It has been a very nice week weather wise! The days have been cool to cold and that has been nice! The nights are cold but not enough to turn on the heater but feels good to bundle up in the covers. I don't know how long this will last but I wish this to be our weather forever! BUT, I know this is SoCali so it will heat up soon and be ultra-hot. At least for now I can leave things off like the AC or even lights and heaters. Those take up so much energy and make electric bills go up so high!
Weekly Update:
Went to Vegas this week for a couple of nights for an annual convention, CinemaCon! Ran into a lot of old friends and made some new ones. Saw some amazing presentations from Disney and WB, missed several others but that is ok, can't catch them all. But the line-up for Disney was pretty incredible and by far the best in terms for what was shown. Others had tons of celebrities but if you couldn't meet them, was just kind of blah. But I did got to a great event and caught some pics with some folks:
*LilRel Howery - from the upcoming "Uncle Drew" movie and a cool guy.
*Tiffany Haddish - Also from "Uncle Drew" and very sweet! Every picture she took, she would say "success!"
*Anna Kendrick - from the "Pitch Perfect" franchise and very sweet.
*Blake Lively - probably more famous for being married to Ryan Reynolds but extremely nice.
At the movies:
No surprise at the box office as Avengers: Infinity War earns top honors with a huge 250 million for domestic gross. right now on track to potentially reach 700 mil. Word-of-mouth is good to great so should hold at #1 for several weeks. In a distant #2 is "A Quiet Place" with 10.7 mil but still a good show for a non-holiday weekend. Holding at #3 is "I Feel Pretty" with 8.1 mil but quickly burning out. Holding at #4 is "Rampage" with 7.1 mil, still will be shy of 100 mil cume. Rounding off the top 5 is "Black Panther" with 4.4 mil and may crawl to 700 mil cume still.
Quote of the week:
"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." - Jack London
Facts & Tips:
The dwarf lantern shark grows to be no bigger than a human hand.
"You have to get even with Jerry Hathaway, 'It's a moral imperative.'" - Gabriel Jarret as Mitch Taylor in "Real Genius."
It cooled down a lot this week!! After a week or two of heat, the sun was out and it was cold during this week! I had to put on sweats and long sleeve shifts, I would estimate around 60 degrees during the day. It was freezing during the night but I can accept that trade of, just cover up under the blankets and turn on the heat! Heat is cheaper than the AC after all. If I run the AC for a month, almost every day, it would be in the hundreds of dollars. But if I did the same for the heat, the gas bill would be around $50 ... so not only is getting warmer easier but also cheaper than cooling down. So, I just hope this trend continues but with our weather, nothing to hold our breath about.
Weekly Update:
Not much of a week today, went to the park one afternoon for some testing but that was about it. It was a kind of so-so testing thing, nothing worth mentioning necessarily. But the park was semi-packed and I didn't stay too long. It is interesting when you are backstage and they are preparing for the parade. You see a lot of interesting and neat things going on, people standing around in costumes, others trying to get up on their floats and people practicing dancing around ... kind of like a high school band waiting to perform during the half time segment.
At the movies:
A few surprises this weekend at the box office as "A Quiet Place" climbs back up to #1 with 22 million and has surpassed the 100 mil cume for this quiet film. Word-of-mouth continues to keep this film at the top of the box office. Drop down to #2 is "Rampage" with another 21 mil and could be a struggle to reach 100 mil cume on this one. New at #3 is I Feel Pretty with 16.2 mil and just under expectations. New at #4 is Super Troopers 2 with 14.7 mil, did what original predicted and not much else on this one. Rounding off the top 5 is "Truth or Dare" with 7.9 mil and this will fall off as well.
New movies that did not make the top 5:
Just one this week as Traffik comes in at #9 with 3.9 mil, nothing really was expected on this one.
Quote of the week:
"Try to be like the turtle - at ease in your own shell." - Bill Copeland
Facts & Tips:
Michelangelo hated painting and wrote a poem about it.
"So, what would you little maniacs like to do first?" - Kelly LeBrock as Lisa in "Weird Science."
The heat wave continues!!! This past week may have been warmer than the previous one! I tried to stay indoors almost all of it but also having your home office on the 2nd floor doesn't help. Luckily most of the cool air stayed inside and by closing all the windows and blinds, it remained manageable without having to turn on the AC. But if it is this warm now, wait till peak Summer time, it will be scorching if this is a preview of what is to come ... and only in April. Wasn't there a thing called April Showers as in rain in April?! Where is it!!?? I saw a few cloudy days but not a drop, very very sad about that. We need rain so badly!
Weekly Update:
There is something comforting about the American restaurant. What do I mean by American? The Chili's, Applebees and Red Robins of the world. They aren't the healthiest of places to each, kind of a step above general fast food but the comfort is you know what you are getting, in a familiar setting and you just relax. Fast food is quick, here you go, see you later. And that is why it's fast food! But going into a Red Robin for example, I know my soda will always be refilled and my steak fries endless till I can't stuff anymore in my face. Sure you can go a little healthy with a salad but once you throw some BBQ chicken on their and ranch dressing ... well, enjoy it!
At the movies:
The Rock surprises again for a top box office win with Rampage Coming in at #1 with a hefty 34.5 million, above all expectations and his score card has been very solid as of late. Slight drop down to #2 is "A Quiet Place" with another 32.6 mil and now close to 100 mil cume for domestic, should get it by end of day tomorrow. New at #3 is Truth or Dare with 19.1 mil, slightly above expectations but not by much. Holding at #4 is "Ready Player One" with another 11.2 mil and passes the 100 mil mark. Rounding off the top 5 is "Blockers" with another 10.3 mil and didn't hit as an R-Rated comedy.
New movies that did not make the top 5:
Just one this week as Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero did not even place in the top 20 and only grossed less than a million. Possibly one of the worst openings in box office history or at least in the top 5.
Quote of the week:
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." - Steve Jobs
Facts & Tips:
France used the guillotine as recently as 1977.
"Look at me, I'm gonna be the first person in the world to be sent by television!" - Paris Themmen as Mike Teevee in "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory."
Turn up the heat!! Well, it was nice while it lasted but it seems as the heat wave has started and the end of our nice Winter. We don't even get a Spring which is sad. It hasn't been like 100 degree weather but in the high 80's which is pretty hot. The nights are good but was able to sleep with windows open so it was cold but not hot. Our weather is just not right and seems like its getting worse in that I mean more dry and hot days instead of seasons and this Winter had nearly zero rain in comparison to last year. Global warming and all that ... as we are starting to shift towards toxic energy again instead of clean and efficient which none of that makes any sense. It is a sad sad day, country and world. World because what we do in this country effects so much outside of it since we are the largest consumers of just about everything!
Weekly Update:
DUCKS!!! So not sure if I mentioned it but they have returned again and are hanging around the pool. The duck poop around and in the pool is a lot and you can see the brown piles at the bottom of the pool, pretty gross. At least around the pool it stays out but when I see what is in the pool ... I start to wonder how much is in a pond in like a park or lake! And people swim and hang out in those lakes, pretty gross. My pool guy said to get floaters in the pool and leave them there. I guess ducks don't like those around and won't go in the water maybe? So need to go out and find some cheap ones to toss in there and see what happens.
At the movies:
A boom at #1 as A Quiet Place shouts out a loud 50 million for its debut. Well above all expectations and solid word-of-mouth could carry this to a cool 100 mil cume. Slight drop down to #2 is "Ready Player One" with an extra 25.1 mil as it is just inches away from 100 mil cume domestic, should get that sometime tomorrow more than likely. New at #3 is Blockers with 21.4 mil and almost right on target. Still running around at #4 is "Black Panther" with 8.4 mil extra and still has some steam left in him. Rounding off the top 5 is "I Can Only Imagine" with 8.4 mil more and likely the last we will see of it..
New movies that did not make the top 5:
Two this week starting with Chappaquiddick coming in at #7 with 6.2 mil and pretty much expected. In at #11 is The Miracle Season and hitting 4.1 mil, also right at expectations on this one as well.
Quote of the week:
"Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts." - John Wooden
Facts & Tips:
France used the guillotine as recently as 1977.
By the time Skynet became self-aware it had spread into millions of computer servers across the planet. Ordinary computers in office buildings, dorm rooms; everywhere. It was software; in cyberspace. There was no system core; it could not be shutdown. The attack began at 6:18 PM, just as he said it would. Judgment Day, the day the human race was almost destroyed by the weapons they'd built to protect themselves. I should have realized it was never our destiny to stop Judgment Day, it was merely to survive it, together. The Terminator knew; he tried to tell us, but I didn't want to hear it. Maybe the future has been written. I don't know; all I know is what the Terminator taught me; never stop fighting. And I never will. The battle has just begun. - Nick Stahl as John Connor in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."
April Fool's Edition
Interesting time of year as both Easter Sunday and April's Fools Day fell on the same day! But, April Fool's wins the day for me at least. Saw some good online jokes such as Lego coming out with a special vacuum for picking up Lego's, brilliant. Disney introducing a kale flavored Churro, not to bad. And ThinkGeek.com had some fun stuff like the Jurassic Park dinosaur warning system which was a cup of water and a ripple level indicator. This was pretty good too but the rest of their things were kind of lame. But so far the winner for me is the Lego VacuSort. It would have been perfect if ti was the shape of a foot or something. But I like when companies get into the spirit of a day like today ... it is always fun. One company I noticed didn't do anything or I couldn't find it was Blizzard Entertainment ... they sometimes have good stuff but nothing on their home page, too bad.
Weekly Update:
So this is interesting, lately I have been going to Little Tokyo for some meetings and I keep ending up at the Far Bar. The first meeting was a good central location but then it turned into a double meeting with one of the owners of the place. Then they wanted to meet again later in the week and they offered up dinner at the bar, how can you say no to that? I always get the Far Bar Burger, it is so delicious and juicy! But for both days I went up there, I got there a little early and walked around, who knew there was so much going on in that one little block! A lot of cool little shops and places to eat or snack at. I must go back to just walk around a little bit and eat at other places. The one meeting I had was at night and the whole places was busy and hopping!
At the movies:
No shocking surprises this weekend as Ready Player One earns high score at #1 earning 41.2 million for the weekend which is fairly close to expectations. For it's 5-day it earned 53.2 mil and fairly positive reactions to the film should get it to 100 mil without much effort. New at #2 is Tyler Perry's Acrimony with 17.1 mil and right on target. Holding ground at #3 is "Black Panther" with 11.3 mil as it quickly levels out around 650 mil domestic cume. Holding at #4 is "I Can Only Imagine" with another 10.8 mil and should continue to drop off. Rounding off the top 5 is "Pacific Rim Uprising" with 9.2 mil and this won't reach the 100 mil cume mark unfortunately.
New movies that did not make the top 5:
Quote of the week:
"From now on, I'll connect the dots my own way." - Bill Watterson
Facts & Tips:
The brain is the only organ in the human body without pain receptors.
"Help me! Help me please!" - Alison Lohman as Christine Brown in "Drag Me to Hell."
At the movies:
Facts & Tips:
