It’s time to get this 4th of July weekend party started!

If checking out a new movie is on your to do list, here’s what’s out:

PUBLIC ENEMIES (R)

Christian Bale and Johnny Depp star in the highly anticipated new film Public Enemies, which follows the adventures of Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger and his bank robbing gang. Depp stars as John Dillinger, a criminal whose lightning fast bank robberies made him the prime target of Melvin Purvis, played by Bale, the top agent at the fledgling FBI agency. No one could stop Dillinger and no jail could hold him, he was loved by the public, who at the time had no sympathy for the banks, and was able to outwit the FBI numerous times. Hoover, played by Billy Crudup, made Dillinger America’s first Public Enemy Number One.

Public Enemies costars Marion Cotillard as Dillinger’s girlfriend, Billie Frechette, Channing Tatum as Pretty Boy Floyd, Stephen Dorff as Homer Van Meter and Giovanni Ribisi as Alvin Karpis. It was directed by Michael Mann.

ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS (PG)

Manny the mammoth, Sid the sloth, and Diego the tiger are back for another animated adventure in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, with Queen Latifah, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Ray Romano voicing the pre-historic characters. This time around the gang must save Sid the sloth, who gets into trouble after stealing some dinosaur eggs trying to create his own makeshift family. On a mission to save Sid, the gang finds themselves in a mysterious underground world where they encounter dinosaurs and meet a relentless, one-eyed, dino-hunting weasel named Buck, voiced by Simon Pegg.

4th OF JULY BY THE NUMBERS  your4state.com)

Patriotic Places

• 30: Number of places nationwide with “liberty” in their name. The most populous one is Liberty, Missouri (26,232). Iowa has more of these places than any other state: four (Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty).
• Eleven places have “independence” in their name. The most populous of these is Independence, Missouri, with 113,288 residents.
• Five places adopted the name “freedom.” Freedom, California, with 6,000 residents, has the largest population among these.
• There is one place named “patriot” — Patriot, Indiana, with a population of 202.

Fourth of July Barbecue Cookout

• 150 million: Number of hot dogs (all varieties) expected to be consumed by Americans on this holiday. (That’s one frankfurter for every two people.) There’s more than a 1-in-4 chance that the hot dogs made of pork originated in Iowa, as the Hawkeye State had a total inventory of 15.2 million market hogs and pigs on March 1, 2006. This represents more than one-fourth of the nation’s total. North Carolina (8.5 million) and Minnesota (5.8 million) were the runners-up.
• 7.3 billion pounds: Total production of cattle and calves in Texas in 2005. Chances are good that the beef hot dogs, steaks and burgers on your backyard grill came from the Lone Star State, which accounted for over one-sixth of the nation’s total production. And if they did not come from Texas, they very well may have come from Nebraska (4.5 billion pounds) or Kansas (4 billion pounds).
• 6: Number of states in which the revenue from broiler chickens was $1 billion or greater between December 2004 and November 2005. There is a good chance that one of these states — Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina, Mississippi or Texas — is the source of your barbecued chicken.
• Better than 50-50: The odds that the beans in your side dish of baked beans came from North Dakota, Michigan or Nebraska, which produced 60 percent of the nation’s dry, edible beans in 2005. Another popular July 4th side dish is corn on the cob. Florida, California and Georgia together accounted for 51 percent of the sweet corn produced nationally in 2005.
• Please Pass the Potato Salad: Potato salad and potato chips are popular food items at July 4th barbecues. One-half of the nation’s spuds were produced in Idaho or Washington in 2005.

4TH OF JULY IS BIGGEST BEER-SELLING HOLIDAY

The Nielsen Company confirmed that July 4th continues to be the biggest beer-selling holiday of the year, with sales at supermarkets across the country in 2008 topping 24 million cases during the holiday period. These sales, when combined with the activities of distributors, retailers, and related industries nationwide, help support nearly 1.9 million jobs and generate $190 billion to the U.S. economy annually.

Movie Clip Trivia Answer: Independence Day

Happy 4th of July! Have a fantastic weekend!

The first day of July! Moving ever closer to the big 4th of July weekend. I can smell the BBQ from here….mmmmm!

Here’s something to check out this July:

R.E.M. TO RELEASE DIGITAL EP

R.E.M. has a digital EP coming out on July 7th featuring live versions of four songs from the band’s second album, Reckoning, that were recorded during “working rehearsals” at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre in July 2007. The track listing includes: “Harborcoat,” “Letter Never Sent,” “Second Guessin’” and “Pretty Persuasion.” The EP provides a glimpse of what will be on R.E.M.’s two-disc live album, due out this fall. The full-length set features R.E.M. testing out songs from its 2008 release, Accelerate. Last month, R.E.M. released a deluxe edition of the album, featuring a bonus disc with eight of its 10 songs recorded live in Chicago in 1984.

MICHAEL JACKSON NEVERLAND MEMORIAL PLANNED

A large-scale memorial service has been planned for Michael Jackson at his Neverland Ranch this Friday. His body will lie in state for a public viewing. A private memorial service for family and close friends will be held on Sunday. Joe Jackson told reporters that his son will not be buried at Neverland, however. Gary Mayor Rudy Clay has been in contact with the Jackson family about plans to have him buried in Gary Indiana, where a massive memorial service at U.S. Steel Works ballpark is scheduled for July 10th.

Farrah Fawcett was laid to rest yesterday at the Our Lady of Angels Roman Catholic cathedral in Los Angeles. Mourning alongside Fawcett’s longtime partner, Ryan O’Neal, was the couple’s 24-year-old son Redmond, who was allowed to leave jail for the service. Both of them helped carry Farrah’s casket, which was covered in yellow and orange flowers, inside the funeral home. Other mourners included Fawcett’s former Charlie’s Angels costars Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith and ex-husband Lee Majors, as well as actor Ernie Hudson and comedian Garry Shandling.

INSPIRATIONAL WEDDING MOVIES

 
1. “27 Dresses” - Jane and Kevin’s beach wedding
2. “Sweet Home Alabama” - Melanie and Andrew’s garden nuptials
3. “Wedding Crashers” - Gloria and Jeremy’s big church wedding
4. “Bride Wars” - Emma and Fletcher’s and Liv and Daniel’s parties at The Plaza Hotel
5. “Father of the Bride” - Annie and Bryan’s at-home celebration

It’s the last day of June and it’s a new release Tuesday! here’s what’s new to DVD:

Movies
1. Jonas Brothers: The Concert Experience (2 Disc Extended Edition)
2. Two Lovers: Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow
3. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li

TV on DVD
1. Entourage: Season 5
2. Stargate Atlantis: Season 5
3. Eureka: Season 3.0
4. Eastbound and Down: Season 1
5. The IT Crowd: Season 2
6. Secret Diary of a Call Girl: Season 2
7. Extreme Trains: Season 1

Musically

Rob Thomas releases his second solo album, called Cradlesong, today featuring the single “Her Diamonds.” The set comes on he heels of the Matchbox Twenty frontman’s successful 2005 solo debut, Something To Be. Thomas will be on tour this fall and will perform on NBC’s Today show this Friday. Also out is his live DVD, Rob Thomas: Something To Be Tour Live At Red Rocks .

PIRATE CRUISES BEING OFFERED

Luxury yachts in Russia are offering pirate hunting cruises in the dangerous waters off the coast of Somalia with the hope of being attacked. Passengers pay about $5,000 to patrol and can pay an extra $7.50 a day to receive an AK-47 machine gun for protection and about $10 for 100 rounds of ammo. The yachts travel from Djibouti to Mombasa in Kenya and deliberately cruise close to the coast at a speed of about five nautical miles hoping to attract pirates.

MEN HAVE GREATER CONSENSUS OF WHAT MAKES A HOT WOMAN

Research has found that beauty is skin deep for men and in the eye of the beholder for women. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology has found that men are much more likely to come to a consensus when defining what they find attractive in the opposite sex. The study, perhaps not surprisingly, found men’s view on the attractiveness of different women was defined by physical features, with women who looked thin and seductive getting the highest ratings. Men also were particularly attracted to women who appeared confident. Women showed a more diverse range of responses, with some rating particular men very attractive while other women found the same men not attractive at all. The researchers said the findings had implications for further understanding eating disorders and why women feel greater pressures to conform to a perception of physical attractiveness.

Movie Clip Trivia Answer:

Welcome back to work! Hope you had a fantastic weekend. I had a chance to do a little fishing Saturday afternoon on Cayuga lake. Unfortunately, the only thing I caught was a little sea-sickness. Boy was the lake choppy….there must have been 3 to 4 foot waves! I also got a chance to see our Ithaca SufferJets roller derby team slaughter the Ottawa Capital Carnage at Cass Park Rink Saturday night. Way to go girls, it was an incredible bout!

And it was an incredible weekend in the box office as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen had it’s debut.

It overcame scathing reviews from critics to have the biggest opening weekend of the year, surpassing X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which took in $85.1 million over its opening weekend in early May. Transformers hauled in $112 million over the weekend, bringing the movie’s total to $201.2 million since opening this past Wednesday. Opening in fifth place was the other new film out My Sister’s Keeper. Last weekend’s top movie, The Proposal, fell to second place.

THIS WEEKEND’S TOP TEN MOVIES

1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, $112 million
2. The Proposal, $18.5 million
3. The Hangover, $17.2 million
4. Up, $13 million
5. My Sister’s Keeper, $12 million
6. Year One, $5.8 million
7. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, $5.4 million
8. Star Trek, $3.6 million
9. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, $3.5 million
10. Away We Go, $1.7 million

I had a chance to see the new Transformers movie on Sunday, and let me tell you it was a thrill ride. It’s amazing what the CG Animators can do with graphics these days. It just blew me away! High energy, tons of action, spectacular battle sequences, new decepticons and primes getting in on the action making this movie even larger than the first….as if it could get any bigger. It’s definitely a big screen summer blockbuster at it’s finest. My only cons: there were some pretty cheesy parts that really didn’t need to be in there and I had a really hard time figuring out who were the good guys and who were the bad. When the battle sequences got underway it just became a mechanical mess, but totally worth the 8-10 dollars to go and see it!

CELL PHONE FOR FOUR-YEAR-OLDS HITTING THE MARKET

Reports today that a cell phone is being designed for children as young as four. The brightly-colored phone has only five buttons, including two which call their parents directly. The Dublin-based firm behind the invention is planning to launch them in the U.K. towards the end of this year.

GREEN CARD MARRIAGES

A majority of Americans aren’t opposed to marrying a foreigner to help that person remain in the country. Inspired by the movie “The Proposal,” dating websites Date.com, Matchmaker.com, and Amor.com surveyed members asking whether they’d be willing to tie the knot for reasons other than love. When it came to helping someone remain in the U.S., nearly 61-percent of women and almost 60-percent of men all said yes. Only 34-percent of the ladies and fewer than 30-percent of men said no. For the guys, they don’t really even need to know the woman. Nearly 30-percent of the men noted they’d walk down the aisle with someone they’d just met on a blind date. Women apparently need a little more of a connection with the man they’d help. Just under a quarter of the ladies surveyed said they’d marry an ex-boyfriend, and 20-percent would marry one of their best friend’s relatives. Regarding circumstances similar to “The Proposal,” only ten-percent of women and eight-percent of men noted they’d wed their boss to keep him or her from being deported.

Movie Clip Trivia Answer: Yankee Doodle Dandy

A somber Friday today as the world mourns the loss of pop icon Michael Jackson.

He died yesterday at age 50 after arriving at UCLA Medical Center in a coma. He was at his rented home in Holmby Hills, California when paramedics arrived for what is being reported as cardiac arrest. Doctors tried to resuscitate him, then rushed him to the hospital — a six minute drive from his house — where they continued to work on him. His brother Jermaine said, “It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known.” According to the Los Angeles Times, Jackson underwent a four-hour physical this spring in order for promoters to get insurance for his upcoming concerts, which were scheduled to begin in London on July 13th. The medical screening uncovered no issues whatsoever. They declared him healthy, and he had a great cholesterol level. He is survived by three children: 12-year-old Prince Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., 11-year-old Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II, who is 6-years-old.

New movies out this weekend:

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (PG-13)

Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen opened in theaters Wednesday. The battle for Earth has ended but the battle for the universe has just begun. After returning to Cybertron, Starscream assumes command of the Decepticons, and has decided to return to Earth with force. The Autobots believing that peace was possible finds out that Megatron’s dead body has been stolen from the US Military by Skorpinox and revives him using his own spark. Now Megatron is back seeking revenge and with Starscream and more Decepticon reinforcements on the way, the Autobots with reinforcements of their own, may have more to deal with then meets the eye. The film stars Megan Fox, Shia Labeouf, Tyrese Gibson and Josh Duhamel.

“Variety” is reporting that it raked in an estimated 60-and a half-million-dollars just on it’s opening day, and now holds the record for the biggest Wednesday opening ever, passing “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” which grossed 44-point-two-million-dollars in July 2007. “Transformers’” opening day take makes the film the second biggest opening of all time, behind the Batman flick “The Dark Knight” and its 67-point-two-million-dollar opening in 2008. “Transformers” still has a chance to break the five-day record of 152-point-four-million-dollars set by “Spider-Man 2″ in 2004.

MY SISTER’S KEEPER (PG-13)

In My Sister’s Keeper, Abigail Breslin plays Anna Fitzgerald, a young girl brought into the world to be a genetic match for her older sister, Kate Fitzgerald/Katie (Sofia Vassilieva), who suffers from leukemia. Their lives have been intertwined because of their donor-recipient relationship from the minute Anna was born. Anna suffers, such as losing the chance to go to a prestigious hockey camp in order to be there when her sister needs her, but when she turns 13 and Kate goes into renal failure, needing Anna’s kidney, Anna sues her parents for medical emancipation. Also stars Cameron Diaz.

TIPADVISOR RATING AMERICA’S CITIES

Favorite City:
1. New York City
2. San Francisco
3. = Chicago, Illinois
3. = Boston, Massachusetts

Least Favorite City:
1. Detroit, Michigan
2. Los Angeles, California
3. Atlanta, Georgia

Other Results:
Most Underrated: Portland, Oregon
Most Overrated: Las Vegas
Most Economical: Las Vegas
Most Expensive: New York City
Cleanest: Portland, Oregon
Dirtiest: Detroit
Sexiest: Miami
Most Boring: Cleveland
Healthiest: Seattle
Least Healthy: Detroit
Friendliest and Most Helpful: New York City
Least Friendly and Helpful: New York City
Best Free Attractions: Washington, DC
Most Romantic: Honolulu, Hawaii
Nicest Sounding Accent: Atlanta, Georgia
Most Annoying Accent: Boston, Massachusetts

Movie Clip Trivia Answer: Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker

Welcome to summer! A warm one out there today. Hot and muggy! Thankfully relief is on the way.

Receiving some sad news, Farrah Fawcett died earlier today after a long battle with cancer. She passed away at the St. Joseph Health Center in Los Angeles at the age of 62. Her partner Ryan O’Neal said, “She’s gone. She now belongs to the ages. She’s now with her mother and sister and her God. I loved her with all my heart. I will miss her so very, very much. She was in and out of consciousness. I talked to her all through the night. I told her how very much I loved her. She’s in a better place now.” Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006, and although she announced that it had gone into remission shortly afterwards, the disease returned.

DIRECTOR DAVID FINCHER IN TALKS FOR FACEBOOK FILM

Hollywood director David Fincher, the man behind Oscar winning film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” could soon be tackling the world of online networking. He is in talks with Columbia Pictures to take on a movie about Facebook. The project, titled “The Social Network,” will center on the development of Facebook from its 2004 creation by Harvard sophomore Mark Zuckerberg, through its transformation into a wildly popular website with more than 200 million members. The film is set to begin production later this year. His previous credits include the films “Zodiac,” “Panic Room” and “Fight Club.”

MOST PEOPLE’S WORST SCHOOL MEMORIES ARE OF GYM CLASS

A poll reported by the Telegraph found that gym class was most people’s worst school memory. Almost 30% of those questioned said PE lessons were their unhappiest experience of primary and secondary school, with women more likely to have bad memories that men. Bullying was another major cause of unhappiness, cited by just over 28 percent of people, rising to a third among 16-24-year-olds. Overall, almost 75 percent disagreed with the maxim “school days are the best days of your life.”

Movie Clip Trivia Answer: Basic

Happy Hump Day! Halfway through the first full work week of summer, and tough to be working today as it’s beautiful outside. Let’s just sneak out of work early. I have a feeling there are a lot people out sick today anyway, if you catch my drift! We’ll here’s what’s making news today:

LEONA LEWIS NAMED SEXIEST VEGETARIAN

Leona Lewis has been named the world’s Sexiest Female Vegetarian by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for the second year in a row. She says she hasn’t eaten meat since the age of 12, adding, “I am vegetarian so I don’t have clothes, shoes or bags made from leather or suede or any animal products. … I’m on a mission.” Lewis is so passionate about the cause that she’s currently working on a vegan clothing line. Meanwhile, Lewis plans to spend some more time in the U.S. working on her sophomore album and is reportedly working with Justin Timberlake on the set.

As for the Sexiest Male, PETA chose actor Scott Maslen. He stars in the BBC show Eastenders.

“JON & KATE PLUS 8″ TO TAKE HIATUS UNTIL AUGUST!!

TLC’s hit reality show “Jon & Kate Plus 8” is taking a break. TLC has decided to put the show on hiatus until August 3rd. Six of the season’s 40 episodes have aired, but the couple’s recent relationship issues and announcement of Divorce have made it difficult for TLC to gather footage for future shows. The break will give the Gosselin family “some time off to regroup.” Monday night’s episode of “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ drew ten-point-six million viewers. It was the largest audience ever for the TLC show. Next week, TLC will air a retrospectvie of Jon and Kate Gosselin’s ten years of marriage. After that, the show will go on hiatus until August.

BOTOX TO CURE BALDNESS?

Reports today that Botox can actually be used to cure baldness. Dr Simon Ourian, a cosmetic surgeon based in Beverly Hills, California, claimed that he stumbled upon its unexpected powers by accident while treating his mother who was suffering from migraines after having chemotherapy which had made her hair fall out. Familiar with Botox’s use as a headache treatment, he injected it into her scalp but was surprised to find that it also appeared to help her hair to grow back. If his claims are proved in formal scientific trials it could potentially be used as the basis for new treatments for baldness.

EXPENSIVE CARS DON’T IMPRESS WOMEN

A new study has found that buying an expensive car won’t help men land their dream girls. In some surprising findings commissioned by the TV show Top Gear Australia, researchers measured changes in the brain responses of women towards a range of men depending on the car they drove. The results showed that a man having a mid-life crisis did not impress the ladies with his expensive Porsche, unless he was accompanied by a beautiful young woman. The attractiveness of the ‘average Joe’ family man improved dramatically in almost any of the cars, whereas the ‘good-looking surfer’ remained very attractive to women even without a vehicle. The young ‘homie’ rated better in his hotted-up Nissan Skyline than in the expensive sports cars and in one of the biggest surprises, the classic MG Roadster was viewed favorably when empty, but failed to impress the minute a man was seen in it.

Movie Clip Trivia Answer: Red Dawn

It’s Tuesday and all about the new!! New movies and TV to DVD and new albums on the horizon:

Barbra Streisand will release a new studio album, called “Love Is The Answer,” on September 29th. It marks her first studio release since 2005, and is featured on the record as a, quote, “cabaret and jazz singer of emotional clarity, depth and maturity, offering the listener a warm and intimate selection of late night meditations on love’s powers, heartbreaks and solaces.”

Daughtry has lined up several TV appearances next month, just in time for the release of their second album, “Leave This Town,” which arrives July 14th. Catch them on NBC’s Today show that day. That will be followed up by a visit to The View on July 15th and The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien on July 16th. Also scheduled is a performance on Live With Jimmy Kimmel. Then Daughtry will tour the country, playing 15 shows this summer for fan club members and contest winners. A 100-stop North American tour will kick off at the end of September.

Movies
1. Inkheart-Brendan Fraser
2. Confessions of a Shopaholic-Isla Fisher
3. Pink Panther 2-Steve Martin, Jeremy Irons and Alfred Molina
4. The Code-Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas

TV on DVD
1. Reba: Season 6
2. The Girls Next Door: Season 5

JESSICA SIMPSON TO STAR IN NEW REALITY SHOW

Jessica Simpson is returning to reality TV. Variety confirmed that VH1 has picked up The Price of Beauty, which is described as a docuseries that will follow her as she “travels around the world to see how ordinary women as well as celebs attempt to achieve their own notions of ‘beauty.’” Producers went on to say that she’ll “study the local fashions, dietary fads and beauty regimes and even participate in some of the extreme practices she discovers.” The show is expected to begin airing in 2010.

‘WEISURE’ BLURS LINE BETWEEN LESIURE AND WORK

Here’s a new word to add to your vocabulary, “Weisure.” According to CNN, the line dividing work and leisure time is blurring right before our eyes, and it’s creating a phenomenon called “weisure time.” Many who haven’t already abandoned the 9-to-5 workday for the 24-7 life of weisure probably will do so soon, according to New York University sociologist Dalton Conley, who coined the word. It’s the next step in the evolving work-life culture. “Increasingly, it’s not clear what constitutes work and what constitutes fun,” be it “in an office or at home or out in the street. Activities and social spaces are becoming work-play ambiguous, he says, as “all of these worlds that were once very distinct are now blurring together.” More and more Americans are using smartphones and other technology to collaborate with business colleagues while hanging out with their families.

Movie Clip Trivia Answer: Pride and Prejudice

Getting back into the swing of things after enjoying an extended weekend. My wife and I headed over to Darien Lake on Friday to catch the No Doubt Reunion Tour! It was INCREDIBLE! We got to the Performing Arts Center about 6:30pm, and already the parking lots were packed. No Doubt said later in the night that about 17,000 fans came out for the show! We made our way through the crowds to our seats which just so happened to be outside of the huge tent cover, so thankfully it was a beautiful night, otherwise we would have gotten soaked. Paramore took the stage after a brief performace from a warm up band. They played for just about an hour and covered almost all of their hits, opening with “Misery Business” and closing their set with the Twilight hit, “Decode.” They also played several new songs that will be featured on their new album expected out by the end of summer! Sounds like a very high energy set and a little more complex melody-wise compared with their previous albums.

At 9:30pm after about a half hour of set changes, No Doubt took the stage! There was a huge white curtain hanging at the front of the stage and a light came on from behind. Slowly we see a guitarist strut out, his shadow getting larger and larger on the curtain. Then another band member, then another and then you see Gwen’s shadow swagger in, getting bigger and bigger! The crowd roars, the curtain drops and No Doubt rocks with Spiderwebs to open the show. From there, they move onto Hella Good and back to the old skool melodies off Tragic Kingdom. After a few songs, Gwen looks out into the crowd and reads a few of the posters kids are holding. She see’s one in particular and actually invites the girl to come on stage. This girl is dressed exactly like Gwen. She and Gwen hug and she gives Gwen this belt piece she made for her. Gwen puts it on and the show continues. They play hit after hit, including “Don’t Speak,” “It’s My Life,” “Simple Kind of Life,” “Ex-Girlfriend,” “Different People,” “Underneath It All,” the list goes on! Most of the big hits had video’s playing behind them on the big screen. They ended the set over an hour later with Just a Girl. The lights went out and the crowds cheered and slapped the backs of the seats making the Performing Arts Center roar. No Doubt came back out to play 3 more songs: “Rocksteady,” “Stand and Deliver (their newest song that was featured in Gossip Girl recently), and ended the show with “Sunday Morning” off their Tragic Kingdom album. During “Stand and Deliver” they invited Paramore to come out and play with them. It was a spectacular show, and brought back a lot of memories!

Did you get a chance to see a new movie this weekend? Here’s how things played out in the Box Office:

THIS WEEKEND’S TOP TEN MOVIES

1. The Proposal, $34.1 million
2. The Hangover, $26.9 million
3. Up, $21.3 million
4. Year One, $20.2 million
5. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, $11.3 million
6. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, $7.3 million
7. Star Trek, $4.7 million
8. Land of the Lost, $4 million
9. Imagine That, $3.1 million
10. Terminator Salvation, $3.07 million

THE BEST DAYS TO TAKE OFF WORK (this comes from Men’s Health)

The Day After Your Boss’ Day Off: He’ll come back with a pile of work he doesn’t want to do, and he’ll unload it on you–unless you’re out of the office. Let some other sucker do his dirty work.
Groundhog Day: Prep for taxes on February 2. (Your documents should have arrived.) Investment-wise, compile all your stock trades, remembering to carry forward losses from the previous year, up to the limit. And hey, if you pull a Bill Murray and repeat this every year, Uncle Sam won’t be investing your refund.
Your Wedding Anniversary: Tired of rushing around on your lunch hour to pick up some flowers and a bauble? Take the whole day off and nail the details: gifts, card, sitter, dinner reservation, and a special bottle of champagne.
Opening Day of the Movie You’re Anticipating Most: Relive your previous life as a Star Wars nerd. Rise early and go to the first showing. If it lives up to the hype, watch it again.
Your Kid’s Birthday: Tell your child that turning 6 or 8 is a real mile-stone and that you want to spend the day with him or her. Plan an event that you know will go over big.
Car-Buying Day: Decide which car you want and get quotes from a couple of dealers. Then take a day off on a slower sales day to hit up the dealers early. Better yet, go between Christmas and New Year’s–it’s the end of the month and the end of the year, the best of both worlds for securing the best price.
When You Oversleep: Forget to set your alarm or slept through it? Either way, you’re probably tired and overstressed, so call in sick and chill for the rest of the day. Do some light exercise–go for a hike, take a spin on your bike–and then have a massage.
Day 2 of March Madness: You spend all of opening day sitting at work, refreshing Yahoo! for up-to-the-minute scores. Why not stay home and enjoy all 16 games played on the second day? Request a vacation day in advance. The boss will suspect what you’re up to, but at least there’s plausible deniability in saying you asked for the time off last month.

Movie Clip Trivia Answer: A Mighty Wind

TGI Thursday! Today is actually my Friday as I’m off tomorrow. I’ll be heading up to Darien Lake to catch the No Doubt Reunion Tour and then check out Six Flags! Woohoo!! I’ve never seen either before so I’m very excited. Hopefully the weather co-operates.

On the tour note, Journey’s upcoming U.S. tour continues to grow. The trek is now up to 43 dates, and will keep the band on the road through September. With the trek Journey continues to support last year’s release, “Revelation,” and showcase new singer Arnel Pineda, a Filipino vocalist they recruited in late 2007 after discovering him on YouTube.

Closest Dates:
August 29 - Darien Center, New York, at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
September 2 - Saratoga Springs, New York, at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center

In other music news, Uncle Kracker will release his long-awaited new album, called Happy Hour, on September 15th. The 12-song set has been a few years in the making and the lead single, called Smile, arrives this week, and a video for the song is shooting in Uncle Kracker’s native Detroit later this month.

Well since I’ll be out tomorrow I thought I’d give you an advanced look at what’s out this weekend in theaters. Only 2 new ones to enjoy:

THE PROPOSAL (PG-13)

A book editor is forced to marry her male assistant in order to stay in the country. When they travel to Alaska to meet his family, the new couple has to fake their way through a surprise wedding thrown by his parents. Stars Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock.

YEAR ONE (PG-13)

When a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers are banished from their primitive village, they set off on an epic journey through the ancient world. Stars Jack Black and Michael Cera.

DADS DISAPPROVE OF THEIR MEDIA REPRESENTATION

Very few fathers think they’re portrayed well in advertising, the media, and pop culture. Just a third of the dads taking part in a Sullivan Higdon & Sink’s Father’s Day survey say they think they’re represented accurately in ads, and fewer than half — 46-percent — feel dads are shown in a positive light in commercials. Fathers also don’t seem to like how they’re depicted in the media and pop culture. Only one in four think the media presents positive images of dads, and 54-percent feel pop culture, quote, “is out of touch with reality” when it comes to fathers. In addition, 75-percent of the men surveyed say they can’t think of an ad that is relevant to them as fathers.

Movie Clip Trivia Answer: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

Have a fantastic weekend and Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. Plus this Sunday marks the first official day of summer. It’s finally here!!