Cameras Are Fun

Taken in Sandusky, MI











Feel free to use it for wallpaper on your computer.

Statshot.
A look at the numbers that... wait this is actually real.

Top 9 inflation-adjusted domestic box office movies' ticket sales as percentage of US population at year of release.



Data courtesy US Census Bureau and Box Office Mojo.

What this chart represents is, basically, how many tickets a movie sold in the US divided by the US Population in the movie's initial release year. It's supposed to be a rough estimate of the percentage of the US population that went to see the film and gives an idea of the saturation of the movie in popular culture. The nine movies are the top nine movies on the inflation-adjusted domestic all-time box office gross list.

The reason it only goes to nine is the tenth movie on the list (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves) was originally released in 1937, and the midyear population data only goes back to 1950. For Gone with the Wind (1939) I used data from the 1940 US Census, so it is slightly inaccurate.

Also adding to the inaccuracies is that many of these movies were re-released in subsequent years. For instance, $128 million of Star Wars' $460 million were made in the 1997 Special Edition re-release, when the population was higher than the 1977 population.

But it gives you a rough idea of how ubiquitous certain movies are in the culture or past cultures.

The idea for this Statshot was given to me while browsing the list of top 100 domestic grosses adjusted for inflation. The movies on that list are really the most popular movies of all time, since it takes into account that tickets cost more today then they did in years past. Looking through this list, a number of other interesting things come into light. Here are a few of them:

Number of movies on the list starring Harrison Ford: 7
Number of movies on the list featuring music composed by John Williams: 17
Number of movies on the list directed by Steven Spielberg: 8
Number of movies on the list written by George Lucas: 10
Number of sequels on the list: 17
Number of Disney Animated Features on the list: 12
Number of movies on the list I've seen in their entirety: 62

Other interesting notes:
When Warner Brothers Pictures adapted My Fair Lady for the movies, they passed over Julie Andrews, who played Eliza Doolittle in the stage version, in favor of Audrey Hepburn. This is partially because Warner Brothers was investing a lot in the movie and didn't want to take a risk with the relatively inexperienced Julie Andrews, who had yet to star in a movie. However, this left Julie Andrews available to star in Disney's production of Mary Poppins. It's interesting to note that Mary Poppins sits at #23 on the list where My Fair Lady is #52. Note, however, that like most Disney movies on the list, Mary Poppins made most of its money on re-releases, having only made $31 million of its total $102 million on the initial release.

Gone with the Wind: This has got to be the most phenomenally successful movie of all time. In its initial release, it made $189 million dollars. $189 million 1939 dollars. That's over $1.329 billion 2007 dollars. No other movie made that much money for 34 years, not until the release of The Exorcist in 1973 with $193 million. But by then, Gone with the Wind had made an additional $9 million on re-releases, keeping on top of the box office list. The movie that finally bumped GWTW off the top spot was Steven Spielberg's Jaws in 1975 with $260 million. That only held onto the top spot for two years, when Star Wars burst onto the scene, raking in $307 million in its initial release. Star Wars held onto that spot for 16 years until Jurassic Park came along with $357 million. Jurassic's reign was short-lived because in 1997, the Special Edition re-release of Star Wars pushed it up to $460 million. But even that paled in comparison to the $600 million Titanic made the same year. Titanic still sits atop the box office, far ahead of even Star Wars in second place. Titanic is the only movie to have made more than $500 and $600 million dollars, and was the first movie to gross more than $1 billion worldwide, with a total worldwide gross of $1.8 billion. No other movie grossed more than $1 billion until Return of the King came along in 2003 with $1.1 billion worldwide. The billion dollar gross club also recently got its third member with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest at $1.065 billion.

Titanic is a success story similar to Gone with the Wind. Whereas most major blockbusters experience their largest gross on their first weekend, followed by a 30%-50% drop off on second and subsequent weekends, Titanic actually experienced a 35% gain on its second weekend, and didn't begin to significantly drop off until its 10th weekend. This is primarily why it sits on top of the box office chart and why no other movie is likely to touch it soon. Very few movies follow that same pattern. The only other one that immediately comes to mind is My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which had a very long, steady 52-week run, not permanently falling off until its 41st weekend. But since it never had a #1 weekend, it "only" made $241 million and is #45 on the all time domestic chart.

Coolest Movie Ever

Eureka!

No one seems to have noticed it, so I will draw your attention to the pattern at the bottom of the page which has replaced the panoramic view from my old office. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, underneath the Earth Advisory Board notice, the WWW Deprication classification, and my home connection speed, you will notice a pattern consisting of white and blue squares.

Who can tell me:
1) What does this pattern represent?
2) Why is one square a darker blue than the others?
3) If you were to stumble upon this tile pattern on a wall, what would you expect to find behind the mis-colored blue tile?

Statshot.
A look at the numbers that shape my - and therefore everyone else's - world.

Most desired careers among men aged 18-35 named "Joe Belland"

Just in case you missed watching

AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE COLON MOVIE FILM FOR THEATERS

It appeared on Cartoon Network at night.... for free!




Also, this is the coolest song ever

Lab Assitant

Funny Headline of the Indeterminate Time Period

Study: Abstinence doesn't delay sex - USATODAY.com

Um.... So tell me, exactly, how people are having sex while being abstinent.

Good News, Everyone!

Diabetics cured by stem-cell treatment-Life & Style-Health-TimesOnline

Notice how the author of the piece tries to blur the lines as much as possible, never pointing out that this cure was developed with ADULT stem cells and did not require the destruction of a human life, and needlessly bringing up the unrelated topic of embryonic stem cell research and claiming that they are the "most versatile kind of stem cells" without backing up that statement with any evidence or examples.

So what's the score now? Adult stem cell cures: 800+; Embryonic stem cell cures: 0?

Interesting....

BBC NEWS | Technology | Cursor hackers target WoW players

Key quote:
"Research by security firm Symantec suggests that the raw value of a WoW account is now higher than a credit card and its associated verification data.

"One card can be sold for up to $6 (£3) suggests Symantec, but a WoW account will be worth at least $10. An account that has several high level characters associated with it could be worth far more as the gold and rare items can be sold for real cash."

Statshot.
A look at the rigged numbers that shape your world.

What are we sad about?

I Knew Something Wasn't Quite Right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAkTpceAi6s

I want to know where the presidential front-runners stand on this key issue of Cadbury Cream Eggs? Does Giuliani support federally-mandated Cream Egg sizes? Does Obama recognize the dire threat this poses to our nation? The people need to know!

Also, a quick check of the Cadbury website reveals that they are a British company. I propose that the UN Security Council vote to impose sanctions on the UK until this horrible crisis of shrinking Cream Eggs is brought to an immediate halt.

Jedi Video

Yeah, yeah, I'm just ripping off links from BBspot,

But I just had to link this. Remember that book "powers of ten" or whatever? This is sorta similar.

Oops! I Forgot the Statshot Again.
A look at the numbers that shape your world.


Most one-dimensional villains.

All Your Calvin Are Belong to Us.

<Belated April Fool's Joke>

I gave up WoW and used the extra time to better myself and the world.

</Belated April Fool's Joke>

Wasn't that funny?

Now, after reading content descriptions, I've decided to wait for 300 to come out on DVD so I can make use of my good friends Mr. Fast Forward and Mr. Next Chapter Button. But I might try and catch this version if I can.

Cats are evil