June Birthdays

Since it's June, time to say Happy Birthday

Charlie Watts

-Birth name: Charles Robert Watts

-DOB: 6/2/1941

-Where: Bloomsbury, London, England

-Going to be: 76

-Has been the drummer for the Rolling Stones since nearly the start of the band. He came into the band after it had already formed

Ronnie Wood

-Birth name: Ronald David Wood

-DOB: 6/1/1947

-Where: Hillingdon, Middlesex, England

-Going to be: 70

-Became the guitar player in the Rolling Stones in 1975

Nicko McBrain

-Birth name: Michael Henry McBrain

-DOB: 6/5/1952

-Where: Hackney, London, England

-Going to be: 65

-Has been Iron Maiden's drummer since 1983

Liam Neeson

-Birth name: William John Neeson

-DOB: 6/7/1952

-Where: Ballymena, Ireland

-Going to be: 65

-Is 6'4''

Johnny Depp

-Birth name: John Christopher Depp II

-DOB: 6/9/1963

-Where: Owensboro, Kentuck

-Going to be: 54

-Frequently plays British characters, such as Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow, Insp. Fred Abberline in From Hell, Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows, Benjamin Barker in Sweeney Todd.

Hugh Laurie

-Birth name: James Hugh Calum Laurie

-DOB: 6/11/1959

-Where: Oxford, England

-Going to be: 58

-Known for playing upper-class and dimwitted English characters

Bradley Walsh

-DOB: 6/4/1960

-Where: Watford, England

-Going to be: 57

-Best known for his role as Senior Det. Sergeant Ronnie Brooks on Law and Order UK

Ben Daniels

-DOB: 6/10/1964

-Where: Warwickshire, England

-Going to be: 53

-Best known for his role as Senior Crown Prosecutor James Steel on Law and Order UK

Dominic Rowan

-DOB: 6/17/1971

-Where: London, England

-Going to be: 46

-Best known for his role as Senior Crown Prosecutor Jacob Thorne on Law and Order UK

Bill Paterson

-DOB: 6/3/1945

-Where: Glasgow, Scotland

-Going to be: 73

-Trained as a teacher at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Art

Prince William

-Birth name: William Arthur Phillip Louis

-DOB: 6/21/1982

-Where: London, England

-Going to be: 35

-The oldest son of Princess Diana

Peter Steele

Am I the only one who thinks Peter Steele looks a little similar to Blaze Bayley?

Also, he just sounded like a very fascinating person to do a post on!!

Birth name: Petrus T. Ratajczyk
DOB: 1/4/1962
Where: Brooklyn, New York
DOD: 4/14/2010
Where: New York City, New York (heart failure)
Height: 6'7''

Trademarks

-His baritone vocals

-Long black hair

-His towering height

-His lyrics which reflect his personal life

Cool facts

-He was the lead singer/bassist for New York-based goth metal band Type O Negative

-Three songs he wrote, "Todd's Ship Gods (Above All Things)", "Life is Killing Me" and "The Dream is Dead" are all about his father
-His mother is referenced in the song "Nettie"

-Prior to forming Type O Negative, he worked for the New York Sanitation Department

-He posed for the August 1995 issue of Playgirl

If anyone who reads this is female and a Type O Negative fan, I'm sure this will brighten your day!

-He has Polish, Icelandic and Russian in his heritage
-The last interview he did before he died was featured in the documentary American Nightmare
-Before he died, he was set to produce an album by Myke Hideous
-He suffered from bipolar disorder

-He was very self-conscious about his 6'7'' height and when photo shoots of the band were done, he was usually sitting down or taken from an angle where when people looked at it, they couldn't really tell how tall he was, towering over his bandmates

Bruce Dickinson feared for his voice after fighting cancer

Current Iron Maiden front man Bruce Dickinson worried about the future of his voice after fighting cancer.

In 2014, the band released their 16th studio album, The Book of Souls. Unfortunately, touring for the Mayan-themed album was postponed because of Bruce's cancer diagnosis. He had to take ten months off for recovery and treatment

"I was pinching myself for the first shows back, because none of us knew how it was going to sound, my voice. Unquestionably there were some things that had changed and it was difficult. There were so many things that were uncertain. You just had to open your gob and see what came out – if a bag of spanners fell out you’d think, 'Oh s—.'" he told British metal magazine Kerrang!

When he first received his cancer diagnosis, Dickinson admits to going through a bout of depression before finally deciding to take the bull by the horns and face it head on. He says "I turned down things like feeding tubes. They wanted to put bloody pipes and holes in me. I went, 'Nah, I’m not going to do that. I will feed myself somehow.' I thought, 'Let’s just get stuck into things as quickly as possible, and if it doesn’t work I’ll have to make another plan. I was very lucky I didn’t lose a catastrophic amount of weight, as a lot of people do. You can feel sorry for yourself, and I went through a phase of that. But I thought, 'There’s no point in assuming I’m going to get a bad result here'".

While their singer was taking care of his cancer situation, Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harrist was becoming aware quickly and even admitted publicly the band can't go on forever. But they are taking careful steps to keep retirement at bay, especially the band's lively drummer, Nicko McBrain

Steve Harris had this to say. "It’s got to happen at some point, but I don’t really want to think about it. We’re not getting any younger. Lo and behold, after all these years Nicko’s given up drinking. He gave up about 18 months ago. He’s better for it – I think everyone’s thinking that they want to go on longer, and are doing whatever they think is necessary to do that." Even if Maiden ended tomorrow, he said he wouldn't want to be "pottering about the garden. If I’m able I’d still do some gigs with British Lion, and I would still like to record".

It looks like Gene Simmons isn't the only one declaring "rock is dead"

Former KISS drummer Peter Criss is sharing that same opinion!

Both he and current KISS bassist Gene Simmons both are of the sound mind and opinion that rock is officially dead. When Simmons first mentioned this, there was an utter firestorm of controversy stemming from musicians all over. Now, the former KISS drummer is starting to suspect his former bandmate was right. During a recent interview with Hi Fi Way, Criss basically restated Simmons' opinion, stating that "rock ‘n’ roll is over." Despite saying that he is a "21st century guy", he can't help but feel disappointed in today's music. Hearing the music of today has pushed him farther toward the decision to retire from music completely

"I’ve been around since the day that the Beatles were onstage, I’ve been around when music was Motown … I’ve been around! What’s going on today ain’t my cup of tea. The ’60s and ’70s were the times to be around. I saw Jimi Hendrix, I saw the real Who, the real Zeppelin, the Beatles and seen the Stones many times now that I know them and we’re friends. Over the years a lot has happened to me and I got to see all these great acts, and what I see today doesn’t rock my cradle and doesn’t do anything for me and I don’t care for a lot of the music". When he and the rest of KISS first started out, they had to fight tooth and nail just to make a name for themselves, which wasn't easy, because at the time the band formed, many labels wanted punk, glam rock or even disco

"We were early pioneers and no one was doing that when we started out. Now everyone does it, so it isn’t big news anymore. It’s time for me to get off the train as it’s not a great ride anymore. I don’t go out to concerts much anymore because I don’t enjoy myself because I get constantly harassed, people with phones wanting to take pictures, I can’t really sit and enjoy the concert or have a good time so I’m more of a homebody these days. The world has changed, my friend".

There is hope for all Led Zeppelin fans...

There are rumors abound of a possible Led Zeppelin reunion...

A recent message on Robert Plant's site is sparking interest in the possibility of a Led Zeppelin reunion. This latest rumor is of them reuniting and supposedly playing the 2017 Desert Trip, a weekend music festival. Until there is more proof of this, don't get your hopes up. But wouldn't it be nice to celebrate the fact that Zeppelin have been one of rock's top names for close to 50 years with a nice little reunion?

Unfortunately, these rumors have been going for a while. In 2014, there was a reunion rumor going around. Plant flat out said "You’re going back to the same old s—. A tour would have been an absolute menagerie of vested interests and the very essence of everything that’s s—ty about big-time stadium rock. We were surrounded by a circus of people that would have had our souls on the fire. I’m not part of a jukebox!"

So, if there are any chances of Led Zeppelin reuniting, let's keep our hopes up and prayers alive!!

The Urbz: Sims in the City

This is, yet again, another entry in The Sims series of games. This one is a bit more complex, in the sense that you can work all new jobs, get outfits native to the particular location you are at, etc. But the premise is still, more or less, the same. At each location, you have a set number of goals to accomplish and achieving these goals unlocks new items.

Summary
-The main Sim you create starts out in SimCity, at an apartment in downtown SimCity. Soon, the city's most popular Sim, Darius, comes to greet your Sim at their apartment. He mentions that he has a secret machine that can only be fixed if the Sim you control finds all the parts and defeats all the villains in each of the various districts. Some of the districts share the same villain. And to defeat them, you must earn a special social interaction. When you defeat all the villains, you are invited to Darius' penthouse, where you are greeted by the bosses of each district

Gameplay
-In each district, you must interact with various Sims to build their reputations, called "Rep" in the game. This is nothing more than a simple measure of how popular your Sim is. The higher their reputation goes, the more districts, locations they can unlock
-Just like any of the Sims games, you have needs to fulfill. They are Hunger, Comfort, Toilet, Sleep, Hygiene, Fun, Environment. You can also gain skills by playing mini-games. You can earn money through the various jobs at the various districts in the city, but you will also have to pay rent to Darius. Not surprisingly, depending on the district you are in, you will have goals particular to that location
-There are 9 total districts in this game. Each district has its own Sims, who each have their own Social Interactions you can unlock. There is also a job at each district that you must earn three promotions in to move on. Each location has a small bedroom area for your Sim to sleep in
Gasoline Row
-Resident Sims: Pork Chop, Duke Headbutt, Suzie Mack, Sharky Splitz, Jet Rockitt,
-This is a combination biker club/motorcycle shop. The job here is to make motorcycle parts and keep the customers happy by also grilling sausages on a nearby round grill. All the Sims here are bikers, and more often than not, you will frequently see Sims going to a set of motorcycles at the back of the area to race back and forth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Central Station

-Resident Sims: Scary Mary, Frag Grrl, Beelzebob Jones, Genghis Lincoln, Kidd Chaos

-This is an underground subway station that seems to be, in personality and nature, largely heavy metal and punk. The job here is to make body piercings. Every one of the Sims here would not look out of place at an industrial metal concert or punk concert

Kicktail Park

-Resident Sims: Ally Stile, Rolanda Skye, Trang Hang, Skid Mark, String Bean

-This is a skate park. Every one of the Sims here looks like a skateboarder. The job here is to use the giant halfpipe in the center of the area to perform tricks

The Foundry

-Resident Sims: Bella Ciao, Arthur Pop, Crispin Black, Neo Flange, Roxanna Hardplace

-This area is a sort of artsy, beatnik vibe combined with a strong industrial metal atmosphere. The job here is to work the giant metal sculptor machine and make statues

Neon East

-Resident Sims: Professor Chewy, Mazuiko Jackson, Venus Moonflower, Loop D. Loop, Sara Tonin

-This district looks like something out of a Japanese anime cartoon. Everything and everyone is brightly colored, in neon clothing. The job here is Sushi Chef. You must prepare sushi for the customers

Cosmo Street

-Resident Sims: Fergie, Will.i.am, Apl.de.ap, Taboo, Polo

-This is a nightclub. The Black Eyed Peas are Sims here. They are: Fergie, Apl.de.ap, Will.i.am, Taboo and another Sim named Polo. Here the job is bartender. Tend the bar, make drinks and keep your customers entertained

Diamond Heights

-Resident Sims: Pootie Fads, Sophie Couture, Diva Roma, Cash Monet, Babbette Couture

-This is like haute couture all around. Everything here, including the Sims, are all glitz and glam and high fashion. The job here is to model. This particular district is a penthouse apartment stretching across the tops of two buildings

South Side Bridge

-Resident Sims: Jimmy Two-Shoes, Louie Bricks, Pamela Sneer, Babs Margarita, Luke Laruffle

-This is a riverside nightclub. The Sims here love to live it up. The job here is Pyro, where you need to make fireworks

Skyline Beach

-Resident Sims: S.A. Loco, Lil' Bit, Ridiculous D.O.G., Toots Sweet, Isis Ice

-This is a rooftop area. The job here it Ferret Wrassling, which isn't hard; simply tame ferrets coming out.

-There are also 3 apartments you can unlock as well. These locations are blank canvasses and are just waiting for your personal touch with items from the various districts
-98th Avenue, 3rd Floor
-Blankwood Towers
-Darius' Apartment

The Sims Bustin' Out

This is one of many games in the widely popular The Sims series

Summary
-Malcolm Landgrabb is the richest Sim in SimCity. He is taking items from each of the lots for unpaid rent. The main objective is to have your Sim progress through each career and get back everyone's possessions and to finally become rich and successful enough to evict Malcolm from his own beachside mansion

Gameplay
-In order to unlock new areas, you must complete missions. In each lot, Malcolm will take one or two items, which can be easily received when you buy enough things to upgrade the place
There are thirteen different locations you can go to in here, each with its own missions and unique Sims

Mom's House

-Resident Sim: Mom

-This is where you start off at. This single floor ranch is on a farm, which explains the constant mooing of cows, clucking of chickens and whinnying of horses. You can always move back here. The bus doesn't pick up anyone here, so if you need a break from the hustle and bustle of trying to make friends or earn skill points and you want to do these things at your own leisure, move back to Mom's place

Dudley's Trailer

-Resident Sim: Dudley Landgrabb

-This is a trailer in the desert. You'll often hear crows cawing and coyotes howling. You'll quickly find out that Dudley is a bit of a slacker. He's messy, forgets to flush the toilet, will often turn on electronics and walk away, such as turning on the stereo or TV and walk away, or he'll often leave to go nightclubbing

Mimi's Place

-Resident Sim: Mimi Landgrabb

-She is certainly no better than her brother Dudley. She is messy, leaves electronics on and will more often than not leave at all hours of the day and night to go clubbing or something else. Her place is a suburban ranch in the suburbs

Goth Manor

-Resident Sims: Bella and Mortimer Goth

-This lot is where you encounter your first NPC (non-playable character). Depending on the gender of your Sim, if your Sim is a girl, you can switch back and forth with Bella Goth, whose job is a Horror Movie Actress and therefore Mortimer can't be controlled. Whereas if your Sim is a boy, you can switch back and forth between you and Mortimer Goth, who is a Pyrotechnician and therefore you can't control Bella. This is a mansion surrounded by cemeteries and is always storming.

Studio 8

-Resident Sims: Artie Fischl and Charity Grant

-This is an art studio in an industrial neighborhood, judging from the brick and mortar buildings surround it. This lot, once again, has a non-playable character. It's the same situation as Goth Manor. Depending on the gender of your Sim, that determines what character you can switch back and forth with. Charity is a Massage Therapist and Artie is a Massage Therapist as well

Toane's Gym

-Resident Sims: Max and Goldie Toane

-This is a gym. The resident Sims here are health nuts. When they aren't working out, they are eating or making messes. This lot is a gym in the business district of SimCity. Once again, you encounter the non-playable character scenario. As mentioned, it comes down to the gender of your Sim which determines which Sim you can switch back and forth with. Goldie and Max are both in the Jock career, they are Starters

Casa Caliente

-Resident Sims: Paisley Rainbow and Randy Hart

-This place just screams 70s love shack. It's on the beach and the whole house has a 1970s beachy love shack feel. This is the first location where marriage is made a goal

Club Rubb

-Resident Sims: Bing Bling and Mona Lott

-This is a nightclub. These two Sims are constantly eating, messing around on the large DJ machine or dancing on the dance floor, talking about parties, etc This lot also has the option for marriage

Shiny Things Labs

-Resident Sims: Makino Nada and Vaughn Braun

-This is a science lab in an industrial park. You're surrounded by toxic wasteland and industrial warehouses. Marriage is once again an option here

Tinsel Bluffs

-Resident Sims: Humphrey Hawks and Fanny Adore

-This is a fancy house up in the hills overlooking SimCity. Here is one of the locations where you must have a baby and raise it to a child. This isn't hard. The easiest way to do this is simply make sure your Sim and his/her wife or husband are both in a good mood. Just keep up the random romantic actions and a message should pop up, reading "Would you like to have a baby?" Hit yes or no. Then it tells you the gender of the baby and you can name it. To raise it to a child, simply feed it and sing to it when it cries. NEVER PLAY WITH THE BABY!!! It takes about 3-4 Sim days to raise it to a child

Pixel Acres

-Resident Sims: Chase Skurts and Ying Yangst

-This is a hippie nudist colony. They are always talking about loving nature and getting free of clothing

The Octagon

-Resident Sims: General Payne and Maxine Powers

-This is a military base and these two are always talking about things as if they are planning on mounting an assault on someone or something

Malcolm's Mansion

-Resident Sim: Malcolm (until Mom kicks him out)

-This is a beachside mansion. This is what you get for all your hard work

There is also Free Play mode
-Lot 1
-Lot 2
-Lot 3
Of course, in order to survive, your Sim is going to need money. The only way to obtain that, is to get a job. All the careers end at Malcolm's Mansion since that is where you earn the final promotion for each career. The final promotion earns you a gnome of that career for the large fountain outside his house. Here is the selection of jobs you have to choose from
-Counter Culture
-Not shockingly, Counter Culture is simply another name for hippie. This career is very hippie-like in its promotions, such as Massage Therapist, Flower Child, Love Guru, Transcendentalist, etc. The lots where this job is typically offered and picks you up include Casa Caliente, Studio 8, Mimi's Place, Pixel Acres
-Jock
-Sports. That is what this career is. You earn promotions to jobs such as Starter, Head Coach, Mascot, etc. The lots for these jobs include Dudley's Trailer, Toane's Gym, Shiny Things Labs, Tinsel Bluffs
-Fashion Victim
-Haute couture, high fashion, clothes, etc. It's all about fashion. This job has promotions like Hair Designer, Sex Symbol, Fingernail Painter, etc. The lots for this job include Mimi's Place, Studio 8, Club Rubb, Tinsel Bluffs
-Paramilitary
-Joining the armed forces isn't easy. In this game, it's not either. The lots for this line of work include Dudley's Trailer, Toane's Gym, Shiny Things Labs, The Octagon
-Gangster
-You ever hear of the "five finger discount?" This career helps you perfect it with more. The lots for this career include Dudley's Trailer, Toane's Gym, Casa Caliente, Pixel Acres
-Movie Star
-Talk about drama queen or drama king!! In this career, acting is your talent. The lots for this career include Mimi's Place, Goth Manor, Club Rubb, Tinsel Bluffs
-Mad Scientist
-"It's alive! It's alive!" You'll be saying that and more when you become a Mad Scientist. Play with fire as a Pyrotechnician. Mess around with DNA as a Gene Splicer. The lots for this career include Dudley's Trailer, Goth Manor, Shiny Things Labs, The Octagon
In Free Play mode, you have choices for jobs too
-Rock Star
-Slacker
-Artist
-Computer Geek
-Swindler

Barnyard (video game)

This is another game for kids that is just too cute!! And if you've seen the popular movie of the same name, then you'll be familiar with some of the characters in this game, like Ben the Cow, Duke the Dog, Pig the Pig, Otis the Cow, Hannah the Hen and Freddie the Ferret, Miles the Donkey, Root the Rooster among others

Summary
-You play as a cow that must help out the animals of the farm. The game does follow the storyline of the movie to an extent but still follows its own path. Some of the characters die and new ones are introduced.

Gameplay
-There are various little mini-games within this game that you can play. Most of these games start off as part of a mission, but after completing said mission, they become available for free play afterwards. Some of the mini games you can play include:

-Golf

-Tease the Mailman

-Tease Mrs. Beady

-Mud Jumpers

-Vegetable Patch Defender

-Cow Tipping

-Honey Collecting
-Darts

-Whack a Mole

-And many other fun games

Missions
-You will have to complete various missions along the way for other animals. Some missions involve playing games, some missions involve going on a scavenger hunt to obtain certain items, other missions involve simply helping out another animal. In terms of the missions, keep this in mind: if they are night missions, they must be completed before dawn and if they are day missions, they must be done before dusk. When waiting for a level to load, you'll often get helpful tips on how to move around in the world

Areas
-There are various areas to explore in the game. They include:
-The Barnyard
-The Beady Farm
-Dandelion Meadow
-The Vegetable Patch
-Dankweed Pond
-Gopher Hill
-Walnut Woods
-Izzy Springs Golf Course
-Grizzly Gulch
-The Junkyard

Collectibles
-Along the way, you might be asked, as part of a mission, to obtain items for an invention or because an animal asked you to. For completing each mission, you will either get a Gold Rush Token or gold coins. The Gold Rush Tokens can be used at special tree stumps that have a gold glow around them if you have a Token. But if you don't have any, they will be tree stumps with coin slots on top. You can also use these gold coins to buy stuff for the Night Barn, ranging from food items, to new bikes, to things for the Night Barn, such as games, furniture, items for the bar, stage and entertainment equipment, etc. You can also pick flowers, stomp grain bags for flour, use milk cans to get butter, milk, cream, stomp crates to get chocolate, stomp ice buckets for ice, stomp apple trees to get apples, use a metal detector to find coins and metal cans, etc.