Newspaper Blog

Balanced News

Hilary Gets Her Star

By

Hilary Swank.jpg

It is a moment that any individual would be proud to have – their own star on Hollywood boulevard. Hilary Swank is definitely over the moon that her star has now landed on the walk of fame.

Swank says she still remembers when she arrived in LA with her mother, Judy. They only had $75 to their name. Her mom made calls to various agents using the payphone, telling them that they should hire Hilary. It all paid off.

Hilary Swank has come a long way from “The Next Karate Kid” where she first appeared. She is now a two time Oscar Award winning actress – the first she got for “Boys Don’t Cry” and the second for “Million Dollar Baby”. She hasn’t let the awards go to her head though and continues to be a hard worker.

The actress hasn’t allowed herself to be boxed into any particular stereotype which has been to her advantage. She has shown true versatility and Hollywood has recognized that she truly is a star.

Disney: The Music Behind The Magic

By

DisneyLogo_main.jpg?

While Walt Disney may originally have been focused on getting animation up on the big screen and later, expanding animation’s hold on the people’s hearts, he probably had an inkling of how important the music of these shows would be. From Steamboat Willie to Mary Poppins to the Little Mermaid to Tarzan and further down the line, the music of Disney has stayed with many of us, long after we finished watching the shows.

There is a very special exhibit in Seattle Washington. Titled Disney: The Music Behind the Magic, it is the first exhibit of its kind. Anyone can go and experience being a music producer for Disney for a short time.?Test your knowledge of songs from the various?shows in?a Disney music trivia game. There are?four interactive displays to help you get a feel of the work that goes into creating the sound effects for any Disney production; and there’s still more to experience.?There has never been a museum exhibit as fun as this, and it is indeed a very special part of our history.

Anyone interested to enjoy this exhibit can go to?the Experience Music Project?at the Frank Gehry building, 325 5th Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109.

The Rose Parade: Star Wars Spectacular

By

Storm Troopers.jpg

The annual Rose Parade is a much awaited event. This year’s parade was even more special. Dubbed the Star Wars Spectacular, it had George Lucas for its Grand Marshall and naturally Star Wars for its theme. It was very timely since 2007 is the 30th anniversary of the release of the very first Star Wars movie.
The parade had a float set as the moon of Endor with adorable Ewoks swinging around. Another float was dressed up as the garden planet of Naboo. What was probably the most interesting to many though were the 200 Storm Troopers marching along.

These troopers were not professional actors or entertainers. They were all fans, and they came from all over the world to form this very special part of the parade. The Storm Troopers were chosen from the 501st Legion, a major Star Wars fan club. The members of the legion are fans who dress up in Star Wars costumes for charity events and other activities. They were asked by George Lucas to take part and you bet that for them is already a singular honor. George Lucas shouldered the? cost of their flight, hotel and meals. You can bet these Storm Troopers are having a great new year.
George Lucas says that it was a great honor to be chosen to be the Grand Marshall. “It’s always a great honor to be put in a category with other people you admire,” he said. He joins the ranks of Bob Hope, Dwight Eisenhower and Bill Cosby just to name a few.

Christmas Displays

By

Little Hill

Every christmas time, many places come to life with lights. There are however a few that really stand out with their christmas display, doing more than just brighten up trees. These homeowners and shopkeepers turn their christmas displays into works of art that attracts visitors from far and wide to marvel anew at the christmas stories.

Maybe the best known display is that of the family of Dan Brown in Greenville, Texas. This year’s display is made with over 500,000 lights and has expanded since his son moved into the house across the street. They don’t charge anything for people to enjoy the display, people can simply drive down the street and marvel at the beauty of this display of snowmen, trains, a giant carousel and more. They do welcome donations that people give. Any amounts they receive are used on the electricity bill. Any excess amount is used to improve and add on to the display for next year.

Of course there are lots of other families who have also become landmarks for their own areas during the holiday season. The Little family in Morgan County, Utah have put up a beautiful christmas light display since 1956. They began with carving out Mary and Joseph. Over the years they added the sheep, shepherds, the wise men, the city of Bethlehem, reindeers, candy canes and more. The Little Hill as it is called is a crowd drawer every year.

Categories

Featured

Recent Posts