Judas Priest: Then and Now

1969

1970s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1980s

1990s/2000s
-They really didn't look all that different in the 1990s or current day
-I think I may have made a mistake in letting my sister see the front of my Essential Judas Priest album, which, not surprisingly, has an image of the band on the front. For some reason, her eyes went right to Glenn Tipton. Now I have to point him out to her next Saturday when we see them at the Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, OH. But the cool thing is that she really does like their music now from listening to my Essential Judas Priest CD and to make this time more worthwhile, I get to see one of my all time fave heavy metal bands with someone I love, my sister. Also, just found out when they'll be playing at ROTR (Rock on the Range). They'll be taking the stage at 9:40 pm. A long time to wait to see these guys! I'll be dead from anticipation before these guys even play one note, lmao!


Glenn Tipton caught her eye. Maybe it's because he's blonde?

Wait until she sees Richie Faulkner, she's gonna die! LOL!!

Rambo: First Blood Part II by David Morrell

If you read the original novel, First Blood, by David Morrell, it doesn't come right out and say it, but Rambo, the main character, is killed by his former CO, Col. Trautman. But, then the author came up with a novelization, which is creating a story from another medium of entertainment, such as film, TV, etc. David Morrell used parts of an unwritten script for the film Rambo: First Blood Part II and created the novelization for it, going into a little more detail about the titular troubled Vietnam vet.

Plot of movie/book
-John Rambo is in prison after his one man war against the small Washington town of Hope. His former CO, Col. Sam Trautman, comes to his prison with a deal. He tells Rambo that he will get a presidential pardon and thus release from prison if he embarks on a mission that involves taking pictures of American POWs still kept in Vietnam. He must take pictures, but not engage the enemy. While waiting for the rescue chopper, he is captured by enemy forces. He thankfully manages to escape from being tortured by a Russian commander thanks to his Vietnamese contact, Co Bao.

Differences between the book/movie
-Obviously, there are going to be some differences. For starters, the novelization is based on an earlier, unused screenplay by James Cameron, of Titanic and Avatar fame

Film
-One of the differences is that during the torture scene in the movie, it only shows Rambo being shocked. Certainly nothing about him urinating on himself by mistake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-When Rambo is in the slime pit, he is almost naked, except for a dirty brown sarong around his bare hips. He is bound crucifixion style to an oxen yoke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-His contact, Co Bao, doesn't utter one vulgar word. Also, she and Rambo share a passionate kiss

-There isn't really all that much background info on Rambo in the movie. The movie starts out showing a prison yard with men pounding rocks with hammers. This is where we first meet Rambo.

Novelization
-During the scene where Rambo is being shocked by the Russian commander, it says that he urinated on himself, from the electricity coursing through his body and causing him to lose control of major bodily functions. And the Russian commander seems almost sexually stimulated by it. The novel says that the Russian commander got an erection on watching Rambo squirm from the electricity running through his body. He also manages to get a little shocked himself from the water pouring off Rambo onto the floor when Rambo manages to break free of his bonds

-When Rambo is in the slime pit, it says that he is dressed in his combat outfit of boots and cargo pants

-Co Bao, his contact agent, mentions having a son named Nguyen in Huntington Beach, California and having an economics degree from University of Saigon. She mentions having a brother as well. Her English is broken and she hopes to come back with Rambo to the US as a war bride, as she considers him "her man". They do not become intimate with each other; instead she plants a kiss on his cheek. And when she is killed by enemy gunfire, he takes her necklace, which is a small jade necklace, and puts it around his neck, along with tearing a strip of material off her dress, which was stolen to make her look like a prostitute to get her into the prison camp and wrapping it around his head

-The character Podovsk in the novel was Podovsky in the film, Yushin in the movie was Yashin in the novel and Lt. Tay in the movie was Sgt. Tay in the story. It says that he was the principal abuser of Rambo, the one responsible for his chest and back scars. It also says that after Rambo escaped from his camp, this caused him to lose face with his superiors and his punishment for this was demotion to rank of private.

-The opening scene shows Rambo in his solitary confinement cell. A guard stands outside and says "He likes to think he's the f---ing prince of darkness" after seeing the light in his cell smashed out

-The book goes into detail about Rambo's background, such as him coming from a family with a Roman Catholic Italian father and Navajo mother, which explains his ease with using a simple bow and arrow instead of high tech weapons. Originally it was suggested that Rambo be of partial German descent, but when Sylvester Stallone was chosen to play the role, it wouldn't make sense. Sylvester Stallone does not look German. So it was decided that the character Rambo would be of partial Italian descent on his father's side. There is also a scene in the novel where Rambo was called a "rapist" by hippie protesters. It also explains that, unlike a lot of his fellow soldiers, who eagerly raped Vietnamese women during the war, Rambo lost his sexual drive after witnessing the horrors of war. Just the thought of sexual intimacy or intimacy with another person in general has him breaking out in cold sweats and a racing heartbeat. It turns out that he didn't lose his virginity until age 21 and he couldn't marry because he had been drafted. After returning from the war, the woman he planned on marrying had married someone else and had children. And it was the Vietnamese agent Co Bao that taught him how to love again and they share a passionate kiss. When she dies, he screams in rage, almost as if screaming all the rage out of his body

14 alternatives to the Stick Family pictures on cars

Those seem to be popping up everywhere. On some cars, though, I've seen hilarious renditions of this involving alien ships and saying "Nobody cares about your stick figure family" with the alien ship abducting the family or someone in a hockey mask and chainsaw chasing a stick figure family. I've even seen a Star Wars themed one- using characters to represent the family members

So here are 14 variations of the classic Stick Figure image on cars. Some I didn't include because they were so weird even I didn't get them or they were a little too risqué to have on here, meaning they involved sexual activity

1. Minus One
-For those recently divorced moms, here you go

2. Little Jedi on the way
-For you Star Wars moms, no better way to announce the soon to be arrival of a young Jedi

3. Zombie Apocalypse
-For some reason, zombies are all the rage now. I suspect it has something to do with The Walking Dead

4. Monsters!
-If this doesn't crack someone up laughing, who knows what will

5. The A-- Family
-This is for you sarcasm-filled families, who usually can't hold a civil conversation without sarcasm flooding it, yet can still show love to one another

6. The Crazy Cat Lady
-"You think she needs a few more cats?"

7. The Chainsaw Killer
-I see this one frequently where I live

8. Hit and run
-He's showing you once and for all that his family is perfect

10. Me? Your Mom?

10 Biggest Control Freaks in Rock/Metal

We all know that some people in the world are control freaks. But a not so surprising thing is that a good majority of those control freaks are in music, wow! Go figure! Here are some of music's more notorious control freaks

1. Axl Rose
-Singer for Guns N' Roses
-And this is supposed to be a shocker?!?!?
-From the release of Guns N' Roses' 1987 album Appetite for Destruction to the 1991 twin releases of Use Your Illusion I & II, this rock and roll freight train didn't seem to have an end, until Axl pulled the brakes hard. He delayed or canceled gigs based on his mood at the time, which caused chaos in numerous ways, with disastrous results, including guitarist Izzy Stradlin quitting in disgust and fans pulling a riot in St. Louis

2. Lars Ulrich
-Drummer for Metallica
-The 2003 documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster seems to paint front man James Hetfield as a control freak of the highest order. But after watching this documentary, it's obvious who the real control freak is here: Denmark-born drummer Lars Ulrich. Some of the grievances in Metallica involving him include ordering Jason Newsted to turn his bass volume down on ...And Justice for All, insisting socks be put on his feet by his handlers, delivering the names of 300,000 Metallica fans to Napster headquarters as part of a massive legal suit he was having against them

3. Glenn Frey/Don Henley
-Songwriters/Co-lead singers of The Eagles
-In the documentary The History of The Eagles, the two songwriters don't even deny the fact that they like to be in control of every aspect of the band. During the Hell Freezes Over tour, Don Henley told Don Felder and fellow Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh that they were forbidden to dance on stage when they performed Henley's hit "All She Wants to Do is Dance".

4. Paul Stanley
-Rhythm guitarist/vocalist for KISS
-I like him, but I'm not surprised to see him on here
-Gene Simmons may be the outspoken member of KISS that angers everyone with his blunt opinions, but it's fellow KISS founder Paul Stanley that manages to ruffle a few feathers here and there. Just prior to the band's 2014 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Paul is said to be the man in charge for the band. Guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss said they wanted to play, but Stanley refused. He said they had left the band repeatedly, unhappy on each occasion and if KISS was to perform, it would be newer members Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer donning the makeup and costume of the Catman and Spaceman

5. Roger Waters
-Bass player for Pink Floyd
-He's not the founder of Pink Floyd, as a lot of people assume. Syd Barrett is the actual founder of the band. Waters gained control of the band and changed the sound of the music to the psychedelic-prog rock sound they are now known for, such as the 1979 album The Wall

6. Eddie Van Halen
-Co-founder and lead guitarist for Van Halen
-Judging from the fact that the band bears his last name and the last name of his brother, he seems to earn a right in deciding where the band goes. Flying high on the success of their 1984 album, these guys were a force to be reckoned with in the hard rock world. It was like a hard rock circus on steroids; out front was limber acrobat and singer David Lee Roth, brother Alex Van Halen thundering away on drums, quiet Michael Anthony adding thunderous bass lines. In 2006, Michael Anthony got booted from the band only to be replaced by Eddie's son Wolfgang. But, never fear: Michael Anthony is happy playing with Sammy Hagar in his band Chickenfoot

7. Billy Corgan
-Singer for The Smashing Pumpkins
-After launching the band in 1988, he says he led the band into success in the 1990s and says he played almost every instrument on their 1991 album Gish

8. Johnny Ramone
-Guitarist for The Ramones
-Trying to manage different personalities can be a daunting task (This is what it's probably like for KISS manager Doc McGhee). Johnny Ramone had this horrible task-managing different personalities. He had to control odd and OCD singer Joey Ramone, drug addicted bass player Dee Dee Ramone, and a revolving door of drummers dominated by Tommy Ramone and Marky Ramone.

9. John Fogerty
-Younger brother of Tom Fogerty, co-founder of Creedence Clearwater Revival
-From the get go, it was clear that the younger Fogerty brother ran this ship. The deep, bluesy southern rock sound they are known for came to life in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

10. Pete Townshend
-Lead guitarist for The Who
-He's the lead guitarist, chief songwriter and brains behind this band

Chris Hemworth

What a hunk! No wonder he's hot! He's from Australia and has a hot Aussie accent!

DOB: 8/11/1983
Where: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Height: 6'2''

Trademark
-Deep voice
-Light blue eyes
-His height
-His muscular build

Trivia
-For his role as the title character in Thor, he had to gain 20 pounds of muscle
-Won People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in 2014
-Has English, German, Scottish and Irish in his heritage

Filmography
Star Trek
-George Kirk
Thor
-Thor
The Avengers
-Thor
Star Trek Into Darkness
-George Kirk
Rush
-James Hunt
Thor: The Dark World
-Thor

Rambo

Rambo

Summary
-Former Vietnam vet John Rambo now lives a simple life in seclusion in Thailand. One day, a group of missionaries looking to give aid to the Karen people of the region. They approach him with the hope he'll ferry them up river to aid the people from the oppressive rule of the vicious Burmese military

Cast
-Sylvester Stallone: John Rambo
-Julie Benz: Sarah
-Matthew Marsden: School Boy
-Graham McTavish: Lewis
-Reynoldo Gallegos: Diaz
-Jake La Botz: Reese
-Tim Kang: En-Joo
-Maung Maung Khin: Gen. Tint
-Paul Schulze: Michael Burnett

Did You Know?
-Julie Benz was cast because Sylvester Stallone was a fan of the show Dexter, in which she stars
-Maung Maung Khin, who plays the Burmese dictator Tint, fought for the Karen Rebels in real life. He was fearful of his family being murdered if he took the role, but took it anyway
-This is the first Rambo movie where he uses a pistol, the first Rambo movie without a helicopter and the first Rambo movie where he not shown shirtless. This last one is due to Sylvester Stallone's extensive tattooing on both of his shoulders and upper back, which he started getting in later July 2007

-This is the first Rambo movie where he works with a team instead of solo
-The darkest of all the Rambo movies

-Rambo III and this one are the only ones in the First Blood series where Rambo is not captured by the enemy. In First Blood, he's arrested by police. In Rambo: First Blood pt. II, he's captured by the Vietnamese

First Blood

Rambo: First Blood pt. II

-The only movie without the trademark music of Jerry Goldsmith, who died in 2004

-The only movie where he uses his trademark bow and not his explosive arrowheads. He didn't use a bow in First Blood

-The first movie with out a novel by author David Morrell, who created the character John Rambo. Morrell wrote the novel First Blood, which introduces you to the character of Rambo, along with novels for Rambo: First Blood pt. II and Rambo III

-Throughout the movie, one of the mercenaries refers to Rambo as "boatman". In Greek mythology, Charon is the boatman. He ferried souls to the land of the dead for money. Burma/Myanmar, which has a bloody 60+ year history of war and genocide, qualifies as the land of the dead. And ironically, the name of the rebels, the Karen rebels, sounds like "Charon". The legend says that when you die, someone leaves money on your eyes so you can pay the boatman to ferry you to the land of the dead. If you can't pay the boatman, your spirit is stuck forever between the two worlds

Quotes