Batson's Blog

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.