What do Hitler, Stalin and Saddam have in common?

That’s right. They were all bullied as children. Must be why they became bullies.

10 things you may not have known about James Connolly

• Mr Connolly, one of Ireland’s biggest heroes is SCOTTISH.
• His parents were from Monaghan though
• His wife was a protestant named Lillie Reynolds who was received into the Catholic Church 3 months after her husband’s execution

  Don’t let the facial hair fool you. This man cared for Irish independence.

• As well as Irish politics, Connolly was interested in Scottish and American politics and was also a Marxist theorist
• He was a loose Roman Catholic only according the 1911 Irish Census
• Connolly’s role was not major as many people think as he and his group (The Irish Citizen Army) joined forces with the planner: IRB leader and Cork Cowboy Padraig Pearse.

• Connolly was the mentor of future rebels like Michael Collins and Eamon De Valera
• His execution was the most controversial as he was wounded before capture and had to be sitted when being sent to the wall.
• His last words were ‘I will say a prayer for all men who do their duty according to their lights’.

 Great painting. That is the only reason I added this in.

• In 2007, a film was planned to be released but hasn’t be since. 

Films you may not have known that were originally made

Some of the precious gems in the movie industry’s treasure chest  may not indeed be original. For example, the popular George Clooney film Ocean’s Eleven is a 2001 remake of a 1960 film starring Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davies Jr and Dean Martin. The only difference is Sinatra attempts to successfully rob five casinos instead of three and their money ends up cremated with a deceased member of the group. Clooney was successful in his heist and split the money with his friends.

Another film that a re make is the rudely named Inglorious Basterds. The 2009 version featuring Brad Pitt and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Its 2009 adaption overshadows the Italian 1978 “macaroni combat” war film. This version was about five U.S soldiers escaping from near imprisonment in Nazi occupied France unlike the current film which is about a bunch of Jewish Americans killing Nazis and just like the Native American tradition, they scalped the corpses.

Even 22 time Oscar winner The Lord of The Rings has had not one but two predecessors.  The first is a 1978 animated film featuring the voice of John Hurt as Aragorn. It was a success but not like the 2001 to 2003 trilogy. There also was a 1981 radio adaptation  with Ian Holm voicing Frodo Baggins. In the oscar winning trilogy, he would play Frodo’s uncle Bilbo. This would be a series that Ian Holm will remember forever.

 

And who boys and girls made that trifecta of  success?

 Peter Jackson? Wrong but he did turn the 2003 Oscars into night of the Nerds.

The real answer is:

 J.R.R Tolkien. Bravo to this great author.

Celebraties favourite TV Shows

• Neil Prendaville (96 FM Presenter): Frasier

 Fact you should know: Frasier (Kesley Grammer) voices Sideshow Bob (That psycho who is repeatedly hit in the face with rakes and groans hysterically)

• Seth McFarlane (Creator of Family Guy): Three’s Company and Star Trek

• Weird Al Yankovic (Parody Singer): The Simpsons

 Wait! It’s that Al as a Simpson? 

• Jason Segal (Star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall): The Muppets

• Zack Braff (JD from Scrubs): The Brady Bunch

 The only family that are filled with anti depressants

Comical Projects

Alright nerds. Strap on your force belts cos now it is time to know the stories behind upcoming comic book and graphic novel movies.

The movie Sin City 2 IS going into production and straight after that is the 3rd version of it. Rumours are that Angelina Jolie may be appearing in it. Yet Rosario Dawson and Mickey Rourke will be reprising their roles as Gail and Marv. The reason for the delay was that Roger Rodriguez is directing the remake of Barbarella.

DC Comics have confirmed that Superman 2 will return as will its orignal cast from the 2006 film. With one addendum: John McGinley playing Metello. 

As for Batman, well it seems a third film in the new series is coming together. Gary Oldman is the only confirmed actor as his role of LT. Gordan. Christian Bale is only going to play Batman if Christopher Nolan redirects it. 3 villains(Catwoman, The Riddler and Penguin) will be appearing but no confirmed roles although David Tennant is interested in playing the Riddler and Kate Beckinsale wishes to play Catwoman. A 4th may come into play as Aaron Eckart said Two Face may still be alive.

Marvel comics also have major plans as Robert Downey Jr leads a team called The Avengers in 2012 after he is finished Ironman 2. While an X men Origins Film will be made for charismatic villain Magneto.

Fine. I’ll say ONE more thing about Christmas: The Origin of the tree and what type it is

It was believed that St Boniface was the mastermind to choose a fir-tree as a symbol of the birth of Jesus.  In 1900, he witnessed pagans worshipping an oak tree. In protest, he cut it down and noticed a young  fir-tree  growing from the roots of the oak.

The tree that Boniface found was a silver fir. Yet we also use other types of trees as our sign of the Christian faith

• Norway Spruce (which is the cheapest)
• Nordmann Fir
• Serbian Spruce
• Swiss Pine
• Noble Fir
• And  Scots Pine

Merry Christmas everyone and enjoy the song Boniface mightn’t be happy about.

10 Things you may not have known about The Simpsons

• Homer ‘s catchphrase D’oh was borrowed from Laurel and Hardy movies
• Bar the oscar he stole from Martian Scorsese, he won 4 primetime Emmys for outstanding voice performance

• Marge’s voice was sometimes not raspy in The Simpsons Movie because her actress’  would be exhausted from using that honeyed gravel voice
• Blue Dye 56 is what keeps her hair so blue

 Oh dear. Another mess for Marge to clean up.

• The writer for the song “Do the Bartman” was longtime fan Michael Jackson
• The series of prank calls Bart gave to Moe the bartender is called the Tube Bar recordings

• Lisa was originally meant to voice Bart
• PETA have named Lisa “Most animal friendly TV Character”

Poor Lisa. Always having go through her family’s problems.

• The best episode has being named Homer’s Phobia where Homer become friends with a homosexual and fears Bart may be following that lifestyle.
• Matt Groening named each character after his family except Bart where is an anagram for Brat: The spiky haired boy’s main characteristic.

Where are they now?

Here is a list of Celebs who have left the public’s radar and where they are now.

Jeffery Jones (Mr Rooney from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off): In jail for sexual assault.

Amy Lee (Lead singer of Evanescence): Preparing a 3rd album after a hiatus

Alex Winter (Bill from Bill and Ted’s bogus journey): Appearing in Ben 10

 Ted: Ben 10 is bogus dude.  Bill: No man. It reeks of awesomeness.

Brandon Lee (The Crow) : Was involved in a shooting accident

Molly Ringwald ( the popular kid in The Breakfast Club): Married to a French Writer

Laura Prepon (Donna from That 70′s Show): Voiced Marine in Halo 2 and appearing in two TV Shows (How I Met Your Mother and In Plain Sight)

Rick Astley (Singer of Never Gonna Give You Up and jerk who ruins Internet Videos): Still singing and ruining internet videos 

*Note The dog singing is REALLY Rick Astley.

Ice Cream and how it got here.

We all seem to love Ice Cream. But how did it get here?  It can date back as far as back as the Roman when Emperor Nero got ice from the mountains and added fruit toppings to it. Thus creating an iced treat. 

Yet the true form came in  1718s when the english discovered the art of freezing milk and fruit together to form the frozen yoghurt we all love to have after a nice meal.

The discoverer of Ice Cream even made a costume for their treat

Whilst being infested with sugar, it is also packed with vitamins. So in moderation, Ice Cream can be good for us.

10 things you mightn’t have known about Blackbeard

• His parents called him Edward Teach
• He was born on land in Bristol, England
• The name of little Edward’s ship was named Queen Anne’s Revenge

• He armed himself to the teeth with knives, swords, pistols and ammunition to always be prepared for battle.
• His death came at the hands of an unknown sailor while Blackbeard was fighting Lt Maynard. A man who got the credit for the pirate’s demise.
• His head was hung on Maynard’s sailpost. The area where people discovered it in North Carolina is called Blackbeard’s Point.

• His legacy lives on through several films and a critically acclaimed musical
• He has being well-known by nerds worldwide as he has appeared in several video games
• He was the inspiration behind Pirates of The Caribbean star Captain Barbossa