Greg LeMond spent many years being publicly loathed by many cycling fans, including me, for suggesting that Lance Armstrong was cheating his way to his Tour de France wins. He will probably never get enough apologies to make up for the abuse he suffered, including alleged threats from Armstrong, during Lance's years on top. But we can at least appreciate him now — as someone willing to speak up when it was unpopular and as the best-ever American cyclist who, just two years after being shot in a hunting accident, won the 1989 Tour de France in a record-close upset (just eight seconds!) on its very last day. 

Settle in for this cheeky, fun film based on a true story. In 1968, a free-thinking Italian engineer named Giorgio Rosa decided to build his own island in international waters off the coast of Italy. His goal was freedom and his rig became a party site that hosted visitors from all over. That didn't stop him from applying for statehood, which ticked off the leaders of Italy, which had only emerged from a monarchy about two decades earlier. The film is in Italian with subtitles and is well worth the extra reading. 

I’ve been on a kick of watching film series from my childhood. It all started when I watched the Twilight series last year. Next on my list is The Hunger Games, as I just saw the series’ prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (a must-see in theaters if you want to take your streaming out of the home this weekend!) However, one of my favorites is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. The first film of the trilogy is the perfect choice for a cozy evening in, especially during the Christmas season. There has long been a suspicion held by theology buffs that C.S. Lewis wove Christian themes throughout his books and that the character of young Lucy derived from Blessed Lucy of Narni, a Christian figure born in 15th-century Italy. Lewis never indicated that was the case, and it was believed the character was shaped after a close family friend. However, he once wrote in The New York Times that although he did not write these books with a Christian theme, "the element pushed itself of its own accord." Now you have some weekend entertainment and a great fun fact that your grandmother will love for this Christmas dinner, the gift that keeps giving!