Enjoying "SkyFall" and Fifty Years of James Bond!

"Skyfall" was released on October 26, 2012 to much fanfare in the United Kingdom (& other countries - Singapore, India, Russia, etc.). Within the first 2 weekends of its worldwide release, the movie made close to $100 million. With the movie's release in the United States on 11-9-2012, the movie is close to passing $600 million worldwide. In the U.S. alone, the movie grossed $88 million in its first weekend. In addition to starring Daniel Craig as "James Bond", the movie has other actors like Ralph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Albert Finney and Javier Bardem. Bardem plays the villian that was a former MI6 agent, but he betrays "M" and the rest of the British intelligence agency. The Bond girls are Naomie Harris (Eve "Moneypenny") and Bernice Marlohe ("Severine"). The movie is set in Istanbul (Turkey), London, (England), Macau, and other famous cities. For RSG, seeing "Skyfall" made him realize that it was the best Bond movie of Daniel's Craig three tries as "007." Academy Award Winning Director, Sam Mendes, was the man behind the camera for this epic film. Daniel Craig is signed on for two more movies. This information means he will be back for the 24th & 25th Bond films. Finally, this year is the 50th anniversary of Ian Fleming's creation. The first Bond Movie, "Dr. No", was released in 1962 starring Sean Connery as "007." Long Live Sean Connery, and Roger Moore (the favorite bond in RSG's eyes)!

Checking out movie studios (Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox Studios, and Universal Studios)!

Today, Rahulio went to the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, CA. It was great to see the "Harry Potter" equipment and props in the museum at the Warner Bros. Studios. In my lifetime, RSG has been to three major movie studios (Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox Studios, and Warner Brothers Studios). 20th Century Fox Studios does not do a tour of the studios, unlike the other studios. I went to 20th Century Fox Studios to be a part of the audience in a NFL show on Fox Sports Net. It was great, and this event was in 2002. Today, the tour guide (Bob) at Warner Bros. Studios was hilarious and he got the crowd into the tour. It was a VIP studio tour. It was really fun. On another note, I went to Universal Studios in 1999, and another time during my childhood. Universal Studios tour included the back lot tour, which is pretty cool. All in all, I think Warner Bros. studios tour was the best. Enjoy the picture from today's tour. This picture is from the Central Perk set of the TV show, "Friends."

Seeing "Seinfeld" & "Beautiful Creatures"

Well, RSG saw "Jerry Seinfeld" in a comedy show at the Comerica Theatre (in Phoenix) on 9-22-2012. It was a very funny show. Chuck Martin opened up the show by doing a 15 minute comedy routine. After his hilarious routine, Jerry S. did his 70 minute monologue (funny, yet brief). When Jerry finished, he thought of doing a 10 minute Q & A session in addition to his comedy routine. Seeing both acts in club seating (2nd level, practically middle level of theatre) was a great experience. Jerry talked about the TV show, "Seinfeld", and his fellow cast mates (Wayne Knight, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Michael Richards). Seeing Jerry and Chuck was a great night. Next, RSG saw "Beautiful Creatures" at a Private Screening movie event in Tempe on 10-2-2012. Seeing this movie at Tempe Marketplace Harkins Theaters was great, because the movie comes out domestically on 2-13-2013. Essentially, R.S. saw the movie four months before anyone else. Woohoo! The movie has a great cast thanks to the following actors/actresses: Jeremy Irons, Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Emmy Rossum, Emma Thompson, and Viola Davis. It's a scary good movie, with some romance too. Overall, it was a 7.3 out of 10 stars in my movie critic world. Hope tons of people see it in February 2013! This month, there are more good movies to see. R.S. needs to see "Argo", "Seven Psychopaths", etc. Next month brings the return of James Bond in "Skyfall." This movie should be a big hit for Daniel Craig. The picture for this post is from "Beautiful Creatures." It shows all the cast members and their respective characters also.

Being exposed to six languages!

Well, RSG has been exposed to six languages in his life. Here are all six: Hindi, Marathi, English, French, Spanish, and Chinese. He took four years of french in high school. He spoke three years of chinese, while living in Taiwan. He has spoken Marathi and Hindi for 30 years (on & off). He took 1 year of spanish in college. Yet, RSG speaks English fluently. Here is his attempt at French: Merci mes amis pour vos souhaits d'anniversaire. C'est la vie de rahulio ganpuleone. Je t'aime. J'ai trente six ans aujourd'hui. Au Revoir, mes amis! :) C'est Le francais, le langage de l'amour. :) Enjoy the map of France too!

What affiliation do you have to Italy?

Well, RSG was asked "what affiliation do you have to Italy?" on this past Monday night. The reason for this question is my name on Facebook appears as "Rahulio Ganpuleone." It is an Italian name which I devised. Rahulio is a name given to me by a family friend, during my formidable college years. Ganpuleone is similar to the "great Corleone mob family." Ganpuleone is a fictional name, and Corleone is a Sicilian fictional mob family. Corleone comes from "The Godfather", an epic Hollywood trilogy. Going back to Rahulio Ganpuleone, it is a name which I debuted on Facebook in August 2010. People call me with this name, and I respond frequently. Last night, I introduced myself but a family member immediately said "where's your pseudo name?". This pseudo name is my affiliation to Italy. Italy is a beautiful country known for it's tasty wine, opulent cuisine, and exquisite women. Long Live Italia!

2012 Summer Olympics plus triple digit (100) post!

The 2012 Summer Olympics started on July 28, 2012 in London. The Chinese are the leaders in the medal count with 30 total medals. The U.S. is second in the medal count with a total of 29 medals. These results are as of August 1, 2012. There are another 11 days left in the XXX Olympic Games. The U.S. can still win a good amount of medals in Track & Field, Basketball, and other sports. Michael Phelps won his 19th medal (total) at these Olympic games by winning a gold medal last night. He won two silver medals already during these games. Phelps has 3 more events left to add to his total. In other happenings, this is the 100th post for RSG. It is kind of special. RSG saw most of the movies this summer, which he wanted to see. The last movie was "The Dark Knight Rises." In my mind,this movie was the best of the three movies directed by Christopher Nolan. The movie has eclipsed $300 million worldwide already in 12 days. As for the rest of the Summer games, the U.S. may not win the total medal count. China may win this title in the 2012 Summer Olympics. So far, the Olympics have been thrilling to watch. Hope the excitement continues! Finally, the picture above is of Dana Vollmer. So far, she has won two gold medals in swimming (Women's 100 meters Butterfly and Women's 4 x 200 meters Freestyle Relay). She is beautiful, and a great athlete too!

R. Federer and S. Williams win at Wimbledon; Order Restored!

In today's Men's Wimbledon Final, Roger Federer won his 17th Grand Slam title by defeating Andy Murray. Roger won the match in four grueling sets. Murray won the first set by the score of 6-4. Roger won the next 3 sets (7-5, 6-3, 6-4). Roger played tennis in the fortnight like "the Vintage Roger" from his days of dominance (2006, 2007, & 2009). All RSG can say is "Way to go, Swiss Maestro!" Long Live, The Federer Express. As for the Ladies Wimbledon Final, Serena Williams won her first Grand Slam tournament in two years. She collected her 14th Grand Slam title in the fortnight. The new No. 1 in Women's Tennis is Victoria Azarenka. She was #1 back in early June, until Maria Sharapova took over the #1 ranking for four weeks. Maria is #3 now, and RSG hopes she can come back to win another big tournament this year. Serena beat Agnieszka Radwanska in the final in three sets (6-1, 5-7, 6-2). The underlying question in this weblog post is "Was order restored in the tennis world (in both Men's and Women's) with the huge victories by Roger and Serena?" At this point, the answer is a resounding "Yes." Roger was resilient, as was Serena. RSG bids adieu to the 2012 Wimbledon tournament. :)