Mission Impossible is now almost synonymous with its lead actor Tom Cruise. While even the James Bonds and the Marvel superheroes of the world keep changing, Tom Cruise has been with the Mission Impossible franchise for almost two decades now. And we’re still not tired of it!

Meanwhile, his MI character, Ethan Hunt, is back one more time, to leave us all breathless in the fifth installment of the film series – Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. But before you catch the film, check out these 6 facts that will make the entire experience even better!

1.The airplane stunt that Tom Cruise performed himself, without any stunt double or special effects, had him suspended on the aircraft 5000 feet in the air at times.

2. Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames are the only actors to appear in all five films in the franchise.

3. Cruise performed all of his driving stunts as well.

4. Benedict Cumberbatch was the first choice to play the villain in the film. But the role finally went to English actor Sean Harris.

5. Each installment of the film has been directed by a different director. Perhaps that’s how each movie has a new feel to it. First it was Brian De Palma, then John Woo, J.J. Abrams and Brad Bird. The fifth film has been directed by Christopher McQuarrie.

6. All the good guys in the movie drive BMW cars. The bad guys drive an Audi or a Mercedes!

The success of Kung Fu Panda 3 is reaffirming the value of Hollywood’s pursuit of ticket sales in China, where Hollywood films are increasingly using Chinese plot lines and characters to appeal to the Chinese market.

On its opening day, the film brought in more than $16 million, and by the end of its second week, box office sales had climbed to more than $101 million. Chinese audiences flocked to the cinema on New Year’s day, when more than $100 million worth of tickets were sold.

Paul Dergarabedian, a Senior Media Analyst with ComScore, said, “A lot of studios and other entities involved in the entertainment business are trying to align themselves with China, with either Chinese companies, with strategic partnerships or opening studios in China. And so it’s this multi-tiered strategy I think where everyone’s trying to scramble, and trying to figure out how best to partner with China because it’s so important as a movie market.”

China is the second largest movie market in the world, and is expected to over take the U.S. as the biggest movie market within a year. The box office in China last year totaled $6.68 billion, representing a 48.7 percent rise year-on-year in ticket sales.

Familiar plot lines and characters are one reason for the success, according to 18-year-old Yifan Li. “As a Chinese it feels more familiar, I feel I can see a lot of elements that are very close to me,” he said.

Dreamworks produced two versions for the Chinese audience; one with dubbed vocals and another altered animation to more closely match the Chinese language version. In the United States, seven movie theaters are showing the film in both Mandarin and English.

Kung Fu Panda 3’s worldwide release was also timed just before the Chinese new year when movie ticket sales soar in China.

Even without the Chinese elements, high school student Jiaxuan Zhao said he would still be a fan of the film. “For me,” Jiaxuan said, “I still think it would work if it were something else. I still would love the movie without the Chinese elements.”

Kung Fu Panda 3 was Dreamworks Animation’s first co-production with it’s Chinese partner, Shanghai’s Oriental Dreamworks. The co-production meant the film counted as a locally produced movie, and allowed it to get around import restrictions, such as a limited 30-day run time.

Kung Fu Panda 3 was also allowed to show in cinemas during the Chinese New Year holiday, when most foreign films are not allowed to screen in China.

Several other Hollywood studios have partnered up with Chinese production houses, and last year the Chinese conglomerate Wanda group bought a majority stake in Legendary Entertainment, promising further collaborations.

“I think what we may see more of is where we have China titles, that were perhaps massive in China but didn’t do as well in North America, because we’re seeing now how American movies are tailored for the Chinese market, what I think we’re going to start seeing is Chinese movies tailored for the American market, said Dergarabedian.”

Later this year, The Great Wall will feature American Matt Damon and Hong Kong’s Andy Lau as the main actors. It will also have a Chinese director overseeing his first English-language film.

We found him a few weeks ago, walking along the road in a rural area. He was jumping on cars, and we thought maybe his family was camping somewhere nearby, so we passed him by. A few hours later, on our return trip, he was still in the same place, again, trying to get folks to stop for him. When he saw us, he laid down in the middle of the road, so we were unable to get around him.

We stopped the car and looked around for a few minutes, trying to figure out if anyone was around from whom he was separated. It didn’t appear so. Then we took a good look at the dog. He had no collar and he was really thin. We decided he was abandoned.

My husband said, “If he doesn’t bite me when I try to pick him up to put him in the car, then we have a new dog.” The dog happily joined us with no fight at all. The only thing we were in danger of was getting licked to death. He kept sticking his head between the two front seats and thanking us for picking him up.

The dog was clearly on the road for some time. He was extremely under weight. He was covered in scars and new wounds. We have surmised that some of the scars were from when he was on the road, we are thinking possible fights with coyotes, but he also looks as though he was used for fighting other dogs. We figured his incredibly sweet personality was the reason he was abandoned. He must not have been a good fighting dog.

So, we fed him a lot over the course of the next two weeks and he gained over twenty pounds. We took him to the veterinarian, who said the dog appears to be in good health, despite his having been abandoned. The vet guessed the dog is about two or three years of age, from the condition of his teeth. The vet gave him all the required shots and sent us on our way.

We do love this dog. He has obviously been mistreated and yet, he still is so very sweet. He had no manners, but he is a quick learner. He no longer tries to get on the bed, but he does like sitting in one of the folding chairs.

Since then, he has become a member of our family.

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Learning English – About Education

1. Education is of no value and talent is worthless – unless you have an unwavering aim. Never find yourself without a compass.”— Condoleezza Rice, Former Secretary of State

2. The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.”— William James, Psychologist

3. Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.”— Aristotle, Philosopher

4. Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “Press On” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”— Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the U.S.

5. Financial education needs to become a part of our national curriculum and scoring systems so that it’s not just the rich kids that learn about money.. it’s all of us.”— David Bach, Personal Finance Author, Speaker and Consultant

6. Wisdom is knowing what to do; virtue is doing it.”— David Starr Jordan, Scientist

7. The more a man thinks, the better adapted he becomes to thinking, and education is nothing if it is not the methodical creation of the habit of thinking.”— Ernest Dimnet, Priest

8. Intelligence is not to make no mistakes, but to see quickly how to make them good.”— Bertolt Brecht, Playwright

9. Life is too short to waste. Dreams are fulfilled only through action, not through endless planning to take action.”— David J. Schwartz, Motivational Trainer

10. I endeavor to be wise when I cannot be merry, easy when I cannot be glad, content with what cannot be mended and patient when there be no redress.”— Elizabeth Montagu, Social Reformer

I have to say for me, I’ve always believed it, in a fairy tale kind of way.

You know, like the way you believe in Santa Claus or the story of Cinderella, etc…, and I have to admit that though I’ve become older, I gotta’ tell you that I, in a small way still believe in those dreamy fairy tales, call me crazy, but I do!

I mean even though I learned that my family was the actual (Santa Claus) I still believe, in that story.

But with that being said, I always believed that love at first sight indeed happens. I just never believed it could or actually would happen to me, in my life.

I encountered this years ago, it was one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me.

I mean, I really felt like I was shot by an arrow of cupid.

It happened just as simple as this; he walked in, my head was down, he asked me a question, I looked up to respond and our eyes locked; I can’t even begin to describe the feeling that entered inside of my being, my mind, my entire soul…

I felt at that moment I had no control over what I was feeling.

I then gave him what he asked for, he said thank you, I replied, you’re welcome.

The feeling was so strong and electric, it was undeniable that he felt it too.

I still remember the look on his face, his facial expression manifested the way I was feeling on the inside, like WOO!!!

Which to me translated all wrong because my dress was wrinkled, my hair was a mess, my mind was in a shambles because (behind the scenes of my life) I was handling, juggling, carrying and experiencing so much and it seemed that I was on my way to a break down and it seemed like God knew what to do, because in that moment of meeting that guy and and having that eye locking experience for that second (or however long it was) I was in Euphoria.

My eyes followed him to the door and after he was gone, I found I could breathe. I felt like I could do and be anything when he left. So, back to the question, do you believe in love at first sight?