Browsing: Arts and Life

Just as I started to have faith in the art of horror films again, this load of trite guff happens. Reeking of apathy and lacking continuity, “You’re Next,” released on Aug. 23, is a bloody awful time that’s less of a suspense quencher and more of a sadistic “Home Alone.”

The plot follows the Davison clan gathering together at their parents’ new house in the woods. Catty comments and trivial squabbling around the dinner table is abruptly cut short when assassins invade their home, killing them off one by one. While it’s certainly the typical slice-‘em-up flick, the last seven minutes or so offer a compelling twist to the norm.

Texas folk musician David Ramirez returns to Common Grounds Coffeehouse once again, performing live tonight. This stop is only one of many on his most recent tour that will take him around the United States from New York City to Los Angeles.

Ramirez’s most recent work, “The Rooster EP,” was released in May as a follow-up to his 2012 “Apologies” album, which debuted at No. 2 on iTunes’ Singer-Songwriter chart.

Exposure: This is what artists can gain by performing at Open Mic.

This event takes place every Wednesday evening at a local coffee shop near Baylor’s campus, Common Grounds. It is free to attend and to perform.

“Open Mic is a long-standing tradition,” said Wes Butler, live event coordinator at Common Grounds.

From students to faculty to visitors, this weekly event is open to anyone and everyone.

Among the carnival rides, polka music and slews of kolache stands, this year’s Labor Day weekend Westfest, celebrated much more than colorful Czech traditions and cuisine. This past weekend, residents and visitors alike gathered to support a community devastated by tragedy last spring by the West Fertilizer Company explosion.

“It brings that healing factor to the city,” said Lisa Reynolds, visiting from Gun Barrel City. “It’s powerful when people come together like this.”

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet—that is, unless it’s in pie form.

What appeared to be a delightfully different variation to an American classic turned out to be an absolute embarrassment. The pin I found, Apple Pie of Roses, seemed like a doable recipe on the surface and even looked as tasty as it did too pretty to eat.

What a joke.

My bake ware has been soaking for a few days now to get rid of the sticky-sweet crust that burned permanently into my grandmother’s baking dish—a wedding gift to her 63 years ago, no less.

Lost at sea, lost in space, lost children, lost freedom, lost homeland, lost money, lost identity, lost jobs, lost hope, lost faith, lost lives: This fall, this is film. This is serious. I can’t wait.

September always brings a change in the temperature of what we see on screen. The Oscar contenders start showing up, the significant films with more to consider than, say, “The Wolverine” or “World War Z.” As much popcorn fun as “Wolverine,” “War” and the like might be, they don’t ask much of us. Not so the fall.

Among the carnival rides, polka music and slews of kolache stands, this year’s Labor Day weekend Westfest in West, Texas, celebrated much more than colorful Czech traditions and cuisine. This weekend, residents and visitors alike gathered to support a community devastated by tragedy last spring by the West Fertilizer Company explosion.

“It brings that healing factor to the city,” said Lisa Reynolds, visiting from Gun Barrel City. “It’s powerful when people come together like this.”

Kolaches, music, Polka dancing and more are lined up for three days to honor West’s Czech heritage through the annual Westfest.

Almost five months ago, an explosion from a fertilizer plant rocked West, causing injuries, devastation to nearby homes and casualties. In spite of the tragedy that took place, president of Westfest John Hurtick said the hosts of Westfest still want to focus on the celebration aspect of the event.

While it’s true my tastes typically run toward exotic fare, I’ve got no beef with a good burger. If you’re looking for a quick and easy meal to reward yourself after a grueling day of class, sometimes a good, old-fashioned cheeseburger is just what you need. I visited five notable Waco burger joints to rate their food: Health Camp, Cupp’s Diner, Kitok’s, Dubl-R Burger and Dave’s Burger Barn.

Baylor Theatre has been perfecting its bend and snap for “Legally Blonde,” the delightfully-ditzy first production of the 2013-2014 season.

Baylor’s production of the smash Broadway musical has not been adapted from the original script, said Dr. Stan Denman, chairman of the theater department and director of “Legally Blonde.”

The story revolves around Elle Woods, a vain and seemingly airheaded sorority girl determined to win back her hunky ex-boyfriend, Warner, by getting into Harvard Law School. According to Denman, Woods evolves into a person of integrity whose story empowers women.

Set during a time that drastically overhauled the American societal landscape, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” released on Aug. 16, is a bold move in the way of touching on issues most people would rather forget. However, in this biopic, director Daniels neither excels in storytelling nor disappoints in whistleblowing.

The plot follows Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), a black house servant born on a cotton farm in the South, and his long-time-coming journey to employment as head butler in the White House. During his lengthy tenure, he serves every president from Eisenhower to Reagan, collecting insightful views of each.

Baylor fashinonistas interested in revamping their look with high-end clothing will soon be introduced to a new unconventional way of doing so at a fraction of the price—renting.

Recommended by fashion magazine moguls like Teen Vogue, Glamour and The New Yorker, and even praised by the New York Times as a “Netflix for haute couture,” Rent the Runway is a New York–based retailer that gives cash-strapped college students access to high-end brand names. Starting this fall, a team of campus representatives of the company will host promotional events at Baylor.

The first experiences a student has at Baylor are some of the most memorable. The Traditions Rally and Late Night are annual events that start the semester off strong, but unlike previous years, a sentimental factor accompanies this year’s events.

On Thursday, the rally will be held at Floyd Casey Stadium for the last time. Come fall 2014, the Traditions Rally will take place at the new football stadium.

Baylor Student Activities plans the Traditions Rally and Late Night to introduce new students to Baylor’s unique culture.

I’m always down for unconventional ways of making recipes. As soon as I found Lauren Conrad’s 90-Second- Cookies pin a while back, I knew I had to test it out.

Clearly, that was a monumental mistake. Not only did the cookies not turn out at all like the photo, On top of that, it took some time and a lot of elbow grease to finally get rid of the burned cookie residue.

The point of the recipe is to have quick and easy cookies in under 90 seconds. To me, it would have been a lot less trouble to simply pop them in the oven for a few minutes longer.
Lauren Conrad, your cookies were a travesty.

For 31 years, Becky Chollett worked at the Baylor law school as the assistant dean of admissions. She said she recalls her time at Baylor with fondness, saying that her job was rewarding. However, Chollett said her life came to a crossroads a year ago when she felt God’s calling for her to do something different with her time and talent. From there, Chollett said she decided to take a leap of faith and do something she had wanted to do since her 20s—start her own business.

Months of planning and a vintage food trailer purchase later, Chollett now has her own mobile bakery, Vanilla Bean Bake Shoppe, parked at 520 Franklin Ave.

Many people will pull up to a drive-through window at McDonald’s and order a McCafe Frappe Mocha in order to treat themselves or a get a caffeine boost. Coffee shops in Waco, however, believe that they’re offering something more than a quick fix –they say that with their coffee and service they’re offering an experience.

Jessie Harris, store manager of Trailhead Coffee Shop on the corner of University Parks Drive and Franklin Avenue, said there is a difference between the “coffee culture” and the coffee industry. Coffee culture, he said, is more about the attitude behind making coffee, whereas the industry of coffee is more about making profits.

Every story has a beginning, and for many aspiring students of film and digital media, the journey starts when they enter the classrooms of the Castellaw Communications Center.

Each professor has his specialty; for senior lecturer Brian Elliott, it is television and screenwriting. Elliott said his desire is to guide those who are trying to achieve their dreams of making it in the entertainment industry.

“When I first came here, hamburgers were 25 cents, and for a nickel extra you could get an order of fries in a basket, and 15 cents extra was a Coke.”

Longtime Cupp’s Drive Inn customer Fred Winslow, who has been a regular since the 1960s, said he remembers a simpler time at this locally owned diner.

Good music is defined by an individual’s taste. That being said, popular music is measured by the charts and according to the charts, Baylor has not recently booked any currently popular artists.

“In comparison with schools like UT [University of Texas at Austin], our campus is not smaller and not in a major city like Dallas or Austin,” said Dr. Kirk Wakefield, professor of retail marketing and holder of the Edwin W. Streetman Professorship in Retail Management. “Here in Waco we don’t have the draw to bands that bigger colleges near bigger cities have.”

Oversized T-shirt?

Check.

Nike shorts?

Check.

High socks?

Check.

The Baylor girls I’m thinking of may not participate in any sports, but they sure pull off the “slaving in the gym look” like a champ, even in full make-up.

Baylor fashion stereotypes exist as an irrefutable campus characteristic, prominent to anyone walking around campus for the day. Not all students fall into the Nike short trap, though.

With fewer than three days until the family and consumer sciences fashion show, McKinney junior Taylor Allen, a volunteer, along with a team of students is working on the final details. The race to the end is here.

This year’s show is at 3 p.m. Sunday on the fifth floor of Cashion Academic Center.

After Tuesday night’s knockout round on NBC’s “The Voice,” Lorena sophomore Holly Tucker will advance to the next round of competition.

Tucker, a member of Blake Shelton’s team, won in a face-off with Los Angeles native Luke Edgemon during the knockout round.

Grammy nominated LMFAO’s Joseph Hampel, more commonly known as DJ Dainjazone, has impacted music across the globe, spanning over 6 continents with performances. He has been featured on “Good Morning America” and “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.” Shortly after returning from Australia yesterday, Hampel took time out of his day to talk with the Lariat about his music, fashion and touring experiences.

Vitek’s will thank customers for their support in the Best College Eats battle this Thursday with hundreds of free Gut Paks.

They will have a victory party at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Vitek’s BBQ located at 1600 Speight Ave. There will be free small Gut Paks and live music as a way to say “thank you” to the Baylor and Waco community.

Local acoustic duo Brian and Jeremy will take the stage at 4:30 p.m., followed by singer-songwriter Savion Wright, a Jasper junior, at 7 p.m.

By Taylor Rexrode Staff Writer After Tuesday night’s knockout round on NBC’s The Voice, Lorena sophomore Holly Tucker will advance…

Dr. Corey Carbonara, a professor in the film and digital media department, has been a professor at Baylor for 30 years. He has contributed much to Baylor’s film department along with other film professors.
Carbonara sat down in an interview to talk about his time here, some of the research he has worked with and what he talks with his students about in the classroom.

Each spring semester, selected students spend countless days creating films of all types that are shown at The Black Glasses Film Festival.

While film and digital media majors primarily enter in this festival, all students are allowed to submit their own films.

This year, the event will be held at 7 p.m. Friday in the Jones Theatre of the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center.

With more than 600 people still in Melody Ranch early Sunday evening and still more coming in, organizers expected the West First Benefit Concert to exceed their goal of $50,000 for victims of the deadly explosion by as much as $10,000.

“You see over $41,000 on the board up there now, but there are a lot of donations and T-shirt sales we haven’t counted yet,” said Nick Fuentes, co-owner of the night spot at 2315 Robinson Drive in Waco.

Each year, Baylor hosts the Senior Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition where graduating seniors can display their work.

The event began Tuesday with a reception and will run through Sunday at the Martin Museum of Art in the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center in galleries 1 and 2.

This weekend, people who wish to raise money in support of cancer patients can do so in a unique way — by running and spending time with miniature donkeys.

The American Cancer Society in Waco will host their first ever Donkey Dash, which is a 5K marathon, from 7 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the McLennan Community College Highlander Ranch on 223A Cobbs Ln., . Contestants can eat breakfast tacos, visit a corral of miniature donkeys and run or walk in honor of someone who has battled with cancer. Contestants may register at the event. The 5K run is $30 and the one-mile run is $25. Children may participate in the one mile run for $20.