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Badmovies.org Forum  |  Other Topics  |  Off Topic Discussion  |  Fact Of The Day « previous next »
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Author Topic: Fact Of The Day  (Read 631305 times)
BoyScoutKevin
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« Reply #975 on: June 10, 2015, 12:23:38 PM »

Even before the 1st "official" Star Wars convention, there was another celebration of all-things Star Wars. The 1st one was in 1997, or 2 years before the 1st "official" convention. It was an on-and-off affair till 2003. when it became an annual event. Held every year on weekends in May and June at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios. Some of the events at this event, which is called Star Wars Weekend, include . . .

an interactive attraction Carbon Freeze Me Faces, where you can get your face computer scanned and reproduced in carbonite.

a live show Snig and Oopli's Hyperspace Hoopla

a fireworks show Symphony in the Stars

and a live 30-minute talk show Obi Wan and Beyond.

And a couple of chances to dine with the Star Wars characters. Either the Disney characters in their Star Wars costumes or Darth Vader and his Storm troopers. The last while you watch film clips from the Star Wars films.

But . . . the 3 biggest events are . . .

When does the sun rise over central Florida? For there are people start lining up, when it is still dark out in the morning, so they can be one of the 1st to shop for Star Wars merchandise at Darth's Mall.

The Star Wars Parade, which is lead off by . . .

Mickey as a Jedi Knight
Minnie as Princess Leia
Donald as a Storm trooper
Goofy as Darth Vader
and Chip 'n' Dale as Ewoks.

I thought Daisy was to appear as Aurra Sing, but . . .?! I didn't see her in this year's parade.

Then about 3 dozen young Padawans from the Jedi Training Academy, which we'll get to later.

Then about 2 dozen guests in and out of costume.

Then, what is your favorite Star Wars character? There are over 180 in the parade, and if they are not in the parade, then you might find them wandering the streets of the Studio, posing for photos and signing autographs. No Jar Jar Binks though.

I can see why the Empire lost, as I have seldom seen a more unfit group of men and women, then the ones you see in the parade. Not that the Rebels are much better. Remember Porky from a "New Hope?" There must be a whole planet of Porkies out there.

The Jedi Training Academy, where young Padawans, 4 to 12, get a chance to fight a light saber duel with Darth Vader or Darth Maul. A popular event, it is held every day, but . . .?! It really becomes popular during the Star Wars Weekends. So popular, they have to add extra sessions. The 1st beginning at 8:45 a.m., or 15 minutes before the official opening time of the theme park, and the last beginning at 7:30 p.m. Even with the 19 sessions, 12 Padawans per session, and a waiting list of 70, 2 hours after they begin signing Padawans up, they have to close down the sign up desk.

And a good time is had by all, and why not?

For the guest stars, who are brought in, and who get to ride in the parade . . .

Transportation. Comp
Room. Comp
Meals. Comp
Admission. Comp
And, normally, they get to bring a guest, who has almost everything comp as well. And all these guest stars have to do is . . .

Answer questions.
Meet the fans.
Sign autographs.
Take a photo with the fans.
Wave to guests during the parade.

Thus, it becomes almost like a free mini-vacation.

As for the guests, during the parade . . . They are lined up 5 to 6 deep along both sides of the parade route, which I believe is .75 of a mile long, and at a maximum of 2 feet of frontage for each guest, you are looking at between 20,000 and 22,000 people, having a good time watching their favorite stars and characters,  along the parade route.

Next time: What is canon and not canon in the Star Wars Universe?
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Newt
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« Reply #976 on: June 11, 2015, 08:27:56 AM »

We've all heard of a chimps' tea party, but researchers studying the primates in West Africa have found they may actually prefer a glass of wine or two (or three, or four…).

A 17-year-long study in the Bossou region of Guinea, published in Royal Society Open Science, has recorded the chimpanzees using sponges made of crushed leaves to drink fermented palm sap. Indeed, some of them were even found to drink to the point of being visibly inebriated.

http://wired.uk/XSzmRX

Which makes a heckuva lot of sense since drunken men do strongly resemble troops of chimpanzees.
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LilCerberus
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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?


« Reply #977 on: June 18, 2015, 11:05:22 PM »

Nothing rhymes with orange.

Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd was written as a protest of Southern Man and Alabama by Neil Young
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BoyScoutKevin
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« Reply #978 on: June 20, 2015, 02:35:08 PM »

Lucas has started putting his mark on the Star Wars Universe, even more so than in the past. Thus, as of today, this is what I understand is Canon.

These 6 films.
I. the phantom menace
ii. attack of the clones
iii. revenge of the sith
iv. a new hope
v. the empire strikes back
vi. return of the jedi

and the upcoming

vii. the force awakens

And I presume that when viii. and ix. are released to audiences, they also will be Canon.

These 2 TV series

after attack of the clones
the clone wars

after revenge of the sith
rebels

These 7 books

after attack of the clones
dark disciple

after revenge of the sith
lords of the sith
tarkin
a new dawn, where sexual equality has come to the Star Wars Universe. There are female storm troopers.

after a new hope
heir of the jedi
battle front

after return of the jedi
aftermath

As for all the other books, comic books, games, graphic novels, excluding the official tie-ins to the 1st 6 films, which I presume are Canon, who knows?

Now that Marvel Comics has apparently regained the rights to the Star War characters, I have heard, that we are due some new Star Wars comics, which leads me with a new hope, as (IMHO) some of the best stories were from the early Marvel Comics.

1. a story arc based on "The Magnificent 7."
2. a character named Dafi, as in Daffy Duck.
3. a character would disappear at the end of one story and reappear at the beginning of another story, which means the writers understood the concept of continuation.

But . . . ?! When Dark Horse Comics gained the comic rights to the Star Wars comics (IMHO) we got an extremely mixed bag of comics. Nothing wrong with the art work. The problem again (IMHO) was the storytelling, which ranged from great to good to mediocre and fair to readable to frankly--surprisingly--completely unreadable.

And we shall see what we shall see.

Next time: we'll finish up with the movie studio trivia.
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indianasmith
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« Reply #979 on: June 20, 2015, 11:37:40 PM »

Winston Churchill was very fond of swimming.
Swimsuits, not so much.
That's right; the man who led England through World War II and defied Hitler's armed might was a serial skinny dipper.
Once, when visiting the USA, FDR sent Churchill to Florida for a couple of days' R&R.  Churchill went for his usual nude
swim and a shark came up to investigate.  Terrified Secret Service agents urged him to come ashore, but he stayed in
the water and the shark retreated.
Quoth Churchill: "I think my bulk frightened it off!"
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ER
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The sleep of reasoner breeds monsters. (sic)


« Reply #980 on: June 21, 2015, 11:45:17 AM »

John Quincy Adams was a skinny dipper too. Used to swim nude in the Potomac while President.
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Newt
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I want to be Ripley when I grow up.


« Reply #981 on: June 23, 2015, 03:19:22 PM »

Palaeoclimatology is the study of changes in climate taken on the scale of the entire history of Earth.

(Yes, you can study climate before weather records.)
« Last Edit: June 28, 2015, 09:06:58 PM by Newt » Logged

"May I offer you a Peek Frean?" - Walter Bishop
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ER
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The sleep of reasoner breeds monsters. (sic)


« Reply #982 on: June 23, 2015, 05:35:44 PM »

Emily Dickinson's Black Powder Cake

3 1/4 cups white cake flour
4 1/2 teaspoons dry baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dry baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly-ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground or crushed cloves
1 1/4 teaspoons crushed mace
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly-ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground fresh ginger
1 1/2 pounds unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 dozen eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons "good" vanilla extract
3/4 cup molasses---room temperature in summer or warmed in winter

Pour batter into pan, one 14x18x3" deep sheet pan is best.

Bake 350 degrees F. for about 55 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out dry.

Top with a sugared brandy sauce, and adorn with chopped raisins or other dried fruit.

(Write poems about death while baking.)

Serve warm with sauce or cool with butter or jam.
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ER
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The sleep of reasoner breeds monsters. (sic)


« Reply #983 on: June 26, 2015, 02:41:48 PM »

We recently made a day trip to the Andy Warhol Museum, and I've been doing some reading on him. Some facts I've learned about his life have surprised me.

Andy Warhol was celibate, went to church almost every Sunday, and one passage in his diary seems to indicate he may even have been a virgin, though this is mostly discounted as him joking.

He was deeply superstitious, felt this world was a battlefield between the devil and God, and he left flasks of holy water, acquired by the gallon, lying open around his residence. His nephew was a priest, and Warhol called him weekly to have deep discussions about Christianity.

When on his birthday an avant-garde New York artist gave Warhol her painting, which depicted the Lord's Prayer (the "Our Father" Catholics would say) with certain words replaced with obscenities, Warhol was outraged and refused to accept the gift.

Warhol believed the woman who tried to murder him in 1968, Valerie Solanas, was demon possessed, and after she shot him, he prayed for her salvation, though spent the rest of his life terrified she was going to again come after him. (Which she did in 1971.)

At one point, convinced the building that housed his studio, the Factory, was haunted by the spirits of turn of the 20th century sweatshop workers, Warhol brought in a Catholic priest to perform a blessing. If this had not worked, he was prepared to petition for a full-scale exorcism.

He was obsessed with the cost of taxi fares and would record to the penny the expense of each ride he took cost.

Warhol changed his clothes three times daily, and took two showers a day. He rarely used intoxicants, but was fascinated by their affect on other people's personalities.

Ironically, a week before he died, Warhol encountered artist Robert Mapplethorpe, who was terminally ill with AIDS, and Warhol remarked to friends he'd give almost anything not to have to go to Mapplethorpe's impending funeral: an eventuality avoided by Warhol's own abrupt passing after a minor gall bladder operation.

Warhol was buried wearing sunglasses, with a package of red liquorice in his pocket. Since his coffin was solid copper, cemetery officials have three times arrested thieves who were apparently trying to dig up the coffin and sell it as scrap, since the price of copper has made it extremely valuable. Friends say Warhol would have found his coffin's allure quite funny.
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What does not kill me makes me stranger.
BoyScoutKevin
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« Reply #984 on: June 27, 2015, 04:27:36 PM »

Can you name the major film and TV studio from these 10 bits of trivia?

01. It was founded in 1915.

02. It was a combination of 2 companies: the distribution company Greater New York Film Rental and the production company Box.

03. Its founder would control the company till 1930 or for 15 years, before was ousted in an hostile takeover.

That would not be the only hostile takeover in Hollywood. The man who founded and controlled Universal would also be ousted in a hostile takeover occurring about the same time.

04. The company's well known logo would make its 1st appearance in 1933.

05. The nickname for the logo has almost always been "The Searchlights."

06. The present version of the logo dates from 2009.

07. And is in its 5th variation.

08. In 1935, there was another merger with another company, which gives this studio its present name.

09. Today it is a subsidiary of another company with a similar name.

10. Though, caused this time, not by a merger, but by a split of the News Corporation into 2 companies.

The answer: 20th Century Fox.

Next time: films to be released by 20th Century Fox for the rest of the year and their dates.
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Newt
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I want to be Ripley when I grow up.


« Reply #985 on: June 28, 2015, 09:05:14 PM »

There are more female jousters in Canada, proportionately, than in any other country, world-wide.  Thumbup
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"May I offer you a Peek Frean?" - Walter Bishop
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indianasmith
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A good bad movie is like popcorn for the soul!


« Reply #986 on: June 28, 2015, 10:04:42 PM »

Paleoscatology is the study of coprolites - ancient, preserved fecal matter.
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Trevor
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« Reply #987 on: June 29, 2015, 08:21:04 AM »

Paleoscatology is the study of coprolites - ancient, preserved fecal matter.

 Buggedout Buggedout

Imagine archaeologists in two hundred years time inspecting the remnants of my undies:  TongueOut TongueOut Wink Wink
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BoyScoutKevin
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« Reply #988 on: July 06, 2015, 05:12:26 PM »

Here are the films to be released by 20th Century Fox for the rest of this year. With the dates.

07/24 Paper Towns
08/07 Fantastic Four
08/21 Hit man : Agent 47
09/18 Maze Runner : the Scorch Trials
11/06 The Peanuts Movie
(Having seen the trailer for this one, all I can say is: "Charles Schulz. We miss you.")
10/02 The Martian
11/25 Victor Frankenstein
12/23 Alvin and the Chipmunks the Road Chip
12/25 Joy
12/25 The Revenant

20th Century Fox, or, to give the proper title for the entire company, 21st Century Fox, is the 2nd largest entertainment company in the U.S. Even if it made less money in 2014 than it did in 2013. Which is probably why Rupert Murdoch is turning over most of the day-to-day operations to his son and heir, and why the company slid from being the 85th largest company in the U.S. to 97th.

Not that the next 3 largest are doing much better. All of whom made less money in 2014 than they did in 2013.

Time Warner
from 102nd to 104th largest

CBS
from 182nd to 212th largest

Viacom
from 210th to 222nd largest

Only the Walt Disney Company made more money in 2014 than it did in 2013 among the 5 largest entertainment companies in the U.S., which is probably why it grew from 61st to 57th largest company in the U.S.

One of the reasons might be that the Company is an enclosed entity or "All go in. None come out." For example . ., .

Disney Cruise Line (DCL)
"All go in."
Marvel/Pixar
and next year's "Star Wars"
"None come out."
Because the Company owns the rights to Marvel/Pixar/Star Wars.

In contrast to . . .

Carnival Cruise Line (CCL)
"Some come in."
Dr. Seuss characters
Which I believe the rights being owned by NBC Universal.
"Some come out."

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL)
"Some come in"
The DreamWorks characters
"Some come out."

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)
"Some come in"
Nickelodeon characters
The rights being owned by Viacom, but . . .?!
Only to the end of this year, when the 2 companies part ways.
"Some come out."

Next time: Napoleon

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indianasmith
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A good bad movie is like popcorn for the soul!


« Reply #989 on: July 06, 2015, 06:56:17 PM »

During World War II, Lord Louis Mountbatten proposed the creation of giant aircraft carriers made entirely of ice to operate in the North Sea.
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