The Midday Blog

Frankie and Benny's

2010-11-15T06:50:00.000-08:00

Frankie & Benny's is a chain of Italian-American restaurants in the UK with numerous outlets nationwide run by The Restaurant Group plc. Its first location was Leicester in 1995 but now the chain has over 150 locations across the UK and also abroad, and smaller branches called "Little Frankie's".

The Story
In branches, on menus, and on their official website, the fictional story about the restaurant's origins is presented. The story is that in 1924, at the age of 10, Frankie left Sicily with his parents and moved to “Little Italy” in New York. Within a year of moving, the family had opened a restaurant, which is now co-managed by Frankie's long-time friend Benny. The business was taken over by Frankie and Benny in 1953, and combines popular American food with traditional Italian dishes.

Theming:

They are decorated in dark wood, with warm mood lighting and granite effect table tops. There are numerous artifacts in each restaurant which are in-keeping with the theme, such as old photos of Italian heritage Americans, publicity shots of musicians and sportsmen, and advertising posters from the period on both the walls and the menus. The toilets often have Italian lessons playing over the speakers, and the restaurant itself plays classic American 1950's pop, albums of which are available to purchase in-house.
Staff wear simple black waistcoats, a tie, white shirt, black trousers, and a simple white apron.

All in all guys a fantastic place to eat!!

Chin review

2010-10-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

My house mate showed me this clip on you tube the other day and I just couldn't stop laughing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rJ206ApObI

You guys should definatly check these guys out, I certainly am going to look at some more of their videos
'Wo mamma, im gunna smash dem guinea pigs'

Aliens

2010-10-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

Im just going to get in a quick post today mentioning my favourite film of all time. Well I should say quadrilogy really, but seriously if you have never seen any of the aliens films you need to get yourself off the computor out of the cupboard under the stairs and find time to watch these films. You have to watch them in order really to get the overall background story, but if you really only have time for just the one skip the classic original alien film created in 1979 and watch the second in the set titled aliens crteated 7 years later in 1986.

The best part of this film i believe is in the special effect and animatronics used to bring the iconic monster stars in these films to life, the lack of immense ammounts of cgi in this film is no bad thing I think it helps in fact not ruin the realistic visuals.

Another set of films to see as they sort of tie into later aliens films are the predator films. Although the first is kinda wierd starring Arnold Schwarzenneger, yes I did look that up for spelling, put the 2nd film in that set has that dude from leathal weapon.

Anyway it helps lead on to the final films I will suggest to you. When they combine both films into one glorious aliens vs predator montage.......epic.

COD

2010-10-12T08:46:00.000-07:00

First of all I have to apologise for not writing in a while, with the start of university and everything I guess I kinda went back to being a full time student which as we all know requires a lot of hard work and plenty of rest..........just kiding but seriously freshers.

Anyways I was just kinda looking into the whole new black ops modern warfare game thats hitting the shelves soon and I just wanted to see what everyone elses opinions were on this. I mean there are a lot of good things in the first game which they're keeping but also some brand new ideas which could really set the bench mark a lot higher on many levels.
Firstly, bringing back the zombie survivor game mode, how can you not like that. My most favourite element of the CoD 4 game was the nazi zombie mode as it was just intense on all levels.
Also the new customization feature they're adding looks incredible. The ability to completly design your own multiplayer charater and interchangable badges and insignias.
You guys really need to check this web address for the full picture so go check it out.
http://www.callofduty.com/game

In The Cinema

2010-10-05T04:54:00.000-07:00

Whats happening in the world of the cinema at the moment...?
Theres a couple of new films in the pipeline that are an awesome shout. Some films have been needing the next chapter. But there are some new films coming out that are just a big mistake for many reasons.

One example I would have to put forward in this catagory would be the new up and coming 'Paranormal Activity 2'. Why would you want to make another film like that mess. Sure some viewers found this film incredibly scary but in the end all it was, was two people sleeping most of the time and random shiz kept happening. Saying that this second film could just be the exact scare you guys want in you life and therfore this is probvably gunna be a film for you.

Also checking out Jackass 3D. Now I dont know about you guys but I love the Jackass crew and for them to make another video of epic fail and stunts is amazing, and I for one cant wait until that comes out on the 15th of this month so go see it.
Another film I reckon you guys should go see is Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Has not really got the hype its deserved even though its one treuly epic film. A cross between everday guy in a band and streetfighter.
A truly epic combo, along with a great soundtrack. Its in cinemas now also along with the 20th aniversary re-release of the back to the future film, so go to the cinema now.

Ive put a couple of links in below guys of the trilers of some of the films I mentioned
comment and let me know what you think....
http://www.themovieinsider.com/m6730/5/jackass-3/6148/
http://www.themovieinsider.com/m6608/5/paranormal-activity-sequel/6357/
http://www.themovieinsider.com/m2333/5/scott-pilgrims-precious-little-life/6009/

New Planet Discovered

2010-09-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

Our galaxy, for those who don't know, contains roughly 100 billion stars (this is a conservative estimate, many sources put that number at closer to 300 billion). Around these 100 billion stars are even more planets, probably upward or close too a trillion. Now of that trillion it is estimated that around 200 billion planets sit within the "goldilocks zone" of their solar system, the "goldilocks zone" being a term coined to mean the band around the sun wherein the conditions are just right for life to exist (termed goldilocks because the conditions are "just right"- conclusive proof that scientists don't have a sense of humour).

That means that life is likely to exist on 200 billion other planets within our galaxy alone, the reason why I'm telling you all this? So that you will suspend your disbelief when I tell you that scientists have discovered the exo-skeleton of a planet that is very much like Earth.


Pictured: What the planet almost certainly doesn't look like.

Before today precisely zero potentially earth-like planets have been discovered (with the slight exception of gliese 581c), hence why there is so much excitement surrounding the finding of this new planet, dubbed gliese 581g.

It differs from Earth in several ways though, most majorly its average temperatures are believed to range from between -12C and -31C; and the fact that unlike Earth, this alien world has one side always facing its sun and the other side constantly in the dark. This means that in-between the two sides, between shadow and light, there could be an area where life could potentially thrive.

In all honesty I would find it hard to believe that there isn't life on gliese 581g, if the planet has an atmosphere similar to ours and if it has been around for the last few billion years as scientists believe then life will almost certainly exist there, albeit most likely in a much different state to how it would be on Earth.

The planet lies 20 lightyears away, a relatively small distance comparative to our galaxy, it is therefore estimated that it would take a man-made craft travelling at 50,000km/hr a mere 20,000 years to reach the planet. So no chance of meeting any extra-terrestrials in our lifetime then D:

On second thoughts maybe that's not such a bad thing

If you'd like to know more then please visit the links below.

Links for more Information:
http://www.nbc.com/news-sports/msnbc-video/astronomers-discover-a-new-earth/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11444022
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090219-explanets-life.html

Just can't get enough

2010-09-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

Ive recently started watching the series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the internet and am finding myself incredibly addicted. So i thought best to try and figure out to myself in this post the reasons why.

I mean am I just the stereotypical male in this situation, where I find Sarah Michelle Gellar incredibly hot, because lets be honest, she looks amazing on and off the screen and to say that she didn't give something to the slayer series is ridiculous.
But is it just down to her alone?
I am finding the mix of all the cast from Alyson Hannigan's character willow to Anthony Stewart head who plays Giles. All play a crucial part in helping to unfold each plot episode, and how the characters progress and evolve through each series keeps the watcher captured awaiting the next series.

I think those of you who have not seen each series all the way through should definitely take some time to watch each episode individually and I guarantee you will not be dissapointed.

You can find all 7 series by going to projectfree TV along with many other tv series
you can also find each episode on youtube but the episodes will be in parts

Stephen Hawking's Universe

2010-09-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

Stephen Hawking's Universe is currently halfway through it's series and seems to be passing the general public by, which I think is a great shame as it is without doubt one of the most interesting series to come out on TV recently. Hawking, generally acknowledged to be one othe most intelligent men in the world, has decided to confront a series of questions that are generally seen as unanswerable, and in each episode he answers them.

The questions Hawking addresses such as time travel and life in the universe are old ones, but his logic and sense of humour are flawless and he is an engrossing man to watch. With impressive visuals, Hawking begins to unravel the problems that surround these questions and slowly begins to build his theory throughout the episode, all whilst introducing interesting concepts and discussing past ideas.

In a time when Jersey Shore is seen as a good way to kill a few hours, I find it dismaying that people won't spare 40 minutes of their time to open their eyes to the scientific wonders of the universe around them.

I hope that all of you reading this will find time to watch the marvellous Stephen Hawking and his show which I've linked here: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/stephen-hawkings-universe/4od#3123482

By the way if you have any subjects or ideas that you'd like me to talk about, do write in the comments section below!

Austerity strikes hit E.U. nations

2010-09-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post before I go make dinner: A number of EU nations have been gripped by debt recently and this has rendered 23 million people across the EU jobless.- a situation that has led to a number of protests in Europe's major cities, in particular Brussels and Barcelona but also in Greece, Italy, the Irish Republic and Latvia.

Everyone is feeling the pinch of the credit crunch, and as a student I'm not finding easy having to juggle between my course and 2 part-time jobs, and with no guarantee of a job once I leave it's no surprise that depression is also at an all time high.

Personally I think that the new austerity measures being implemented by the EU are a necessary evil, with the stock markets spiralling still (as Warren Buffet predicted they would in 1999 at Sun Valley), the world has a long way to go before it can pull out of this recession. Therefore reducing pensions, increasing the age of retirement and cutting wages are somewhat necessities if the EU and its sovereign states are to pull out this recession.

On the other hand though this recession can be mainly attributed to the fault of the banks and of the incompetent and corrupt bankers that run them and so they should be held more responsible than they have been. I think that they have got off leniently and considering their recklessness has set back the growth of many Western countries, the most culpable bankers should be brought to justice and charged accordingly.

I know this has become a tired subject now, but it is still a relevant one so feel free to post any comments you might have below.

If you want to know more about the situation then follow the link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11432579

University Fees

2010-09-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

I'm having trouble now in having to pay rent for my house here at uni, the student loans company cover university tution costs, but now they want to raise the charge to over 3 times as much for those costs, thats from £3,290 to around £10,000, which I will somehow have to repay at the end of my qualification.

Even though only some university's will be applying this to their courses, it's a ridiculous amount of money to pay back as an undergraduate who has only just stepped out from his parents house into the world.

For more information visit this link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8026127/University-fees-could-triple-to-10000.html

The First Post

2010-09-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

Creation of the first of anything is always seen as something that is momentous or special in some way, and I have to admit that writing my first blog entry on here does feel like a hallmark occasion, especially since the interweb has long been a mystery to me.

However I believe that the true value of something can only be ascertained from its lasting impression on the world around it, and so the first of something whilst by nature being original, is not something that should be held in particularly high regard. It's said that the first sentence in a book is the most important one, however I would much prefer that my faithful blog readers judged me on the consistency of my blogging than on the surface value of my first post.

Now that's out of the way, let us go awwww at this picture of my friend's new puppy. I hope you enjoy the blogs to come.