Duckburg Gazette: March 2021

Monday, March 29, 2021

Shake it up!

It has been getting warmer around here lately. Not heat wave hot but getting up there. The nights still remain cool to cold which is great and I wake up cold (which is also still good). But just after mid-day, it gets pretty warm, especially when I work on the 2nd floor of my home and of course heat rises. Downstairs remains relatively cool which is good but yeah, if I could move my office downstairs, that would be nice but currently not too feasible at the time since I still have a whole bunch of stuff to move and take care of. This decluttering project is taking a long time but progressing! Sooner or later, I can reclaim the downstairs area!

Weekly Update:
Recently I tried this dehydrated smoothie mix where you just add water or milk and shake it up in this special bottle they give you for free. I tried the 20 pack to see if I would like it and I used regular low-fat milk. I think this may be more in line to be used with fake or non-dairy milk such as soy or almond. It doesn't mix very well with regular milk and if I let it sit for a day to combine better, the texture is not pleasant. So I bought some almond milk thinking it will work better but have yet to try it yet. It does say with water but the mixes I ordered are best with "milk" per the instructions. So jury is still out on this but it is a subscription model which I have cancelled for now till I can try it with other liquids. But I guess this is designed to have one a day, not really wanting it that often, maybe once and awhile.

At the movies:
A new #1 this week as theatre's across the country continue to slowly open back up. At #1 with a debut of 6.7 million is Nobody and a fair number but not great. Drop down to #2 is "Raya and the Last Dragon" with 3.5 mil extra and now shy of 30 mil cume. A number it should reach very soon. Also dropping down to #3 is "Tom and Jerry" with 2.5 mil and slowly closing in on 40 mil cume. Holding ground at #4 is "Chaos Walking" with another 1.2 mil as it passes the 10 mil threshold. And wrapping up the top 5 is "The Courier" with 1 mil more as this delivery is over.

Quote of the week:
"Avoid popularity; it has many snares, and no real benefit." - William Penn

Facts & Tips:
Mint comes in over 300 varieties.

"It's a weak storm and it's fast moving. It probably will not affect your morning commute." - Fritz Coleman, Los Angeles based News Weatherman

Monday, March 22, 2021

Disney Foods

This past Monday I had the opportunity to attend a cast preview of "Touch of Disney" which by the way is a terrible name of an event. It was extremely cold that day with some wind that made it even colder. I have to say I've never walked the distance from the parking structure to the downtown area where you get dropped off by the tram, it is a lot longer than you realize (and had to do it twice). I wasn't prepared for that but oh well, plus the walking around in the parking structure as you go through the temperature and security check was a little extra too. But the event itself was fine, not tremendously great but I guess the point is to get out and be in Disneyland (or in this case California Adventure). A lot of places were still closed and all the rides but it was basically a food and wine type of event. I was given a $25 food card which was great and got some good eats. Had to get a churro which are classic for Disneyland and I was craving a corn dog which Award Wieners were serving up. I also noticed one of the places were serving a much smaller version of the Monte Cristo sandwich you would get a New Orleans square restaurants and that was tasty. By the end of all this food I was not only full but had about 50 cents left over.

Weekly Update:
On Thursday I met up with a friend who happened to visiting just for the day to check out the Touch of Disney event going on at Disneyland. We met up at Black Top Burger in Downtown Disney and I was looking for a good burger to nosh on! I am not sure if I would recommend this place. I have been there before, once, and it was OK but a bit pricey for just a burger. Now I understand with the current conditions, the service will be different but I felt like I got a little boxed meal with a burger and fries. The taste of the burger was good but not great for what you pay for. It was very heavy on the grease, fair for size and poor on value. The fries were fine but again, not amazing and not a whole lot (again for what you pay for). I also asked for any employee discounts (Disney) and talk about restricted, on Mon-Thurs till 4PM (I think that is what they said). For any cast member who works at the park, that window to get food is kind of crappy and I know a discount is a lower price but you are still making money, especially in these current times. I would definitely think twice about going back, of course if it's the only option too, I may still pause.

At the movies:
Another big weekend for "Raya and the Last Dragon" as it holds the #1 spot with an extra 5.2 million and now just over 20 mil cume. It could hit 30 mil by the end of next weekend or come very close. Small drop but still holding at #2 is "Tom and Jerry" with another 3.8 mil and just passing the 30 mil threshold. New at #3 is The Courier with 2 mil to open and a fair but expected number. Drop down to #4 is "Chaos Walking" with 1.9 mil more and trying to reach 10 mil, likely will get it in a few days. Rounding off the top 5 is "The Croods: A New Age" with another 620K which is a jump from last week!

Quote of the week:
"You exist only in what you do." - Federico Fellini

Facts & Tips:
Strawberries are actually members of the rose family.

"You know, for a crazy homeless person... he's pretty cut." - Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis in "Thor."

Monday, March 15, 2021

Hot or Cold, make up your mind

This entire past week has been a roller-coaster of temperatures. So there was about 2 days (not in a row) of rain and sporadic. I did leave my car outside to get a minor wash! Then some days it got warm, maybe close to 80's while others days (not nights mind you) it was 52 degrees! I didn't know to turn on my AC or heater at times but, I tried to remain as cool as I can with windows open but I did turn on the heat for those super cold days. At least (for now) gas is cheaper than electricity. I do try to wear my sweat pants (instead of shorts) along with socks when it's been colder. But my fingers were so cold a couple of days, I couldn't feel them. Of course when it got warm, windows open and shorts! This weather is so confusing and inconsistent to what is the norm for us in SoCali!

Weekly Update:
Yesterday was Pi-Day (March 14th or 3.14). At work we used to celebrate with pies from Marie Calendar's but of course everything has been closed for almost a year now. I remember in the past my usual pizza place use to do a Pi Pizza offer so figured they would do it again this year. Well they did but, it kind of sucked. So in the past, they once had a over that all pizza's were $3.14 which of course was amazing and the line was probably 3oo to 500 people long and I got 2 pizzas for under $7! Then another time they did buy one, get one at $3.14 which is another good offer because the pizzas were around $7 so I basically got 2 for $10! This year, kind of sucked because it was spend $10+ and get 3.14 off. So why is that bad? Each pie is now $9.95... so based on the offer it said base price (excluding tax) so I would have to buy 2 pizzas for $20 and get $3.14 so I passed this year and got a free McDonald's apple PIe.

At the movies:
A new #1 takes the crown as Raya and the Last Dragon makes a theatrical debut of 15.8 million after it's initial Disney+ release. Big numbers post-streaming which is an interesting twist. Drop down to #2 is "Tom and Jerry" with 4.1 mil and closing in on the 30 mil cume mark. Dropping down to #3 is "Chaos Walking" with 2.3 mil and could be walking out fast as more theatre's set to open coast-to-coast and product starting to flow out. Also dropping down to #4 is "Boogie" with 730k and may not have much play in it left. Rounding off the top 5, after originally being released in November is "The Croods: A New Age" with 520K and continues to impress.

Quote of the week:
"Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within." - James Baldwin

Fact & Tips:
Humans share 50% of their DNA with bananas.

"Thank you, Your Honor. I was so hoping for a lesson." - Camryn Manheim as Ellenor Frutt in the TV series "The Practice."

Monday, March 08, 2021

When does the trash truck come??

So for months now the one garbage truck that picks up the regular trash has been coming any where from 10AM to 4PM. I know, that is a pretty dang wide gap but it's fine, at least I know to get my regular trash can out before 10. Last week, they came at 730 AM and though I had the can out (fortunately), still had more to add to it including a bag of dog poopies. This kind of threw my day off and I just wish there was aa little bit of consistency. So the "green" or compose truck comes usually any where from 7 to 10AM, cool. Then the recycle one is any where from about 8 to noon, also cool. But the regular trash is the random factor and I just wish it wouldn't come before a certain time so that way I know I have till then to get all the regular trash out and ready. I know, why not do it the night before? It's mostly for the dog stuff and I can't make them poop before a certain time and I just like making sure it goes out that same morning if I can help it. Because they won't poop again till later at night and thus starts the new poop bag cycle. Honestly, I still think it's one truck that makes circles and comes back again for the other trash cans.

Weekly Update:
I was going through my apps on my phone the other day and I was wondering why I have so many. Now I do have a lot of fast food places but mostly because they do have some great deals and offers, along with reward systems. I am a sucker for rewards! I then was wondering why do I have Jack-in-the-Box and Arby's. I probably downloaded them to check out what was good or interesting but I realized both are kind of lame. So Jack's does have some online or mobile offers but to be fair, they are pretty lame. And the app itself is not very good and very clumsy and slow loading as well. Arby's is even worse, no online offers that they do not already offer at the location and no rewards. Both of these apps are just wasting space on my phone. There are some good apps though like McDonald's, though there is no real reward system, their mobile ordering with online offers and curbside is actually pretty amazing. Also during the holidays they had some crazy offers like a free Big Mac just by using the app. Places like Burger King has both a reward system and online offers which is nice. And I do like Del Taco as they have both decent online deals and a reward system (Del Taco doesn't have a reward system but still fair mobile offers, plus I prefer Del Taco over Taco Bell). So come on places, get with the program and make your app easy, worth having and reward us for visiting!

At the movies:
Holding on to #1 for it's 2nd week is "Tom and Jerry" with another 6.6 million and now almost 23 mil cume! Had a pretty average drop so it's final outcome still hard to judge. New at #2 is Chaos Walking with 3.8 mil to open and pretty much as expected. New at #3 is Boogie with 1.2 mil and also pretty much as anticipated. Drop down to #4 is "The Croods: A New Age" with 780K and continues to do well with it's only current competition being Tom and Jerry. Rounding off the top 5 is "The Little Things" with 550K more and may drop out depending on what new movies finally get released.

Quote of the week:
"Tomorrow is only found in the calendar of fools." - Og Mandino

"Challenger Deep" is the deepest point on Earth and can hold 25 Empire State Buildings end to end.

"I believe you are divine." - Alexander Skarsgard as Eric Northman in the series "True Blood."

Monday, March 01, 2021

Award season has started, I think.

Golden Globe Edition?

Last night was the first of the major entertainment award shows, the Golden Globes. This is usually held the first Sunday in the new year but with everything going on, it was much delayed. It was a very unusual and extremely awkward show as well. I don't think in terms of how everything was done but just a lot of the comments made. Now I wonder with the two hosts being on opposite sides of the county, will that be something we see going forward now or once things return to semi-normal, will shows like these resume their original format? I will have to say this was the 2nd time I've seen this show be awkward, the other time was during the writer's strike and it was basically 2 members of the HFPA reading off the nominees and winners on TV. It was not only awkward but extremely boring. This was close to that but not as bad, still not great. So, we shall see how this will play out in the future of live shows like this in the future!

Weekly Update:
There's a new store in town! Amazon Fresh! One just opened not far from me and RIGHT next to Costco. I mean you could park you car between the two stores and walk to both. They are no more than about 50-yards apart wall-to-wall. So what is Amazon Fresh? I have no idea but from the images I have seen and what a couple people have told me, a grocery store really. I heard the prices weren't anything special and you are still better off shopping at Costco (in bulk). There is also a Target down the street along with a Whole Foods (or could be Sprouts). Further more down the street in the other direction is Ralph's. What I have gathered, this would most likely effect stores like Whole Foods and Sprouts with their organic and small batch farm stuff but the bigger stores not really. To be fair shopping organic is not always the best thing to do (i.e.: bananas) because you don't eat the skin of a banana. Also things like oranges unless you zest (which I don't). But things like apples you may consider. If you ever see organic potato's, DO NOT BUY! Now that is scam because they grow underground!! I haven't seen organic potato's but you never know! Buyer beware!

At the movies:
A new #1 takes the box office crown this weekend! With a sizeable opening, Tom and Jerry earns 13.7 million for it's debut. A very solid and big number considering the current conditions. Drop down to #2 is "The Croods: A New Age" with 1.2 mil more and solidifying their 50 mil cume. Also dropping down to #3 is "The Little Things" with 925K and will continue to drop. Holding on to #4 is "Wonder Woman 1984" with 710K extra. Rounding off the top 5 is "The Marksman" with 700K and slowly falling off the mark.

Quote of the week:
"When one paints an ideal, one does not need to limit one's imagination." - Ellen Key

Facts & Tips:
An ostrich's brain is smaller than its eye.

"I'll play the bitch, you play the witch, ok?" - Holly Marie Combs as Piper Halliwell in the TV series "Charmed."

Duckburg Gazette