Monday, November 27, 2017

THANKSGIVING EDITION

 This past Thursday was Thanksgiving and like most recent ones, spent it working all day and then afterwards enjoyed some Honeybaked ham.  Then right after that, I actually went to the mall for the early Black Friday sales which started at 6PM.  I was looking for some DuckTales (WooHoo) items but struck out.  Otherwise that was it, nothing to be Happy or thankful for really.  Didn't wish anyone a Happy Thanksgiving because of the previous sentence.  You know, I really do not like the holidays anymore ...

 Weekly Update:
Still battling this cold I got and I can't shake it with no matter what I take.  More meds and now the cough that won't go away.  In the past the cough would gradually leave but this is full force!  I should go visit the doctor again to see what is up.  I generally can feel it getting lighter over time but this one actually feels like it is getting bigger and stronger!  At times I will get coughing fits for like 30 seconds of non-stop coughing.  What I hate is if I start to talk and no matter what, just after a few words I can feel the cough rising up and getting ready to explode out!  This is not normal and the meds I got the previous week stopped the coughing when I sleep but I can't take it during the day or I will get drowsy!

 At the movies:
No surprise as Disney/Pixars's Coco takes the box office crown with a 5-day total of 71.2 million.  Just shy of my expectations but solid number nonetheless for this subject matter.  On track to make over 200 mil domestic and solid word-of-mouth.  Drop down to #2 is "Justice League" with an extra 40.7 mil and creeping up on 200 mil cume.  Small drop to #3 is "Wonder" with 22.3 mil and on track to break 100 mil and no doubt an award contender.  Drop down to #4 is "Thor: Ragnarok" with 16.8 mil and could reach 300 mil domestic.  Rounding off the top 5 is "Daddy's Home 2" with 13.3 mil and may be shy of 100 mil cume.

New films that did not make the top 5:
Just one this week as it expanded, "Roman J. Israel  Esq." comes in at #9 with 4.5 mil and right as projected.  May just be more for an award run but not a box office one.

Quote of the week:
"Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough." - Og Mandino

Facts & Tips:
There are more varieties of blueberries than states in the U.S.

 "Do not get attached to the world as it is.  Because the world is changing something new is coming." - Movie Producer Jerry Weintraub

posted by McDuck @ 03:15 0 comments

Monday, November 20, 2017

Sick ... yep, that is right.  I got sick this week and it was a busy week that being sick did not help one bit.  It was definitely a lot of being in a zombie state but I some how made it.  What was funny is I went to see a doctor about it on Monday morning and all they did was ... nothing.  They were concerned about something completely unrelated.  Hey, what about fixing this so I can then move on and not be so miserable??  But with so many meds in my system, I survived for the most part.  I did get nausea and I realized I was taking all these meds but no real food!  Once I started to eat a little something it got better slowly but yeah, need to remember to eat something once and awhile when you take so much medicine.  But they do say starve a cold or something?

 Weekly Update:
It was a very busy week full of events and outings on top of work and being sick!  But managed to get through it all and still remain sick!  Yeah me!  But at these events I did manage to run into some folks ...

 The first event was the Annual Golden Globe Ambassador announcement (sponsored by Fiji Water).  The Ambassador(s) are the children of actors/actresses who will be the ones bringing out the awards during the ceremony in January.  This year the daughter of the The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, was selected; Simone Garcia Johnson.  The Rock himself wasn't there but got some pics with others:

 *Zoe Lister-Jones - from the movie "Band Aid" and so very sweet.
*Seth MacFarlane - from the TV show "Family Guy" and pretty nice.
*Sarah Gadon - from "Dracula Untold" and nice.
*Nolan Gould - from "Modern Family" and have met him before YEARS ago, still a cool kid.
*Mandy Moore - actress and singer and incredibly amazing and sweet!
*Logan Shroyer - from "This is Us" and an OK guy.
*Kyra Sedgwick - from "The Closer" and incredibly sweet!
*Keala Settle - from "The Greatest Showman" and so amazing!
*Julia Garner - from "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and very nice.
*Jason Hall - actor, writer and director and all -around great guy.
*Hong Chau - from "Downsizing" and very sweet.
*Chris Sullivan - from "This is Us" and very nice guy!
*Jamie Bell - best know for "Billy Elliot" and a super cool guy.

 Then last Friday went to a special WB "Dunkirk" event which is very nice and pretty relaxing.  Wasn't exhausting and saw Christopher Nolan again, the film's director but also caught up with someone else:

 *Kenneth Branagh - BIG fan of his since I saw his "Henry V" many years ago and had a chance to chat about it.  Extraordinary guy!

 At the movies:
As expected the super hero team of Justice League takes the lead with a decent 96 million to open.  A bit under par for most super hero films lately and below expectations.  Will be interesting to see how it performs during the holiday this week but it may suffer a significant drop.  New at #2 is Wonder with a hefty 27.1 mil for this award contender.  Solid word-of-mouth and above all expectations.  Look for this to reach 100 mil and get a boast this week during the holiday.  Drop down to #3 is "Thor: Ragnarok" with another 12.8 mil as it climbs towards 300 mil.  Drop down to #4 is "Daddy's Home 2" with another 14.8 mil and may burn out fast.  rounding off the top 5 is "Murder on the Orient Express" with another 13.8 mil.

New movies that did not make the top 5:
Just one this week as The Star comes in at #6 with 10 mil to open.  Pretty spot-on for expectations, should burn out fast.

 Quote of the week:
"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week." - George S. Patton
Facts & Tips:
The average cat can jump 5 times as high as its tail is long.

 "Oh, tartar sauce." - Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePatns in "SpongeBob Square Pants."

posted by McDuck @ 02:04 0 comments

Monday, November 13, 2017

So they are finally finished with the house repairs after the water damaged that occurred. The work itself didn't take very long but getting to the point to start the word did.  But I must say the work is really nice and I was able to get some extras out of it, maybe because it took so long to get started?  But they added a nice little doggie house under the stairs, an extra closet door for the other side of a deep closet and carpet for a downstairs room that needed to be replaced.  Overall really great job and when I had to go to the office I had no worries of them being in the house with me gone.  Now the big task of putting everything back is next, its such a clutter here and can't wait to get it all put away again.

 Weekly Update:
Seems like another slow week but the temperature remains nice and cool so I do not mind that one bit.  But what I do mind is people complaining if something is out at like a store or restaurant.  Look, if something is out of stock, by you complaining or making a fuss over it, that won't make additional inventory magically appear!  I don't understand why some people do that expecting for an item to always be there for when they show up.  I mean, if something was popular, did you try calling ahead or wait, what about if you ordered it online?  That might be something new to try.  But don't others up and make the job of the employee that much more difficult when there is nothing they can do about it.

 At the movies:
No surprises this weekend as "Thor: Ragnarok" continues to dominate at #1 again with another 56.6 mil and now over 200 mil cume.  Still on track to break the 300 barrier but not 400 mil for domestic.  New at #2 is Daddy's Home 2 with 30 mil to open and slightly above expectations.  Right behind them at #3 is Murder on the Orient Express with 28.2 mil and close to projections.  Down to #4 is "A Bad Moms Christmas" with 11.5 mil extra.  Rounding off the top 5 is "Jigsaw" with 3.4 mil and last time we should see it in the top 5.

 Quote of the week:
"I go to Costco every weekend.  It's my favorite part of the week." - Jimmy Kimmel

 Facts & Tips:
Indonesia is made up of more than 17,000 islands.

 "I remember this dude made me so mad, I didn't even know how mad I was until I went to his funeral." - Tyler Perry as Madea in "Diary of a Mad Black Woman."

posted by McDuck @ 02:03 0 comments

Monday, November 06, 2017

DAYLIGHT SAVING EDITION

 Saturday night/Sunday morning was DST or Daylight Saving where we fall back an hour.  This is always my favorite one because of the extra hour of sleep!  I don't mind it getting darker earlier but in that same vein it gets lighter just a tad earlier in the morning.  That is helpful when I have to go to the office and need to pick up the dog poopies outside.  Makes it easier to see them!!  But general, always enjoy this time, I guess technically this is the end of DST as in Spring is when it starts.  I never really thought of it as an start and end time.  I just looked at it as this was one event and here is a 2nd to compensate for that first one now.

 Weekly Update:
This past week was pretty normal I guess.  The temperatures were very nice and cool to cold which I like.  Started to use the fireplace again, its a gas one and you never really feel the heat as its going straight up but the flames are nice.  I mean I am pretty close to the fireplace when I am laying down on the couch.  I do miss having a wood burning one but I guess this is a lot cleaner and easier to maintain then having one with wood.  Would be nice if there was one of each ... I need to invest in some outdoor furniture and maybe get a fire pit for the wood burning element I am missing?  But dang, those pits are expensive for just a metal casing to be able to burn something inside it.  So not an immediate get for me right now.

 At the movies:
No surprise but a big win for the box office, Marvel and Disney as Thor: Ragnarok takes top honors with 121 million to open.  On track right now to do over 300 domestic but reviews are good for this one being a third film in the franchise.  Slightly below expectations but still a great number.  New at #2 is A Bad Moms Christmas with a distant 17 mil and also just below expectations.  Big drop to #3 is "Jigsaw" with 6.7 mil and this may burn out very fast.  Drop down to #4 is "Tyler Perry's Boo 2! A Madea Halloween" with 4.7 mil more.  Rounding off the top 5 is "Geostorm" with 3 mil and this one is done.

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

 Facts & Tips:
Remove all the space between its atoms and Earth would be the size of a baseball.

 "I'm coming, I'm coming!  Hold your horses! Hello? Who? NIMH? Oh yeah, NIMH. You called about the rats.  I don't know about any special behavior but the traps sure don't work.  Morning? Suites me just fine.  No, no.  You can bulldoze that rosebush right out of here.  I want those rats exterminated.  now, there's no charge, right?  All right. I'll see you in the morning." - Tom Hatten as Farmer Fitzgibbons in "The Secret of NIMH."

posted by McDuck @ 02:02 0 comments