Batson's Blog

After trying store-bought cupcakes from Target and Wal-Mart last week, I went the opposite direction this week – literally and figuratively. I made a stop at Sunflour Bakery , off The Plaza. It’s a bakery that is dedicated “to creating fresh baked goods every day from scratch with ingredients that are organic and local whenever possible.” “At Sunflour, our products are real food made without artificial ingredients, hydrogenated oils, preservatives, or dough conditioners so that you can trace the food back to its basic ingredients and origins.” - sunflourbakingcompany.com I stopped Saturday afternoon – less than 10 minutes before closing time. They have new winter hours. Despite me stopping in at a point when they were probably cleaning up, the staff gave me a friendly greeting. I didn’t have a lot of time to look around, but thankfully I took a look at their Facebook page ahead of time. I knew they had a Rolo cupcake – a dark chocolate cake filled with house made caramel...

Though they aren’t native to Charlotte, Wal-Mart and Target both carry Kimberley’s Bakeshoppe Gourmet Cupcakes. They look like something you’d find in the display case of a bakery, rather than in a four-pack on a shelf at a big box store. Therefore, it qualifies as a candidate on my quest for Charlotte’s best-tasting cupcake. Plus, it’s an excuse to have something sweet. Other than their holiday specials, Kimberley’s has four different flavors to choose from: -Triple chocolate, filled with rich chocolate fudge -Vanilla bean, filled with sweet vanilla cream -Lemon Ice, filled with tangy lemon curd -Red Velvet, filled with real cream cheese As a faithful fan of anything red velvet, I went with that option. It was a tasty treat, but there were a couple of downfalls with this cupcake. First, it was tough to get it out of the plastic case and wrapper without becoming a frosting-fingered mess. There was just too much frosting on the top. Come to think of it, that was th...

It was reported on Monday that Eve Torres – the Divas Champion at that time – was leaving the WWE. Sure enough, later that night, Kaitlyn won the Diva’s Championship in Eve’s last match. She’s not the first Diva in recent years to call it quits. Michelle McCool left in 2010. Maryse left shortly thereafter. This year Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, and even Maxine, mostly known for her role on NXT, asked for their releases. Many people on Lords of Pain weren’t heartbroken about Eve’s departure. After all, she was bland for most of her time in the company. She was athletic, but also very robotic at times. While she did evolve into a decent in-ring competitor, it took years for her to get to that point. Some people on the Captured-Beauty Message Board were disappointed that Eve left. I’m happy though. She posted a video on Tout thanking her fans. She's a classy lady, no doubt. Nothing personal, but it was the likes of Eve, Kelly Kelly and The Bella Twins that brought th...

Whatever magic Pitbull had over the past few years, it’s not present on his Global Warming album . He used to be different. He was unique when he first got mainstream radio play in the U.S. His Spanish accent, his signature phrases (lots of ayeeee's and dale's), and the fun vibe that infectiously spread threw the speakers. It’s all there on Global Warming , but so are the same stories he rapped about before. There’s only so many times you can hear Pitbull rap about making money, getting ladies (having one night stands and threesomes) and overcoming the odds before it becomes borderline gloating. He’d have you believe he’s got a lot of street credibility, rapping about his experiences selling drugs (but never expounding past a lyric or two), yet he throws out a line like this: “I break down companies with all my peeps.” That’ll up the cred for sho’. He’d better get some new material because his act is tired and worn out. Truthfully it was getting that way befor...

I already talked about the best portrayals of super heroes and villains on the big screen. Today, let’s take a look at some of the portrayals that didn’t make either of those lists. These heroes and villains weren’t bad, but they could have been better. 10. Sienna Miller as The Baroness ( G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra , 2009) This one almost worked really well. Visually, Miller's transformation into The Baroness was pretty much impeccable. The look was updated enough to not avoid being too cartoonish in the movie, but The Baroness' trademark features were still present -- the glasses, the catsuit, and the dark hair. There didn't seem to be any attempt at The Baroness' accent though. I was disappointed in that. It didn't have to be perfect, but at least some kind of accent would have been appreciated. The producers, looking for a love story, I suppose, also provided us with a romantic history between The Baroness and Duke. 9. Hugo Weaving as The Red S...

The search for Charlotte's best cupcake is on! I was doing some Googling the other day, looking for someplace to get a cupcake, and realized just how many cupcake shops there are in Charlotte. There's quite a selection to choose from. Where to go? Which one is the best? Those are the questions I intend to answer. Each week I'll go to a new bakery and test out a new cupcake (it's a rough job indeed). So, without further ado, let’s get to the cupcakes! First up: Nona’s Sweets Bakery and Cafe I’ve driven by Nona’s, located in the University area, several times. I’d never stopped before though. From the outside it looks like Nona's has a decent amount of store space, but I wasn’t expecting such a large selection of sweets when I walked in. They’ve got cupcakes, cookies, whoopee pies, chocolates, fudge, caramels, cake and mini-cheesecakes, among other delicious looking treats. I was literally like a kid in a candy shop – or in this case an adult in...

I recently made a very interesting discovery. It’s not quite at the level of sliced bread, but darn close. Let me set it up first though. I recently watched Home Alone , just like I do every Christmas. One of my gifts this year was the Dennis the Menace DVD. That’s how I made the discovery. I was watching Dennis the Menace – the scene with the – and noticed two familiar faces. Bill Erwin and Billie Bird played the married couple in this scene. Now if you’re like me, those names probably don’t ring a bell. What if I mention the movie Home Alone – specifically the scene in the airport with the mother? Yep. The same two actors. That’s two movies that Erwin and Bird co-starred in where they played a married couple. And – there’s another Home Alone connection. Devin Ratray – who will probably always be most famous for playing Kevin McAllister’s older brother, Buzz, in Home Alone is also in Dennis the Menace. He plays the babysitter’s boyfriend. Well ther...

After blogging about the best super villains come to life , I figured it only appropriate to come up with a list of the best super heroes come to life. Just like with the villains, some of my choices were made for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s the weaponry that makes a character. Other times it’s the costume. Sometimes it’s the physical Whatever the reason, the end result was successful. 10. Rachel Nichols as Scarlett ( G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra , 2010) I had to Google Rachel Nichols to write this blog post. I haven't seen her in anything before or since G.I. Joe. Turns out she's been in quite a few movies -- just nothing I've seen. She's proof that sometimes it's best to pick an actress that isn't as well known to play a role rather than going to the A-listers. She didn't set the world on fire with her portrayal, but she looked the part and captured the essence of the talented and confident (yet not arrogant) Scarlett. The only thing...