Live Action Jungle Book Hits Theaters Spring of 2016

That's right!  The live action version of Disney's 1967 classic The Jungle Book will be released April 15, 2016.  Get ready to learn about the bear necessities in a whole new way as you follow Baloo, voiced by Bill Murray, and Mowgli, played by newcomer Neel Sethi, in this live action thriller.

Official Cast List

Neel Sethi as Mowgli



Bill Murray as Baloo (voice)



Ben Kingsley as Bagheera (voice)



Scarlett Johansson as Kaa (voice)



Idris Elba as Shere Khan (voice)



Christopher Walken as King Louie (voice)

Read Stories to Your Kids!

Parents have been reading their kids bedtime stories for decades.  It's always been said to strengthen the parent-child relationship and help them fall asleep.  But, what researchers are finding out is that it actually helps children's brain development, as well.  There are studies underway at Yale University and the University of Texas to see the difference between a child whose parents read to them regularly and a child whose parents don't.  The research has found, so far, that the child who isn't read to often has far less activity in the verbal-processing areas of the brain than the child who is read to often.   

The Child Development Institute says that reading to a child before bed has a plethora of benefits including, but not limited to: development of language skills, improved memory, and imagination development.  G. Reid Lyon, Ph.D., chief of the child development and behavior branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development says "neural research shows that when parents and caregivers interact verbally with children -- which includes reading to them -- kids learn a great deal more than we ever thought possible."  

Who knew something as simple and as fun as reading with your kids could do so much for them?

For more information on the studies going on and the science behind these benefits visit:

Parents.com

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Once Upon a Time: Twists on Classic Fairytales

Once Upon a Time is an ABC original series that takes all the classic fairy tales we've grown up with and weaves them all together, adding an interesting twist.  The Evil Queen (from Snow White) becomes fed up with watching everyone else, except her, get a happy ending.  So she casts a spell on their world called the Dark Curse, sending everyone in it into the real world in a town called Storybrooke, Maine.  Everyone who lives in the town is from the fairy tale world, but none of them remember who they really are, except for the Evil Queen of course. 

Once Upon a Time shows the fairy tale character each person in the town is using backstories of their lives in the fairy tale world.  These stories are still recognizable but not in the classic sense.  Let's take Snow White for example.  The classic story goes that the Evil Queen, Snow White's stepmother, orders her huntsman to kill Snow White, but he can't bring himself to do it.  He tells Snow White to run away so the Evil Queen can't find her.  That's when Snow White meets the seven dwarfs who she stays with.  Then, the Evil Queen finds out that she is still alive and gives her a poison apple making her fall into a deep sleep that cannot be broken...except for true love's kiss.  Prince Charming finds her and kisses her, waking her up and they live happily ever after.

Now for the Once Upon a Time version...SPOILER ALERT!!!

After Snow White's father suddenly passes she has a feeling that the Evil Queen wants to get rid of her as well.  When she is going for a walk in the forest the huntsman that the Evil Queen sent tries to kill her but is struck by how nice she speaks of the Evil Queen, understanding that she must do this, and let's her go.  She runs away into the woods only to find the house of Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother, befriending them.  When the Evil Queen finds out Snow White is still alive she has wanted posters hung up all over the kingdom, Snow White was now a wanted criminal.  She became a bandit to survive, stealing food from markets and the Evil Queen's carriages passing in the woods, which is how she met Prince Charming, accidentally robbing his carriage, thinking it was the Evil Queen's.  He chases after her but she is able to get away to sell the jewels she stole from him.  He finds her again and throughout their journey together to find his mother's ring that she sold, they fall in love.  The problem is that the Prince is set to marry another women who he doesn't love.  The prince finds his way out of the marriage while Snow runs from the Evil Queen until they finally meet again--after Snow White is poisoned from the Evil Queen's apple.  Prince Charming kisses her and breaks the curse.  I would say they live happily ever after but Once Upon a Time is still in production, in the midst of releasing their 5th season, so you never know.

As you can see, the general plot of the classic fairy tale of Snow White is still there but with a lot of twists and turns along the way.  All of the characters' stories are like that, different and overlapping with one another's.  It is interesting how the same story about the same person can be so drastically different, but still true to the plot at the same time.  That just goes to show you how many different ways there are to tell the same story.

On a side note: I'm a huge fan of Once Upon a Time, so if any of the storytelling or the fairy tales interests you I highly suggest watching the show.  The pilot trailer is above so you can see for yourself.  It's a really interesting show that will keep you guessing who is who and how people are connected throughout the whole show.  The first four seasons can be found on Netflix.

Country Music Tells a Story

Country.  Yes, country.  Don't scroll down just yet.  I'm not here to tell you that you need to listen to country.  I'm not saying that it's the best music genre.  No.  Just read and keep an open mind.

Country music is looked down upon and made fun of in today's mainstream society.  Honestly, it's underrated.  The popular reason people discredit and don't listen to it is because they say "it's all about tractors and beer," says Ricardo Cortez of El Iluminador.  Now, this isn't completely untrue.  I'm not going to lie.  Yes, some songs might mention these things, but saying that tractors and beer encompasses what the entire genre of country is all about is a little ridiculous.  Another thing that people stereotype country music as is that it's all about hillbilly's and rednecks, so why would anyone who isn't one want to listen to it right?  That one particularly gets under my skin because then the people who do listen to country music are looked down upon in this stereotypical way.  The reason people generalize country as being these things is because country music doesn't talk about the "flashy," high-end, rich and famous lifestyles that most types of music do.

Country music talks about the everyday life of the "average Joe."  The hardships and rewards of a common, simplistic lifestyle that most people live.  This is what makes it so easy for country to tell a story because artists are able to draw from their own lives and experiences that those listening will be able to relate to.  I'm not dissing other genres of music in any way for their inability to do this because they are all unique in their own ways, I'm just saying that country's way of being unique is this ability to tell a story.

Here are some examples of country songs telling a story.

You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift

You're Gonna Miss This by Trace Adkins

Letters from War by Mark Schultz

Leave a comment below telling me what story you think each song is telling.  Their isn't necessarily one right answer, the other great thing about country is that it's all up to interpretation.