Batson's Blog

So 2015 is shaping up to be what looks like a good year at the movies. The Avengers 2 in May 2015, Batman vs. Superman in July 2015, and Star Wars VII in December 2015. That’s not counting James Bond #24 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 in November, Fantastic Four in June, Ant-Man in July or the next Bourne Identity movie in August. Let’s not look past 2014 though. There are several 2014 movies with potential to be awesome too. There are some movies that can wait until they are available on Redbox. These don't appear to be Redbox movies. I better start saving my money because it looks like I'll be making a few trips to the movie theater this year: 8. Hercules: the Thracian Wars Release Date: July 25 Don't get this movie confused with Hercules: The Legend Begins (release date TBA). The Thracian Wars is the one starring The Rock as Hercules. There hasn't been much artwork released yet. No trailers to build excitement either. Let's...

There’s one more to review before I’m wrapped up with my year-long search for Charlotte’s best cupcake. It was back to Rock Hill to try out one more bakery: Carswell Bakery . It's a small shop located in a strip mall on Mt. Gallant Road. It looked like there may have been some remodeling going on when I went inside. There was a small display case with a variety of cookies available. There was also a table with 6-pack cupcakes. The shop had your three standard cupcake flavors: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. I wouldn't have gotten any if they only came in 6-packs, but thankfully they were available as singles too. I passed on the chocolate, but bought a strawberry and a vanilla.

All year I’ve been trying to track down Southern Cake Queen . Since there’s no actual location, it’s hard to track them down. There is a food truck and they update their Twitter account with whatever location they'll be at, but whenever they are out serving cupcakes I seem to be busy or on the other side of the city. Thankfully I was at Charlotte Douglas waiting for a flight recently. See, Southern Cake Queen doesn't have an official shop in Charlotte, but their cupcakes are sold at Phipps Bistro's location at The Charlotte-Douglas Airport in Concourse A. Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cupcake There weren't an entire slew of flavors to choose from, but there didn't need to be. If you eat Southern Cake Queen's Peanut Butter cupcake, you don't need much else. It had buttercream frosting on top and a Reese's chocolate as well. The cupcake was soft and had a great, fresh Peanut Butter taste. The woman working the counter did offer to warm the cup...

At the end of 2012 I blogged about the 6 movies I was most excited to see in 2013. G.I Joe: Retaliation , Man of Steel , The Wolverine , Thor , Iron Man 3 and Star Trek: Into Darkness all made the cut. I saw all of those movies several times this year -- G.I. Joe once in the theatre and twice on DVD, Star Trek in the theatre three times and once on DVD, Iron Man in the theatre twice, The Wolverine in the theatre twice and Thor in the theatre twice. After carefully going over all of the evidence, I have to say that Star Trek kicked the ass of all others. It was definitely the best of the bunch. Thor 2 comes in next -- being almost as good. Jane slapping Thor wasn't needed, despite the fact that Natalie Portman said it was satisfying . She told E! Online: "I found it very satisfying. I think it’s behalf of all my girlfriends who had guys that didn’t call them back or disappeared or just fell off the face of the earth." Man of Steel came in next. Alth...

If you've talked to someone at work this week, watched a news program or spent any amount of time on the Internet, then you know that Beyonce released a surprise album last week -- titled BEYONCÉ . It was called a "visual album" because of the fact that she released 17 videos along with the 14 songs -- all at once on iTunes. Without any buildup or promotion at all, Beyonce's album went to number one. Talk about a marketing plan that worked to perfection! While I've never been the biggest fan of Beyonce (I liked a few of her Destiny's Child songs and enjoyed listening to "Crazy In Love," but I wouldn't call myself a fan), I was impressed with the way she released the album and thought I'd check it out. I've seen a lot of people tweeting about it being flawless and mentioning that Beyonce showed a lot of growth on this album. After listening to it, I can't say I agree. More often than not, the album is boring, plain and has ve...

As the search for Charlotte's best cupcake winds down, it's time to take a look at another candidate. This time I went to Pat-A-Cakes Bakery in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It's a nice little bakery that has Tuesday price specials, so make sure to stop by on a Tuesday. Samoan Cupcake I typically don’t like coconut, so this cupcake had me a little nervous. For whatever reason I do like Samoas though. I figured I’d give this cupcake a shot, but I didn’t have very high expectations for it. There was a giant glob of coconut on top. The woman who helped me told me it tasted like the cookie. I was skeptical, but without good reason. She was right. This Samoa cupcake does taste like the Samoa cookie. This giant glob of coconut doesn’t make the cupcake taste like your typical coconut-covered baked good. The caramel they mixed with it helped create an authentic Samoa taste. That cupcake didn't last too long.

McAdenville's annual Christmastown USA is up and running again this year. The Charlotte area Christmas light extravaganza started Monday and is worth checking out, especially if you haven't seen it before. I went last year for the first time and it was a very cool experience. I drove in heading west on I-85 to exit 22. That was extremely crowded, so I continued on I-85 to exit 21. I took Cox Road to Franklin Blvd/Andrew Jackson Highway/74 and then took the back way in. That seemed to work much better. There weren't any designated parking spots that I found. It's more of a 'take what you can get' kind of thing. If you find a spot on a residential side road, take it. Town officials do remind visitors not to block railroad crossings or prevent the flow of traffic though. There isn't necessarily a route people follow. You basically follow the lights. Follow the cars and follow the lights.

A few more personalized license plates that have caught my eye... Can you guess what this person's favorite teams are? Perhaps the Tampa Bay Rays and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? This person has to be a Gilligan's Island fan . Either that or they like Rihanna . What a snitch! Jes did what though? You've heard of PlayStation4 and XboxOne . Now you've heard of Granny-4.

Pigs have flown. The world has ended. Peace at last! Lady Gaga and Christina Aguilera teamed up on the season finale of The Voice to perform Gaga's single "Do What U Want." After the seemingly back-and-forth war that was going on between them for years, it was kind of surprising to see them partner up. Then again, Gaga said earlier this year that she's a big fan of Christina. It seems Gaga wasn't miffed over Aguilera's 2008 comments in the LA Times . The partnership may have been a surprise, but it was also very fitting. For two women who have similar vocal styles, outlandish (at times) looks, and similar sounding songs, it seemed appropriate that they collaborate for a performance. It was one of those 'it's never gonna' happen' combinations that actually ended up happening and worked really well. There have been several really good duets this year actually, whether it's a one-time-only kind of duet or one that is forever cemen...

Boy, I go on vacation for a week and D.C. comes out with some hefty news: there's finally a Wonder Woman . I remember way back to the early 2000's when Chyna, Lucy Lawless and Sandra Bullock were contenders for a potential Wonder Woman movie. 13 years later, Wonder Woman is coming to the big screen. Gal Gadot has been cast to play Wonder Woman in the Batman vs. Superman / Man of Steel 2 movie that is scheduled for a July 2015 release. First off, I had no idea Wonder Woman was going to be included in that movie. Second, before looking at her IMDB page , I had no idea who Gal Gadot was. She seems like a good choice though. She's been in a couple of Fast and the Furious movies, so she probably won't have much difficulty making an action movie. She looks the part well enough, though I think Jaimie Alexander (of Thor fame) would probably have been a better choice. Nonetheless, it's awesome that D.C. is finally making some headway. D.C. has been left i...

Disney is capitalizing on the large set of characters that have become icons through their various projects over the last 50 years. Maleficent , featuring Angelina Jolie in the title role, is set to be released next year on May 30. Disney describes the movie as "the untold story" of "a beautiful, pure-hearted young woman" who has "an idyllic life growing up in the peaceable forest kingdom" until an evil army invades the land. " Maleficent rises to be the land’s fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal—an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading king’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom—and perhaps to Maleficent’s true happiness as well." Ever since I read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs , I've enjoy...

In honor of Friday the 13th, I figured we'd count down some of the best body switch movies. There's still time left in the day for this to happen to you, so don't wish on any shooting stars, be careful if you're making a birthday wish, don't throw coins (or peeing, for that matter) into any fountains and avoid any kind of voodoo magic men. You may also want to avoid Aztec statues, necklaces and magic dust. Otherwise you may end up like some of the people on this list: 13. The Change-Up Number 13 is the most recent body swap movie. Released in 2011, the movie is about two men who switch bodies after being struck by lightning while peeing into a fountain. The result? They swap bodies. Dave (Jason Bateman) is stuck in Mitch's body. Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) is stuck in Dave's body. At the beginning of the movie the two are envious of each other's lifestyles. By the end of the movie they've grown as human beings and appreciate where they are...

I went to Big View Diner after reading something online that mentioned them having a pretty impressive dessert section. Sure enough, they did have a nice collection of desserts. Problem is: they only have one cupcake. It's an awesome looking chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting on top and chocolate candy baked inside. It was all or nothing with this cupcake though. One chance for Big View Diner to make an impression. Chocolate Cupcake I got the chocolate cupcake, brought it home and ate it later that night. It was amazing! Seriously, it was probably the best chocolate cupcake I've had all year long. The frosting was incredible rich and creamy. The cupcake was moist and chocolatey. The chocolate kisses that were baked inside the cupcake in melted form were like a delicious finishing touch on an already superb cupcake. I think the thing that really stood out and made this cupcake so good was the mixture of chocolate flavors. You had it in cake form, fros...

Britney Spears has been a singer/dancer/entertainer for more than a decade now. " Work B*tch " has been growing on me, but let's face it: Britney Spears isn't known for her singing talent. She's a decent dancer. She looks good. I still remember her 2003 American Music Awards outfit. That's one hot woman right there. Some of her early work featured more vocal range -- or attempts to display singing talent. These days, she gets her British on, has will.i.am throw some club beats down and she releases a single. You don't ever see her doing AOL Sessions or performing an a cappella version of "Oops!... I Did It Again." Considering she makes her living as a singer, she's not the best actual singer. It all makes a lot more sense now. Her kid sister -- 22-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears -- just released her first single, "How Could I Want More." Guess what? She can actually sing. Who would've guessed?

Fall Out Boy returned this year with an entirely new album ( Save Rock and Roll ) full of tracks that have the kind of energy only they can provide. Their second single -- "Alone Together" – is picking up some traction after “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark” peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Their album is full of energetic rock and roll. They branch out in some ways, but stick to their roots on every track. Here’s the track-by-track review: The Phoenix This one kicks off the album. It’s a good start. It’s got lots of high impact beats and some good vocals. It’s the kind of song one would expect from Fall Out Boy. The fast-paced music and high-impact drums kick in right away. After a short bit of soft-spoken words, the chorus kicks in: "Hey young blood Doesn't it feel like our time is running out? I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix" Very good track. It wouldn't be my...

Amidst all of the movies I was looking forward to seeing this year ( Man of Steel , G.I. Joe 2 , Thor 2 , etc.), there’s one that fell off my radar: Red 2 . I’m not sure why I forgot all about this one, but I did. I enjoyed the first one. Red was about a group of retired special agents who were trying to be taken out of action permanently. Red 2 is every bit as hilarious as the first one. Within the first 10 minutes of the movie, I was laughing out loud. So was the rest of the theatre. It’d been a while since I’d seen Red , so I’d forgotten a good deal of the specifics of that movie. Thankfully, you don’t need to know much about Red in order to enjoy Red 2 . There’s some typical action movie scenes, including car chases, sneaking into a high-security government facility, and explosions. Somehow it didn’t feel like it was ‘been there, done that’ though. Just like in Red , this time around the characters find themselves dodging bullets (literally) and trying to avoi...

I got this album several months ago, when it was still on the end cap in the music section at Target. I wasn’t blown away by the songs, but here I am, several months later, and I find myself singing along to a lot of the songs when they come across my iTunes shuffle list. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I figured I may as well give credit where credit is due and deliver a review of Ke$ha’s sophomore album: Warrior . After the success of Animal , Ke$ha came back with electropop music and more politically incorrect, outlandish lyrics. All in all, it's a lot of fun. Warrior This song was somewhat lackluster. It’s a Ke$ha party track, but it doesn’t have a distinguishable hook or chorus – at least not compared to the other ones on the album. The main chorus of “Warrior-ior-ior-ior. Warrior-ior-ioooor,” doesn’t really stick inside your head. That being said, Ke$ha’s vocals are pretty good on this one. "Warrior" utilizes a lot of forms of music dis...

I checked out Oprah's Favorite Things list recently. Sorry, O, but I can't say I'm intrigued by almost any of it. To counteract that list, I'm presenting to you today: Batson's Favorite Things 2013. 10. That 70's Show (the complete series) You can find this series at various places online, but I got this for under $40 at Sam's Club recently. Talk about an amazing deal! Considering The Big Bang Theory is going for around $30 a season, I was thrilled to see this deal. I know it's all about supply and demand. That 70's Show ended in 2006 has been played several times over in syndication since then. One day the complete series of The Big Bang Theory may be going for $35 too. If Sam's Club is offering up That 70's Show for $39.95, I'm taking it! Outside of a handful of other sitcoms, That 70's Show is my favorite. It's one of those shows that you can put into the DVD player and watch at all times, no matter wha...

Wow! I almost didn’t stop at Bowtie Bakery . That would have been a huge mistake. I was up at Concord Mills Mall and I decided to check out Purple Cow Bakery . I arrived at the address I had for Purple Cow, but there was no bakery there. I Googled the store and one of the search results that came up was “Bow Tie Bakery.” It looked like Bow Tie Bakery was near the Carolina Place mall. Frustrated that Purple Cow evidently moved or went out of business, I was going to call it a day and head home. While driving towards Interstate, I passed the mall. I did a u-turn and found Bow Tie Bakery – located next to Sogo Japanese Seafood and Steakhouse in a strip mall. I’m not sure what I was expecting, if anything, when I walked inside. What I got was a huge selection of cupcakes. Each one was a different, enticing flavor and was visually impressive. I probably spent 10 minutes trying to decide which cupcakes to get. I ended up choosing five of them. I ended up sharing them sin...

When I heard that Daughtry was coming out with new music I was ecstatic! Besides the fact that he's a fellow Batman fan , I was a impressed with Daughtry , the 2006 album Chris and the rest of the band released. Their 2009 follow up -- Leave this Town – was even more impressive with more of a rock sound on several of the album’s tracks. Break the Spell was far and away their best work though. That album has more plays than any other that I have imported in iTunes. This time around, Daughtry apparently worked without his band mates. How does Baptized compare to Chris' previous work? There are some decent songs on it. I don’t know that it quite measures up to Break the Spell . It’s a solid effort though. Baptized "It was one of the first songs written for the record and it's probably my favorite song on the album," Chris told The Hollywood Reporter . It's not my favorite, but it works. I was waiting for that high note -- the climax of ...

Terrence Howard opened up about being replaced by Don Cheadle in the Iron Man movies. He was on Watch What Happens Live and hinted at the reason he was replaced by Cheadle as Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes. The reason? Apparently it's Iron Man himself. Yep. Howard says Robert Downey Jr. is the reason he got booted...more or less. He told host Andy Cohen: "It turns out that the person I helped become Iron Man ... when it was time to re-up for the second one, (he) took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out." Iron Man, of course, is Downey. I guess he and Downey had some kind of falling out. "We did a three-picture deal, so that means that you did the deal ahead of time," Howard said. "It was going to be a certain amount for the first one, a certain amount for the second one, a certain amount for the third. They came to me with the second and said, 'Look, we will pay you one-eighth of what we contractual...

I reviewed Jewell Treats way back in April, but this summer they moved to a new location at Hearst Tower in Uptown. I stopped by to check out their new digs. The new location on the second floor of the Hearst building is handy if you’re in Uptown and need a cupcake fix. Outside of the regular flavors they feature, they experiment regularly. In fact, one of their customers recently won a ‘you pick the flavor’ contest. She chose a chocolate cupcake with whipped cream in the middle, a Nutella/vanilla frosting and some caramel drizzle on top of that.

I'd been to Charlotte Cupcakes - Cupcrazed">Cupcrazed before, located right off of I-77 in Fort Mill, but I'd never been to the actual heart of the town. I decided to change that, so I sought out the only other cupcake shop I could find in the entire town: Savannah's Dining, Bakery and Catering . Taking the back roads into Fort Mill on a sunny Fall day? Very relaxing. Well -- except for taking a couple of wrong turns and then my GPS telling me I was at Savannah's when I was actually three blocks away. Other than that -- very relaxing. Savannah's is house-turned-cafe, located in a brick home on Confederate Street. When I went they didn't have a very large collection of cupcakes. Like a lot of bakeries I've been to, the focus isn't just on cupcakes, so the selection seems to be smaller. With a smaller selection, there obviously wasn't a lot of unique or interesting flavors either. There were actually only two options to choose ...

How the mighty have fallen. Lady Gaga has always been unusual, but when she first took the world by storm a few years ago, she at least made good music. “Just Dance,” “Poker Face,” “Bad Romance,” “Alejandro,” “Paparazzi,” and even “You and I” were all great, catchy songs. They were different than what anyone else in pop or rock music were doing at the time. Her latest album – ARTPOP – proves that she’s run out of tricks. With Gaga essentially making claims of being a large part of pop culture in “Applause,” I was hoping she’d innovate on this album. Instead she’s settling for the techno, ‘futuristic’ sound that Christina Aguilera bombed with on Bionic . There are incredible vocal abilities put to use on Gaga’s fourth studio album, but it’s painfully obvious that she has nothing meaningful left to write or sing about. The ruling theme on ARTPOP is about sex and drugs. Considering Miley Cyrus has already owned that market this year, I’m not sure where Gaga is hoping to fit...

Angela Lansbury, perhaps best known for her role as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote , voiced her opinion on the reboot of the 1980’s TV show. She’s not happy about it . Last week, NBC announced that it would be rebooting the Murder, She Wrote show with Octavia Spencer playing a nurse/self-publishing author/mystery solver. I wasn’t sure what to think about it, myself. A lot of times Hollywood likes to remake and reboot and sequel things to death. Sometimes it works. The Amazing Spider-Man was an awesome movie, despite being released just 5 years after the last Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movie. Ben Affleck will be the new Batman, just a few years after Christian Bale owned that role.

News broke this week that Kassius Ohno (formerly Chris Hero of Ring of Honor fame) was released from his WWE contract . I don't think anyone who's been following the newsboards would be too surprised by this announcement. WWE signed Hero and Claudio Castagnoli in September 2011. While Castagnoli debuted as Antonio Cesaro in April 2012, Hero never appeared on Raw or Smackdown. He was stuck in NXT. Rumors began circulating that WWE management wasn't happy with his efforts. Whether that's true or not, it was put out there. Given that Hero has now been released, there was evidently some truth to WWE management not being happy with his progress. Hero addressed his release on his Facebook page, saying: "I’m leaving WWE on good terms so, if it’s meant to be, I’m sure I will be back. If it’s not meant to be, I can guarantee you that I will still be trotting all over the globe doing what I love (and what I’m damn good at) at the highest level possible." ...