Weekend Wrap Up

Hello everyone! Welcome back to the drill! Lots to cover and its late so lets get to it

First an apology: I have been having SSOO much trouble with my AOL the last couple of nights. I had a brand new article all typed up and ready to go late Friday night. Covering a wide range of topics and some opinions. Had it all proof'd and ready to go. I hit "POST" and MY DAMN AOL FROZE!!! The worst thing about AOL Journals is that you cant copy your work and save it somewhere else. So I tried to get my modem to reconnect and it did. But it would just freeze again. So I gave up. Started up my AOL again and retyped my article and tried posting again. THE SAME THING HAPPENED!!!! So I finally gave up and decided to just wait til my usual Sunday night posting. So dont think that I have forgotten about my  blog. Its just that dial-up really,really, really sux!! I'll jump into the 21st century and get DSL one of these days....

Oscars came and went and the big winner of the night was "Million Dollar Baby" walking away with four awards including "Best Picture". The other three awards were won by Clint Eastwood (Best Director), Morgan Freeman (Best Supporting Actor) and Hilary Swank (Best Actress). The Aviator won the most awards overall with its five victories out of 11 nominations. Jaime Foxx (to the surprise of no one) walked away with the "Best Actor award, capping off a great year for him award wise. "The Incredibles" won out for "Best Animated Feature" and "Achievement in Sound Editing" (big deal right?? hehehe..j/k). Overall a good show with no big surprises. Chris Rock did a great job as host and his monologue was hilarious. Hopefully its not the last time he hosts.

The Pope made a brief appearance Sunday morning for his weekly prayer service.
This latest health scare is only going to increase the talk of his need to resign/retire and appoint a new Pope. I've already let my feelings be known about this topic, but I just hope they respect his wishes and that he gets better soon.

The Dodgers (and me) got a HUGE scare last week whenEric Gagne tweaked his knee playing pepper. Luckily that injury wasnt severe, but he will be shut down for about a week while it heals. Honestly, that couldve been the season right there. Gagne remains the Dodgers greatest weapon and the reason why they are so tough to beat late in games. They cant afford to lose him at any time. Let alone before the season starts! Lets hope he takes it easy the rest of the spring

BOX OFFICE REPORT:

Tyler Perry in "Diary of A Mad Black Woman"

1) Diary of a Mad Black Woman, $22.7 mil: Wow. Here's a movie that wasnt really viewed as mainstream fare and was smacked around by the critcs. Yet , here it stands in first place. Exit polls suggested the movie was a hit with viewers and will get a good boost from word of mouth.

2)Hitch, $21 mil: The defending champ finally goes down. Still, its $21 million haul shows the the staying power of this film. Should top $100 million soon.

3)Constatine, $11.8 mil: I've gotten mixed reviews of this movie from friends. Some loved it and others thought it was the worst movie ever. I personally havent seen it, so I cant comment. Just by looking at it though, I can tell its probably not for everyone. Not a bad drop off from last week.

4) Cursed, $9.6 mil: Yet ANOTHER horror movie. Its weak opening could be a sign that people may be all "horror'd" out. That or the marketing dept dropped the ball. We'll see where its at next week.

5) Man of the House, $9 mil: The other big opening of the week and it didnt fare well either. I thought it would do well considering Tommy Lee Jones doesnt do comedy very often and its always interesting to see how actors do in a new genre. Not always a good thing, but I thought Jones would cross over fine. At least it didnt open in 10th or something like that.

Lakers got destroyed by the Pistons again on Friday night. If thats not enough, they were defeated by the lowly Toronto Raptors Sunday. Its getting REALLY hard to be a Lakers fan right now. Especially when it seems that for every step forward they seem to take about five back. 29 games left. Can they hang on to the 8th seed?

Well, that will do it for now! Hope you everyone has a great weekend and hopefully no more AOL glitches this week! Til the next time..

DQ

  
 
 

Thursday Grab Bag

Hello again everyone! And welcome back. I know I missed my Wed posting. I honestly just didnt get a chance to log on and post. I apologize for that. Lets not waste anymore time..

 

So the rain FINALLY stopped here in SoCal, but not before leaving tons of damage and changing lives forever. At least 7 fatalities can be blamed on this slow moving storm that dumped almost 20 inches of rain since last Friday. We are already WWAAYY above normal for the year and in fact this rainy season has already been the 5th wetest on record. And we're not done yet! Already there is talk of another storm moving in early next week. It seems like here in SoCal we either dont get enough rain or get WAY too much rain. Never somewhere in between. Oh well. Gotta love those Summer months though!

In a recent survey 6 out of 10 Americans said they would vote for a female presidential candidate if given the choice. The same survey had Sen Hilary Clinton as the top choice for the first female President. Sec of State Condelezza Rice was the second choice among those surveyed. This is very intersting news and no doubt will fuel more spectulation about Sen. Clinton's possible run in 2008. My only opinion on the matter is that a female candidate would have more than just her party's fate on her shoulders. She would also carry the weight of all future women who are thinking about running. A resounding loss would set back that movement many years. Still, it would be interesting to see and its obvious the country is ready for it. We'll have to see what goes down in about 2 years when candidates start letting their intentions be known.

Barry Bonds reported to training camp Tuesday in Arizona and sidestepped any and all questions regarding his steroid abouse. He criticized the media for continuing to press the steroid issue and for dragging out a story, that as far as he is concerned, is dead. Bonds has only said that he unknowingly took steroids a few years back and would never take steroids on purpose. When asked about what has led to his freaksih growth in muscle and sudden homerun hitting surge Bonds simply replied, "Hard work and dedication." He also tore into Jose Canseco for making comments about him. Bonds suspects Canseco is merely jealous of his accomplishments and is just trying to make money. With Bonds closing in on the All Time HR record, the glare of the spotlight will be on him brighter than ever before. I think he'll handle that pressure well, but whether or not he will ever be able to dismiss this talk of steroid abuse is another story. The plain fact is, Bonds used steroids in the past. Does he still use them? No one can say for sure. We all have our suspicions, but unless someone can prove with some sort of medical test or otherwise, all we can do is spectulate. Should be an interesting season.

American Idol saw its first four contestants eliminated today. I love how they stretch out 10 min of actual content into an hour. You gotta love the way they make contestants sweat it out before they drop the boom on them. You know Seacrest loves it. I agreed with all the cuts that were made today. The four that were dropped just didnt bring it when they needed to. I mean you get one chance to perform for the audience. If you have an offnight, thats it. You're going home. Its not fair to the contestants, but thats how the show works. No word on whether there will be wildcard picks this year. So far the competition has been great and I am curious to see who gets dropped next.

OK, that should do it for now. Hope you are all good and I will see you next time..

 

DQ 

 

Taboo Tuesday

Hello again everyone!! Long weekend is behind us, which means this week is gonna go by fast!! Thank goodness!

So the rains have stopped for now, but not before causing mudslides, rockslides,sinkholes and other problems. The sinkhole here in Sun Valley keeps growing and growing. It is now  200 feet wide and more than 40 feet deep. It also claimed the life of a Los Angeles Street Maintanance worker. As he was working on some equipment near the site, the rushing water caused him to lose his balance and he fell to his death. 

Living here in Sun Valley, you have to get used to the flooding that comes when it rains. The area around my home especially is troublesome. The City of LA has never really bothered to fix our storm drains and catchers. So it was only a matter of time before it exploded into a huge problem. And now it has cost someone thier life. My thoughts and prayers to that worker and his family.

NBA trading deadline is fast approaching. The Lakers have some holes to plug, but its not clear whether or not they will be players in the trading scene. Rumors are already flying about possible trades involving the Kings and Jazz. We'll know for sure at 12pm our time Thursday. One things for sure though. This team is far too flawed to for a quick fix. We'll see how much of a difference another player (If they add one) will make to this squad.

Good news for Dodgers fans: Brad Penny threw off a mound for the first time since suffering a rare nerve injury to his arm last September. After his workout, Penny said he felt fine and was ready for the next step in his rehabilitation. The Dodgers NEED Penny to be at 100% if they want to have a chance to repeat as division champs. They could still do it without him, but having his great arm in the rotation will make it much easier.

Yes, I heard about the secret Bush tapes that have him admitting to using marijuana years ago. I honestly dont have any comment. Dare I say it, I dont really care. So he used marijuana back in the day? He also used cocaine and was an alcoholic. He's not doing it now. So whats the big deal? Its one thing for him to have DONE it that for him to be doing it now before a big UN meeting or something.

Alrighty, that should do it for today. Hope you all stay dry while the last of this big storm filters through. til next time..

 

DQ

 

 

Weekend Wrap-Up

Greetings from soggy Sun Valley!! Where a big sinkhole has just opened up about 4 blocks from here. Never a dull moment in this flood prone area. Oh well. You take the good with the bad...Lets get to it!

-The NHL made one last ditch effort to save the 05 season this past weekend. Despite the intervention of legends Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux the two sides could not come to an agreement. Dashing the faint hopes of fans everywhere. Now the two sides are back to square one with no quick fix in sight. If you're a big NHL fan..be afraid..be very afraid. It may be awhile before we see them back in action.

-Another huge storm hit Southern California, set to drench the area with at least 15 inches of rain through Tuesday. Well, this takes care of our drought for the time being. I personally love the rain, but I hate driving in it. I also hate all the drama it causes (Mudslides,sinkholes, car accidents, etc.) Car accidents though are usually caused by those stupid LA Drivers that think its ok to go FASTER in the rain. Do the words Hyrdo Plane mean anything to these people? One sudden stop or swerve.thats all it takes for a car to spin out. SLOW THE HELL DOWN PEOPLE!!! If you have a death wish, thats fine. Dont go taking innocent people with you though. whew..i feel better now

NBA All Star game was played Sunday and the East defeated the West 125-115. The games MVP was Allen Iverson. Good flashy game with lots of dunks and zero defense. Which of course, didnt make it any different from past all-star games. These games are played for fun. Period. Guys go all flashy and try to top each other. Its a fun game for the fans, which is all that really matters.

BOX OFFICE REPORT:

Will Smith and Kevin James in "Hitch"

1) Hitch, $38.1 million: Still the champ, even after Valentines Day weekend. Word of mouth helped keep this movie on top. It really is a good film and if you havent already, I suggest you check it out.

2) Constantine, $30.5 million: A pretty solid opening, albeit might be a tad disappointing for Warner Bros. Still, despite being a movie based on a comic book that has more of a cult following, that opening as pretty good.

3)Because of Winn-Dixie,  $10.9 million: Can't say much about this film, because I havent really followed it. But the kids seemed to like it! And I'm sure quite a few adults too. Good opening.

4) Son of the Mask, $7.7 million: More like Son of the Movie That Shouldnt Have Been Made Without Jim Carey. or Son of the Unneccesary Sequel. Sigh..Some movie studios just want to make the quick buck. Thats how you get this movie and Dumb and Dumberer. Whats next? Son of Ace Ventura? Or Liar, Liarer??!!

5)Million Dollar Baby, $7.2 Million. It just keeps going and going....Who wouldve thought this movie would still be raking it in after so many weeks. A solid movie, that has become a sleeper hit.

While I am on the topic of movies, a consumer group has proposed theatres be required to post what time a movie actually starts and not when the trailers and ads start. The theatre chains however have nixed the idea, saying that the public has come to expect all the pre show entertainment.

OK, thats all for this update. Have a good week everyone and stay tuned for more postings during the week! Til the next time

 

DQ

 

TGIF!!!

Hello everyone! Still fighting this cold or whatever the hell I caught. But I am feelin way better. Or at least well enough to post again! So before my meds kick in, lets get to it

-The big story that I missed by not posting last night was the cancellation of the NHL season. This marks the first time that a North American sports league has cancelled an ENTIRE season. Who's to blame? The owners for their stubborn insistance on a Salary Cap? Or the players for not making  more concessions to avoid it? Either way, this is a huge blow to a sport that already was on the brink of collapse. Its a shame that faced with the very survival of their league, neither side could go that extra mile to resolve their dispute. Will there be an NHL season next year? No one seems to know the answer to that. The big challenge will be to lure those fans back to a game that can ill afford to lose them. A task easier said than done.

-American Idol auditions are over. They now have their field of 12 men and 12 women. This years edition of the show will feature one night of the men's performances and one night of the womens peformances with the third night dedicated to results. A nice change of pace and it will be interesting to see how well it works. My fear is that they may just run the show into the ground. Two nights of American Idol was enough. But now they are adding another night. Hmm. Anyone remember what happened to "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?" I know, its not the same thing, but its a good example of what happens when you over expose a hit show. Went from being the number 1 show on primetime to syndicated jeopardy rip off in the span of three years. I dont see that happening with this show, but I do sense that there will be some AI backlash if people start getting tired of the show.

-Pitchers and catchers have started to report to MLB Spring Training camps in Florida and Arizona. The season doesnt open for another month and a half but its always fun for fans to follow their favorite teams (GO DODGERS!!!!!) and see the roster take shape. At the end of Spring Training I will be posting my MLB 05 preview. Dont worry, it will unbiased. Here's a preview: Dodgers win World Series in 4 games. There! See? Unbiased.

Disneyland Update: "Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters" will have its Grand Opening March 17th. The first true E-Ticket attraction to open at Disneyland since Indiana Jones opened way back in 1995. The early "buzz" (lame pun, I know) is that this ride is very well done and outdoes the Florida version by leaps and bounds. A much needed addition to Tommorrowland, which has been neglected for many years. I've got a Disneyland project planned for this blog in the future. I'll give you prior warning so that if you want to skip it, you can! hehehe

***UPDATED 9:20AM 2-18-05***

I was able to find some pictures of the ride. Well, more like a picture and a publicity still. Enjoy!

First up, the publicity still:

And a shot inside the rides queue. Thats an animatronic Buzz that will breakdown the mission ahead of you:

OH-KAY..that should do it for this week. A very short week thanx to illness. Hope it doesnt ruin my long weekend. Enjoy your weekends and for those of you that have a long one, be sure to sleep in Monday!! Til the next time...

 

DQ

 

 

Down for R & R

Hello everyone...

I know you came here for another posting, but unfortunatley I caught a really bad bug at work and its slowly but surely whuppin my a$$ health wise. At first I thought I would just go through the motions, but I honestly dont even have the energy for that. So I apologize to you all and hope that I am well enough tommorrow to do my Friday posting! If I have a chance I may do a mini update during the day tommorrow. Otherwise look for another installment of the Two Minute Drill to appear on Friday morning! Til then...

DQ

Mid Week Misc.

Welcome back everyone! Sorry for no update last nite. I was feelin a bit under the weather. Still trying to fight off whatever bug I caught at work. But hopefully this will get my mind off it for a while. OK enough psycho babble. On with the show...

Jury selection was halted in the Michael Jackson trial when Jackson became ill on his way to the court room. He was taken to ER where doctors have said he has the flu. Jury selection has already been postponed once before when Jackson's lead defense attorney had a family emergency.This trail just keeps getting more dramatic as the days go by.On Monday, the defense said that they are planning on calling a whole calvacade of stars to testify on Jackson's behalf. What kind of stars? Well to just name a few: Elizabeth Taylor, Kobe Bryant, Quincy Jones, Chris Tucker, Larry King, Aaron and Nick Carter and many more. The prosecution was quick to point out that Jackson seems intent on wowing the jurors with star power and the glitz and glamor of celebrity. Six more months of this people. And thats if there's no other delays! "Are you ready for the media blitz??!!"

The NHL Owners are about to pull the plug on the season. Does anyone in America care? Dont get me wrong, hockey is a great sport and I like watching it here and there and even used to play it wwaayy back in the day when dinosaurs ruled the earth and we all thought we would be living on the moon by now. But the NHL is the weakest of the four major sports leagues revenue wise. Ratings are down, attendance is down, but player salaries have stayed high. Some owners have even quipped that they have lost less money during this lockout than they would have if the season was going on. The players refusal to accept a salary cap is the biggest factor in this lockout. The commisioner has given the union and owners til Wed morning to hammer out a deal. Otherwise its curtains for the NHL this season and possibly for good.

Kobe is back with the Lakers now after missing almost a month with a severely sprained ankle. The Lakers desperatley need to get some momentum going for the second half of the season if they expect to qualify for the playoffs. They stand now as the 8th and final seed in the Western Confrence with 32 games left to play. Just winning THREE games in a row would be a good start. We used to talk about three CHAMPIONSHIPS in a row. Now we talk about three WINS in a row. Keep the faith Laker Nation. Every team has to start over eventually.

Notable Quote: "After overseeing a successful Iraqi election President Bush's approval rating soared to 57% or as its known to teachers everywhere: An 'F' "-Tina Fey

Had to sneak that one in there.

OK, Hockey, basketball, Micheal Jackson and yes even a Bush joke. I guess that about wraps it up here. Til the next time

 

DQ