11/15/09

Wild At Heart - Monday 11/16/2009


Wild At Heart

Feeling pretty good today.

Worked all three of my parttime jobs and logged in over 60 hours which felt good. One of my jobs has me working for the US Census Bureau as a recruiter and they are looking for people to help with the 2010 Census in the spring. The jobs which pay around $10-$16 an hour for temporary employment might just be what someone needs to help pay off a few bills or help build a better resume. If you are interested in testing for a position, call 1-866-861-2010 to schedule an appoinment at the nearest testing site to your location. Testing will take place from now and February but don't put it off if you can help it. You can also go to www.census.gov/detroit for more information and to take a practice test. Good luck!!

There is a new movie perdicting the end of the world entitled "2012". Here are some facts about the year 2012 that you might find interesting. The year 2012 (MMXII) will be a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. On January 31, 433 Eros, the second-largest Near Earth Object on record will pass Earth at 0.1790 astronomical units or 16,639,090 miles. On March 22, unless the European Council votes to extend current copyright law, The Beatles' debut album, "Please Please Me", will fall out of copyright. Lastly on December 21 (or 23 depending on calcualtions), the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, notably used by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization among others, completes a "great cycle" of thirteen b'ak'tuns (periods of 144,000 days each) since the mythical creation date of the calendar's current era. On this day the Long Count date at creation, written 13.0.0.0.0 in modern notation, equivalent to August 11, 3114 BC in the proleptic Gregorian calendar—is repeated for the first time in a span of a little over 5,125 solar years. The completion of this cycle and the repetition of the previous Creation's Long Count ending date have been central to the 2012 phenomenon. A New Age interpretation of this transition posits that, during this time, the planet and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation, and that 2012 may mark the beginning of a new era. Conversely, some believe that the 2012 date marks the beginning of an apocalypse.

It is this later belief that brought about the new Roland (Stargate, ID4, The Day After Tomorrow) Emmerich directed feature. After a solar flare allows a Indian scientist to determine that the Earth's core temperature is rapidly increasing, American scientist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) submits a report to his superior Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser (Oliver Platt) and eventually the US President Thomas Wilson (Danny Glover). From this, the info is passed to the leaders of the free world who start the creations of a number of arks designed to save some of Earth's treasures and enough humans to keep the species alive and prevent the extinction of the human race. Like all films of this type, we need a hero figure which is brought to us in the guise of limo driver, author and divorced father Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) who we see taking his kids on a trip to Yellowstone and cringing at meeting his wife's new boyfriend. At Yellowstone, they jump a fence and are picked up the military though they are lucky the head of the group has read Jackson's book and let's them go. Curtis also meets Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson), a radio show host and conspiracy theorist (think Art Bell) who believes in the Mayans' prediction of the world ending in 2012. This leads Curtis to leap into action as major earthquakes threaten San Francisco and allows him to save his family in over-the-top action scenes. As millions die around him and his family, he convinces his wife and her boyfriend he isn't crazy and they must find this ark (in China) if they want to survive. The rest of the film is focused around their journey and the chaos that surrounds them. If the film seems familiar, it almost follows Emmerich's earlier film The Day After Tomorrow step by step. I feel the acting is a bit better though the disater sequences are less believable. If you liked that film, you will like this film. If not, you will most likely be disappointed. My grade is a C.

If you missed my interview with Katya a couple of weeks ago,

you can see part of it here courtesy of youtube:



I'm going to be interviewing get Andrew Gray, one of the singers in "A Little Night Music", on Monday (will air on my 8-10AM Sat morning radio show on WXOU 88.3FM or www.wxou.org) to talk about the production which opened this past weekend at the Detroit Opera House. If any students or young professionals (18-45) are interested in going, they wanted me to tell you that you are eligible for $20 tickets to the Wednesday, Nov. 18 show if you mention "Access" when you call (313) 237-SING to order tickets.

Fans of the movie series "Twilight" can participate in a fun event courtesy of Schakoland Chocolate Factory located at 167 North Old Woodward Avenue. Apparently they have made chocolates representing Edward (vampire) and Jacob (werewolf) and you can decide which love interest should Bella pick between. You have until the 17th to vote by your purchase.

For those that are looking for some cool concerts in the area, here are my recommendations for the week. Though I don't see anything for Tuesday (11/17), Wednesday (11/18) has local favorite Wildcatting opening for Mass Solo Revolt @ Blind Pig. Thursday (11/19) has some interesting shows including rockers 311 w/Kottonmouth Kings @ Fillmore Theatre, Will Hoge @ Magic Bag and local country singer Justine Blazer @ Andiamo Of Rochester. This Friday (11/20) we have the swinging sounds of the Brian Setzer Orchestra @ Motorcity Casino, Tony Award winning performer Patti Lupone @ Hill Auditorium, country/punk singer Hank III @ St Andrews Hall, Justine Blazer (keeping busy) @ the Hotel Grill (Trenton) and the wacky Jesus Chainsaw Massacre @ Vernor's Lounge. Saturday (11/21) sees country legends Savoy Brown @ Magic Bag, electronic sensation Deadmau5 @ Fillmore Theatre, local rockers Hetchman w/the Muggs @ Small's, Justine Blazer (does she ever stop) @ B Boomers Bar & Grill (Allen Park), Liz Larin @ Black Lotus Brewing Company (Clawson) and lastly if you have a spare $350, you can see Kid Rock will perform with Stevie Wonder at the Motown 50 gala to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Detroit-started record label and honor founder Barry Gordy in a show that will be hosted by comedian Sinbad and also starring Aretha Franklin and the Temptations @ Renaissance Center. Coming back down to Earth, we have Sunday (11/22) featuring the bluey rock band Back Door Slam (named after a Robert Cray song) @ The Shelter, and a repeat performance by Hank III @ Machine Shop. Lastly, get your punk on Monday (11/23) as we have Less Than Jake w/Casualties @ Magic Stick.

I hope you have a good week and I'll even through in a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Hank III at his St Andrews Hall show is you are the first to email me at doramu13@yahoo.com . Hank III is an American country, punk and metal musician. who is the grandson of country legend Hank Williams Sr and the son of Hank Williams Jr. He started his career as a metal drummer but he embraced his country past due to mounting child support payments. However, he still rebels against the country music industry and really represents a style that glorifies such rebels as David Allen Coe and Johnny Cash. His sets typically have a Jeckyl and Hyde feeling as he generally starts with a country set and then ends with a metal set. Should be a great show and I'm looking forward to it.