The best one I’ve read comes from my friend and colleague, Sean Gaffney.

He’s a funny dude who always has a great perspective on all things Hollywood.

Here’s his take on Inception.

READ IT!

And good job, Team Netherlands. Way to make the boys in navy work for it.

So until 2014, viva España!

Sometimes, I wish life were as simple as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And it is, sometimes.

Lately, however, life’s been pretty exhausting. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually, I’m exhausted.

I’m just a simple sinner who received God’s good grace, somehow.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!

-Rudyard Kipling

Thank goodness for DVR, eh?

According to Wikipedia.org, the first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously on July 13, 1930, and were won by France and USA, who defeated Mexico 4–1 and Belgium 3–0 respectively. The first goal in World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France. In the final, Uruguay defeated Argentina 4–2 in front of a crowd of 93,000 people in Montevideo, and in doing so became the first nation to win the World Cup.

The World Cup is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world; an estimated 715.1 million people watched the final match of the 2006 World Cup held in Germany. 715 million people?? That’s mind- boggling. The current World Cup is being held in South Africa (it started June 11  and will end July 11), and the 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil.

During the 18 tournaments that have been held, seven national teams have won the title. Brazil have won the World Cup a record five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. Italy, the current champions, have won four titles, and Germany are next with three titles. The other former champions are Uruguay, winners of the inaugural tournament, and Argentina, with two titles each, and England and France, with one title each.

I think it’s time for a USA win.

But… I don’t think it’s gonna happen. Let’s face it, soccer (or “football,” as it’s known everywhere else in the world) is not really a priority here in the United States. Baseball is our favorite spring pastime, American football our fall fav, basketball is another spring fav, but soccer? Meh.

Even with the addition of David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy team (yep, L.A. has a professional soccer team), soccer is not a big priority on the DVR list.

There are a bajillion movies about football, basketball, baseball, hockey, running, and even surfing, but only a handful of movies about soccer. I can only think of three, two of which are British films (Bend It Like Beckham and the original Fever Pitch), and the other is a lame Will Ferrell comedy (Kicking and Screaming).

So until we start straightening out our priorities, a USA World Cup win ain’t gonna happen. Not for lack of trying or heart, though. We did tie England last week, after all. (Thank you, Robert Green.)

Next up for USA, 11:30amPST tomorrow against Slovenia. We’re scheduled to kick their butts. I’ll be at Disneyland, so it’ll be up to y’all to keep me updated.

#1 Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

#2 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

#3 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

#4 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

#5 From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

#6 Holes by Louis Sachar

#7 The Giver by Lois Lowry

#8 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

#9 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

#10 The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

#11 The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

#12 The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

#13 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

#14 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

#15 Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

#16 Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

#17 Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

#18 Matilda by Roald Dahl

#19 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

#20 Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

#21 Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

#22 The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo

#23 Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

#24 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

#25 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

#26 Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

#27 A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett

#28 Winnie-the Pooh by A.A. Milne

#29 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland /Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

#30 The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

#31 Half Magic by Edward Eager

#32 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien

#33 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

#34 Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

#35 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire JK Rowling

#36 Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

#37 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor

#38 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

#39 When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

#40 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

#41 The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

#42 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

#43 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary

#44 Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

#45 The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

#46 Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

#47 Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

#48 The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall

#49 Frindle by Andrew Clements

#50 Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

#51 The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright

#52 The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

#53 Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

#54 The BFG by Roald Dahl

#55 The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

#56 Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

#57 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

#58 The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

#59 Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

#60 The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

#61 Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

#62 The Secret of the Old Clock (The Nancy Drew mysteries) by Caroline Keene

#63 Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright

#64 A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

#65 Ballet Shoes by Noah Streatfeild

#66 Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary

#67 Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville

#68 Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

#69 The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

#70 Betsy Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

#71 A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

#72 My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

#73 My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

#74 The Borrowers by Mary Norton

#75 Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

#76 Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

#77 City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

#78 Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

#79 All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

#80 The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

#81 Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

#82 The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

#83 The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

#84 Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge

#85 On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

#86 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

#87 The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg

#88 The High King by Lloyd Alexander

#89 Ramona and her Father by Beverly Cleary

#90 Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

#91 Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

#92 Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

#93 Caddie Woodlawn by C. R. Brink

#94 Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

#95 Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

#96 The Witches by Roald Dahl

#97: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

#98 Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston

#99 The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

#100 The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Two fun things happened today. Read on, dear reader!

Thing one: My tour this morning was a sing-along tour. Yep, we sang. Well, not all of us sang. But me and some of the older women sang “Sisters” from “White Christmas.” Later on our tour, more people chimed in when we sang “Seventy-six Trombones” as we drove around Midwest (aka River City, Iowa from “The Music Man”).

I’ve always thought life should be a musical, so I’m always singing on tour (much to the amusement of my guests). It was so fun today to actually have people singing with me.

Thing two: The Chancellor of Germay came to Warner Bros. today.  She’s quite a remarkable woman, this Angela Merkel. In addition to being the first female Chancellor of Germany, she’s also the second woman to chair the G8 (after Margaret Thatcher from England).

Chancellor Merkel was in Washington for the Nuclear Security Summit. President Barak Obama invited over 40 heads of state and governments to consultations on guarding against unsecured nuclear material. So why exactly is she visiting Los Angeles?

According to the Los Angeles Times, Germany is the fourth-largest source of direct foreign investment in the Los Angeles area, with German-owned and affiliated companies employing nearly 3,000 people. That amounts to about $149 million in wages paid to employees, according to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s office.

Her visit to Warner Bros. is just one stop on her 5-day visit to the States. According to Wikipedia, health care reform and problems concerning future energy development have thus far been major issues of her tenure.

I personally have great health benefits, but that’s more a result of my union (yes, I’m union) than anything Warner Bros. is doing. But the environmental stuff? Ah, now there’s where we’re the leaders in the industry.

The Warner Bros. Studios Environmental Initiative is one of the leaders in the entertainment industry. We recycle and reuse EVERYTHING, we’ve installed a solar power system of more than 500 kilowatts (this helps us save about 900 kilowatt hours of energy and $1 million annually), and just last year we completed construction on the first environmentally-efficient soundstage in the industry. And, heck yeah, they gave me a reusable water bottle.

So I can see why Chancellor Merkel would want to visit Warner Bros. We’re the best, anyway.

Just a few more things about this remarkable woman:

Forbes magazine listed her as the most powerful woman in the world from 2006-2009. Chancellor Merkel has also been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 10 April 2000, and Chairwoman of the CDU-CSU (Christian Social Union) parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.

From 2005 to 2009 she led a grand coalition with the Christian Social Union (CSU), its Bavarian sister party, and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), formed after the 2005 federal election on November 22, 2005. In the elections of 27 September 2009, her party, the CDU, obtained the largest share of the votes, and formed a coalition government with the CSU and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). Her government was sworn in on October 28, 2009.

Chancellor Merkel is also a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an International network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.

In 2008, Merkel received the Charlemagne Prize “for her work to reform the European Union”.

And she’s only 55.

Enjoy some pictures from today’s meet-and-greet with the always-dashing Simon Baker, one of the stars of Warner Bros.’s hottest drama The Mentalist.

German Chancellor Merkel meets Australian actor Simon Baker, left, on the back lot of Warner Bros. Studios during her tour of the studio in Los Angeles on Wednesday April 14, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Buck, Pool)

Simon Baker showing Chancellor Merkel some of the Midwest set. (AP Photo/Paul Buck, Pool)

Chancellor Merkel and Simon Baker (AP Photo/Paul Buck, Pool)

Beautiful film.

If you ever have a chance to see it on the big screen, do it. It’s not a film to be taken lightly, while at home with the distractions of life readily available.

Also, I vow here and now NEVER to see the remake of “Dr. Zhivago” with Keira Knightly.

I don’t understand why Hollywood insists on remaking films (a remake of “Clue,” really?!?) that are so perfect just the way they are.

“Dr. Zhivago” is a masterpiece. Good job, MGM and David Lean.

(P.S. I saw Bryan Cranston today at work. He was in the museum, just looking at all the stuff.  He’s got hair, so “Breaking Bad” must be on hiatus.)

Sandra Bullock, Ben Stiller, Jeff Bridges

Yep, I watched the show last night. Christa and I watched it later though, starting it around 9:30pm.  Which actually was awesome, because we were able to fast forward through all the commercials, some slow speeches, and all Twilight kids.

I loved NPH’s opening song – he’s so awesome and epic (yay, Barney Stinson!) and it was a great way to kick off the night. Alec and Steve were great hosts – funny, but not overly so, and I liked the simplistic stage dressing. It was a classy night that seemed to move along pretty quickly (or maybe that was just me fast-forwarding through the commercials and slow parts).

I realized, however, that I’d only seen a handful of the movies nominated last night – Star Trek, District 9, and Up… and that’s it!  I saw some of the movies nominated for sound and art awards (like Harry Potter, Transformers, and Sherlock Holmes), but that’s it.

I think it’s a bit strange that I work in the industry, at the best studio in the world (in my humble opinion) and yet I see very few movies. I don’t like to think that I’ve become a movie snob, but I kinda think I have.  It certainly doesn’t help that they do free screenings for us at work about once a month or so (Dr. Zhivago coming up this week!). I don’t know what it is, but I have to really want to see a movie to actually put in the time and money and go see it at the theaters.

The last movie that I saw in theaters was Shutter Island – it was fantastic. Before Shutter Island, the most recent movie I’d seen on the big screen was Sherlock Holmes and I only went to see it because it was my family’s annual Christmas Day movie outing.

Anyway, back to the Oscars.  I thought it was a fun show, a good idea to have two such charismatic hosts.  And I LOVE that they had co-workers of the acting nominees give a little speech. This happened last year at the ceremony and I feel like it truly honored the nominees (as well as having them onstage at the beginning of the show) for their achievements. And Oprah calling you the new American Cinderella? That’s a great consolation prize.

Entertainment Weekly, my go-to source for all things entertainment, has a fun little article that highlights what happened in the press room.  Read the full article here, but my favorite moment comes from Jeff “The Dude” Bridges.

Jeff Bridges, who is more similar to Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski than we may have initially realized, was his usual go-with-the-flow self backstage. However, the Best Actor winner did manage to put together a rather lovely metaphor when asked about his personal key to success. “The first thing that pops into my mind is my wife,” Bridges said. “She holds that kite string. She lets me go way out there, and then it’s so sweet being reeled back in. I love coming home.”

Wow. Where’s the man who’ll hold my kite string?  Jeff Bridges, by the way, has been married to his wife for 32 years. It’s possible, Hollywood. If “The Dude” can choose wisely and make it last, so can you. I’m just sayin’…

So another Oscar season is down and done. I wonder what movies from 2010 will be nominated at next year’s ceremony. I nominate the always-captivating and amazing Leonardo DiCaprio for Shutter Island.

I know we’re only three months in, but have you seen any Oscar-worthy films or performances this year?