Category Archives: Celebrities and Entertainment

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Along the yellow brick road.

  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is also known as the “Wizard of Oz”.
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a fantasy children’s book by L. Frank Baum, an American, and was illustrated by W.W. Denslow.
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was first published on 17 May 1900 by  George M. Hill Company, in Chicago.
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz had sold one million (1,000,000) copies by 1938 and three million (3,000,000) copies by 1958.
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is about girl named Dorothy who finds herself in a new magical world and needs to find a way home, meeting the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion on her travels.

Thw Wondeful Wizard of Oz, Wordworth, Classic, Book, Novel, L Frank Baum, 1993, Ten Random Facts

  • The name ‘Oz’ from the Wonderful Wizard of Oz came from Baum’s filing cabinet label “O-Z”.
  • Many parts of Baum’s life experiences are included in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been translated into over fifty languages.
  • Baum created 13 sequels of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, at the urging of his numerous young fans.
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was first made into a musical in 1902, and also made into the famous 1939 film, ‘The Wizard of Oz’, which was not the first screen adaptation.
Bibliography:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 20 March 2013, Wikipedia,<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz>

DreamWorks

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DreamWorks

Ever watched a film by DreamWorks?

  • DreamWorks is also known as DreamWorks Studios; DW II Distribution Co., LLC; DreamWorks SKG; and DW Studios.
  • DreamWorks is a film producer that makes films and video games.
  • DreamWorks was founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffery Katzenberg and David Geffen.
  • DreamWorks released their first film in September 1997 called ‘The Peacemaker’.
  • SKG in the name “DreamWorks SKG” stands for Spielberg, Katzenberg and Geffen.
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Logo
Image courtesy of DreamWorks Animation
  • DreamWorks was sold to Paramount Pictures film studio in 2006.
  • Walt Disney film studio currently distributes DreamWork’s products.
  • DreamWorks studio is located in Universal City, California, United States of America.
  • DreamWorks won Academy Awards for Best Picture, three years in a row, for ‘American Beauty’ (1999), ‘Gladiator’ (2000) and ‘A Beautiful Mind’ (2001).
  • In 2012, DreamWorks had approximately 80 employees.
Bibiliography:
Our History/FAQ 2010, DreamWorks Studios, <http://www.dreamworksstudios.com/about/history>

The Man from Snowy River

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The Man from Snowy River

A good ol’ Aussie outback poem.

  • The Man from Snowy River is a poem by the Australian, Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson.
  • The Man from Snowy River poem was first published on the 26 April, 1890 in the magazine ‘The Bulletin’.
  • The Man from Snowy River is a poem about a runaway racehorse who meets up with mountain brumbies (wild horses), and the men that are trying to recapture it.
  • The Man from Snowy River is set at, what is modernly known as, Burrinjuck Dam, near Canberra, Australia.
  • Two of the characters featured in the The Man from Snowy River poem, feature in other Paterson poems.
The Man from Snowy River, Yvette, Poem, Engrave, Script, Words, writing, Banjo Paterson Park, Yass, Australia, Monument, Ten Random Facts, Flickr
‘The Man fom Snowy River’
Image courtesy of Yvette/Flickr
  • As a commemorative gesture, The Man from Snowy River poem is printed on the Australian $10 note, and is in microprint for security purposes.
  •  The ‘man’ from the Man from Snowy River is nameless, but is believed to be based on Jack Riley, a stockman, but it is debatable.
  • Two movies have been made from the Man from Snowy River poem- ‘The Man from Snowy River’ and ‘The Return of Snowy River,’ which is also known as ‘The Man from Snowy River 2’.
  • A celebration is held to honour the poem, The Man from Snowy River, yearly in Corryong.
  • Often it is assumed that The Man from Snowy River poem is set in the Snowy River country, but the ‘man’, the hero of the poem, only came from that area.
Bibliography:
The Man from Snowy River 5th September 2007 , Australian Government, <https://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/man-from-snowy-river>

Pope Benedict XVI

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Pope Benedict XVI

The 256th pope: Pope Benedict XVI.

  • Benedict XVI’s real name is Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger and he was born on the 16th April 1927.
  • Benedict XVI was pope of the Catholic church from 19th April, 2005 to February 28th 2013.
  • Benedict XVI was a priest from 1951 and a full professor in 1958.
  • Benedict XVI was responsible for restarting many old catholic traditions.
  • Benedict XVI resigned in February since he had “lack of strength in the mind and body”.
Pope Benedict XVI, Staff Cross, Catholic, Upper Half, Gold, Yellow, Traditional, Flickr, Catholic Church of England and Wales, Portugal, 2010, Ten Random Facts
Benedict XVI
Image courtesy of Catholic Church (England and Wales)/Flickr
  • Benedict XVI was the first pope to resign in 598 years, the last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII in 1415.
  • Benedict XVI chose to use the name ‘Benedict’ in honour of Benedict XV and Saint Benedict of Nursia.
  • Benedict XVI particularly used the theme of ‘Friendship with Jesus Christ’ in his teachings.
  • Benedict XVI likes classical music and cats, and is a pianist.
  • Benedict XVI has written 66 books.
Bibliography:
Pope Benedict XVI 3 March 2013, Wikipedia,  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI>

Queen Elizabeth II

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Queen Elizabeth II

Her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Also known as the Queen.

  • The Queen’s full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, and she was born in 1926.
  • The Queen’s real birthday is on the 21st of April, even though her official birthday is celebrated in June.
  • The Queen is married to Prince Philip; her father was King George VI, formerly known as ‘Prince Albert’; and her mother was Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, well known as the ‘Queen Mother’.
  • The Queen’s reign began on the 6th of February, 1952, and her silver jubilee year was 1977, her golden jubilee year was 2002 and her diamond jubilee year, a celebration of 60 years reign, was 2012.
  • The Queen and her younger sister, Princess Margaret, were educated at home by her father, tutors and governesses.

Queen Elizabeth II, England, Australia, Perth, Her Majesty, Duke of Edinburgh, CHOGM, Plane, Andrew Taylor, Commonwealth Secretariat, Flickr, Ten Random Facts

The Queen
Image courtesy of the Commonwealth Secretariat/Flickr
  • Although London was bombed in World War II, the Queen stayed at home with her mother, father and sister.
  • Even though it was her 40th year on the throne, the Queen announced 1992 her annus horribilis, meaning horrible year, or year of horrors, due to a series of disturbing family events that occurred throughout the year.
  • The Queen has been bitten by one of her pet corgis dogs on more than one occasion.
  • In 2007, Queen Elizabeth II, exceeded the age at death of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, and as such became the longest living monarch the United Kingdom has had, while in September 2015, she became the longest reigning monarch of the UK.
  • Queen Elizabeth was patron to more than 600 charities and organisations in 2013.
Updated September 2015
Bibliography:
Elizabeth II 19 February 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II

Pictionary

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Pictionary

Now draw… Pictionary!!

  • Pictionary is a drawing game that involves guessing a word or phrase while a representation of the word is quickly drawn.
  • Pictionary was invented by Robert Angel, a waiter at the time, and designed by Gary Everson.
  • Prior to Pictionary being published, Robert Angel would randomly choose a word from the dictionary and draw the word for party goers to guess.
  • A dice is used in Pictionary to determine what square your team lands on, and the word your team has to draw and guess.  Generally the game is played with two people in each team.
  • Robert Angel originally self published Pictionary under the banner of Angel Games Inc., in 1985.

Pictionary, Game, Drawing, Art, Board, Pencil, Cards, Drawings, Play, Ten Random Facts

  • Pictionary words are typically sorted into five different categories, with five words, one in each category, on each card.  The categories are person, place, animal; object; action, difficult, and all play.
  • In Pictionary, a one minute timer of sand is generally used during the drawing and guessing process.
  • Pictionary drawings can not include letters, numbers or symbols.
  • In Pictionary, some of the hardest words to draw are verbs.
  • A video game based on Pictionary was released in 1990.
Bibliography:
Pictionary 22 January 2013 , Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictionary>
Pictionary Word Generator n.d., Word Generator,  <http://www.wordgenerator.net/pictionary-word-generator.php>
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