Highly Anticipated Films of 2014 (At the Movies with Daily Lukey)

Welcome back to another At the Movies with Daily Lukey post! We will continue our look through some of the highly anticipated films of 2014. Some of them may not seem as exciting as you might think but there is always something about them that makes the highly anticipated or else I would not add them in.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

This film is set fifteen years after the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011). This cult classic revamp continues the story of how ultra-intelligent simian Caesar presides over the fall of human civilisation. A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. The reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.

Adapted from: http://www.movieinsider.com/m9411/dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/

The Hobbit: There and Back Again

Source: http://www.watchinga.com/pages/the-hobbit-120013.html?stream=photos&view=title

While The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug is still in theatres, fans are already looking forward to the conclusion of The Hobbit Trilogy which is based on the book of the same name by J.R.R. Tolkein. This prequel trilogy to The Lord of the Rings trilogy is set in Middle-earth 60 years before the events in The Lord of the Rings. This film concludes The Hobbit Trilogy.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Source: http://www.movieinsider.com/photos/97797/

Marvel has had great success in the past with it's comic-to-screen movies and so all eyes on this new movie Guardians of the Galaxy which is based on yet another Marvel comic book. The story features an unlikely cast of characters who must team up in order to defeat a cosmic force of epic proportions. An American pilot ends up in space in the middle of a universal conflict and goes on the run with futuristic ex-cons who have something everyone wants. This movie is expected in theaters in August.

Adapted from: http://www.movieinsider.com/m9398/guardians-of-the-galaxy/

22 Jump Street

This sequel to the surprisingly successful comedy 21 Jump Street sees Officers Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) team up to go undercover at a local college. However, when Jenko meets a kindred spirit on the football team and Schmidt infiltrates the bohemian art major scene, they begin to question their partnership. *Fingers Crossed* the sequel does not ruin the original.

Adapted from: http://www.movieinsider.com/m10021/22-jump-street/

Divergent

Divergent is definitely a movie to look out for in 2014. It is based on the popular books by Veronica Roth and all fans are hoping that the movie performs well enough to turn the book sequels into movies. Divergent is an adventure set in a future world where people are divided into distinct factions based on their personalities. Tris Prior (played by Shailene Woodley) is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. When she discovers a conspiracy to destroy all Divergents, she must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it is too late.

Adapted from: http://www.movieinsider.com/m8648/divergent/

Check back next week for more movies to look out for in 2014. See you tomorrow!

Childhood Television Highlights (Entertainment Wednesday)

Before I begin, I just want to say how excited I am to announce that this is the 300th post on this blog! It is amazing how far we have all come since March 2013 and we can only hope for future to be just as wonderful. There have been some short or missing posts from time to time but we managed to get there in the end. I say we because without you, my readers, this blog would have stopped a long time ago. It is amazing to be able to log on to Blogger tonight to find my view count surpassing 11,500 views. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever believe I would even make it past 10,000 in just my first year. For your support I thank you, it means more to me than you could imagine.

Today we continue on with another Entertainment Wednesday where anything Entertainment is open for discussion. Today I am going to write about those television shows we always watched as a child because they were just so good. They either made us laugh, cry, not want to go to the toilet or make us think. They are the television shows you think of when reminiscing about your childhood. Of course these are mine so feel free to comment down below some of yours!

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius

Source: http://www.brandigg.de/brand/THE-ADVENTURES-OF-JIMMY-NEUTRON-BOY-GENIUS

Jimmy Neutron was the perfect mix of comedy and story line. It was not one of those shows that sacrificed a good story for the sake of a laugh. It also had the potential to teach us something from time to time with some of Jimmy's School "Projects". Whether it was laughing at Carl, Jimmy's best friend, and Jimmy's Dad's antics or wincing at another of Jimmy's inventions gone wrong; there was always something to remember. I was excited to find that Jimmy Neutron Seasons 1 and 2 and just been released and so I bought season one after school today. There are just so many memories.

Jeopardy

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeopardy_(TV_series)

As you can tell, I am not talking about the popular television game show. I am talking about the television series that aired back in 2002 to 2004. It was a great television show full of suspense and drama. It was also a little spooky which made it really interesting. It was basically about these students from Scotland who go to the Australian Bush in search of UFOs with their teacher. The show seems even more real as the students are given hand-held cameras to record their actions and so a lot of it is jerky footage which makes it even better. The first series even won a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award for its first season.

Parallax

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax_(TV_series)

Parallax was another of those great Australian television shows that left you wanting more at the end of each episode. It followed the story of a boy named Ben who finds a portal to other universes. Through this portal he discovers many secrets about his mother as well as a sister he never knew existed. He also gets caught up in a lot of issues that make the show great. Just when you think the show is going to get boring, something else happens. It was definitely a show I would hate to miss.

Feel free to share your favourite childhood shows below. For the 300th time; See you tomorrow!

What? (Weird News Tuesday)

Welcome back to yet another Weird News Tuesday! For those of you who do not know, Weird News Tuesday is a weekly segment where I go through a news site and find some of the weird things that have been making news. Sometimes it is the stories that are weird and other times the weird part is how the story became news-worthy. Each week I use a different news site and this week I am using yet another British news site (what is up with all this weird British news?); Metro. We begin with one very bad attempt at subtlety in a photo bomb. The only difference from most other photo-bombs is that the photo-bomber was not actually human. This elephant (see picture below) is not the first popular animal photo-bomber and he definitely will not be the last. You can click here to see more photos of hilarious animal photo-bombers.

Source: http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/27/say-cheese-elephant-stakes-a-claim-for-least-subtle-photobomb-ever-4279695/

Next we have a news reporter making a live broadcast from a zoo when a lion sneaks up on her and jumps on the gate. Needless to say, the reporter was scared but the funnier part was seeing the lion clearly walk towards the gate knowing what it was going to do. That was one smart (and comedic) lion which would have provided for quite some entertainment on that channel. We all know how protective some people are over their money and how money can make some people really stupid. One lady from Germany made that mistake after flushing 330,000 pounds (over AU$569,000) down the toilet in a drunken rage. The lady was 63 and her husband had passed away in a care home. When the care home found out that she had come into money they sent the old lady the bill for her husband's medical care. The lady opened the letter after a few glasses of champagne and then tore up the money and flushed it down the toilet. After a court case into the incident, the lady was charged 3,300 pounds (over AU$6260) over the incident as the court heard that the lady may have made up the story to avoid paying the bills but it would be "hard to prove". An idiot of a man in Kansas (United States) ran back into his burning home to save his Xbox console. Fire officials say that the man was lucky to have only suffered from smoke inhalation with over AU$91000 damage caused by the fire. I think it is worrying that of all the things he could have saved (photos, memorabilia) he chose an item that could easily be replaced (though without the memory stored on that hard-drive). Over the years, people have proposed to each other in a variety of ways. However, one man used a fake arrest in his proposal. Funny, last week there was a story about a proposal as well except that one was between actors in a live performance of Peter Pan. You can view this proposal by clicking here. A nursing home has become very creative when making a calendar. Residents recreated some iconic movie scenes including the scene from Titanic where Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet are leaning over the end of the Titanic. It is all very creative and you can view all the photos here. A 14 year old girl got a surprise when she was about to bite into her blueberry muffin and realised that it was the spitting image of her dog. Obviously I am talking about the top of the muffin otherwise that is one seriously deformed dog. There is a picture of it which you can view below and it actually does look like her dog. The girl lost her appetite and her family froze the muffin and are looking for potential buyers. So far they have had no interest in it but knowing what some people are into, there is bound to be someone out there who wants it.

Source: http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/24/teen-discovers-blueberry-muffin-that-looks-just-like-her-pet-chihuahua-and-tries-to-sell-it-4275745/

There definitely were some weird stories today, I will try and find a non-British site with a weird news section next week. See you tomorrow!

Weird News Tuesday: Friday Edition

After a two-week hiatus, Weird News Tuesday is back! To celebrate the return I am writing this post and publishing it on a Friday as Tuesday was too hard a day this week to try and sort one of these posts out. If you did not know, Weird News Tuesday is a weekly segment in which I go through some of the weird news headlines and stories that really should never have been classified as news. Each week I use a different news site and this week I am using WA Today which is a news site from Western Australia. First we come across an article that, at first, appears to be discussing the popularity of the Thermomix but is actually just a really long advertisement. I kept reading thinking it would get to the story but it never did. It never did. Finally, a how-to article that really speaks to me. The title is "How not to be a wine snob". Already, it just screams "Luke!" For some reason, this is considered important enough information to put on a news site so the information contained therein better have a positive impact on my life. Who knows, maybe in a few years I will not be a wine snob and it will all be thanks to this article.

Source: http://www.watoday.com.au/executive-style/top-drop/how-not-to-be-a-wine-snob-20131219-2znbv.html

Just to show how obsessed we are with the United States there is a whole article on why Michelle Obama and Beyonce have such a great friendship. Forgive me for not jumping up and down with the joy of knowing that I can learn so much more about my favourite girls in the Northern Hemisphere. Next we have an article about a man who made a blog where all he did was pose next to mannequins wearing the exact same outfit as them and doing the same pose. It actually is pretty entertaining but still, how is this news? Apparently in Pakistan there is a restaurant that only allows foreign people to eat at their establishment. I guess they are just really lucky that Pakistan has such a booming tourism industry. Oh, wait. In other news, researchers have discovered how to determine what software is open on your computer and can decode emails through the sounds that a computer makes. First of all, what would lead someone to research that and second of all, that is actually pretty cool. I will never listen to my computer in the same way again. In other news, there is so much that you may not have known about New York. There is a park made on an old railway track, a free ferry, it is cheaper than you would think, has very low crime rates and is an alcohol-free zone which is strictly enforced. This is not weird as much as it is interesting. Sorry to bother you guys with something so normal. In other news, a gas smell swept through Perth the other day apparently and now there is a big investigation into it although it is already believed to have come from an industrial area. That was a quick, and probably harder-than-you-would-expect, case. A false alarm at Perth Airport was set to lose a lot of potential business but luckily it only lasted fifteen minutes before a false-alarm was determined. Apparently no flights were delayed but I would have hated to be travelling with someone. The stress that would have caused.

You would not believe how hard it is to find weird news stories on a news site without an oddspot section. See you tomorrow!

Australian Jingle Bells

As you all should know, Christmas is just around the corner! Usually we would all be very cheery and merry at this time but I have had enough of America's views of Christmas taking over the whole world's view. People are always going on about having a White Christmas but in Australia, any ice still left out has melted by the time Christmas comes around. As a result, I am taking some of the popular Christmas carols/poems/stories and making them more Australian. You can check out The Night Before Christmas in Australia by clicking here.

Source: http://travel.ninemsn.com.au/holidaytype/kidsfamily/654340/aussie-christmas-holiday-ideas

Australian Jingle Bells

Dashing through the heat

In a four-wheel open ute

O'er the pools we go

Sweating all the way

Bells on bob tails ring

Making spirits bright

What fun it is to laugh and sing

A sweating song tonight

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a four-wheel open ute

Jingle Bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a four-wheel open ute

A day or two ago

I thought I'd take a ride

And soon Miss Fanny Bright

Was seated by my side

The car was hot and dirty

Misfortune seemed his lot

We got into a drifted bank

And then we got upsot

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a four-wheel open ute

Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a four-wheel open ute yeah

A day or two ago,

The story I must tell,

I went out to the pool

And on my back I dove,

A gent was swimming by

In a one-piece swimming suit,

He laughed as I there painfully float,

But quickly swam away

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a four-wheel open ute

Jingle Bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a four-wheel open ute

Now the ground is parched

Go it while you're young

Take the girls tonight

And sing this driving song

Just get a bobtailed bay

Two forty is his speed

Hitch him to an open ute

And crack! You'll take the lead.

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a four-wheel open ute

Jingle Bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a four-wheel open ute

Merry Christmas everyone! Only 5 more sleeps to go. See you tomorrow!

The Night Before Christmas in Australia

I have had enough of the whole idea of a white Christmas. Forgive me America but we all do not live in a land where snow on Christmas day is normal (although in Melbourne, hail never goes amiss). So maybe, just once, could we present Christmas from a different perspective? Could we drop the snow and turn on the heat? We do not all live in America and so a little change from the quintessential Disney Christmas Movies like "Frozen" would be nice. No more, I say, no more. I believe it is time for Christmas in Australia so settle back and enjoy as we melt the snow, turn on the heat and add some random weather patterns in there to get into the Melbourne Christmas.

Source: http://www.abbeytravel.ie/abbey-travel-blogs/christmas-in-australia.aspx

The Night Before Christmas (in Australia)

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was sleeping, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the air-con with care;

In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were sweating, all hot in their beds,

While visions of ice-cubes danced in their heads;

And mamma in her clogs, and I in my thongs,

Had just settled down for a sweaty sing-along,

When out by the pool there arose such a clatter,

I quickly stopped singing to see what was the matter,

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer,

With a sweaty old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than Melbourne Weather his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Oi, Dasher! Oi, Dancer! Oi, Prancer and Vixen!,

On Comet! On Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As hot flames that before the bush-fires fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the air-vent St Nicholas came with a bound,

He was dressed for the beach, from his head to his foot,

But his boardies were still wet from sweat and mildew;

A bundle of fans he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a mechanic just opening his pack

His eyes -- how they twinkled! His brow so sweaty!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up something nice,

And the beard of his chin as white as the ice,

The stump of an ice cube held tight in his teeth,

And the water it pooled around his gums like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon have me to know I had nothing to dread

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a node, up the air vent he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

That was The Night Before Christmas as set in Australia. Over the coming days before Christmas where there are no scheduled posts I will do more of these to show to you that not all of us live in a "Winter Wonderland".

Only 6 more sleeps until Christmas! See you tomorrow.

Doctor Who Sunday: Top Moments of Modern Doctor Who (Part 1)

Welcome to a brand new segment called "Doctor Who Sunday" where the whole post will be about something Doctor Who related. Over the first few weeks (by few I mean a lot) I will be listing the top moments of Modern Doctor Who (as I have not watched enough of Classic Doctor Who to make those judgements) in chronological order from Series 1. I already wrote my list and got 92 moments which I will spread out over several weeks. How much moments I put in each post depends on the amount I write about which. However, this is going to go on for a number of weeks so as new episodes air I will add new moments (if I find any I really like). After this is done I will move on to something else Doctor Who related. So, without any further ado, let us begin with my top moments of Doctor Who in chronological order of the modern series.

1. The Slitheen from Aliens of London and World War Three

These monsters added a lot of comedy to the show in 2005. What is not funny about aliens who have to take up a human's body to fit in which has the unfortunate side effect of a lot of farting. It does set up the show for a lot more comedy as it is one of the first bits of it we get in the new series of Doctor Who. One of the Slitheen who survived the end of the episode World War Three (I am not going to say what it survived due to spoiler reasons) makes a return in the episode Boom Town which comes right before the two-part finale.

2. Peter (Rose's Father) from Father's Day

This was an episode which revealed more of Rose's past and emotional side. The story basically involved Rose creating a paradox by saving her father from dying by being run over by a car. All Rose originally wanted to do was just make sure that he did not die alone but misses her chance and so tries again but this time saves him. As a result reapers come (attracted to the paradox that was created) and try to repair the paradox. It really is a very emotional and raw episode.

3. Captain Jack Riding a Bomb in The Doctor Dances

Source: http://www.ghostofaflea.com/archives/2005_06.html

Of all the things you think you might see in Doctor Who, I doubt a time agent riding a bomb in World War Two would come to many people's minds. The scene was, for the viewer, expected to be the time when Jack would die but he is saved by The Doctor and Rose using the TARDIS. Over the next few episodes, Captain Jack joins Rose and the Doctor as a companion. It was a great moment in television history. Would you just look at how well the writers set things up by seeing how that bomb says "Wolf" and presumably Jack's jacket is hiding the word "bad". Whovians will know what "Bad Wolf" is setting up for.

4. Captain Jack's Concealed Weapon in Bad Wolf

Source: http://forums.hiddenfrontier.com/lofiversion/index.php/t6644.html

This scene occurred when the Doctor, Rose and Jack were hidden in games shows on Satellite 5 to hide them from the Daleks. However, they all discovered how dangerous the games actually were and so tried to escape. Captain Jack was caught in a Make Over show with some androids who first used a machine to undress him and then chose clothes to make him look well. However, they soon moved onto more drastic changes through cutting off his head or body parts. At this point Jack literally pulled a gun out of his bum and shot the androids. It again added comedy to the show and was another way for the writers to surprise us.

5. Rose is Bad Wolf from The Parting of the Ways

This is yet another of the "How are they going to escape" moments which Doctor Who is so well-known for. This is also a very powerful scene which comes after the Doctor sends Rose back home to save her from the Daleks after they escape from the game shows on Satellite 5. Rose tries desperately to return to Satellite 5 and becomes an emotional wreck until she succeeds. Eventually, Rose accidentally looks into the Time Vortex and becomes the Bad Wolf. However, it is too much for a human mind and so the Doctor kisses Rose to save her.

See you next Sunday for more Doctor Who moments! See you tomorrow.

The Wrong Lyrics

There are many horrible things in our world today. One of the worst is what I am going to be talking about today. For those of you who actually read the title (you would be surprised how many people do not) of this post would know what I am going on about. Of course, I am talking about the times when you have a song stuck in your head and you do not know most of the lyrics. But wait, this is not even the worst part. It is even more annoying when you think you have the right lyrics but all you end up doing is singing the one line over and over again (for some songs this works) or just putting in random words. For instance, I have only actually listened to Royals by Lorde once (do not judge me) and so I know the general sound and rhythm as well as a lot of the lyrics. However, there are some parts where I either just hum it or I insert some random words. Once, after watching Fringe, I found myself singing "And we will never be Broyles (Broyles)". It really just stuck and so now, almost every time, I find myself singing that line instead of actually singing the right words.

Source: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5770722/lordes-royals-crowns-hot-100-for-fifth-week

The worst part is sometimes what part of the song that you remember. You know how some songs make sense all together but if said in dribs and drabs it makes absolutely no sense and makes you look crazy. As my favourite artist is Lady Gaga and most of her songs are a little "out-there" as it is sometimes the parts of her songs I can remember can make me sound like a sexual predator. For instance, in Aura (one of her new songs from ARTPOP) the only part I can clearly remember besides the beginning is "Do you want to see me naked lover? Do you want to peek underneath the covers? Do you want to see the girl who lives behind the aura, behind the aura? Do you want to touch me cosmic lover? Do you want to peek underneath the cover? Do you want to see the girl who lives behind the aura, behind the aura, behind the aura, behind the aura?" Do you know how weird that would sound if you passed someone singing that on the street. Do not even get me started on the only parts I can remember of her songs Sexxx Dreams, Jewels and Drugs, and Dope. Even though Dope is actually a very emotional and deep song, the main parts I can remember make me seem like a drug-addict. Although, in Werribee that might not stand out as much (no judge). Admittedly, even if I knew all the lines of Sexxx Dreams I would still sound extremely weird to anyone passing by. At least Gypsy is a relatively normal song with no explicit sexual innuendo so I can get away with singing that in public, Venus not so much. Mary Jane Holland sort of though I would seem like I am having a delusion of stardom with someone called Mary Jane Holland. Donatella would just make me sound like a superficial rhymes-with-witch and Fashion would make me seem like that guy from the Target advertisements.

This is a very serious issue, see you tomorrow! 

Weird News Tuesday: What?

So we are back again to this day, Tuesday. I know you guys were expecting a post yesterday and, believe you me, so was I. However, scheduling again messed me up so instead I am doing another Weird News Tuesday post. I really do not know what is going on with my Random Thought Friday posts because each week, for whatever reasons, my Fridays get busy (or I forget) but you can always rely on the Weird News Tuesday: Keeping you up to date with the news that matters. Today I will be using the news site: The Daily Telegraph (Australian). We begin with the infamous Lara Bingle with a story I have seen on every news site I have visited tonight. Apparently, the weekly magazine Famous published a photo of her where they allegedly photo shopped more "Cellulite" onto her thighs. Yes, you read that right. They added more "cellulite", not fat, "cellulite". What do they stand to gain by saying cellulite instead of fat? It saves ink (and a few milliseconds). Also, in major news (according to every news site I have been on), the death of Brian Griffin from Family Guy has left fans all over the world reeling. Apparently this is news. Do not get me wrong though, I love Family Guy so I am dedicating this post to Brian Griffin (1999-2013). May he rest in animated peace.

Source: www.unrealfacts.com

In other 'news', a woman (Lucy Cavendish) gives an insight into what it is like living as a 'white' witch. I mean 'white' as in good, not talking about skin colour here. Her book 'Spellbound' gives an insight into how her spells work and how to incorporate witchcraft into everyday life. A man's life was saved after his old boss accidentally butt dialed him. The boss was actually plotting how to kill this man and if he had not have butt dialed him. First, why was that guy's number the one that pops up first. Was his name "Aardvark" or was his number "1111111" or "2148701273"? Seriously, how does that even happen. I have heard of drunk-dialing someone but this is reaching all new heights. A London woman has hatched an 'Ingenious"  plan to get a date with Ryan Gosling or someone similar. Basically she puts up "Lost" posters all around the place with Ryan Gosling's photo on it with her number underneath. Talk about new ways of picking up people. Apparently now there is a legitimate occupation where you go around to different toilets all around the world and use them to find the best toilet in the world. So that is a thing now. Also, an unlucky burglar got stuck in the bathroom window of a house he was trying to break into. When the victim came home the burglar actually had to ask him to call the police. If it were me, I would have waited an hour or so to let him sweat it out (Payback is a bitch and bitch is my middle name). Kids these days bring all sorts of things to show-and-tell. On the list you have toys, books, magazines, parents' "Vibrating Rocket Ship", teddy bears among other things. I could make a really bad pun about rocket ships and Uranus but I will not, I am above that (for now). A group (I do not know which one [there are so many out there these days]) has banned the consumption of soy because they believe it can turn you gay. Yeah, of all the ridiculous theories I have heard that has got to be up there as one of the most ridiculous. The worst part is that someone obviously believes this. Finally, family's had to rush from their homes in Brazil after a fire at a sugar warehouse released a flood of caramel that threatened the surrounding houses. That would have been quite the sticky situation.

The news just keeps getting weirder and weirder. See you tomorrow!

Weird News Tuesday: The Weird and the Weirder

It is that time of the week again guys! This week, finding a source was hard. In the end I had to Google News Sites just to find one that had some weird news in it. Anyway, this week we are looking at the Yahoo Australia News site (au.news.yahoo.com). We begin with a story on how Australian Olympians are "not allowed to stagger". The Australian Olympics Committee says that Australian Olympians can get drunk but they draw the line at staggering and slurred speech. I get where they are coming from but that headline really caught my attention. Next we have the Toronto Mayor in trouble again after rushing off stage in a debate to hit another senator. Just when you think he could not get any lower. Seriously though, it has been on every news site I looked at today (it took me a while to find one that had some weird stories). Mayor Rob Ford has finally been stripped of all powers after a council vote. It took them a lot longer than it should have, just saying. The next two stories are not weird but the category they were filed under is. The first is a story about the release of endangered orange-bellied parrots that boosts numbers and the next is of animals dying in a zoo in Indonesia because of over-crowding. Neither of those stories are weird. The weird part is that it was filed under technology. I mean, really? I must have skipped the section about the robot birds and mechanical animals. I know I should have paid more attention in Biology.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-19/this-photo-is-worlds-first-selfie/5102568

So apparently this is the first ever selfie. It was posted in an ABC Online Forum in September of 2002 so hooray for Australian trend-setting! However, I doubt that this is actually the first ever selfie because the poster used "selfie" in her description of the picture. But, seeing as "selfie" is Oxford's Word of the Year (yeah, they chose "selfie" since its usage has risen dramatically over the past year) I am just going to get a little Australian pride going on! The story was obviously copied from the ABC News Site because it contained everything the same as the ABC one except the picture which it said was there in the headline. I think someone let it go there. The next story is a very touching one as it tells the story of a young boy with cancer and thousands of San Francisco people (San Franciscans?) who turned out to help make this "Bat Kid" into a super hero. Even US President Barack Obama got in on that act sending a photo to the boy with the caption "way to go!" It is a little weird, but also very heart warming to know that there are still thousands of good people out there, somewhere. The next story is of University of Adelaide medical students admitting to cheating on an exam. Can someone please explain to me why I have seen this on five different news sites today? How is that news? Since when was cheating big news? Should I just start making some big deal about every silly thing that I do now? Apparently, that is news. Finally, apparently the presenters on Today! (morning show on Channel 9) had Mamograms on air to test for breast cancer. Apparently that is a thing now.

Things just keep getting weirder!

Weird News Tuesday

So the new weekly segment is here! You know when you read the paper, watch the nightly news or browse the online sites and you see a bit of news that makes you do a double-take? These are the stories that surprise you not because of their content, but because it was considered news worthy. Most of the time, this can be taken as a good sign in that there obviously is nothing too serious going on if there is still room for these stories. This new series brings in some of the weird news stories I have seen either throughout the week or have found on my search every Tuesday night. Let us get started straight away! We begin with a photo found on news.com.au. It is of the affluent horse-trainer, Gai Waterhouse, and her reaction to her horse, Fiorente winning the Melbourne Cup this year. It is one great shot.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/sport/superracing/fiorente-wins-the-2013-melbourne-cup/story-fnjsiw2w-1226753549090

I did not even scroll far to see the next story I am going to talk about. The headline reads, and I quote, "Giant firework penis lights up the night sky in Glasgow; residents love it". You have got to be kidding me, the story even makes a not-so-subtle reference to a "happy ending". You read it correctly, one of the first stories on a news site was that a giant penis lit up the sky and led to a few happy endings. The next story comes straight out of France and is titled "Stole a Llama, now there's drama". It is basically the story of a drunk group of men who stole a llama from a circus and then, just for the hell of it, took it on a tram. Now can you see some of the weird stuff that people consider news? Oh, and the Llama's name was Serge. I have no idea why that is important but make of it what you will. Scroll down to the lifestyle section and you will soon think you are on a porn website. The title of this story is "Teen sells her virginity for $27,950" and I do not need to go into any more detail about what the story is about do I? Can I just say that they are oddly specific. They go write down to the $50 when generally they just go for the nearest large number and say it is either more or less. Just saying, I bet a guy wrote this article. The author's name is not listed so I guess we will never know. Also, if you scroll further, you will soon find out that cat cafes are so last year and that the new trend is owls. I know I am generally behind the trends but seriously, did I actually miss the cat cafe trend? Damn it, now I have to move onto the Owls or else be left behind. Also, apparently there is a robot rock paper scissors champion somewhere out there. I am really not regretting scrolling through the news.com.au homepage. Seriously, this is all on their homepage. I thought this segment was going to be hard to write but apparently not.

The weirder side of the news brought to you every Tuesday. See you tomorrow!

New Addictions

So you may remember that I have already written a post on addictions back in May. This one will be a little different however. This one is going to be about new addictions and the sources from which we attain them. We can not always realise that we are addicted until we look back and realise how much a certain thing had taken over our lives or become such a major part of it that to live without it was something bad. These addictions can be really annoying when we need to get something done and we keep getting distracted.

Source: http://www.businesspundit.com/5-best-and-worst-addictions-to-cultivate-during-2009/

Can you guess where that last sentence came from, well, why I chose to write it. I am trying to write this post but I keep getting distracted by Fringe. This brings me on to the new addictions part of this post. My friend, Xavier, is always going on about Fringe, a science-fiction show he really enjoys. He has since gave it to a few friends to watch and so now many of us are hooked on this show. In some ways this is great because I needed something to help me relax after a busy term and before even busier exams. Friends are a major source of our new-found addictions. They may mention or recommend things for us to watch, see or do which we then find ourselves enjoying so much that we continue watching it and fall in love with it. With Doctor Who I saw one episode in school at the end of Term 2 and then I fell in love with show. I began to watch it and hence found a new addiction. New addictions can be the worst because sometimes it is too late before we realise it and we can not bring ourselves to stop it.

New addictions come from many sources, see you tomorrow!

First Impressions

In today's world, first impressions are everything. This is true for a wide manner of things including (but not limited to) people, places, people, games, shows, and did I mention people? We do not realise how big a role first impressions play on us until we look back and think about why we did or did not like or do something. We then realise that our decisions and our interests have been based on the impressions we made when we first encountered whatever we are reacting to (can you believe I almost typed stimuli?). Our emotions play as big a role, if not bigger, in our lives then logical thought processes.

Source: http://catghost.net/2011/04/07/first-impressions/

If you will excuse the language in the comic above and the dark undertones it does show us how first impressions... Just kidding, I only chose it because it looked funny. It only really has minimal links to first impressions but it was enough for me! I am sure I have discussed first impressions with people a variety of times throughout a range of posts so instead I am going to focus on other first impressions. For example, a television show. The first episode you are ever going to watch of a show will determine whether you will want to watch another or just move on. Your first episode of a really good television show is not one you easily forget as it was your first insight into a new world you have grown to love. Your emotions at the time of watching that first episode also determines how likely you are going to pursue that show in the future. If you are in a foul mood you are most likely not going to have very positive experiences with the show you are watching. Conversely, if you are feeling great you are more likely to be more receptive to enjoy what you are going to watch. As the old adage goes (which comes in many different wordings), you can only get out of something what you put in. If you go into a show with a bad mood and not thinking you will enjoy it then you are not going to enjoy it as that is what you expect. Only in rare cases will this not be the case and this can be for a variety of reasons including those around you, the quality of what you are doing and the level of your receptiveness. So you can see that this can be applied to a wide range of things from television shows to camps or recreation days. First Impressions are everything and if that first impression is not good, neither will the rest of your time.

First impressions are very important, see you tomorrow!

Gravity Review

Source: http://www.space.com/22603-gravity-movie-venice-film-festival.html

My Rating: 9/10

Trailer:


Synopsis (Click here for Source):
Gravity, directed by Oscar nominee Alfonso Cuaron, stars Oscar winners Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in a heart-pounding thriller that pulls you into the infinite and unforgiving realm of deep space. Bullock plays Dr Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (Clooney). But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving stone and Kowalsky completely alone.

My Review:
Wow, just wow. Gravity is a visually stunning and incredibly realistic masterpiece by director Alfonso Cuaron. It leaves you hooked from beginning to end with little rest in between. You will have your heart in your throat for the majority of the film and what happens in the movie will leave you breathless. Even the camera work adds another layer of depth to the film as you sometimes have a third person perspective and then you come twisting around to one of the characters' perspectives and are given a whole new level of immersion. I saw it in 2D and this had no impact on how I experienced the film. The acting is another thing, it would be really interesting to see how they actually filmed it. The back stories of the characters add yet another layer to a film and these are subtly dropped in every now and then to break up certain parts of the movie. The starting lines (shown in the trailer as well as the beginning of the movie) where it says "Life in Space is Impossible" is something you are constantly reminded of and thinking about throughout the course of the film.

Gravity really is a must-see thriller that will have you hooked from the silence at the beginning to the credits at the end. See you tomorrow!

Disappointing Sequels

You know how people say too much of a good thing is a bad thing? Well, this is proven exceptionally well in several of the movies coming out of Hollywood. Sometimes movie makers strike gold with their creations and other times they are just misses. Movie making is really a gamble in many ways and whether a movie will be a success or not is hard to tell with even the most anticipated movies being disappointments. However, when these hits are made producers want to make as much money as they possibly can before the buzz dies down and it becomes a classic sitting in the corner gathering dust.

Source: http://www.popmatters.com/column/126567-sequels-we-were-denied/

What is one of the most lucrative ways of milking a movie franchise for all it is worth? Sequels of course. These sequels can often turn a good series bad and leave a bad lasting memory. There are many instances of this occurring throughout history (yes, I am getting deep here. Prepare your mind) where a movie's sequel has ruined the franchise entirely. Today I went to see Grown Ups 2 and was very disappointed. The first movie was great and so I went to this one with the same expectations. Sure, there were funny moments but that was all and it seemed like they just wanted to put in random gags and it was cohesive. It just came together messily and I really wanted my time back. Other disappointments include Spider Man 3 which is widely considered as a disappointing ending to the trilogy. The latest installment of the Die Hard franchise was also a kick-in-the-face to Die Hard fans across the world. It just goes to show that some good things just need to be laid to rest after they have had their time.

Don't let too much of a good thing ruin your good thing, see you tomorrow!

No More PUNS!

I have had it up to about here (just imagine me standing on top of the Eureka Skydeck with my hand level with my head) with puns. Small puns, big puns, good puns, bad puns I have just had enough of them! The occasional ones are alright but seriously, I have heard enough of these in the last few weeks to warrant my not-so-sudden dislike of them. Most of the time they either make no sense or are so hurriedly put together that the humour is lost in the stupidity.

Source: http://memegenerator.net/instance/37229031

The worst part is when you think you can get away from the people who make them you find other sources which you can not stop. You never notice how much people around you use puns until you are sick of them. I am seriously starting to consider the possibility that it was the puns that caused my sickness over the past few days. Have you ever noticed how much the news sites and television shows love their puns. You just watch as the anchors have their little chortle after saying something completely 'hilarious'. Then you change to something lighthearted on another channel and again you are assaulted by insulting plays on words. I was relieved once when I watched Come Fly With Me. It is (well, was) a comedy show from the people who made Little Britain and there was one character who always said "If you'll pardon the pun" when he thought he had made one when, really, he had not. It was just so relieving to finally have someone who was not making a pun, even if they thought they were. This post is starting to sound really weird so I think it is as good a place as any to stop it.

Think twice before making a pun, see you tomorrow!

Year 10 Formal

So last night, as you may well know if you read last night's scheduled post (I know, I was organised for once. Hooray!), was my Year 10 Formal. To put it simply, it was AWESOME! There was so much work that went into it and it all payed off in the end as everyone I spoke to had a great time. Even one of my friends who is always a bit on the Mr Negativity side of things and came to the night thinking it was a waste of time came up to me and said that he was wrong and this is fantastic. I guess fantastic really does describe it as the atmosphere itself was just fantastic. It was held at Waterfront Venus Docklands in Melbourne and it had the best view over the harbour and over past Etihad Stadium. It was wonderful and I would really like to thank the venue staff for making the night so memorable.

Source: http://thecontrolleronline.com/2012/10/007-legends-review/

As you may have worked out from the picture the theme was James Bond. This was more in the way of decorations rather than actual dress theme which made it even better as everyone looked different. There was a lot of work also that went into the night which included Year 10 class captain meetings and surveys to ensure we could cater to as wide an audience as possible. In the end we had 167 (out of 200) Year 10 Students come plus around ten or so teachers. There was also a free photo booth (photos printed on the spot and put on Facebook for free), a roaming photographer (photos free and on Facebook) and a set photo point with a backdrop with prints costing $10 but it was all worth it. People really got into the night and came dressed to impress and some people were very hard to recognise because they looked so different in such a good way. I was lucky enough to arrive early to help set up so I could see the sunset over the harbour as I was placing seating arrangements. We were expecting people to come a bit later than 7pm but at around ten to there was already a large crowd waiting outside to come in but they were not allowed until 7pm. However, many of us had already been there since 6pm setting up so we were all ready and basically we were waiting on both sides of the door. It was such a great opportunity and something to be a part of. We danced (by dancing I mean jumped up and down with the beat and everybody else), socialised, ate, drunk, took plenty of pictures and had a damn good time. When it was time to leave I just did not want to go.

This formal was definitely something I will remember for years to come, see you tomorrow!

Gullible

So hooray guys, today I was organised! I wrote two posts at once which was yesterday's and today's. I wrote them both last night because I knew that I would not be able to write another one tonight. Why is that you may ask. Well, tonight is my Year 10 Formal which is going to be so great, I can not wait (although when this post comes out it will probably be about to start or something). So in between making posters for my fundraiser, scrolling through my Facebook news feed and watching YouTube videos I decided to write those two posts. I am pretty proud of myself as this means I do not have to worry about hurriedly typing one on the way home on the iPad because they all turn out pretty bad as it takes a lot longer to type. So we all know someone who does not think twice about what they are being told and takes everything as fact (seriously, did you see that change in subject?). This is their story (*cue "dun dun" Law & Order sound*).

Source: http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/3171988/Gullible/

Sometimes this can be great as they do not question you even when you are obviously wrong or missing something important. It is also great as it leads to a lot of funny (and sometimes mean) gags at their expense. I mean, how many times have you fallen for "Gullible is written on the ceiling"? For some this occurs too often and it has become a problem. It can also be a problem as you have to be extra careful with what you say around them because they are not going to know if you are joking or not. Sometimes even sarcasm is lost on these people. It happens to the best of us and we are just left there looking like idiots. However, sometimes you need to draw a fine line between gullible and argumentative. There just comes a point when you are so not gullible that you question and argue with everything someone says to you. This is often the most annoying trait someone can have as you can not possibly have a normal conversation with them.

Being gullible is often not a very fun thing (ignore my horrible sentence structure please), see you tomorrow!

As Parties End

So I am really tired and so I am just going to finish this politics series off. The final nine will be explained today and so do not expect one on Thursday. I can hear some of your cheers already. Great, I feel like Daria saying everything in a monotone. Daria was actually a pretty good show, you guys should go check it out if you have not already. Anyway, getting back to politics. Let's get started! As it is late there will be no pictures today. Just words and politics.

The Shooters and Fishers Party is the voice of "hunters, shooters, fishers, rural and regional Australia and independent thinking Australians everywhere."

The Smokers Rights Party is one a whole-heartedly do not support as I do not support smoking in any way, shape or form. This political party believes that "Australian Smokers have been unfairly targeted by all major political parties." They basically fight for the rights of Australian Smokers as they see them.

The Socialist Alliance is an alliance (obviously) of socialist organisations and individuals within Australia. It was created by people who "saw an urgent need for greater left unity to fight attacks on the rights and living conditions of workers and the poor."

The Socialist Equality Party is a political party "of and for the working class. The SEP seeks not to reform capitalism, but to create a socialist, democratic and egalitarian society.

The Stop CSG Party is concerned about the devastating effects of coal seam gas and other unconventional gas mining. CSG stands for Coal Steam Gas.

The 23 Million is a political party of "fair-minded non-politicians who just want a better-run Australia." They are called The 23 Million to represent the 23 million Australian Population (which has since risen obviously).

The Wikileaks Party was set up by Julian Assange the founder and owner of the infamous site Wikileaks. It stands for "unswerving commitment to the core principles of civic courage nourished by understanding and truthfulness and the free flow of information.

The Uniting Australia Party is another one of the parties that plans to put everyday Australians back in power and into politics.

Finally, the Voluntary Euthanasia Party is a self-explanatory party created to "provide the choice and dignity that current legislation is denying the most vulnerable Australians." They wish to legalise voluntary euthanasia.

With so many parties is it not nice to see the end? See you tomorrow.

Repetitiveness

Competitiveness is both a good thing and a bad thing. Sometimes competition can come from many different angles and each angle has its own drawbacks. Along with these drawbacks however there are often a few positives that can make our lives better. Sometimes competition can spur us to better and greater things while at other times it can dishearten us. Competition in small amounts can be a good thing but too much competition can have the quite the opposite effect. Sometimes we can even get carried away sometimes and lose ourselves in the competition. Too much of a good thing rarely leads to yet another good thing, do not forget that.

Source: http://www.stevewiens.com/2013/05/21/its-not-a-competition/

By this point I realise I had already written a post on competition in May so go read that if you wish (link to the right or on the word "competition"). It is times like these that you realise that daily blogging is sometimes not easy and even the inspiration you find, however new, can lead to a topic you have already written about. If you managed to get through that introduction without getting confused by the title then well done. I myself began writing this post as if it was going to be on Competition and from there I actually found my topic that I am actually typing about now. That is, obviously (well, obvious if you can read), about repetition. Sometimes we repeat ourselves without realising it or tell someone a story you told them last week because you forgot who you had told. Sometimes repetition can be annoying but at other times it is necessary. This is particularly true when it comes to learning. Having something told to you a number of times can actually help you to learn it and research has proven this to be true. Although, you do not really require research to know this. Basically, for Daily Bloggers or any blogger really faces the challenges of finding new inspiration everyday and sometimes this can be tricky. This is especially so during the Holidays or weekends where you might not actually do anything and therefore have no new experiences to inspire you to anything. Unless of course you right about laziness or the silly dog.

Repetition is annoying, see you tomorrow!