Batson's Blog

May 31 is National Macaroon Day, so Happy Macaroon Day! What better way to celebrate than with a stop in NoDa at Amelie's to try a macaroon for the first time? I stopped by earlier this week because I knew there was a large selection to choose from. I'd always looked at the cookies in their display case and wondered what they tasted like. I was always a little hesitant to try them. Something about the name -- "macaroon" -- reminds me of something that should taste like a nut. Almonds, walnuts. It's strange, I know, but I'm not the biggest fan of nuts, so I didn't want to have a cookie that tasted like one. Upon closer inspection a few weeks ago (there was a long line at Amelie's, so I was right in front of the cookies for about a minute and a half), it didn't look like they were made of nuts at all. Instead the macaroons looked a lot like a whoopie pie, except not as soft. There were a wide selection of pastel-colored macaroons at...

The minute that Oscar Mayer announced they’d released a bacon-flavored hot dog , I knew I had to get me some. During a Wal-Mart stop last week I found them. I took them home. I made them. I ate them. I was disappointed. They weren’t bad, but, yeah, I was a little disappointed. I put what should have been complete awesomeness into the microwave when I got home. It started popping at about 45 seconds, so I took it out, put some ketchup on a bun and had myself a meal. One of my friends who had already tried them said he didn’t taste the bacon flavor. After having a few bites, I could see what he meant. The hot dog didn’t taste like a regular hot dog. There was something a little off about it. I guess maybe it did have the vague taste of overcooked, crispy bacon, but it wasn’t very distinguishable. It didn't taste the way I was hoping it would have. I wasn’t ready to give up on these hot dogs just yet though. I got out the frying pan, threw some I Can’t Believe...

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I was a Star Wars guy. Before the 2009 Star Trek , I was not that familiar with the Star Trek universe. I remember seeing bits and pieces of a few episodes of The Next Generation back in the ‘90s – and then again when they were in a constant repeat cycle on SpikeTV in 2003 and 2004. Outside of that, I didn’t know too much though. That’s why I enjoyed seeing Kahn in the new Star Trek movie . He was a completely fresh character for me. That being said, he wasn’t the most impressive looking villain of all time. He was pretty much an emo Star fleet member – dressed in all black, wearing a leather coat at times as well. Who was the coolest looking villain, you ask? I have a top 10 list below. Let the countdown begin! Loki Thor’s younger brother is a wimp by comparison, but Loki still manages to look pretty cool with his gold, curved, antler-like helmet and his green cape. He looks like a king from another world – so job wel...

Whenever I think of 2009’s Star Trek , I think about the scene where Captain Kirk’s parents are killed and he’s sent on a course to Earth – Superman style – in a small vessel. I was awestruck that such an emotionally powerful scene happened so quick into the movie. It was something I just didn’t see coming. It’s because of the tone set by that very first scene that one doesn’t know what to expect when watching Star Trek: Into Darkness . J.J. Abrams isn’t afraid to kill off a character – even those you aren’t expecting anything to happen to. He makes that clear with Star Trek: Into Darkness . That’s not to say that there’s a plethora of death in the new Star Trek movie, but it’s not one of those movies where you know that everybody is going to come out alive and well by the end of the 123 minutes. I was wondering, at the beginning of each scene, if the majority of Captain Kirk’s Star fleet were going to get out of their predicaments alive. That takes your emotions on one ...

January 2010: TNA Impact went live against Monday Night Raw . RVD debuted. Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff were part of that show. Jeff Hardy returned to TNA. It was supposed to be a huge show in TNA’s history. They didn’t prove to be much of a threat to WWE’s ratings, but TNA did garner 3 million viewers for the opening hour of Impact . They dropped to 2.2 million by the end of the show, while Raw reached 5.6 million viewers . It was an experiment. While it wasn't a complete failure, it wasn't a huge success. It was clear: TNA wasn't ready to challenge WWE in a new version of the Monday Night Wars, despite many people hoping that was the case. I think now may be the right time for TNA to take another chance. Since 2010 TNA hasn't made a lot of progress with their ratings. The most recent edition of Impact got just a 1.07 -- that's the highest Impact rating sine April. However, a general consensus amongst the Internet wrestling community is that ...

Well so much for my prediction. Last week I predicted that Fast 6 would have a tough time getting number one at the box office since it was facing competition like Iron Man 3 and Star Trek: Into Darkness (both opened earlier in May) along with The Hangover III , which opened Thursday. It's time for me to eat crow though. Fast 6 ruled the box office , with $98.5 million in the U.S. and more than $250 million worldwide. So about those roles The Rock wants in Star Wars and Transformers, along with a possible role in a Marvel movie?? I think some movie studio executives may be ringing his phone, texting his mobile, sending PMs on Twitter and knocking on The Rock's door. Related Content: • 2013 - The Year of The Rock? • G.I. Joe: Retaliation - reviewed. • Iron Man 3 - reviewed. • Hollywood's Best Espionage Agents

Making a trip along South Boulevard this week, I noticed a large cupcake sign sitting on the side of the road . I figured I’d better stop and check it out. Sure enough, there’s a small dessert shop called Kai’s Kookies and More . There are some small tables with two chairs each inside . While there are cookies and brownies and bars and other goodies, cupcakes certainly seem to be a staple of the shop. There’s an entire list of flavors. Not all the flavors are available every day though. I immediately noticed a strawberry cupcake that Strawberry Shortcake herself would have probably had in her house. They were supposed to have a Marble Cupcake and an Oreo Cookie Cupcake that day, but they were already out, so I settled for a Red Velvet instead.

It seems everyone is talking about Miley Cyrus topping Maxim's Hottest 100 list . Everyone else is talking about Kellie Pickler's great looks, tight body and fancy outfits on Dancing with the Stars . I can't argue with anyone on either of those. Miley does look hot and Kellie looks to be in the best shape of her life -- a common theme, it seems, for anyone who joins Dancing with the Stars and lasts a considerable amount of time. Being so tone and fit, no doubt, has to do with the fact that Kellie made it to the finals of the Dancing with the Stars competition . While Cyrus and Pickler are two of today's TV hotties, there's a slew of other TV babes who aren't forgotten. They're all much older than me, but thanks to the beauty of reruns and TV shows on DVD, I've become quite familiar with them. Here's the top five classic TV babes: Barbara Eden I watched reruns of I Dream of Jeannie when I was a kid. She's the first woman I reme...

After spending a few weeks north of Charlotte, I decided to go south this week: to Pineville. I went to Two On Earth Bakery & Cafe . It's on Main Street in Pineville. There are only one or two parking spots in front of the store, but thankfully there's an entire lot of free parking right across the street by the Pineville Town Hall. The shop had some seating inside, so if you wanted to cozy it up for the afternoon with a good book in Pineville, this would probably be a good place to go. Two On Earth is a bakery, not a cupcake shop, so the cupcake selection wasn't massive. One of them had coconut on it, so I immediately passed on that one. That left just a couple of choices. Red Velvet Even in the most basic bakeries, there's usually a Red Velvet option. That was the case at Two On Earth. Since I've been doing these reviews I've found that Red Velvet cupcakes are either very tasty or very bland. Two On Earth's version was pretty good.

As all of the TV networks announce their new Fall lineups , one show has yet to be mentioned: Girl Meets World , the spin-off series of Boy Meets World . ABC lineup | CBS lineup | NBC lineup | FOX lineup | TNT lineup When the Girl Meets World pilot was shot, it got me thinking about some of the other shows that could still have a little life left in them, whether they are brought back in their original form or as a spin-off. Sister, Sister (1994 - 1999) Tia and Tamera Mowry haven't done too bad since Sister, Sister went off the air in 1999. They've done a series of projects (mostly together, playing twins) for Lifetime and the Disney Channel, but surely they wouldn't complain about a new run of Sister, Sister , if successful. We could catch up with the twins in 2013, now as grown women -- perhaps with children of their own.

In Chinese culture it may be the year of the snake , but globally, it seems to be the year of The Rock. Years ago (feels like a loooong time now that I'm at the elderly age of 27), when I first started watching pro wrestling, The Rock was just starting to break out on his own. I started watching in 1997, less than a year after Rocky Maivia debuted.  He was supposed to be a fan favorite, but when fans weren't reacting favorably, the World Wrestling Federation made him a heel (or villain). That's when he showed some personality and became very popular -- a household name in fact. Still, predicting that he would one day be a box office draw for major motion pictures would have gotten a lot of laughs. Yet that's exactly what happened. I figured he'd do well in the action genre, but I had no idea that he'd end up being all of the place. On May 24 he'll be in Fast 6 . That will be the fourth movie he's been in this year. He's signed on to be i...

There were rumblings that Nicki Minaj may not be back for another season of American Idol, but it turns out that AI original, Randy Jackson, won't be returning next season . As American Idol struggles to stay relevant and remain on top of the ratings battle, they've pretty much resorted to musical chairs with their judges. First Paula ABdul was out. Then Kara Dioguardi and Ellen DeGeneres were in. Then Ellen was out. Then Kara was out. Then Simon was out while J'Lo and Steven Tyler were in. After a very boring season with Lopez and Tyler as judges, they switched it up, signing on the level-headed Keith Urban along with the feisty Nicki Minaj and "the Diva" Mariah Carey. That's a lot of switching around. With so many judges swapping spots, leaving and coming on board, it kind of takes the attention away from the aspiring singers. This is supposed to be the search for the next big music superstar -- so why so much focus on the judges? If Minaj en...

Finally! This week I snagged myself a FuManChu cupcake. Unlike some other cupcakes in Charlotte, there are some very original flavors at FuManChu -- several of which include alcohol. It's a business started up by a man in Charlotte. His website says he's trying to open up shop someplace. I stumbled upon the site last year, when it said a shop would be opening in December. Plans fell through apparently because the shop is still in the works. That means the only way to get a FuManChu cupcake is to pick it up from one of the bars that sells them. Each Tuesday and Thursday they are available at a bar or restaurant in NoDa, on North Davidson Street. I tried to pick one up a couple of month's ago, but the bar they were being sold at was closed because there was some kind of small group theatre production happening. I tried the following Thursday, but Mr. FuManChu was sick, so there were no cupcakes available that day. Needless to say, I was happy to see a tweet...

Congrats to Pink and Nate Ruess on the success of "Just Give Me A Reason." It was dethroned by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "Can't Hold Us," but Pink and Ruess' collaboration was number one for three weeks in a row. Time for a little bragging now. When I reviewed The Truth About Love , I pointed out that "Just Give Me A Reason" was a song worth some serious radio play: "Just Give Me A Reason – It’s an incredible song – exactly what you’d expect in a collaboration between Nate Ruess, the lead vocalist of fun., and Pink. I didn’t even know Nate Ruess’ name before I Googled it to write this review, but I knew, right off, that it was ‘the guy from fun.’ when I heard him chime in on this track. I’m hoping this one hits the radio because I think it’d do really well. Let’s hope those in charge strike while the iron is hot and fun. is popular. Once again, it's something totally different from what Pink usually delivers." Nice to ...

As if he doesn’t have enough advanced weaponry, Tony Stark created a lot of new weapons for his arsenal – thanks to the high level of stress that kept him up for nights on end. The coolest of them was probably the sensors he installed into his arms and legs. When he put his arms out, it triggered the Iron Man suit parts, which came flying across great distances and assembled together on Tony Stark’s body. He also rigged up a way to make the Iron Man suit maneuver without a body being inside of it. All Tony had to do was wear his headpiece and he could control the suit from a different location. Iron Man may be the king of super-cool technology, but there are a few other super heroes who have a pretty wide arsenal of weapons, machines and gadgets:

I reviewed Iron Man 3 yesterday, but one thing I didn’t mention was the fact that the previews leading up to the actual movie were almost as entertaining as the movie itself. It was basically 10 minutes of fast-paced action movie previews. Star Trek: Into Darkness Watch the trailer I was anxious to see Star Trek before I saw the preview, but even moreso now that I have. It looks like Captain Kirk is really going to have his hands full with this new villain. Like with other trilogies and multi-film movies, there’s usually a darker movie – one where the super hero faces very threatening foes and not everyone makes it out of the film alive. The Dark Knight was that movie in the Dark Knight trilogy. Iron Man 3 was that movie in the Iron Man series. Spider-Man 3 was that movie in the Spidey movies starring Tobey Maguire. Into Darkness looks to be aptly named, as there are shots of crew members jumping off large buildings, falling towards the ground below. It will be inte...

Can we talk Iron Man 3 ? I was told by a friend of mine on Twitter that Iron Man 3 stopped being cool on Sunday. True, I was not one of the many people who saw it opening weekend, but better late than never right? The third installment in the Iron Man series (and the sequel to The Avengers ) was definitely very cool! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I had high hopes after the first two Iron Man movies, Thor , Captain America and The Avengers . Marvel has been on a role the past few years, so I was hoping they’d deliver a kick-ass movie in order to keep that momentum going. Based on the one trailer I saw for Iron Man 3, it seemed that Tony Stark faced a threat like never before. The preview I saw showed some of the Iron Man suits getting blown up. Iron Man 3 almost immediately started with that very same image. It wasn’t all explosions though. In fact, perhaps more than in the previous Iron Man appearances, this movie had a back-story, characters with different al...

Jack Reacher is available on DVD today. It's one of the few recent DVD releases I'm intrigued by. Tom Cruise is not my favorite actor, by any means, but he does a decent job in certain roles. It seems this could be one of them. The Jack Reacher character is the main reason I may have to make it a Redbox Tuesday tomorrow. Reacher is a character from a book series by British author Lee Child (real name: Jim Grant). Here's the back story: Reacher served 13 years in the Military Police, but eventually became part of the 110th Special Investigations Unit. He's no longer with that group though. Now, as an ex-military investigator, he gets roped into a plot that requires his military skills to get out alive. Sounds like it could be a decent action movie. Will it be a one-time role for Cruise or will the movie turn into a trilogy or series? There are apparently several Jack Reacher books out there already. I'm sure some could be adapted to movies as well. Of cour...

This week I went to The Bakery Shoppe in Huntersville. I called ahead because I didn’t know if they had cupcakes there. They said they’d just put about two dozen cupcakes out 15 minutes before, so I was in luck. I used the GPS to get to there, but there’s a series of mini-malls in the same parking lot. There is no sign on the building – just one on the window – so the shop doesn’t jump right out at you. Basically, if you’re going to The Bakery Shoppe – look for Showmars and then go South, across the driveway. It’s a quaint shop inside, with some tables to sit at and a couple of large armchairs that look like a nice spot to relax if you have a smart phone to keep you entertained or some reading to do. There’s a wide variety of pastries, cookies and cakes in The Bakery Shoppe, but not a wide variety of cupcakes. Although the shop spruces up their cupcakes and offers a variety for events , there were only two different flavors in the case, so it made my selection easy enoug...

I had wondered why Flight didn’t do better at the box office. It seemed like it had a decent enough plot – a pilot saving a crew in dire situation. Turns out it’s no hero movie. After watching it, I can understand why it didn’t do well at the box office. It isn't exactly the kind of movie a family would go to. Although the story wasn’t at all similar, it kind of reminded me of something along the lines of Girl Interrupted . There were a couple moments that made me laugh, but overall it was a slow and fairly depressing movie. It started with Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) in a hotel room with a flight attendant, who goes full frontal for the camera. As Whitaker and his lady friend make their way to their flight (despite being hungover and coked up), the movie shifts focus to a red-headed druggie ( Kelly Reilly ). She and Whitaker eventually cross paths, but they don't know each other at this point in the movie. I assume someone with decision-making authority ...