Hold your breath, lock up your doves, and brace for a literally explosive film because John Woo is back to making movies.  After a rather long break from major American films, the revered/ridiculed director (depending on your point of view) is hopping back in the producer’s seat.  The film this time will be a remake of the film Youth of the Beast.  If you don’t see a film with that title dropping within the next year, that might be because of its new title, Day of the Beast.

The original, a Japanese picture directed by Seijun Suzuki, revolved around the Japanese mafia.  While Woo will not be in the director’s chair this time out, you best believe that he will have a good amount of sway in making decisions on the film. 

To give a bit of background on the original classic, an outsider gets caught in a turf war between the Japanese mafia and Russian gangsters.  I haven’t seen the original, but it’s been a much-discussed film in the canon of international classics.  There’s ton of lost classics, though, so why this one?  Apparently, the original production company for the film, Nikkatsu (the oldest Japanese movie studio), is hitting its 100 year anniversary.  That sounds like a legitimate gift to itself.

In a statement, the studio said, “Among Nikkatsu’s 6,000+ film library, this is one of our most revered titles. We have a tremendous amount of respect for Mr. Woo and are excited he is directing this film for the international market. We think this is a great way to start off the next 100 years of filmmaking history!”

Obviously, with that exclamation point, the studio is extremely excited about bringing this film into the 21^st century, and I must say they have stoked my interest in the film despite my persistent ridicule of Woo’s films of the past.

Not everyone follows directors because, well, they have lives.  I, on the other hand, link my interest in a film closely with my respect, or lack thereof, of a director.  Woo, though an extremely talented director of action, seems to have always relied on the same tricks as Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer.  The trick at large?  When there isn’t much of a script or you are stuck with an atrocious actor, then just blow up a lot of stuff.  If you need an example of this type of filmmaking, shoot on down to the theatre and check out Battleship.

No release date has been set for Day of the Beast.

Mr. Aaron Sorkin has been pretty busy lately. Last week, he gave a beautiful, inspirational commencement speech at Syracuse, his alma mater, where he earned a degree in musical theater, and yesterday he announced that he will indeed be taking on the huge responsibility of penning the Steve Jobs biopic for Sony Pictures.

Just to be clear, this is not the same project that Ashton Kutcher is attached to. The Two and a Half Men star will be starring as Jobs, in an odd casting choice, for independent film director Joshua Michael Stern (most notable for his unsuccessful Swing Vote) which will be written by Matt Whiteley. With Kutcher’s seemingly thoughtless casting call and no remarkable talent to speak of, this project is headed straight for trouble. Needless to say, from now on you may assume that whenever you hear news concerning the “Steve Jobs film,” it will most likely be about the Sorkin/ Sony production, which will push the Kutcher project way out into the sidelines from this point on.

While Steve Jobs, Sony’s title for the film, hasn’t updated any information regarding casting, directing, or producing as of yet, Sorkin’s massive reputation will surely attract a long list of credible talent to fill in the lines he’ll sketch out on paper.

Being familiar with Sorkin’s previous work, including The Social Network, The West Wing, and A Few Good Men to name a few, it’s no wonder that several years ago when Jobs was in charge of Pixar, he asked the scripting king to write a movie, even though Sorkin turned it down. 

Clearly Jobs recognized pure talent when he came across it, and Sorkin must have at least felt some sort of mutual reciprocation despite turning down the offer, or he wouldn’t be writing the man a film biography now. I can think of no better choice than Sorkin to bear the responsibility of correctly adapting Jobs’ life into cinema.

New York City is never short of phenomenal up-and-coming bands, but indie outfit The Dig is a cut above the rest. Their tour resume boasts opening gigs for bands like The Walkmen, The Antlers, Thrice, and Portugal. The Man. After releasing their acclaimed album Electric Toys in 2010, they are finishing up a tour with Ben Kweller in support of their forthcoming LP, Mightnight Flowers, which will be released on May 29th via Buffalo Jump Records.

Midnight Flowers is a 10-track gem, filled with grimy guitar riffs and spaced-out melodies that echo the vibe of their native city. The album is big and booming with enough power to put them on the main stage next to the indie greats that they’ve opened for in the past. Vocalists David Baldwin and Emile Mosseri bring gentle, yet versatile voices that transforms each addicting melody. It is clear that the band has its roots in folk music — a filled out band, raw-sounding instrumentals — but Baldwin’s voice makes the music feel fresh and current. They take a formulaic genre and transform it with slightly eccentric compositions that remain accessible through a cohesive sound. After years of supporting bands, Baldwin and fellow band members Emile Mosseri, Erick Eiser, and Mark Demiglio are ready to share their music with the world.

The Dig released the album’s first single earlier this month. The track, “Red Rose in the Cold Winter Ground,” premiered on Consequence of Sound. Writer Ben Kaye praised the song saying, “Although seemingly somber on the surface, the track’s jarring bass line and random, punctuating drums make for a dynamic, albeit reserved moment of great rock and roll transcendence.”

This “rock and roll transcendence” continues with the release of their second single, “I Already Forgot Everything You Said.” It is a dreamy track, filled with butterfly-inducing harmonies and Baldwin’s gentle, yet striking voice. Download the new single below or on Soundcloud.

Chicago and New York City residents can catch The Dig live at their record release parties in each city. The band will play at Brooklyn’s hip Grasslands on May 25th and Chicago’s Schubas to celebrate Midnight Flowers. The best part? Each ticket purchase comes with a free download of the album. We can dig it.

If you’re anything like me, your makeup collection is unruly, and more than half of it is hardly used. The worst part is when good makeup is expired, and you haven’t even used it enough. It is important that when you are going through your collection of makeup, you pay attention to how old the products are. I know it’s hard to part with your favorite beauty products, but it is definitely not worth the infection, and when it’s old, it doesn’t work well.

According to Allwomenstalk, the best way to prolong the life of your makeup is to store your products in a dark and cool environment away from sunlight and moisture. Learn the telltale signs of expired makeup by keeping these seven signs that your makeup has expired in mind the next time you’re going through your makeup bag. Think of purging your old makeup like a new start and a great excuse to head out and go shopping for new beauty treats.

Lipstick. The two best ways to tell if your makeup has expired is if it is dry and if it has changed in texture. Lasting typically up to about two years, old lipstick will not go on or look as luscious and creamy on your lips. Another way is to see if  it’s old it is to smell it; if it smells stale, it’s time to can it!

Liquid foundation. Expired foundation is an easy one to spot because of the change in color. You know when you browse the beauty aisles at the drug store, and those bottles of liquid foundation have a strange color? Changes in texture and smell of the formula are both telling signs that the makeup has gone bad. Oil-based foundations last a bit longer (up to 18 months) than water-based foundations which typically last up to one year. Sometimes, your water-based foundation seems to be expired because it starts to become thick and dries up when you apply it. However, if you are sure it is less than a year old, try adding some drops of an alcohol-free toner to get the creamy texture back.

Mascara. According to Allwomenstalk, “The mascara tube is a real shady character because the dark and moist environment is a breeding ground for bacteria that can cause a plethora of infections. Aside from keeping tabs on how long you’ve had your tube, sniff your mascara to see if has any foul smells. Toss anything that smells like gas or just plain off and replace mascara every 3-4 months to be on the safe side; it’s hard to look cute with pink eye.”

Eyeliner. Avoid a trip to the doctor by making sure that any makeup you use on your eyes hasn’t expired. Your eyes are far too precious! Make sure that if you ever see a white spot on your eyeliner that doesn’t come off even when you sharpen or shave it, you throw it away. If your liquid liner is starting to get dry or clumpy, toss it in the trash! Old eye makeup doesn’t work well anyway, so toss any expired eye makeup.

If you love concert poster art from the 1960s and have always wished you could recreate the colorful psychedelic designs, Dutch artist Nicky Assmann’s work may inspire you to take on a new artistic project. Assman used the ingredients of soap bubbles to create her latest piece, “Solace.”

My Modern Met reported that Assmann’s installation is made using an “automated mechanism” that grabs soapy water, stretching it toward the ceiling in which a thin layer of soap film is displayed. Using this method, Assmann is able to project colorful and psychedelic designs.

“The stretch of soap-infused water drizzles spellbinding patterns of color, occasionally bursting from the pull of gravity,” My Modern Met said. “Gravity and light play crucial roles in this piece’s effective appeal. By setting up a light close by, the reflected light projects and dances on the walls of the space like the walls of a shimmering grotto.” 

According to Assmann’s website, the artist’s work was nominated for the StartPoint Prize 2011 as an Honorary Mention as well as the Artificial Light Award on Reflection in 2010. 

She describes her work as a “phenomenological approach,” where she “creates dynamic and temporary spaces in which the sensorial experience takes a central point.”

“Solace” has been featured in a number of exhibitions including the VIA Festival and Exit Festival in France as well as the 5MinuteMuseum (part of the STRP Festival 2011) in the Netherlands. “Solace” will be exhibited at Wood Street Gallieries July 13. 

Check out more photos of Nicky Assmann’s work below.

Photos courtesy of My Modern Met.

They used to be called “Love Hotels” until visitors took it literally, a stigma followed, and “Party Hotels” were born. South Korea is known for it’s zany-themed hotels, and the introduction of party hotels brings more than just “glorified DVD rooms” that look like porn sets.

Love hotels were often picketed as they started to crop up in conservative neighborhoods. Now, love hotels are gone, and party hotels are getting a warmer reception.

Party hotels are going a bit more upscale and loaded with way more amenities and features than love hotels ever had. The new breed of hotels are offering in-suite swimming pools, hot tubs, saunas, karaoke machines, pool tables, and even barbecue grills!

In a society where the city’s youths and adults live with their parents before marriage, there is a great demand for spots to just hang out and an even greater need for places to throw parties.

The best part about party hotels are the “motel” prices. Party like a rock star at indy-pop prices.

The price to party is as little as $10 per hour – nice! What’s not so nice is the fact that they expect you and your party out by 11:30 pm on the weekends.Regardless of the “weekend curfew” limitations, listed below are some of the top party hotels in Seoul and why they should be your party hotel of choice.

Jade Hotel – They pride themselves on cleanliness. Most everything is white to give the feeling of freshness, something not always associated with this class of hotel. If you can, book the popular eighth-floor Royal Suite that features a rectangular jacuzzi that seems to command its own party.

Chezlee Palace – This spot is the most reminiscent to the old “love hotels” and is sometimes described as “camp luxury,” as it’s all about the fantasy themed-rooms: Arabian, Egyptian, Pirate. And all rooms come with personal computers, free Internet, and best of all – free drinks!

Seoul Mate Hotel – This was voted Korea’s best boutique hotel. It is known for concentrating on little details that make guests feel extra-specially welcomed and is the spot for cool tea rituals.

Hotel Nox – One of the more popular spots is the Nox. This hotel offers excellent facilities and services, acting more like a 5-star establishment than the 3.5 that it is. Guests partying here get star treatment, while still paying party “motel” prices.

Party on people!

Moombahton has been the quiet fire burning into the EDM scene, and if you haven’t heard it or have to ask “MoombahWHAT?”, then maybe it’s time you left your house for a change… Stripped down, moombahton is essentially Dutch House at the tempo of reggaeton (108-110 BPM), with reggaeton-influenced drum and percussion elements.  Upon it’s inception in 2010, the dance scene immediately took to the infectious beat with several hard-hitting moombahton remixes and original tracks being the forefront of everybody’s summer memories.  While moombahton may be considered relatively new genre, the people producing moombahton are in no way new to the game.  One heavy-hitter, whom I absolutely adore, ETC!ETC! is about to fly HARD onto the scene with his newest EP out May 15th on AC Slater’s Party Like Us Records.  ETC!ETC! rocked my face off last summer with his “Indian Flute 2011″ track (soundcloud link below!) and has continued to gain support from producers like Diplo, Dillon Francis, Bro Safari, Sazon Booya, Congorock, Kissy Sell Out, Nick Thayer… I mean, do I really need to keep listing the incredibly talented producers backing this dude?!  Party Like Us Records was cool enough to allow fans to stream ETC!ETC!’s Killafornia EP before they buy it… So are you ready to listen to some MOOMBAH!?  Better open up the windows cause he’s bringin’ y’all the HEAT.

But wait! There’s more!!  You have GOT to check out this INCREDIBLE remix ETC!ETC! did with Major Lazer…  As you know, I am MEGA PSYCHED for the new Major Lazer album to come out, and  this collaborative remix just gets me even more excited to party hard this summer.  This dance hall-style remix will get even the most shy dancers up and poppin’, I PROMISE.

If you’re new to ETC! ETC!’s “Indian Flute 2011″… If I had a dollar for every time I did my “Crazy white girl dance” when this song dropped last summer… I’d treat all of you to some In N Out. Yeah… THAT MUCH cash. Rollin’ in it, y’all.

It’s not every day a soft cookie diehard becomes a crunchy cookie convert. These textures cater to two distinct palates, drawing a preferential line typically resulting in uncompromisable decision-making. Simply put: you like soft cookies or you like crunchy cookies. In-betweeners on this subject are non-committal and therefore fickle (nobody likes a flip-flopper). This is why Bart and Judy Greenhut’s “Best Chocolate Chip Cookies in The World,” made by their company Bart’s Bakery, indeed, are the best. 

These crispy, quarter-sized “bites of happiness” present a blend of flavor unheralded in store-bought cookies. Notes of Madagascar vanilla swirl with Belgian chocolate chips while real eggs and butter prevent the cardboard processed taste that befalls their mass-produced competitor counterparts. Walnuts and pecans–if preferred–balance out the sweetness with grounded nuttiness, and oxygen-barrier bags ensure freshness for 120 days after purchase. 

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies in The World are not coincidental. Bart and Judy spent 40 years perfecting the recipe, an endeavor Bart embarked on after he discovered the recipe for Wally Amos’ Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies was changed after Wally sold the company to Keebler. 

“As a cookie lover, I felt this was wrong; however, as a businessman, I knew that Keebler’s had every right to do whatever they wanted. I took this as a personal affront and vowed to someday set the record straight,” Bart shares in the company’s story. 

After finally finding the right combination of ingredients and bake time which made the sweet morsels “slightly over-baked, not overly sweet” and deliberately “NOT to everyone’s liking” (though respectful arguments for the last sentiment can be made), Bart and Judy began sharing their cookies with the rest of the quality treat-deprived world. 

To guarantee the cookies are consumed at optimum freshness, every package contains a pamphlet which carefully instructs purchasers on how to eat them (a 10-minute “decanting” period is encouraged to allow oxygen to permeate the bag after the seal has been broken). The instructions also include photos of Bart and Judy, the couple’s delightful witticisms, and information regarding Bart’s Bakery’s story and history. For a time, special boxes included a tantalizing espresso chocolate from the two’s travels. 

The cookies, true to their origin, are not available everywhere. Cookie fiends can order boxes, cases, and even subscriptions here, and the product is stocked in select stores (like Whole Foods in California). 

“Our mission transcends money. Our only purpose is to re-establish a place where untainted ideals, uncompromised quality, & the propagation of happiness reign supreme. Our production is limited, and we can only promise that WE’LL never sell out.”

Embrace your inner crunchy cookie. 

Photos from Cad.cx and Bart’s Bakery Facebook

ESPN hit a home run with sports enthusiasts Tuesday. The network announced plans to bring back its 30 for 30 documentaries, a series of 30 short films capturing 30 sports stories in celebration of ESPN’s 30th anniversary in 2009. The new installment is a result of ESPN’s love for the first series (which it continued unofficially underneath the ESPN Films name) and its desire to share more important narratives in sports history. 

“When we embarked on 30 for 30, we always wondered if there would be 30 good stories,” Connor Schell, vice president and executive producer of ESPN Films, told the New York Times. “Now, I think all of us in this group believe that there is an infinite number of stories.”

The new batch of films, which will begin airing in the fall and continue for two years, boasts a new cast of directors and athletes as well as two new features that differentiate it from the 2009 series. The first is that each film will be supplemented with additional stories and video on Grantland, ESPN’s sports-culture blog, headed up by columnist, podcaster, and author Bill Simmons.  

The second is that a 30 for 30 Short series will run exclusively on Grantland which will depict a series of anecdotes that present the “stories out there that we loved for four to 12 minutes but maybe not for a full hour,” Simmons wrote on Grantland. “Here Now,” the first of these, debuted on the website Tuesday and depicts the story of major league baseball’s lead hitter Pete Rose (now 71), who was kicked out in 1989 for gambling on baseball. “Here Now” is directed by Eric Grath.

“…We felt like there was a creative void sitting there for this specific form of storytelling. As you’ll see with our first short film, you might not want to spend an hour in Pete Rose’s world at this point of his life. But eight minutes? Absolutely,” Simmons wrote on Grantland. 

Schell agrees. 

“The shorts give us a chance to tell stories that might be a little more clever or off the beaten path and let us try things like humor or animation,” he told the NYT. 

What made the original 30 for 30 so unique was the way in which directors chose to portray real sports stories. Art intersected with athleticism and athleticism intersected with the broader dialogue of popular culture, making the stories captivating for the sports fan and non-enthusiast alike. The first installment gathered 1.2 million viewers per documentary with its early showings, the NYT states. 

The second installment is poised to match that and more, with two films that debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival–Benji and Broke–on deck as well as a feature on the 1983 N.C.A.A. Championship winning North Carolina State men’s basketball team and Bo Jackson, who played both football and basketball. 

There’s no striking out with this one.

Photo from Bleacher Report

From your child’s playroom to the streets of Sydney, Australia, LEGO is always challenging the human imagination to produce new and remarkable creations. South Korea decided to celebrate LEGO Corporation’s 80th birthday in a huge way — by erecting a record-setting “skyscraper” created from thousands of those tiny plastic bricks.

It took 4,000 children and five days to construct this 105 ft. high building in Seoul, South Korea. Over 500,000 bricks were used in the making of the tower, which was constructed in front of Seoul’s Olympic Stadium. Danish Crown Prince Frederik laid the topping brick when the structure was revealed on Sunday, appropriately (LEGO was founded in Denmark). The colorful tower drew a large crowd, with 30,000 people present at its unveiling. The new tower beat the previous world record of 103 feet, 8 inches, which was set in France.

The most amazing part of this LEGO tower is that it was created by children. Building with these toys has become an international past time, and the LEGO brick is widely popular in South Korea. For five days, kids as young as toddlers clipped and fused away, creating small elements of this huge construction.

LEGO infuses imagination and creation — which are timeless and will never be over-taken by technology. Since 1958, the LEGO brick has not changed — meaning your parent’s set will work with any set that you buy today at your local Target. As new generations fall in love with these building bricks, LEGO proves the lasting power of their product. The making of this tower is a testament to that lasting power and a wonderful celebration of a child’s endless imagination.

Check out the video below to see the young architects in action: 

[Examiner]

Let’s be honest; Orlando Bloom isn’t known for DeNiro-sized roles in heavy-duty dramas. He’s better for things like shooting a hundred arrows a minute or yielding a seventeenth century sword.

But that doesn’t mean he can’t do heavy-duty drama. In an extremely unexpected move, Bloom decided to take on the role of Dr. Martin Ploeck, in the upcoming film, The Good Doctor.

The good doctor really isn’t all that good it seems; from what we can gain from the trailer, he’s pretty much the exact opposite.

When Martin treats a sick patient in his hospital, he soon realizes that he’s formed a much deeper attachment than what is considered an appropriate doctor-patient one. Once the girl is released with a clean bill of health, Martin is forced into drastic measures to reclaim the girl as a patient once more, even if it means dabbling in a little illegal medicine.

Bloom, while totally out of his comfort zone, doesn’t show it as the nervously twitching, seriously depressed young man supposedly capable of fixing people. Although we don’t really get any completed scenes or any speeches longer than a few lines, Bloom seems like he will be capable in this kind of film at last. 

Starring alongside him is Riley Keough as the attractive patient, who’s best known for playing Marie Currie in 2011’s The Runaways. Other nods must go to Taraji P. Henson and Michael Pena, who make up part of the hospital staff who fail to notice some of the serious warning signs displayed all over Bloom’s character. 

While the idea of being taken advantage of while under heavy anesthesia, plus the mere fact that the sole reason for being put under is so that the doctor can have his way with you, is creepy enough, I have a feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg for awkwardly creepy encounters in this film. We’ll have to wait and see how far director Lance Daly will go until August 31, when the film will be released.

I have always wanted to make portobello mushroom burgers, especially having tried portobello mushrooms in paninis. The perfect substitute for meat, with its thick and juicy properties, the portobello mushroom burger is lightweight while still offering substance for a satisfying meal. 

Topped with Gorgonzola cheese, roasted red bell peppers, and arugula greens, this delicious combination is a great lunch plate. Easy to make, you can even prepare the portobello mushroom burger for a number of people at the same time—cocktail party anyone?

While this recipe calls for reduced-fat mayonnaise to mix with the Gorgonzola cheese, olive oil, and bottled roasted red bell peppers, I decided to take the healthier route by sticking to crumbled Gorgonzola and using fresh red bell peppers and grapeseed oil.

As I sautéed the portobello mushrooms with salt, pepper, and grapeseed oil, I prepared the fresh red bell peppers by cutting them into long slices and sautéing them with grapeseed oil and a pinch of salt. I made sure that the portobello mushrooms were cooked until tender by turning them over every once in a while. Since the mushrooms can sometimes take a while to fully cook depending on the size, covering the pan can help speed up the process.  For more in-depth cooking instructions, visit MyRecipes.com.

As a side, instead of fries, I put together an arugula salad with freshly sliced strawberries, crumbled Gorgonzola, cashews, and thinly sliced red onions and avocado. Since health magazines everywhere recommend a homemade salad dressing as opposed to a store-bought dressing, I prepared a pomegranate red wine vinaigrette by mixing pomegranate red wine, grapeseed oil, salt, and pepper. Are you seeing the trend here? 

For dessert, I made a fruit bowl with honeydew, pineapple, mango, green grapes, and raspberries. Take a look at the photos of the finished meal below!

Can’t decide which color heels you want to wear with your new outfit for this weekend? Purchase a pair of two-tone heels! Often boasting gorgeous color combinations, these heels are the perfect addition to your latest ensemble. You can pair your two-tone heels with bold hues and neutral shades as well as casual wear and formal wear. 

Pour La Victoire // Neysa  

The Neysa ($265) in Coral Red/Saddle Brown by Pour La Victoire features a suede-covered platform and leather-covered heel. Pair these summery heels with white denim, a cream button-up blouse, and gold jewelry. Add a camel-colored handbag and a pair of tortoise shell cat eye sunglasses to complete the look. 

 Michael Kors // Ysabel 

The Ysabel ($250) in Luggage by Michael Kors features a thin ankle strap, which we’ve been loving since February. The neon and neutral color combinations blend well, making the Ysabel a great shoe to wear for a lunch date with your BFF at the trendiest restaurant in town. When wearing these fun and fashionable Michael Kors heels, be sure to let them shine, and try to wear a kit that is less flashy. 

 Sam Edelman // Orly

The Orly ($120) in Truffle/Citron by Sam Edelman features a pointed toe and a patent sling-back strap. With its fresh color combination and kitten heel, this shoe is great for work, errands, or for any occasion in which more walking is required. Just because you’re running errands, it doesn’t mean you can’t look your best. Pair the Orly heels with a flowy skirt or dress that best accentuates your figure. You want to be able to see the pretty yellow sling-back strap, so try not to cover it up with long pants.

J Dilla may have passed away a few years ago, but his talent and legacy are stronger than ever.  It has been announced that the rapper-producer’s mother will be starting her own record label in memory of her late son.  The new label, Ruff Draft Records, will continue publishing a wide array of hip-hop related projects, but more on that later.

Dilla’s mother, Maureen Yancey, also sports a pretty hip-hop moniker herself.  Apparently, this woman is known as Ma Dukes?!  First, she seems to be setting herself with some definite street cred.  Second, that is awesome!

Ma Dukes explained that the label would be releasing material that never saw the light of day before her son’s passing as well as putting an emphasis on exposing up-and-coming rappers.  The first release to be distributed by the label will be Rebirth of Detroit, which drops June 6^th.  The album features production work by Dilla, and fellow Detroit rapper Danny Brown will appear on the album’s first single, “Jay-Dee’s Revenge.”

I must say that mama Dilla has been extremely busy as of late.  Two weeks ago it was announced that the late, great hip-hop producer’s record collection (as in his own collection of albums) was up for sale.  While the details to that deal are still being hammered out, the fact remains that his mother is cashing in on her son’s revered legacy.  It’s a tricky subject to navigate, and I’m not falling on either side of the fence quite yet, but I must say that it does seem like all of these financial ventures are coming at once.  Dilla has been dead for more than a hot minute, so why now?

In reference to the start of Ruff Draft (a rather fitting name considering all of her son’s unfinished work), Ma Dukes had this to say, “We want to make it more feasible to interact with these children; we don’t know how many J. Dilla’s we have out there. Somebody has to find them.”

Admittedly, that sounds well-intentioned and like a mom who knows what her son’s talent meant to modern hip-hop.  I really want to give her the benefit of the doubt because, well, she’s his mom.

If you happen to be in Detroit on May 25, swing on by Magic Stick and checkout the Ruff Draft launch party.  On top of celebrating the groundbreaking of the new label, a slew of Detroit-based rappers, including Brown, will be performing.

The 50s look, especially rockabilly, is back in style with a vengeance. This is because women from the 50s looked hip, beautiful, and extremely sexy. Wearing a 50s style can give you a Hollywood glamour that you never knew was in you. The true 50s look is not one thing and one thing only; there are many different elements of the 50s that you can make work for you. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the latest vintage trends to find the look that is right for you.

Rockabilly History

Rockabilly is a style of music that was born in the 1940s and 50s. It was a mixture of rock n’ roll and hillbilly music, hence the name rockabilly. In the 50s, it was a new type of music that many people did not approve of, but others absolutely loved. Individuals who embraced this type of music also embodied a certain style of dress and makeup. Men wore greased-back hair, bowling-style shirts, and tight jeans with rolled-up hems. Women wore red lipstick, swing party skirts that would flare during dancing, and intricate pinup and roll-up hairdos. Swing and boogie-woogie dancing was often done at rockabilly shows, and it became wilder over time.

Rockabilly Style

The rockabilly look has not changed a lot in modern times. Men and women still embrace this style of dress, makeup, dance, and music because it is sexy, wild, and a lot of fun. If you are dressing up in a rockabilly style, you should consider wearing a knee-length wiggle skirt or a full circle vintage skirt that is poofy and swirly. If you do not like this style, you can also choose to wear a tight pencil skirt that goes over the knees. This is often paired with a tight blouse that buttons up the front. The color should coordinate with the skirt, though white is always a good option. A cardigan sweater can be worn over the shirt in chilly weather or to complete the look. This might sound extremely 50s housewife and wholesome, but it is made flirty by the tightness of the different elements of clothing, cute high heels, and seamed tights. You can look fabulous, sexy, and totally ready to dance the night away. Polka dots, red, and black are popular rockabilly colors as well as classic Vince Ray and tartan prints.

Catlike Eyeliner

In order to complete the look, you need to pair your rockabilly clothing style with the right 50s makeup and hair. Your makeup should consist of red lipstick, black liquid eyeliner, and a flawless complexion. You might need to practice the liquid eyeliner a few times to make sure that you have a perfect line over your eyelid that is not messy. A small swoop at the end of the lash line makes your eyes look bigger and gives the appearance of thick, lush lashes. Black liquid eyeliner should always be paired with black mascara. If you want to go all out, you can apply false eyelashes to your eyelids for extremely lush eyelashes that will knock them dead.

The Importance of Red Lipstick

Women from the 50s, especially the sexiest and most flirtatious women, always wore red lipstick. This provides the perfect pout needed for a night of dancing, drinking, and debauched flirting with eligible bachelors. Red lipstick can look good on every complexion as long as you choose the right shade of red. Think about blueish-red for fair, pink complexions and orange-red for olive and darker skin. Dark reds can look great on any type of complexion as long as the confidence is there to pull off the look.

Rockabilly Hair

The last item that you need to focus on is the perfect rockabilly hairdo. Soft waves and curls were popular in the 50s, so it might be time to get out your hot curlers. If you have long hair, you can roll the front away from your face in a pin-curl and secure it with bobby pins. A ponytail is also very elegant for a fabulous 50s lady. If you have short hair, you can curl your hair, brush it out slightly, and angle the curls away from your face. This is an elegant look that will let you dominate the dance floor with boogies and jives in no time.

Photoshop has been at the center of controversy for sometime. Photo editing and airbrushing are widespread and are used on everything — from magazine covers to movie posters to advertisements. The unrealistic portrayal of beauty through technological manipulation is blamed for the poor self-esteem of men and women, as well as our appearance-obsessed culture.

Since the popularization of television and the subsequent utilization of advertisements, women, in particular, have been held to unattainable standards of how they should look. With a little imagination, breasts are made larger, waistlines smaller, eyes wider, hair shinier, and legs longer. 

Photoshop may be a recent invention, but these manipulation techniques were used long before the computer. Watch an episode of AMC’s hit Mad Men, and the origins of the depiction of women in the media are apparent. These “Before and After” shots of 1950s pin-up girls (via Retronaut) prove that the media’s perpetuation of unrealistic bodies dates far back. Artist Gil Elvgren changed the faces and bodies of many average women to look almost cartoonish — with invisible waistlines, exaggerated curves, and unrecognizable faces. We may think of more full-figured women like Mad Men’s Joan Holloway and even Marilyn Monroe as being the pinnacle of fifties’ glamour, but these images tell a different story of what was desired during that time.

From a historical standpoint, these images tell the story about the inception of mass media and its use of the idealized female form. A picture of a pin-up girl was not anymore attainable than the body of a cover-girl is today. These 1950s ads are a remarkable narrative, providing historical weight to an issue that continues to plague our perception of ourselves.

While most of Wes Anderson’s films earn their own hype by merit of actually being incredibly well produced, it never hurts to throw a little promo action at the public to inspire intrigue.

Directly on schedule, Anderson released four featurettes discussing what happens behind the scenes of Moonrise Kingdom, right before they premier at the Cannes Film Festival. Like the film itself, each featurette is narrated by Bob Balaban, who begins each one standing in front of a map of the fictional island, New Penzance, as if he were a starting an instructional home video.

The first featurette mainly focuses on the three hundred kids used as extras on set, all dressed in matching Boy Scout khaki uniforms. Balaban goes on to discuss how Anderson was able to bond particularly well with the children and shows an impressive scene of him skipping rocks with them, also geared in traditional khaki pants.

The second and following featurettes pay much more close attention to the three main adult actors of the film. Edward Norton stars in the second, showing off his own set of khakis and a light-hearted approach to filmmaking. Norton also works with the kid extras for most of the film and seems to handle the situation with charismatic enjoyment.

Then Balaban moves on to Bruce Willis, who ironically plays a cop again, although one who rarely sees any kind of real action. Balaban takes special care to assure the audience that although Willis usually plays a tough guy in movies, he’s a wonderful cast member and works extremely well with Mr. Anderson, even though he made him spend hours standing in fake movie rain.

The last featurette goes after Bill Murray, an Anderson favorite who has starred in many of the director’s previous films. Balaban discloses a little secret about their relationship: Anderson used to be very afraid of Murray, and when you see footage of Murray walking around shirtless with a half-filled glass in one hand, you can see why his unpredictability would be slightly intimidating. Other than that, Balaban has only nice things to say about the vet actor.

And of course he did. Besides the over-saturated lighting and the perfect timing, the fact that these featurettes don’t include any interviewing, any questions at all, prove how innovative Anderson is, not only as a filmmaker, but as a modern marketer for any product, especially his own.

For those perplexed and in despair as to how and why the classic board game Battleship, which conquered classroom boredom on rainy “indoor recess” days and was championed as the ultimate duel for bragging rights, made it to the big screen as a movie about aliens taking over the Earth with Taylor Kitsch as the leading pretty boy to stop them (with Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker, and Liam Neeson in tow), ScreenCrush has offered some much-needed comedic relief. 

The website cheekily predicted that the childhood board game epic will become a trend in Hollywood movies (when they run out of steam with vampires and fairy tales), depending on whether or not it bombs at the box office. And when Andy Samburg (as Nic Cage) teased Liam Neeson about a “Hungry Hungry Hippos” film on Saturday Night Live, the ScreenCrush team took it upon themselves to feed more ideas to clearly starving Hollywood executives. 

“Should Battleship prove to be successful, perhaps movie studios will want to look to these posters as inspiration for their upcoming summer movie schedule,” ScreenCrush writes. 

Each poster mocks the original by replacing Kitsch’s submerged laser-beaming scrap metal nemesis with an ominous foe from classic games and an irresistible tag-line. There’s Candyland’s King Kandy “Sweet Revenge,” Trouble’s “It’s Coming,” and a personal favorite, Chutes and Ladders’ “Chute to Kill.” 

While the website amends it may not be feasible for Kitsch to face these characters at triple their size and rising up from the ocean, let’s take a moment to re-examine the movie’s plot (however small and diluted it may be): “A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals.”

Right. So about those quadruple-sized strange objects…

Thus far, Battleship has tanked on Rotten Tomatoes, though it faces its box office debut May 18. Based on the less-than-enlightening trailer and shameless casting, it’s best to pocket those pennies for aliens you can rely on with MIB III, out one week later. Or just bank on Dizzy Dizzy Dinosaur’s “It’s His Turn Now,” to start pre-production this year. 

Photos from ScreenCrush

It’s hot. Really hot–a sticky, sweltering kind of heat that passed uninvited from the concrete South Los Angeles streets through the open glass door of a tiny neighborhood bakery, where a crowd of visitors laugh, chat, and devour cookie-sized samples of chocolate orange bread percolating with melty chocolate chips.

“Hey Ben,” one customer addresses the lanky, rosy-cheeked blonde manning the counter in a t-shirt and jeans.

“How are you?” the co-founder and co-baker, Ben Gordon, asks cheerfully as he wipes his forehead with the back of his forearm.

Seven days and six nights a week the bustling unairconditioned space belongs to Rosita’s, a Mexican bakery, but on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. it’s helmed by Bicycle Bread Company, a brother-owned bakery dedicated to providing its North University Park neighborhood with fresh, healthy bread.

“Good! You?” the customer returns Ben’s enthusiasm.

“I’m doing pretty well; awesome,” Ben responds before greeting me.

The 6-foot-something, just-turned college senior at the nearby University of Southern California started Bicycle Bread Company with his older brother Stephen three years ago. When Stephen (Ben’s elder by about five years) was a senior at USC, he sought a way to stay in the neighborhood and produce for his community because, “When you look around, with a lot of the businesses all the money goes back to the Westside,” Ben explains, as we step outside to get a (slight) reprieve from the warmth. “It’s rare to find a local business where there’s people investing here in this community.”

Stephen, Ben

Bicycle Bread Company became that business. More than just a means of providing nutritious, seasonal breads (Ben’s favorite is apple spice) to eager locals and college students, the bakery is a place where Stephen and Ben can live out their personal values, to offer conversation and kinship with each loaf sold.

“The bakery exists because we want to provide fresh, healthy bread for a population that doesn’t necessarily have it and to spread the love of God in some way,” Ben says, greeting another patron. “It’s weird to think of the bakery being a vehicle to see lives change, but we’ve seen that happen, which has been a really amazing thing.”

Two from a family of eleven children, Ben and Stephen grew up on their mother’s homemade bread, which she self-milled from wheat berries sourced from Montana. Moving more than 2,000 miles from their home state Florida to Los Angeles, the brothers were left wanting for breads of their mom’s caliber.

“When we moved out here, we realized that there were no bakeries–no bakeries in all of LA–that grind the wheat into fresh flour,” Ben laughs at my incredulity. “As far as we can find anyway,” he amends.

Stephen received a wheat grinder as a graduation gift from their parents, and the two began grinding their own flour and baking bread in the kitchen of a Hollywood church at 3 a.m. Once finished–a task that for 100 loaves of bread takes a total of around nine-and-a-half hours–they would load up the bread and an ironing board, trek to the bus stop and catch a metro line to USC, where they sold their product and handed out samples on campus in the years before they rented the storefront.

“Those were the longest days of my life!” Ben gives an exasperated grin.

But their taxing quality led to the incident which gave the company its official name.

“Right at the beginning we were like, ‘Oh my goodness. We need some way to transport this bread.’ We posted an ad on Craigslist that said ‘Will trade bread for bicycle,’ and someone called us, and we traded 10 loaves for a bike, and so we’re Bicycle Bread Company,” Ben said.

The trade was not the first of the brothers’ Craigslist transactions, as they spent much of their early time scouring its ads for wheat grinders–though these they purchased with actual currency.

“At one point we were using four wheat grinders to grind as much wheat as we needed, and then we finally found this wheat grinder in New Hampshire that we had shipped to us because they’re not super common items,” Ben chuckles. “Now we just use that one,” he points inside, behind the counter to the back of the kitchen. Large stainless steel machinery churn out loaves of bread, and a lone paper tower flaps–the only giveaway of a single fan stationed in the corner. “It’s that big machine.”

While they’ve been renting the kitchen space from Rosita’s for two years, they’ve only occupied the storefront for half that time. Before manning the bakery, Ben and Stephen sold their bread just off of the USC campus, gaining publicity by Ben pedaling a tandem bike with a friend outfitted in a giant slice-of-bread costume. They’ve since transferred the entire business to the bakery, which sits on a corner just north of Washington on Union.

“We’re trying to channel people to the bakery more. We want people to visit the bakery specifically and have more of a focus there. We have been delivering on campus, but our hope is that people come to the bakery,” Ben said.

Though students and alumni miss their presence (an alumni who now works in the USC Credit Union building informs me he longs for the days Bicycle Bread Company would set up a table on Trousdale, the central walkway through campus), the storefront has allowed Ben and Stephen to better implant themselves in the surrounding community.

“We want to be able to invite other people into our lives. We don’t want it to be like ‘this is work and this is the rest of our lives.’ We want this to be an integral part of our lives,” Ben tells me. “We had one girl come to the store at first because she thought it was a bike shop. And she came in and just started hanging out with us and just started coming to escape other bad influences in this neighborhood. Through that, we started hanging out with her outside the bakery and to see her life transform just because we got to say, ‘Oh no–it’s not just because we grew up with good parents … that’s not why we love you the way we do; it’s because we know the love God’s shown us, and we want to show that to you.’ That was just probably five months ago and we’re great friends.”

A truck shuttles by, triggering a series of small dog yips, as Ben details the downside of the bakery’s location as being a low foot traffic, high auto traffic area. But that hasn’t stopped a growing group of loyal customers from frequenting the spot. There’s Ashley and Princesa, two bubbly high schoolers. Though Princesa lives close now, she laments an impending move to Missouri next week.

“I’ll miss the dirty streets,” she says, unknowingly poetic.

Then there’s the paint-splattered Raul who buys bread for his family each week; Roberto, his cheerful companion, and Lisa, who knows both of them through the bakery and incidentally lives down the block from Raul.

“The benefits of working here are that you get to eat the product and the community,” Justin, who works a day job but volunteers at the bakery, told me later. 

It’s a group and a space that Ben one day hopes to expand but has grown to cherish in the present.

“I think that it was easy for us, for me, to get discontent with what we had in the moment,” Ben says humbly. “I guess I would be like, ‘Oh I just want this beautiful, little, preferably Victorian house’ that we transformed into a bakery, and it has wood floors and beautiful windows, just like this picturesque bakery, and it was hard for me to be excited about what we had right now, and so as things have changed it’s like, ‘Oh, you know, what this bakery is being used for right now is…something we can get really excited about.’”

To pay the bills, he and Stephen have taken up part-time jobs: Stephen as a web designer for a non-profit downtown and Ben as a professional balloon artist.

“It’s been really cool because I get hired to do all sorts of crazy things like create props for TV commercials and do all sorts of high-end parties and make cool things for ESPN and ABC … I’ve been given a lot of cool opportunities because there’s a distinct lack of good balloon artists in LA,” he says wryly, sharing that among his most high-profile experiences are making a dog for Orlando Bloom, a princess for Jessica Alba’s daughter, and a caricature for Steve Carell.

Eventually, though, both brothers hope to devote their full time to Bicycle Bread Company.

“Sometimes I get a little embarrassed about the fact that we’re only baking twice a week, and I think, ‘Oh you guys have been doing this for three years, and you’re so small,’ but I think that hopefully we can continue to expand our hours as more demand comes along with the bread and that we can have a self-sustaining business that can be here all week long … I think a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, why don’t you open up on the Westside or Beverly Hills; people would love this; people would die for this kind of bread out there,’ and it’s like well, we might do well financially, but that’s not my neighborhood, and I want to be here in my neighborhood where I’m forming relationships and not just going there for the sake of a job.”  

Before heading back inside to attend to another small burst of customers, he describes his and Stephen’s dream to transform the “bad reputation” connotated with South LA with their bakery. He modestly credits his brother for keeping this dream possible.

“I think that Stephen has been an amazing person to work with because he’s just so full of grace, and I seem to mess up all the time,” Ben laughs. “And … I think without him at the helm, this would have gone under a long time ago. He’s just an awesome guy.”

We walk back inside where new faces smile, wipe crumbs from their face, and eagerly exchange five dollars for loaves of bread. A woman asks if this week’s seasonal flavor, jalapeno cheddar, will be back next week. It will, and so will Ben and Stephen and the volunteers and regulars who make up the bread and butter of this soulful spot. They’ll be back the week after too, and every week following, as long as there’s bread to be made and bellies to fill. 

Watch: And just in case you’re curious to learn more about Ben’s side job as a balloon artist, check out this short film he starred in which showcased his skills: 

When I envision Portugal, I think of it as the purest, greenest of all Western European countries.  I suppose much of that vision comes from my relationship with Panda Bear’s Person Pitch album (recorded in his adopted home of Lisbon) and travel brochures.  To be honest, how naïve and ridiculous of me to even think such a place as diverse as Portugal could be distilled into 60-minutes of gorgeous psyche-pop or 10-pages of tourist literature.

Portugal should thank their lucky stars that they have artists like Dead Combo to represent them and to help in setting folks like me straight.  The Lisbon-based duo (hence the “combo”) incorporates influences as varied as death metal, free-jazz, rock’n’roll, and the physical streets of Lisbon into a sound that never sounds stitched together.  Each track tells a different tale while utilizing any number of techniques, all somehow always sounding like Dead Combo.  Like a great film score, the duo sets a mood and takes you on a journey.  Oh, and I did I mention they’re completely instrumental?  I’ve never been to Lisbon, but it sounds like I’m standing in the center of town taking in the merging of the Mediterranean Sea and the old-world city.

The band was born when To Trips‘ and Pedro Goncalves’ bands broke up.  Being childhood friends, they thought they’d have a go at creating something new with the intention of incorporating all of their eclectic influences into a seamless sound.  What has ensued is absolutely unique.

One minute the duo is whipping up Latin American grooves that beg to be danced to (“Cuba 1970”); the next, they’re conjuring up the sound of Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns (Mr. Eastwood), only to knock you on your backside with some of the nastiest blues you’re likely to hear even in America (“Cancao do Trabalho D.C.”).  On paper, this may sound like two guys who are easily influenced and haphazardly take cues from all of their favorite musicians, but I assure you that Trips and Goncalves are two artists meticulously crafting some of the best instrumentally engaging music in the 21^st century.

Dead Combo represents a love of the past without forgetting that they do indeed live and create in a modern world.  When they walk onstage, their attire may lead one to believe that they are in a psycho-billy band, but their musicianship and virtuoso abilities point to a lifetime of music theory and experimentation.  Dead Combo isn’t here to incite a mosh-pit, but they certainly don’t want to see a roomful of bored, unengaged listeners.  Fittingly, they manage to invoke the romanticism of flamenco, the guttural essence of the blues, the freedom of jazz, and the sexual abandon of rock’n’roll into a sonic sound-scape addictive and gorgeous.

Recently, the band appeared on the Travel Channel’s high-profile show No Reservations, hosted by iconoclast chef/author Anthony Bourdain.  To and Goncalves showed Bourdain through downtown, shared food, and discussed the state of the arts in Lisbon.  Extremely welcoming and genuine throughout the duration of the episode, I, too, had a very similar experience dealing with the band. 

BANGSTYLE had the distinct pleasure of talking to Goncalves about the band’s past, present, future, and his desire to dodge my dreaded “five albums on a desert island” question.  I’d like to thank the band for being the first international band featured on BANGSTYLE this year, as well. Cheers, Goncalves and Trips, and long live Dead Combo!

Bangstyle: Dead Combo is based on Portugal, and I’ve been lead to believe Lisbon.  Do you both live there, or is Lisbon just the center of the music culture?

GONCALVES: We are both born and raised in Lisbon. Being the capital, it’s where everything kind of gravitates toward, so maybe it’s the cultural center of the country.

BANGSTYLE: How long have you two known each other?

GONCALVES: As Dead Combo we have been together since 2003, but we went to the same high school, although we went in different musical paths until we met in Dead Combo.

BANGSTYLE: Where did the name Dead Combo come from?

GONCALVES: Tó Trips had just broken apart his own band, Lulu Blind, and was tired of having bands, so he recorded some tunes by himself and called it Dead Combo. The idea was to have a different guest every time he played live.

BANGSTYLE: The sound you guys conjure up is unique from so much going on right now, but it sounds strangely classic, too.  What musicians influenced you guys growing up?

GONCALVES: Both of us are very eclectic; we listen to everything from death metal to classical music, from Frank Sinatra to Alice Cooper. So I would say that everyone of those artist influence our music in some way.

BANGSTYLE: Your sound definitely lends itself to the style of jazz improvisation. Was it a conscious decision not to have a vocalist at all, or was it something you never really thought about?

GONCALVES: If there is one thing we always agreed on it is that we are an instrumental band. Having a voice singing some words conditions you to a certain mind-scape, and we prefer to leave that to the listener.

BANGSTYLE: What’s the best part about living and playing music in Lisbon?  The worst?

GONCALVES: Lisbon was and still is a city of people arriving and departing; as Tó Trips usually puts it, it’s like the California of Europe but without any money. It’s a very relaxed city, unlike other major European cities. I guess the worst part would be not directly related to the city but to the country: we do not value ourselves that much and are always longing for this imaginary past.

BANGSTYLE: Some fans may have been introduced to your music when you appeared on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations.  How did that come about?  How was the experience?

GONCALVES: The local production team for the episode presented Anthony with some of Portugal’s bands, and he chose ours. To tell you the truth, neither me or Tó Trips was aware of the show or the magnitude of its reach. Only after talking to some friends did we realize the importance of being guests on his show. It was a very nice experience, being able to take him through our hometown and show him the sleazy spots.

BANGSTYLE: What’s the writing process like for you two?  Do songs come out of jamming, or is it more an individual process?

GONCALVES: Both of us compose a lot of music by ourselves, and then when we meet we exchange ideas. Sometimes it also comes out of jamming together in a tiny garage filled with stuff.

BANGSTYLE: You’re exiled to a deserted island but are allowed five albums.  What are they and why?

GONCALVES: That’s a tough one!!! I’d rather not be exiled!

BANGSTYLE: What’s your favorite venue to perform at?

GONCALVES: I guess that would be ZDB (Zé Dos Bois) in Lisbon. It’s an art gallery/concert venue in the trendy part of town where all the people go out at night. It was the place where we were “born” in a way and the place where we go to when we feel like “coming back home” musically speaking.

BANGSTYLE: Though your sound has been described as “alternative jazz,” most songs have a very dark, rock’n’roll atmosphere.  Would you agree, and if so, where does that come from?

GONCALVES: Yes I agree. I guess that comes from our musical background. Tó Trips was in hardcore bands, and I was playing jazz for 15 years. If you mix it up, something dark, rocky, and jazzy will come out.

BANGSTYLE: Would you say that you’re happy with where Dead Combo is at the moment, or do you feel like you guys have a lot of ground to climb before you’re happy?

GONCALVES: We are always looking for new ways of showing our music to a broader audience, and we are always pushing forward; it’s our heritage from our punk-rock years, I guess.

BANGSTYLE: Being an instrumental band, what non-musical elements influence Dead Combo’s sound?

GONCALVES: Movies, dance, theatre, the streets of Lisbon, people you meet in the supermarket, our friends, our families, in a way everything that surrounds us.

BANGSTYLE: As a band, what’s more satisfying, recording or performing?

GONCALVES: Performing for sure! Recording is more of a laboratory experience. Performing is the ultimate reward for the recording process.

BANGSTYLE: What’s next for Dead Combo?  Touring? Recording?

GONCALVES: Right now we are focused on touring Portugal and Europe. There is still a lot to be done, a lot of places to play, and a lot of people to show our music to.

You can find links to music, tour info, and photos of the band here! Lisbon’s Dead Combo is a band to get you excited about music again.

There’s little doubt that Quentin Tarantino’s films will never reach the $1 billion that The Avengers has racked up in the last two weeks worldwide, but he has something that can’t be bought: cult success.  The man will forever either be loved or hated with little in-between.  His next film, Django Unchained, is set for a Christmas Day 2012 release date, and for Tarantino fans, the day that the fat man in a red suit jumps down the fireplace can’t come soon enough.  Hold your horses, folks, because I bring some bad news.

First off, Sacha Baron Cohen has dropped out of the film.  Before you think creative differences might have stuffed a knife between the director and actor, it is due to scheduling conflicts.  You’d think these kinds of things would be foreseeable with an agent, but go figure.

Second, Kurt Russell has also left the project.  This vacancy has not been explained so far; but considering that Russell praised Tarantino and said that his starring role in the director’s Death Proof was the most fun he has had on a film, it seems a decent indication that it wasn’t  that the actor left on bad terms.  Scheduling conflicts perhaps. 

As Paste reports, though, the film has been able to hold onto its key players like Leonardo DiCaprio, Christopher Waltz, and Jamie Foxx.  That’s reassuring, but I will say that in a supporting cast that was already stellar, it’s sad to hear a character actor as gifted as Cohen and a legend as towering as Russell have left the project.  I was looking forward to an amazing Russell cameo, especially because he rarely steps into the limelight anymore.  All things considering, Tarantino is still bound to craft a great film and fill everyone’s stocking with bloody goodness.

Oftentimes, styling your own hair can be a tricky task, as it involves working with the less visible parts of your hair: the hair behind your head. If you’re the kind of girl who prefers all things low maintenance when it comes to hair, simple hairstyles are the way to go.

When we stumbled upon Abby’s blog, My Yellow Sandbox, we completely fell in love with her 30 Hairstyles/30 Days challenge. Of the 30 hairstyles Abby tried, the three banded buns was our favorite. The look is both fun and classy, making it a great hairstyle for brunch with your girlfriends or date night with your significant other.

You can achieve this look one of two ways. The first is by sectioning your hair into three parts, tying each part into a low ponytail. Then, create little spiral buns by twisting the hair from each ponytail, wrapping it around each hair tie. Use hairspray for hold and bobby pins to make sure the hair is secure. Remember, this hairstyle is meant to be messy, so if there are hairs sticking out here and there, don’t be afraid to leave them loose. 

The second way you can get this hairstyle is more like the My Yellow Sandbox photograph on the left. Simply section your hair in thirds, and tie each section into a ponytail. Then, tilt your head forward so that the hair falls over the ponytail like a fountain. Take another hair tie and tie around the fountain. Using the longer pieces of hair sticking out, loop them around the hair tie to create a messy bun effect. Hairspray and bobby pin as needed. 

See? Easy as pie. Before you decide that styling your hair is just not your thing, remember that there are plenty of hairstyles that are quick and simple just like the three banded buns. Check back for another easy hairstyle later on this week!

Photo courtesy of My Yellow Sandbox.

Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Dame Shirley Bassey, and Ed Sheeran have each been confirmed to perform at the BBC Concert at Buckingham Palace June 4. The event will take place during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee bank holiday weekend and the celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s 60-year reign.

Time Out London reported that the concert, organized by BBC and X Factor judge Gary Barlow, will also feature performances by Annie Lenox, Stevie Wonder, Madness, Cliff Richard, Tom Jones, Jessie J, Alfie Boe, Jools Holland, and JLS. 

While the public ticket ballot is now closed, 10,000 free pairs of tickets will be randomly distributed to those who applied for tickets. Individuals who receive tickets will be able to picnic in the Buckingham Palace gardens prior to the start of the concert, which will be held in front of the Queen Victoria Memorial.  

According to The Guardian, those who apply for tickets from Feb. 7 to March 2, when the application period ends, will have a higher chance of being chosen to receive a pair of free tickets to the event. For every person who acquires a ticket, a second ticket will be given to them so that they can nominate a guest (the guest must be 13-years-old or older). 

“It is going to be an amazing lineup of world-class artists coming together to play at one of the biggest and most exciting live music shows in recent years,” Barlow said via The Guardian. “I love the monarchy and love the Queen. I am just very excited about the whole event.”

The concert will be broadcast live on BBC ONE and Radio 2

Sometimes called “Doomsday Bunkers” or “Survival Rooms,” this growing trend of panic properties has some of the elite in Kansas spending upwards of $10 million on the design and construction of some of the safest-looking underground properties you’ll ever see.

Some say we’re mere months away from the “end of the world” as we know it, and the people in the mid-west are preparing like no others.

Leaving no stone unturned, developer Larry Hall has created unique dwellings said to withstand any catastrophe – in style.Hall used an abandoned missile silo to construct luxury condos that lack for nothing – in-suite bathrooms, fireplaces, as well as amenities like a pool, a movie theater, and a library.For the serious concerns, Hall has even thought of an indoor farm that is prepped to grow enough fish and vegetables to feed 70 people for as long as they need to stay inside. According to Luxury Launches, Hall is also “stockpiling enough dry goods to feed [people] for five years.”

Giant water tanks are filled and waiting to be filtered through carbon and sand, if need be. Security is at the ready.

The rise in sales for these types of shelter is increasing at astounding rates. Perhaps the hype may be further intensified with Discovery Channel’s launch of Doomsday Bunkers last month, a show featuring the design and building of survival properties that range anywhere from the simplest bunker to the uber-luxurious condos being designed by Hall. Whether these doomsday dwellings are a novelty or a necessity remains to be seen.

Last week Bangstyle reported news of a new Animal Collective single that was going to be available for preorder immediately.  However, with that announcement the band did not release any other news about an impending album or tour.  Being that on the last Animal Collective LP they went from a quartet to a trio, things haven’t all seemed right in psychedelic paradise.  It’s well documented that the band rarely spends much time together outside of recording and touring now that the members have families and their respective solo careers.

Sneakily, or maybe I just wasn’t paying enough attention, the band has announced that their follow-up to the amazing Merriweather Post Pavilion will be released in September of this year.  The name of this bad-boy?  Centipede Hz.  Considering that the band has a knack for coming up with unique album titles that are fitting of their swirling, surreal sound, this is especially fitting. 

No specific release date has been set besides a late summer unveiling, but a tour will follow the release of the new music.  As always, the band will be releasing the new record via Domino, also home to the Kills and Franz Ferdinand.

There is quite a bit of mystery still surrounding this album for a number of reasons.  First of all, will Animal Collective reform into a quartet or remain a trio?  Will the band build off of their last LP’s more accessible moments, or will they take a calculated detour into their wilder past?  Lastly, will the band incorporate the trip-hop that Panda Bear’s Tomboy record embraced or the decidedly dark and depressing road of Avey Tare’s Down There solo outing?

Animal Collective’s members may still be relatively young (early 30s), but the truth is that the band members aren’t spring chickens and have been around awhile now.  While most major publications praised Post as their magnum opus and as a record not to be surpassed in their canon, it sets up a weird stage in the band’s life.  While the Black Key’s Brothers was praised with the same enthusiasm, the band catered to the more pop-oriented on their follow-up El Camino.  Without seeming like I’m comparing apples and oranges, Animal Collective’s Centipede Hz will most likely define where the band will continue for the rest of their recording career.  This isn’t meant to be stated with a sense of potential misfortune but instead excitement.  2012 continues to become a more interesting year for music.