Return of the Monarch

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Vinny has the Yellow Fever already…and he's not quite five months old. Last night, I got a text from my sister-in-law reading "Vinny likes Asians, just like Uncle $teve. Aren't you proud? I went to a Mary Kay party today and he was pulling the consultant." That's my nephew. Five months old and already a playa. I don't know ladies, what do you think? Is my nephew sexy?

He likes to cuddle...

Just look at those blue eyes...

He's a bad boy...

...and an evil genius.

I watched "The Money Pit" on Movieplex this morning starring Tom Hanks & Shelley Long. I had seen it a few times years ago...and it's pretty funny. It's about a lawyer named Walter (Hanks) and his girlfriend (Long) buying a steal of a deal, a million dollar home at $200,000...but then finding that it's a lemon and have to pour money into reconstruction...and the hilarity ensues. There's a lot of Buster Keaton-esque physical comedy and standard Tom Hanks wit throughout the movie. Oh...and a little comical drama thrown in when an ex-lover comes back into town...but its a guy with a funny accent...so it's all good. Maybe it's worth a rental if you're into Tom Hanks' early work...before he tried to be a real actor. I say give it a shot...but I'm easily amused.



I've also started packing up a few things...in anticipation of a job offer...but it's taking a long time. I'll probably call them later today...just because I kind of took the rest of the week off in anticipation. Oh yeah, I'm probably a little over confident...but that's just how I am. What else am I going to do? Watch movies all day? Keep telling people that I don't know about the job and haven't done anything about it? Besides, it takes my mind off it a little bit. People at work are obviously as optimistic as I am...but we shall see...and soon...and I'll keep you posted obviously. If you don't hear by text message or email or shrieking screams at the top of my lungs, then you'll read it on this blog.



Speaking of badass stuff, last night was the premiere of Season 3 of "Venture Brothers" on Adult Swim...and it was the usual splendor that I've come to expect from the series. Thanks again to the Mad Scientist for sharing this show with me. I've often wondered if I were to be a superhero (or more likely a supervillain) what my name & persona would be...and I have yet to come up with anything good...but as long as I have a Dr. Girlfriend (with a sexy baritone voice) then it really doesn't matter, their eyes will be on her.

Hill Valley Burns!!! - A fire through University Studios Hollywood destroyed the Hill Valley courthouse square (YES!!! INCLUDING THE CLOCK TOWER!!!) from "Back to the Future", a King Kong exhibit, a streetscape seen in many many movies, and thousands of videos chronicling Universal's movies & TV shows. Luckily nobody was hurt…and COO Ron Meyer said, "We have duplicates of everything. Nothing is lost forever." Which is good…but damage is estimated to be in the millions. Anybody who has been on the tram ride at the theme park knows these sets…and the park was closed Sunday…but reopened today. The blaze broke out on a sound stage featuring New York brownstone facades around 4:30 a.m. at the 400-acre property and the cause is under investigation. Firefighters did not comment if they were going to go down to Riverside Drive to see if Dr. Emmett Brown may have a solution to stop this from happening…but if he's successful, we'll never know. Good luck, Doc!!!



DNA Thieving Organism - Scientists report that some tiny freshwater organisms called Bdelloid Rotifers are able to survive so well…despite giving up sex 40 million years ago...because they steal genes from other organisms. They spring back into action after being dried out and also resist radiation. Their resilience is surprising, given that sex is used by an overwhelming majority of life forms to cope with changing circumstances (tell me about it…) by allowing organisms to get useful new genes and ditch harmful, mutated ones. The translucent, waterborne creatures, which range in size from 0.004 inch to 0.04 inch long (0.1 mm to 1 mm), lay eggs, but all their offspring are female. So Meselson's team looked at their DNA to see how they manage to survive…and apparently they steal DNA. Understanding how the animals acquire and make use of these new genes could have implications for medicine. Genetic mutations, which occur constantly in any living organism, underlie cancer, heart disease and various other diseases. Wouldn't it be sweet just to "borrow" genetic material from other organisms every so often? Think of the savings on plastic surgery. Acquire a Brazilian tan. You could get bat wings (hopefully they grow to scale) with the vision of an eagle. Get some cool tiger stripes. You could even grow delicious pomegranates…but then again, tearing them off may hurt a bit. The possibilities are endless. Well, until then, I guess these Bdelloid Rotifers will just have to enjoy this superpower…until we put them on the endangered species list too. Now for a Movie List (I was bored last night)



Tom Hanks Movies


Medal Winners


Gold - Forrest Gump (1994) - I talked about this fantastic movie yesterday…and that's all I've got to say about that.



Silver - Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) - The story of Joe Banks, a former firefighter turned downtrodden soul who is diagnosed by Dr. Ellison (Robert Stack) as having a brain cloud…and only a few weeks to live. His boss (Lloyd Bridges) offers him the chance of a lifetime…to live it up in New York for a few days, go on a journey to a small island in the South Pacific called Waponi Wu with help from his daughters (all played by Meg Ryan), and courageously sacrifice himself to the volcano…all expenses paid. It's a great flick with other stars like Dan Hedaya, Ossie Davis, Abe Vigoda, Amanda Plummer, and Barry McGovern as the world's greatest luggage salesman. "May you live to be a thousand years old!!!" Also, "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) should get some love here because of the whole Tom Hanks / Meg Ryan thing…and I like that show…to a point. Joe v Volcano though…is ten times better.



Bronze - Apollo 13 (1995) - Great drama about the ill-fated shuttle mission…and I was forced to watch it several dozen times in school. That in high school & "Pete's Dragon" in elementary seemed to be shown for any occasion. "Okay kids, we've been talking about dragons, so we're gonna watch Pete's Dragon." "Okay kids, last week we talked about lighthouses…so Pete's Dragon it is." "Okay kids, we talked about cities with funny names like Passemaquati…so I think we'll watch Pete's Dragon today." Anyway, Apollo 13 is much more dramatic than Pete's Dragon…and with 80% less Mickey Rooney. This has an all-star cast of Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Bill Paxton, Kathleen Quinlan, Kevin Bacon (reason it makes the list…mmm bacon), and it was even directed by Opey Taylor (Ron Howard). Great movie. I'm sure that you've all seen it.



Suggestion - Philadelphia (1993) - This movie made Tom Hanks a real actor (not just that funny guy from Big, Bachelor Party, Money Pit, and Turner & Hooch) and got him his first Academy Award. He's a lawyer who is fired from his firm…basically because he's a homosexual. This is against the law…so he hires a homophobic attorney (Denzel Washington with a moustache) to take his case. What follows is one of the greatest performances ever…and the scene where Hanks talks about the opera (I forget which one) basically gave me chills the first time that I saw this movie. That's why he's got the little gold man at home. Also, I liked the Coen Brothers film that he did "Ladykillers" (2003) and a kind of slow, dark drama "Road to Perdition" (2002) so check those out if you can. I don't think they were the biggest hits in his repertoire…but still worth a gander.



Flush It - You've Got Mail (1997) - Okay, I know earlier I raved about the other two Hanks / Ryan movies…but this was one too many. I also didn't think that "The Terminal" (2004) was that funny but Catherine Zeta-Jones was in it. They weren't horrible movies…just not my cup o' tea…and I had to find a Flush It. This was the closest I could come up with. Oh…and the ending of "Cast Away" (2000) should've been flushed too.

Future Watch - Da Vinci Code & Saving Private Ryan - Okay, this isn't a complete list…because I haven't seen these two movies…but perhaps I will one day. There's also the Da Vinci prequel that I guess he's going to make a bazillion dollars for doing…and Tom Hanks is just a great actor…so whatever he does, I'm sure it'll be awesome. Even if it's him starring in "Joe Versus Global Warming" or something.



Again, I'll keep you posted with what I find out when I find out. Hopefully later today. Have a great day everybody!!!