Q: What do Hawaii and Austin, TX have in common?
Pre-A: Please, no “lei” jokes.
Real A: Both places are shooting locations for Hungarian-born eye-candy Adrien Brody’s new film “Predators.”
The film is a new spin on the Schwarzenegger classic. Will Mr. Brody be able to fill Ahhnold’s shoes? Looks like we’ll find out in 2010.
Teen idol Zach Efron will make his dramatic debut later this month alongside Claire Danes and Christian McKay in Austin-native Richard Linklater’s period drama “Me and Orson Welles.” The movie premieres right here in Austin, TX at the historic Paramount Theater on November 30.
For now, here’s the trailer. Enjoy.
A stagnant economy. Rising unemployment rates. Swine flu fears. Home-grown terrorism. As if Americans didn’t already have enough to fret about this holiday season, Nestle has announced that a pumpkin shortage may make it more difficult for consumers to find canned pumpkin– a critical ingredient in pumpkin pie, everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving dessert.
Nestle has issued an apology regarding their inability to provide customers with an adequate supply of canned pumpkin…but no apologies can make up for a lack of this delicious dessert on feast tables across the country. So if you thought ahead and you’re already stocked up on pumpkin, well, give thanks, you lucky dog, you. And don’t forget to share the delicious, delicious wealth.
All too often, Thanksgiving seems like a holiday devoted to celebrating gluttony. But there’s no reason that this Thursday has to make you feel sluggish, bloated, or guilty– not when Eat Well Magazine has assembled this wonderful collection of healthy, low-calorie, and clean-eating-friendly holiday recipes.
Marbled pumpkin cheesecake? Crispy potato latkes? Maple-roasted sweet potatoes? Guilt-free (if enjoyed in moderation)? Yes, please.
Flashy over-the-top commercial art-pop isn’t just for the girls anymore.
2009 American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert talked to Reuters about his upcoming album and said, “There are females doing it, theatrical and a bit over the top. Lady Gaga, Pink, Christina Aguilera — they all put on a show in the spirit of Madonna, dressing up and creating a theme. But there hasn’t been a guy do it for a while. In the ’70s and ’80s there were a lot of artists that did it but for some reason it kind of fizzled out.”
Critics have had a field day slamming the debut efforts from past American Idol alum, including the overproduced first-go from now-critically-acclaimed Texas-native Kelly Clarkson. Whether or not Lambert’s album will prove successful is yet to be seen (or heard), but no one can deny his ambition for mainstream success– he told Reuters, “I didn’t want to turn my back on my love for classic rock…(But) I love commercial pop music…I wanted to make something commercial.”
Lambert’s debut album will be released November 23.
Austin-based computer company Dell has announced that, beginning next Tuesday, it will begin using cushions molded from bamboo to protect computers from damage during shipping.
Dell receives its bamboo from Jiangxi province in southeastern China. Panda-lovers need not fear– Jiangxi is nowhere near the home of China’s famous and endangered giant panda.
Dell is one of the first companies to use bamboo as a shipping product. Other companies are expected to follow suit.
There’s been speculation that global warming might affect women’s fashion. We all know that hotter weather means bye-bye classy scarves, and hello skimpy, Lady Gaga-approved get-ups.
But now Suneeta Mukherjee, country representative of the United Nations Food Population Fund (UNFPA), claims that global warming may lead many women, specifically those residing in the Philippines, to take up prostitution.
Intrigued? Read more here.
Elizabeth Crane can write a sentence. A sprawling, two-page long, don’t-you-dare-stop-to-breathe sentence. The kind of sentence whose length would be more at home in a tedious reading assignment from an academic journal than in a for-pleasure novel. The kind of sentence that could very, very easily turn readers off. But, Elizabeth Crane can really write a sentence.
“All This Heavenly Glory,” which follows the quiet childhood, goody-goody adolescence, and alcohol and neuroses-fueled adulthood of one Charlotte Anne Byers, is fresh enough in its voice and startling enough in its painfully-honest content that it’s easy to overlook Crane’s quirky, often long-winded writing style. From junior high fashion disputes with a best friend who insists upon dressing like “twins” to a desperate, all-too-honest glimpse at what career success means for a woman’s dating life (read: little), protagonist and aspiring screenwriter Charlotte Anne allows us an all-access look at single life in pre- and post- September 11 New York. Although a neurotic narrator is often off-putting, Charlotte Anne’s verges on three-dimensional, and ultimately, readers will sympathize with her– if only because, deep down, they know they are just as beautifully flawed.
“All This Heavenly Glory,” published in 2005, straddles the line between bookstore categories Literary Fiction and Chick Lit. While there’s plenty here for male and female readers alike to appreciate, and while “Glory” is no Candace Bushnell Prada-fest, Crane doesn’t shy away from the gossip and games of the girl-world. But, boy or girl, literary-fan or chick lit-lover, if you’ve got the sentence-stamina, “Glory’s” story will win you over.
Comedian Brian Posehn closed the funny festivities on Sunday night at 2009’s FunFunFun Fest with an impressive, nearly impeccable act.
Although a large portion of the audience was familiar with the set and had heard most of the jokes before, Posehen is one of those comedians who seems so awkwardly natural (like a goofy friend re-telling one of your favorite double-over-laughing stories) on stage that it’s easy to forgive his not-so-fresh material. His opener, Josh Fadem, however, was a different story.
Although LA-resident Fadem has an impressive TV resume, including roles on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Reno 911!, his frenetic bordering-on-schizophrenic set didn’t seem to sit as well with the audience. Perhaps if Fadem honed in on his strengths– observational and physical comedy– and cut down a bit on the coked-up impersonations and Hollywood-insider references, he’ll prove more successful with future audiences.
2009 was the second year that Austin’s FunFunFun Fest featured comedy acts. Todd Barry, The Whitest Kids You Know, and Chelsea Perretti were among other 2009 comedy notables. 2008’s festival played host to Posehn’s Adult Swim colleagues Tim & Eric.
Thanks to the televised adventures of Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmerman, weird food suddenly seems much more normal. Cats, dogs, snakes, goat testicles, guinea pigs…people?
This week, three homeless men were arrested in a city east of Moscow for the murder of a 25-year-old man. Authorities say the suspects beat the victim to death with hammers and and knives, dismembered his corpse, and sold the human meat to a pie and kebab vendor. Authorities are currently unclear as to whether any of the meat had been sold to customers.
Let’s hope, for our sanity and theirs, that Bourdain and Zimmerman never venture this far off the culinary grid.
