Fixer Upper

TOPIC: Fixer Upper

(FYI: 'Fixer Upper' is a reality series on HGTV centered around the contracting and home-rejuvenating couple Chip and Joanna Gaines. The television show presents the process in which the husband and wife team turn cheap and run-down houses into potentially rich and beautiful places to live, along with helping to revitalize whole neighborhoods throughout central Texas. Chip is the lead manager of the home's construction work, and Joanna acts as the lead designer, while their combined goal in every episode is to convince home-owners that their initially imperfect house was actually their ideal "fixer-upper" the entire time.)   

FACT: The stars of HGTV's hit series Fixer Upper, which first aired on May 23, 2013, have announced this week that their popular show will come to an end after five seasons.

On Tuesday, October 3, the beloved couple revealed on their blog that season 5, premiering in November, will sadly be their last. Furthermore, the Texas residents wrote a heartwarming note on Twitter by saying, "While we are confident that this is the right choice for us, it has for sure not been an easy one to come to terms with. Our family has grown up alongside yours, and we have felt you rooting us on from the other side of the screen... How bittersweet to say goodbye to the very thing that introduced us all in the first place."    

As for why the American "dream-couple" has decided to end Fixer Upper, Chip goes on to explain that him and his wife simply need time to rest. Not only has the couple emphasized their plans to spend more quality time raising their four children, but Joanna added that the two want to focus more time on their now multi-million dollar company Magnolia Home Furniture. In conclusion, the stars of the popularly rated Fixer Upper are merely taking time off to work on aspects of their lives that they believe can be strengthened, while resting in the places that deserve peace.  

Hugh Hefner / Julia Louis-Dreyfus

TOPIC: Hugh Hefner / Julia Louis-Dreyfus
FACT: On September 27, 2017, Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner passed away due to natural causes; later that same day, actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus revealed via Twitter that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. 

At Playboy Mansion, located in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, CA, former editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine Hugh Hefner died at the old age of ninety-one. After his late death, the public along with news media-outlets have newly began reflecting the way in which Hefner's successful magazine brand has impacted our society today. According to sources such as CNN, the iconic magazine Hefner founded in 1953 immensely challenged the nation's views on sexuality -- due to the fact that Playboy is a sexually explicit men's lifestyle magazine. As for his burial, Hefner had previously asked to be buried beside American actress and model Marilyn Monroe, who was also Playboy's very first centerfold making her a "sex-icon" in the late '40s and '50s. Whether you mourn or celebrate Hefner's death is completely up to your perspective, but we can all agree that it's hard to contradict the incredible impact Hugh Hefner has had on not just American culture, which may have rubbed off into aspects of world-wide culture as well, but on the way Americans view the topic of sex and sexuality in general.

 After the news broke that Hugh Hefner had perished, a second ground-breaking story flooded mainstream news networks: Julia Louis-Dreyfus announcing on social media that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The Seinfeld and Veep actress took to Twitter to post a short yet powerful message, writing, “1 in 8 women get breast cancer. Today, I’m the one.” The superstar continued her heart-wrenching comment by complimenting her supportive family and friends, along with her insurance through her union, before moving on to write that not all women are so lucky. To sum things up, the actress turned her cancer announcement tweet into a statement on making universal healthcare a reality. The Emmy winner's post currently has approximately 500,000 likes on Twitter, where she also received love and support from fellow celebs including Ellen DeGeneres and Kevin Spacey. Additionally, former vice president Joe Biden tweeted Dreyfus by saying, "We Veeps stick together. Jill and I, all of the Bidens, are with you, Julia," which is a fitting response since Biden was diagnosed with having a brain tumor just early this year. As for filming her current show Veep, an HBO spokeswoman told the press that the show's writers will continue writing, and that the production schedule will be adjusted as needed. The comedy’s last season will air in 2018. 

All in all, two iconic figures in our society had bad news drop on the same exact day. Who saw that one coming?

The Voice

TOPIC: The Voice / Dave Crosby

FACT: American singing-competition series The Voice kicked off its thirteenth season last week, featuring a new batch of talented singers and even a brand new judge. :)

Premiering on September 25, the latest season of the reality show welcomed singer and actress Jennifer Hudson as the season's first-time judge. Additionally, Miley Cyrus has returned to the judge's seat, as the show's producers have decided to replace two of last season's judges, Alicia Keys and Gwen Stefani, with Cyrus and Hudson. On the contrary, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton are still the show's leading judges, who are continuing their hilarious and silly comedy as usual. 

Interestingly enough though, one of this season's notable contestants is singer and father Dave Crosby who became an internet sensation after posting covers of him and his four-year old daughter Claire singing duets on YouTube. Likewise, you may have seen this duo perform several times on The Ellen Show from singing Moana's "How Far I'll Go" to Toy Story's Academy Award nominated track "You've Got A Friend In Me", melting large audiences' hearts worldwide. 

At Crosby's blind audition he performed "I Will Follow You Into the Dark", surprisingly followed by the judges asking his daughter to come out on stage and sing as well; Claire sang and everyone insanely got on their feet and burst out clapping. In the end, the dad chose to be on Team Adam, though Blake Shelton made the comment saying that he'd be ready to coach his daughter if Claire were to ever audition for the show.

The Lego Ninjago Movie

TOPIC: The LEGO Ninjago Movie

FACT: Distributed by motion picture/entertainment company Warner Bros, The LEGO Ninjago Movie has fans all over the country in abuzz. 

The battle for Ninjago City calls to action young Master Builder Lloyd, aka the Green Ninja, along with his secret ninja warrior friends. Led by the incredibly wise Master Wu, the ninja team must defeat the infamously evil warlord Garmadon, who also happens to be Lloyd's dad. Pitting father against son, the epic Lego-themed showdown tests these fierce but undisciplined modern-day ninjas as they learn to check their egos and pull together to unleash the inner power of Spinjitzu.

True Ninjago fans have compared and contrasted this movie to the original series in which it's based, Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu, while others have also praised the film for casting professional martial artist Jackie Chan as the role of the iconic Sensei Wu. 

Though the film has only scored 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, critics have applauded the latest installment of the Lego-movie franchise, with my personal favorite review being from A. O. Scott from the NY Times writing that the nearly two hour long film winks at pop culture cleverness and earnest lesson-learning alike. 

All in all, from Jackie Chan to Lego ninjas, this TV series based movie was the not at all parallel to the original series, though it was still an enjoyable adventure for a family movie day. Plus, this movie truly gives humans an insight look into a Lego citizen's daily life by casually breaking the fourth wall. :) 

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PS: My good friend from New Jersey, Oscar Vasquez, is promoting a fundraiser for West Orange High School Boys Soccer 2017. There's only 2 days left in the fundraiser, and we still need help in order to reach our goal. Donations will go towards the upgrading of equipment, field costs, travel cost and uniforms. Donations are vital for the success of this program. Click below to see our team message and share our page. Thanks for your support. -- Oscar Vasquez     

https://app.snap-raise.com/fundraisers/38736/participant/968259?share_type=email&donation_invite_id=11906537

Kevin Hart

TOPIC: Kevin Hart

(FYI: Hart is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer who starred in 'Central Intelligence' and voiced George Beard in the 2017 'Captain Underpants' movie.)

FACT: A video of Kevin Hart actively cheating on his now pregnant wife has been released online, greatly disappointing Hart's fans worldwide and resulting in the comedian creating a public apology video for his wife and kids.

TMZ has reported that Kevin Hart was the victim of a multi-million dollar extortion attempt, which is a crime very similar to blackmail. The FBI is on the case and are said to already have a suspect in custody. Police have told TMZ that an anonymous person contacted Kevin’s team and provided a five-minute video showing Kevin and a woman in a sexually provocative situation including a bedroom scene, but that they can’t make out who exactly is in the bed.

The FBI know this anonymous person demanded a huge amount of cash in return for keeping the video private, and supposedly there were several demands and at one point the amount hit 10 million. The FBI are also convinced that it is either the woman in the video, or the person who recorded it that are making these high demands. And since the video was clearly recorded without Kevin’s consent, it’s illegal.

But Kevin’s problems are definitely far from over. On Saturday, September 16, he issued a public apology to his pregnant wife and kids via Instagram where he made a short video admitting to his wrongdoing. He captioned the video, “Sending so many apologies to my wife & kids. I gotta do better and I will. I'm not perfect and have never claimed to be ...I love you all.”

Though people applaud Hart for being honest, apologetic, and for telling the public more than they deserve to know, others are finding it harder to forgive the comedian and choose to stick by the famous phrase, "Once a cheater, always a cheater." But in addition to simply apologizing to his family, Hart didn't want someone to make financial gains from his big mistakes, which is why he would rather confess to his wrongdoing than to stay silent.

AGT Finale

TOPIC: America's Got Talent: The Finale

FACT: After months of auditions, weeks of outstanding live performances and talent in creative fields such as singing, dancing, comedy and even dog training, the newest season of America's Got Talent finally has a winner! :)

Last night concluded one of AGT's most popularly rated seasons thus far, ending with one final two-hour episode called "The Finale", where the ten remaining finalists witnessed who would ultimately walk out as the winner. Additionally, the live audience got to view stunning performances not only between the acts themselves, but with the acts performing side-by-side mega superstars such as Kelly Clarkson and James Arthur.

The 12th season of the reality competition series was hosted by television personalty Tyra Banks, who was also the one to reveal that this season's $1 million prize-winner was none other than 12-year-old ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer. After watching last year's season where singer Grace VanderWaal was crowned winner, I personally found Farmer and VanderWaal very similar, as both girls can sing, both won the show at the young age of 12, and both won the hearts of America with their creatively talented acts. What was different about these two season though, was that Tyra announced that this was one of AGT's most popular seasons yet -- receiving over a solid 50 million votes just for the acts who made it through to the finals. 

The ten finalists this year were singer Angelica Hale, deaf singer-songwriter/ukuleleist Mandy Harvey, singer-songwriter/guitarist Chase Goehring, stand-up comedian Preacher Lawson, light-up dance troupe Light Balance, dog act Sara and Hero, acrobatic dance group Diavolo, singer Evie Clair, plane survivor and singer Kechi, and of course, singing ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer. Each and even one of these sensational acts fought long and hard for a place in the finals, but only one walked out of the Dolby Theatre with the $1M. 

Did you watch this year's season of AGT? I know I did, and in fact, I made my parents sit through it too. ;) 

Here is Darci Lynne's unbelievable performance at the Finals this season, with the video generating over 15 million views in a week. But if I am being completely honest here, I was rooting for Mandy.

(Maybe blocked on ICSD Chromebooks.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ropWor8aAM  

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PS: Fun Fact of the Day has now reached over 450 members!!! :O

Ori and the Blind Forest

TOPIC: Ori and the Blind Forest

(FYI: 'Ori and the Blind Forest' is a single player platform-adventure Metroidvania video game designed by Moon Studios and published by Microsoft Studios.)

FACT: Following the game's initial release date back in 2015, this widely admired adventure is getting a brand new squeal titled Ori and the Will of the Wisps.  

The original game was praised by critics across the board, getting a score of 10/10 from Stream and a 4.6/5 from Microsoft, and so it is no question why Ori is now turning into its own video game series. Ori is the titular character and main protagonist of Ori and the Blind Forest, and a spirit guardian who becomes separated from their biological and adoptive family; Ori is then thrust into a journey to save the forest of Nibel from a dangerous decay spreading throughout the land. 

From the new squeal's trailer, posted by Xbox's YouTube channel, the new game looks absolutely beautiful. Filled with a variety of bright and blushy colors, the trailer illustrates a world where animals survive in a forest filled with monsters, while also exploring different environments changing from day to night. Additionally, the original game won the BAFTA Games Award for Best Artistic Achievement, and, in my opinion, Ori and the Will of the Wisps has equally, if not more stunning graphics.

The sequel is set to come out this year, and with all the tragic hurricanes and earthquakes currently impacting our world today, I think a beautifully colorful fictitious world is what we all need right now. :)