That’s it for this week, I just couldn’t talk any more I’m afraid.
Here’s
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If you were a teenager in the 1980′s, one man defined cinema for you, and that was John Hughes.
Well-known writer and director John Hughes passed away today at the age of 59. He was struck suddenly by a heart attack while out for a morning stroll in Manhattan.
As I said above, if you were a teenager in the 1980′s, trust me, you saw at least one of the movies he wrote, if not all of them. It wasn’t so much they were high brow entertainment, the were quite the oppisite, but they spoke to our generation for some reason. Who didn’t at least know a Duckie from Pretty in Pink? What teenager didn’t feel the awkwardness of Samantha in Sixteen Candles? Was there any one who didn’t want to be Ferris Bueller? Yes, all of these were his doing folks, and many, many more. I’ll even forgive him for the Home Alone series.
Delta House (1979) (TV Series)
National Lampoon’s Class Reunion (1982)
At Ease (1983) (TV Series)
Mr. Mom (1983)
National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
Nate and Hayes (1983) (with David Odell)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Weird Science (1985)
Pretty in Pink (1986)
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
She’s Having a Baby (1988)
The Great Outdoors (1988)
Uncle Buck (1989)
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
Home Alone (1990)
Career Opportunities (1991)
Dutch (1991)
Curly Sue (1991)
Beethoven (1992) (as Edmond Dantes)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Dennis the Menace (1993)
Baby’s Day Out (1994)
Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
101 Dalmatians (1996)
Flubber (1997)
Home Alone 3 (1997)
Reach The Rock (1998)
Just Visiting (2001) (with Jean-Marie Poire & Christian Clavier)
Maid in Manhattan (2002; story) (originally titled The Chambermaid) (as Edmond Dantes)
Drillbit Taylor (2008; story) (as Edmond Dantes)
Thank you for many, many hours of entertainment, Mr. Hughes. And, no, we won’t forget about you. (Breakfest Club reference for those who didn’t get it.) I’ll leave you with some of my favorite quotes from his movies.
Jim Baker: Why do you think you’re a dork? I don’t think you’re a dork. I don’t think Mom thinks you’re a dork.
Samantha: Mike thinks I’m a dork.
Jim Baker: Mike *is* a dork.
Sixteen Candles
Bender: Remember how you said your parents use you to get back at each other?
Claire Standish: [nods]
Bender: Wouldn’t I be OUTSTANDING in that capacity?
Breakfest Club
Ferris: Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Iona: Does he have… strong lips?
Andie: How can you tell?
Iona: Did you feel it in your knees?
Andie: I felt it everywhere.
Iona: Strong lips.
[laughs]
Iona: I know I’m old enough to be his mother, but when the Duck laid that kiss on me last night, I swear my thighs just went up in flames! He must practice on melons or something.
The mystery of George Sodoni’s life just gets darker and more depressing with each passing day.
The George Sodoni YouTube videos that have been discovered just seem to reveal an even more depressing view of this man’s life. The first one seems to be some sort of “think positive” video about himself. I’m not a psychologist, so I can’t say for sure, but that sure seems to be what it feels like on first viewing of it. He talks as if there is already a woman in his life, but from what we know, there wasn’t. Listening to it I would almost say this type of talk was a “beliee there is a woman in your life and there will be” type exercise.
The second one is a tour of his home and belongings that makes you think he was trying to impress someone in an infomercial type pitch of “Look what I can provide you with.” He does make a reference to “I’ve bought all this since I joined the list”, so I’m thinking he was on some sort of mailing list or Usenet group, which also means probably more information will begin to trickle out about what was happening with this man.
The house tour video.
What this man did to those innocent women was despicable, but you can’t help but feeling a bit sad when you watch these, almost a sense of pity. Does it excuse what he did? Of course not, and nothing ever could, but you really have to wonder what brought this guy to this point in his life.
The gunman in the gym shooting in Pennsylvania left numerous online clues as to his plans, but the question now is why no one noticed.
Around 8PM on August 4th, 48-year-old George Sodoni walked in to the LA Fitness branch in a suburb of Pittsburgh. He then strode into an aerobics class, flipped off the lights and opened fire with handguns on the women in the class. By the time he finally killed himself he had wounded nine women and killed three. The dead included:
Heidi Overmier, 46, of Collier
Elizabeth Gannon, 49, of Green Tree
Jody Billingsley, 38, of Mount Lebanon
Allegheny County police Superintendent Charles Moffatt made a statement shortly after 2 AM local time this morning about the wonunded that said, “Some of them are undergoing surgery, some of them are in critical condition, others were treated and released.”
Now in the aftermath of this sensless violence, there comes the discovery that he kept a blog at GeorgeSodoni.com, however it appears his site may have been deleted. CNN and The Inquisitr provide numerous entries from his blog that were salvaged.
November 5, 2008:
Planned to do this in the summer but figure to stick around to see the election outcome.
December 22, 2008:
Time is moving along. Planned to have this done already. I will just keep a running log here as time passes. Many of the young girls here look so beautiful as to not be human, very edible. After joining this gym, started lifting weights and like it.
December 24, 2008:
Moving into Christmas again. No girlfriend since 1984, last Christmas with Pam was in 1983. Who knows why. I am not ugly or too weird. No sex since July 1990 either (I was 29).
December 25, 2008:
He chooses January 6, 2009 as his target time.
January 5, 2009:
Every evening I am alone, and then go to bed alone. … Why should I continue another 20+ years alone? I will just work, come home, eat, maybe do something, then go to bed (alone) for the next day of the same thing. This is the Auschwitz Syndrome, to be in serious pain for so long one thinks it is normal. I cannot wait for tomorrow!
January 6, 2009:
It is 8:45PM. I chickened out! [Expletive] I brought the loaded guns, everything. Hell!
May 5, 2009:
To pull the exit plan off, it popped into my mind to just use some booze. After the gym, I stopped at Shop N Save and got a fifth of vodka and a small bottle of Jack Daniels.
May 18, 2009:
There are 30 million desirable women in the US (my estimate) and I cannot find one. Not one of them finds me attractive. These problems have gotten worse over a 30-year period. I need to expect nothing from me or other people.
August 2, 2009:
The biggest problem of all is not having relationships or friends, but not being able to achieve and acquire what I desire in those or many other areas. Everthing stays the same regardless of the effert I put in. If I had control over my life then I would be happier. But for about the past 30 years, I have not
August 3, 2009: (last entry before he carried out the killings)
I took off today, Monday, and tomorrow to practice my routine and make sure it is well polished. I need to work out every detail, there is only one shot. Also I need to be completely immersed into something before I can be successful. I haven’t had a drink since Friday at about 2:30. Total effort needed. Tomorrow is the big day.
Unfortunately I talked to my neighbor today, who is very positive and upbeat. I need to remain focused and absorbed COMPLETELY. Last time I tried this, in January, I chickened out. Lets see how this new approach works.
Maybe soon, I will see God and Jesus. At least that is what I was told. Eternal life does NOT depend on works. If it did, we will all be in hell. Christ paid for EVERY sin, so how can I or you be judged BY GOD for a sin when the penalty was ALREADY paid. People judge but that does not matter. I was reading the Bible and The Integrity of God beginning yesterday, because soon I will see them.
I will try not to add anymore entries because this computer clicking distracts me.
Also, any of the “Practice Papers” left on my coffee table I used or the notes in my gym bag can be published freely. I will not be embarased, because, well, I will be dead. Some people like to study that stuff. Maybe all this will shed insight on why some people just cannot make things happen in their life, which can potentially benefit others.
There was also an odd miscellaneous section of his site:
Miscellaneous:
1. Probably 99% of the people who know me well don’t even think I was this crazy. Told by at least 100 girls/women over the years I was a “nice guy”. Not kidding.
2. Lee Ann Valdiserri had my baby in early 1991. Haven’t seen her since she was about four months into it. I knew her sister, Chris, from high school.
3. Net worth slightly more than $250K, (after all debt) as of end of 2008.
4. Death Lives!
It is amazing that any one could have read any of these and not have a red flag go up in their head that something was very, very wrong here.
My deepest condolences to the families of the women who lost their lives.
It seemed like we were safe from these rumors when they died out after the series finale of The Sopranos, but all of a sudden they are rising from the depths like some sort of zombie mobster.
Lorraine Bracco, who payed Tony Soprano’s shrink, Dr. Melfi, has been talking about the possibility of a big screen version of the hit television series. The New York Daily News recently asked her about the rumors of the hold up being Tony Soprano himself, James Gandolfini, “I don’t think it’s that at all,” Bracco told the paper, “I think it’s really trying to get the right script. Without the right script, it’s really not worth doing.”
HBO apparently has no comment, but Steve Van Zandt, who played Tony Soprano consigliere Sil, has made some cryptic comments about his character, who was hanging on for life at the end of the series, still being alive. It could just be his own thoughts, or it might have something to do with the rumored script, who knows at this point.
There is no doubt this was a great series, but there is absolutely no where a movie could go that would interest me. It would also completely negate the powerful ending of the series we were left with that allowed the viewer to decide what happened next to Tony. Did he get whacked in the diner? Did he live and go on to run all of Jersey (they never flat out said this was a possibility, but considering how much of the Jersey crews had been whacked, he almost would have to)? Did he just stay with his crew? A film would just feel tacked on to me. What could possibly be accomplished in a two or two and a half hour movie that would improve on this landmark series?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
This would be a complete dice roll, and the odds of hitting something spectacular are pretty slim. So, please, to all the people involved, leave us with those 86 fabulous episodes and call it a day. Even one more minute of footage will totally wash away what we had.
As if it wasn’t difficult enough already making sure you get to the post office now, imagine what it’ll be like with 1,000 less of them.
There is no doubt that the United States Postal Service is having financial problems, and recently they announced that they are removing over 100,000 drop
off boxess from the streets of the United States. They have also been looking at reducing the number of hours at some offices and placing a freeze on new hires and any raises for existing employees. Unfortunately it looks like those measures still aren’t enough to bring down the organizations expenses as much as they want, and now come the drastic measures.
As it currently stands, the postal service is looking at a $7 billion loss for the fiscal year closing on September 30th, and this is even with a postal rate increase that happened in May. So, the only solution at this point is to look at closing and consolidating some of the existing offices. There are currently 32,741 post offices, and after putting together a list of 3,243 potential closure sites, they are now looking at a list of around 677. You can see the post office closings list (PDF link) for yourself, and it looks to me to be mostly urban areas that are are serviced by numerous offices to begin with.
In case you’re wondering what is going to so wrong with the postal service… do you really need to think about it very hard? Yes, email is one of the biggest culprits, but you also have to keep in mind that companies are cutting out printed catalogs left and right. (Although today I got four copies of the same catalog from Paper Direct…) Mail volume fallen from an all time high of 213 billion pieces of mail in 2006 to a projected 170 billion in 2010, and it’s probably going to fall even further as companies look to cut their costs for printing and mailing. This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
My one thought on this whole thing from a business perspective is if you make a service less convenient to use, won’t that cut people’s willingness to use the service? “Well, I could drive that extra mile to the post office I have to go to now… or I can scan the document and email it… let me fire up that scanner.” If you make something harder for people to use, they’ll just stop using it.
I’ve mentioned in the past that I am fascinated by Google Trends. Being able to see a snap shot of what people are looking for is like an odd little snapshot into the lies of the Internet in general. However, sometimes you see things that just make you go, “Really? Are you all this stupid?”
While I am never going to endorse the use of illegal torrent files, let me give you all a clue here: if you find a torrent through a public search engine such as Google, there’s a good chance that it either contains a virus or may be a trap to track your IP address. HBO has been fairly strict about hunting down torrent users in the past, so if you’re going to use a public search to find a publicly reachable file… it kinda screams “TRAP” to me.
I know a lot of people have turned to torrents as an option for watching their favorite television shows, but do yourself a favor and at least educate yourself about general safety of their use if you’re going to do it. And, honestly, unless it is something like True Blood, just don’t do it (even then, don’t do it), there are too many legal ways to watch TV shows on the Internet for freenow.
Well the fifth Alien film, slated to be a prequel, just got a whole lot more interesting.
When news of a fifth Alien film being made got announced back in May, I was not overly excited by the idea at all. Well, it appears that 20th Century Fox and Scott Free, the production company of Ridley and Tony Scott, appears to think there is something pretty exciting going on here. Jon Spaihts, who has yet to have one of his scripts filmed, but is writing like a mad man according to Variety, pitched a stroy strong enough that he has actually gotten Ridley Scott to agree to direct it.
Yes… THAT Ridley Scott.
The director behind the original film in the Alien franchise, and of course the director of such films as Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and on and on and on. This is huge news and has just increased my interest in this project by about a thousand percent. Each film in the series has had a different director behind the camera, and while it really hasn’t been essential to have the same people working on the film, having Ridley Scott back on the series just feels right somehow, like we’ve come full circle.
The storyline is still said to be a prequel to the original 1979 film, but no other details are available beyond that at this point. While there would be ways to work Sigourney Weaver into the story (narrating, researching history, etc), it seems unlikely that the character of Ripley will appear in this film, although a shot of the mining ship approaching the planet at the close of the film would make a nice tie-in to the story that everyone knows, but even that isn’t really necessary.
Alright Mr. Scott, if you hae faith in the project, so do I… please don’t let down the legions of Alien fans now.
Scattercast is 55… I really need to work on my throat
If you were a teenager in the 1980′s, one man defined cinema for you, and that was John Hughes.
The mystery of George Sodoni’s life just gets darker and more depressing with each passing day.
It seemed like we were safe from these rumors when they died out after the series finale of The Sopranos, but all of a sudden they are rising from the depths like some sort of zombie mobster.
As if it wasn’t difficult enough already making sure you get to the post office now, imagine what it’ll be like with 1,000 less of them.
I’ve mentioned in the past that I am fascinated by Google Trends. Being able to see a snap shot of what people are looking for is like an odd little snapshot into the lies of the Internet in general. However, sometimes you see things that just make you go, “Really? Are you all this stupid?”
Well the fifth Alien film, slated to be a prequel, just got a whole lot more interesting.
