Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 12/17 - Pop Quiz

The bidding for the following painting at EBAY began at .99 cents and is now up to $99,000. It is by an unusual source. Guess who? Hint: he was involved in a notorious criminal case and is now 2 million in debt to his lawyers. Answer below.

Who is the top male box office attraction of 2013? Hint: he enjoys cooking. Answer below.

I had another vivid dream last night. I was visiting my friend Adam at my old work place, which had been transformed from a trading floor to an oppressive industrial center. I have no idea what inspired it or what it means. I doubt it was influenced by the Korean horror film, The Host (2006), I watched last night courtesy of Netflix. It’s theme is a sci-fi mainstay -- pollution that creates a monster, the country's answer to Godzilla (1954), I suppose. The special effects are terrific, as is expected in the CGI age, but its goofiness takes a lot of edge off the tone, although I did chuckle a couple of times. The scene of the main family's mourning is absolutely bizarre, so ridiculous it made me uncomfortable. The closed captioning is often completely different than the dubbed dialogue. And I was angered by who does not survive. Hollywood veteran Scott Wilson was in the opening scene, playing a doctor who orders his assistant to pour scores of bottles of aged formaldehyde down the drain. I assume it is what causes the deadly mutation, although it is never again mentioned, and Wilson is never again seen, a quick, lucrative payday, I imagine. The Koreans have created some rousing, over the top, violent crime thrillers in the past decade or so. One thing those films has in common with The Host is incompetent government response, proof that it is a free society. On a scale of five, I rate it two. Those who rated it at IMDb disagree, giving it a seven on a scale of ten. And my literary angel, Victoria/January Valentine, recommended it, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. It’s by no means a terrible way to spend about two hours. And gore is at a minimum.

I’m in a quandary over my investment in Facebook. I’m currently up ten points on the 100 shares. My instincts, which have been wrong so many times in the past, are telling me to sell, as I expect a huge market correction in the near future. I have not bought Twitter because of that anticipation. I believe both companies, trading now in the mid 50’s, have enormous potential. Amateurs like me are not supposed to try to time market moves. Sometimes investing is annoying.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Answers: The painting is by George Zimmerman, and the actor is former wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. "Can you smell what the Rock is cookin'?"