“Hotel Transylvania” is a hilarious must-see movie from start to finish. With an all star cast consisting of Adam Sandler as Dracula, Andy Samberg as Jonathan, Selena Gomez as Mavis, Kevin James as Frankenstein, Steve Buscemi as Wayne the werewolf, David Spade as Griffin the Invisible Man, and CeeLo Green as Murray the mummy, the movie is an absolute treat for all ages.

Mild Spoilers Ahead!

The movie defies “monster” expectations by having humans be the villains and the “monsters” be the victims. The story revolves around Count Dracula building a hotel to be a safe haven for monsters (and his infant daughter, Mavis) in 1895. Dracula’s wife was killed by humans, so he is adamant that nothing will happen to their precious daughter.

The movie jumps forward to the present and is now Mavis’s 118^th birthday. Despite her age, Mavis is, for all intents and purposes, a teenager. As typical teenagers who have overprotective parents, Mavis is eager to explore the outside world, particularly the human world. After Dracula allows her to go to the nearby village, which he has constructed and filled with zombies impersonating humans, Mavis decides that humans are terrible and she never wants to leave the safety of the hotel again. Dracula is now content with the knowledge that humans will never harm Mavis…or at least he is until a human named Jonathan stumbles into the hotel.

Jonathan is the typical young backpacker who wants to see the world while living out of his backpack. He is spontaneous and carefree, which instantly attracts Mavis, who is unaware he is a human. Dracula disguises Jonathan as a monster so his hotel’s reputation will not be harmed by the fact that a human was able to invade their territory. Jonathan takes the monsters on a wild ride to rediscovering the concept of fun and freedom, and ultimately challenges every misconception they have about humans.

Perhaps what makes this movie so great, besides the all-star cast, is the believable and relatable storyline of a father trying to protect his daughter because he loves her so much, while the daughter wants nothing more than to be free. The movie clearly portrays what a parent will do for their child in the name of love, and it shows the sometimes painful side of letting your child make their own mistakes. The movie also challenges against making judgments about others who you do not understand, which is a very important lesson for kids to learn.

“Hotel Transylvania” is a heartwarming, hilarious story that instills important life lessons into kids, which makes this movie an absolute must-see.

Rating: 4.5/5

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New York, U.S.A — On September 27, Rick Smolan, co-creator of the groundbreaking “Day in the Life” series and other globally crowdsourced projects, launched a free mobile app enabling people to share and compare their lives for seven days (September 26-October 2) using the sensors in their phones and by responding to thought-provoking questions with others around the globe about their dreams, interests and views on family, sleep, trust, sex and luck. The Android version is currently available and the iOS version will launch later this week.

The app represents the launch event of The Human Face of Big Data, a series of initiatives aimed at inspiring a global conversation about humanity’s new ability to collect, analyze, triangulate and visualize vast amounts of data in real time.

On October 2, Smolan and team are hosting a series of invitation-only media events in London, Singaporeand New York, where leading Big Data experts will interpret and visualize seven days’ worth of information streaming in from participants using the mobile app all over the world. In addition, leading data entrepreneurs, scientists and innovators will share examples of their work in an interactive “Big Data Lab.” A live webcast will allow people around the world to watch the briefings as the day unfolds.

“Big Data is beginning to affect every aspect of our existence,” said Smolan. “Everyone carrying a smartphone has become a human sensor, and this new ability to sense and measure the world in real time is something our planet has never seen before. From curing diseases to conserving precious resources such as water and energy, Big Data may be the tool we need to address many of the most pressing issues of our time.”

Beginning today through October 2, The Human Face of Big Data mobile app invites people to share ideas and compare their responses with others around the world. People can map their daily path, share the objects and rituals that bring them luck, get a glimpse into the one special thing that others want to experience during their lifetime and discover hidden secrets about the world in which they live. The app is available in eight languages: English, Mandarin (simplified), Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Korean and Russian.

The Three Main Elements of The Human Face of Big Data App:

• Passive data: Information that your phone gathers in the course of a day. For instance, how far you travel and your average speed, or what time of day you are most active.
• Questions and real-time results: Topics include Me and Myself; Family; Trust and Safety; Sleep and Dreams; and Sex and Dating. People can see how their answers compare to others around the world and sort answers by age, gender and general location.
• Activities: Submit photos, map your daily travel and find your “Data Doppelganger.” App activities include:
  • Lucky Me: Asks people to share their “lucky rituals”—the things they do before a sports event, test, company pitch or other important event to turn the odds in their favor. They can then use filters to compare their own lucky rituals with others around the world.
  • Map My World : Maps people’s daily travel patterns, which can be shared on Facebook and Twitter, including total distance, average speed and most active time of day.
  • Data Doppelganger: Gives people the opportunity to find their Data Doppelganger—a combination of their own face (if they choose to upload a photo) and that of the user who is their closest data match. People will also be able to see the age, location, gender, percentage of questions answered, passive data stats and completed activities of themselves and their doppelganger.
  • Before I Die: In an activity based on Candy Chang’s thought-provoking interactive project and upcoming book, Before I Die, people of all ages are invited to share the one thing they dream of doing during their lifetime. Participants will be able to compare their own hopes and dreams to those of others around the world.

At the end of the project, the anonymized data will be available to researchers, data scientists and educators to study as a data snapshot of a week in the life of humanity in 2012.

The Human Face of Big Data project is editorially independent and is made possible through the support of EMC Corporation, which serves as the primary sponsor. Supporting sponsorship comes from Cisco,FedEx, VMware, Tableau and Originate.

About The Human Face of Big Data

The Human Face of Big Data, produced by Against All Odds Productions, is a globally crowdsourced media project focusing on humanity’s new ability to collect, analyze, triangulate and visualize vast amounts of data in real time. Against All Odds, described by Fortune magazine as “one of the 25 coolest companies in America,” specializes in the design and execution of large-scale global projects that combine compelling storytelling with state-of-the-art technology. The company’s projects have been featured on the covers of numerous magazines including Fortune, Time, Newsweek and US News & World Report.

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There are many teenagers in America who, although they have a Father at home, they don’t have a close relationship at all. These kids build their own world through Internet video games and the latest technology.

But when it comes to relationships, they have no idea because it was not modeled in their home. Many teenage boys do not know what it means to be a man because their example which is their Father is absent from their life.

Courageous is produced by Sherwood pictures. About half the cast and crew are members of Sherwood Baptist Church, who volunteered for the movie. The other half were personally chosen by invitation only to audition for the movie. As with previous Sherwood productions the cast and crew were only members of the church congregation for the first time on this film they have included crew outside of their congregation.

Courageous shows us that it doesn’t matter what great accomplishments you may achieve out in there in the world and if everyone thinks you’re a hero it all comes back to the home , Are you the hero in the home?. The movie tells the story of four police officers who are trying to figure out what it means to be a great dad. Each one is at various stages of fatherhood.

As law enforcement officers they are called to serve and protect. They are focused on laying their lives on the line daily. But now, they have a bigger challenge to face which is Fatherhood. When tragedy strikes at home, these men wrestle with their faith, fears and fatherhood.

They now have a newfound urgency but will this lead them closer to God? Stephen Kendrick, the film’s producer, stated” The desire of the film is that when every man leaves the theatre he will be like Joshua in the bible. In Joshua 24:15 as for me and my house we will serve the lord.”

Protecting the streets and laying down their lives to protect the community is second nature to these men. Raising their children in a God-honoring way is what being courageous all is about to them. Movie-goers should be challenged by these everyday heroes who long to be the kind of dads that have a lifelong impact on their children’s lives.

Being a Christian film and based on Christian values and biblical principles this movie may not be able to identify with a secular audience. It is made with a Christian audience in mind. Although anyone with a family and with a desire to be a strong role model in the home should be able to identify with this film.

Courageous is an upcoming Christian drama produced by Sherwood pictures, the creators of the movies Fireproof, Facing the Giants and Flywheel. It was filmed in Albany, GA and is directed and stars Alex Kendrick. Kendrick also co-wrote the script with his brother Stephen, who serves also as producer.

Sherwood has found success with their previous movies including their biggest success to date which was Fireproof. Which starred Kirk Cameron former star of hit 1980s television series Growing Pains? The film will be released in theaters on September 30.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.courageousthemovie.com/

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The weatherman may be forecasting a blazing summer, but we’ll be keeping it cool this August at the 11th Annual Summer Meltdown Festival. Attendees from around the country flock to the Cascade foothills of Darrington, Washington (75 miles northeast of Seattle) to camp, dance, and have fun in the sun. At the Whitehorse Mountain Amphitheater, an eclectic and varying mix of West Coast talent keeps the party going non-stop at this multi-day festival.

The event is hosted by Terra Roots, a non-profit that supports social connections and sustainability through art, and the Seattle band Flowmotion.

Artists this year include a wide array of bands and dj’s, from Juno What?! to SambaDa to DJ Logic and many more. Genres include Electro Funk, Rock, Reggae, Punk, Folk, Blues… I couldn’t list them all. Looks like we’ll have a great crowd this year, the melting pot of cultures and sounds the West Coast is known for.

Tickets are on sale now for the August 12-14 event, priced at $155 for a weekend pass (Thursday through Sunday). If you can’t make it to a local outlet, tickets can be purchased online for a small transaction fee. Compared to the well-known California fixture Coachella Music Festival, which boasts weekend tickets around $300 dollars (not to mention the exorbitant scalper prices when tickets sell out), this 4 day pass is a steal. Doors open at 5 pm on Thursday and 10 am the rest of the weekend, ensuring several long days of hot, family-friendly fun. Don’t forget the sunblock!

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/1yen/

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India – Some men complain that having just one woman is enough for them. What do you think Mr. Ziona Chana would think when he was 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren? To answers this question, this is what Mr. Ziona said” “I have so many people to care (for) and look after, and I consider myself a lucky man.”

He comes from India, and has 66 years old.  He lives in a four-storied building with all his family members, the building possesses 100 rooms. The Children, woman and sons live all in different rooms in the same building. Surprisingly he feels really comfortable, and founds himself a lucky man to be responsible of this amount of family members.

In total the Ziona family has 181 members. They live in a mountainous village in Mizoram state, sharing borders with Bruma and Bangladesh

It would be hard to picture how is the daily day life for all the family. But as Mr. Chana has described in past articles, he tells that the connivance is not as hard as it seems. There is a lot of cooperation among the wives for example, who take turns in order to cook in the only kitchen they have in the house, which is being shared by all.  On the other hand, the daughters are in charge of the cleaning duties of the house, and the washing. Also, the men have their specific tasks and roles, and they expend a lot of their time in outdoor activities and jobs, like taking care of livestock and farming.

They live in a very simple way, and they depend on their work for their life’s functionality. They eat and sustain themselves with all the products they cultivate and grow in the land.  On a daily basis, the family members consume an estimated amount of 200 pounds of rice, and 130 pounds of potatoes. They also receive a little help from donations that are given by followers.

He says that there are no limitations for him to stop having more wives, “I once married 10 women in one year,” Ziona Chana said. “Even today, I am ready to expand my family and willing to go to any extent to marry,”

Mr. Chana is in charge of a religious sect, named the “Chana”; this local sect was formed in June 1942, and allows polygamy. The main believe of the sect is the ruling of the world by the side of Christ.  This sect has expanded thorough the years and nowadays it has a membership enclosing approximately 400 families.

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