Lincoln - Movies Make History Cool

Come on guys, we all know Lincoln is one dude you shouldn't mess with.  Well, maybe, unless you're Steven Spielberg.  The long awaited Lincoln  flick hits theaters November 9, 2012.  The movie follows the journey of one of America's finest, Abraham Lincoln.  The bloody Civil War is coming to an end, and honest Abe clashes with his counterparts, trying to abolish slavery.  It looks like a really compelling and prideful film, and I'll be sure to check it out.  With top notch actors such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, and Daniel Day-Lewis the president himself), it'll be hard to pass by.

Photo of the Day: For real...this is MARS

It might be awhile before man sets foot on the red planet, but NASA has served up the next best thing.  The insanely detailed 360 degree panoramic photo shows everything from ancient meteor crash sites to newly 'roved' tracks.  The photo was stitched from 817 different images taken between December 21, 2011, and May 8, 2012, while NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover, 'Opportunity', was stationed on a station informally dubbed ‘Greeley Haven’ on the rim of ancient Endeavour Crater.  Amazing.  Just amazing.

Check out the full resolution image on NASA (for real)

To The Batmobile!

This Documentary shows the linear history of the Batmobile through comics to movies. From the comic books release in 1939, Batman was never a superhero with superpowers. Being just a man, he needed a vehicle for protection, defense, speed and weapons. All 5 Batmobile’s and their actors or directors are featured in this rarely seen documentary (Courtesy www.rsvlts.com)

50 Things You Didn't Know!

• Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated. 
• Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite. 
• There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar. 
• The average person’s left hand does 56% of the typing. 
• A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes 
• There are more chickens than people in the world. 
• The longest one-syllable word in the English language is”screeched.” 
• On a Canadian two-dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag. 
• All of the clocks in the movie “Pulp Fiction” are stuck on 4:20. 
• No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple. 
• “Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “mt”. 
• Almonds are a member of the peach family. 
• There are only 4 words in the English language which end in “dous”: tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous. 
• A cat has 32 muscles in each ear. 
• An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain. 
• Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur. 
• In most advertisements, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10. 
• Al Capone’s business card said he was a used furniture dealer. 
• The characters Bert & Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra’s “It’s a WonderfulLife.” 
• A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours. 
• A goldfish has a memory span of 3 seconds. 
• It’s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. 
• The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world. 
• In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak. 
• The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. 
• There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball. 
• The average human eats 8 spiders in their lifetime at night. 
• A cockroach can live nine days without its head before it starves to death. 
• A polar bear’s skin is black. Its fur is not white, but actually clear. 
• Elvis had a twin brother named Aaron, who died at birth,which is why 
• Elvis’ middle name was spelled Aron: in honor of his brother. It is also 
• misspelled on his tomb stone. 
• Donald Duck comics were banned in Finland because he doesn’t wear pants. 
• More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane 
• crashes. (Not any more!) 
• Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand. 
• Shakespeare invented the words “assassination” and “bump.” 
• Marilyn Monroe had 6 toes on one foot. 
• If you keep a goldfish in the dark room, it will eventually turn white. 
• Women blink nearly twice as much as men. 
• Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do. 
• The sentence “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every letter in the English language . 
• The names of the continents all end with the same letter with which they start. 
• TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters on only one row of the keyboard. 
• The word racecar and kayak are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left. 
• A snail can sleep for 3 years. 
• American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class 
• The electric chair was invented by a dentist. 
• Vatican City is the smallest country in the world with a population of 1,000 and a size of 108.7 acres. 
• “I am.” is the shortest complete sentence in the English language. 
• No president of the United states was an only child. 

      And finally...

• The average chocolate bar has 8 insects’ legs in it.

Band of the Week: Foo Fighters

Former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl began writing and recording his own material at the height of Nirvana’s fame. After Nirvana folded, following the death of lead singer Kurt Cobain, Grohl founded the Foo Fighters.  Along with fellow band members, Grohl locked himself away in a studio and recorded the Foo Fighters' debut album in less than a week. After printing a mere 100 copies of the album, the Foo Fighters became the object of a fierce record company bidding war.

Along with Nate Mendel, William Goldsmith and Pat Smear, the Foo Fighters were ready to rock and roll. They signed to Capitol Records and their self-titled debut album, consisting solely of Dave Grohl's solo recordings, was released in 1995. Proving an instant success, the album achieved platinum status the following year.  The Foo Fighters toured with the album, and scored another hit with 'Big Me'. During the sessions for the second album 'The Colour and the Shape' in 1997, William Goldsmith left the band due to creative tensions. Several hits were released including 'Monkey Wrench', 'Everlong' and 'My Hero'.

Goldsmith was replaced by Taylor Hawkins, who had previously drummed with Canadian songstress Alanis Morissette. The band enjoyed yet more success in the US and subsequent line-up changes and controversial projects ('Rock Against Bush') have helped them remain firm MTV favourites.

In 1999, the band released their third album 'There is Nothing Left to Lose,' which saw Franz Stahl, who had replaced Smear, fired during the recording of the CD. The album spawned several singles including 'Learn to Fly', which was their first track to reach number one in the US.  The band started to develop a friendship with the rock band Queen in 2001, with Grohl and Hawkins inducting the group into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and performing 'Tie your Mother Down' with the group, who originally recorded the song in 1976.  Since then, Brian May has contributed to some Foo Fighter songs including 'Tired of You' in 2002 and the two bands have performed together several times. In November 2007, Queen perfomed at the Foo Fighters O2 Arena concert.

The band underwent a blip in 2001 and 2002 during the recording of their fourth album. Infighting among the band members and disagreements over the album led Grohl to help Queens of the Stoneage complete their album by playing the drums on some of their tracks. Both bands were touring at the same time, which left the Foo Fighters on the verge of breaking up but after Grohl rejoined them to perform at the Coachella Festival, they agreed to re-record the album 'One by One', which was then released at the end of 2002.  Since then, the Foo Fighters have released 'In Your Honour' in July 2005, which comprised a CD full of rock tracks and one consisting of acoustic tracks. In November 2006, the band released their first live CD called 'Skin and Bones' with an accompanying DVD.

'Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace' was released on 25 September 2007 and the single 'The Pretender' topped Billboard's Modern Rock chart for 19 weeks. On 3 November 2009, a Greatest Hits compilation was released by the band.  The Foo Fighters released their seventh studio album 'Wasting Light' on 12 April 2011 and it went straight to number one, the first album by the band to do so.  (Courtesy www.biographychannel.uk.com)

5 Superhero Movies You Need to See...Now!

6.  The Incredible Hulk
The one monster we all know and love starts out our highly recommended list of super-secret-serum-filled flicks to check out.  This film tells the story of Dr. Bruce Banner, who aims to cure his very unique condition, which causes him to turn into a giant green monster when he gets stressed  (good thing he doesn't have piles of high school papers due.)  While on the run from military capture, Banner comes close to a cure.  But, hope is destroyed when a new creature emerges: The Abomination.

5.  The Amazing Spiderman
Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy, and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr Curt Connors, his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

4.  Iron Man 2
With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper Potts, and James "Rhodey" Rhodes at his side, must forge new alliances - and confront powerful enemies.

3.  The Dark Knight Rises
Christopher Nolan's amazing Batman trilogy concludes with the Dark Knight pitted against the unstoppable national threat, known as Bane.  Years after the fall of (somewhat beloved) Harvey Dent, a new powerhouse seeks to destroy the caped crusader.  With the collapse of Gotham on the line, this insane conclusion brings together the shadowed savior, the long awaited cat woman, and...wait for it...wait for it...hold on...almost there...(Let's just say a little sidekick intends on continuing the legacy of Batman).

2.  Captain America:  The First Avenger
This perfect rendition of America's favorite hero lights up the big screen with tons of laughs and Nazi-kicking.  After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending USA ideals.

1.  The Avengers
Nick Fury is director of S.H.I.E.L.D, an international peace keeping agency. The agency is a who's who of Marvel Super Heroes, with Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When global security is threatened by Loki and his cohorts, Nick Fury and his team will need all their powers to save the world from disaster.
   

Daniel Craig to Fight on as James Bond!

One of the greatest to play the most decisive agent ever, Daniel Craig, has been locked on to play Bond for at least 2 more feature films.  If producer Michael G. has his say, Craig will have the third longest run with 007 with 5 installments.  Polish your dusty Beretta replicas, as the next flick, Skyfall, is set to hit the silver screen November 9th.

Daniel Craig has been contracted to play James Bond for two more films, which would carry his Bond tenure into the 25th entry of the franchise.  MI6 is confirming the new contract for Craig and states that Sony Pictures is looking to return to the two-year cycle of Bond movies. That would peg the 24th Bond film as a late 2014 release and the 25th film sometime in 2016.  The site notes though that the schedule may be “too aggressive for the artistic process at EON Productions,” who enjoyed the longer than usual break between Quantum of Solace and Skyfall due to MGM’s financial woes.  Craig is also keen on taking a breather as well, saying he will not take on any other film roles until all the Skyfall promotional work is completed. Producer Michael G. Wilson said that he hopes Craig will go on to be the longest serving actor in the role.  A total of five films would make Craig the third longest serving Bond actor, in terms of films produced, though it has taken six years to make three films. Bond actors also have a history of being released from their contracts early. Both Connery and Timothy Dalton left the role a film early for different reasons.  (Courtesy www.rsvlts.com)