The Comeback of the Smurfs

Recently, the media can’t seem to put out enough about the new Smurfs movie. They are all over the internet, on youtube, in footlocker at the mall, in newspapers and on billboards across the country. It’s interesting to see something that died out when I was a young kid making such a big comeback. I have to wonder though if the reason these shows come back is because TV producers cant think of any other shows and movies to put out. As it has been impossible not to see at least one trailer for the new movie it seems to be exactly the same as the old show used to be, only in movie form this time. It has certainly caught a lot of attention and I think it is in part because it can be related to by so many different generations

Production companies have to know what they are doing when they take a show off the air then bring it back for the next generation. When this happens the young crowed that would normally be attracted to this type of show are interested because it is new to them but also the generation who grew up with it also want’s to see what they used to watch on TV as a child has turned into. It brings them back to their childhood and to simpler, possibly happier and less complicated times. Not to mention the parents who watched the show with their children when they were young who can also relate to the new series because it made their children so happy to see.

When something like the Smurfs comes back from retirement it can surely generate a lot of interest and money because the relatability to so many different audiences. I know when I first saw an advertisement for the movie I got on the phone with my mom to tell her about it. So what we are not forced to see in some sort of advertisement in news or shopping malls then gets passed on by word of mouth, like what I did with my mom. Theres no doubt that for something that originally may just appeal to children, the Smurfs have exploded into pop culture with their comeback and the movie debut is sure to be profitable. Maybe the Smurfs will come back to TV and my children will be able to grow up with the little blue community too.

Supercar Crash in Monte Carlo

To kick of the weekend in Monte Carlo, 5 “super” cars were involved in a bit of a wrestle in Thursday. The accident started when a Bentley Azure scraped an S class Mercedes then drifted into a Ferrari, Aston Martin and Porsche. The cars damaged in the accident are worth over 1 million dollars and the low balled reported of 65,000 dollars in damage to the cars has a few people laughing. As if scraping both sides and the front of your Bentley wasn’t bad enough, the way the Bentley crashed into the other cars left them unable to get out of the car with both doors pinned closed. Tourists rushed the area to take pictures, giving the driver and passenger of the Bentley a excellent photo opp.

The reported of the story named this incident a “catastrophe” which I find interesting because no one was hurt and not one of the cars had been totaled. Even if one of them had been totaled I have to wonder if that would still qualify to be called a catastrophe, considering there were no injuries and damage reported was only 6.5% of the cars total worth. It’s interesting to see what different people consider to be such horrific events, especially since there was just a terrorist attack in Norway and all. Oh and there are children across the world starving and dyeing of thirst. But lets continue to refer to a few wealthy peoples car’s being a little dinged up as catastrophes since we can’t afford 1 million dollars in super cars.

I also have to wonder what the tone of the story would have been had it not been a Bentley Azure that crashed into the other super cars. What if it had been a 1997 junker and someone of another race that cased the damage? The tone of the story now was actually pretty relaxed and mellow with a humorous approach to the story. But if it had been someone of an off-white race driving a beater you can bet the story would have had a much angrier tone and probably made breaking news on some television broadcast. Regardless of who cause the accident, they are always somewhat tragic for the owners, but in this case where damages total 6.5% of the cars total worths, less than sales tax, I would say there are other problems in the world to worry about.

Obama Slapped with Fine in London

During Obama’s recent State visit to London he was charged nearly 200 dollars for his mortorcade to travel through central London, adding to the nearly 8 million dollars in the same fines that the U.S. has racked up since the law was imposed in 2003. The embassy has refused to pay these charges, saying it is prohibited under engaging on a “diplomatic mission.” London Mayor however won’t budge on dismissing the fines. Overall, this seems to me to be an even bigger joke than the NFL lockout by both the U.K. side and the U.S. side.

First of all, lets take a look at the London side. Didn’t they just said their “prince” and “princess” to California without having to pay any traffic fines. Lets not even look at the fact they were sent on 7,500 dollar seats by their government so they could visit a polo club under no diplomatic means whatsoever. But instead the fact that the U.S. and U.K. are allies in several fields and what kind of gesture is it to charge the President of the United States of America a mere 200 bucks to drive through London to keep relations steady. If they were in so much trouble how about they cut the billions of dollars they spend every year on maintaining the absolutely pointless Royal Families absolutely pointless escapades, i.e. the royal wedding?

On the United States side… really? It’s 200 dollars. Between fueling up airfare one and Obama’s armored escalade which can’t be easy on fuel, then paying for all of his guards, high priced meals and attire, what is 200 bucks? I probably paid more than that in taxes when I bought the macbook pro I am using to write this blog right now. He increases the debt ceiling by billions of dollars and now decides to be frugal? Am I the only one that thinks this is stupid? At any rate, I can see where the U.S. is coming from, not wanting to close the roads altogether to avoid further congestion in London which led to them being slapped with the fine, but there are toll roads all over the United States, all of which I am not allowed to just say, “Im not going to pay because I am on a diplomatic mission.” If I did have a bill totaling 8 million dollars you could bet their would be a warrant out for my arrest in no time, so why isn’t Obama behind bars?

NFL Lockout

The way I see it it’s a sad joke when seemingly at least once a year professional athletes band together to form a “lockout” because the millions of dollars they are not being paid isn’t enough “to survive.” Clearly these players have never taken a global studies class of any kind where if they did they may have seen entire families living off of just one dollar a day, working many more hours than they spend playing and practicing their sport. Furthermore, many players wont even be seeing a reduction in their million dollar paycheck. Some of the deals on the table is there needs to be a salary cap, the season needs to be 16 weeks long and there will be a cut in off-season training.

It’s interesting to see in different atmospheres who has the power between workers and owners. Ultimately in any circumstance of a strike owners are at risk of losing a lot of money, but players are as well. And since the millions of dollars they make can’t seem to pay their bills it would seem the chances of them caving would be better than team owners, whom often own other entities as well. Players do have fans on their side, however most of these fans wouldn’t be caught dead arguing that the millions of dollars they make isn’t enough and that off-season perks should not be cut.

In other sports players pull these lockout stunts the media build on the issue, making it known round the country that players are unhappy. Even if one of these media sources were to take the side of the players however, which they probably don’t often do since they may get funding from team owners, it is hard to take the side the players, making great deals of money. I cant however take the sides of the owners either who sell hotdogs, beer and all other things at their stadiums for ridiculously high prices to rake in the billions of dollars they do. In the end, play must go on and as history shows it will. The tug of war between owners and players will end in some sort of a draw until the next time players feel they have been mistreated or underpaid and decide to use their fame for another lockout. After all, what would the United States be without our professional sports to watch on TV?

Lohan back on stage?

Reports have recently shown that Lindsay Lohan is quitting her life of drugs and crimes to get back to acting. She has recently landed a role in a new movie and played herself in a music video for “The Miggs.” The question I have however, is how many times is this story going to come out? I feel like at least once a month there is a story about Lohan being released from rehab to become a star again. At very least once a month.

I get that it is hard for child stars to grow up, being used to getting whatever they want with the snap of a finger, but how many times are we going to watch Lindsay Lohan ride the roller coaster of comeback and fall down? She has probably gotten more screen time in court, prison or rehab than she has gotten with actual TV or movie time and I don’t see that changing any time soon. I cant even remember seeing her in a movie since “Mean Girls” came out like 5 years ago or whatever it was, so why is she so famous?

The answer to that question is simple. We like to see people who we are jealous of spiral down, thinking that if we were famous we would never do something like that… or would we? It has to be somewhat planned by these stars to do stupid things to stay in the news, which Lohan has done seemingly quite easily. They do this to avoid becoming “old news,” but the hole Lohan being a drunk pill popping meth smoker is getting pretty old too. So maybe to avoid having that become old news she will actually start acting again? But after a week of Lohan acting I can only imagine when her next spiral will be.

Osama vs Obama

Recently it was revealed that Osama bin Laden was planning another 9/11 strike. After the raiding of his residence by Navy SEALs, documents were taken in hopes of weakening the larger terrorist group’s base, and did just that. The documents reveal plans to strike President Obama by while on air force one or marine one. Now that Osama bin Laden is dead however, the question arises if the plans will continue under a new terrorist leader.

It’s a scary thought to think that the people who were so successful in a previous attack are plotting for another, and on the ten year anniversary of their famed 9/11 attack. Although the Obama administration got to him first, the base op others under him pose an even more unknown threat, because we don’t know who the new leader will be. After this news was released I can only imagine the entire Obama family will be on lockdown near the 9/11 date. It seems that the leader of the free world is an ever increasing target for those outside of it.

So will the war on terrorism ever come to an end? My guess is sadly, no. In this life people constantly want what they cant have, and reign over the free world and one of the most powerful nations in the world is probably on many peoples list. With Obama catching Osama is seems he is in more danger than ever, enraging the now dead leader’s terrorist base. I can only imagine the amount security increased after the capture of bin Laden and now the reveal of an attack plot by the terrorist group bin Laden once controlled.

Sinking Atlantis leading to Mars?

This week will mark the end of NASA’s space shuttle voyages. “Atlantis” is scheduled to launch today, but may be delayed as a result of a stormy forecast, but when it does, it is sure to be emotional for the thousands of spectators with ties to the exploration of space. It is truly sad for people of the United states to see an end to the mystery that has been the discovery of the unknown, but NASA plans on moving on to other things.

With the end of Atlantis comes the hopes in uncovering even greater mystery. NASA may be hanging up their newest shuttle along with the others from the past, but after this final voyage plans will be made for the exploration of Mars as well as large meteorites. Who knows if and when people will ever step foot on the planet, but NASA says it may be over 5 years before another shuttle launches off US soil. 5 years doesn’t really seem to be all that much time for the landing on of Mars, so it makes me wonder just how long this plan has been in the works.

Also, with NASA opening up space travel to private industries I wonder just how quick someone will land on Mars and if I can expect to see the golden arches of a McDonald’s on the moon any time soon. I also am curious to know what the exploration of Mars will bring people back on Earth and if that will lead to the exploration of other planets and even possibly other life. The possibilities seem endless and more fascinating with every thought. Maybe the “in” thing for celebrities will be to adopt an alien from another planet in the next 100 years. Or maybe once the people on earth have finally drained this planet of their resources they will be forced to go destroy a new planet. Either way, the end of this era of discovery only marks a new one, and it will be interesting to see if and what NASA uncover of our red planet neighbor.