Pop Culture Odds and Ends – On the DL Edition

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We’re now on day 4 of my stint on the disabled list due to a sprained ankle and I’m really pretty much over this injury. I am a pretty terrible patient and if I wasn’t trying to get myself healed up for my big weekend plans I probably wouldn’t be taking it as easy as I currently am. Of course, my idea of “taking it easy” is actually following instructions and even going so far as to take a sick day from work to rest up, but there seems to be progress in my recovery. I even let my mom bring me some groceries yesterday, which was a pretty big concession since I really don’t like having to ask for help. I’m also feeling well enough to overanalyze who has and has not been quick to check in on me and how I’m doing; that’s a good sign – that means I’m not in as much pain if I can read way too much into things.

But even a sprained ankle couldn’t keep me from getting you the pop culture roundup. Since I’ve had a lot of downtime, I was able to spend most of my recovery time searching high and low on the internet for stories that you might have missed in the last seven days. So while I remember to keep my leg elevated and iced throughout the day, enjoy the fruits of my labors with this week’s roundup.

• OMG you guys….HBO says that they are in early talks for a Deadwood movie!!!!

• More good news – NBC has extended Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show contract for six more years.

• Even MORE good news – Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie are writing a Flight of the Conchords movie.

• Sesame Street is headed to HBO – but read about the deal before you freak out.

• Stephen Colbert penned a feminist – and funny – op-ed for Glamour.

• James Earl Jones will voice Mufasa in a new Lion King series. Rob Lowe and Gabrielle Union are also involved.

• Zach Galifianakis will play the Joker in LEGO Batman.

• Jon Stewart’s first post-Daily Show gig is hosting SummerSlam for the WWE.

• Stephen Colbert appeared on Howard Stern this week.

• Anne Hathaway is headed to TV.

• Evangeline Lilly increases speculation by revealing that she was fitted for The Wasp’s supersuit.

• Amy Schumer may team with 50/50 director Jonathan Levine for her next comedy.

• Rihanna will be joining The Voice as a key advisor.

• Tracy Morgan will return to host SNL on October 17^th. Miley Cyrus (Oct. 3) and Amy Schumer (Oct. 10) will also host.

• Benicio Del Toro confirms that he’s in consideration to play a villain in Star Wars: Episode VII.

• George R.R. Martin says that Game of Thrones will have a “bittersweet” ending, which I guess means figuring out what Martin’s idea of bittersweet is.

• Someone has assembled all the ways that Kenny was killed on South Park.

• Jimmy Fallon and Taraji P. Henson play “Fast Family Feud”:

 

• A Kurt Cobain solo album will drop in November.

• Common and Ne-Yo will also appear in NBC’s The Wiz Live!

• NBC is developing an Office-style workplace comedy set in the DC Comics universe.

• @midnight will air at 11 pm for two weeks in September. Adjust DVRs accordingly.

• CBS has landed the pilot for the Training Day TV series.

• IFC has renewed Documentary Now! before it has even debuted.

• Everyone seems to be getting along in late night, so of course Jay Leno has to come along and say Jimmy Kimmel has a mean streak.

• Cary Fukunaga explains why he left the It remake.

• NBC has comedies in the works from Tina Fey and Mike Schur, which they will then promptly ignore.

Time for some trailers……

• Bradley Cooper in Burnt:

 

• Matt Damon in The Martian:

 

• The first teaser for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah:

 

• Robert Pattison as James Dean in Life:

 

• Bryan Cranston in Trumbo:

 

• Doctor Who: Series 9:

 

• New promos for The Muppets:

 

 

• Manhattan season two:

 

• Sundance hit The Witch reveals its first trailer:

 

• The Flash, season 2:

 

• ABC’s Wicked City:

 

• Daniel Radcliffe in Victor Frankenstein:

 

• Netflix’s Narcos:

 

• Reese Witherspoon to produce and star in a supernatural thriller.

• London is having a Friends festival.

• Ellen is getting a new theme song courtesy of Pink.

• Dave Franco will return for Neighbors 2.

• Two librarians created the fictional dishes from the Harry Potter series.

• An early work of J.R.R. Tolkien will be published.

• A new animated short, Riley’s First Date, will accompany the October release on Inside Out on DVD and Blu-ray.

• This woman has turned her kitchen into a spot on recreation of The Simpsons.

• MTV’s Moonman Statue received a makeover:

• Han Solo will be a young adult in the upcoming spin-off movie.

• NBC insists that a Xena: Warrior Princess reboot is indeed happening.

• The Big Bang Theory is introducing yet another potential roadblock for Leonard and Penny.

• Jack Reacher 2 is likely happening. Colbie Smuthers in talks to co-star.

• Mission: Impossible 6 is also getting fast-tracked.

• Max Landis posted part of his Fantastic Four script.

• Ha-ha – people petitioned the White House to make Kanye West release his new album. Democracy in action.

• Rebecca Ferguson is in talks to star in The Girl on the Train film adaptation.

• David Oyelowo is the new James Bond……in an audiobook.

• Here’s a first look at Chris Hemsworth in the Ghostbusters reboot:

 

IF

• So many people were taking inappropriate photos with the Nicki Minaj figure at Madame Tussauds that it now has its own security guard.

• Maya Rudolph’s NBC variety show will return with a new co-host – Martin Short.

• Patrick Stewart confirms that he’ll be in Wolverine 3.

• The Steven Spielberg-produced Halo series is still happening.

• Here are the winners at the Teen Choice Awards.

• Parker Young is headed to Arrow.

• Downton Abbey fans will like this reunion on Instagram:

https://instagram.com/p/6SMqgwKldx/

 

• Is there a connection between Frozen and Tarzan?

• Meet your new favorite band: a Ned Flanders-themed metal band.

• Stephen Colbert and Kerry Washington will host the Global Citizen Festival.

• Tom Hardy is producing, and may star in, 100 Bullets.

• Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers is now a beekeeper.

• Will Sasso will guest star on Shameless.

• Ariana Grande, Fall Out Boy and Kacey Musgraves will cover Disney hits for a new album.

• CBS is developing a single-cam comedy inspired by Facebook.

• Sounds like there will be a lot of villains appearing on Gotham this season.

• Watch Foo Fighter’s drummer Taylor Hawkins play in his 9^th grade battle of the bands.

• The Foo Fighters invited a fan on stage to sing “Tom Sawyer” and the dude totally killed it.

• Josh Groban sang Donald Trump tweets on Jimmy Kimmel Live!:

 

• A familiar face is interested in making an appearance on Kurt Sutter’s The Bastard Executioner.

• This post charts the numerous permutations of screenwriters who worked on The Flintstones film.

• E! is developing a The Jinx mockumentary starring Brian Dunkleman.

• His former American Idol co-host Ryan Seacrest will host NBC’s late night Olympics coverage.

• Michael Vartan will star in an E! series that sounds a lot like the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes romance.

• Hedwig and the Angry Inch will close on Broadway on September 13^th.

• Wired has mapped out all the time-defying road trips in the second season of True Detective.

• A first look at Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams:

• Bon Iver’s first live set in three years is available to watch online.

• Julia Roberts and Joan Baez are the latest members of Taylor Swift’s squad.

• Here’s a foolproof way to increase the size of your Chipotle burrito size by 86%.

• Comedy Central renewed Another Period for a second season.

• Adult Swim has renewed Rick and Morty for a third season.

• NBC’s next Dolly Parton project will be based on “Jolene.”

• Will Dolly reunite with her 9 to 5 co-stars on Grace and Frankie?

• Brad Pitt’s non-profit built 109 homes in post-Katrina New Orleans.

• The musical Waitress – based on the movie – will hit Broadway next spring.

• Bob Odenkirk has an idea for a series about a minor league baseball team. I’d watch that.

• Time to dust off my resume – NBC is looking for a new host of Celebrity Apprentice.

• Rumors of a Jay Z diss track of Tupac are apparently true.

• Rolling Stone crowns Bob Dylan the greatest songwriter of all time.

• J.K. Simmons and Terry Bradshaw will join the comedy Bastards.

• The Bill Nye movie is now the most funded documentary ever on Kickstarter.

• Amy Schumer, Bill Hader and I all have something in common – Sitting in clogs:

 

 

• Repeats of Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show are returning to TV.

• Aaron Eckhart has joined the cast of the Captain Sully movie.

• All the times NFL players dropped by The League.

• Dolph Lundgren is filming a sequel to Kindergarten Cop.

• Patrick Fischler will play Paget Brewster’s brother on Grandfathered.

• Laurie Holden has quit NBC’s Chicago Med.

• This week in pop culture real estate: Buffalo Bill’s house from Silence of the Lambs is on the market.

• Mike Rowe almost was the original host of The Daily Show.

• Eater looks at “the boozy underbelly of Saturday morning cartoons.”

• Rosario Dawson and Katherine Heigl sign up for Unforgettable.

• The days of free Spotify may be numbered.

• Here’s some facts about Metallica that you might not have known.

• Beyoncé is on the cover of the September issue of Vogue:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine)

 

• Michael Bolton (yup – THAT Michael Bolton) is going to star in a “Three’s Company-style sitcom” pilot for ABC.

• The upcoming off-Broadway Dexter musical will cover all 8 seasons of the show.

• The creator of Rectify – the best show you are not watching – says the drama may end its run sooner rather than later.

• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen reboot will actually focus on women.

• Brit Morgan will play Livewire on Supergirl.

• Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ethan Embry are efforting a Can’t Hardly Wait reunion movie.

• Amy Poehler’s stand-in on Parks and Recreation has written about the experience.

• The chairman of NBC says that if the Coach reboot does well, an ALF reboot might be next.

• Sense8 actor Alfonso Herrera will star in the Urban Cowboy TV series.

• Syfy has announced premiere dates for Childhood’s End and The Expanse.

• Syfy has also cancelled Haven.

•  This is an actual video released by the Philadelphia police department; it might seem familiar:

 

• Radiohead’s Thom Yorke has written some songs for a Broadway play.

• Snoop Dogg’s son Cordell has quit the UCLA football team.

• Congrats to Billy Joel and wife Alexis on the birth of their baby girl.

• A happy belated 70^th birthday to the great Steve Martin.

• Julianne Hough is engaged to NHL player Brooks Laich.

• Morgan Freeman’s step-granddaughter died after a stabbing in NYC.

• Harry Connick Jr.’s oldest daughter got arrested over the weekend.

• Ex-Subway ptichman Jared Fogle is somehow even grosser than originally rumored.

• R.I.P. Yvonne Craig, best known for her role as Batgirl.

• Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green are allegedly the latest celebrity couple to split.

As always, we end with the mashups and supercuts….

• District 9 gets the 8-bit treatment:

 

• What if Werner Herzong directed Ant-Man?:

 

• Bern Your Enthusiasm:

 

• “Seven Nation Army” gets a vintage New Orleans dirge cover:

 

• Another cover –Jane Lynch covers “Anaconda”:

 

• 100 TV theme songs on guitar:

 

• The Hateful Eight vs The Thing:

 

• What if True Detective was a sitcom?

 

• Game of Thrones will the Sesame Street theme song:

 

• And finally, The Muppets cover N.W.A:

 

 

Heather Visits Ben and Jerry’s

My road trippin’ ways continued this past weekend with a visit to Burlington, Vermont. I hadn’t been to Burlington in a long time and the last time I was there I was really only passing through. I’ve been wanting to go back for a while, so when a friend from college and I were trying to come up with a place to meet up for the weekend, Burlington was at the top of my list. The craft beer brewery industry is strong in Vermont and I do love sampling beers, but the main reason that I wanted to go to Burlington was because that put me in close proximity to the Ben and Jerry’s factory. If you know me even a little, you know how much I love ice cream in general, but Ben and Jerry’s ice cream specifically. Blame that on growing up in a city with its own scoop shop or the omnipresence of their pints, but in my lifetime I have consumed a disturbing number of Ben and Jerry’s flavors. I’ve been trying to get someone to go to the factory with me for years, but with no success; it was either too far to drive (it’s over 3 hours from Albany) or people just don’t want to see me happy. So I was beyond thrilled when my friend Michelle, my big sister in my sorority, was game to go, even though she’s been on the factory tour before. She’s a good egg.

We arrived at the factory shortly after 11, which seemed like a perfectly acceptable hour to me to start eating ice cream. We were able to hop on the 11:10 am tour, so our wait time was pretty minimal. Our tour guide was great – very enthusiastic and full of the showmanship and corny jokes that make tours like this entertaining. The first part of the tour was a short video about the history of the company and their corporate philosophy. I knew a lot of this already – I actually used Ben and Jerry’s as an example in my college courses when we discussed models of corporations – but it was still informative and not too long. I didn’t know, for example, that the first national attention that the company got was because the Ben and Jerry’s bus that they were touring the country with caught on fire and burned to the ground. That’s some unexpected publicity.

Next up was a tour of the actual factory, which was not in production because it was the weekend. Still, it was interesting to see the steps that they go through to create a pint of ice cream. There was another video which helped illustrate what each station does in the factory; they had helpfully numbered all the machines so it was easy to follow each stop that the ice cream makes along the way. I don’t know why I was so impressed to see that the machines that fill the ice cream pints twist the package as they are filled to insure equal distribution of the goodies inside – in retrospect that seems like common sense – but that was the fact that stood out to me the most. This portion of the tour was also relatively brief – possibly ten minutes maximum – and then it was on to the best part of the tour: the free sample.

I had secretly been hoping that we would get to try either a new flavor that wasn’t out yet or something that they were testing out, but that was probably not very likely. Instead, we received a health sample of Spectacular Speculoos, which might have been new to most people on the tour who don’t stalk new Ben and Jerry’s flavors like I do. It didn’t make it any less delicious – it’s hard to go wrong with cookie butter in anything – so it was a nice way to end the tour. In the sample room we also discovered that Ben and Jerry’s is trying out two new flavors in Texas: Bar-b-que Peach and Bourbon Pecan Pie. People will get to vote on which flavor they like best and the winner will be a limited batch only available in the Lone Star state. This piqued my interest, as I am a sucker for food that you can only get for a limited time (see also my obsession with all the new Oreo flavors and seasonal M&Ms). I also have friends in Texas who I am overdue to visit, so they may be getting a request to throw a pint in their freezer with the knowledge that I’ll eventually be on my way to claim it (especially if it is Bourbon Pecan Pie is the winner). Now I’m interested in finding out what other limited regional ice creams are out there that I don’t know about. This is a rabbit hole that I probably shouldn’t be going down. Ben and Jerry’s has more tricks up their sleeve than I realized.

The tour was over after the sample room, but since we were still in the mood for ice cream we took advantage of the scoop shop in the front of the building. They seemed to have every flavor currently in production, which of course makes sense, and it was kind of alarming to see how many of them that I had actually tried. It was a lot. I decided to take advantage of the fact that they had all the SNL inspired ice creams which are somewhat harder to find – I don’t think they are available outside of Scoop Shops – and try something that I hadn’t had before. I got one scoop of Wayne’s Swirled (dark caramel and vanilla ice creams with caramel and fudge swirls) and Lazy Sunday (Vanilla cake batter ice cream with chocolate and yellow cupcake pieces & a chocolate frosting swirl). I liked them both, but I REALLY liked Lazy Sunday, which really isn’t a good thing for me since the last thing that I need is another Ben and Jerry’s ice cream that I like. I’ll have to seek this one out again before they retire it from Scoop Shops.

The final stop at the factory wasn’t part of the tour, but was only a short walk away – a visit to the flavor graveyard. This is where they pay homage to some of the Ben and Jerry’s flavors that have been retired. It’s not an inclusive list – not every retired flavor has a tombstone – but it was an interesting sample of some of the flavors that they have tried that didn’t quite catch on with the public. Someone was apparently particularly bummed out about the retirement of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt since that was the only “grave” that had flowers placed on it. That made us laugh.

There were some flavors that I was bummed out that I never had the chance to try; I’m guessing that I would have really liked Crème Brûlée, Aloha Macadamia or Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough.

 

 

Others I’m less surprised didn’t survive. Tennessee Mud and Peanuts! Popcorn! are creative but too specialized for mass consumption, and I say this as someone who likes the salty/sweet combination that the latter flavor would have provided.

 

Some of the flavors in the graveyard have found a new life in a slightly different flavor: Peanut Butter and Jelly is retired, but Peanut Butter Jam Session lives on. There were some other flavors that I could see poised for a reincarnation in the near future: Fossil Fuel would make sense to bring back in some capacity now since Jurassic World is about to be released.

All in all, it was a fun day at the Ben and Jerry’s factory and I’m glad that I can cross it off my long list of things that I want to do. It might not have been the life changing experience that I had built it up to be, but any day that involves ice cream is aces in my book. Worth making the pilgrimage just to say that I did it and I got to try some new ice cream to boot. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning.

The Ben and Jerry’s Factory is in located in Waterbury, Vermont.

Heather Visits Wahlburgers

Mark and Donnie Wahlberg have managed to make a name for themselves both in the music and acting business – Donnie most recently with his work on CBS’s Blue Bloods and his ongoing participation in New Kids on the Block while Mark is of course a movie star (Boogie Nights, Shooter, Ted, The Oher Guys) and producer (Entourage, Boardwalk Empire) whose humble beginnings started in Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. The siblings have decided to further expand their empire by going into the restaurant business with their brother Paul for the burger joint Wahlburgers. The restaurant is also a subject of an A&E reality show by the same name. I watched a few episodes of the show out of curiosity and while reality TV really isn’t for me, it was mildly amusing. By reality show standards it’s pretty tame and it feels pretty staged, but the interaction between the brothers, their other siblings and their mother Alma is generally relatable and fun. It’s mindless entertainment, but it’s still entertainment. I don’t watch the show regularly, but if I happen to come across it while surfing the channels, I’ll stop and watch a few minutes before moving on to greener pastures. Both Mark and Donnie are consistently featured on the show – the latter more than the former – which was a little surprising, as I figured their presence would taper off over time. You’d think that neither of them would have a lot of time or interest in a reality show on A&E, but family loyalty (and brand recognition) runs deep with this crew.

My friend Staci have been discussing for a while making the road trip to visit Wahlburgers; while the restaurant has plans for a rapid expansion into various new locations, currently the only spot that is open (according to their website) is in Hingham, MA (the family hails from Dorchester). It seemed like a win-win for us: we’d get to spend some time together while Staci would get a little NKOTB fix and I’d get to try a new burger. I could pretty much live on burgers if that was permissible without ever getting sick of them, so the opportunity to have a burger with a side of some pop culture made the three hour drive to the restaurant seem like an excellent way to spend a day. We hit the road at 8 am on Saturday to get to Wahlburgers shortly after it opened for lunch; we had bundled a visit to a spa in Boston in as part of the road trip as well, so we weren’t just driving six hours roundtrip to go to a casual dining establishment (though I have done dumber things).

Wahlburgers is located in a small plaza that is the home to many other restaurants, a movie theater, a brewpub and some retail stores. It was a little cooler and more overcast than we would have liked, but I’m guessing on a warm Friday or Saturday night the plaza would have been really hoping. It would be a nice one-stop shop for dinner and a movie and the plaza is located near a dock filled with either large boats or small yachts (I am not a nautical person). It was overall a pretty location and while it’s hard to make a plaza feel very exciting, it wouldn’t be a bad place to spend some time.

Wahlburgers is located directly across from the family’s other restaurant, Alma Nove. We arrived shortly after 11 am, when they opened, and it was already fairly crowded. The restaurant was slightly bigger than I anticipated; one side was for “quick service” where customers order at the counter and pick the food up and the other side had wait staff that took care of individual tables. There is also outside seating with a fireplace. We opted for the full Wahlburgers experience and the hostess directed us to a high top to await our server. We were over by the bar and there were plenty of TVs to watch, though that early on a Saturday, there wasn’t much on other than soccer (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Since I wasn’t driving, I decided to go all out and have one of the restaurant’s adult frappes. I opted for the Fluffanuttah: vanilla ice cream, peanut butter, marshmallow vodka and crème de banana. It was a little pricey at $12, but since it’s not like I can go to Wahlburgers all the time I decided to go for it. I’m always a little wary of the dairy and alcohol combo – I still have PTSD from one too many Girl Scout cookie cocktails at a sorority formal in college – but the Fluffanuttah was pretty darn tasty. My only complaint was that there was a little bit of an alcohol after taste, so while the drink went down pretty smoothly, I was quickly reminded that this was not a frappe for kids. It was pretty filling as well, so one was more than enough, though I would have liked to try the s’more frappe as well.

Though Wahlburgers is primarily a burger joint, the small menu does offer patrons plenty of options. In addition to the generic house burger, there are four specialty burgers on the menu as well as a burger of the month that rotates. The menu also has several sandwich and salads choices as well as vegetarian and gluten-free options. So while the menu isn’t extensive, they manage to offer meals that would appeal to most people. The burgers don’t come with any sides, but those can be added a la carte. It dawned on me during the ride to Wahlburgers that in the 20+ years that we’ve been friends, I wasn’t even sure that I’d ever seen Staci eat a burger. So it would have been kind of hysterical if we drove all the way to Hingham and she ordered a salad. It turns out that she doesn’t have a beef with burgers (ha!); Staci ordered the “Originally from Dorchester” burger (1/2 lb burger with homemade tomato jam, bacon, Swiss cheese and sautéed mushrooms) with a side of fires. I opted for “The Melt” burger (1/3 lb burger, served between thick-cut bread and grilled with government cheese, pickles caramelized onions, bacon and mustard sauce) with a side of sweet potato tots. Because reading comprehension is not always my strong suit, I completely skipped over the part of my burger’s description that discussed the bread, so I was super confused when my burger came out. It’s amazing that I did as well on the SATs as I did.

The Melt and Sweet Potato Tots

Fries and the OFD Burger

My main concern about Wahlburgers was that we would have driven all that way for a sub-par burger, which would have been a real drag. Thankfully, that was not the case; while my burger wasn’t the best that I’ve ever had (I love you In-N-Out), it wasn’t too shabby either. As confused as I was about the bread, it definitely added something to the burger; it was like having a burger inside a grilled cheese, which is not a bad thing in my book. My whole burger was tasty, but the pickles particularly stood out. They were just the right level of crispy and tangy. I’m a big fan of tater tots and my tots were also very good; I like my tots on the crispy side (rather than mushy) and these fit the bill. Staci enjoyed her meal as well, so it the trip was overall a success. We didn’t have any actual Wahlberg sightings, which I wasn’t really expecting anyway. Our timing probably didn’t help, since we were there so early; I’m guessing out likelihood of seeing at least Paul or Alma would have been better in the late afternoon or evening. Staci and I have both already met Donnie and it’s probably for the best that we didn’t run into Mark since I would have had to ask him for my money back for his movie Pain & Gain. Man, I really hated that movie. The staff that we did interact with were all nice and helpful; before we left we stopped by the counter to pick up some souvenirs – a Wahlburgers t-shirt for Staci and a Wahlburgers pint glass for me (because – of course).

All in all, it was a nice way to spend a Saturday, other than our close proximity to Fenway Park when we went into Boston for our spa visit on Newbury Street. I don’t know that I’d ever feel obligated to make a special trip to Wahlburgers again, but if I happened to be in the vicinity of the restaurant locations I would definitely stop in again. I wouldn’t put the Wahlburgers burger ahead of In-N-Out or Five Guys, but it’s way better than a lot of burgers that I’ve consumed in my travels. Good company and good food is not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

The full Wahlburgers menu is available at http://www.wahlburgersrestaurant.com. The Wahlburgers reality show has wrapped its third season on A&E.