November 2008 Archives

We need great stories about what you remember about modern technology.

Here are the details about contributing to our remember series:

What do you remember about the first time you used a new gadget? Over the years, inventors have given us dozens of doodads, including the color TV, microwave, cell phone and computer.

To share your stories, call 771-2008 and follow the instructions.

We had one reader call in and share a great story about the first Walkman he had and how fascinated the stewardess and pilot where with the item when he was on a flight in the 1980s.

Black Friday can be fun

If you're not out shopping all weekend, click here and here for fun ideas. Check in next week for the Weekend Roundup. Ciao for now!

The rest of the clan was out playing football on Thanksgiving when my sister-in-law Hannah and I decided to play a game. We couldn't find playing cards so we decided to open Mad Gab. You would probably recognize the game best by its commercial where the person reads a card (it probably says ima luv mush een). What he is really trying to say is "I'm a Love Machine."

Hannah and I just took turns reading the cards to see who get the most right before the timer ran out. Little did we know how freakin' hilarious this game would turn out to be. I was laughing so hard, I was crying. My cheeks hurt and my stomach ached. It's great because when you know the answer and you can hear the person saying it and they have no idea what they are saying, it's ridiculous.

Caution: This post might cause extreme nausea.
It seems like Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, aka Speidi, of "The Hills" eloped in Mexico. Gross.

It's kind of sad how hungry for publicity this pair is. Isn't it convenient that MTV cameras were at the ceremony instead of their families?

If it weren't for the fake drama they create on "The Hills" would they even be together? If you want to get in a debate about the sanctity of marriage, you can start with these two. (If they're even technically married.)

Are you planning to watch Thanksgiving football? Check out what local fans are doing on Turkey Day here. Keep up with the games here and here.
Have a great Thanksgiving from FlipSide!

FlipSide editor Laura Burkey and entertainment reporter Erin McCracken take a seat at the Penn State York's Pullo Center.

If so, you might want to spend the first Sunday in December in Philly.

Here's why.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet team up again in Sam Mendes' ("American Beauty") latest drama "Revolutionary Road."


Brad Pitt stars as a man who gets younger with time in David Fincher's (Fight Club) "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

Radiohead - Videotape - by Wolfgang Jaiser and Claus Winter

Radiohead unveiled three new videos this week on MySpace Music. Wolfgang Jaiser and Claus Winter directed the video for "Videotape" above as part of the Aniboom animated competition.

"Twilight" hit theaters last weekend and took a $70.5 million bite out of the box office. Local teens were excited to see the big screen adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novels. Some of the ladies at YDR were just as excited and shared their thoughts on the vampire saga.

When I woke up on Friday to a suprise snow storm, I knew my weekend was off to a great start. Trying to navigate the squalls to do Christmas shopping was less than enjoyable. I managed to make it to the 1:50 p.m. Friday showing of "Twilight" in one piece.

The quasi legit 2008 American Music Awards took place Sunday night. (Having people vote online to pick the winners is more democratic, but I usually tend to trust the experts.)

Thanks to tons of tween votes, Chris Brown took home three awards. Kanye West snagged two, but instead of throwing a hissy, he made an uplifting speech.

"We will be the new Beatles, the new (Jimi) Hendrix. I want to be Elvis," he said.

As for the performers, Ne-Yo killed it (as usual), but the New Kids on the Block fell flat. For a complete list of winners, click here.

My favorite holiday movie is "It's a Wonderful Life." What's yours? A few years ago, the features staff wrote about their favorite holiday movies. Here's what I had to say.

"Everybody Loves Raymond" star Brad Garrett performs his stand-up routine at 7:30 p.m. April 17 at the Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center, 50 N. George St. in York.
Tickets go on sale 11 a.m. today for Strand members and 11 a.m. Monday for the general public. They are available at the Strand-Capitol box office, by phone at 846-1111 and online at www.strandcapitol.org

Paris Hilton stops at the Park City Center in Lancaster Nov. 29 to promote her new fragrance Fairy Dust and meet fans.

If you could ask the heiress/reality TV star one question, what would it be?

Here are some off the top of my head:
- What would you wear to the Presidential Inauguration?
- What is the most challenging thing about being BFF with you?
- How did you come up with the concept for you new fragrance?
- What's on your Christmas list this year?

Click here for details. Good luck!

FlipSide editor Laura Burkey and entertainment reporter Erin McCracken get into the holiday spirit at the York County Heritage Trust.

Check out local legend Del McCoury and his band Saturday at the Recher Theatre in Baltimore.

I reported back in July that local musician Mark DeRose was contacted by people from the CBS daytime show "Guiding Light" for permission to use his tunes.
It happened Wednesday. DeRose's song "Only For The Night" played during an episode of the soap.
Watch this video of the band playing "In a Daydream" June 14 at Sovereign Bank Stadium before the Blues Traveler concert. Rock on.

Hugh Jackman, 40, was crowned People's 2008 Sexiest Man Alive. Yawn.
I guess for People, fellows have to be older than 35 to be sexy. (Matthew McConaughey, SMA 2005, 36; George Clooney, SMA 2006, 45; Matt Damon, SMA 2007, 37)

Jackman's latest movie -- the Baz Lurhmann-directed epic "Australia" co-starring Nicole Kidman -- looks either really bad or really good. I can't decide. Check out the trailer.

Peace out cub scouts

Chris Martin's Coldplay expiration date: 2009
Chris Martin's cool rocker dude expiration date: age 33
As sad as I'd be if Coldplay disbanded, I'm down with the whole going out on top thing to avoid ending up like this.

Oh, how I miss the "Heroes" of Season 1!

Last night's episode wasn't the worst, but it was far from the best. The writers can't seem to get away from the cliche story lines and plot lines that don't make sense.

Hope you're wearing earplugs

"Twilight" fever is spreading. The symptoms: Screaming teenage girls. Thousands lined up to catch a glimpse of Rob Pattison, aka Edward Cullen, at the King of Prussia Mall last weekend.

These girls are freaking out, fainting and asking him to bite them. They seem to be unable to seperate the actors from the characters they play. Is this behavior healthy? Only for box offices.

"Twilight" premiered in Los Angeles Monday night. It opens in theaters across the country at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Check out local showings here.

The magical mystery song?

Paul McCartney confirmed that The Fab Four made a 14-minute "Carnival of Light" track in 1967 as an avant-garde experimentation. My guess is that it had something to do with certain controlled substances they might have been taking, too.

Sad but true: my big accomplishment this weekend

I spent Friday night attempting to be domestic. And by that I mean trying not to breakdown while baking an apple pecan cheesecake. The dessert and I survived intact. I didn't even burn it, which is a big accomplishment on my part. Note: Never try to text and operate a mixer at the same time.

This joint hit on Friday. It looks like the next blockbuster comic flick. The soundtrack should be solid, too. ("Take a Bow" by Muse is playing in the background.) "Watchmen" looks pretty dark a la "The Dark Night," which, by the way, is released on DVD Dec. 9.

Are you going to see the new Bond?

Click here and here to find out what else is up this weekend.

Staying in? Find out how to stretch your dollar here. Enter the York Daily Record's twisted Christmas carol competition here. Check back Monday for the Weekend Roundup and find out about a FlipSide contest. Ciao for now!

Kanye West was arrested in England early Friday morning after yet another fracas. He was somehow able to blog five times, though. (Maybe he had them time published?)

He recently apologized for being "wack" and "fronting on" Jared Leto. Now, he should apologize for claiming to be the voice of our generation. I don't really think I want ol' jailbird West speaking for me and my peers. He should heed his own advice and keep his love (for himself) on lockdown.

Film festival darling "Rachel Getting Married" stars Anne Hathaway and TV on the Radio's frontman Tunde Adebimpe.

In the movie adaptation of the award-winning play "Doubt," Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a young priest who goes up against the strict headmistress (Meryl Streep) at a Bronx Catholic school.

Bad (or maybe good?) things happen in threes:
"MADtv" = gone after 14 seasons
"Lipstick Jungle" = dunzo
"My Own Worst Enemy" = kaput
What shows are next?

FlipSide editor Laura Burkey and entertainment reporter Erin McCracken strike up a conversation at Colony Park Lanes. Check it out.

Kings of Leon are blowing up big time. Their September release "Only by the Night" peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200.

I've had their song "Sex on Fire" in my head all week. The song was featured on Monday's episode of "Gossip Girl". I was even considering getting tickets to their Sunday concert with We Are Scientists in Philadelphia, but it sold out. I'll have to settle for the "Fire" video.

"Top Chef" premieres at 10 p.m. Wednesday on Bravo. The show serves up a full-course of rock Nov. 26. The culinary contestants have to cook for Dave Grohl and crew for an episode titled "Foo Fighters' Thanksgiving." I'm hoping for a Turkey Day food fight.

You can trust me

Forbes names it's list of the top 10 influential actors. Factors like charitable causes, political affiliations and movie roles all factor into each actor's influence. It seems audeinces trust Denzel Washington more than any other star. Read the rest of this post to find out how other actors fared.

Kathleen Edwards and John Doe rock an (almost) full house.


Friday night, I wanted to take it easy and keep it classy at the same time. I feel like I accomplished this by wearing my glasses and sipping on some box wine (the Franz) with a friend while we listened to the WXPN live broadcast of The Decemberists concert from the Electric Factory in Philadelphia.

*Warning, this is a pretty long rant on a restaurant experience. This is only told from two people's experiences on a recent Friday night.

Almost a year ago, visited Bogey Macaws at Springwood Golf Course for a Cheap Eats outing. It was out of this world. Read here if you missed it.

It took a while to find time to go, but Nate, my husband, and I decided to go back on Friday. What a mistake. I should have known when I called earlier that morning and asked for the chef that it was bad. They told me Chef Jackie Pestka wasn't there anymore.

Still, we loved it the last time and hoped for a similar experience. We arrived a little before 7 p.m. We were there on a Monday on our last visit, so it was a bit different atmosphere, more of a bar than that of an intimate restaurant. We waited at the hostess podium and there seemed to be a little misunderstanding about where to put us. I guess they got it all figured out and sent us down to a booth near the window. And there we sat for at least (and I am being generous) 15 minutes.

This is when they ruled the world...

The World Music Awards were held in Monaco Sunday. Coldplay was named the world's top-selling act of 2008. You have to hand it to them, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" is one of the best albums in recent memory. They're holding a contest for fans to make videos for their song "Lost." Click here for details and to see entires.

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band performed at Messiah College Friday night. Here's what I thought:

Need ideas for how to spend the weekend? Click here or here.

Kathleen Edwards and Gin Blossoms are both in town this weekend. Check them out. Listen to an interview with the Gin Blossom's opener One Lone Car:

Check back Monday for the Weekend Roundup. Ciao for now!

These based-on-actual-1977-events dramas are expected to get Oscar noms:

Frost/Nixon is directed by Ron Howard. Former President Richard Nixon agrees to sit down with British TV personality David Frost for his first post-Watergate interview.

In Milk , Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be voted into major public office in America.

York County Trend and the City of York are looking for teen bands to perform as part of the "Best of the Bands" showcase on New Year's Eve. Find out how you can enter the competition here.

I was home sick with a fever today, and, while it broke in the late morning, it might have resurfaced tonight when I logged on to the Entertainment Weekly magazine's homepage.

This weekend EW will publish collectors' covers previewing the new "Twilight" film due out Nov. 21. They've got a **hot** Edward (Robert Pattinson) cover sneak peek at their site, plus an Edward/Bella cover sneak peek here, which is the site of the author of the four-book Twilight Saga, Stephenie Meyer.

Oh yeah, there's an article, too. Though fanatics won't learn much -- except that the "Twilight" screenwriter is working on the sequel "New Moon" (of course, the production company, Summit Entertainment, won't greenlight the project until after it sees how well "Twilight" does in theaters).

Name the Obamas' First Puppy

President elect Barack Obama will face many challenges when he enters the White House. One will be house training a new dog. He promised his daughters a new puppy, even if he lost the election.

What kind of puppy do you think the Obama family should adopt? What do you think they should they name it? Share your thoughts here.

Barney, President Bush's Scottish terrier, will be the outgoing White House pet.

This Web site is a sweet way to share music. I made this random five-song playlist in a few minutes. Sign up, make your mix, send it to your friends and rock on.

People searching through a basket of leaves for beer bottles? Red suspenders?
Yup, it's Oktoberfest and it's all in the FlipSide Scoop.

"Jurassic Park" author and "ER" creator Michael Crichton
died Tuesday in Los Angeles after battling cancer.
He was 66.

What is your favorite Crichton book or movie?

British breakout M.I.A. teamed up with Baltimore beatmaster Blaqstarr for this new video. They sample the Tom Waits track "Way Down in the Hole," which you might recognize from the HBO drama "The Wire." Check it out.

It's awesome that so many people voted Tuesday. This guy is pretty awesome, too.

For more national and local election coverage, click here.

Listen to the latest news about the 2008 election from YDR reporters.

After you vote and get your free goodies, click here to read about memorable pop culture presidents. Click here to vote for your favorite fictional politician.

Cowabunga dudes!

Halloween night, I donned a yellow body suit, white boots and a fake Channel 6 news ID and kicked it as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" character April O'Neil at a friend's apartment party.

Even a mid-evening candy overdose and involuntary game of cricket couldn't keep me from getting into the holiday spirit. My April O'Neil costume didn't help me thwart a surprise Chicken of the Sea packet attack. If only Casey Jones had been by my side...

Meet hotel heiress, presidential hopeful and paparazzi darling Paris Hilton from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 29 at the Park City Center in Lancaster.
She will meet and greet fans at the Bon-Ton store and celebrating the launch of her latest fragrance Fairy Dust.
Check out deleted scenes from her latest MTV show "Paris Hilton's My New BFF."
As Hilton would say, "that's hot."

I can't help but feel happy for Britney Spears. She seems to finally have her life back together and I'm a sucker for comeback stories. Her new album "Circus" drops Dec. 2. The cover art was just released. I have to say it's one of her best. You go girl.
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