No, not Death At A Funeral,
the 2007 Frank Oz-directed entry about a dysfunctional British
family. I'm talking about the Death At A Funeral,
the 2010 (ie still in theaters as I type) film with an ensemble
high-powered cast including Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Danny Glover,
Ron Glass and Martin Lawrence.
Some of the funniest people on
the planet just can't overcome a predictable script, lackluster
direction and some of the more disgusting jokes in moviedom. To be
fair, a couple of the people behind me in the sparsely-attended
theater guffawed loudly in places where I cringed, so I'm perhaps not
their target audience.
The plot involves the death of a
patriarch of a large family. The funeral takes place at the home of
his son, played by Chris Rock. Rock is one of the best manic comics
around, and in Death At A Funeral he has to play the solid
upper-middle-class pillar of the community who has to keep his family
together. He does yeoman work... at the expense of laughs. Tracy
Morgan plays a similar character to Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock.
Morgan and Rock, playing brothers, feel comfortable bouncing off each
other... at the expense of laughs.
One of the nieces (I
think, it was hard for me to follow all the family members) brings a
fiance (though she hasn't told them how serious they are) who has
been dosed by a drug-dealing family member. The biggest laughs are
watching his trip. A dwarf shows up, who no one knows, and who wants
to talk to Chris Rock. This drives much of the plot.
The
movie chugs along and reaches an acceptable conclusion. While Rock
never has a chance to bust wide open, the story is about keeping
control as the funeral spins wildly out of control, and Rock is
well-cast as someone who looks on the verge of losing it but pulls
himself together. Glass and Glover have small parts, with which they
do well (given the material). Only Martin Lawrence didn't work at
all, from my perspective.
The cast isn't wasted, and there
are some good moments, but overall it doesn't gel. I suspect this
will be remembered semi-fondly as a lesser movie by all involved but
they won't be too ashamed. Death At A Funeral is short (99
minutes), which might not seem enough for everyone involved to do
their star turn, but it slides by gently enough and doesn't feel cut
or padded.
I can't really recommend Death At A Funeral
for everyone, but if you like the actors it's a pleasant diversion.
I doubt it will ever be on tv, at least not without some editing, but
might make a decent DVD release if it has deleted scenes and maybe
outtakes of the comedians ad libbing or going wild.
Reflections on the
Census
As I was in 2000, I'm a Census Enumerator. The 2010 Census is not that
different than the 2000 Census, at least from my observations. The
basic mechanics are the same: First, the government mails out census
forms. We as a nation count everyone and collect
some statistics about the people who live here. April
1, 2010 was Census Day. Americans move around a lot, and so we
take a snapshot of the country as of that date. If you don't send in
your form (or we don't receive it in time), then Census
Enumerators come to your door and ask some very simple
questions.
In 2000, five out
of six people got the short-form version, with seven subjects.
This was a snap to fill out. The long-form version, with an
additional 27 subjects, was more annoying to fill out, but not
terribly difficult. All
answers were confidential, as they are for 2010, with some very
strict rules for everyone involved, including the
Enumerators.
Minnesota is usually the state with the highest
percentage of people who vote, or just narrowly second. For the
Census, we're pretty good but
not the best. 80% mail-back rate, just behind Wisconsin's 81%.
"Minneapolis was singled out in a written statement as the major city
with the greatest single improvement from 2000, the last time the
census was done: up 8 points, from 68 to 76 percent." I probably had
something to do with that, as one of the many Enumerators who not
only counted people but explained to new Americans why the Census was
important.
One of the prime uses of the Census is to allot
seats in the House of Representatives. Minnesota is on the bubble,
as are several other states. If the Census shows an accurate count
while other states are a shade undercounted, we'll keep our 6th
Congressional seat and one (or more) of the others will lose theirs.
While the final tally is a long way away, Minnesota is doing very
well.
The Census is mandated by the Constitution of the
United States. We are a democracy, and our democratic duty is to be
counted. Voting is a right; establishing proportional representation
and other simple statistics is one of the defining aspects of being
an American.
One of the other defining aspects of being an
American is a distrust of the government. That's fine, as far as it
goes. We hold elections to hold our leaders accountable. When you
distrust the government for doing what is mandated by the
Constitution, you are not a good American.
In 2000, I
encountered a few people who did not want to cooperate with the
Census. We did not discuss politics, though my supervisor said I
could mention that they might be subject to fines or worse. This
helped with a few patriots, but some scofflaws had to be bumped up
the Census ladder for resolution.
The contrast could not be
greater between the people who don't want to follow the Constitution
and the new arrivals who want to be part of their new country. We
had a few addresses that were not listed, for some reason. That
means they weren't mailed a Census for and aren't in our Follow-Up
packets. As we were in the neighborhood, people came up to us and
complained that they hadn't gotten a census form. Sometimes, it
seemed, English was not their first language, or their second, but
they were motivated and we communicated well. They wanted to
be part of America.
Anyone who doesn't like this country is
welcome to leave. Anyone who wants to stand up and be counted is an
American, no matter what their background or beliefs.
As usual, the
liberals were right and the conservatives were wrong. Especially
about the environment, we should start listening to the people who
have been correct most of the time. We go out of our way to
ostracize thosewho have so consistently been wrong... or just
outright lied.
Roger Ebert: Oh, say, can you wear?
I interrupt my regularly scheduled programming to try explain again what I believe about the issue of the American flag t-shirts in California schools.
Susan Estrich: The Silly Season (creators.com)
I'd like to believe it's the arrival of spring or maybe just the general decline in civility and common sense that seems to always be in the air in Washington. But it's hard to avoid the conclusion that the reaction to the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court has been a study in the sex discrimination that she has spent her career beating back.
ROSS DOUTHAT: Red Family, Blue Family (nytimes.com)
Fifty years ago, American family structures were remarkably uniform. The rich married at roughly the same rate as the poor and middle class. Divorce rates were low for the college educated and high school graduates alike. Out-of-wedlock births, while more common among African-Americans, were rare in almost every region and community.
Glen Beck(-elzebub) - or perhaps some unearthly entity clothed in Glenn Beck's skin - on Faux and Fiends, discussing the Miranda Rights of alleged Times Square car bomber Faisal Shahzad said… "He is a citizen of the United States, so I say we uphold the laws and the Constitution on citizens… If you are a citizen, you obey the law and follow the Constitution. He has all the rights under the Constitution… We don't shred the Constitution when it is popular. We do the right thing"...
You weren't expecting that, were you? I don't think anybody was...
Foxfire is the term for the bioluminescence created in the right conditions by a few species of fungi that decay wood. The luminescence is often attributed to members of the genus Armillaria, the Honey mushroom, though others are reported, and as many as 71 individual species have been identified. On the suggestion of Benjamin Franklin it was used for light in the Turtle, an early submarine.
Source
mj was first, and correct, with:
I'm going with foxfire
A bioluminescent fungus found on decaying wood in swampy areas.
Alan J answered:
Foxfire
Marian the Teacher responded:
bioluminescent foxfire
Charlie replied:
Franklin suggested the use of bioluminescent fungi, aka "foxfire."
Sally said:
Six small pieces of thick glass in the top were the only source of natural light for the early submarine, "Turtle." It was Benjamin Franklin, however, who cleverly hit upon the idea of using bioluminescence foxfire to provide illumination for the compass and depth meter. The light given by the material was said to be sufficient at night, though likely dimmer than expected, because the ship was cooled by the surrounding sea water and the metabolic rate of poikilothermic, heterotrophic organisms is temperature-dependent.
I love this one!!
MAM wrote:
Fox-fire, a phosphorescent glow, especially that produced by certain fungi found on rotting wood.
The Turtle Phosphorescent fox-fire
And, Joe S ("Reminds me when I was a pirate") replied:
Foxfire is the term for the bioluminescence created in the right conditions by a few species of fungi that decay wood. The luminescence is often attributed to members of the genus Armillaria, the Honey mushroom, though others are reported, and as many as 71 individual species have been identified. On the suggestion of Benjamin Franklin it was used for light in the Turtle, an early submarine.
You could say that Belgian artist Ben Heine is talented. As well as
being a painter, he is a portraitist, caricaturist, illustrator and
photographer. These talents are combined in one of his latest
projects, Pencil Vs Camera. Heine has been drawing and taking
photographs for over ten years and this series is the natural result of
graphic exploration and his evolution as an artist.
Marine layer never burned off - cool and cloudy afternoon.
Tonight, Monday:
CBS opens the night with a FRESH'How I Met Your Mother', followed by a FRESH'Rules Of Engagement', then a FRESH'2½ Men', followed by a FRESH'Big Bang Theory', then a FRESH'CSI: The 2nd One'.
Scheduled on a FRESHDave are Matthew Fox, Zac Brown Band, "American Idol" castoff Michael Lynche, and Jason Randal.
On a RERUNCraig (from 3/4/09) is the Peabody Award winning show with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
NBC begins the night with a FRESH'Chuck', followed by a FRESH'Law & Order', then another FRESH'Law & Order'.
Scheduled on a FRESHLeno are Bill Cosby, Ricky Gervais, and Taio Cruz.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Randy Jackson, David Boreanaz, the final three "Survivor" contestants, and Public Image Ltd.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 3/19/10) are Aaron Paul, Shooter Jennings, and 311.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH'Dancing With The Stars', followed by a FRESH'Romantically Challenged', then a FRESH'Murder He Wrote Castle'.
On a RERUNJimmy Kimmel (from 5/4/10) are Mickey Rourke, Jorge Garcia, and Pamela Anderson.
The CW offers the FRESH'One Tree Hill', followed by the SEASON FINALE'Gossip Girl'.
Faux has the SEASON FINALE'House', followed by a FRESH'24'.
MY recycles an old 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', followed by another old 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'.
A&E has 'The First 48', 'Intervention', another 'Intervention', and 'Hoarders'.
AMC offers the movie 'Million Dollar Baby', followed by the movie 'Enough', then the movie 'Fear'.
BBC -
[12:00 PM] Antiques Roadshow UK - Episode 19
[1:00 PM] Antiques Roadshow UK - Episode 11
[2:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? US - Episode 9
[2:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 5
[3:00 PM] Gordon Ramsay's F Word - Episode 3
[4:00 PM] Colin and Justin's Home Heist - Episode 21
[5:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep. 3 Walnut Tree
[6:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 2 Giuseppi's
[7:00 PM] BBC World News America
[8:00 PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 10 The Loss
[9:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 3
[10:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 2
[11:00 PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 10 The Loss
[12:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 3
[1:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 2
[2:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 3
[3:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 8
[4:00 AM] BBC World News
[4:30 AM] BBC World News
[5:00 AM] BBC World News
[6:00 AM] BBC World News (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of NYC', 'Real Housewives Of NJ', another 'Real Housewives Of NJ', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of NJ'.
Comedy Central has 'RENO 911!', another 'RENO 911!', still another 'RENO 911!', yet another 'RENO 911!', 'Futurama', another 'Futurama', 'South Park', and another 'South Park'.
On a RERUNJon Stewart it's TBA.
On a RERUNColbert Report it's TBA.
FX has the movie 'Beowulf', followed by the movie 'Live Free Or Die Hard'.
History has 'Modern Marvels', 'Pawn Stars', another 'Pawn Stars', 'American Pickers', 'Pawn Stars', and another 'Pawn Stars'.
IFC -
[6:15 AM] Dinner With the Band
[6:45 AM] The Valet
[8:15 AM] This Is Not a Film
[9:45 AM] Manhattan
[11:30 AM] The Valet
[1:00 PM] The Whitest Kids U'Know
[1:15 PM] This Is Not a Film
[2:45 PM] Manhattan
[4:25 PM] The Valet
[5:55 PM] Annie Hall
[7:30 PM] Monty Python's Flying Circus
[8:00 PM] D.E.B.S.
[9:35 PM] Desperately Seeking Susan
[11:25 PM] The Whitest Kids U'Know
[11:50 PM] Trout
[12:00 AM] What Alice Found
[1:45 AM] Food Party
[2:00 AM] The Whitest Kids U'Know
[2:30 AM] The Henry Rollins Show
[3:00 AM] D.E.B.S.
[4:35 AM] Desperately Seeking Susan (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:00 AM] Jam
[7:30 AM] A Slim Peace
[8:30 AM] Painters Painting: The New York School 1940 - 1970
[10:30 AM] Hotel Gramercy Park
[11:45 AM] Jam
[1:15 PM] A Slim Peace
[2:15 PM] Painters Painting: The New York School 1940 - 1970
[4:15 PM] Hotel Gramercy Park
[5:30 PM] Jam
[7:00 PM] LIVE FROM ABBEY ROAD - Michael Buble, Temper Trap, Little Boots (Episode 12, Season 3)
[8:00 PM] Living The Legacy: The Untold - Sundance Film
[9:15 PM] At Night
[10:00 PM] Jindabyne
[12:05 AM] Noise (2007)
[2:00 AM] A Secret - Sundance Film
[3:45 AM] Jindabyne
[5:50 AM] Rains - Sundance Film
[6:00 AM] Living The Legacy: The Untold - Sundance Film (ALL TIMES EST)
Hazel Soares, 94, center, gets her picture taken with some of her classmates before the start of commencement exercises at Mills College, in Oakland, Calif.,Saturday, May 15, 2010. Hazel received a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Art History. Soares is believed to be the world's second oldest person to graduate from college.
Photo by Tony Avelar
Music fans braved a torrential rainstorm in New Orleans for a benefit concert raising money for fishermen affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Lenny Kravitz, John Legend, Ani DiFranco, Allen Toussaint and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, with Mos Def, headlined the "Gulf Aid" concert Sunday.
The Gulf Relief Foundation is a nonprofit formed in the spill's aftermath. It says its beneficiaries would include the region's seafood industry and the restoration of coastal wetlands.
Directors Costa Gavras (R), Jacques Perrin (C) and Pierre Schoendoerffer arrive on the red carpet for the screening of the film "La Princesse de Montpensier"by director Bertrand Tavernier, in competition at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival May 16, 2010. Nineteen films are competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or which will be awarded on May 23.
Photo by Yves Herman
Renowned Jewish-American scholar and political activist Noam Chomsky said he was barred from entering Israel and the West Bank on Sunday to speak at a Palestinian university.
Chomsky had been invited to speak on Monday at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah, but was stopped from entering the West Bank at the Israeli-controlled crossing from Jordan, he told Israel's Channel 10 television.
"I went with my daughter and two old friends. We went in the normal way to the border where we were all interrogated. They were particularly interested in me," he told Channel 10, speaking from Jordan.
However, he was denied entry because "the government did not like the kinds of things I say and they did not like that I was only talking at Bir Zeit and not at an Israeli university too," he said.
"I asked them if they could find any government in the world that likes the things I say," Chomsky said.
Woody Allen has restated his support for fellow filmmaker Roman Polanski, who is in house arrest in connection with a 33-year-old sex scandal.
Allen said Polanski "was embarrassed by the whole thing," "has suffered" and "has paid his dues." He said Polanski is "an artist and is a nice person" who "did something wrong and he paid for it."
It was not clear whether Allen was aware of new allegations when he made the remarks in an interview Saturday with France Info radio from the Cannes Film Festival. Allen had previously signed a petition calling for Polanski's release.
Conan O'Brien will host his new TBS talk show from a California studio that most recently housed "America's Best Dance Crew." But it does have a rich movie history.
His show begins in November, and will be recorded on the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank. That's close to where O'Brien did the "Tonight" show at NBC, a job he held for a little more than six months.
Television personality Beth Ostrosky Stern, right, and television personality Carson Kressley arrive at the Disney ABC Television Summer press junket inBurbank, Calif. on Saturday, May 15 , 2010.
Photo by Dan Steinberg
In 1633, a German village vowed to put on a play about Jesus every 10 years if God rid them of the plague. This weekend, the inhabitants of Oberammergau made good on that promise once again.
And the 2010 version of the "Passion Play" keeps the tradition that only those born in the Bavarian village can take part. Otherwise you must be resident for at least 20 years or be married to a villager for 10.
More than 2,000 of the village's 5,200 inhabitants act, sing, play in the orchestra or work backstage, meaning that once a decade, and for about a year, normal life in Oberammergau is suspended.
The play has also evolved greatly over the centuries, particularly since Stueckl's first interpretation in 1990, aged just 28, when he introduced changes that have earned him hate mail from some.
"In 1990 we had a Protestant as a leading actor for the first time. The priest at the time thought the world was going to end. Today many of the actors don't even belong to the Church," he said. One of them is even a Muslim.
Brian Hogan's world closed in fast almost as soon as he sold the next-generation iPhone he found in a Silicon Valley bar to a popular technology website for a stack of $100 bills, according to court documents released Friday.
By April 19, Hogan's roommate had tipped off investigators that he was at the center of the drama, Apple's top lawyers were meeting with police to press for criminal charges and Steve Jobs himself was personally demanding the iPhone's return.
On Friday, San Mateo Superior Court Judge Clifford Cretan ordered unsealed a 10-page sworn statement with details written by San Mateo Sheriff's Detective Matthew Broad to obtain a warrant to search the car and home of Jason Chen, a Gizmodo.com editor. Broad's statement was used to obtain a search warrant for Chen's home and car.
According to the statement, the saga began March 25, when Apple engineer Robert "Gray" Powell left the iPhone prototype in the bar area of Redwood City's Gourmet Haus Staud restaurant.
(L-R) Hope Dworaczyk, 25, Playboy magazine's 2010 Playmate of the Year, poses with Palms casino owner George Maloof, Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner and Hefner's girlfriend Crystal Harris at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada May 15, 2010. Dworaczyk is featured in the June issue of Playboy magazine and in the magazine's first 3-D centerfold.
Photo by Steve Marcus
Troubled relationships are nothing new for "Sex and the City" story lines. But this one takes it to a different level: a possible snub from the Gulf city that plays the exotic backdrop for the movie sequel.
Less than two weeks before the release of "Sex and the City 2," it's unclear whether the film will be shown in oil-rich Abu Dhabi - the scripted setting where Carrie and her chic New York posse swap their Jimmy Choos for sandals and kick some sand at Middle Eastern traditions.
It's already been a rocky rapport. Emirates' officials turned down a request to film on location, forcing the crew to head to Morocco and recreate the Abu Dhabi setting. In 2008, the original "Sex and the City" film was not shown in the United Arab Emirates, where censors routinely remove scenes such as kissing, nudity and expletives from movies and television shows.
The film exposes some of the complexities for Gulf cities trying to compete on the international stage. Abu Dhabi has aggressively marketed itself as an emerging hub for film studios and production companies. But there's a high sensitivity about plots perceived as too racy or politically charged about regional affairs.
Josh Brolin and Frank Langella have an amusing comparison to make about portraying Republican presidents.
"I played George W. Bush, and I'm still confused," Brolin joked to reporters Friday at the Cannes Film Festival, where "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" premiered.
Sitting next to Brolin at a news conference, Langella added, "I played Richard Nixon, and I'm not."
A fire in Brazil has destroyed what may be the world's largest scientific collection of dead snakes, spiders and scorpions.
Members of the Instituto Butantan said the collection lost in Saturday's fire included nearly 80,000 specimens that were the main source for research on thousands of species.
Many of the animals were used in the production of vaccines and other biopharmaceuticals, some derived from venom. Officials said the production of vaccines and other drugs will not be affected.
The dead specimens were preserved in flammable liquids, which contributed to the spread of the fire, firefighter Capt. Miguel Jodas told local media.
Jenna Ushkowitz, left, Chris Colfer, middle, and Heather Morris, members of the cast of the popular television show 'Glee' perform during a concert tokickoff a national 'Glee' tour at the Dodge Theatre Saturday, May 15, 2010, in Phoenix.
Photo by Ross D. Franklin
A farm where portions of the movie "Twister" were shot has been damaged by a real tornado.
Scenes for the movie were shot at J. Berry Harrison Sr.'s farm in Fairfax about 190 kilometres northeast of Oklahoma City.
A real tornado hit the farm Monday when a half dozen twisters touched down during storms in Oklahoma.
In the 1996 movie starring Helen Hunt, a tornado runs along a road and over a bridge where actors are taking shelter. Harrison says the real tornado followed a similar path.
Africa's lake Tanganyika has heated up sharply over the past 90 years and is now warmer than at any time for at least 1,500 years, a scientific paper said on Sunday, adding that fish and wildlife are threatened.
The lake, which straddles the border between Tanzania in East Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the world's second largest by volume and its second deepest, the paper says.
Geologists at Rhode Island's Brown University used carbon dating to measure the age of sediments on the lake floor. They then tested fossilized micro-organisms whose membranes differ at various temperatures to gauge how hot it was at times past.
Most climate change studies have focused on the atmosphere, but increasingly scientists are studying the effects on the oceans, seas and lakes, which all absorb a huge amount of heat.
The Vatican on Monday will make its most detailed argument yet for why it is not liable for bishops who allowed priests to molest children in the U.S., in a motion that could affect other efforts to sue the Holy See in American courts, The Associated Press has learned.
In a motion to dismiss a lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds, the Holy See is expected to argue that a key Vatican document calling for secrecy in church trials for sex abuse cases was not, as victims' lawyers say, proof of a Vatican-orchestrated cover up. The Vatican's U.S. attorney, Jeffrey Lena, said Sunday there was no evidence the document was even known to the archdiocese in question - much less used.
In addition, the Holy See is expected to assert that bishops aren't Vatican employees because they aren't paid by Rome, don't act on Rome's behalf and aren't controlled day-to-day by the pope - factors courts use to determine whether employers are liable for the actions of their workers, Lena told the AP.
The Holy See is trying to fend off the first U.S. case to reach the stage of determining whether victims actually have a claim against the Vatican itself for negligence for the failure of bishops to alert police or the public about Roman Catholic priests who molested children.
The Environmental Protection Agency has a new weapon in the fight against radioactive contamination at a Los Angeles-area lab: Mules.
The EPA will use four mules to carry high-tech scanning equipment to detect radiation on steep and rocky terrain at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.
The EPA is conducting a survey of soil and water contamination at the lab near Simi Valley, where rocket engines were tested for years and a partial meltdown of a nuclear reactor took place in 1959.
Results will be turned over to the state, which is overseeing a cleanup.
Residents no longer have to shake their heads over two "Yeild to bikes" signs along a busy Nevada street.
Officials in Sparks say the misspelled signs were replaced after they were featured on MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" show on Thursday night.
It's not the first time misspelled words have turned up on signs and roadways in the Reno area.
In the past, roads in school zones have been painted with the words "scool" and "shcool."
Steel bested bows and arrows at the movies this weekend, with "Iron Man 2" fighting off the new release "Robin Hood" to stay at the top of the box office.
The superhero sequel starring Robert Downey Jr. took in $53 million domestically to remain at No. 1, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Robin Hood," which features Russell Crowe teaming up with director Ridley Scott for the fifth time, debuted in the No. 2 spot with an estimated $37.1 million. The Universal Pictures blockbuster, a sort of prequel to the Robin Hood legend, co-stars Cate Blanchett as Marian.
But "Robin Hood" had a huge opening internationally, making $74 million outside North America for a total of $111.1 million this weekend. Nikki Rocco, Universal's president of domestic distribution, said the global figures reached beyond the studio's expectations.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Hollywood.com; final figures will be released Monday:
1. "Iron Man 2," $53 million.
2. "Robin Hood," $37.1 million.
3. "Letters to Juliet," $13.75 million.
4. "Just Wright," $8.5 million.
5. "How to Train Your Dragon," $5.1 million.
6. "A Nightmare on Elm Street," $4.7 million.
7. "Date Night," $4 million.
8. "The Back-Up Plan," $2.5 million.
9. "Furry Vengeance," $2.3 million.
10. "Clash of the Titans," $1.3 million.
Ronnie James Dio, whose soaring vocals, poetic lyrics and mythic tales of a never-ending struggle between good and evil broke new ground in heavy metal, died Sunday, according to a statement from his wife and manager. He was 67.
Dio revealed last summer that he was suffering from stomach cancer shortly after wrapping up a tour in Atlantic City, N.J., with the latest incarnation of Black Sabbath, under the name Heaven And Hell.
Though Dio had recently undergone his seventh chemotherapy treatment, he was hopeful to perform again. Earlier this month, Heaven And Hell canceled its summer tour, but Dio did not view being sidelined as a permanent thing.
Dio rose to fame in 1975 as the first lead singer of Rainbow, the heavy metal band put together by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who had just quit Deep Purple.
Dio then replaced legendary vocalist Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath in 1980 with the critically acclaimed album "Heaven And Hell," considered by many critics to be one of the finest heavy metal albums of all time. His on-again, off-again tenure with Black Sabbath touched off an intense debate among fans as to which singer was the true essence of the band - a discussion that lasted until his death.
He also enjoyed a successful solo career with his self-titled band, Dio, in between his three stints with Black Sabbath (1980-82; 1992; and 2007-2009, when the band toured as Heaven And Hell, to differentiate it from Osbourne-led versions of Sabbath).
Dio organized an all-star charity collaboration in 1986 called "Hear N' Aid" to raise money for famine relief in Africa, styled on the successful "We Are The World" campaign of a few years earlier.
You have reached the Home page of BartCop Entertainment.
Make yourself home, take your shoes off...
Go ahead, scratch it if it itches.
The idea is to have fun.
Do you have something to say?
Anything that increased your blood pressure, or, even better, amused or entertained?
Do you have a great album no one's heard?
How about a favorite TV show, movie, book, play, cartoon, or legal amusement?
A popular artist that just plain pisses you off?
A box set the whole world should own?
Vile, filthy rumors about Republican hypocrites?
Just plain vile, filthy rumors?
This is your place.
wrote:
