AM and ended around midnight at some point when I fall asleep.  I am not sure why, even if i am in bed trying to sleep, I won't fall asleep till at least close to 2 AM and I know my alarm will start going off just past 5 AM.  And each day it repeats!  I try to sleep in on Sunday but that is still waking up before 9 AM.  I did nap throughout the day so that was nice but did not really make up for all the time lost before hand.  I don't know what is wrong with my brain, I think it can not shut off for some reason.  Where is the switch please!?

At the movies:
The limited release goes big with "American Sniper" taking the box office crown this holiday weekend was an amazingly strong 90.2 million!  It is just shy of 100 mil for it's 4th week and should get that by end of this coming week. Word-of-mouth is very strong on this film and with the recent award nominations, should get to 200 mil with no problem.  New at a distant #2 is The Wedding Ringer with 21 mil.  Still a very solid number and just above expectations.  New at #3 is Paddington with 19.3 mil, also slightly above expectations.  Big drop to #4 is "Taken 3" with another 14 mil and will be very shy of the 100 mil mark this time around.  Rounding off the top 5 is "Selma" with 8.3 mil and should have fair legs during the award season.
 
New movies that did not make the top 5:
Just one this week as Blackhat comes in at #10 with only 4 mil which is below expectations just a bit. 

Quote of the week:
"The male is a domestic animal which, if treated with firmness, can be trained to do most things." - Jilly Cooper

Facts & Tips:
Rats and mice are ticklish, and even laugh when tickled.

"Yeah, I could walk down to the village, ask 'em to borrow a phone." - Emile Hirsch as Danny Dietz in "Lone Survivor."

Monday, January 12, 2015

And it is Summer Time ... but in Winter Time!!!  What does that mean?  It means we had 80 degree weather in the middle of Winter.  Not good people, not good!!  Last year this happened and our Summer ended up being one of the warmest in general but worse than that one of the driest.  We did get some rain this year which is very helpful but we need so much more of it!  A week or two ago we got so close to having snow weather (if it rained) but that is the extremes we are going through right now.  Just want a little consistency and a little Winter would be kind of cool ... pun intended!


Weekly Update:
Got a chance to attend the 72nd Annual Golden Globes Awards at the Beverly Hilton again and it was ... different.  The security this year was insane with more check points and metal detectors.  There was an increase in the police presence including multiple bomb squad teams and dogs.  Usually the security is decent but this was pretty tight this year and many felt it was mostly due to the situation with North Korea and Sony with a little bit of the incident that just happened in France just days before.  But aside from that I went to the WB/In-Style party for the first time and that was pretty cool.  Ran into some folks there for a quick shot:

*Kelsey Grammer - from "Cheers" to "Frasier," seen him many times but finally got a picture and a really great guy!

*J.K. Simmons - from "Spider-Man" movies to "The Closer" and all around nice guy.
*John Dorman - from "Gotham" and "Person of Interest" and an OK guy.
*Josh Gad - Olaf from "Frozen" and a cool guy (pun intended!).
*Tcheky Karyo - as the bad guy in "Kiss of the Dragon" and super nice guy.
*Joshua Jackson - from "Dawson's Creek" and a pretty cool guy!
*Diane Kruger - from "National Treasure" and she was nice.
*Ruth Wilson - won for "The Affair" series and was OK.
*Judith Light - best known for the TV series "Who's the Boss?" and amazing!

So one of the most interesting and crazy moments of my evening (and for any evening for that matter when it comes to celebs) ... I was trying to get through a narrow section of couches and coffee tables.  On my exact left is a coffee table and this this photographer is right in front of me backing up and bumping into me (saying sorry) because she was trying to take a picture of Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal.  Blocking my right side is the back of Chris Pratt.  Behind me is Gillian Anderson (who I am saying sorry too but was totally cool) and I did not recognize her at first.  She was talking with Robin Wright.  Just left of the photographer is Jeremy Renner talking with Joaquin Phoenix trying to avoid the photographer.  So that was my highlight of the evening and I did manage to get through after that mayhem.


At the movies:

No surprise at the box office as Taken 3 TAKES the box office by storm with a solid 40.4 million opening.  Well above all expectations but the jury is still out on this film and if it will have strong legs or not.  Expanding and reaching #2 this week is "Selma" with a decent 11.2 mil and positive word-of-mouth.  Holding ground at #3 is "Into the Woods" with 9.8 million and just crossing the 100 mil cume mark.  Drop to #4 is "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" with another 9.4 mil and well over the 225 mark, should hit 250 sooner than later.  Rounding off the top 5 is "Unbroken" with 8.4 mil and it also just crossed the 100 mil cum mark as we are now officially into full Award Season with the Golden Globes this evening.

Quote of the week:
"Any sufficiently advance technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke

Facts & Tips:
In South Korea, it is against the rules for a professional baseball player to wear cabbage leaves inside of his hat.

"Great! Great! How could this possibly get any worse?" - Craig Bierko as Mac in "The Three Stooges."

Monday, January 05, 2015

New Year's Edition!

So another has come and gone ... and to me, just another two days. New Year's Eve I just sat at home and I think I feel asleep around 10PM.  But then I woke up to go to sleep since I first fell asleep on the couch.  I was pretty out of it I think and just wanted to sleep.  I still need more sleep!  But New Years Day, now that was something.  Turned out be very cold!  And that was it for me I think, pretty exciting stuff!  I think I still need some sleep.  I think we also need some rain because it is almost cold enough lately that it might get a little icy which would be pretty amazing!

Weekly Update:
So I was in a parking garage the other day and the right side was regular parking spots and the left side was compact only parking spots.  So this is what I noticed, 10 SUV's parked in the compact side and 3 tiny VW's on the regular side ... what is wrong with SUV people?  Are they becoming more and more jerks?  I use to drive an SUV and I don't remember doing that but maybe once or twice.  These are cars I see in those spots ALL the time!!!  Are we becoming all Audi drivers??  I joke but most folks I know who drive Audi's are kind ... jerks in general.  I do not know why but I know it is not a true statement and just a stereo-type but those are also some ounce of truth for a reason.

At the movies:
Still remains the king of the box office, "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" earns another 21.9 million as it breaks the 200 mil cume mark and continues to push along into the new year.  Holding ground at #2 is "Into the Woods" with another 19 mil and just shy of the 100 mil cume mark!  I would think it could have it by end of this week.  Holding on to #3 is "Unbroken" with 18 mil and also close to the 100 mil cum mark but may take a bit longer to get there.  New at #4 is "Woman in Black: Angel of Death" with 15 mil in it's debut and right on the nose of expectations.  Rounding off the top 5 is "Annie" with 11.4 mil and will fall short of reaching 100 mil.

Quote of the week:
"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them." - George Bernard Shaw

Facts & Quotes:
It is not possible to tickle yourself.

"We need more ammo, let's go to Big Five." - Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony in the TV series "The Simpsons."