Twas The Blog Before Christmas: Christmas Lights, 21st Century Disney and Netflix Christmas Movies

This is it, the final stretch. Santa is double checking his list and making sure his inventory is in check before he zooms out with Rudolph leading the way. Christmas is officially one week away and snow is already falling in certain parts of the world. Surprisingly it’s absolutely freezing here I did not expect it to get so cold so fast but apparently Jack Frost is having a field day this year.

Unlike last year this is going to be the only blog before Christmas as well as the last blog until New Years, yeah I'm taking a leave of absence for a week. So as the last blog before Christmas and the last blog of the year let's leave it off with a bang, right? Actually there isn't too much to discuss on this blog (I’m lying there’s something big to discuss) so instead I have the first of two videos that i’ve been waiting to make all year, the Christmas Lights Extravaganza 2017!

If anyone is a veteran ZAK Entertainment reader you’ll be aware I did a three part video series of travel montages using footage I filmed while out with my family looking at Christmas lights, a tradition we’ve upheld all my life. This year's isn't going to be a part three but the lights are just as awesome as ever. Today part 1 will be up for you guys to watch and this Friday December 22nd part 2 will drop. So without further ado let's get ready to jingle!

Everyone enjoy? I haven't yet mastered the whole keeping my camera to stay focused on the lights. My auto focus wouldn't work very well so I had to switch to manual focus to try and keep it focused on the lights, which isn't easy on this camera. I really enjoy doing these videos so expect this to be a ZAK Entertainment tradition. Stay tuned for Part 2 this Friday! There may be a secret part 3 if we get to go out on another trip but I'm not making any promises.

Moving on I have some massive news to discuss, that is one of the most game changing buyouts the entertainment industry has seen in years. As a lot of you are already aware the Walt Disney Company will be purchasing a majority of 21st Century Fox’s assets including TV properties, Movie properties and more for $52.4 billion in stock.

What does this mean? Disney will acquire 20th Century Fox’s massive film library including a Film Rights to movies as well as intellectual properties held by 20th Century, which means only one thing. Disney/Marvel now has the rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four back under it’s belt! Yes in a feat that seemed almost impossible it actually has happened. 20th Century Fox’s studios will also now operate under Disney similar to LucasFilms and Marvel Studios. So does this mean we’ll be seeing a 20th Century Disney? Who knows. 

Disney will also purchase many of Fox’s TV networks as well as properties such as The Simpsons. Yeah remember that episode where The Simpsons predicted Disney buying out Fox? Yeah I don't either but apparently it happened in the episode “Wish You Dish Upon A Star” which first aired on November 8th, 1998. Remember those Disney parodies? Yeah you can now say the Simpsons were making fun of it’s future parent company.

Funny enough this isn't the first time Disney has bought assets from Fox, know what I'm on about? Yes the buyout of Fox Family (Which was something Murdoch bought from CBN anyway) and Saban’s properties was a previous deal made with the two companies

There's quite a lot of other nitty gritty involved in this deal but what does this leave Fox with? Well Murdoch is basically going back to basics, being left with his news corporation and sports networks in which he’ll be spinning off into a separate business.

There is a big but involved in his however, this buyout has not been approved by the United States Department of Antitrust Division and the European Commission. While this deal seems awesome in regards to Marvel it could still fall flat just the same as the AT&T and Time Warner merger did. With a merger of two massive film studios the possibility of this merger actually being approved now teeters on the edge. 

Back to Marvel I'm extremely excited to see the possibility of the Fantastic Four finally being interpreted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The four residents of the Baxter Building have been my long standing favorite heroes in the Marvel universe so it’ll be incredible to see how Marvel reboots the franchise and integrates it into the MCU.

We’ll just have to wait and see what the future holds but I can see a lot of good coming out of this buyout despite it being such a disruption in the industry.

Speaking of Disney… Star Wars The Last Jedi has officially launched in theaters, just in time for Christmas! The latest part in the Star Wars saga is here, continuing after the events of The Force Awakens. Rey has now begun training under Luke Skywalker, previously missing and while learning she seems to be discovering something about herself, something dangerous. I haven't seen the movie myself so I can't review it yet but apparently Carrie Fisher was done Justice in this film in her role as Leia. You can watch it now so go grab yourself some tickets and get ready to experience one of the biggest movies of the year!

Christmas is only one week away so you’re probably indulging in holiday classic movies. If you have Netflix you actually have a pretty decent selection of Christmas movies available to watch this year so for this next segment I'm going to list of some of my personal favorite Christmas movies on Netflix that I believe you should watch in this next week.

Tim Allen is forever in my heart as the voice behind Buzz Lightyear but he’s also pretty well known for being Santa Claus in The Santa Clause movie series. Tim Allen plays Scott Calvin, a father of one who’s life is turned upside down when he accidentally causes a man in a Santa suit to fall of their roof Christmas night. In a crazy turn of events Scott ends up having to take the place of the man, who is revealed to be the real Santa and become Santa himself, to his own disbelief.

I absolutely adore this series of films, especially the first movie. It doesn't have the greatest reviews in the world but it’s a Christmas thrill ride from start to finish. I don't find the second and third movies as great as the first but they too are filled with laughter and Christmas spirit. You can also purchase this movie on iTunes as well as the other two by clicking the link below.

Next up is something more on the green side, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I’ve discussed Jim Carrey a few months ago and I have to admit I love his version of The Grinch just slightly better then the original animation (And even the book itself). This movie takes the basic story of The Grinch and fleshes it out, giving a backstory to The Grinch and making you realize he’s not such a bad guy after all. Of course Jim Carrey brings his humor to the table as well, which leads to some hilarity as well as a funny dig at his own director, Ron Howard. Jim Carrey actually manages to turn a pretty unlikable character into a funny and actually almost relatable character while still keeping that Christmas hating grump attitude. I believe I reviewed this movie last year but I have nothing but praise for this movie. It's one of my favorites that I loved watching every year as I grew up.

Switching over to animation Netflix has, like always the three Mickey Mouse Christmas specials. The first one is of course Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas which is made up of three classic original stories that tell some worthwhile morals as well as providing Christmas joy to any Disney kid, or me who gets really nostalgic when watching this.

Then there’s Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas which is a 2004 sequel to the previously mentioned movie. Until I watched this on Netflix I actually had no idea this movie even existed but it’s just as magical as the first movie and the CGI is actually pretty good for 2004.

Finally out of the three Mickey movies is Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse. House of Mouse is one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, bringing together cameos of all the Disney animated characters as well as playing old Disney Cartoons. Well this special plays a bunch of old Christmas animations as well as the infamous Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol which originally released in 1983.

Next up is White Christmas, which is a Christmas classic by all means. Starring Bing Crosby, Phil Davis, Rosemary Clooney (The more famous Aunt of George Clooney), Dean Jagger, Danny Kaye, Mary Wickes and Anne Whitfield. This Christmas Musical movie stars a singing and dancing duo played by Bing and Danny who team up with a sister act played by Rosemary and Vera-Ellen to perform a Christmas show to show a rural inn in Vermont from going broke. This movie is sweet, sentimental and just plain fun and it really has aged well over the years. Bing Crosby brings his amazing singing talents to the table with his White Christmas song that has become a worldwide classic of a song as well as the best version despite not being the original cover of the song.

Finally there’s two animated movies which I discovered last year and immediately watched again this year. Santa’s Apprentice and The Magic Snowflake.

Santa’s Apprentice features Santa Claus nearing retirement. He is forced to find out of a pool of a million children an apprentice to take over as the new Santa. Some of the requirements are however that the kid had to be named Nicholas, be an orphan and have a pure heart. These two movies follow Nicholas as he copes with what’s happening in his new life as well as Santa coping with his eventual retirement and this movie is beautifully animated to boot.

All of these movies are available to watch on Netflix so check these movies out over the next week as you await Santa to visit on the eve of Christmas.

For now I’m going to head out, you’ll see me again Friday for part 2 but until the next blog I bid you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Please enjoy yourself but also stay safe during this next week. This is the end of the blog for this year and while I had to make some changes to the blog schedule this year was amazing regardless, we discussed a lot this year so let’s hope we got even more to discuss next year. Actually I have a large backlog that stems back to earlier on this year so I don’t think that’ll be a problem.

This was ZAK Entertainment

See you next year!

Merry Christmas!

Welcoming Christmas with the "Alita: Battle Angel" Movie Trailer and a Sweet Art Supply Set

It’s officially three weeks till Christmas! By now Santa Claus has gathered most if not all of the toys he’s giving out the night of the 25th but for you Santa helpers don't wait to long to make your Christmas gift purchases.

With three weeks left my house is looking like a Christmas wonderland, as it does on every year of this time. Yes we’ve done our Christmas decorating and while the decorations we use are the same nostalgic pieces we always arrange them in a way that sets that year apart from the rest.

From the classic ceramics settled along the fireplace to the garland around each corridor the halls are definitely decked, although not with boughs of holly of sorts. We do however have a new addition, this sweet White Christmas table top tree. 

Don’t get me wrong I love big trees but there’s just something about a table top Christmas tree that feels more humble. The white needles while not natural just seem more suitable for this winter season which might I say we’ve surprisingly been seeing breeze through.

Here I am under the impression it's going to be a warm winter when if at the snap of a finger the cold has hit us down here like a truck. It’s not below freezing but we are teetering on the edge of it and I have to admit I'm a lot more used to the hot, humid and sweaty weather then I am the bitter and nippy cold.

Anyway I had possibly the strangest yet the most awesome encounter the other day. It's not every day I get to meet someone I follow online but one of my favorite Youtubers and Vloggers as well as being an avid RV traveler happened to cross paths with me in a Home Depot no less. Eric Jacobs, known as Nomadic Fanatic on Youtube was this man and yeah it was probably the most unexpected thing to ever happen to me in this past year of blogging. Sadly we didn't get much time to talk and I didn't get to meet Jax the Cat but I did happen to get his business card as proof that I actually met him.

For those not aware Eric basically travels America as a full time RVer with his slightly oversized yet lovable cat Jax. The sights they’ve seen are absolutely incredible and make myself eager to get out and travel myself. (This isn’t easy to do, trust me.) He posts videos of his adventures on his YouTube channel: . His recent videos are of Alabama so for those who haven't had to chance to check out the state of Bama then go check out his recent videos!

So back to the topics at hand I got a brand new movie trailer to discuss and this one is of a movie I didn't expect but it looks really awesome, while looking like food for my SciFi movie hunger.

Spawning from an awesome 1990s Japanese manga by the name of Gunnm, written by Yukito Kishiro comes the newest James Cameron movie by the name of Alita: Battle Angel and oh boy this is another one of those movies that have been in production for over two decades now. Yeah James Cameron has had this movie in the works for a long time now, being a huge fan of the manga this can be easily described as a passion project for him. Well finally we’ve got a trailer for this movie that you can check out right here.

That was simply put awesome, the cyberpunk/post apocalyptic setting, the main character, Mahershala Ali and the incredible animation makes this definitely on my must watch list for 2018. I am not too familiar with the manga, although I'm eager to read them now, but this movie will be based on the first four books of the original manga.

Alita is a cyborg discovered in a garbage heap by Cybernetic Doctor Daisuke Ido and to his surprise Alita has absolutely no memory. She does however have a knack for combat which sets her down the path of being a Hunter-Warrior, taken down other cyborgs of a more criminal nature in the futuristic city of Scrapyard (Fitting name, apparently)

I am actually super excited for this movie but even more excited to check out the source material as well. I know all of you are probably groaning as it's another manga/anime based movie but give it a chance, James Cameron is absolutely passionate about the source material so unlike Dragonball Evolution this movie might be great. I also have heard people complain about the eyes of the main character but that didn't seem to bug me when watching the trailer. Who says Cyborg girls had to have normal eyes? Well anyway I can't wait to check this movie out next year when it releases July 20th, 2018.

Next up we got the first trailer for the new season of Jessica Jones! Jessica Jones became my favorite character besides Luke Cage when watching Marvel’s Defenders a few months ago so I'm eager to see where they take the sarcastic yet kick butt hero (Who probably Knits as well knowing her awesome actress) in this new season. You can check out this trailer below!

Jessica Jones is BACK! With her agency up and running again she's tying up loose ends as well as getting into new trouble as well as dealing with her past that still seems to linger around. While this was a short trailer this is really all you need to get hyped for the new season (Don’t worry they’ll flood us with unnecessary trailers regardless) so get ready to see some kick ass Jessica Jones March 8th on Netflix.

Speaking of Netflix as a quick reminder the new season of The Crown is now on Netflix! This new series continues the reigning chapters of Queen Elizabeth II’s life with the same stars that made the first season so memorable so for those with Netflix be sure to check it out!

Well that's about it for this blog, or it should be but I had a spur of the moment thing happen that involves me purchasing something. Yeah I spent money on myself again but this deal was absolutely irresistible. I’ve really come to love art in all of it’s many medias, I’ve not done a whole lot and most of it involved Aeris Eclipse in some shape or form but I can say that creating art will be something i’ll keep in my life. So with that commitment in mind I bought myself this 120 piece multi media art set.

Oh boy this is one beauty of a box. At first glance you would assume this to be some secret agency briefcase and I guess you could call it that because of how much is inside of this box. This Artist Loft Art Set actually only cost me 20 dollars despite it’s usual 70 dollar price tag so I really did snag one really good deal from Michael’s and it almost completely slipped my point of view. My Mum had actually discovered the one day sale that was happening so of course I Dove out as quick as I could and snagged the last one on the shelf.

Opening this baby up you can see a wide selection of color pencils and watercolor pencils, the latter I've come to love after the past few months. Think this is it? Oh no, not by a long shot. See those fabric tabs? Yeah pulling this up will reveal the magic underneath.

This isn't just a Acrylic or watercolor set no this has 10 Acrylic Paints, 12 Watercolor paints and 12 oil paints as well as oil pastels. Also included are brushes, pallets and some other cool bits that really makes this an awesome set. What finishes this off with a bang is the booklet that comes with the set. This booklet is absolutely perfect for a beginner like myself as it holds tips on how to draw, color theory and how to use the four mediums included in this set. So for someone like me, who’s barely gotten used to Watercolor this was the icing on the cake. It actually goes quite in depth on oil painting, a medium I've always been too nervous to try yet have always had a love for oil paintings.

While this set is not going to be 20$ anymore I would still recommend this set to any artist who wants to expand their mediums and learn new ones. This would make quite the Christmas gift so check out your local Michael’s (If you have one) or anyone else who sells Artist Loft supplies.

For now I'm heading off once again, thanks everyone for reading the blog for this week! Don't stress out over Christmas too much and enjoy the rest of your week!

This was ZAK Entertainment

See you next week!

DC Crisis on Marvel's Infinity War (I Also Finally Cast On a Sock)

We’re officially in December! Jingle Bells are ringing all around, it’s the Holiday Season! Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, National Brownie Day, National Oatmeal Muffin Day (Yeah this is real apparently) or Christmas it’s the season for giving and the season for some really nostalgic Christmas specials on TV. It’s also the season for the annual CW Superhero Crossover and you better believe that this year’s will blow the doors off every previous year’s crossover, hands down.

Dubbed “Crisis on Earth-X” this 4 episode miniseries pits the Arrowverse against a world full of Nazis. Yeah apparently on Earth-X the Nazis won World War II and took over the world with a familiar face at the helm. This world has its own lot of Metahumans and Vigilantes but these guys are not the friendly faces we see saving the world on Earth-1.

The crossover kicks off with the prelude to Iris and Barry’s wedding, about time right? With The Thinker gone quiet for now the speedster couple send off invitations to their various metahuman and arrow shooting friends, although a couple of people seem to be missing from the invitation such as Diggle, what gives with that? Anyway the invitation even reaches Supergirl and Alex who seem to be having relationship problems (I haven’t been watching Supergirl) and want to use this trip as an excuse to get away from their own problems, at least for a little while. I loved the fact that the metahumans were actually in a fight while trying to RSVP thought that was funny.

I don’t know why I expected the Wedding to actually happen though; this is The Flash we’re on about. Yeah the marriage almost happened until a bunch of Nazis burst through the doors with an evil Kryptonian known as “Overgirl” at the helm.

With the Wedding ruined the entire Arrowverse is now pitted against these new villains, and one familiar villain. Yeah if you’ve seen the Episodes then you’ll know that these villains are evil versions of the Earth 1 heroes with Oliver Queen as the Fuhrer. So with this you would expect an evil Flash right? Well we got an Evil Flash, just not Evil Barry.

My jaw dropped at the big reveal of this world’s Flash when under that mask was the familiar face of Harrison Wells, or as he’s known by his real name, Eobard Thawne. Thawne is back! Not just any Thawne this actually is the same Eobard Thawne from Season 1 of The Flash and Season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow believe it or not. How many times has this man escaped death? It’s incredible to see Tom Cavanaugh playing this role again, a role in what was probably my favorite in Season 1 of The Flash, making that particular season amazing. I have to say it was hard to understand why Eobard was even a part of this plot, maybe he just wanted to screw with Barry again but whatever the case is this crossover proves that Thawne is back and that we may be seeing him again very soon. Reverse Flash VS The Thinker? Wonder who would outsmart the other.

This is the largest gathering of Superheroes on the TV screen yet (Not counting the animations) and by far it’s probably one of my favorite storylines to come out of the Arrowverse. This 4 episode series is suspenseful, drama filled and actually really heart wrenching when it comes to the sad departure of one of Arrowverse’s longest running characters. You really get anxious to see the next Episode in this series as it really drags you in with cliffhangers around every corner, luckily these episodes were only split up between two days so the wait wasn’t so excruciating. I am a little disappointed in the lack of most of the Legends throughout the crossover and some of Team Arrow. Actually a certain stretchy guy was missing too, which sucks as this would have been a great way to break Elongated Man into the Superhero fold and would have led to some hilarity as he interacted with the Legends, Team Arrow and Supergirl. Not even Martian Manhunter made an appearance this time around. (Is he even in Supergirl anymore?) The writers could of went all out and brought in every Superhero from the Arrowverse but I guess for the sake of not over swamping the show they kept a few out, maybe next year we’ll actually get all of the heroes together for the largest gathering to date.

Anyway without spoiling much else this miniseries is a must watch for DC Comic fans and you can check it out on Hulu and the CW TV app right now! Just go to the App Store either Google Play, Microsoft Store or iTunes on your smart device and search for The CW. Will Barry and Iris finally get married?

Speaking of Smart Devices we actually got ourselves a Samsung Ultra HD 4k Television a week ago and to my surprise this TV really does have some incredible quality, although the App Store is severely lacking. (No CW App on there, sorry guys) This TV makes our Video Games such as the Wii U look absolutely incredible with this TV’s quality enhancer feature. We have had to turn off a few features here and there, such as the auto motion which caused jittering on our older movies and one weird frame refresh rate. There’s also this automatic room light sensor which didn’t work in our Living Room and instead made the screen go way too dark.

The odd features besides the point this TV is pretty great and has some powerful sound compared to our last set. I can’t wait to get a Nintendo Switch and see how incredible that console looks on this TV, which I’m hoping is sooner rather than later but hey I just paid out for a new computer give me a bit on the Switch.

So what do you guys love more than DC? Marvel? Then I got some incredible news for you and myself! The wait is over, the hype has been fulfilled, the Avengers: Infinity War trailer is here! Oh yes we’re finally getting this trailer after months of leaks, illegal recordings from Comic Con and weird theories and you can check it out below!

The trailer starts off with a classic quote from Nick Fury aka Samuel L Jackson with a couple of short clips of the various heroes in their split off locations and a… Humanized Vision? Not sure what that’s all about but we also get to see that Spider-Man ACTUALLY has Spidey Senses! At least I’m assuming that’s why his hair is standing on its end. The narration is soon taken over by Thanos who’s conquest for the infinity stones pits him against the Avengers who have to put their differences to the side to come together one last time against the greatest threat they have ever faced. This movie is going to be jam packed with every single Hero to grace the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I am beyond hyped for this movie, and a little concerned about the future of the Marvel Universe, obviously this movie and Avengers 4 aren’t “The End” per se as we have confirmation of movies that are planned to release after Avengers 4 but how many iconic heroes are we going to see meet their end in this movie? Chris Evans, aka Captain America for one has hinted at his departure from the movie series and I have a feeling Robert Downey Jr isn’t sticking around either. Will there be a reboot of sorts with those parts being replaced or will we see new heroes take up the mantles of all our favorite heroes? Bucky could always take over the role as Captain America like he did in the comics.

Anyway this movie is coming out May the 4^th of next year so get ready for part 1 of an incredible finale of the Infinity Stones saga!

Before I wrap up for today I actually forgot to mention one particular day that is happening. If you’re reading this on Monday it’s actually National Sock Day believe it or not. I haven’t done much knitting over the past few months to much of your disappointment and while I could apologize all day long I’m going to make up for it today with the casting on of a new project, one that I actually need to finish due to lack of this particular item, a pair of socks!

This will be my third pair of socks I’ve knitted since picking up knitting back in September of last year. The yarn is the normal 90% Wool 10% Nylon but I’m not actually sure of the colorway or brand right now so I’ll have to get back to you on that later.

I’ve got a couple of rows knitted already so hopefully this won’t take me months on end to finish, I mean my first pair of socks didn’t take me that long. (My second pair did.) I’m using my trusty 2.75 MM CiaoGao needles (Which I reviewed in this blog here: ) which should mean this socks won’t be as gigantic as my first pair of socks, but no guarantees. Admittedly I got frustrated with this sock at first, maybe it’s because I’m rusty or maybe it’s just because I hate casting on socks. Don’t get me wrong I love knitting socks but I really hate casting them on and getting things joined. The whole process is annoying but it’s way beyond worth it once you get to the third row, beyond that point Socks are really fun to knit.

That’s about it for now however, I still have a dishcloth to finish and I’m actually doing a duo blanket knitting project with my Mum so you’ll be seeing some more knitting from me in the near future.

For now however I’m leaving you guys for the day, I managed to keep this blog under 2,000 words for once which is incredible but mostly due to the point I haven’t really had much time to write anything these past few weeks. Yeah I’m swamped again but it’s really my own fault for not organizing my time better. Anyway have a Happy Holidays everyone!

This was ZAK Entertainment

See you next week!

“There was an idea…”

Visiting my Sister's Painting at the Bossier Art's Council Gallery!

Hey there everyone! Enjoy your Thanksgiving? Hopefully you ate plenty and are still rolling around from the amount of food, I know I am. Today's blog is going to be an actual short blog this time, but what I'm shoving into this blog is far from short. I'm bringing you guys a brand new video of that trip my sister and I took to Bossier Arts Council to view my sister's first painting that she has ever entered into a gallery as well as actually getting accepted on her first try. Yeah Annie is pretty incredible and if you saw last week's blog you will already have seen the amazing painting.

There's a lot more to see at the Bossier Arts Council from a load of other artists as well so grab some popcorn, your paints and paintbrush and check out this cool new video!

Star Wars parody besides the point I think this video turned out pretty good, it could of been a lot better if my camera lens wasn't dirty, which I was not aware of as of recording this trip. I also sounded pretty quite too as it didn't feel right speaking loud in a gallery, seemed kind of disrespectful but maybe I was wrong.

Besides my sister's amazing painting it was great to see so many different artists with many different art styles and techniques. I have to admit I've never been into a gallery before so as a beginning artist myself this served as some great inspiration, to the point I've actually been picking up on my own art again, mostly pencil sketching but I've also come to love pencil sketching as an art form.

Annie's painting is dubbed "The Wanderlust Forest". The paint strokes, the vibrant colors, everything about this painting is amazing and for some reason I really like those added small dash strokes that Annie always adds into her painting, it adds a stylish and aesthetic look to all of her art work.

This painting is actually up for sale for $150 but sadly due to myself not being able to make it out to the Gallery until recently and the fact that the Council hadn't actually advertised the paintings properly until last Saturday you won't really have the chance to see this painting in real life unless you go out to see it within the next four days and even then you would have to be in the area. If you are in the area however the address is 630 Barksdale Blvd, Bossier City, LA and if you're interested in buying I believe they may have shipping options available so give them a call at (318)741-8310.

You can read more about this painting on Annie's blog here:
http://ladyannavintage.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-artwork-gallery-show.html

And at the Bossier Arts Council Gallery Page:
http://bossierarts.org/wordpress1/gallery-exhibitions-2/east-bank-gallery/hbbh-2/

So that's all for today sadly, really sorry about the short blog but I was poised for time this week so this video as all I could muster. There wasn't really any news so it's not so bad. With Christmas right around the corner expect some Christmassy topics coming your way as well as some discussions about what I've been watching lately... Which is mostly RWBY and The Flash. Oh yeah speaking of the Flash the Crisis on Earth-X Crossover event begins tonight on Supergirl at 8 eastern/ 7 Central so be sure to check it out! This will be the one time I actually tune into Supergirl believe it or not.

This was ZAK Entertainment

See you next week!

A Rocky River Sibling Adventure, Incredibles 2, Ferdinand and Free Embroidery Patterns!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This week is the week of Thanksgiving here in America, the day for giving thanks to those you’re grateful for having in your life and also for stuffing your face with stuffing. It’s also the day of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Purina Dog Show which are always fun watches. Of course after that day is over it's going to be the largest shopping day of the year, Black Friday. So yeah be safe over the next few weeks and while you should have fun don't overdo it!

However for today I have a few movie trailers to discuss but before that my sister and I went on a little adventure last week. We went on a trip to Bossier Art’s Council in Bossier City finally to see my sister’s amazing canvas painting in the Humans Being Humans Gallery that is currently running at the council. Yes my sister actually got an art piece into a gallery and rightfully so she’s done an amazing job on this piece. Funny enough this was her first time entering a gallery and she was up against many artists in the area. We recorded a vlog of the trip but I was not able to get it finished for this specific blog so you’ll see that video soon.

Photo Credit LadyAnnaVintage

For now you can check out my sister’s painting on her newest blog: http://ladyannavintage.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-artwork-gallery-show.html. As well as in the virtual gallery by going to the Humans Beings and Being Humans virtual gallery link: http://bossierarts.org/wordpress1/gallery-exhibitions-2/east-bank-gallery/hbbh-2/. This is one of my sister’s best art pieces AND it’s up for sale so if you’re in the area (Actually it might be possible to purchase it and have it shipped to you, not setting that as fact though) come check this awesome painting out as well as the other artist’s paintings at 630 Barksdale Blvd Bossier City, LA 71111 as well as their phone number 318 741 8310. There is a problem with this however; it appears the Gallery will actually be closed for the next week so you’ll only have the 27^th through to the 30th to visit the gallery before all these paintings are taken down. I guess I should of gotten this out there sooner but with Annie holding back on advertising and lack of advertising from the Council itself my hands were tied, I had only just gotten the chance to visit the gallery myself.

I’ll be writing/editing a separate blog /vlog of our trip to BAC for later on in the week so be sure to check it out! It’ll be a Thanksgiving gift in a way.

Taking a Rocky Red River Adventure with Sibling in Tow.

That however was not the end to our trip out! On our way home and after a couple of U-turns Annie and I discovered a small park outside the Red River. Yeah amazing what we find randomly on our ways back home. We actually drove past right past the almost invisible entrance and had to make a U-turn just to get into this place dubbed the “Teague Trails Recreational Area”.

Luckily I had my camera with me and decided to take some photos of this park. Annie will have some incredible photos coming up on her blog later on this week from this trip but I like these photos I took so let’s roll a few of them out for you.

As you can see this part of the river is molded with rocks instead of beaches which while not fun for your feet makes this place look absolutely stunning, I’m surprised I’ve only just found this place.

Took this photo which at this angle makes it look like these rocks are giant boulders in perhaps the Grand Canyon area, it almost looks like you could walk through these rocks. Makes you feel kind of small in this big world of ours.

I have to admit that we really did not have the right shoes on for this occasion. With Annie in high heels and me in dress shoes we really weren’t in the right attire. We need to remember to take a pair of tennis shoes with us.

Here’s the photographer herself, why not take a photo of a photographer taking a photo, eh?

This place actually makes for a great picnic location especially on a day like this where no one else is here, you wouldn’t have anyone else bothering you and your family. I really want to see if I can get on the other side of the river, which would be pretty cool.

Overall we really need to come back here, of course with better shoes and perhaps a picnic basket in hand. There are tons of other places to visit in this area so you never know what we’ll come across in the upcoming weeks, especially with Christmas on its way. Do I smell a Christmas Extravaganza 2017 happening soon? Perhaps so, you’ll have to wait and see. (It’s actually happening I’m just teasing you.) Don't forget to check out Annie on her Art/Photography blog ladyannavintage.blogspot.com

Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon have finally and you’re probably playing that instead of reading this but if you want to put the DS down for a few seconds I have a brand new teaser trailer for a movie I think people have been clawing for years now, The Incredibles 2!

The Incredibles 2 Returns in this Crazy New Teaser!

Yeah this movie has been teased for a long time now and I discussed some stuff about it during the year such as during Disney’s D23 conference. The Incredibles was Pixar’s first real film where the main characters actually consisted of humans instead of toys, monsters, fish and bugs. Of course these humans were super powered living in a world of villains and non powered humans. The story of the first movie focused on Mr. Incredible and his Wife Elastigirl as they struggle to survive in a world where super humans are suddenly discredited as menaces leaving the superheroes with no choice but to go into hiding, living as normal humans. Mr. Incredible and his family try to live normal lives while hiding their crazy abilities but it doesn’t last all too long and soon enough their dragged into a plot that’ll reshape how the world sees “Supers”.

This Pixar animation is by far one of my favorite animations and it’s awesome to see a sequel especially when it’s going to take place immediately after the first movie left off, meaning we’re going to get to see the Incredibles fight the Undertaker (Who was and I’m assuming will still be voiced by John Ratzenberger) after all. Another character that will play a large role is seemingly Jack-Jack Parr, the Family’s youngest member who seemed to be a normal baby until the end of the first movie where he was revealed to have shape shifting abilities. This new teaser shows Jack-Jack receiving an even more variety of powers so let’s take a look see.

Yeah it wasn’t a huge teaser but we got to see the powers that Jack-Jack seemingly posseses, which is a LOT so it’ll be awesome to see how he develops in the next film. As announced earlier on the movie will actually shift focus a few times within the film as Elastigirl will be out fighting crime while her husband will be home babysitting Jack, which as we can see from the teaser will ensure some hilarity, and perhaps a house insurance claim.

This movie will be releasing June 15^th of next year so I bet we’ll see a full trailer closer to the release date, maybe during the Superbowl? If I just predicted that I’ll die of laughter I swear.

AND HIS NAME IS... FERDINAND!

I actually have one more movie trailer to discuss today. It’s another animation and it stars an international wrestling superstar

AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENA

Okay old dead memes aside (I can’t believe I actually used that word on this blog, never again) John Cena is voicing Ferdinand in a movie named after said character. This bull, unlike most bulls is actually a over sensitive love-a-BULL creature who’s size tends to make others timid of him to his own disliking. Without further ado let’s check out this new trailer from Blue Sky who are actually the creators of Ice Age, Robots and RIO. (Does anyone remember Robots? Loved that movie.)

Ferdinand is actually based on a 1936 children’s book believe it or not named “The Story of Ferdinand”, written by Munro Leaf and Illustrated by Robert Lawson. The story tells the tale of a bull named Ferdinand who is more interested in flowers then bullfights. As that book wasn’t super long by any means the movie is of course fleshing the characters out a little more. It actually looks like a really good family animation, something I’ve come to expect from Blue Sky over the years, I mean I can’t name a Blue Sky animation I don’t like. This movie is a classic tale of don’t judge a book by its cover. Ferdinand in this movie is a Spanish Fighting Bull who absolutely detests bullfighting, rather spending his time smelling flowers and hanging out with small cuddly animals. Sadly his size seems to get the better of him making him a tad bit of a klutz. You’ll be able to watch this movie in theatres this December the 15^th so mark your calendars. 

So that’s pretty much it for movie news, nothing major is happening but a much anticipated movie of mine is just about to come out as well this thanksgiving. The Man Who Invented Christmas which I discussed a few blogs ago is a satire bio pic of sorts telling the story of Charles Dickens and his creative process for coming up with A Christmas Carol, as a writer and avid Charles Dickens fan this is really one of my highly anticipated movies of the year. Sadly it’s only just coming out in theatres so we’ll have to wait until next Christmas to watch this movie via DVD, well I mean we can always watch it in February when it’ll probably come out on DVD, I know I probably will just because of my love for Charles Dickens work.

DMC Releases some Beautiful Free Embroidery and Cross Stitch Patterns!

Before I leave you guys for the day I have a big announcement for you embroidery lovers out there! My Mum, who’s an avid needle artist herself, has discovered that DMC, a popular thread company is releasing a huge selection of their patterns to the public for FREE! Yes all patterns that used to cost $3-$5 dollars are now free to download! Some of these patterns are embroidery and some are cross stitch but if you’re looking for just embroidery you can filter the search results by looking on the left side of the website.

All you’ll need is your email address and the ability to download PDFs and you’ll be good to go, you can always unsubscribe from these emails later but if you’re into needle works you might be interested in keeping those emails coming in for any good deals and news regarding embroidery and cross stitch. Of course you can still purchase the kits for these patterns, which come with the exact thread colors DMC recommends for the pattern as well as optional accessories for prices that range around $3.

You can check out this entire collection right by clicking this link right here: https://www.dmc.com/us/patterns-5041/?limit=96.

With those patterns in hand I’ll be leaving you guys now for the week. Enjoy your Thanksgiving everyone and try not to get hurt during the crazy Black Friday rush especially with sweet online deals happening these next couple of weeks, check back next week I may have some crazy Cyber Monday deals to enlighten you guys with.

This was ZAK Entertainment

Thanks for reading!

New Harry Potter AR Game, Early Man Trailer, Introducing Addi Flexiflips Knitting Needles and Pokemon XY Evolutions TCG

Hello fellow wizards! Last week was quite busy but I’m finally working on my novel again. Anyone else here writing a novel? I actually regret the weeks I went without writing anything due to how busy I was, well I’m not even sure if that’s much of an excuse, I guess I just had a writer’s block. A vlog almost came out along side this blog actually believe it or not, my sister and I went on a little trip Friday. Sadly my sister and I were told we couldn’t film in the location we were at so you guys will have to wait even longer for another travel vlog. I’ll try and find someplace nearby where I can actually vlog without getting in trouble. Anyway today’s blog contains once again a wide spectrum of topics once again. No major Pokemon news was dropped so you guys can feel relieved until the release of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon this Friday. (Yes I’m aware of the leaks, I don’t discuss leaks.) I do have something Pokemon related later in the blog but it may be more on the TCG side of things… Anyway for now let’s roll into the first topic!

Niantic is Taking the Wizarding World to Augmented Reality!

Pokemon GO was a international phenomenon hands down and was played by millions and millions of Pokemon Trainers all over the world. Being able to capture Pokemon in real life on your smart phone? It was crazy but it worked. Of course it isn’t as popular as it was anymore despite the new updates rolling out recently but it’s still holding up. It seems a few other companies have taken notice of this phenomenon and one of them has contracted Niantic to produce a similar game for a completely different IP… Harry Potter. Yes believe it or not Harry Potter is receiving a Pokemon GO like game in the form of Harry Potter Wizards Unite.

Announced on Niantic’s official blog they discussed how Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will play, which is of course similar to Pokemon GO but how exactly is it going to play out? They described the game as allowing players “that have been dreaming of becoming real life Wizards” finally being able to experience the the Wizarding World everyone fell in love with. Quoted from this blog also Niantic wrote “Players will learn spells, explore their real world neighborhoods and cities to discover & fight legendary beasts and team up with others to take down powerful enemies.” While it sounds like an incredible magical experience I’m not sure if I’m grasping how they will actually implement that into a AR game similar to Pokemon GO and Ingress so I can’t wait to see some gameplay of this new Niantic mobile title.

This new Harry Potter game is actually the first to be announced under a new sub brand from Warner Brothers for more Harry Potter games that are soon to arrive. This sub brand is named “Portkey Games” and will feature games for mobile AND console, which means they could be bringing some expansive Harry Potter games to the consoles, hopefully the Nintendo Switch as well as Xbox One and PS4. This announcement is quite exciting as Harry Potter if done right should transition to Video Games quite well. I’ve never played the original Harry Potter games for the Gamecube/Wii so I’m not sure what those were like but I can’t wait to see what this new sub brand has in store for us Wizards and hey you muggles can join in too, just let me know what the function of a rubber duck is and we’re good.

You can read more here on Niantic's Blog: https://nianticlabs.com/blog/wizardsunite/ and Pottermore: https://www.pottermore.com/news/new-augmented-reality-mobile-game-harry-potter-wizards-unite-announced .

Moving on I got a new movie trailer for you guys and this time it’s for an animation, one that is instantly going on my must watch list. 

Bronze Age kicks down the Stone Age's door in Aardman's Early Man Movie Trailer!

Everyone knows Aardman Studios, right? These guys have created some hilarious and awesome claymation/stop motion animation such as the hit Wallace and Gromet series and one of my personal favorite animated movies, Chicken Run in which probably deserves a retrospect review at some point in the new future. Well it’s been in production since 2016 (Announced back in 2007 believe it or not) and now finally Early Man is here with a new trailer. The animation is so nostalgic for reasons possibly pertaining to Chicken Run so check out the trailer below! (Or by clicking this link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRiPQ8YNrVs)

This animation takes place in an age of ancient humanity, the Stone Age. Well more like the end of the Stone Age. Seems the story is centered on a caveman by the name of Dug (Eddie Redmayne) and his tribe, you know, doing cave man stuff. Everything seems normal until suddenly their Stone Age door is kicked in by the Bronze Age led by Lord Nooth (Played by Tom Hiddleston). Dug gets dragged into a medieval world filled with bronze machinery and humans much more advance then him and his tribe.

This movie looks like absolute fun and is glowing with the Aardman spirit. Will this usurp Chicken Run as my favorite claymation/stop motion animated movie? Is Aardman about to drop another classic? Am I a huge nerd for stop motion animation in general? Most likely. This movie is going to be releasing on January 26^th, 2018 in America but I’m not sure when Summit Entertainment plans on releasing it over here in the states.

Early Man is directed by Nick Park who you should all know as the creator of Wallace and Gromet and Chicken Run as well so the magic from those movies and Nick Park’s genius is running strong in this movie. I can’t wait to watch this movie so it’s only a matter of waiting.

When was the last time I even mentioned knitting? I know I know I’m a really poor excuse for a knitter lately, with a million unfinished projects and ideas that I haven’t even started yet I’ve really been slacking on the knitting. While I’m really sorry about that I haven’t lost interest in knitting and the great people at skacel collection, inc. and addi Needles has just announced a new kind of knitting needles which have really caught my eye. 

Introducing the Innovative Abbi FlexiFlips Double Pointed Knitting Needles.

I’ve only used Double Pointed Needles a few times in my knitting career but always found them to be awkward, cumbersome and just hard to use. Any other knitters feel that way? The way you have to have four needles clunking together and poking you in the hand just doesn’t work for me, thus I resort to using the magic loop method of knitting. Out of all the knitting needles I’ve used over the past year I have to say Addi and Addi Turbo are by far my favorite, Addi Turbos were the needles I used on my very first pair of socks and they made the process so much easier. Actually if you remember that far back I actually switched to Addi Turbo needles on those socks after struggling for the first 15 rows using DPNs. Well these newest Addi needles dubbed the Addi FlexiFlips look to be a silver lining for those stumped by DPNs, this newest video from skacel below will explain a lot. (Click here if the link doesn’t work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcNK0xCFXNc )

Pretty incredible huh? They’re kind of like the love child of magic loop and DPNs. Instead of dealing with four needles it’s actually two needles with a third needle for working the stitches. You can see they still operate like four double pointed needles but each needle has a plastic cord conjoining the two needles, forming one needle. You’ll use two flexiflips to hold your stitches on and one flexiflip to work your stitches, the second needle of the flexiflip will allow your stitches not to fall off as easily, which is a godsend to me. So basically you’re only going to need three Flexiflips which I believe is what each set comes with. Now there’s one more part of these needles that I need to point out are the actual needle tips. One Flexflips needle actually has two different needle tips. One end has the Addi Turbo needle tip and the other has one they call the “Rocket” tip. I’m actually not aware of what the benefits of the Rocket tip is but they offer two different tips for different scenarios in your knitting journey. I am concerned that I’ll get the two tips mixed up when knitting and use the wrong tip, in which might change my knitting gauge but I’m not sure if the tips will change the gauge or not.

Really want to get a hold of a set of these to review for you guys but for now I have a place that you can buy these from. Ewe Count is a knitting store based in Cheyenne, Wyoming and is one of the first stores to get a hold of these awesome needles. (Which seem to come in US 0 up to US 8) First of all if you’re in the area please go check this awesome store out! I really wish I could get up there myself but she currently has these needles available to purchase in store as well as shipped to you for those not in the area! You can visit this store by visiting 819 Randall Avenue Cheyenne, WY 82001 and contact her via phone at 307-638-1148. (Long distance charges may apply on landline phone calls.)  You can also check Ewe Count out at ewecount.com for more information and follow her on Facebook here. (@ewecount) A set of these will cost you 24.00 USD which is not bad for a 3 needle set; it’ll be all you need to get started on a project. 

These needles are probably a go to DPN alternative for someone like me so I can’t wait to get a hold of a set of these. Imagine how easier these will make casting on, knitting socks or even for finishing off beanies. For now I’m going to try to get back knitting because with winter coming up I need a new pair of fingerless gloves so who knows you may be seeing a new project in the near future, as well as hopefully some finished projects.

Check out more information at http://www.skacelknitting.com/addi-Flexiflips/

Well that’s pretty much it for the blog today, or is it? I’ve been teasing it for two weeks but it’s time for another Pokemon TCG unboxing! I’m actually ahead of myself on the packs to be honest. This week’s unpacking is of a pack I bought two weeks ago and the one I bought this week is actually out of the new Crimson Invasion series so you’ll have to wait to see what the new card pack has in store. (This way it won’t be spoiling the surprise for you guys too early, go grab yourself some Crimson Invasion booster packs!)

Getting Nostalgic with a Pokémon TCG XY Evolutions Booster Pack.

This week’s unpacking is going to be pretty nostalgic as I’ve picked myself up a XY Evolutions booster pack. Yeah believe it or not you can still buy XY TCG series packs and actually I’ve seen some packs as old as Diamond and Pearl still floating around so who knows I may go hunting for one of them.

This isn’t my first time unpacking a Pokemon XY Evolutions TCG booster pack as I actually unpacked three I believe last Christmas on a video. Now while that video isn’t a great quality (Lightbulb in the room I was filming went out and it was night time, go figure my impatience would get the better of me.) you can go watch that video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFo5Sr_ecmw . This XY Evolutions series brought back cards from the ORIGINAL TCG Base Set from 1997 so this series is by far one of my favorites as I never got to get any base TCG cards as a kid. For this pack I’m hoped to get a different lot of cards then I did on that video and boy did I ever

First up is 47/108 Gastly and yeah this is a duplicate of one I got before, oh well. Not the greatest kick off but hey this is still a cool card and sometimes duplicates can come in handy if you wish to trade cards with another. (Hit me up via email guys I’ll take anything I don’t have in my collection) This is actually one of two duplicates I sadly got this pack, the next one is this card.

This is 48/108 Haunter and yeah this is another duplicate but hey it matches up with Gastly. Was hoping to get a Gengar card but beggars can’t be choosers.

Now we’re getting into new cards for my collection this card is 3/108 Caterpie and I swear I’ve seen the original version of this card somewhere before in my lifetime. I think a kid on a school bus trip had one or something I do remember this card from somewhere but I can’t put my finger on it. Love this original Ken Sugimori illustration of Caterpie despite it being a common card.

This next card is 33/108 Magikarp. This is a cool illustration, I don’t get Magikarp often, actually I’m sure I’ve only ever gotten one before.  This is a common card but the nostalgic illustration makes it a welcome addition to my collection. (Which I should probably show off at some point when I figure out how without bogging everyone down.)

You know who’s cool? Seel. What’s even colder is this 28/108 card of Seal. Sporting Mr. Sugimori’s illustration of Seel this common card is pretty cool. I would love to actually get Dewgon in this set as well.

Alright with those cards out of the way I’m now coming up to the two greatest pulls I may have ever done in my lifetime of pulling Pokemon TCG Cards. I’ve probably said this before but Pikachu is by far one of my favorite Pokemon, I have a million different toys, plushies and even a million ingame Pikachus in my 7 generation spanning collection of Pokemon games. I also really love getting Pikachu TCG cards and out of this pack I got the one card I always wanted as a kid but like I said never got the base set cards, this is 35/108 Pikachu.

You should have seen the look on my face when I got this card, I don’t care if it’s common I have ALWAYS wanted this card and here we are. Even more incredible is the fact it’s a HOLO FOIL version of the card! I don’t mean to make you cringe or anything but I sure felt like a giddy little kid when pulling this card.

Now XY Evolutions also included some new cards as well as reprints of older Base TCG cards, mostly super rare EX and full body artwork cards. Why am I bringing this up? Because the next card I pulled was this incredible card right here, this is 103/108 Mewtwo EX!

I have to admit I was absolutely speechless when pulling this card. I don’t know why but my luck with cards seems to be getting better as of lately and this card is proof of that. This full body artwork card of Mewtwo has a different texture then ordinary cards (Although I would never actually touch the card, for mint condition reasons) and Mewtwo is sporting a snazzy gold outline in this illustration. Funny enough it looks like he’s coming out of an Ultra Wormhole despite this being XY. Maybe the recent announcement for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon has brought this to mind but it really does look like that. This is a super rare card and I’m happy I got this card, now if I could just get some full body artwork cards of the Kanto Gym Leaders.

The last three cards are the following.

A Thunder Energy Card which I seem to get one energy card per pack lately, maybe that’s intentional.

82/108 Pokedex which as the name implies is a Pokedex card of the original Dexter himself. Always loved this version of the Pokedex and its cool how this card can help you pull the right card from your deck on the exact turn you want it to.

Finally here’s 77/108 Energy Retrieval which is always a useful card for those shorthanded of energy cards.

This is by far a favorite unpacking of mine and it’s added so many cool cards to my collection. I do want to get more XY Evolution packs but with 4 different packs of these in my collection I’ll be risking more duplicates, we’ll see how that plays out.

Next time I’ll be doing Crimson Invasions so I’ll be seeing you guys in two weeks!

Don’t forget while you’re buying some packs to stop by Gamestop and pick up your Shiny Silvally code card! I’m pretty sure today is the last day so make sure to not miss this. Not sure what the next event will be it seems we’ll be on break from the events for a while.

Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon come out THIS FRIDAY! The next Pokemon Journey awaits and I can’t wait to kick some Team Rocket booty once again while traversing the new and improved Alola region.

Until then however I’m going to leave you guys for the week. Be sure to enjoy it! As for what to expect next week, well you never know but I’ve been avidly watching RWBY Volume 5 so perhaps it’s time I discuss that.

This was ZAK Entertainment

See you next week!