I'm baacckk. Yes, miracles never cease to amaze. Its been a long lay off and alot of it had to do with being slammed at work and having a crappy dial up connection at home. Hopefully I finish the year off with some solid updates. Today's is pretty good sized one, so sit back and enjoy.
Thoughts on Stanley "Tookie" Williams
OK, so I'm like wwayy late on this, but here's my two cents anyway. First off, I dont TOTALLY agree with the Death Penalty. I agree its merited with serial killers and homicidal maniacs that show no remorse. But for a murderer, I think LIFE in prison without parole is the more appropriate punishment. Now, Williams' case was a unique one, in that he seemed to have become a changed man in prison and began speaking out against the gang lifestyle he helped create. While in prison, he wrote childrens books and wrote of living life away from gangs. He was also nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize on numerous occasions. Do these actions warrant having his death penalty revoked? One can make a case that yes, he was a redeemed man and should not have been put to death. But in the end, his refusal to accept responsibility for the murders he was convicted of cost him his bid for clemency. Williams maintained he was innocent to the very end and once said he would never own up to a crime he didnt commit even if it meant saving his life. I guess we'll never know the truth for sure.
Someone made a great point how Williams was executed, yet psychopath Charles Manson remains alive and in jail. Our legal system at work. ;-)
Thoughts on the passing of Richard Pryor
Disneyland Update
OK, I know I was kind of a downer, but here's some Disneyland news for you.
Disneyland continues to blow all attendance estimates away and now with Christmas a few days away the crunch is really going to be on. This past weekend brought with it another record crowd and Disneyland was forced to once again close its gates in the afternoon. Last Friday alone saw attendance hit 58,000 for the day!!But the real fun started at night. As people that were getting off of work and school began showing up in the evening hours the walkways became completely jammed. At one point right before the 9:25 pm fireworks show you couldnt move from the Main St Station to the Coke Corner on the other end. People began shoving and pushing to try to get out of the area. At one point, several people began calling 9-1-1 to try and get some assistance as people began hyper ventilating and having panic attacks. Anahiem paramedics did arrive and fought their way thru the crowd to help out a guest that had passed out.
This was the scene @ 10am last Sunday outside the "Mickey and Friends" parking structure (Photo courtesy of Miceage)
Saturday was just as bad as attendance climbed to 62,000 and gates were closed for the better part of the day. As guests that arrived were told they couldnt come in, they began to get angry and some actually physically assaulted the poor cast members at the gates that were simply doing their jobs. Security was beefed up for rest of the afternoon and Anahiem Police was also called in to keep anyone from getting too out of line.
With Christmas and New Years still ahead, its only going to get worse and worse. If you decide to go I cant stress enough that you be patient and prepare for the worst. Understand that you might not be able to do everything and your best bet is to get there as early as possible and try to hit as much as you can before the guests pour in. Based on my personal experience 8am-10am is the quietest time. Once 10am hits, be ready for the crowd. Remember that FASTPASS is really the only way to get on the major E-ticket rides such as "Indiana Jones" and "Space Mountain" on busy days. "Space Mountain" fastpasses tend to run out quicker so if at all possible grab one for that ride first and either wait in the regular standby line for "Indy" or skip it all together. If u feel like getting away from the crowds for a bit or just need to sit for awhile "The Main St Cinema" and "The Disney Gallery" are quiet places where you can just hang out and relax. Also "Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years" is a great show that you can catch while you wait for those crowds to die down a bit or for your FASTPASS time to come up. . Keep in mind also that Disneyland is still experiencing a massive staffing shortage so dont be surprised if a ride or two is closed or your favorite restaurant is only open half the day.
I'll have more tips for you in another update.
Box Office Report
I was going to skip it this week since its so late, but then I figured since we have a new #1 film, I would do a quickie report
1) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe...$65.5 mil: Whew, thats a long title. ;-) Well, we knew it would do well and it was the one that finally knocked "Goblet of Fire" out of first. I've heard this movie might actually be better than the book that inspired it. I never read the novels, so I guess I'll just have to take the critics words for it. ;-)
2) Syriana, $11.7 mil: I think the adults are tired of all the fluff in the theatres. That pretty much explains this strong debut for a movie that hasnt really been hyped as much as it could be. This one has some fairly strong Oscar buzz going as well, so it should do pretty decent box office numbers.
3) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, $10.2 mil: The defending champ gets knocked down two pegs. "Goblet" is still going strong and should top the $250 million mark fairly soon. But does it have enough left to do something that only one other Harry Potter film has done and hit the $300 million mark?
4)Walk the Line, $5.7 mil: This bio-pic continues to pull in strong numbers as well. Its at the $76 million mark and has an outside shot of hitting $100 million in the next few weeks.
5) Yours, Mine and Ours, $5.0 mil: With such heavy hitter family films out right now, the fact that this one has hung in the top 5 is a very good indicator of the quality of this movie. However, with "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" opening in a few weeks it will take away alot of the same audience.
The biggest film of the year (no pun intended) "King Kong" opens today. All the critics seem to agree its by far the best movie of the year, so expect it to do huge (again no pun intended) numbers this weekend.
Also the teaser trailer for "X3: X-Men 3" was finally released last week. It looks awesome and it seems that the change of directors has not hurt the franchise. Lots of new mutants in this one but the one I am looking forward to the most is "Beast" played by Kelsey Grammer.
He looks crazy in the blue makeup and hair and the makeup dept did a great job transforming him into the character. May 26th, 2006 is the official release date for this one.
OK, that should do it for now. I'll try to be back on a more regular basis and finish up the year strong. Much thanks for reading and see you again next time.
DQ
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