Review: The Jungle Book

The top movie picks to see for me were The Jungle Book and Batman vs Superman. In case you couldn't tell what I ended up seeing... I picked The Jungle Book.
I have nothing against Batman vs Superman, just... I wanted to see a childhood favourite.

The movie brought to life all the childhood characters as you would expect it to, and they did a good job with that portion of the movie. Mowgli was as you would expect a child who was raised in the wild would be, although less animalistic, still gawky and awkward.

The story had all the main characters we remember, but the story was by no means the same. I found this to be a good idea, as simply remaking the story could be boring. This version was certainly more grown up than the original animated version, but could still be a "kids movie" although parental guidance would be a good suggestion.

The story was a good one, but it felt very rushed. There were many times where I felt I should be more upset and emotional about he things that were happening but there wasn't enough connection to the characters prior to the situations that should draw the emotional responses.

I'll admit to crying in Up! Twice. And my first cry was very early on. But Pixar's use of flashbacks made that happen.
In The Jungle Book characters were thrown in and situations occurred without allowing the viewer to be pulled in the story or the relationship between the characters. Just because there was an original version of it, doesn't mean it should be relied on to tell the story of the characters.

A good movie, don't get me wrong. Just poorly executed.
I will say though, we did get the "bare necessities" of this classic film.

Grammar Nazi in I

Hard to get into posts like this one, but they can be eye openers. Some of the things we're forced to do aren't actual rules. Huh... Take a read Grammar Heads.

Close to Home

There are major differences between Type I and Type II diabetes. This is by no way my saying one is easier or harder to handle the other. I get perturbed when people say, "That's the serious one." Actually, they're both serious. Pull your head out of your ass.

Type II is when one's body becomes immune of resistant to the insulin it's pancreas creates. The Blood sugar levels of a Type II can be controlled by diet, exercise, or a pill that helps... in some way. My knowledge of Type II is limited; I admit that. I. Have heard of some Type IIs who take insulin becuse they aren't in enough control to work with the first three ways of control.
Stereotypically, the body's resistance to insulin comes from over use. I'm not saying "all Type IIs are over weight," but generally people who load up on sugar and carbs (what insulin counteracts to keep your blood sugar down)... need I go on?

Type I diabetes usually comes on before the age of 40. It's known as "juvenile diabetes" or "early onset." Some can get it before memories start, making it all they know. There are many contributing factors from being a big baby, to gestational diabetes. Contrary to popular belief, genes play a very small factor. Someone who has Type I actually has a statistically smaller chance of having a child with Type I. Then the odds return to normal. But when a Type I's grandchild is diagnosed, everyone is quick to judge and blame.

Type I is brought on by the body attempting to protect itself. The body's white blood cells are made to remove alien objects and diseases. Type I occurs when the body sees the pancreas and it's cells which produce insulin, as a threat. This can also happen if something happens in the pancreas making those defensive cells need to enter to protect their vessel. If the white blood cells become confused - insulin is created by the body, but it is created by and new. It isn't always there - they will attack the insulin and insulin creating cells (the beta cells) within the pancreas, making the body unable to continue to create this much needed hormone. This is how Type I diabetes comes about.

Recently Dr Michael Christie at University of Lincoln found the last of the cells the body fought against to make people Type I diabetics. "We have now finished identifying what the immune system is targeting - we have the complete picture." This is a ground breaking find; it will allow those who may become Type I a fighting chance to resist the change their bodies are imposing. It will be the humans version of Type II on diabetes. On top of this it can change the current treatments for current Type Is.

Unfortunately, Type Is will always remain Type Is as their bodies have learned to not produce the insulin hormone, and the beta cells that create the hormone have been destroyed. But the knowledge of what the body is fighting and destroying can help care for the future.

We can just hope that the bionic pancreas currently in FDA testing takes off, and isn't too cumbersome or crippling of physical activities. We can hope, right?

These recent finds are huge. Not only that, they aren't Canadian based, but from the UK. Most finds about diabetes have been Canadian, all the way back to insulin from Sir Frederick Banting, Charles Best, James Collip, and John Macleod, at the University of Toronto in 1922.

A New Hope for The Force Awakens

For those of you who missed the memo, Harrison Ford was actually injured on set while filming Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. The Millennium Falcon fell on his ankle, shattering it. Yes, Han's beloved ship injured him further than a simple coupling repair.

Surprisingly this injury was a godsend to the movie. It did delay filming but brought the needed time to recreate the chemistry and relationship between the film's two main characters; Rey and Finn. Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) had issues in their roles and interacting with one another with how The Force Awakens was originally written. With the time off that was supplied by Ford's unfortunate injury, J.J. Abrams was able to rewrite Ridley and Boyega's characters so they could refilm from the ground up and give them the connection they needed to make the movie work.

Another item needing to be addressed are the complaints on the similarities between Episode VII and Episode IV. Fans of the series have complained that The Force Awakens, and A New Hope are very similar. Abrams takes this as a compliment; they took aspects from the original movie to remind everyone why they fell in love with Star Wars. It was done on purpose. As the last movie was done so long ago, Abrams wanted to give fans that reconnection to The Original Trilogy to help draw them back in.

J.J. Abrams promises Episode VIII and IX will be more freaky.
I think it's awesome that both well known historic science fiction series are making a huge comeback in the 21st century. Just shows they were meant to "live long and prosper."

BREAKING NEWS: 1st Pick Changes Hands

With the NFL 2016 Draft coming close, everyone is eager to see who'll make that first pick and who will be picked.

Tennessee Titans held the first pick until recently, trading it to the Los Angeles Rams.
Los Angeles moving from St Louis starting this season, have made their first move to wow their fan base; new and old. The belief being that they'll use their new pick to snatch a quarterback in the draft, which they're in need of. They've kept their quarterback workouts quiet over the last few weeks, and this could be why.

In exchange for Tennessee's first and third round picks this year, Los Angeles traded their first, second, and third round picks of 2016, as well as their first and third round picks of 2017. A steep price for the possibility of a decent, franchise quarterback. Time will tell if that jump from 15th overall pick to 1st was worth it.

FitBit to the Rescue

Who ever thought something so simple could save a person's life.

A 42 year old man was admitted to the ER in Camden, New Jersey with a fast and irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation). The decision to use a defibrillator in such cases can be the difference between giving a patient a stroke or not.

In this case it was noted the patient had on a FitBit Charge HR, and it may well have saved his life. Due to the device synchronising his heart rates throughout the day, the medical team could see where his heart rate was while he was hit by his seizure. It told them it was not due to a chronic medical condition, meaning zap him good as the defibrillator won't dislodge a blood clot which would then give him a stroke.

This being the first time an activity tracking device has been used by medical staff to make a decision so immediately relevant in saving a person's life, we wonder if more people will begin to use them.

I had a FitBit gifted to my for Christmas, and I enjoy using it, and competing with other users in weekly step challenges. (So it's out there, I kick ass.) Mine doesn't go as far as to keep track of my heart rate, and if it did I'd have shot the person who got it for me. But it's good to show how much sleep I get, and how much I walk every day.

The Road to SuperBowl LI - Reconstruction

There were a few notes I seemed to have missed in the off season, but none are too big of a worry. The one that stands out is New England's loss of LeGarrette Blount. #BlountForce was a key aspect to the Patriots winning SuperBowl XLIX, but faltered in their path to defending that title. We didn't hear a lot about him last season, so not hanging on to him does make a bit of sense. Every team does need to shake up their roster a bit, and shake off the rust.

Things we do need to remember are that the Patriots have stolen the AFC East title 13 of the 15 seasons Tom Brady has been at the wheel. That includes every season for the last 6. As much as I dislike Brady, that's nothing to bat an eye at. But again he has has a lot of help; he isn't a one man team.

An addition to the roster to hopefully replace Blount is Donald Brown. Unfortunately the Patriots could really do better, but they'll need to work with what they have on their farm team, and what they can get their hands on in the draft. Dion Lewis was a great addition, but as he tore his ACL last season, we can only hope he's up to the task. Even then... two running backs will spread other defensive lines thin as they won't know who to watch for. One strong and one weak will have them all after the one and wear him down through the season and aid in shortening his career.

Another big tight end will also help the Patriots offensvie line and their production. Rob Gronkowski can only do so much alone; again two strong guys playing one position spreads out the opposition's defence, making more points and better plays more possible.

Among the keys to victory this season is quarterback strength. You all knew I was gonna touch on it; roll your eyes if you must.
We'll start with the damn deflategate stupidness. Did it happen? I don't know. If it did, was it Brady's fault or did he take part? Again, I haven't the faintest. All I know is it continues to bother my team two seasons after the allegations arose. To be honest, it's annoying.
If Brady's ban resurfaces that leaves the quarterback duties to Jimmy Garoppolo. Anyone who follows my dislike of Brady knows I think this kid can that that role and run with it. This being said, they will need a veteran quarterback to stand behind him to replace the crappy current third stringer they have now. It's always good to have a just in case. And I mean even if Brady isn't banned, he is almost 40. It's a good idea anyway.

No matter who's standing in the role as quarterback, he needs to be protected. Patriots desperately need more depth to their offensive line to protect their captain. This lead to a ridiculous pounding by *shiver* the Denver Broncos. Not only that, they did let too much through throughout the season, me that lead to many rushed plays, and dropped balls all year.
That needs to change this season. Say it with me lads, "Protect the quarterback."

Last season, the Patriots closest divisional rival was the New York Jets. They'd be more of a worry this season I think it they actually knew who their quarterback was. And Rex Ryan of the Buffalo Bills seems to have an obsession with overtaking Bill Belichick. But looking at the team they were last season, ending at 8-8... they don't look much different after the off season, so they mightn't even be worth the words I'm writing about them.

We'll see what 2016 brings, but I have high hopes for the New England Patriots this season. GO PATS GO!!!

Troubling Ideals

No matter what is said, white lies will always be lies.
The world seems to have created white lies to allow people to tell mistruthes and not get trouble over them. The reality is that a lie will always be a lie, no matter what it's called.

I live life by my own code; I'm always honest no matter what the cost is. I won't lie to make others feel better about themselves or a situation. Although it's a tall order, I expect it from those around me.
Unfortunately, this constantly creates issue because people would rather lie to protect myself or themself, than just be straight up with me.

This is not to be confused with telling me absolutely everything that's going on. No. Just I'm looking for honesty. Not having time? Say you don't have time. Don't say you do and ditch or cancel, or make up something you need to do because you have something to do you're not comfortable sharing. Say you have things you need to do.

No matter how much I talk about this, or how many people I meet and say from the get go, "I'm always honest, no matter the cost." Everyone chimes in that they are too. If that were the truth, it would be amazing. But the number of people that actually mean that when they say it is abysmal.

Whenever people wonder why I'm a shut in and have less than 90 friends on Facebook, look there.

NSFW: Bedroom Inklings (Part I)

He steps into the room, allowing the door to close behind him as he looks across the room directly into her eyes. She could feel his want for her from there, and her body tingled with excitement and anticipation.

He stepped towards her, slowly sliding his jacket off, dropping it in a heap on the floor, the rain seeming to spring off it from the drizzle outside. She could hear him growl to her in his low baritone as he came ever closer, asking if she'd been a good girl.

He leaned into her as she sat on the bed, his whispers in her ear giving her goosebumps, the feel of his slightly stubbly face barely touching her
cheek making the hair on the back of her neck stand upright in pleasure.

Her heart beating so loud, surely he could hear it. Understand what she wanted from him from her breath as it accelerated as he touched her. His hands almost loving.

With one swift movement he threw her back on the bed, tearing her shirt open and away from her body; the passion he felt for her unable to be contained any longer. Her back arching toward him aching to feel him against her skin.

She gasped in surprise as he slid his cool fingers behind the button on her pants, lifting and pulling her closer to the edge of the bed; her body aching to pull away from his cool hands while they were close to such a sensitive area, and yet the feeling was slightly pleasing too.

She reached down to wrap a hand around his strong wrist as he undid her slowly, making every moment feel like an eternity. As she felt her pants loosen, knowing all the things that could happen next and aching to know what he would choose she shuddered in suspense. Hoping for more, aching more more than a simple touch, dreaming for something more complex.

He took her wrist off his by hers, bringing it to his lips. Kissing her softly, almost delicately. Taking a little nibble with his teeth; the quick pain bringing her mind back to reality, not allowing her to lose herself in the pleasure of the moment.

He slowly kissed down her arm, leading it, extending it to get his lips on every inch as he reached down, using his other hand to grip the inside of her thigh through her jeans on the opposite end of the spectrum from his other hand and lips on her arm.

She moaned, begged, pleaded for more. She felt him smirk as continued to kiss and nibble at her arm.