Erin McCracken: October 2009 Archives

Five must-do ideas to help you make the most of your weekend.

Convinced your house is haunted? Call your local paranormal investigators. (Locals share their ghost stories to the right.)

Check out the Greater York Antiques Show at the Expo Center.

Get thrills and chills with sweet music and a Snowboard Rail Jam at Field of Screams in Mountville.

Have kids on a sugar high? Take them to Codorus State Park or have them hunt for witch hats.

For more All Hallow's Eve events, view our Halloween Happenings. Happy haunting!

The FlipSide ladies visit The Great Pumpkin in West Manchester Township. Find out what else is going on this Halloween weekend from this week's episode of The Scoop.

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Finally. A decent sports movie with a political/historical twist. Being a lover of all things film, I was surprised and delighted when I saw this "Invictus" promo air during game one of the World Series. I hadn't heard anything about this movie, but I already see some gold, shiny statues in it's future.
(It hits theaters Dec. 11.)

Clint Eastwood directs the underdog story (score!) about Nelson Mandela's attempt to unite South Africa behind the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. Morgan Freeman plays Mandela and Matt Damon stars as Springboks captain Francois Pienaar. The film is based on John Carlin's book "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation." The title is from a William Ernest Henley poem. ("Invictus" = "Unconquered" in Latin.)

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Emmy-winning makeup effects artist Chris Burgoyne will demonstrate and discuss his work at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 in the Room 218 of the Humanities Center at York College, 441 Country Club Road in Spring Garden Township. The free presentation is part of the Humanities Film Series at York College.

Burgoyne uses prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to bring characters to life in movies and TV shows including "The Omen," "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," Love in the Time of Cholera," "Last Holiday," "CSI" and "ER." He won the 2008 Emmy for his work on "John Adams." (Photo: YDR File)

First place: Richard Maxwell, 56, of East Hopewell Township

Second place: Richard Mak, 33, of Hallam

Third place: Jack Hippensteel, 59, of Penn Township

Honorable mentions: Garry Smith, 58, Springettsbury Township and Emily Springer, 11, or Mount Wolf.
Visit our gallery to view all entries.

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Many teenage bands start the same way.

But plans and dreams change.

Don't know where to haunt this All Hallow's Eve? FlipSide's got ya covered.
Our Halloween Happenings page is filled with a scary amount of news, videos and events. Get tips from our Twitter feed, and click on LetsEatPA.com for spooktacular recipes.

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Five weekend highlights. (Thank goodness for selective memory.)
Watched "Key Largo" Friday. (The movie's plot, which involved a hurricane, went well with the dismal weather that night.)

Made a stop at Central Market House for fresh apple cider. (I'm slowly admitting that it's fall.)

Saw Penn State beat Michigan at Ann Arbor for the first time this decade. (Any given Saturday.)

Rocked out at The Depot with four killer acts. (You have not lived until you've seen Tunnel of Love live.)

Attended the York Halloween Parade. (Kids + pets in costume = cuteness overload.) (Photo: York Halloween Parade; YDR File)

MovieHatch.com, the online venue that gives people a voice in Hollywood, has opened the voting for its inaugural MovieHatch Makin' Movies Feature Film Competition.

Filmmakers entered video synopses and more than 100 have been selected on the site. Film buff can watch clips and cast votes through Nov. 15. The top 10 film ideas will be pitched to industry professionals. One or several scripts could be chosen for development.

Shane Free of York was selected as a semi-finalists for his thriller "Gabriel's Curse," which he wrote with his father. Watch the video. Free's paranormal documentary "Investigating the Afterlife," which was shot in Gettysburg, was screened in April at the 2009 Bare Bones Film Festival. (Photo: Submitted)

Five links to start your day off right: Part of complete, balanced breakfast.

Five must-do ideas to help you make the most of your weekend.
Watch local football games live at Gametimepa.com.

Head to the Class of '60 Somethin' Dance at the York Expo Center.

Hear a dozen bands at the MyRuralRadio.com Fall Music Festival at Naylor Winery.

Grab a slice at Roma's Pizza & Itailian Restaurant in Dallastown.

Get spooked Sunday at the 60th Annual York Halloween Parade. (Photo: YDR File)

Five links to start the day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Lzzy Hale of the Red Lion rock group Halestorm graces the cover of Revolver Magazine this month with Landmine Marathon's Grace Perry. Mizz Lzzy (left) is one of the Hottest Chicks in Metal, a list that spanned three decades of headbangin' females.

Check out video and photos of Lzzy and her brother Arejay and bandmates Josh Smith and Joe Hottinger rocking out at the York Fair last month.

Paradise Movement news:
John Rushie, aka Jonny Free, said the York hip-hop trio signed a three-year management deal with Son of Issachar Talent Management Firm, which works with artists in Europe. Former York Christian artist Knagui Giddins runs the firm and knew Paradise Movement member Ralph Real. (William Thoummarath, aka DJ Pherensik, is the third group member.) Read more on the jump.

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

The FlipSide ladies scare up some fun with with the skeletons and monsters at Halloween Park in Strinestown. Can they make it out of the haunted mill without screaming?

The 14th Annual Millennium Music Conference and Showcase will be held Feb. 18 to 21 at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel and Convention Center in Camp Hill. The conference will feature three days of music business keynote speakers, panels, clinics, workshops, mentoring, networking and trade shows. Discount conference registration is $55 through the end of 2009.

More than 250 selected acts will perform at 28 Harrisburg area bars, restaurants and live performance venues during the event. All night showcase performances are open to the public. Original music acts can apply to perform by submitting electronic press kits (epks) through sonicbids.com, using their MySpace and Facebook sites or in the mail. Application fee is $20. Deadline is Dec. 8.

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Five weekend highlights. (Thank goodness for selective memory.)
I'm going to forget about what happened weather-wise. (At least I wasn't at Penn State. See video to the right.)

Carved a pumpkin. (Today is the last chance to upload your pumpkin photos to win prizes.)

Had my first pumpkin spice latte. (It made me miss Sparky & Clark's on West Market Street.)

Watched the Phillies loose and win online since my cable box is busted. (Mixed signals.)

Ate Sunday Brunch at Mitchy's in McSherrystown. (The home fries were worth the drive.)

Director Spike Jonze is on top of the world with his adaptation of "Where the Wild Things Are." So what the h-e-double hockey sticks was he thinking releasing his Kanye West collaboration "We Were Once a Fairytale" now?

The 11-minute movie seems to be about West wandering through a club, getting wasted and having creepy nightmares. (We think it might confirm our theory that West will land in rehab soon.)

Could this movie have predicted West's untimely outburst at the MTV VMAs? (Check out the movie minus the first two minutes above. Viewer discretion is advised. Obvi.)

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Five must-do ideas to help you make the most of your weekend.
Def Leppard cancelled their upcoming tour dates including a Giant Center gig today. Bummer. But don't worry. There are many rockin' events this weekend.

Read about a "Six Feet Under" exhibit coming to Spring Grove. (Get a preview to the left.)

Head to the Oyster Fest Sunday at the Agricultural & Industrial Museum in York.

Fill up at the fest, then head down the road to see "Food, Inc." at the Capitol Theatre.

Sick of being single? Sign up for a local Dating Detox class.

Where are the wild things? In the YDR, of course. (Photo: HBO and David Meanix)

Dear Nicholas Sparks: You, unlike any other male on the planet, have tapped into the female psyche with your tear-jerking love stories. Despite the nauseatingly sweet plot lines and schmaltz, I can't help borrowing all your books from my mom.

However, the movie adaptations end up being even sappier. (i.e. "A Walk to Remember," "The Notebook.") I'm afraid for your new movie "Dear John." (I haven't read the book yet.) I like Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried. I like war-torn lovers. But this movie looks, well, just call your agent ASAP.

Sincerely, FlipSide

P.S. Can I pick up a hot guy if I drop my purse in an ocean, river, creek, my bathtub?

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Insurance giant GEICO must always feel like somebody's watching them. (Or their commercials.) I never warmed to their whole Australian (or whatever) gecko or the cavemen, but these new ads with the cute/mischevious little money piles are a different story. (See above.) I think I laugh (out loud) every time I watch one, especially the one with the creepy text-messaging money pile. Those eyes...Those bills...That song...It's catchy. (Who doesn't want to be followed by fliff?) Am I too easily amused?

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

There are 18 days until Halloween. It's not yet time to panic, but here are some helpful ideas:

Finve links to start your day off right: Part of complete, balanced breakfast.

Five weekend highlights. (Thank goodness for selective memory.)

Watched "To Have and Have Not." (No actors today can hold a candle to Humphrey Bogart.)

Bought coffee and cream-colored gloves at Central Market House. (Things that don't mix.)

Headed to Bistro 19 and White Rose for drinks. (Cosmopolitans are the perfect compliment for college football.)

Picked pumpkins and bought seasonal treats at local farms. (You've heard of apple butter, but pumpkin butter is better!)

Watched the last baseball game played at the house that Puckett built. (End of an era.)

(Photo: Workers take out Metrodome's home plate after the Yankees swept the Twins Sunday; AP)

Irish music, song and dance extravaganza Riverdance comes to York for five farwell performances: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27 and 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center, 50 N. George St. in York.

Tickets cost $48, $58 or $68. They go on sale Friday to the public. Watch a performance clip above. Talk about fast feet.

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Five must-do ideas to help you make the most of your weekend.
Another week is in the can. Now what?
Read about and watch a video of a 10-year-old rapper from York.

Head to self-explanatory Brews, Brats and Bands event Saturday at Sovereign Bank Stadium.

CapLive welcomes the Punch Brothers and the York Symphony Orchestra kicks off its 77th season with "Power and Passion."

Get a sip of hometown nostalgia with a raspberry milkshake at Craley Drive In in Lower Windsor Township.

Take a bit out of fall with apple events or apple-themed parties.
Check out the scoop for other seasonal suggestions. Ciao for now!

Have you noticed that faint stench? No need for a pit check. That's the smell of pure desperation. And it's making me ill. Legit rockers, including Thom Yorke, Bon Iver, the Killers, Grizzly Bear and Kings of Leon, want nothing more than to add tunes to the "New Moon" soundtrack.

Will rock fall under this campy, vampy teen flick's smell spell? Or will artists raise the musical stakes (yes, the wooden kind used to kill vampires) and strive for other industry achievements? You know, like Grammys. While I climb down from my soapbox and so fans don't skin me alive, here's Death Cab for Cutie's (How the mighty have fallen.) "New Moon" tune "Meet Me on the Equinox." Watch a clip of the full video.

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Hark! A Zac Efron movie that looks good. (Not that "Hairspray" was bad, but "17 Again" was gawdawful.) And when was the last big movie Claire Danes starred in? I'm thinking... But Don't expect this one to be "Citizen Kane."

Expect "Me and Orson Welles" to be worth the $10. And expect Christian McKay, who plays the finicky Welles, to steal the show. The movie is due out Nov. 25. Unless there's more trouble in film paradise.

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Call it the French invasion. A few months ago, So Hot Right Now alums/Parisian rockers Phoenix blew up in the States with their album "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix." Now, their fellow Frenchman Sliimy is crossing over.

His catchy geek-pop tunes are getting noticed. He is up for Best European Act and the MTV European Music Awards. (He kind of looks like Prince, n'est pas?)

Like Lady Gaga, Sliimy has a fabulous, fun fashion sense and is a Perez Hilton protegee. We'll see if he blows up the charts like Lady G. Check out the video for his song "Trust Me." C'est magnifique!

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Be still my "Tell-Tale Heart." This time of year brings out everything Edgar Allan Poe-realted. See creepy creations inspired by the gothic writer in "Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon" at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive in Baltimore.

Cap Poe's 200th anniversary this weekend. The poet/storyteller actually died in October 1849 at age 40, but Baltimore is holding two funerals for him Sunday at Westminster Hall. The Poe House and Museum will host a viewing Wednesday.

See the annual "Poe Evermore" show at Mount Hope Mansion, Route 72 in Cornwall. Poe works are resurrected for the interactive performances, which start Nov. 3.
(Photo: A replica of Edgar Allan Poe in a casket; AP)

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

Five must-do ideas to help you make the most of your weekend.
There are still some tickets left for Emmy award-winning performer Bob Newhart's show tonight at the Strand-Capitol.

Lloyd Dobler Effect performs a free concert tonight at York College.

Regina Spektor performs Saturday night at Dickinson College in Carlisle. Tickets are $15.

Get down with local Irish band Garrahan's Ghost at Oyster Fest in Harrisburg. Read an interview or watch a video.

Check out the 12th annual Women's Show Saturday and Sunday at the York Expo Center. Find out how to get in for free here. Enjoy the first weekend in October. Ciao for now.

FlipSide editor Laura Burkey and entertainment reporter Erin McCracken dish about local events and check out skaters skills at Reid Menzer Memorial Skatepark, the site of this weekend's Shoptoberfest! competition. Hop on board and enjoy the ride!

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.

This season brings a box-office battle of the George Clooney flicks. Let's compare:
Title: "The Men Who Stare at Goats"
Cast: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges
Opens: Nov. 6
Plot: This dark comedy, set in Iraq is about a reporter who meets a special forces agent who reveals the existence of a secret military unit whose goal is to end war as we know it.
Oscar odds: Fair. Director Grant Heslov (co-wrote "Good Night, and Good Luck") brings Jon Ronson's book about George W. Bush's War on Terror to life. The Academy usually leans to the left, but doesn't always go for lighter films.
Title: "Up in the Air"
Opens: Nov. 13
Cast: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride, Melanie Lynskey
Plot: Ryan Bingham is a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened as he meets the woman of his dreams and is just about to reach10 million frequent flyer miles.
Ocsar odds: Good. Oscar-nominee ("Juno") Jason Reitman directs, and it was well-received at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Five links to start your day off right: Part of a complete, balanced breakfast.