Box Office Record for Rebooted 'Pirates'

According to the Associated Press, "the re-engineered "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequel "On Stranger Tides" found its smoothest sailing overseas, where it took in a record $256.3 million at the international box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.  That surpasses the previous record foreign opening of the sixth "Harry Potter" film, 2009's "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," which earned $236 million internationally. Walt Disney co. said "On Stranger Tides," the fourth "Pirates" installment, earned $90.1 million domestically. Its combined worldwide total is $346.4 million, the fourth largest global opening ever."

It surprises me that Pirates 4 has surpassed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (although Harry 6 wasn't the most popular of the Harry Potter series, in my opinion).  Maybe that's it.  Who knows.  I just thought this little scrap of news was interesting, considering the fact that I'm a Harry Potter fan.

Read the rest of the article:  http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/rebooted-pirates-sets-overseas-box-office-record-ap.

Nooks and Niches for Kids

We've all been there:  the bedroom is just too small for all of the activities that you would like to do in it.  Example:  You'd love to have a private reading spot or a little niche to sit in just to ponder things or to cozy up to your homework.  Nowadays, especially with the recession and downsizing economy, families just aren't building gigantic houses anymore.  Space-saving becomes a priority, and the kids' rooms usually take the first hit. Searching yahoo.com while reading up on the daily news, I found this little article about seven magical nooks and niches for secret kids' rooms.  One even has a C.S. Lewis inspired entrance.  Enjoy!

Reading Nook

Every child dreams of a secret space like this reading nook, hidden behind a pivoting bookshelf.

Bunk Bed Cubbies

Each of these bunk bed cubbies in a shared kids’ room feature a curtain that can be drawn for privacy.

Girl's Nook

The colorful nook in this girl’s bedroom offers a cozy escape.

Hidden Nook

An armoire serves as the entrance to this C.S. Lewis-inspired hidden nook.

Wide Reading Nook

A wide bottom shelf creates a perfect little reading nook in this space.

Trundle Nook

 
This built-in makes the most of available space with a trundle bed.

Space-Saving Nook

This child’s bedroom makes the most of difficult space.

Scotty McCreery Gets a Surprise



Scotty McCreery



The last few weeks on American Idol, host Ryan Secrest has been advertising that the top three finalists will be treated to a trip home for the first time since the show began.  Of course, since American Idol hasn't aired yet for this week, we haven't seen the nice little videos that they put together for us to view during the show.  But I was browsing on Yahoo.com when I found this little video from a blogger that is hip to the American Idol stuff.  She's always writing about American Idol, and I find myself agreeing with her opinions quite frequently, so I've made it a habit to check up on her posts every now and then.

Anyway, she writes, "Top 3 "American Idol" finalist Scotty McCreery first made an impression auditioning with, and then repeatedly singing, "Your Man" by Josh Turner, aka the "baby lock them doors and turn them lights down low" song. As Scotty's "Idol" star has soared, his audition song choice has turned out to be the best publicity Josh could ask for. So when Scotty returned to his hometown of Garner, North Carolina, this weekend for his big homecoming event (an "Idol" top 3 tradition), Josh repaid the favor by bumrushing the stage during Scotty's welcome-home concert, giving Scotty the surprise of his life.

Scotty had started to sing "Your Man"--his first time performing it with a band--when Josh appeared unannounced onstage. When Scotty turned around he sort of experienced a delayed reaction, at first reaching out to grasp Josh's shoulder, before suddenly realizing just who he was sharing the stage with. Observe his hilarious reaction at this link:  http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/422536/scotty-mccreery-surprised-by-josh-turner-at-homecoming-concert/.



Josh Turner



Josh's band then came out to complete the song as a Josh/Scotty duet. Seventeen-year-old Scotty could barely contain his boyish excitement over getting to sing with his idol, yet still performed like an old pro and held his own.

"Thanks for singing my songs," said Josh, to which Scotty answered, "Thank you for singing them first!" The duo then performed another Josh song Scotty once sang on "American Idol" (during Hollywood Week), "Long Black Train," with both guys playing guitar.

"It's good to see someone waving the country music flag out there in Hollywood," said a torch-passing Josh, as what appeared to be the entire population of Garner cheered. It seems pretty obvious who Josh will be voting for next Wednesday night."

Aww, how happy.  Just a little piece of American Idol for you.  Plus, with my being a big country music fan, and thus, a big Scotty McCreery fan, I must say that I was pretty excited to see this.  Ever since Scotty came to the show with his "baby lock them doors and turn the lights down low," I've been wanting to see them sing together.  Awesome!

Pictures of the Week

So, I was surfing the web.  Check that. I was surfing Time.com, when I found this Pictures of the Week segment, and I think you should see it.  There are a few of the Libyan men and some other worldwide ones.  Here's the link:

http://www.time.com/time/picturesoftheweek

Craziest, Wackiest Derby Hats!

The Kentucky Derby has come and gone, but the images of those out-of-this-world hats will forever be burned into my brain.  If you didn't watch the Kentucky Derby, you haven't seen the ridiculousness of these hats, obviously.  But thanks to Time.com, you can view them for the first time, and I can relive the horror of these fashion disasters. 

Head of Roses
This floral topper is a nod to the Derby's nickname: "the Run for the Roses." We applaud this man's dedication to the rose theme — he's even got them painted on his cheeks. Cute.

Hey, Horse
If we didn't know better, we'd think that was a ... Nope, not really. It's just a man wearing a scary horse on his head.

Pinned Up
Between the tacky hat and the colorful beads, we're not sure if this woman's celebrating the Derby or Mardi Gras. Probably both. Next time, she could leave the Budweiser and "talk Derby to me" pins off this gigantic hat. After all, haven't we learned that less is more?

Vegas Calling
Did this man steal a showgirl's headdress for Derby day? Feathers can be fun. But not in excess like this.

Churchill Downs Déjà Vu
You're already at Churchill Downs to watch the horse race. Is it necessary to wear the racetrack on your head as well?

Pink Attack
We're not saying a bottle of Pepto-Bismol exploded on this woman's head — just that it looks that way. And are those animal-print horns coming out of her hat?

Balancing Act
Why people insist on wearing horses on their head when there's an entire horse race before their eyes remains a mystery to us.

Winner's Circle
Derby winners are awarded a throw of roses. But if you're feeling left out, take a cue from this man and make your own rose hat.

Crazy Color
Who says the Brits have all the hat fun? This tall, multicolor topper would have fit in perfectly among the elaborate hats that made an appearance at Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding.

Bow to the Bow
Wearing bows atop your head stops being cute past the age of, oh, 10. This hat's not just hideous; it looks like a safety hazard too. Hope she turned her head carefully.

All-American Duo
These two have Derby pride — and, in case you weren't sure, American pride too.

Time's Top 100 People of the Year

Time magazine has recently released its Top 100 People of the Year.  The list is long and insightful, so I'm passing it on to you, in hopes that you'll check it out.  There are some interesting people on there!  I learned a lot from this list, and I hope you will too.  Here's the link:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,2066367,00.html

P.S.- There are good pictures, too!

Films' Greatest Movie Car Chases

I found this article on Time.com, and I thought, since I've been posting a lot about movies lately, that you'd like to see it for yourselves.  It's, as you can probably tell from the title, about the 15 greatest movie car chases of all time.  Complete with videos and accompanying paragraphs, this article is pretty cool. Here's the link:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2068772_2068771,00.html