BB 1/26/17

Good morning Phoenix! It's time for a "Did You Know?" list. This one is quite interesting.
Top 10 Famous People that you may not know have disabilities of some sort:
• Rowan Atkinson (of Mr. Bean fame) – he has a stutter and speech impediment. He's worked hard to overcome it.
• Tom Cruise – dyslexia diagnosed at age 7, and considered to be a functional illiterate. His involvement with the Church of Scientology helped to improve his comprehension, as he used the study techniques of L. Ron Hubbard.
• Beethoven – one of the most famous composers of all time was deaf. He lost 31% of his hearing by age 31. By clenching a stick between his teeth and holding it to the keyboard, he could hear some small sounds.
• Demi Lovato – bulimia and bipolar disorder. Her mother had bulimia, and her father is bipolar, and she inherited both from them.
• Mark Zuckerberg – founder of Facebook is colorblind. FB is blue because it is the richest color for him to see.
• R.J. Mitte – (Walter Jr. in Breaking Bad) has cerebral palsy. He worked hard and could walk without the aid of crutches, but reverted back to them to play the role of Walter Jr.
• Tim Howard – goalie for Colorado Rapids soccer team and Team USA has Tourette’s Syndrome.
• Katie LeClerc – (actress: Switched at Birth) – Meniere’s Disease, which affects her hearing.
• Michael Phelps – Olympic Swimmer – ADHD
• Cameron Diaz – OCD. Can’t open doors using door handles with her hands, using her elbows instead due to her fear of germs. She has cleaned the doorknobs in her house so often, they have changed color.
Moral of the story: With enough determination and drive, you can overcome any obstacle in your path. So get to it! :)
Have a fangtastic day my friends, and stay warm and healthy.
<3 Brock V"""V

BB 1/19/17

Good afternoon Phoenix! It’s Thursday, so to shake things up a bit, here’s some history for you.
On this day in:
• 1920 : 4,000 individuals are rounded up in a single night mostly members of the Industrial Workers of the World union who were suspected of being suspected radical leftists who were either deported or jailed as part of the Palmer Raids. The Palmer Raids (named for Alexander Mitchell Palmer, United States Attorney General) were a series of controversial raids by the U.S. Justice and Immigration Departments from 1919 to 1921 on suspected radical leftists in the United States. These arrests were made under the provisions of the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918.
• 1977: Snow fell on Miami for the first time in history.
• 1983: Apple announces "The Apple Lisa" the first commercial personal computer to have a graphical user interface GUI and a computer mouse. The Lisa was targeted at businesses and cost a massive $9,995 (over $20,000 in today's money) and because of its high cost never made the impact Apple hoped for.
• 2006: Moscow is suffering it's coldest weather since 1979, Moscow is used to extreme cold but -32C has closed schools, trolleybuses and trams have stopped running and Power rationing has been implemented.
• 2010: Kraft who are attempting a hostile bid for Cadbury's have raised their bid again, but analysts are unsure if the American confectioner Hershey will come in with a higher offer. (Kraft Foods did take over Cadbury in February)
Have a fangtastic day my friends! <3 Brock V"""V

BB 1/12/17

Good morning Phoenix! How about some Thursday Trivia?
Approximates:
• A penguin swims at a speed of approximately 15 miles per hour.
• A person uses approximately fifty-seven sheets of toilet paper each day.
• An adult porcupine has approximately 30,000 quills on its body, which are replaced every year.
• Annually, approximately 46 million Cokes, five million pounds of French fries, and seven million hamburgers are consumed at Walt Disney World Resort.
• Approximate number of facial expressions dogs can make: 100.
• Approximately 850 peanuts make an 18 oz jar of peanut butter.
• Dill seeds are so small that approximately 10,000 dill seeds would be required to make an ounce.
• In New York City, approximately 1,600 people are bitten by other humans.
• In the United States, approximately seven billion pounds of chocolate and candy are manufactured each year.
• The Eiffel Tower is painted approximately once every 7 years and requires nearly 50 tons of paint each time.
Have a fangtastic day my friends! <3 Brock V"""V

BB 1/6/17

TGIF Phoenix! How about some Friday Flicks? Here’s one I’m sure you will enjoy. You all like vampires, right? (of course you do – or you wouldn’t be here!)
Opening today is the newest installment in the Underworld franchise, Underworld: Blood Wars.
Plot:
The next installment in the blockbuster franchise, UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS follows Vampire death dealer, Selene (Kate Beckinsale) as she fends off brutal attacks from both the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her. With her only allies, David (Theo James) and his father Thomas (Charles Dance), she must stop the eternal war between Lycans and Vampires, even if it means she has to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Trivia:
• It was originally thought that this was Kate Beckinsale's last movie playing the character Selene, but Len Wiseman has confirmed a sixth movie is in development with Beckinsale reprising her character.
• This movie contains 4 cast members from the Game of Thrones (2011) universe. This includes Charles Dance (Thomas) who portrayed Tywin Lannister, Tobias Menzies (Marius) who portrayed Edmure Tully, James Faulkner (Cassius) who portrays Randyll Tarly and Lara Pulver (Semira) who voiced Lady Elissa Forrestor in Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series (2014).
• It will be revealed where Michael Corvin has been since disappearing in the preceding film, Underworld: Awakening (2012).
• The ending in Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) is open-ended which will lead to the beginning of the sixth film in the series says producer Len Wiseman. Which is also said to be starring Kate Beckinsale for the role of Selene one last time, for one final fight which starts in this film, the release date, director, plot and title have not yet been confirmed for the sixth film.
• This will be the first time a "Resident Evil" movie and an "Underworld" movie have both been released in the same month.
Goofs: None reported yet, since it just releases today in the US. If you see it, report any bloopers you find below!
Have a fangtastic Friday. <3 Brock V"""V

BB 1/5/17

Good afternoon Phoenix! It's time for a Thursday Top 10 to celebrate the New Year and that we're another day closer to the weekend. Maybe Lucan will give me a night off soon to spend with my mate.....
Anyway, here's a list of the Top 10 New Year's Resolutions that get broken. Enjoy and have a fangtastic day! <3 Brock V"""V
PS: Did you make any resolutions? Are you keeping them?

Top 10 New Year's Resolutions you will break

BB 12/30/16

Good morning and TGIF Phoenix! It’s time for Friday Flicks to start the New Year’s weekend off right.
This week’s selection is currently in theaters: Rogue One – A Star Wars Story.

Plot:
All looks lost for the Rebellion against the Empire as they learn of the existence of a new super weapon, the Death Star. Once a possible weakness in its construction is uncovered, the Rebel Alliance must set out on a desperate mission to steal the plans for the Death Star. The future of the entire galaxy now rests upon its success.

Trivia:
• This film is set days before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and five years after Star Wars Rebels (2014).
• Costume designer David Crossman stated that some of the original costumes used in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) were used in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).
• This is the first Star Wars film in which no one utters the name "Skywalker".
• The character of Grand Moff Tarkin, played in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) by Peter Cushing, is revived and "performed" by Cushing despite his death in 1994. Cushing is resurrected with CGI and actually performed by Guy Henry. Cushing receives a special "with special recognition to Peter Cushing" honorable mention in the end credits. Similarly, the character of young Princess Leia has a brief cameo, with much help recreating her facial features with CGI, while physically performed by Ingvild Deila.
• Hidden Mickey: During the battle of Scarif, an exploding fighter ship plumes smoke in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head. Around 1 hour and 45 mins.

Goofs:
• In the opening sequence, the Imperial shuttle is flying to Galen's farm to take him back to the Empire, and can be seen flying over Jyn's head as she runs back to the farm to warn her parents. The shuttle knows where Galen lives and presumably flies in a straight line, yet arrives well after Jyn arrives, leaving Jyn plenty of time to talk to her father and be hidden in the cave by her mother.
• When the shuttle lands on Scarif all of the palm trees surrounding the landing pad are coconut palms. Later an exterior shot of the shuttle shows date palms with pruned leaf bases. These palms are easily available and transplanted as mature trees as the trees in this shot were.
• During the space battle over Scarif, in one shot of Gold Leader's Y-Wing cockpit, the edge of the Death Star's equatorial trench can be seen through the back window of the cockpit behind him. This is reused footage from the rebel attack on the Death Star from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.
• At the first appearance of Orson Krennic the wind is blowing very strong and his cape is moving very strong too. But during the close-up scenes the cape almost doesn't move. In different shots, it's moving strong again.
• When landing the Transport the crew is preparing for landing as they deploy landing gear. You even hear them say that the landing gear is locked in position. Minutes later, when they actually are landing, you see the landing gear coming out of the Transport, not being deployed earlier.

Have a fangtastic Friday, and a safe New Year's celebration!
<3 Brock V"""V

BB 12/29/16

Good morning Phoenix! How about some Thursday Trivia? Here’s some New Year’s Eve Fun Facts for you!
• Auld Lang Syne is sung at midnight to toast in the New Year. The song was composed by Robert Burns sometimes in the 1700's. The term means "old long ago" or "the good old days."
• Stats of the first New York ball: 700 pounds; 5 feet in diameter. The ball was made from wood and iron. The very first ball lowering in Times Square was December 31, 1907.
• The modern ball that is dropped is made from Waterford Crystal and weights over 1,000 pounds. There are over 9,000 LED lights, but uses hardly any energy. The ball begins to drop at 11:59 and completes the journey exactly at midnight to ring in the New Year.
• The ball was not lowered in 1942 and 1943 due to wartime restrictions.
• The Catholic Church denounced any New Year's celebrations as paganism. Ironically, as Christianity rolled through the world, the Catholic community devised other types of celebrations for the "Feast of Christ's Circumcision," which is observed the same as New Year's Eve and Day.
• It is often thought that the first visitors you see after ringing in the New Year would bring you good or bad luck, depending on who you keep as friends and enemies. That's why most people celebrating on New Year's Eve often do so with friends and family.
• If the first person to visit you was a tall and dark-haired man, this was especially lucky.
• Items or food that is ring-shaped is also good luck. This symbolizes "coming full circle", which is what one year does. Some cultures eat ring-like food through the evening and through the night to ensure that good luck will be bestowed upon everyone who eats.
• Black-eyed peas (usually with ham) are often consumed in certain parts of the United States. These are thought to bring good fortune in cultures around the world, not just in the U.S.
• Other foods that are eaten on New Year's Eve are cabbage because the leaves represent prosperity. Ham (or a hog) also symbolizes prosperity. In Asian cultures, rice is a hearty and lucky staple that is eaten around midnight to signify the coming year of fortune.

Don't know about you, but I'll be glad when 2016 is over - someone go wrap Betty White in bubble wrap till January 1st!
Have a fangtastic day my friends. <3 Brock V"""V