Batson's Blog

Seth Rogen as Cookie Monster It's been about a year since I posted part one. I figured it was about time for a follow up. Okay, so technically Cookie Monster isn’t a cartoon character. He’s a puppet – or is it mupppet? Either way, if Sesame Street was to be brought to life on a Broadway stage with the assitance of blue makeup and fake blue fur, Seth Rogen would get the part. I don’t even know if Seth Rogen can sing, but he’d still get the part. Rogen is Cookie Monster’s human look-a-like. There really should be some kind of commercial that pairs the two of them together. Amy Adams as Teela If there’s ever a He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (I swear I will write a screenplay if somebody doesn’t finish it soon) Amy Adams would be the perfect candidate to play Teela. Take a look at the cartoon version of Teela and the real life photo of Amy Adams. For those of you who aren’t familiar with He-Man (and why not?), Teela is a red-haired, strong-willed, comb...

It's almost impossible to find Jennifer Nettles without a smile on her face, but on her new album, That Girl , she turns the happiness down a notch. When I first heard that Nettles was coming out with a solo album, I fully expected to hear a bunch of pop-infused country jams. Well that theory was totally off base. There aren’t very many pop songs on this album – not in the way “Like Sugar” was. What That Girl does have is emotion. It’s dripping with emotion. It’s reflective and covers a range of topics, but most songs have roots in love. Songs that may be generic for other singers end up being impressive pieces of work when Nettles gets involved. The writing on That Girl probably isn’t as amazing as some of Sugarland’s best work, but they’re still better than your typical pop song. Falling Jennifer Nettles starts off this album with a light, nice, country sound that features the impressive range of her powerful vocals. Just like some of the greats in the music in...

Another exciting edition of celebrity look-a-likes -- part 4 to be exact. On the left: Wes Scantlin On the right: Edge Edge was in the first two blogs about celebrity look-a-likes, so why not another time? Evidently I think this guy looks like just about everyone on Earth. I previously compared him to Jamie Campbell Bower and Wilson Bethel, but this time I think I got it right: he's the spitting image of Puddle of Mudd member Wes Scantlin! These days Edge doesn't have the shaggy hair , but when he was in his "Rated R Superstar" run in the WWE in 2006, he definitely could've passed for Scantlin. The big, square jaw and toothy grin? Yep -- they must be some kind of family. On the left: Kelly Kelly On the right: Amber Heard From a former WWE superstar to a former WWE Diva. When I heard that Johnny Depp got engaged to Amber Heard, I typed my way over to Google and found a photo. I was looking at Amber Heard, but could've sworn it was K...

The Royal Rumble, disappointing as it may have been (none of my 'should be' surprise entrants made an appearance), is in the books. That means Wrestlemania is right around the corner. Batista seems set to be in the main event at 'Mania. WWE has traditionally put that number one contendership on the line at some point in February, however, so things could still change. C.M. Punk changed the Wrestlemania card the day after the Royal Rumble by essentially handing in his resignation (that's another blog for another day...I don't think it's a work though). WWE has several weeks worth of buildup ahead of them. I'm hoping they end up with an awesome card, but there's been more than one Wrestlemania lineup in recent years that have been lackluster. That's why I'm offering my help. These are the matches I'd like to see at Wrestlemania. Actually, I should amend that statement. These are the matches I'd like to see that have a realisti...

One of the best pay-per-views WWE still produces is the Royal Rumble, largely due to the Royal Rumble match. Pat Patterson did well when he came up with that idea. One of the great things about the Royal Rumble match has always been the surprise entrants. As the Royal Rumble approaches, there are still a few slots left that haven't been announced. Who's going to walk through the curtain in Pittsburgh? Will Christian or Evan Bourne finally make their returns? Your guess is as good as mine. Here are some people I'd like to see show up on Sunday though. DDP and Rikishi were originally on the list, but they just showed up at Old School Raw a couple of weeks ago. I'd rather be surprised by the inclusion of some other superstars. 10. RVD It's been a while since Rob Van Dam has appeared in a WWE ring. The Rumble would be a great chance to bring him back for a nice run through Wrestlemania season. Personally I'd like to see RVD and Antonio Cesaro ha...

A large part of my 2013 was going to 42 different cupcake shops in the greater Charlotte area, sampling over 60 different cupcakes and somehow preventing a sugar overload. The result of all of that (besides a lot of exercise ahead for 2014) is an end to my search for Charlotte's best cupcake. Actually, I got more than I bargained for. 9 different cupcake shops had cupcakes that I gave over 4-and-a-half cupcake star ratings to. Cupcake Delerium’s Aunt Jemima cupcake (complete with bacon on top) was incredible! Big View Diner’s amazingly delicious chocolate cupcake is any chocolate lover’s dream come true. Cupcrazed has a lot of amazing cupcakes, but I enjoyed the maple bacon quite a bit. Maddy’s Fatty’s cannoli cupcake brings a bit of New York City into the Queen City. And then there’s The Polka Dot Bake Shop’s red velvet cupcake (pictured on the right), the cupcake that got my 2013 cupcake obsession going. Of all the cupcakes I sampled, I think Granny Mac's...

Last year I made a list of 10 TV shows and movies that aren't on DVD -- even though they should be. The Nanny (seasons 4-7), Batman , Spellbinder , Ready or Not , Maid To Order , Susie Q , The Elf Who Saved Christmas , Ocean Girl , The Secret World of Alex Mac , The Wonder Years and The Torkelsons / Almost Home were on that list. One year later and none of them are available on DVD yet. What's wrong with the higher ups? Whoever has the rights to those shows should be working their connections, making phone calls and signing deals to get those awesome movies and shows out there, available for purchase at Wal-Mart, Target and other major retailers. If not Wal-Mart and Target, at least on Amazon -- please! Here's a list of 10 more gems that really ought to be released as well: 10. The Parent Trap III and IV The original Parent Trap is still one of my favorite movies of all time. It's amazing -- from the writing to the acting to the camera shots. It's...