Life is what happens when you are making other plans~ John Lennon
An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind~Gandhi
The time is always right to do what is right~ Martin Luther King Jr.


Thursday, December 29, 2016

Day 28-This year, in detail

This year has been interesting, lol

Discovered new music
-Discovered the band As Lions. They are really good and I am eagerly awaiting the release of their debut album, Selfish Age
Turned my sister on to new music
-I am surprised that she started listening to Iron Maiden. But, of course, she automatically found two favorites in the band, lol. She thinks Bruce Dickinson and Dave Murray are cute, even at their current age, lol!!
My sister thinks Bruce and Dave are still handsome
Got all my shopping and wrapping for the holidays done before the 1st of Dec.
-I always make it a habit of having this done early

Found out my grandmother is going downhill fast
-She was recently diagnosed with dementia and anyone who has had any kind of encounter with this terrible condition knows it only leads down one road-Alzheimer's

Went to a few concerts
-Seen Sebastian Bach in concert. That was awesome. Saw an 80s tribute band called Sixteen Candles, which covers the 80s pop stuff. I would highly recommend checking them out. You'll love them. Also saw an 80s hair metal tribute band called Headbanger's Ball. They play 80s metal stuff. Also check them out. Seen a KISS tribute band called Mr. Speed and an AC/DC tribute band called Highway to Hell. One tribute band I've heard a lot about is BloodStone, a Judas Priest tribute band, along with Revelations: A Tribute to Iron Maiden. It seems like there are all kinds of tribute bands popping up, with another Judas Priest tribute band called Judas Rising and Judas Maiden, who covers both Priest and Maiden
 
Mr. Speed, KISS tribute band. They look just like the real guys; sound like them too!
Went to Mexico again
-This time, instead of heatstroke like the first time, I got bad sunburn. Apparently I didn't know you could go into your luggage before it's brought up to your rooms. Our luggage wasn't brought up; my sister and mom had to go and retrieve the luggage. It was raining and my sister Jessie slipped on the polished concrete and fell, but thankfully she was okay. It was a good vacation, except for the sunburn part. My sister flipped her lid when she saw flamingos, tons of them, just walking around. She is a massive flamingo freak; she loves EVERYTHING related to flamingos

Got two more tattoos
-This year, I got "Let It Be" surrounded by music notes on my left shoulder, above my peace sign daisy tattoo, to keep the 1960s thing going and on my right shoulder, I got a cow munching grass, since cows are my all time favorite animal. I'm a severe nut for cows. I got mostly cow-themed stuff for Christmas, like a cow-spot blanket, a figure of a cow, cow slippers, a cow-spot steering wheel cover for my car.

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Day 27-This month, in detail

This month has been interesting, lol

Discovered new music
-Discovered the band As Lions. They are really good and I am eagerly awaiting the release of their debut album, Selfish Age
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Turned my sister on to new music
-I am surprised that she started listening to Iron Maiden. But, of course, she automatically found two favorites in the band, lol. She thinks Bruce Dickinson and Dave Murray are cute, even at their current age, lol!! She considers Dave Murray her fantasy heavy metal husband, lol and she's apparently mad at him for changing his hair color from blonde to brown, rofl!! What got her thinking that these two particular members of Maiden are attractive is she was downloading their Brave New World album and seen the images inside of the band members. She somehow liked Bruce's messed up hair look and Dave's brown leather jacket, lol


Got all my shopping and wrapping for the holidays done before the 1st of Dec.
-I always make it a habit of having this done early

Found out my grandmother is going downhill fast
-She was recently diagnosed with dementia and anyone who has had any kind of encounter with this terrible condition knows it only leads down one road-Alzheimer's

Open gifts
-I haven't opened them yet

Go to my grandmother's
-We do this every year. Go to my grandmother's for Christmas Day. And every year it was crowded with her motley crue of a family, who only come over once a year. But since she is not doing so well, it's going to be just immediate family-me, my mom Brenda, my stepdad Greg, sister Jessica or "Jessie", for short, my aunt Jeananne, my aunt Carol, her husband Donnie and their two boys Michael and Nicholas, my aunt Jeananne's son Noah, who is living at home since he's working two jobs and going to the University of Cincinnati, but cannot afford the horrendous rent rates of apartments in Clifton, where the university is located, and my grandmother's dog Abby, who is a lovable but goofy Australian Shepherd-Collie mix.

Shoot pool
-Since we're all off work the next day, we'll most likely shoot pool in the basement and listen to Christmas music

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Day 25-Your day, in detail

Well, obviously it's Christmas!!!

Open gifts
-I haven't opened them yet

Go to my grandmother's
-We do this every year. Go to my grandmother's for Christmas Day. And every year it was crowded with her motley crue of a family, who only come over once a year. But since she is not doing so well, it's going to be just immediate family-me, my mom Brenda, my stepdad Greg, sister Jessica or "Jessie", for short, my aunt Jeananne, my aunt Carol, her husband Donnie and their two boys Michael and Nicholas, my aunt Jeananne's son Noah, who is living at home since he's working two jobs and going to the University of Cincinnati, but cannot afford the horrendous rent rates of apartments in Clifton, where the university is located, and my grandmother's dog Abby, who is a lovable but goofy Australian Shepherd-Collie mix.

Shoot pool
-Since we're all off work the next day, we'll most likely shoot pool in the basement and listen to Christmas music

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Day 21-Your favorite movie

God, this list is going to be long. Generally anything with Hugh Jackman, Jet Li, Sylvester Stallone, Chow Yun-fat or anything music-related I will watch

Australia
-An English baroness must go to Australia to sell her father's estate, Faraway Downs, but in the process learns how to round up cattle and falls for the Drover (Hugh Jackman) in charge of the cattle
Flushed Away
-A pampered pet rat named Roddy St. James is accidentally flushed down the toilet and ends up in an underground version of London, where he runs into a scavenger rat named Rita. They both get caught up in a toad's attempt to flush out the underground world where she lives during the soccer World Cup
Flight 666
-This is a concert film about heavy metal band Iron Maiden's 2008 Somewhere Back in Time tour
Tango & Cash
-Two rival cops are set up for murder and must work with each other to prove their innocence
First Blood
-This is the film that introduces the character known as Rambo. John Rambo is a war-torn Vietnam Vet just passing through a small town on his way to meet up with the members of his military unit. The local sheriff doesn't like his disheveled appearance and arrests him. The cops torture him, forcing flashbacks and he escapes, prompting a large, wide-scale manhunt
Rocky
-Everyone knows this series. It's about a down and out boxer who manages to become the world championship boxer
Kiss of the Dragon
-Jet Li plays Liu Jian, a Beijing police officer in Paris to arrest a drug kingpin known only as Mr. Big. When a corrupt Parisian police officer kills him and Jian witnesses it on screen, the Parisian officer convinces his fellow cops Liu is a psychotic killer and has the whole Parisian police force out looking for him. The only known witness is an American prostitute named Jessica Kamen (Bridget Fonda), who can prove his innocence
Unleashed
-Jet Li plays a man with a child-like mentality who was taken from his mother, a piano virtuoso, at a young age and trained to be an attack dog for a vicious London loan shark. When the car they're in crashes one day, Li escapes and finds himself in the loving care of a blind piano tuner and his daughter, who are in London while she attends school and after she graduates, are going back to New York. This piano tuner offers to take him with them, which Li graciously accepts
Bulletproof Monk
-Chow Yun-fat plays the Monk with No Name. He has a scroll which will give unlimited power. He must seek out a new keeper of the scroll to prevent it falling into the wrong hands, which in this case are two Nazis from the 1940s
Freejack
-This is one of Mick Jagger's attempts at acting. He's pretty good in it. Emilio Estevez plays Alex Furlong, a race car driver brought into the future as the recipient of a mind transplant for a rich, dying businessman. When he escapes, "Bonejackers", mercenaries with time travel technology, led by one Victor Vacendak (Mick Jagger), must seek him out
Detroit Rock City
-Four teens-Hawk, Trip, Jam, Lex- are all fans of the band KISS. They are also in a band that plays KISS music called Mystery. They have been trying desperately to see KISS in concert, but all attempts have been futile. Only when Jam's mother, a religious fanatic who believes KISS stands for "Knights in Satan's Service", finds tickets to the band in her son's pocket, she embarrasses him at school with a rant over the PA and forces him to watch as she burns the tickets, not knowing her son's friends are also watching. It then becomes an all out mission to see KISS play at Cobo Hall in Detroit
Across the Universe
-Jude (Jim Sturgess) is a Liverpool dock worker who joins the Merchant Navy. While on the East Coast, he meets up with his father, who basically turns him away. While on campus, he meets Max, a rich kid who has been drafted and he meets his sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). The two fall in love amidst the heightening Vietnam protests
Ninja Assassin
-I honestly didn't know how violent and bloody/gory this movie was until I seen it. It's about a ninja who wants to break away from his clan and in the process is accused of murder and becomes the target of EUROPOL, who are trying to prove that ninjas are used for murder-for-hire missions. The person who plays the main ninja is a Korean pop singer named Rain. He's very attractive
Mulan
-No matter how many times I see this, I still love it every time. Reminds me of Chinese culture, which I love so much!
Memoirs of a Geisha
-Chiyo, a young girl from a fishing village, along with her sister Satsu, are sold out by their parents to a man named Mr. Tanaka, who takes them to Kyoto and takes Chiyo to an okiya (geisha boarding house) because of her pretty looks and Satsu to a house of prostitution. Chiyo then learns all the things she must know to become a geisha and in time, becomes one of the most revered geisha of all, but not before running into problems with her okiya's resident geisha, Hatsumomo, who is the okiya's main earner and is cruel, devilish and bullying
The Full Monty
-A group of Sheffield, England steel mill workers have been laid off. One of them, nicknamed "Gaz", is looking to make some quick money for child support payments. While going through town one day, he sees a line of women queuing up outside a nightclub and he quickly sees why. The American male entertainer troupe the Chippendales are inside. He gets an idea to have them all become strippers and do "the full monty", meaning go down to complete nudity

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Mad Max (1979)

Here is the original Mad Max movie.
Summary
-In the not too distant future Australia, a patrolman named Max cruises the roads looking for revenge against the motorcycle gang that claimed the lives of his wife and son



My stepdad and sister think this guy looks like Rob Halford from Judas Priest





Cast
-Mel Gibson: Max
-Joanne Samuel: Jessie
-Hugh Keays-Byrne: Toecutter
-Steve Bisley: Goose
-Tim Burns: Johnny the Boy
-Roger Ward: Fifi
-Lisa Aldenhoven: Nurse
-Bertrand Cadart: Clunk
-Reg Evans: Stationmaster
-Howard Eynon: Diabando
-Paul Johnstone: Cundalini
-Steve Millichamp: Roop
-Geoff Parry: Bubba Zanetti
-Vincent Gil: Nightrider

Did You Know?
-When Goose gives the rider of the trike a "get-out-of-jail-free" card, it was an on-set joke. The limited budget forced the crew to use an actual motorcycle club (The Vigilantes). They rode to the set each day in costume, with their prop weapons ready. In case of being pulled over by the police, they were given special letters explaining the odd requirements and simply asking for the understanding and cooperation of local law enforcement
-Director George Miller raised money for this movie by working as an emergency room doctor
-The movie was shot in and around Melbourne, Australia
-Hugh Keays-Byrne, who plays the character Toecutter, also appears in the new Mad Max movie, Mad Max: Fury Road, as Immortan Joe
-The character Nightrider can be heard repeating lyrics from the AC/DC song "Rocker" over the CB radio
-Due to the extremely tight budget, actual police cars that had been decommissioned were used. Steve Bisley, who plays Goose, was the only one wearing actual leathers while most everyone else wore vinyl costumes. The bikes used were donated by Kawasaki and most of the bikers kept the bikes after shooting



















-Hugh Keays-Byrne (Toecutter), Tim Burns (Johnny the Boy), Reg Evans (the stationmaster) are all classic Shakesperean-trained stage actors
Toecutter

Johnny the Boy

Stationmaster
-Max's car was a Ford Falcon XB sedan, originally a police car obtained from the Australian state of Victoria
-In the scene where Goose is about to be set ablaze, his eyes are red and puffy from being suspended in the truck for a long time
-Most of the extras in the movie were paid with beer
-James McCausland drew inspiration for the movie from the 1973 oil crisis and the effect it was having on Australian motorists
-Queen guitarist Brian May composed the music for the movie
-The movie had such a low budget that crew members often brought in their own cars
-Most of the bikers used in the film were actual Australian outlaw motorcycle clubs
-Mel Gibson got paid $10,000 for this job while studying acting at Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Arts. Steve Bisley, who plays Goose, was his roommate