Read Katie McCarthy's take on entertainment and pop culture
There's a pretty good selection of movies coming out this week, so check out the trailers and pick one or two to see during this possibly rainy weekend. Check out the newly revamped Carmike Cinemas website for show times, locations and ticket prices. Happy Friday! Today's bonus video is the newest trailer for "The Hunger Games." I'm currently on the second book of the series and it's pretty good. Just don't read too many of the YouTube comments ... they're a little annoying. ...
More...One of my New Year's Resolutions that printed in last month's her magazine was to make my own clothing. I've picked up a few patterns from Colette Patterns that are cute and seem pretty simple, but that's about as far as I've gone. (In fairness, I've made attempts at two other resolutions already — I skated with the local roller derby league, but didn't form the passion required for the sport though those ladies ROCK! And I've got one signature dish — appetizer — in the ...
More...Pop culture references often pop up in tattoos. But most people think to cartoons, comic books, music and movies inspiring said ink. But what about books? I surprised myself with my lack of thought on this subject. I'm a fairly avid reader and the amount of time spent with any single book almost necessarily creates a strong connection. So I really enjoyed reading through this Publisher's Weekly blog post on The 5 Books That Inspire the Most Tattoos . It's a pretty interesting list (and it...
More...Another week with a slew of offerings! Columbus is picking up some pretty big titles, which is great for those of us who are trying to watch all the films nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. (I've got two under my belt...) For show times, locations and ticket prices, check out the Carmike Cinemas website .
More...The hilarious Sh*t Girls Say videos have spawned what seems like a never-ending array of spin-offs. Sh*t White Girls Say to Black Girls, Sh*t Brides to Be Say, Sh*t Girls Say to Gay Guys, Sh*t People Say in (fill in geographical location), etc. None that I've seen have come close to being as funny as the original. But I love me some Liz Lemon. In fact, I even stayed up past my bedtime last night to watch a second helping of "30 Rock." Seriously, there's not much better than back-to-back "P...
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"Mad Men" fever has ramped up to especially high degrees over the past few months, thanks in part to a fantastically dramatic and emotional fourth season finale and a year-and-a-half-long hiatus before the fifth season premieres on March 25. There have been plenty of products inspired by the show, but nothing quite like this: Hamm-O-Gram . From the website: " A Hamm-O-Gram is like a classic telegram, where you send a special someone a transcribed message, usually in letter form. It's just ...
More...With the advent of the Internet, it almost isn't necessary to be able to locate local vintage stores. But there's greater satisfaction in shopping in person — searching through racks of clothing, picking through bins of knick knacks — there's something about the smell of old stuff and feeling like you need to wash your hands immediately after sifting through it all that completes the experience. Especially when it comes to vintage items, when condition can be an issue, and super e...
More...Whew! There are quite a few new offerings at local Carmike Cinemas heading into the weekend, including Golden Globe winners "The Iron Lady" and "The Artist." Find movie times and locations at the Carmike Cinemas website and check out the trailers below:
More...In the interest of full disclosure, I have a few things to admit before I begin sharing my thoughts on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA): 1) I am not as fully informed as I could be (but I read this informative Washington Post article ), so please, if I get something wrong, let me know (kindly!) in the comments and I'll reevaluate, and 2) I am not innocent of pirating. I don't believe in censorship, I never have. I remember a shirt my dad u...
More...Like most others who have been suffering from "Mad Men" withdrawal over the past year and a half, March 25 — which is when the two-hour fifth-season premiere will air on AMC — can't come soon enough. I'm already involved in at least one story of my own pertaining to the premiere, but Newsweek seems to be one-upping us all with an entire issue devoted to the 1960s . The retro-themed issue will hit newsstands March 19. An excerpt from Business Insider : Robert Gregory, the presi...
More...Scholastic Books will donate one book to Reach Out and Read, a program that provides books to kids, for every person who creates a Bookprint on their site, You Are What You Read . A Bookprint consists of five books that made an impression on your life. It's a difficult task to narrow it down to five ( here's my list , which is missing one that wasn't on Scholastic's site. I've informed them of the omission and they're looking into it. For inquiring minds, it's "Halls of Fame" by John D'Aga...
More...Happy Friday the 13th, folks! Unfortunately there are NO horror films opening this weekend, but we've got a couple new selections that look pretty good. Of this week's selection, I'd probably go see "Contraband" because Marky Mark is hot. And the "Beauty and the Beast" trailer just makes me want to watch the Blu-Ray I got for my 28th birthday (I got the original VHS release on my 9th birthday. Sweet nostalgia, huh?). Go to Carmike Cinemas' website for ticket prices, show times and locat...
More...When I was in junior college I remember picking up Norah Jones' "Come Away with Me" after a friend recommended it by saying, "It's something I can imagine my adult self listening to with a glass of wine after coming home from work." How sophisticated-sounding! I was sold. And not the least bit deterred when my boyfriend at the time, who wore only black and preferred music made by insane clowns, sneered at the CD in my car. It was slightly out of character for me at the time — Mudvayne...
More...Well, it looks like after the havoc the holiday season wreaked on the movie release schedule we're at least sort of back to normal. This week's singular new release is "The Devil Inside" and, as with many horror films, did not screen for critics in advance. But it looks pretty creepy. The Ritz 13's screening room also has a new offering, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," which according to reviews is a thinking man's espionage flick. It's got Gary Oldman, however, and that's enough of a draw for ...
More...Well, folks, we're embarking on another year and that means resolving either to start doing good things or to stop doing bad things. I don't know why the changing of the calendar makes us feel so determined to change our lives, but it does. Accept it. I'm pretty sure I do this throughout the year, too. I always feel like there's something I should be doing or learning or stop doing. Constantly changing, I am. Among all the other ways I'd like to improve myself this year, I have a few pop-cu...
More...I meant to post this yesterday after I watched it for the first time, but time got away from me. So here it is, the recently-released trailer for "The Hobbit": I love "The Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy, but could never make it through the books — I've never been much of a fantasy reader and the scene in the above trailer where Gandalf introduces the other characters to Bilbo is a perfect example of why I barely made it 100 pages into the first book. But this movie looks fantast...
More...Yesterday was a pretty big day for me — my lovely cupcakes were featured on the Ledger-Enquirer's Facebook page (for the daily trivia question, no less) and while no readers guessed that I was the mystery baker (really?!?), that blow was made sustainable by the fact that I won the Ledger's holiday baking contest. I have to admit, the cupcakes were fantastic, but all I did was follow the recipe (which was in this month's Southern Living magazine — go pick it up!). The real priz...
More...The number one thing I love about the internet: you can click click click and somehow stumble across wonderful stories and information you'd never have found otherwise. All this interconnectedness — I suppose that's the whole purpose of the inter net, isn't it? Anyway, today my clicking and stumbling led me to this article about Georgia Pellegrini's book "Girl Hunter." She's a pretty impressive lady who gave up a lucrative career in finance to go to culinary school and ultimately opt...
More...For our first Christmas together, my now-husband got me a Zen of Zombie book and a Zombie Survival Guide page-a-day calendar. Romantic, huh? That was about four years ago and zombie stuff was pretty hard to find. That's just not so any more. This list of zombie gifts caught my attention for one particular reason: Gorgeous & Gory 2012 Zombie Pinup Calendar . I'm not sure there is a single thing more awesome (though that $25 price tag is a bit steep for a calendar...). This Zombie Pinu...
More...It's not a very good week for movie premieres here in good ol' Columbus, but there are plenty of other more festive things to do anyway. But check out the trailers below and, as always, the Carmike Cinemas website has all the ticket prices and movie times.
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