The sci-fi epic “Avatar” has rolled right over that other James Cameron mega-hit, “Titanic” to become the highest grossing movie of all time. ”Titanic” held that record with $1.843 billion. No more. That record has been shattered by the alien adventure film. After 45 days, the worldwide gross for ”Avatar” stands at an incredible $2.039 billion, according to Box Office Mojo. 

 Amazingly, “Avatar” is still going strong in theaters. This weekend, “Avatar” nabbed around $30 million at the domestic Box Office, holding onto the number one spot for the seventh straight week. Mel Gibson’s new drama, “Edge of Darkness,” grabbed second place with an estimated $17 million. After an eight year hiatus from acting which included some, uh, personal drama, Gibson stars on the big screen as a homicide detective who uncovers secrets while searching for the killer of his activist daughter.

A new romantic comedy, “When In Rome” came in third with about $12 million.  Kristen Bell stars in this light-hearted story of a single art curator who scoops up some coins from a “love fountain” in Italy and soon finds herself pursued by the aggressive suitors who tossed in those coins. Josh Duhamel stars as well.

The family comedy, “Tooth Fairy” scored $9.5 million in its second week to land in fourth. Rounding out the top five, “The Book of Eli” with $8 million, bringing the three week domestic total for that action sci-fi drama to $74.3 million.   

Photo from http://www.dga.org

Director James Cameron is king of the Box Office right now, but the Directors Guild of America picked filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow as the best feature film director of 2009. The winner was announced last night at the 62nd Annual DGA Awards dinner in Los Angeles.   

The 58-year-old Bigelow won for the highly acclaimed Iraq-war drama, “The Hurt Locker.” She is the first woman to ever win the prestigious award, considered a reliable predictor of who will walk away with the best director Oscar. Bigelow is quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying: “This is amazing. I’m so deeply stunned, honored and awed.”

Bigelow and the film have won numerous awards, including the Darryl F. Zanuck producer of the year award from the Producers Guild of America, last Sunday in Hollywood. The Academy Award nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, and the big money is on Bigelow’s name being mentioned for best director.

For a list full list of the 2009 DGA award winners click here.

Photo from http://www.whitehouse.gov

Quite a week for the 2009 NBA Champions, the Los Angeles Lakers. Last Monday, they were honored at the White House by President Obama and some local congressional Lakers fans among them, Jane Harmon, Laura Richardson, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Brad Sherman, and Adam Schiff.

President Obama belatedly congratulated the Lakers on their 15th NBA title — their fourth in the past ten years.  Here are some of the president’s remarks. 

“I want to congratulate everybody who helped make this team what it is -– from the assistants to the front office staff, to the trainers and the ticket-takers, all the fans back in L.A. who bleed purple and gold.  You all should be very proud. ”

“Of course, I’ve got to recognize Kobe Bryant -– one of the most competitive players I’ve ever seen — (applause) — for being named Finals MVP last year, obviously already MVPs under his belt, the youngest player ever to reach 25,000 points in his career.  And he’s playing with a broken finger.  Now, if I was — if I had a broken finger I would have trouble getting out of bed. (Laughter.)  And he’s still leading the team day in and day out.”

“This is a team that never lost its focus last season -– from the first tip-off to the final buzzer.  I know that the Lakers have a tradition of ending each team gathering -– whether it’s a practice, or a game, or a team meeting -– by with the chant, “1,2,3, Rings.”  As Lamar Odom said, “We kind of always saw that light.”  Everyone was willing to do what it took to get a little stronger, to play a little harder, and to bring home that title.”

“But I think it’s important to note that this team also knows that being a champ is about more than trophies and rings.  It’s about being a winner off the court as well as on it –- and giving back to those who are less fortunate.  The Lakers and the NBA have always been about serving others –- at home and around the world.  And that tradition continued last week, when the NBA and the Players Association, led by Derek Fisher, pledged to donate $1 million to support relief efforts in Haiti.  (Applause.) Jordan Farmar and Pau Gasol are also donating their money to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund.  Pau pledged $1,000 for every point he scored against the Knicks — and I’m glad he dropped 20 –- (laughter) — helping the Lakers to beat New York and changing the lives of Haitians thousands of miles away.”

“And earlier today, the team joined with our United We Serve initiative to hold a fitness clinic for kids from Stanton Elementary School right here in Washington, D.C. -– teaching them about a few moves, but also how to live healthy and active lives.”

“So I just want to again thank the entire Lakers organization for your service, for the great joy that you have given the city of Los Angeles, but also the incredible competition your organization has graced the basketball court with for decades now.  If this season is anything like the last one — I know that you guys have your sights on the NBA finals — so we might see you here before long.  But we are very grateful for your presence here today.”

The full text of the president’s comments is on the whitehouse.gov website.  The day before meeting the president, Sunday, January 24, the Lakers lost a close one to the Toronto Raptors 105-to-106. That White House visit may have helped the Lakers get their basketball groove back.

On Tuesday, January 26, the Lakers played the Washington Wizards and beat them 115-to-103. The Lakers continued their winning ways by taking out the Indiana Pacers 118 -to-96 on Wednesday, January 27. Then yesterday, they whipped the Philadelphia 76ers 99-to-91.

Tomorrow, the Lakers take to the court in Boston to square off against the Celtics.

Look who’s talking? Oprah interviewed Jay Leno yesterday about the much debated “Tonight Show” debacle. NBC executives jerked around both Leno and fellow talk show host Conan O’Brien. Last Friday, O’Brien gave up “The Tonight Show” rather than see it compromised. Oh, O’Brien walked away with a huge chunk of money and a ton of favorable publicity as well.

On the other hand, Leno did not come out the clear winner, either. He gets to host ”The Tonight Show” again, but has become the target of bad press and dissing from fans for not being a real stand-up guy. The reason: he didn’t call out the NBC executives over that tacky plan to shift “The Tonight Show” from its traditional 11:35 p.m. time period to 12:05 a.m., which would have allowed a half-hour version of “The Jay Leno Show” to start in the 11:35 p.m. slot.

In the interview on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Leno answered some tough questions, and in doing so, smoothed out a few dents in his public image. I encountered the comedian a number of times when I  worked as a news writer at NBC and on occasion, in the local Burbank community. I once bumped into Leno, with a staffer, making a food run for “The Tonight Show” crew at a McDonald’s in Burbank. Each time I met Leno, he came across as a great guy. Also, I’m a fan. However, I was quite disappointed with the way Leno handled himself in “The Tonight Show” mess.

After reading the transcript of his interview with Oprah on Nikki Finke’s Deadline.com/Hollywood site, I better understand Leno’s position and perspective.

Leno admits NBC “broke his heart” when they told him in 2004, that despite being number one, he would get the boot from “The Tonight Show” five years down the road.

“…I was devastated. This is the job that I always wanted and it was the only job that ever mattered in show business to me. It’s the job every comic aspires to. And it was just like, “What’s–why–what is it?” “Well, we’re getting pressure here and Conan’s people want to make this announcement and to make sure you do leave we want to announce it right now, you know, prior to the five years.” And I said, “Can we at least wait and as I said the other night on my show, couldn’t we wait until I’m number two and then say, okay, he dropped to number two, that’s the reason we’re moving you.”

How did Leno feel when his prime time show failed?

“… I felt bad for everybody on the show and I felt bad for our affiliates. A couple weeks ago I called the head of the affiliate board and I said listen, they’re the ones that canceled us, and I said, “I’m sorry I let you guys down. I mean, you guys supported us, you went along with the decision. I’m sorry our show wasn’t successful for you.”

 Leno says that notorious late night talk show plan was a surprise to him, too.

“I never expected this to happen. People think you’re behind the scenes pulling strings. There’s no strings to pull. I have a show that’s been canceled. So why would I have any power to go, oh, I want that? What happened was NBC came to me and they said, “Look, your show was down 14%, Conan’s show was down 49%. We have a plan. We want to keep you both.”

 Why did he agree to return to “The Tonight Show?”

“You know, if you’re a gunfighter, you like to die in the street.”

Do you think you’re robbing O’Brien of his shot at the big time?

“No, because again, this is an affiliate decision. The affiliates felt the ratings were low. This was the first time in the 60-year history of “The Tonight Show” that “The Tonight Show” would have lost money and that’s what it comes down to. It’s really just a matter of dollars and cents. If the numbers had been there, they wouldn’t have asked me. And they only asked me after Conan turned down moving it back half an hour.”

What does Leno think about the way NBC handled the situation?

“Anything they did would have been better than this. Anything. Anything they did. If they’d come in and shot everybody, I mean, it would have been people murdered, but at least it would have been a two-day story. I mean, yes. NBC could not have handled it worse, from 2004 onward, this whole thing was a huge, a huge mess, yeah.”

Despite all that has happened, Leno thinks he can revive “The Tonight Show.”

“I hope so. I think so. Yeah. And I hope Conan gets a job somewhere else. I hope he gets on at Fox or somewhere and we all compete together. “Ooh, Conan’s back on,” and it raises the level of interest. And you know what happens? The best one wins. Maybe I’ll get my butt kicked, maybe we’ll win.”

If you didn’t get a chance to catch the interview on TV, check out the transcript on Finke’s site, it is well worth the read. Also, Talk Show Diva, Oprah, has more on the controversy on her website, too.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — A Burbank city crew on East Angeleno Avenue, between Glenoaks Boulevard and 3rd Street, fixing some of the potholes created by that brutal week of powerful storms. 

City of Burbank work crews were taking care of serious business during the past couple of weeks. They were on the job during and after the recent big storms cleaning up debris, removing downed trees, repairing streets, and solving other weather problems. One major repair job over on Victory Boulevard, between Magnola Boulevard and Olive Avenue, was apparently not really storm related.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — A giant sinkhole developed at Victory Boulevard and Palm Avenue last weekend.

This past Monday, I drove over the bumpy temporary patch that Burbank city crews put down on top of that huge sinkhole, which split open on Saturday, January 23. The day after, Sunday, I talked with James Truong who is a cook at the Great Wok restaurant at the corner of Clark Avenue and Victory Boulevard. Truong saw a trickle of water turned quickly into a rushing stream along Victory Boulevard Saturday afternoon, when a 12-inch water main broke. Truong says “…the water came up to the back door” of the restaurant, prompting him to scramble outside and move his car to higher ground.

That section of Victory Boulevard, and some of the side streets like Orange Grove Avenue, Clark Avenue, and Palm Avenue were blocked off for a while. By Sunday afternoon, crews were finishing up the heavy duty street clean-up and preparing to restore full water service to the mostly business district.

Photo:  FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — A Burbank Water and Power crewman prepares to turn on the water.

BWP General Manager Ron Davis blamed the main break on “improper construction by an outside contractor,” according to a report on the Burbank Leader website Tuesday, January 26.

 Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Clean-up underway at Florin’s Auto Repair & Systems Tire, 225 North Victory Boulevard near West Palm Avenue, on Sunday, January 24.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Clark Avenue, where it intersects with Victory Boulevard, was still blocked off with yellow tape last Sunday afternoon due to the flooding created by that water main break. By the end of the week, the clean-up was done and very few signs of the problem remained.

At the Burbank City Council meeting last Tuesday, January 26, city activist Mike Nolan, who can passionately and articulately dish out both criticism and praise, singled out the Burbank city crews for some well-deserved verbal high-fives. Later, city council members praised Burbank city crews for their hard work and dedication as well.

White House photo: Pete Souza — President Obama delivers the State of the Union Address 01/27/10

More jobs and pumping up the weak economy were major themes in President Obama’s first State of the Union speech delivered before a joint session of Congress last night. And that’s the way it should be. The country, and especially the backbone of the our society — middle class folks — are still struggling under the weight of this recession. “ For these Americans and so many others, change has not come fast enough.  Some are frustrated; some are angry.  They don’t understand why it seems like bad behavior on Wall Street is rewarded, but hard work on Main Street isn’t; or why Washington has been unable or unwilling to solve any of our problems.  They’re tired of the partisanship and the shouting and the pettiness.  They know we can’t afford it.  Not now. ” President Obama said.

Interestingly a  New York Times’  piece today, points out that even when the president rightly boasted of tax cuts generated by his administration, Republicans in the audience, who almost always cheer anything or anyone that produces tax cuts, well, last night, they refused to applaud. This demonstrated to the country why gridlock in congress is hampering a national health plan and other legislation that would benefit average Americans. That kind of attitude and partisanship by Republicans are responsible for much of the mess our country is in now. I don’t vote along a party line. I vote issues and candidates and therefore, I find the partisanship battles extremely frustrating.

During eight years of a Republican President, you didn’t hear Republicans screaming loudly about the rapidly growing deficit, the ill-conceived and expensive war in Iraq, or even the major financial melt-down and the much hated Bush Adminstration plan to bailout the rich cats at the banks and on Wall Street. Republicians were in charge of Congress during those eight years and it’s ridiculous to expect a Democratic President to clean-up that mess in one year. Republicans and Democrats need to work together to get the country and the economy back on track.

I must say, I thought new Republican Governor Robert. F. McDonnell, who gave the rebuttal to the State of the Union, showed more class than many of his more senior Republican leaders. Virginia Governor McDonnell complimented the president on some points and criticized him on others. Overall, McDonnell faulted the federal government for “trying to do too much.”

I gotta point out, President Obama was left with a full plate of problems to deal with and many demand urgent attention. The President realizes this and made it clear in his speech he plans to push forward on a health care plan, a bipartisan commission to work on reducing the federal debt, a jobs creation bill, $30 billion of the repaid bailout money to go to small businesses and so on.

I agree with the president when he wrapped up the spirit and goals of his speech by saying, “… a new year has come.  A new decade stretches before us.  We don’t quit.  I don’t quit.   Let’s seize this moment — to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more. ”  

For the full text of President Obama’s State of the Union speech click here.

Hello, sunshine!! The rain is gone and the sun is out in the Southland. Here in Media City this afternoon, the temperature is around 66, but feels warmer. The weather is expected to be sunny with comfy temps in the 60s and even low 70s in the Southland for the next few days.

2010 Camry from Toyota.com

The Big Three Detroit automakers are not the only vehicle manufacturers who have hit a few bumps in the road. In an unprecedented move industry leader, Toyota, is telling dealers to temporarily suspend sales of eight of its models, in the wake of a massive safety recall, that according to a news release yesterday from Toyota Motor Sales USA, headquartered in Torrance out in the South Bay.  

Last Thursday, Toyota announced a U.S. recall of 2.3 million vehicles to fix a problem that could cause the accelerator pedal to stick. “This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. We’re making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible.” Group Vice-President and Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter said in a news alert on the company’s website. This is the second major U.S. recall for Toyota, in the past few months. 

This latest recall and the sales suspension of some of its models threatens to damage Toyota’s reputation for quality and safety that is known worldwide. Also, due to the accelerator pedal problem and the sales freeze, Toyota will stop production of the affected models in the first week of February.

Today, Toyota posted some frequently asked questions and answers about the accelerator pedal problem on its website. Toyota’s accelerator pedal recall and suspension of sales involve the following vehicles:

• 2009-2010 RAV4,
• 2009-2010 Corolla,
• 2009-2010 Matrix,
• 2005-2010 Avalon,
• Certain 2007-2010 Camry 
• 2010 Highlander except hybrid models,
• 2007-2010 Tundra,
• 2008-2010 Sequoia

Toyota’s Camry claims bragging rights to the best selling car in the U.S. for eleven of the last twelve years. In car-loving Southern California, where there are probably more vehicles than anywhere else in the world, Camrys are very popular. It will be interesting to see if Toyota’s latest troubles cool-off the sales of that hot model. 

Burbank and the Southland are getting dumped on by another winter storm this afternoon. Weather watchers are saying it’s not going to be as bad as expected. We are getting a “glancing blow” rather than a full punch from this storm. 

 It should roll out of here by tomorrow, after dropping about a quarter of an inch or half-inch  or so of rain. Then our weather should be sunny and mild through next week. As much as we need the rain, I’m looking forward to a longer stretch of sunshine and warmer temps.

“Avatar” has become a phenomenon. The epic adventure held onto the title of number one movie in the U.S. for the sixth straight week. This weekend, “Avatar” sold an estimated $36 million in theater tickets, bringing its total domestic take to $552.7 million. Amazing!!

 Second place goes to a newcomer, the supernatural thriller, “Legion,” which debuted with around $18.2 million. Paul Bettany and Dennis Quaid star in this action fantasy about a fallen angel fighting to protect humankind. Another film with religious overtones, “The Book of Eli” landed in third with $17 million.

The new movie, “Tooth Fairy,” earned $14.5 million for fourth. The family comedy stars Dwayne Johnson and Ashley Judd. It’s about a tough hockey player, Johnson, who gets into trouble and is sentenced to act as the real-life tooth fairy for a week.

 Rounding out the top five, the drama, “The Lovely Bones” with $8.8 million.

Several of the winners at the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony in the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center last night are now serious front runners to collect an Oscar this year. Sandra Bullock took home the Actor statuette for outstanding performance by an actress in a motion picture for her role in the football drama, “The Blind Side.” Jeff Bridges won best actor for his lead role in the film “Crazy Heart.”  Also, Mo’Nique won the most votes from her fellow actors for her supporting performance in the movie drama, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.” All three won Golden Globes for those roles, too.

Christoph Waltz picked up the award for outstanding male supporting actor for his performance in the Nazi drama, “Inglourious Basterds.” He can sit that award next to the Golden Globe he won for the same performance, last Sunday. Oh, it was a big night for “Inglourious Basterds,” which won the trophy for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture as well.

So I would be very surprised, no, downright shocked, if Bullock, Bridges, Mo’Nique, and Waltz don’t hear their names mentioned on Tuesday, February 2, when the Academy Awards nominees are announced.

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or miniseries went to Kevin Bacon for his role in “Taking Chance.” Drew Barrymore won the outstanding performance by a female in a television movie or miniseries for “Grey Gardens.” Earlier, Bacon and Barrymore picked up Golden Globes for the same performances.

For a complete list of the winners click here.

We will probably get through the rest of the weekend without the need for umbrellas, but keep them handy. After a cold night with temperatures in Burbank and other parts of the Southland dropping down into the low 40s and some 30s, it should be sunny with patchy clouds on Sunday. Temps will warm up only into the 50s here in Media City, according to the weatherforyou.com website. Other weather reports predict we’ll get up into the 60s.

Those cloudy skies will linger through the beginning of the week and by Monday night, the weather watchers are predicting a 30 percent chance of rain. On Tuesday, the chance of rain doubles to 60 percent with thunderstorms likely as well. This is not good news for those fragile local foothills, still soggy and saggy from last week’s relentless rains. Residents there are being encouraged to clean-up and shore up their property before the next rain. We might get lucky, and the next storm will miss us. We can hope.

One of the most bizarre episodes in television ended last night when “Tonight Show” short-timer Conan O’Brien signed off. O’Brien took over the late-night hosting gig seven months ago and the ratings plummeted. Some say O’Brien was not being his usual off-beat, funny, edgy self; instead he was attempting to sell some bland image created by the corporate types.

Apparently in the past couple of weeks, O’Brien has gotten his comic groove back, because he has been hilarious and the ratings are up. Okay, some of that attention and interest is most likely due to the messy fiasco over the late-night NBC talk shows. No matter, O’Brien deserves the credit for his recent comeback.

When the NBC honchos announced a screwy plan to slot Jay Leno in a half-hour at 11:35 p.m. and bump “The Tonight Show” to 12:05 a.m. –O’Brien refused to go along with the deal. I don’t know what was more shocking, the plan or O’Brien’s reaction to it. More than just a personal ego-trip, O’Brien publicly defended the integrity and history of the legendary “Tonight Show” as being totally and completely linked to the 11:35 p.m. time start. He’s right. I would have expected that kind of passionate protection of the late night program from Jay Leno, the more successful “Tonight Show” host. 

O’Brien’s refusal to roll over and accept the ridiculous NBC plan saved  “The Tonight Show,” and probably Leno’s career, which has taken a major hit from his failing prime-time show. Oh, and O’Brien’s gutsy stand and classy exit are getting him tons of great publicity and probably legions of new fans who will follow him to his next gig. Way-a-go, NBC.

At the end of his final “Tonight Show” Friday, O’Brien took a gracious bow:  “There has been a lot of speculation in the press about what I legally can and can’t say about NBC. To set the record straight, tonight I am allowed to say anything I want. And what I want to say is this: between my time at Saturday Night Live, The Late Night Show, and my brief run here on The Tonight Show, I have worked with NBC for over twenty years.  Yes, we have our differences right now and yes, we’re going to go our separate ways.  But this company has been my home for most of my adult life.  I am enormously proud of the work we have done together, and I want to thank NBC for making it all possible.”

“Walking away from The Tonight Show is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Making this choice has been enormously difficult. This is the best job in the world, I absolutely love doing it, and I have the best staff and crew in the history of the medium. But despite this sense of loss, I really feel this should be a happy moment. Every comedian dreams of hosting The Tonight Show and, for 7 months, I got to. I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not  regret a second. I’ve had more good fortune than anyone I know and if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-11 parking lot, we’ll find a way to make it fun.” Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood site has more on O’Brien’s farewell and this whole late night talk show hosts mess.

O’Brien reportedly heads for the door with a hefty $45 million deal from NBC. The deal was held up for a while because O’Brien wouldn’t sign until NBC paid-off his staff and crew as well. More kudos for O’Brien for that. Also, O’Brien is free to hook-up a show with a new network in September. The new “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” kicks off March first.

We’ve had so much rain, the flowers and plants in my yard are drooping from it all.  This evening, I discovered clusters of white pebbles in the puddles in the flower beds. The pebbles — small ice chips – hail. I got caught in a hail/rainstorm around 6 p.m. while out running some quick errands in Burbank. One cloudburst dropped so much rain, I had trouble seeing through the windshield even though the wipers were whipping back and forth like crazy.

Many areas of the Southland, were battered by rain, hail, and wind today. Also, there are reports of tornadoes touching down in Riverside and Ventura Counties, ripping out trees, tossing cars and trucks around. In the nearby fire-ravaged foothills, crews are working to contain mud and debris flows in neighborhoods where yesterday hundreds of residents were ordered to evacuate.  

Red Cross Evacuation Centers are open at La Canada Flintridge High School: 4463 Oak Grove Drive, La Canada, Sunland Park Recreation Center: 8651 Foothill Blvd., Sunland, and Glendale Civic Auditorium: 1401 N. Verdugo Rd., Glendale. There is another shelter at Sierra Madre Community Recreation Center: 611 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre  as well. Additional information on the evacuation centers, the evacuations, and some of the road closures are on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works website http://dpw.lacounty.gov/CARE/

And tonight reportedly the search was called off for a second teenager apparently swept away in the Santa Ana river in Orange County. Rescuers pulled one boy from the treacherous waters, but were unable to find his friend. More storm reports on the 818 Now website.

Meanwhile, weather experts say we are nearing the end of this series of storms, but they’re still predicting bands on thunderstorms will spiral through the Southland overnight and through tomorrow bringing more bursts of heavy rains, lightning, gusty winds up to 60 miles an hour, and even pea-size hail. Oh, they say sunshine is on the way for the weekend. Hallelujah!

Photo: Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times – A man watches mud, water, and debris wash down a street in front of his Sierra Madre home yesterday.

Two powerful storms pounded the Southland over the past couple of days, and weather watchers are predicting a third truly monstrous system will roll through before we get a chance to dry out. When I got out this morning, it was chilly and the skies overcast. Soon the showers arrived with rumbling thunder, flashes of lightning, and heavy downpours. As I drove along a street in Glendale just before noon, I noticed people with umbrellas huddled in doorways. The rain was falling so hard, flimsy umbrellas provided very little protection.

All afternoon the rain came down in Burbank. At times, the chilly temperatures and rain produced hail. It was a bad weather day in Media City, but other areas suffered even more from this second storm. Along the coast, tornadoes reportedly whipped off the Pacific Ocean onto land in Huntington Beach and Sunset Beach, blowing out windows, damaging homes and vehicles. In fact, a twister flipped over an SUV, as you can probably imagine, it shocked and scared the heck out of a lot of folks.

Flooding on surface streets and major highways added to the weather grief for motorists struggling to deal with the high number of traffic accidents. In San Pedro, around 30-to-40 homes and some vehicles were flooded with at least three to four feet of water and a number of people had to be rescued. Closer to Burbank, areas scorched by wildfires last year are reportedly saturated. That prompted a news conference, just before 6 p.m. this evening, by Los Angeles County officials announcing mandatory evacuations a full 15 hours ahead of time. 

Residents in nearly 500 homes are being ordered to be packed up and ready to leave by 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. Those affected live in the foothills of La Crescenta, La Cañada Flintridge, Acton, and unincorporated areas of Glendale. The specific addresses for the evacuations are on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works website http://dpw.lacounty.gov/CARE/

This third storm is expected to drench the already soggy Southland with 2-to-4 inches of rain along coastal areas and 4-to-8 inches in the mountains. It’s due to arrive tomorrow afternoon and linger at least through much of Thursday and perhaps into Friday. Depending on the length of the storm, evacuated residents may not be able to return home until next Monday, January 25. 

The storms have claimed two lives: a woman in El Cajon and a Frazier Park man, both killed by falling trees, according to the Los Angeles Times.

 Be careful. Stay safe.

Photo: Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times – Actress Sandra Bullock and her husband, Jesse James, arrive at the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards last night.

 Actress Sandra Bullock was one of the double winners at last night’s 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. Despite the rain showers, Bullock looked cool, dry, and dazzling in a purple chiffon gown by Bottega Veneta. The actress quickly won a spot on most fashion critics’ best dressed list along with Penélope Cruz, Heidi Klum, and Drew Barrymore.

Once inside, both Bullock and Barrymore scored again — by winning Golden Globes.  Bullock won for best performance by an actress in a motion picture drama for “The Blind Side.” Barrymore took home the statuette for best performance in a mini-series or TV film by an actress for her role in “Grey Gardens.” 

Some of the other big winners were:

“Avatar”  Best Motion Picture Drama

“The Hangover”  Best Motion Picture Comedy of Musical

Jeff Bridges  Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for “Crazy Heart”

Robert Downey Jr.  Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for “Sherlock Holmes”

Meryl Streep  Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for “Julie & Julia”

Mo’Nique   Best Supporting Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture for “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire 

Christoph Waltz   Best Supporting Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture for “Inglourious Basterds”

James Cameron   Best Director in a Motion Picture for “Avatar”

Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner   Best Screenplay Motion Picture for “Up in the Air”

For a complete list of the winners click over to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes website.

The Dreamer: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ( January 15, 1929 — April 4, 1968 )

“… Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land.” Excerpt from Dr. King’s final speech, “I See the Promised Land/I’ve Been to the Mountain Top,” delivered the night before he was assassinated on the balcony of a Memphis motel. 

Yesterday, President Barack Obama spoke at the Vermont Avenue Baptist Church in Washington, DC and remembered The Dreamer.

“We gather here, on a Sabbath, during a time of profound difficulty for our nation and for our world.  In such a time, it soothes the soul to seek out the Divine in a spirit of prayer; to seek solace among a community of believers.  But we are not here just to ask the Lord for His blessing.  We aren’t here just to interpret His Scripture.  We’re also here to call on the memory of one of His noble servants, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ”

“Now, it’s fitting that we do so here, within the four walls of Vermont Avenue Baptist Church — here, in a church that rose like the phoenix from the ashes of the civil war; here in a church formed by freed slaves, whose founding pastor had worn the union blue; here in a church from whose pews congregants set out for marches and from whom choir anthems of freedom were heard; from whose sanctuary King himself would sermonize from time to time. ”

“We’ve inherited the progress of unjust laws that are now overturned.  We take for granted the progress of a ballot being available to anybody who wants to take the time to actually vote. We enjoy the fruits of prejudice and bigotry being lifted — slowly, sometimes in fits and starts, but irrevocably — from human hearts.  It’s that progress that made it possible for me to be here today; for the good people of this country to elect an African American the 44th President of the United States of America.”   

“Let’s work to change the political system, as imperfect as it is.  I know people can feel down about the way things are going sometimes here in Washington.  I know it’s tempting to give up on the political process.  But we’ve put in place tougher rules on lobbying and ethics and transparency — tougher rules than any administration in history.  It’s not enough, but it’s progress.  Progress is possible.  Don’t give up on voting.  Don’t give up on advocacy.  Don’t give up on activism.  There are too many needs to be met, too much work to be done.  Like Dr. King said, “We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.”

The full text of the President’s remarks in remembrance of Dr. King and his dream on The White House Blog.

Burbank and the rest of the Southland are in for a serious drenching, according to weather watchers. A storm swooped down on “Media City” this afternoon and it has been raining off and on here since then. The light patter of rain falling on the roof is rather soothing, but the weather situation is expected to get pretty rough later in the week.

The temps will dip down into the 50s, perhaps even the 40s tonight with the high only reaching near 60 tomorrow, MLK Jr. Day.

This storm is reportedly the first in a series that will roll through the region bringing periods of heavy rains, strong winds, snow in the mountains, and the threat of mudslides in some vulnerable areas. So hold on to your umbrellas, check those windshield wipers, and drive with caution.

Movie fans continued to spend beaucoup dough at theaters on this Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. After beating back a threat from the new flick, “The Book of Eli,” James Cameron’s mega-hit, “Avatar” remains the number one film in the country with a take of $41.3 million. “Avatar” is the top film in the country for the fifth straight week.

“The Book of Eli” is a post-apocalyptic action adventure/drama about a drifter who fights his way across America to protect a sacred book that holds the power to save humankind. Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman star. It’s directed by the Hughes brothers, Albert and Allen, and written by Gary Whitta.

On Friday, “The Book of Eli” opened with an estimated $11.7 million beating “Avatar” which took in about $10.5 million that day. Even though “The Book of Eli” slipped to second, behind “Avatar” it made a bundle over the weekend, around $31.6 million. 

“The Lovely Bones,” based on the bestselling novel by Alice Sebold, cracked the top five in its sixth week, landing in third place with $17 million. It’s about a teenage girl who is brutally murdered and later watches her family, friends, and killer from heaven.

The animated family film, “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” ended up in fourth with $11.5 million, followed by the drama, Sherlock Holmes” in fifth with $9.8 million.

Photo: Pete Souza/White House –  Ex-Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush attend a news conference with President Barack Obama. 01/16/10

 Former President Bill Clinton is leaving for quake-ravaged Haiti tomorrow to deliver much needed aid supplies and to meet with local leaders. Clinton is the U.N. special envoy to Haiti. Meanwhile, Haitian officials still fear more than 100,000 people have been killed by last Tuesday’s huge 7.0 earthquake, according to CNN.

Yesterday, Former Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush joined President Barack Obama in the Rose Garden of the White House to announce the formation of a new relief effort, the Clinton Bush Fund.  The two former presidents will lead this fundraising operation. 

President Barack Obama:

“… what these gentlemen are going to be able to do is when the news media starts seeing its attention drift to other things but there’s still enormous needs on the ground, these two gentlemen of extraordinary stature I think are going to be able to help ensure that these efforts are sustained. And that’s why it’s so important and that’s why I’m so grateful that they agreed to do it.”

Ex-President George W. Bush:

“I commend the President for his swift and timely response to the disaster. I am so pleased to answer the call to work alongside President Clinton to mobilize the compassion of the American people…. The most effective way for Americans to help the people of Haiti is to contribute money.”

Ex-President Bill Clinton:

“Right now all we need to do is get food and medicine and water and a secure place for them to be. But when we start the rebuilding effort, we want to do what I did with the President’s father(George H.W. Bush) in the tsunami area. We want to be a place where people can know their money will be well spent; where we will ensure the ongoing integrity of the process.”

President Barack Obama:

“In the days ahead they’ll be asking everyone what they can do — individuals, corporations, NGOs, and institutions. And I urge everyone who wants to help to visit www.clintonbushhaitifund.org.”