Because it's Friday...a new Dr. Tran!

It's being a long time, but here is Dr. Tran!





Enjoy!

John Hughes, Film director, 80's icon 1950-2009

The celebrity grim reaper strikes again! While walking in New York City, 80'teen angst movie auteur John Hughes died of a heart attack at the age of 59.

Hughes was born in Lansing, Michigan, to a mother who volunteered in charity work and John Hughes, Sr., who worked in sales. A 1968 graduate of Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Illinois, Hughes used Northbrook and the adjacent North Shore area for shooting locations and settings in many of his films, though he usually left the name of the town unsaid, or referred to it as "Shermer, Illinois", Shermerville being the original name of Northbrook. In high school, he met Nancy Ludwig, to whom he was married from 1970 until his death. They had two sons, John Hughes III, born in 1976, and James Hughes, born in 1979.

Hughes began his career as an ad copywriter in Chicago. During this time, he created what became the famous Edge "Credit Card Shaving Test" ad campaign.

His first attempt at comedy writing was selling jokes to well-established performers such as Rodney Dangerfield and Joan Rivers. This led him to pen a story, inspired by his family trips as a child, that was to become his calling card and entry onto the staff of the National Lampoon Magazine. That story, "Vacation '58", became the basis for the film Vacation. Subsequent stories such as the April Fool's Day classics "My Vagina" and "My Penis" gave an early indication of Hughes' ear for the particular rhythm of teen speak, as well as the various indignities of teen life in general.

His first credited screenplay, Class Reunion, was written while still on staff at the magazine. The resulting film became the second disastrous attempt by the flagship to duplicate the runaway success of Animal House. It was Hughes' next screenplay for the imprint, National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), however, that would prove to be a major hit, putting the Lampoon back on the map. Although Hughes had no involvement in European Vacation (1985), he did write and co-produced Christmas Vacation (1989) based on another of his Lampoon stories.

His first directorial effort, Sixteen Candles, won almost unanimous praise when it was released in 1984, due in no small part to its more realistic depiction of middle-class high school life, which stood in stark contrast to the Porky's-inspired comedies being made at the time. It was also the first in a string of efforts set in or around high school, including The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Weird Science and Ferris Bueller's Day Off

To avoid being pigeonholed as a maker of teen comedies, Hughes branched out in 1987, directing Planes, Trains & Automobiles starring Steve Martin and John Candy. His later output would not be so critically well received, though films like Uncle Buck (one of the first films to display the change in teenager's choice of music from rock to rap) proved popular. Hughes's greatest commercial success came with Home Alone, a film he wrote and produced about a child accidentally left behind when his family goes away for Christmas, forcing him to protect himself and his house from a pair of inept burglars. Home Alone would be the top grossing film of 1990, and remains his most successful live-action comedy of all time. His last film as a director was 1991's Curly Sue.

He has been noted as an inspiration for many in the film industry. He also wrote screenplays using his pseudonym, Edmond Dantès (protagonist of Alexandre Dumas's novel The Count of Monte Cristo).

In 1994, Hughes retired from the public eye and moved to Wisconsin, rarely granting or giving interviews or photographs to the media save a select few interviews in 1999 to promote the soundtrack album to Reach the Rock, an independent film he wrote. The album was compiled by Hughes' son, John Hughes III, and released on his son's Chicago-based record label, Hefty Records. He also recorded an audio commentary for the 1999 DVD release of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. A photograph of him visiting his son on the set of his son's film in 2001 was the last photo taken of him in public. In the later years of his life, he was a farmer in Illinois.

In addition to his widow and sons, Hughes is survived by four grandchildren.

Sad loss! I'll be playing "Ferris Bueller's Day Off on my Blu-Ray Tonight in his memory!

Rock on Dude!

British women say: Give us a normal bloke over a metrosexual queenie anyday!

Yes guys! Women still have their priorities straight!

LONDON, Aug. 4 (UPI) — A British survey suggests women prefer “real men” with beer bellies and hairy chests to “metrosexuals” with tight shorts and manicures.

The survey of 5,192 women, conducted by Lion Bar Ice Cream, found 80 percent of respondents now consider metrosexual traits including hair straightening and frequent sunbathing to be turn-offs, The Sun reported Tuesday.

The poll also found one in 10 women questioned in the survey like the smell of beer on a man while a fifth of those polled said they are attracted to men with “a bit of body odor.” “This is great news for real men this summer,” a Lion Bar spokesman said. “They can get their roar back and ditch the moisturizer, manicures and tight shorts this summer — leave that for the footballers. “British blokes can also wear their Speedos with pride, even if they have a bit of belly and welcome the wolf whistles as they walk down the beach,” he said.

That's it! I'm moving to England!!!!

Obama...Why so Serious!!!

This poster has been appearing in the Streets of LA over the weekend.

A poster showing President Barack Obama as Heath Ledger’s “Joker” character from “The Dark Knight” is creating a stir on the streets of Los Angeles where the image began appearing over the weekend.The Obama-Joker poster shows President Obama with white face paint, dark eye shadow and smudged red lipstick and also has the word “socialism” printed in bold, dark letters under the image of his face.It’s unclear who created the image and who is posting it across the city. Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson is calling the depiction, politically mean spirited and dangerous. Hutchinson is challenging the group or individual that put up the poster to have the courage and decency to publicly identify themselves…”"We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama.”

The "Roundtable" president is "upset"! WTF!

Fer crissakes, it's a comic book character!

Besides, what happened to the First Ammendment to the Constitution? You know, the one that protects free speech?

This is protected by it. You might not like it, but it's protected!

Besides, knowing Obama, he's the first one chuckling at this.

People need to relax!

BTW- Today's is President Obama's Birthday!
He's 48!
Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

Voice cast of "Futurama" to return!

Fox must have slapped down the big $$$$$$$$, because the cast of Futurama will be returning for their new 26-episode run on Comedy Central!

Nice!

Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, John DiMaggio and Maurice LaMarche have all signed on the dotted line for the new season of the animated series, only after the studio made it known they were looking for voice replacements.

Futurama creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen have released a statement saying that they are "thrilled" to have the "incredible" original voice cast back on board for the upcoming eps.

As are we!

Can't be greedy in a recession! Cough. Cough. Paula Abdul!

And the Box Office Champion this week is...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Adam Sandler suffered his worst opening at the North American box office in almost five years on Sunday with "Funny People," a chart-topping comedy darker than the low-brow fare beloved by his young fans.
According to studio estimates, the film sold $23.4 million worth of tickets in the three days since opening across the United States and Canada on Friday. It's the lowest start for a No. 1 movie since Jim Carrey's "Yes Man" launched with $18.3 million last December.
Sandler plays a comedian diagnosed with a fatal blood disease who then tries to break up a marriage. Top critics disliked the movie, according to Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com), a website that analyzes reviews.
His previous worst opening was "Spanglish," which started off with $8.8 million in December 2004. His big summer movie last year, "You Don't Mess with the Zohan," opened to $38.5 million but stalled at $100 million.
"Funny People" was directed by Judd Apatow, who was dubbed the smartest person in Hollywood by Entertainment Weekly in 2007. His "Knocked Up" opened to $31 million in 2007 and finished with $149 million.
The new film is the latest summer disappointment for its distributor, Universal Pictures. The General Electric Co unit recently released the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy "Bruno," which quickly lost steam at the box office, and the Johnny Depp gangster drama "Public Enemies," which failed to hit $100 million. It ranks last among the big six studios in market share this year, according to Box Office Mojo (http://www.boxofficemojo.com).

Industry forecasts for "Funny People" had ranged between the low-$20 million to the mid-$30 million area, according to trade paper Daily Variety.
But Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco said the movie opened "exactly where we thought it would be" given its darker themes. The studio said it cost $75 million to make, although some reports have said the bill was closer to $100 million.
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was No. 2 for a second weekend with $17.7 million. The 19-day haul for the sixth entry in the fantasy series stands at $255.5 million. Its 2007 predecessor, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," had earned $242 million at the same stage.
Internationally, the new film has earned $492 million, including a $66.5 million contribution from Britain. The films were released by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc.
Last weekend's champ, the Walt Disney Co rodent cartoon "G-Force" fell to No. 3 with $17.1 million. Its 10-day haul was $66.5 million.
The Katherine Heigl romantic comedy "The Ugly Truth" slipped one place to No. 4 with $13 million, taking its 10-day tally to $54.5 million. It was released by Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp.
The 20th Century Fox family movie "Aliens in the Attic" opened at No. 5 with a disappointing $7.8 million. It had been expected to open in the double digits. The News Corp-owned studio said it cost $45 million to make.

Pic of the Day.

'Nuff said!