- Freaking Clint Eastwood, 78 years old and still ruling the box office. Eastwood’s latest film, the much-acclaimed “Gran Torino," was No. 1 on the first competitive weekend of 2009, grossing $29 million. Amazingly, it is by far the highest single-weekend total of Eastwood's legendary and accomplished six-decade Hollywood career. Just hit up his imdb.com page and see how many movies and even great movies Eastwood has been in and it will sink in even more. “Gran Torino” has been a huge hit ever since it debuted in limited release a month ago, but this was its first week in wider release and after that first weekend with the masses, its total domestic earnings total stands at $40.1 million. Finishing second for the weekend and showing that the purchasing power of women 18 to 49 remains strong was newcomer "Bride Wars" with $21.5 million, propelled by likeable, hot stars like Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway. Sadly, creepy, bizarre horror flick "The Unborn," meanwhile came in at No. 3 $21.1 million, a lot more than a crappy, poorly made horror movie like this one deserves to make. Dropping from the top spot last week to No. 4 this weekend with $11.4 million was "Marley & Me" and rounding out the top five was "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," easily the most boring of the top five and yet still suckering in enough viewers to earn $9.5 million. Other than that, the only new film of note in the top 10 was "Not Easily Broken," which was in its first weekend of wide release and found itself at No. 9, grossing $5.6 million in just 724 theaters. On the whole, box office earnings was up 14 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when the geezer-centric "The Bucket List" the top film. It’s a trend that has occurred each of the first three weekends in 2009, offering a lot of hope for a good year at the movies from a studio and earnings point of view, if not for quality……
- If you think I’m not pumped about Rickey Henderson being selected for induction into the baseball’s Hall of Fame on the first ballot, you would be an idiot. How can a person not be excited about one of the truly legendary characters in the history of professional sports and the best lead-off hitter ever in Major League Baseball being voted into the HOF? Heck, I’m just psyched for Rickey’s induction speech. If you’re not familiar with Rickey and his, um, unique personality, just YouTube him and see. He’s the guy who, after breaking Lou Brock’s record for stolen bases in a career and with Brock in attendance at the game, ripped second base from the ground, held it aloft and declared into the microphone given to him by a team staffer on the field, “Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today I am the greatest of all time!” In other words, a truly humble dude. Oh, and there was the time in Toronto when Rickey approached Blue Jays teammate John Olerud, well-known for wearing a plastic batting helmet in the field in lieu of a normal baseball cap, with a unique observation. He informed Olerud that he had also played with a teammate in New York (as a member of the Mets) who also wore a plastic batting helmet in the field. “I know Rick, that was me,” explained Olerud. Fact is, there are a million stories of Rickey being Rickey and anyone who ever played with him has one or 50 of them. This might be a good time to create a Rickey Henderson drinking game for his induction speech. Every time Rickey refers to Rickey in the third person, which he is famous for doing, do a shot. Bottom line here, it was great to see Rickey, baseball's career leader in runs scored and stolen bases, receive 94.8 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers' Association of America, well above the 75 percent needed. On a side note, joining Rickey in this year’s HOF class will be former Boston slugger Jim Rice, who made it in on his 15th and final try. Rice had long been overlooked by voters and was out of chances after this year. Thankfully, voters overlooked his abrasive, off-putting personality and gave him 76.4 percent of the vote, just enough to get in. Should be a fantastic day this summer in Cooperstown, looking forward to it…..
- Stop and marvel with me, if you will, at a truly rare happening. A toxic food product is being recalled from store shelves nationwide - and the toxic product wasn’t made in China! This particular toxic food delight comes courtesy of Ohio-based King Nut Companies, which has issued a total recall of peanut butter that it distributes Saturday amid fears of a salmonella outbreak that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said has infected 399 people in 42 states. Wow…..42 states. That’s pretty impressive, you’ve managed to knock out a solid 84 percent of the states in the union, which means you’re tantalizingly close to a full 100 percent hit rate. Why stop now? Don’t recall your product, just reroute all of it to those eight states where no one has been made ill by your toxic peanut butter thus far. There have to be a few people in those states who haven’t heard about the salmonella outbreak and also like peanut butter, right? King Nut is electing to pass over its chance for a nationwide, all-encompassing salmonella outbreak and recall its tainted PB. The company acknowledged in a statement that salmonella had been found in an open 5-pound tub of King Nut peanut butter. A quick aside……a 5-pound tub of peanut butter? Who the hell needs five pounds of peanut butter? Call me cynical, but things like 5-pound tubs of peanut butter could be a good reason why two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or clinically obese. But go ahead with the requisite apology, King Nuts. "We are very sorry this happened," Martin Kanan, president of King Nut Companies, said in the statement. "We are taking immediate and voluntary action because the health and safety of those who use our products is always our highest priority." Thanks for that, I’m sure your words mean to much to the family of the one person in Minnesota who died as a result of the salmonella outbreak for which your product is believed to have been a contributing factor. Actually, King Nut is slyly trying to pass the buck to Peanut Corporation of America, a brand sold under its label. As for the salmonella itself, the CDC is working with public health officials in the 42 affected states to determine the cause of the outbreak of a type of salmonella called Typhimurium. This mess began when the first cases were reported on September 3, although the bulk of the cases occurred between October 1 and December 31. This thing has been widespread, both geographically and demographically, hitting people whose ages have ranged from 2 months to 98 years. The leader in the clubhouse for illnesses incurred is California with 55, followed by Ohio with 53 cases, Massachusetts with 39, Minnesota with 30 and Michigan with 20. As for the eight states yet to taste the wrath of the toxic peanut butter, they are Montana, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Florida, Alaska and Hawaii. Sadly, King Nut is going to tuck its tail and run from the chance for a clean, impressive 50-for-50 sweep of the states, maybe next time…….
- Shockingly, things became exponentially more complicated in the second episode in the new season of 24 than they appeared in Sunday’s premiere. With Tony Almeida in custody and the FBI beginning to interrogate him, Jack asks to be the one to go in first. Agent Larry Moss, the anal-retentive, by-the-book head of the FBI field office, reluctantly consents. Jack grills Tony and after a few provoking remarks from Tony, Jack roughs him up, ending with his hand around Tony’s throat. As Moss rushes in to stop Jack, Tony whispers two words in his ear, “deep sky.” Jack recognizes it as a code from their CTU days and follows the code by calling a number that leaves him talking to a voice from his past: former CTU director Bill Buchanan. Bill sets up a call 10 minutes later over a secure line and informs Jack that Tony isn’t a terrorist; he’s been working undercover with a terrorist group that is in the employ of General Juma, the military leader of Sangala. Col. Ike Dubaku is Juma’s right-hand man and he’s the one in the U.S., using the CIP device Tony helped create while working for David Emerson, the man in charge of the terrorist group. Had Tony not been captured by the FBI and Jack, his next job for Emerson would have put him in the same room with Dubaku and near the CIP device. That’s important because Bill also tells Jack that the conspiracy involving the CIP device and its aim to keep U.S. forces out of Sangala actually reaches into the upper levels of the U.S. government and includes high-ranking members of President Allison Taylor’s administration. To keep Tony’s cover, Jack must break him out of the FBI. Helping is Chloe, everyone’s favorite tech dork, another former CTU member who uses her computer hacking skills (Napoleon Dynamite would be so proud) to get inside the FBI’s surveillance system and guide Jack and Tony out of the building without being spotted. Unfortunately, Janis Gold (Janine Garofolo) spots Chloe’s entry into the system and shuts her back out, exposing Jack and Tony’s escape attempt. They make do with the nearest stairwell and when security personnel try to ambush them coming up from the ground level, Jack and Tony break a third-floor window and jump out onto the roof of the adjacent parking deck. Bill Buchanan is on his way to pick them up, but FBI security finds them first and a shootout ensues. Jack covers Tony, who leaps from the parking deck onto the roof of a car below and then into the van that Bill has driven up in. Jack finds a more explosive way out of the deck, hot-wiring a car and driving it off the second floor. He survives in good enough shape to limp into the van and off the trio goes. Meanwhile, President Taylor is hearing all of this news and also dealing with a recorded message from Dubaku listing his demands: pull U.S. forces out of the waters near Sangala or he will unleash the CIP device to kill thousands of Americans. The President tries to hold off on a decision as long as possible while the FBI looks for Jack and Tony and also questions Alan Tanner, the wounded shooter from last night’s season premiere who also worked for Tony’s group. Also, former Prime Minister Motobu of Sangala is awaiting a decision on whether the U.S. will help his country, and he meets with Taylor to implore her not to back down. Motobu himself is about to be in danger, it turns out. As Jack meets with Bill, Chloe and Tony in their makeshift headquarters on the outskirts of downtown DC, it becomes clear that Tony was in deep with Emerson’s organization. Tony recounted how he had been approached after the death of his wife Michelle to join Emerson’s group and had done so, working for the group willingly for three years before having issues with their plan for the CIP device. That was when he turned to Bill and Chloe for help and they began uncovering the conspiracy within the Taylor administration. Reinserting Tony with Emerson’s crew before their next operation is vital, but because he was in FBI custody and Jack broke him out, they need a cover story to facilitate his return. The story they go with is that back the Senate is about to indict Jack, he broke Tony out in exchange for help in getting out of the country. After a first, tense encounter in which Tony is actually ordered to kill Jack and Jack has to take two of Emerson’s men hostage to make the point that he’s legit, Jack is accepted into the crew. Their next gig is kidnapping Motobu and taking him to Dubaku to be tortured and ultimately killed. Chloe believes that she and Bill need to do something to help Motobu, but Bill says no because they need to let the plan play out in order to see how high the conspiracy goes. Fortunately for Motobu, agent Renee Walker of the FBI gets to Tanner and is able to coerce him into revealing the plot against Motobu. Agent Walker alerts her boss, Larry Moss, and he notifies Motobu’s security team. They rush him into a secure panic room in the house where he’s staying before Emerson’s crew can arrive, leaving them with the challenge of getting to Motobu and his wife inside that concrete-walled room. The last storyline, which seems to be working its way closer to the main story of the season, is President Taylor’s husband Henry and his quest to uncover the truth about his son Roger’s death. Ruled a suicide by the authorities, Roger’s death doesn’t sit well with his father, who believes his son was murdered. After confronting his son’s fiancée Samantha in the premiere, Henry in confronted this week by Ethan Kanan, one of his wife’s highest-ranking advisors, who informs him that the reason Roger killed himself was because he was about to be indicted by the SEC for insider trading. A call from Sam throws that theory for a loop, as she requests a secret meeting and at the meeting, hands over a flash drive that contains evidence of what really led to Roger’s death and her assurance that he was in fact murdered. Henry is stunned at the news and now must decide where to go next, knowing that his son’s death and the financial misconduct he was investigating before being killed had ties to Sangala. Oh, and the Secret Service agent assigned to protect Henry Taylor doesn’t seem to enthused about his quest to uncover the real story behind his son’s death and especially his meeting with Sam near the Lincoln Memorial. Wonder if the agent could be one of those in with the conspiracy? Thoughts to ponder in between now and next Monday at 9 p.m., when the chase resumes……
- Good news bad news for embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich: the man he sold, er, appointed for a seat in the U.S. Senate, Roland Burris, appears to have a solid shot of actually being seated and becoming a member of the Senate. The bad news? Blagojevich, the man who put him there after previously looking to sell that seat to the highest bidder, has been impeached by an overwhelming vote in the Illinois House of Representatives. Even though Blagojevich tried to put a happy face on the steaming, stinking pile of monkey crap that is the current state of his administration, hard to argue with a 114-1 vote to get rid of you. But the governor vowed to fight "every step of the way." He added that, "The House action today was not a surprise. It was a foregone conclusion. From the very moment of my re-election, I've been engaged in a struggle with the House to try to get things done for people.” Yes you have, Rod. You’ve been trying to get lots of people to give you money to buy a seat in the Senate and you’ve been working very hard to protect yourself and the people funneling those bribes to you from detection and prosecution. But nice try, claiming that one of the reasons the House voted to impeach him because he wanted to expand health care benefits to Illinois residents. I’m sorry, was expanded health care one of the bribes you were asking for from prospective Senate seat buyers? Was that on the list right behind giving your wife high-ranking spots on various boards of directors that she didn’t deserve? Sorry, I must have missed that the first time around. Just about the only person who might buy your sad story is state Rep. Milton Patterson, D-Chicago, who said he voted against impeachment because "I did not feel like I had enough information, based on the report, to make an informed decision to remove the governor from office." The case now moves to the state Senate, which will try the case. A two-thirds vote in the Senate is required to remove the governor from office. The comments coming from the members of the House seem to indicate that this wasn’t a tough voting decision for them to make. According to Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, Blagojevich's actions "show a public servant who is prepared to turn public service into an avenue for private benefit." She’s the chairwoman of the House impeachment committee, so her take does carry weight here. Rep. Chapin Rose, a Republican, also chimed in and called the alleged behavior by the governor "repugnant." Oh, and Rep. Tom Cross, Republican leader in the Illinois House, said Blagojevich "has violated [his] oath of office, and that trust that he was given by being elected twice has eroded, has evaporated, has completely gone." How about one more scathing, condemning comment to polish this off? Anyone wanna step up and drive this painfully obvious point home one more time? "Today is the day that we begin to give back democracy to the people of the state of Illinois," Democratic Rep. Jack Franks said Thursday night. “Blagojevich has been AWOL and derelict of his duties. He has abused his powers, and he has brought shame to this great state. I believe that Rod Blagojevich is a liar, and I believe he is a thief. He has stolen the trust of the people." Hmm, he doesn’t sound to happy, does he? Nothing like a “dereliction of duties” blast, following by a “thief who stole the trust of the people” shot across the bow. Then again, people are likely to make comments like that when the political leader of an entire state (allegedly) withholds state money from a children's hospital until he receives a $50,000 campaign donation. Nice knowing you, R. Blagojevich…..
No comments:
Post a Comment