Erin McCracken: November 2009 Archives

Five must-do ideas to help you make the most of your weekend.
Find out what locals are saying about "New Moon."

Darren "Dirty Deed" Wise wrestles his last match this weekend in York Township. (Fond farewell.)

See The "World Famous" Lipizzaner Stallions Saturday at the York Expo Center. (Read our Dressage dictionary)

Meet York rock act Hello Hawk. (Hint: They like Craigslist and high-fives.)

Get a preview of Thanksgiving Eve events. (Party planning.)

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

The UnCork York Wine Trail is offering a new event called "Wine Just off the Vine."

Ten wineries along the trail will offer behind-the-scenes look at the harvest and how a grape transforms from vine to bottle. Sample Nouveau and fresh-pressed wines during the tour, which is 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 20-22.

Tickets for the tour are $10 and include a wine glass. Participants can use tickets at any participating winery during the event to get 10 percent off wine. Collect stamps along the way to become eligible for exciting UnCork York prizes.

Participating wineries include: Adams County Winery, Allegro Vineyards, Cullari Vineyards, Four Springs Winery, Moon Dancer Vineyard & Winery, Naylor Wine Cellars, Reid's Orchard & Winery, Seven Valleys Vineyard & Winery, Tamanend Winery, West Hanover Winery (Photo: YDR File)

The FlipSide ladies get into the Thanksgiving spirit at the York County Food Bank. Find out about the organization's turkey and food drive and get The Scoop on weekend events.

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

Ya snooze, ya lose. Perez Hilton reported that all 2,150 midnight Friday "New Moon" screenings have sold out. Take a deep breath. It looks like a few movie theaters (Regal 13 at the West Manchester Mall included) added more showings. But tickets probably won't last long. Fans can also catch "Twilight" at 9 p.m. Thursday at Regal 13. Look for FlipSide before the show. We'll be chatting with fans and tweeting. What are your premiere plans? (Photo: AP; Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson pose the UK 'New Moon' release Nov. 11.)

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

We figured that most people didn't watch "Saturday Night Live" last weekend since the Black Eyed Peas performed. (Ugh.) Unfortunately, that means you missed celebrity guest January Jones, aka Betty Draper from "Mad Men." In the segment below, she re-assumes her '60s housewife role for a spot-on parody about how gender and racial stereotyping were part of throwing "the perfect party." (We love the to-do list and punch recipe.)

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

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

Bar-hopped in Harrisburg Thursday. (But Tim Warfield was nowhere to be found.)

Attended an Arlington apartment party. (Somebody spiked the cider. Yum.)

Visited the new Court of Valor memorial. (I also got a Civil War history lesson at Prospect Hill Cemetery.)

Saw the Eagles loose yet again. (I still miss those Phils.)

Consoled myself with the movie "Clue." (Nothing like a little murder/mystery to brighten the mood.)

(Photo: YDR File; U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak speaks Saturday in front of the Court of Valor at Prospect Hill Cemetery.)

Are you ready for some football and local tunes? Take some time away from local team rivalries to watch York group Mark DeRose Band perform during halftime of the Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers game Nov. 29. Kick-off is around 8:20 p.m. on NBC.

The band will play a medley of songs by Chicago with the Baltimore Marching Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The Baltimore Marching Ravens, formerly The Baltimore Colts Marching Band, were recently featured in the ESPN Film "The Band That Wouldn't Die." Mark DeRose Band drummer, Dan Brenner, recorded the vocal group singing the Colts Fight Song for the movie. (Photo: YDR file; Steelers fans heckle a Ravens fan during last year's AFC championship game.)

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.
Meet the Rotten Belly Blues band.

Check out what movies open this weekend.

Laugh off the fact that it's Friday the 13th with three comedy events:

Raymond the Amish Comic cracks up the crowd tonight at North Hopewell-Winterstown Volunteer Fire Company in Felton.

Ted Daniels swaps jokes about his Catholic school days Saturday at York Catholic High School Comedy Night benefit.

Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood from "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" goof off Sunday at the Strand.

Check back Monday for the weekend roundup. Ciao for now.
(Photo: Submitted)

We think of Lady Gaga as the anti-Taylor Swift. (Excuse us while we get a little Kanye up in here.) Instead of penning silly love songs, being perfectly primped or throwing fake fits (copy editor Jess told us about Swift's stupid chair-throwing antics at the CMAs) Gaga takes real risks. She walks the line between freakish and fabulous in ultra-high heels.

Case in point: Her new single "Bad Romance." (We think of it as the anti-silly love song.) The video exploded onto the Web Monday. It's mesmerizing to say the least. We can't wait to hear the rest of Gaga's EP "The Fame Monster," which drops Nov. 23. So what if she'll appear on the scandalous soap "Gossip Girl" Nov. 16? Swift belongs on the Disney Channel.

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

Get your weekly slice of entertainment events with The Scoop. The FlipSide ladies get in line at Parma Pizza & Grill, 1041 Haines Road. Read about their family karaoke nights.

LeAnna Simmons -- a senior at Dover Area Senior High School -- is one of 30 International Finalists in the Third Annual Voice of McDonald's Competition -- an "American Idol"-style challenge.

Simmons and hundreds of other McDonald's employees submitted video online of themselves singing. McDonald's corporate officials surprised her at work Oct. 12 at the McDonald's on Carlisle Road in Dover to tell her that she's one of the few finalists from the U.S.

Her video will be posted on the Voice of McDonald's Web site through Dec. 4. People can vote for 12 finalists. The winner gets $25,000. (Photo: AP)

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

Former York Little Theatre actor Nathan Gumke landed the role of Kevin E. Levin in the upcoming Cartoon Network flick "Ben 10: Alien Swarm." Gumke, who goes by Nathan Keyes in Hollywood said that the movie -- a live action version of the cartoon series "Ben 10 Alien Force" -- features a lot of special effects. It premieres at 7 p.m. Nov. 25 on Cartoon Network. Read an interview with Gumke. Watch a promo below.

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

After four decades of sunny days, "Sesame Street" still makes us all feel young-at-heart. Read what local kids and adults had to say about the series. First lady Michelle Obama appeared on the show's birthday episode Tuesday. She helped characters plant a garden and talked about healthy-eating habits. Watch a video clip below.

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 you weekend.
Monday marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Share your memories.

Step out in style Saturday night at the Strand-Capitol.

Want drama? York Colleges stages "A Raisin in the Sun," York Little Theatre stages "Beauty and the Beast" and Eichelberger Performing Arts Center stages "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown."

Taste Puerto Rican cuisine at Mi Caldero.

Bowl your brains out at a local Junior Achievement fundraiser.

More than a year after pictures surfaced of her bruised face, pop star Rihanna is talking about the confrontation with her then boyfriend Chris Brown. She opened up earlier this week on "Good Morning America" and a full interview airs tonight on "20/20." Watch a clip below. It's a personal and emotional topic, but Rihanna shows her strength to tell others that there's no excuses for domestic abuse. Her message: Don't be ashamed. If you need help, contact ACCESS-York at 846-5400 or www.access-york.org.

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

You'd expect nothing less than an unforgettable comedy from Focus Features and Richard Curtis ("Four Weddings and a Funeral"). Based on actual events, "Pirate Radio" follows seafaring deejays who capture airwaves, defy the government and captivate listeners in 1960s Britain. This looks like the coolest music movie since "Almost Famous." Critics are already raving.

The stellar ensemble cast includes Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Ifans and many other rising stars. The soundtrack has enough clout to be its own character. Expect tunes from The Kinks, The Who, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, etc. The movie rocks into theaters Nov. 13.

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

The FlipSide ladies step into the spotlight on the "A Raisin in the Sun"
set at York College's Perko Playpen Theatre to talk about this weekend's events.

Join a live chat about York County elections at 8 p.m. Watch a video from the polls.

This is Betty Draper from the hit show "Mad Men."

As promised, this is me on Halloween.

See more YDR staff Halloween getups and upload your own. (More photos on the jump.)

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

Five weekend highlights. (Thank goodness for selective memory.)
Had a mini "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" marathon. (Thank you YouTube.)

Tried Thai food from Pho Bistro in York. (Menu added to my take-out collection.)

Haunted the White Rose and a friend's party on Halloween. (Check in Tuesday for promised pics of FlipSide's costume.)

Saw "This Is It," the No. 1 movie. (Those moves. That voice. Miss you M.J.)

Watched the Yanks beat the Phils...again. (I missed "Mad Men" for that?)

OK. I actually kind of dig the "New Moon" soundtrack. (I'm still a little sore about all the selling out involved, but I'll get over it.) However, I've found five tracks that definitely should have made the cut. (I put two Radiohead songs on because Stephenie Meyer is a huge fan. The Vampire Weekend track is more about the band's name.)