Monthly Archives: May 2004

Shrek 2 Still On Top: Disaster Befalls ‘Day’ In Plunge To 2nd Place

May 30, 2004CinemaRaymond Tomlin

The Day After Tomorrow ad satire

Perhaps satirical ads, such as the one to the right — not to mention, some pretty savage reviews — hurt the opening box office for this weekend’s summer blockbuster, The Day After Tomorrow, but as far as VanRamblings is concerned, Roland Emmerich’s film has proved to be the most entertaining of the summer blockbusters thus far in 2004, even if the story and dialogue are a tad clichéd.
Seems the movie-going public didn’t agree, though. Now, let’s get real for a moment: taking in a three-day box office total of $70, in its first weekend, can’t be considered small change, but with no spike in the Saturday box office over Friday, salutary box office in the days to come hardly holds out much hope of turning the disaster epic into a summer blockbuster smash. Oh well. Still, Monday is a holiday in the U.S., and final figures will probably spike some.
With The Day After Tomorrow in second, Shrek once again emerged as the box office winner, taking in a gross of $73.1 million, for a record-setting $238,800,000 12-day total. Troy ran a distant third at $11.5 million, while Touchstone’s Kate Hudson-starring domestic comedy, Raising Helen, took in a modest $11.2 million in its opening weekend. The only other newcomer this week, Snoop Dogg’s Soul Plane, crashed on take-off.
When Memorial Day figures are published on Monday — this is a long weekend in the U.S., after all — VanRamblings will update this story, with links to various sites which provide perspective on the weekend box office.

Rock The Vote: 2004 Federal Election Blog Links, and More

May 30, 2004Decision CanadaRaymond Tomlin

l-r: Paul Martin, Liberal; Stephen Harper, Conservative; Jack Layton, NDP; Gilles Duceppe, BQ

A federal election is going on in Canada, although you’d hardly know it.
Even so, the election that’ll take place in less than a month — on June 28th — ranks as one of the most important Canadian elections in more than 30 years (because of the fact the possibility exists that the right-wing Conservative party might gain power, and do to Canada that which Bush has done to the United States, Gordon Campbell has visited upon British Columbia, and Mike Harris did to harm good government in Ontario).
Today, VanRamblings offers a few blog links to provide some perspective on the events that will take place over the course of the next month.

Macleans writer Paul Wells is keeping a regularly updated online diary that, in recent days, has proved invaluable reading.
Terminal City writer Ian King’s Vancouver Scrum is must reading.
The Globe and Mail have teamed up with the McGill University Observatory on Media and Public Policy to provide statistics on how the leaders and parties are faring in terms of positive or negative coverage. The links and informative commentary provide worthwhile reading.
CBC’s Peter Kavanagh provides a a daily analysis of cross-Canada newspaper election coverage.
Jim Elve’s E-Group Elections Blog continues as a must visit blog for perspective on the election. Don’t forget to click on the links to the left.
Ian Welsh and Kevin Brennan’s Tilting at Windmills blog has emerged as a favourite, although I don’t always agree with them.
Don, at Revolutionary Moderation, is updating political commentary daily.
The folks at Politics Canada suggest that they provide a ‘balanced perspective’, as if anything such things exists. Still, worth a look.
The Montreal Gazette’s E-File has joined the campaign blogsphere, while The Globe and Mail’s blog Globe reporters unwired offers pithy commentary from Campbell Clark, Brian Laghi, Steven Chase and Daniel LeBlanc.
Then there’s Canada 2004, an independent site, “owned and operated by David MacDonald, a political science student and J. P. McCarthy Scholarship winner attending St. Francis Xavier University.” As Tom at Trail Spotter says of David’s site, “Good, basic info on ridings, candidates, historical and house stats, and a rolling newsfeed.”
And while we’re at it, Trail Spotter has a pretty damn good election blog.
Longtime Liberal apparatchik Warren Kinsella’s Politics Watch, which he humbly calls ‘Canada’s Political Portal’, is well worth a look.
Torontonian Andrew Spicer believes there’ll be a Liberal minority government.
And, in all fairness, I suppose, on the right I should include Norman Spector’s Norman’s Spectator — not a terrifically good looking site (but the links work). Spector is a regular commentator on Victoria’s new VI.

If you’ve got more links to bloggers — or online journalists — who are providing daily coverage of the federal election, that you’d like to see added to the list above, either write to VanRamblings, or click on Comments below. VanRamblings will update the listings as more links become available.

Renée Zellweger: Renée say

May 29, 2004Unbelievable TruthRaymond Tomlin

Renée Zellweger: Renée say it ain’t so, or are you just trying to be ‘one of us’

This oh-so-lovely photo from People Magazine suggests that Renée was right on the money when she screamed at a group of paparazzi who were trying to take her photo last week, “I am a normal person!” Yes, sweet Renée, you most certainly are.

Gee, Clay, the same setup did nothing for Tom Cruise, either. Trying to quash those rumours that he’s as gay as a 4th of July parade, failed American Idol Clay Aiken sexually harasses a poor, unsuspecting PR rep. As the Defamer says, “It’s going to take nothing less than full-motion video with penetration to kill those rumours, Clay.” But a nice try nonetheless.
Don’t forget to have a look at Friday night’s special edition of The Unbelievable Truth, an update on the Jessica Cutler story.

Alexandra Kerry

Here’s this week’s potpourri of flotsam and jetsam:
In Hollywood news: The Day After Tomorrow is on track to becoming the second film this month to top $100 million dollars in its opening weekend, with a Friday night opening gross of $24,300,000. Full details of the weekend box office will be published on VanRamblings on Sunday.
John Kerry, Democratic Presidential hopeful, would seem to have more than just Bushie to worry about on the road to the White House. Alexandra Kerry, his oldest daughter (that’s her to the right) could probably use some fashion advice — Paris, where are you when we need you? — given that she appears to be dressed in not quite the appropriate fashion one might expect of the daughter of the person who would be the next President of the United States.
Still, she does look kind of fetching, don’t you think?
Hello, world, I’m this totally famous actor, but don’t go and try and figure out who I am! Did I mention I’m nailing this actress whose name I can’t print?: So says the mysterious Rance, the anonymous A-list actor / author of the ‘cult blog du jour’, as he sets about to skewer Hollywood and the cult of celebrity. Is the anonymous blogger Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Jim Carrey, Benicio Del Toro, Matthew Perry, or Luke Wilson? Whatever the case, once Rance is finally outed (it’s only a matter of time), look for this Hollywood puzzle to become the next big story on the ’Net.
Good to know the people of Chicago are safe: Mayor Mark Delaney and Police Chief Chester Morris, responsible for upholding the law in the tiny Chicago burb of Maple Park, in Kane County, were arrested Friday night in an illegal-gambling raid that played out at a popular local tavern’s steak fry.

Hooters calendar girls go to Afghanistan to cheer up the troops: That’ll make the wives back home feel a lot better, knowing that their husbands’ emotional lives are being taken care of while so very far, far away.
A New York City executive racks up $28,000 worth of champagne and lap dancing in a single evening.

Elizabeth Jagger

Rock ’n roll heaven among the progeny of rock’s royalty: Late Beatle John Lennon’s musician son Sean and model Elizabeth Jagger, daughter of Rolling Stone Mick Jagger, are dating. Confirmation of this comes from none other than Elizabeth’s mother, Jerry Hall. Sean is 28 and Elizabeth is 20. “They are so in love,” says Jerry of the couple.
A fun day at the fertility clinic when the doctor tells the clueless German couple that their childless state is a result of their never having had sex.
Quote of the week: “I’m still boning 18-year-old chicks because I was in Guns N’ Roses. It happens every day to me, so I’ll fucking take it as far as I can.” — sad commentary by Matt Sorum, drummer for Guns N’ Roses.

The Culture Wars: The Way The Music Died

May 29, 2004MusicRaymond Tomlin

The music scene as we know it today was created in 1969, at Woodstock. Half a million musical adherents, dozens of artists, and the politics of the times came together at a ‘big bang’ moment in our history to create what would eventually transform into a corporate behemoth, a multi-billion dollar music industry focussed primarily on revenue generation.
Over the last twenty years, with the advent of Much Music, MTV and compact discs, followed by music industry downsizing, corporate consolidation and Internet piracy, a scenario has been created where a confluence of factors — a ‘perfect storm’, if you will — seems on the verge of wiping out the recording industry as we’ve known it.
In a PBS Frontline documentary, titled The Way The Music Died, which aired this past Thursday, the programme examines how the business that has provided the soundtrack of our lives seems on the verge of collapse. Although incomplete in its coverage, the programme is still worth a look.
PBS will re-air this documentary in the coming days. For those of you living outside of the Vancouver area, consult your local television listings. In the Pacific Northwest region, the The Way The Music Died will be re-broadcast on PBS channel KCTS 9 (Cable 27), at 1:30 a.m. Set your VCR’s.
PBS has also made the programme available online. Click here for access.