News and Views..and American Idol ;-)

Another day, another drill!! I never really thought I would be as commited to this as I am. But it seems like once I start typing I cant stop. As long I have energy and ideas I will keep cranking these out! So..on with the show, er I mean Drill!!

-Condelezza Rice is being BLASTED in the senate (Well actually, mainly by Democrats in the Senate) as she prepares to take over the role of Secretary of State. They are attacking her from every angle, trying to shred her credibility. Everything from her handling of post 9/11 America to the POW scandals of Iraq. At one point, Ms Rice asked that they stop attacking her on a personal level and stick to the subjects at hand. All I can say is how can someone who did such a horrible job as National Security Advisor be promoted to Secretary of State??? How does that make sense? It doesnt! I guess because she tells Bush what he wants to hear, she will always be assured of a cozy cabinet position. Lets just hope that she does a better job now, than she did in her previous post.

-I know, I said I wouldnt be too politcal in this journal. But there was no helping it. I mean this thing is all over the news!!

-The Dodgers FINALLY did something right. The team opened up their checkbook and re-signed Cesar Izturis AND Eric Gagne to new contracts. The re-signing of Izutris keeps the Dodger infield stable at shorstop. The other three positions are toss ups right now. Locking up Gagne is a HUGE confidence booster for the fans of this team. Not only is he the best closer out there, he is by far the most popular player on this team. People no longer leave Dodger Stadium early to beat the traffic. They all stay just to see this guy pitch. Think of all the money they have made off those people who decide to stay late, and might buy an extra soda or two. The value of this guy cant be measured on the field alone. Congrads Mr McCourt and Mr Depodesta. You guys finally got it right!

-"Elektra" is already being written off as the first Big Bomb of the year. You have to feel for Jennifer Garner. Had she been able to go out and promote this movie it might have done better than it did this past weekend. However, after she came down with her viral infection she was ordered by doctors to stay in bed, thus canceling ALL her talk show appearances. Well, at least she still has Alias. ;-)

-Another year, another American Idol. The fourth edition of the star making show, premiered with its usual mix of good auditions, bad auditions and HORRIBLE audtions. There was no William Hung in episode one. But they still have more cities to show us!! But we do have a winner for weirdest audition. That one girl, Mary at the end of the show. Not only did she sing bad, but she basically admitted she was crazy. After her audition was over, she asked if they wanted her to sing using her "real" voice. ??????..When asked what  she meant by that comment, she launched into some tirade about having many voices and how they all told her she sang good. She then relayed what one of the voices was telling her to the judges. After she left the room, she was literally arguing with herself!! Yikes! Hopefully someone out there recognized this girl needs help and that she gets it soon!!

-Hopefully Ashlee Simpson gets help soon too! She has a REALLY bad case of denial. She seems to blame her recent troubles on everything but herself. Now, if she only put that much effort into her singing......

-OK, I'm talking about Ashlee Simpson. That means its time to go! Thanx for reading and have a good one!

 

DQ  

Late Night With DQ (Random stuff)

Hello Everyone. Welcome back to the Drill. Now, you may be wondering why I call this little blog (Journal, whatever..) The Two Minute Drill. Is it because it takes two minutes to write? Is it because it only holds your attention for two minutes? No and No. Honestly, I dont know what my infatuation with the name Two Minute Drill is. It was the name of my sports column in High School, and I guess I just wanted to relieve those glory days. That and I didnt want to take the time to think of some other name. So without further ado...

-Martin Luther King day was today (Or yesterday by the time I finish this thing). I hope you all took some time to reflect on the impact that this man had in our lives. Rev King fought for Civil Rights in a time when the majority of Americans didnt want to hear it. Yes, he fought for equal rights for people of color. But his vision was one of a true UNITED States. One that didnt judge people on the basis of their skin. But "on the content of their character.." He believed that we are all God's children and are all equal. An assasin's bullet may have cut his life short, but his legacy will live on as long as we continue to fight injustice and racial ignorance, not only in this country, but in all the world.

-To me, one of the saddest things is knowing that so many influential people in the fight against injustice were taken so prematurely. Martin Luther King Jr, John F. Kennedy, Gahndi, Robert F Kennedy.( And if you want to go wwayy back, Abraham Lincoln) In the cases of MLK and JFK, these men died before they were able to see the results of their hard work and determination. They were not able to see the change brought to this world, simply by thinking outside the box. 

-If you havent noticed by this posting, I am a pretty big History buff. I guess its the whole studying where we've been, where we are and where we are going that fascinates me. The way that history almost always seems to repeat itself in some way.  Dont believe me? In 1991 there was a Bush in the White House, US Soldiers in the Middle East and the economy was in the toilet. Its 2005, there's a Bush in the White House, US Soldiers in the Middle East and the economy is in the toilet. Any questions? ;-)

-OK, OK I dont want to get too political. And I dont want anyone to think I dont support our troops, because I do. I am in full support of our brave men and women who are risking their lives for us. My brother-in-law is in the Marines and is a veteran of Operation: Iraqi Freedom. So just because I think our president is doing a terrible job, does not mean I dont support our troops. Contrary to what you may hear, you can be against one and not the other!

-So before I go off another tangent, I guess I'll wrap it up here! Til the next drill, be safe one and all.

 

DQ

Weekend Wrap-up

Welcome again to another edition of the Two Minute Drill. Another weekend comes to a close. Some of you will be off for Martin Luther King Day. But others will be heading back to the daily grind...counting the days down til next weekend. It never ends..on with the show!

-So according to a recent poll, the majority of Americans are optimisting about Prez Bush's second term......Optimistic?? What is there to be optimistic??? Now I am the most positvive person in the world...Some would call it "Sickingly optimistic"..but even I cant see a silver lining here...well thats not true. At least he cant run for re-election again. Optimistic??? Where did they survey these people??? The majority of the people also stated that they believe President Bush is honest and intelligent....INTELLIGENT???!!!! HONEST?????!!!!! Mr "nukular" is intelligent???? Mr "There are WMD's in Iraq" is honest?????? Either they polled people in Republican states or these people are just plain brainwashed..sigh...4 more years..the horror...

-This weekends top movie at the box office was "Coach Carter" with Samuel L Jackson. It is a mild surprise only because feel good sports movies dont always do well. But Samuel L Jackson is a very good actor and the story itself looked solid. "Meet the Fockers" dropped to number 2, followed by "Racing Stripes", "Good Company and "Elektra". That fifth place opening for Elektra has to be a HUGE disappointment for FOX, which was looking for a new superhero movie franchise to launch. Elektra didnt look (at least not to me) as bad as "Catwoman" yet, that movie had a respectable opening. Lets see how FOX's next big superhero movie "Fantastic Four" does in July.

-The Golden Globes were Sunday. A good show, albeit seemed a bit rushed. The format to me is kind of impersonal. The show had no host and seemed more like a bunch of celebrities just hanging out and handing out awards. Of course the Globes are really the precursor to the Oscar's next month. Jamie Foxx won a Golden Globe for his awesome portrayal of the late great Ray Charles in "Ray". His acceptance speech was so geniune and heart warming that there were lots of wet eyes in the audience (And I'm sure in many homes). Should be interesting to see if he gets an Oscar nod as well. 

-The NFL playoffs have reached the "Final Four" on the road to the Super Bowl.In the NFC it will be the Atlanta Falcons vs the Philadelphia Eagles while in the AFC it will be the Pittsburgh Steelers vs the New England Patriots. The Patriots of course, are the defending champs. Should be a good weekend of football next week. My prediction however is that it will be the Falcons vs the Steelers. The Eagles wont get past the Falcons high powered offense. The Pats and Steelers will battle, but in the end the Steelers will eke out a victory. If I'm wrong, hey I will be the first to admit it here at this time next week!!

Well thats all for this edition. Here's hoping you all have a good week. Stay tuned for more updates as the week progresses.

 

DQ

Disneyland stuff...*

*NOTE: This posting talks about nothing but Disneyalnd. If you arent into it, then maybe you should skip this posting! ;-)

Welcome one and all to another edition of the Two Minute Dril!! I usually try to do some sort of intro before I get to the main topics at hand, but I cant think of anything right now. So here I go

 

-One thing that my friends know about me is that I am a huge Disneyland fan. This place truly is my Laughing Place. A place where I like to go and just forget about my worries for a couple of hours. I love the place so much that I follow stories about the park and rumors about future projects in the park. There was one set of rumors that was so interesting I just had to share it here. It seems that ever since "Pirates Of The Caribbean" was a smash hit in the box office, the folks at Walt Disney Imagineering (or WDI for short. They are the people in charge of designing and building every Disney park and the attractions inside those parks) have been trying to find a way to incorporate elements of that movie into the parks. Everything from a live action stage show (Similar to Waterworld at Universal Studios) to entire lands devoted to the movie. But now, it seems that the Imagineers have come up with some very interesting proposals. The first one has already been approved and will be seen very soon. Not here in Anaheim, but at Walt Disney World in Florida. Later this year, when Disney World's version of Pirates of the Carribean closes for a lengthy rehab and reconstruction project, WDI will be installing a Jack Sparrow Audio Animatronic figure in the ride.This "AA" figure will be voiced by Johnny Depp himself. What about Anaheim you say? Well, for the original version of "Pirates.." the Imagineers have an even more ambitious plan in mind. One that would surely bring a new sense of adventure to this classic ride. Imagine, a pirates ride that is tame during the day, but becomes something entirely different at nite. Remember in the film how the pirates in the movie turn into freaky lookin skeleton pirates when night falls? Well thats the jumping point the Imagineers are using. The plan is to install a totally new section of track that would take you into a different part of the ride at once it becomes night time at Disneyland. In this new route, the pirates in the ride would no longer be the happy, singing, loopy pirates we all love. Nope, they would become the crew of the Black Pearl. Skeleton pirates, ransacking the town and in some scenes, lashing out at the riders in the boats. The entire opening sequence of the ride would remain the same at night (The drops, the scenes with the skeletons and the treasure, etc..) It isnt  until you reach the first scene with the animatronic pirate battle that you would notice a change. There,instead of the usual pirate shouting out commands to attack the fort, it is a animatronic Capt Barbosa. (the villian from the movie) And instead of firing at the fort across from the ship, he has ordered his skeletal crew to fire at the tourists in the boats. After passing the pirate ship, you realize that this isnt the same ride For instead of veering to the right your boat now goes straight ahead...BEHIND the usual show scenes. Here, the imagineers have built a totally new town. One that the animatronic  crew of the Black Pearl is ransacking and setting ablaze. Every so often one of the figures will try to attack the boats passing by. In the end, the riders would escape from the town and from the crew of the Black Pearl. This darker version of pirates has been given serious consideration by WDI. How serious? Already a design team has been inside the backstage areas of the ride. Taking measurements and drawing up preliminary plans of how this thing would work. According to the design team, this idea is very feasible. What's it going to take to build it? Money of course. But, the biggest factor may be, how well the two sequels to Pirates pan out at the box office. If Pirates 2 becomes a smash hit in 2006, then look for this project to be put on the fast track to open hopefully sometime in 2007 (To coincide with the 40th anniversary of this ride) or in 2008 (Just in time for Pirates 3)Another Pirates idea involves a new theme park. Already, the Imagineers have drawn up presentation paintings of a Pirates of the Caribbean water park. This park, would be themed as a tropical paradise, where the pirates have come to hang out and relax. This park has been rumored to be built in Anaheim as the third park at the Disneyland Resort. The feeling is that Six Flags has a water park in LA. And so does Knott's. So naturally, Disney wants a water park in LA also. We'll see which one of these ideas goes over best with the theme park crowd. I personally am intrigued by the whole darker version of Pirates at Disneyland. It would give this ride a much needed boost, and would give us the best version of the ride.

-I know, I know, not much content in this update. Unless of course you're a theme park fan, in which case it wasnt too bad. I'll be more mainstream next time, I promise.

Til the next drill.....

 

DQ

Random thoughts

For those of you in SoCal, you mustve been really surprised to see the sun this morning. We live in LA right? Not Seattle?? Enough stupid weather humor. I hope everyone out there is doing well. No time to waste.

-First and foremost I want to send out my thoughts and prayers to those victims of the mudslides in CA. The footage of that mountainside just sliding down like nothing was truly horrifying to see. Lets hope the continuing search for survivors brings positive results.

-According to meteorologists (Hey big word for the day!) this is the most rain LA has had in a 15 day period, since..well, EVER!! Well actually the records only go back to the late 1800's so there's no way of knowing if it rained more than that before then. It sure did seem like alot of rain. I couldnt even remember when the last day we had sunshine was til this morning! yikes..still..I like the rain..but not when it causes chaos like it has recently...

-Changing gears, why is it that when movies underperfom at the box office the studios try to totally repackage the thing when it comes out on DVD? Look, if it sucked in the theatre, it isnt going to be much better on DVD! Take for example "The Village" (IF YOU HAVENT SEEN THIS MOVIE YET AND DONT WANT IT SPOILED FOR YOU SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH ALL TOGETHER!)  Here was a movie that was hyped up as a horror/thriller flick. Monsters in the village, blah, blah, etc....We come to find out its all a big hoax to get the residents of the village to stay in the controlled environment...Apprently this didnt go over well with the audiences, because once word of mouth got out about this movie it sank like a rock in box office reciepts. So flash forward to the DVD release...Forget the Village the horror/thriller flick..now its the Village mystery flick. The ads talk about a "secret" in the village. Had this been the message when it was released in theatre's then maybe people wouldnt have been disappointed. Now we have a movie that failed as a horror film, now being marketed as just another drama movie..no monsters here...nope...just secrets! Here's an idea! The Village: Special Edition! Includes Never Before Seen BETTER Ending!!! I can give you more examples of this practice, but I would run out of room. Just off the top of my head though: A Man Apart starring Vin Diesel. Went from a "revenge for killing my wife" film in the theater to a "two cops take law into their own hands" movie on DVD. No mention of the murdered wife in the DVD commericals. Maybe I'll cover this in full in a future posting.

-Shaq's back in LA this Friday to play against the Clippers...somehow nobody cares...Look for Shaq to dominate and remind everyone in LA just how foolish the Lakers were for letting him go.

-And speaking of letting go, thats all for now! thanx again for reading

Dodger talk, More Harry Potter stuff..etc..

Its raining...its pouring...the old man is....is...dammit, I know this...nevermind!

Welcome back to the two minute drill. Or if this was a spanish website: Bienvenidos otra vez al ejercisio de dos minutos..so I cant spell in spanish..sorry...yo no nintendo...hehehe...ok, enough with the intro. Lets get started:

-So for the Dodgers and Diamondbacks the third time was the charm! After trying for weeks to unload the popular Shawn Green, the D-back's and Dodgers finally completed a trade sending Green to Arizona for 3 prospects. With the money LA saved on his contract the Dodgers signed Derek Lowe to a 4 year deal. My thoughts on the deal? What can I say...On the one hand I know why the Dodgers made the deal. They were tapped out for cash and the only way they were going to get more was to get Shawn Green's contract off the books. But at the same time I have to wonder if Derek Lowe is that great a pickup. I mean he was awesome in the playoffs (3-0, 1.86 ERA) but was HORRIBLE in the regular season (ERA of almost 6!!!) If they were so impressed by his playoff pitching, why then did they not re-sign Jose Lima who was just as brilliant in his one start? Not to mention the positive impact he had on the team. Add to that the fact that he led the team in victories and you would think his resigning would be a no-brainer.  They say its because they didnt want to get saddled with a long term deal with him. BS.. According to Lima's agent, he WANTED to stay in LA and wouldve been willing to sign for less money and a one year deal had they made a serious offer to him...as it is, the Dodgers didnt contact Lima til 1 hr before the deadline to re-sign him. There was no time for Lima and his agent to come back with a counter offer. Something tells me they only made that offer to make it seem like they "tried" to resign him...If money was such an issue, why not make it back by selling Dodger Blue "LIMA TIME" shirts...those things wouldve sold like crazy. Oh well. Dodger Nation mourns the loss of the most charasmatic and fan friendly player the team has had in years. And the loss of Shawn Green. Quite possibly, the best teammate anyone could have. This guy did everything the Dodgers asked of him (move to first, bat in different parts of the lineup, etc), and yet they couldnt WAIT to get rid of him, this offseason. The thing that gets me, is that he actually CALLED Adrian Beltre right before Beltre signed with Seattle and tried to convince him to stay with LA. By this time Green knew they were trying to trade him. Yet he still called Beltre and tried to get him to stay. Anyone else couldve been like "Screw the Dodgers, why should I help them if they are trying to trade me away." Yet there was Green, trying to sell Beltre on the idea of staying in LA....sigh....Lets hope this is the last of what has been a crazy and disappointing offseason.

-Just a quick note about my fantasy trailer I posted last night. I realize that I may not be saying the reincarnation spell correctly. It was more of a paraphrasing of it. I just wanted everyone to get the idea of what it would sound like.

-Isnt it ironic that the Lakers have gone back to the triangle offense? The same offense that Kobe Bryant shunned when Phil Jackson was there? But now that the Lakers are barely two games better than the Clippers, they feel they have to take "desperate" measures. All I'm going to say, is that the Lakers, as they stand now, are no better than a Number 6 seed in the West. Unless they get it together, they will make the playoffs and then get whompped by whatever top seed they end up facing in Round 1. Prove me wrong, guys. Prove me wrong!

And we'll end on that note. Til next time....

Harry Potter and misc.

Greetings one and all. Sorry about the long gap in updates. Lets just say I took a long break from the internet for the holidays. I survived the first week of 2005 without any major issues and I hope you all did too!! Lets get the clock started for another two mintue drill!

-Over the holidays J.K. Rowling announced that the next installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (Doest really roll of the tongue..but thats another story...) would be hitting bookshelves in July. Already the internet and various message boards are abuzz with who will not survive year 6. Everyone from Mr and Mrs Weasley to Remus Lupin have been discussed as possible victims of Voldemort. My only thoughts on the subject is: Who's to say a villian wont die?? Why does it have to be someone from the side of good?? A scenario that I see happening either in Book 6 or Book 7 is Peter Pettigrew (AKA Wormtail) dying while saving Harry Potterfrom Voldemort. As strange as that sounds, lets not forget that he is in debt to Harry for saving his life in year 3. There is also the redemption factor. He knows that he betrayed his friends. The guilt of his actions my very well overwhelm him. True we have seen no real signs of remorse from him, as of yet. But his loyalty to Voldemort did come into question in book 4. We'll have to wait and see what happens. Whatever the case may be, here's hoping the sixth book becomes a worthy addition to the Harry Potter timeline.

-Of course we cant talk about the sixth book without also mentioning that "Goblet of Fire" will be released in theatres this coming November. This is Warner Bros chance to redeem themselves from the disaster (Not just my opinion) that was the movie version of "Prisoner of Azkaban".  If my calculations are correct we could be seeing the first teaser trailer very soon. While discussing the subject a few nites ago, I dreamt up how I think the trailer should go. Keep in mind this would be a TEASER trailer and not a full blown movie preview. So without further ado:

         *DOUGS GOBLET OF FIRE FANTASY TEASER TRAILER*

We open with a shot of a cemetary...there is a somber tune playing....the ground is covered in mist....we pan over to see Harry Pottertied to a tombstone..his mouth has been gagged....Harry is struggling to free himself...He looks up and we see that he is looking at the back of a man (Wormtail) Suddenly we hear the man speak..it is the first part of Voldemorts reincarnation spell "Bone of the father....." cut to quick clips of the movie..just random shots..nothing that would give away too much...we are back in the cemetary now...we hear the second part of the spell "flesh of the servant..." more clips of the movie...the somber music begins to pick up...again at the cemetary..the music, while still somber is begining to build in sound..as if its working to a big finale..but is not there yet...we hear the final part of the spell "blood of the enemy...." there is a flash...we see one last batch of quick clips..then we are back at Harry...he has a look of terror on his face...we close in on the reflection on the lens of his glasses....slowly but surely we see the outline of something dark...slowly rising..and rising...the music has reached its full crescendo...Harry is looking up...not quite believeing what he is seeing..Before we can see what he is loooking at...we cut to..(Voice over) "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"..(The somber version of the Harry Potter theme plays) We are back on Harry...a look of fear in his face...we hear a cold, villain like laugh (Voldemort)...end of trailer!

Not a bad little teaser I think...But what do you all think??