Top Grossing Films

I was surprised when I saw the list....no Godfather? Goodfellas? Casino?

All Time Box Office
(U.S.) Rank Title Dist. Cumulative Gross Release Date
1 Titanic Paramount Pictures $600,788,188 12/19/1997
2 Star Wars 20th Century Fox $460,998,007 05/25/1977
3 Shrek 2 DreamWorks SKG $441,226,247 05/19/2004
4 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Universal Pictures $435,110,554 06/11/1982
5 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace N/A $431,088,301 05/19/1999
6 Spider-Man Sony Pictures International, Sony Pictures Releasing $403,706,375 05/03/2002
7 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith 20th Century Fox $380,270,577 05/19/2005
8 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King New Line Cinema $377,027,325 12/17/2003
9 Spider-Man 2 Sony Pictures Releasing $373,585,825 06/30/2004
10 The Passion of the Christ Equinoxe Films, Newmarket Films $370,782,930 02/25/2004
11 Jurassic Park United International Pictures, Universal Pictures $357,067,947 06/11/1993
12 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers New Line Cinema $341,786,758 12/18/2002
13 Finding Nemo Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $339,714,978 05/30/2003 14 Forrest Gump Paramount Pictures $329,694,499 07/06/1994
15 The Lion King Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $328,541,776 06/15/1994 16 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Warner Bros. Pictures International $317,575,550 11/16/2001
17 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring New Line Cinema $314,776,170 12/19/2001
18 Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones 20th Century Fox $310,676,740 05/16/2002
19 Return of the Jedi 20th Century Fox $309,306,177 05/25/1983
20 Independence Day 20th Century Fox $306,169,268 07/02/1996

Freedom ?

Mary Anastasia O'Grady wrote a great article in the Jan. 4th issue of the Wall Street Journal - I encourage you to get a copy.

It deals with the 2006 Index of Economic Freedom, published by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. The annual report surveys 157 countries, grading property rights protection, the regulatory environment, tax rates, fiscal policy, etc. assigning each a numerical rating.

Each country falls into one of four categories: "free," "mostly free," "mostly unfree" and"repressed." The best are in this order: Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, Estonia, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Denmark, Iceland, Australia, Chile, Switzerland and U. S.

France came in 44th. Hello France. Estonia was the rising star. You would think a country like France or Germany might say "wow, wonder why we're in the second tier - we need to make some changes." Don't hold your breath. From the bottom up you find North Korea, Burma, Libya, Zimbabwe to name a few.

Some nations are so very, very bad they can't even be ranked such as Sudan. There is a positive correlation between economic freedom and personal prosperity. One especially interesting fact is in 1998 the U.S. was # 5 - in 2001 it was # 6 and today it's tied for # 12

I don't know if I trust the statistics quoted from the survey, but it doesn't surprise me that our freedoms have been eroding away over the past (8) years...

The Shield

It's funny how TV shows can suck you into them...I was addicted to Dynasty and St. Elsewhere....I love the Sopranos, Law & Order, West Wing, and 24....I never got hooked into Desperate Housewives or Friends .....but I am totally absorbed by the FX networks show "The Shield".

If you haven't seen it yet, and if you like police drama...You must watch it!!!

http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/the_shield/main.html

U.S. Population hits 300,000,000

As of yesterday, the Census Bureau officially pegged the resident population of the United States at closing in on 297,900,000. The bureau estimates that with a baby being born every 8 seconds, someone dying every 12 seconds and the nation gaining an immigrant every 31 seconds on average, the population is growing by one person every 14 seconds.

At that rate, the total is expected to top 300 million late this year. But with those projections adjusted monthly and the number of births typically peaking during the summer, the benchmark is likely to be reached about nine months from now....

China has over a billion people...India is next...and the USA is #3.......Our spaceship, Mother Earth doesn't have the resources, the clean air, the food, the fish in the sea to support all these babies...why don't our political leaders or the religous zealots ever focus on "real' problems, instead of wasting time and energy on bullshit? It seems like they are more like magicians perfecting the art of misdirection!

http://www.populationconnection.org/

Skipper Chuck is Dead!

Whatever happened to Scrubby, Anne, Uncle Don, Freddie the Clown, Banjo Billy, and Captain Jack?
Chuck Zinc.....the classiest guy in South Florida

Miami to Bangkok - 30 Hours

It took over 30 hours.....flying from Miami to Minneapolis to Tokyo to Bangkok....Just to stand with over a million people in the crowded New Years Eve Countdown hysteria....

We celebrated Hui's 40th birthday at a great riverside restaurant....Shark Fin Soup is cheap in Bangkok...only $50/ bowl.

We took a (6) hour train ride (that only takes (2) hours by taxi) to the beach resort area of Hua Hin....Trains are just like the US.....always late! We flew back on a (12) passenger airplane that should have taken about an hour, but the pilots couldn't find the airport....and now we are in Chiang Mai at a boutique hotel called the "D2"..... www.d2hotels.com

Why Chiang Mai? Besides being the cultural center of Thailand....We are here to meet the world famous artist, Anan Saithong, that I commissioned to create a sculpture of me!

I've seen the pictures of the sculpture.....now I have to decide if I want to post this masterpiece on my blog....or have a Grand Preview party in Miami when I return???

Batista Vs. Stone Cold (w/ Goldberg)