I'm kind of bummed this morning...

because I have two passes to a screening tonight and can't find anyone to go with me.  I don't want to drive all the way to North Hollywood on my own, although my major objection isn't the drive.  It's the notion of having to stand in line alone for 30 to 40 minutes and then spend 90 minutes sitting alone in a theater.

From a cost-benefit analysis, it would probably make more sense to skip the screening.  Two gallons of gasoline is more than what I'd pay to see the movie at a bargain matinee just a few miles from here next weekend.  Add in the time to get there at the start of rush hour and it's probably not a smart move.  But I'm still hopeful I can get someone to go with me.  If not, I will have a tough decision this afternoon.

I'm pondering the cult of celebrity.  I just saw an ad for a "Celebrity Show" coming up this Friday and Saturday at a Hollywood area hotel.  People are going to flock there and pay $10 for the chance to line-up to get autographs from "celebrities" for which they will pay another fee.  I loved Jim Kelly in "Enter the Dragon" but let's be realistic.  The only thing he's done in almost 19 years in movies is a small role in the direct to video "Afro-Ninja".  Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake's career in professional wrestling was, for all intents and purposes" finished a long time ago.  At least they didn't book Tito Santana, it might have brought hairdressers from all over L.A. to ask him for tips, since he owns and runs a successful hair salon in New Jersey (I'm not making that up). 

I'm not opposed to asking people to sign stuff.  I treasure my copy of a "Love and War" script that Diane English signed for me.  I asked Gavin DeGraw and Colbie Calliat to sign a CD that has a song of theirs on it.  But I draw the line at paying money for autographs.  There's just something flawed with that notion in my mind.

So if there's going to be a plan to get legal status for illegal immigrants, will that bring about an end to the throngs of day laborers next to Home Depot and other such stores?  Will the people who hire them be forced to comply with labor law, once those people are legal?

The fine print always has a catch.  There is an online "deal" where you and another adult can get three days and two nights at the Riviera Hotel/Casino on the Vegas strip for only $35.  Usually a $230 value.  Except the "voucher" you get is only redeemable Sunday through Thursday nights, conventions, holidays and busy times are blacked out and a whole lot of other restrictions apply.  By the time you find two nights where the voucher works, it will have expired.  Oh well, it was only $35.  Plus the refundable $25 deposit.  Plus whatever else they can stick you with.

Back in the day there was just the Oscars.  Now we have the Oscars, the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, the DGA awards, the WGA awards, the Independent Spirit Awards, the Critic's Choice Awards.  And forecasting who will win has become a spirited competition.  Then again it's worth noting that the real purpose of these awards programs isn't nearly as much to recognize excellence as it is to market movies and actors.

Rumor is that Rhianna was in line for a big-dollar endorsement deal with Macy's, that disappeared when the chain learned she is back with her abuser, Chris Brown.

This Date in History:

On this date in 1521, the Diet of Worms began (it isn't what it sounds like).
On this date in 1547, King Henry VIII died.
On this date in 1724, the Russian Academy of Science is founded by Peter the Great.
On this date in 1851, Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois.
On this date in 1915, Congress passed a bill formalizing the creation of the Coast Guard.
On this date in 1932, Japanese forces attack Shanghai.
On this date in 1934, the first ski tow begins operation in Vermont.
On this date in 1935, Iceland becomes the first nation to legalize therapeutic abortions.
On this date in 1957, Elvis Presley made his first appearance on television.
On this date in 1964, the Cold War got hot, as an unarmed U.S. Air Force T-39 aircraft on a training mission in Germany was shot down by a Soviet Mig-19.
On this date in 1982, U.S. Army general Dozier is rescued from Italian Red Brigade terrorists who had kidnapped him.
On this date in 1985, the singers, songwriters and musicians known as "USA for Africa" record their smash hit "We Are The World".

Famous people born on this date include:

Jackson Pollock
Alan Alda
Karen Lynn Gorney (remember her?)
Nicolas Sarkozy
Randi Rhoades
Sarah McLachlan
Joey Fatone and Nick Carter (that's frightening)
Frank Darabont