Latest news with #MarsAttacks
San Francisco Chronicle
4 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
L.A.'s most famous doughnut spot is opening in the Bay Area
Randy's Donuts, the instantly recognizable Los Angeles chain known for its original location's gargantuan sign and a multitude of doughnut flavors, is opening its first Bay Area shop. The 73-year-old brand will arrive in the region with an outpost in Santa Clara, at 2595 Homestead Rd., SFGate first reported. (The Chronicle and SFGate are both owned by Hearst but operate independently). Adeel Siddiqui, owner of Bay Area Indian restaurant mini chain Port of Peri Peri for the last 17 years, confirmed the news to the Chronicle. He is working with two other partners under the franchise group Sweet Rings LLC. The plan is to operate this and another three locations planned for Fremont, San Jose and Redwood City; If all goes well, the new location will serve its treats in the third quarter of the year. 'We're so excited to be the first to bring Randy's Donuts to the Bay Area,' he said. Randy's is opening just a stone's throw away from Stan's Donuts, the South Bay's venerable doughnut specialist, featured on the Chronicle's top doughnut list, which is located at 2628 Homestead Rd. Commentators on Reddit were quick to make the connection, but expressed hope that the two shops could coexist.' Given that Stan's has been around for a very long time and is very very popular (best glazed donuts you've ever eaten), fingers crossed they'll be fine,' one Reddit user wrote. Siddiqui believes the Bay Area is the perfect place for Randy's. He points to strong companies in the tech industry and a large, diverse population as promising signs. Randy's, whose 35-foot tall donut sign has graced the silver screen in films such as 'Mars Attacks,' 'Dope' and 'Iron Man 2,' also has an allure that Siddiqui, like others, can't resist. 'The original has become a destination. People everywhere know about it,' he said. But there are currently no plans to install a similar sign atop the building, a former KFC location. The Bay Area has been expecting Randy's Donuts' arrival since owner Mark Kelegian bought what was then a few, but popular drive-thrus. In 2019 he told the Chronicle he was thinking of opening 10 locations in the region, but did not specify when and where. Today, Randy's is on an expansion tear. New franchises have settled into San Diego, Las Vegas and abroad into Japan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Is San Francisco due for a Randy's location? Siddiqui says he is focused on getting the first locations right. But looking ahead, his answer is very certain: 'Absolutely,' he said.
New York Times
01-03-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Hair Transplants and the New Male Vanity
Last year, I noticed that two comedians I like talked about getting hair transplants. One of them, Matteo Lane, named his special 'Hair Plugs & Heartache,' which opens with an extended bit about the transplant experience. I appreciated Lane's radical (and very funny) transparency regarding the cosmetic enhancement. He talked about the expense, described the 10-hour surgery and the long recovery, and joked about his hair growing in gradually 'like a Chia pet.' He's very happy with the outcome. Lane also talks about why he got his surgery in the United States instead of in Turkey. He said he didn't want to go through customs with his head swollen like the alien from the movie 'Mars Attacks': 'I want to be ugly at home.' Going to Turkey to get a cheaper hair transplant is such a cliché that there's an entire genre of social media video dedicated to depicting men's beef carpaccio heads on 'Turkish hairlines' flying back to their homes from Istanbul. The British tabloid The Mirror just ran a story about one regular bloke who traveled to Turkey for hair transplant surgery and is quoted as saying that he feels he has 'a new lease of life.' This is a marked change from just a few years ago, when men were less forthcoming about getting surgery on their domes. In 2021, my newsroom colleague Alex Williams wrote about the men who got hair transplants during the locked-down days of the pandemic. 'There's still that old stigma, where guys aren't supposed to worry about how they look and spend a lot of money on their appearance,' one hair transplant recipient said at the time. That stigma is very old, indeed. There's long been anxiety over hair loss among men, according to Martin Johnes, a professor of modern history at Swansea University in Wales who has researched masculinity, modernity and male baldness. But the stress really started ramping up in the 1930s, when men stopped wearing hats regularly and popular media started valorizing youthfulness more aggressively. In the 1930s, it was considered effeminate to pay too much attention to your appearance yet many of these men still wanted to take action if they were unlucky enough to go bald. They called baldness obscene, a major disaster and, poetically, a favored nightmare. One 30-year-old upholsterer said: While the bad feelings around baldness clearly aren't new, talking about those feelings in public is. And hair replacement technology has improved so much in the last couple of decades that transplants look real now — it's not just snake oil or cheesy infomercials for hair in a can anymore. I have mixed feelings about all of this. On the one hand, I have a bit of schadenfreude. Turnabout is fair play. Men have long been allowed to — with some exceptions — age naturally without being seen as less potent or virile or attractive. They have been allowed to steer clear of the unending pressure that women deal with for their whole lives. If we're expected to look young and hot forever in an increasingly superficial society where we're all selling ourselves on social media constantly, shouldn't they be, too? This question has more salience now in the age of affordable hair replacement. I'm also very much in favor of honesty around any kind of cosmetic procedures. It's far more damaging to normies when we allow celebrities to convince us that they just look like that, as if the rest of us are genetically inferior or doing something wrong. Most 40-something women do not have baby-smooth unlined foreheads from 'eating clean,' and most 40-something men do not have the same naturally lustrous crop of hair they had at 19. And yet, my more rational, generous self finds the whole thing to be kind of a bummer. It would be better for everyone if our idea of what is attractive expanded, and our ideals of beauty broadened to allow people to show their age without intervention. Older does not have to de facto mean uglier. It's not a moral judgment on anyone who chooses to get surgery or injections; believe me, I get it, and I can't promise I'll never succumb to the pressure again myself. I just hate that the pressure exists. I'll always ultimately believe that forcing men to adhere to ever narrower standards of beauty and torturing them with unrealistic expectations isn't the kind of equality I want. I also need to remind any men reading this who are feeling bad about their hair loss that Jason Statham and Taye Diggs exist. I'm trying out something new at the end of my newsletter, where instead of just adding links related to the topic I'm writing about, I'm going to chat a little bit about what I'm reading and watching for pleasure. We could all use a bit of fun and distraction from the news right now. If you've got any thoughts or comments, you can always drop me a line here. Thank you for being a subscriber Read past editions of the newsletter here. If you're enjoying what you're reading, please consider recommending it to others. They can sign up here. Browse all of our subscriber-only newsletters here.
Ammon
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Ammon
Fisherman catches a baffling ‘alien' creature from the ocean
Ammon News - A Russian fisherman has pulled a strange-looking creature out of the murky depths while deep-sea trawling in the North Pacific. In footage posted by Roman Fedortsov to his popular Instagram account, the creature sits perched on the rusting, weatherworn railing of a fishing trawler, bloated, slimy and apparently quite dead. For many viewers of the video, the creature evokes images of all manner of fictitious alien creatures including, but not limited to, the Martians from Mars Attacks! Krang from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and even H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulu. 'Kill it and burn it and don't ever catch one of those again,' said one fearful user. 'Yeah, aliens are real,' concluded another.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Yahoo
Tacoma-grown orchids featured at regional garden show. See if you can spot the aliens
Through Sunday you can momentarily forget it's winter in Washington and instead enjoy an early spring at this year's Northwest Flower and Garden Festival in Seattle. In at least one of the show's display gardens, you can make that spring in the tropics. Tacoma's Emerald City Orchids has created a garden that emulates a ravine filled with hundreds of tropical plants and, of course, orchids. Some 17 terrariums of varying sizes are nestled in the landscape called, 'Worlds Within Worlds.' 'We're showing a large jungle with little jungles tucked in between,' said Emerald City Orchids owner Joe Grienauer. Look closer and you'll see aliens and a space ship. 'We're channeling a little bit of 'Mars Attacks,'' he said. While this is Emerald City Orchids's first display garden at the Seattle show, it's about the 10th Grienauer has worked on. The previous versions were created by the Northwest Orchid Society which no longer creates displays there. Greinauer moved his nursery from Seattle (hence the name) to 4734 S. Tacoma Way in 2011. For the past two years, his retail operation has been operating from the building. The 200 or so species of orchids in his display garden are just a small percentage of the 27,000 species that grow nearly everywhere on Earth, he said. Washington state has more than 30 native orchids. They include the fairy slipper, spotted coral root, hooded ladies' tresses and rattlesnake plantain. Grienauer said growing orchids isn't difficult as long as you keep them in bright light but not direct sunlight and put them in pots with drainage holes. Many plants sold at supermarkets are in pots without holes. ● Traveler's Tea: Attendees will hear stories from speakers, designers, and travelers sharing their experiences working in gardens around the world, including England, Marrakech and Japan. ● The Plant Academy offers in-depth seminars on popular gardening topics. ● A daily Small Space Solutions seminar will give tips and tricks for maximizing limited space in urban settings including a session on growing food at home. ● Marcus Bridgewater of Garden Marcus will give a talk about tree-based meditation. ● House plant experts Kamili Bell Hill of PlantBlerd, Abby Perry of Abby's Garden Parties and Derek Haynes of The Chocolate Botanist will speak about house plants and give tips on how to keep them thriving. ● Authors of Atlas Obscura and Gastro Obscura, Cecily Wong and Dylan Thuras, will speak about the diversity of edible plants. ● Ornamental grass expert Neil Lucas will lead a seminar on biodiversity and eco-friendly gardening practices. ▪ What: Northwest Flower and Garden Festival ▪ When: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 19-23). ▪ Where: Seattle Convention Center, 705 Pike St., Seattle. ▪ Tickets: $23 adult advance and $29 during show. See website for discounts and deals.. ▪ Information:
The Guardian
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I've never had a cinematic experience like it': readers' memories of Prince Charles Cinema
Just off London's heaving Leicester Square, around the corner from M&M's World, is the cult film venue the Prince Charles Cinema. Converted into a cinema in 1969, it is much loved for its screenings of hard-to-find films and counts directors Paul Thomas Anderson, John Waters and Quentin Tarantino among its fans. At the time of writing, more than 150,000 people have signed a petition launched by the cinema, who say its landlord Zedwell LSQ Ltd (owned by property developers Criterion Capital) wants to alter the lease, which would enable it to shut down the business. Six cinemagoers share their memories of the Prince Charles and tell us what makes it such a valuable institution. I worked on the box office at the Prince Charles Cinema between 1995 and 2000. Working there was fun. I remember serving Nick Cave drinks, and not knowing who he was while everyone buzzed around him. I also embarrassed myself during a Priscilla, Queen of the Desert singalong screening. I got talking to this guy who came out for air. I asked him what he liked about the film and he responded with odd details, saying that he made the film. I, amused, did not believe him and made fun of him in my then-22 years young, gobby way. Later, my manager told me it was the director and I apologised. He was great about it. I learned how many of the greats, including Martin Scorsese, would see their films incognito in Leicester Square. We all lost it when George Lucas brought his family in to see Mars Attacks! He let the manager unashamedly take a photo with him. Natalie Portman came to see the Rocky Horror singalong and we all melted, as Léon was only recently out. The Prince Charles attracted artists, because it was £1.50 for a film matinee and £3 in the evening. Pete Doherty worked there with me too, on sweets and popcorn. I remember him telling us about his new band, and wanting to call them the Libertines. He was so bright and recommended many great books to me. Carl Barât used to pop in after work. The staffroom was a mini Libertines HQ. Then there were the punters. They were unique and I loved so many of them. Some were in need. On very cold days, I would give a whole day's worth of tickets to a person so they could be indoors and stay warm. We were a bit of a care hub for the local homeless and elderly people who were alone. That's what the Charlie was about, back then. Louise Rodd, East Sussex I first heard about the Princes Charles Cinema from my good friend, Tom, and we often skipped film studies classes to go to screenings there between 2016 and 2019. PCC was a revelation to me as my home town doesn't have any repertory cinema. I was introduced to great film directors such as Tati, Kurosawa, Lynch, and Friedkin. PCC also has the kindest staff with a good sense of humour. Every time I return to London, no matter how tight my schedule is, I find time to visit. Recently, it has also screened more east Asian films, which is a rarity in the UK – and very valuable for east Asian film buffs like me. Jessica SY Yeung, 36, Hong Kong It was about 15 years ago, in the run-up to Christmas, and my sister and I went to see an early evening screening of Home Alone. We were expecting it to be half empty with a few families, but arrived to find them turning people away, and the cinema full of people our age (late 20s to early 30s), with hardly a child to be seen. About halfway through the film, it stopped playing, and an employee awkwardly stepped out in front of the screen. He explained that the reel we were watching was damaged; at this point he started getting heckled and I was getting a bit anxious for his wellbeing. He gave the audience two options: finishing at this point with a refund, or switching to a DVD, which wouldn't have the same sound quality. The audience almost unanimously voted for the DVD, and we settled back in to watch the remainder, the employee leaving our screening as fast as he could. The interruption seemed to have united the audience in a strange way, because after that it became more like watching a stage production; there were audible laughs, gasps and claps as the bandits met with Kevin's pranks, and the film closed to cheers and applause. I've never had a cinematic experience like it. Kat Rowles, Surrey I lived in London for four years during which I spent a lot of time at the Prince Charles Cinema. It was a tradition for my wife, my friends and myself to go to the all-night Disney marathons every spring, and the Muppet Christmas Carol every December. For anyone even remotely interested in film, this place is like a mecca. The vast range of films they show is astounding – from the classiest arthouse fare to absolute nonsense B-movies. Murray Rodgers, 34, Inverness I saw a preview of the Robin Williams film One Hour Photo, which was being shown as part of the 2002 FrightFest. I'd chosen it on impulse and therefore saw it in the ideal way; going in cold with no idea of what to expect. My vivid memory of the screening was the fun of seeing hundreds of people all jump out of their seats simultaneously, when hit with the dream sequence where Williams' eyes start bleeding profusely. Months later, the film was released, but it took years for it to be recognised for the great film it is. It is now one of my favourites and when I think of it, the Prince Charles Cinema will always be inextricably tied to it. Gerard Lough, 46, Ireland I was a regular for many years. In the 90s the PCC used to show The Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight every Friday. The show featured live actors and the audience was encouraged to participate with water pistols, thrown rice, cards, and costumes. It was always a great place to go after an evening in a Soho pub, especially as late licences were quite rare back then. Cinema needs imaginative programming and events to survive – it's no longer enough to just screen a movie because I have a big screen at home and my sofa is more comfortable. Mark, São Paulo, Brazil The Prince Charles is part of the vibrant, slightly tatty but accessible Soho that seems to get smaller every year. I've seen such a ragbag of memorable films here (Ran; Bonnie and Clyde; The Bishop's Wife; The Neon Demon; The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue; A Lizard in a Woman's Skin), as well as some real rubbish. It shows things that nowhere else will put on – to packed houses – and it's a brilliant place to catch films just before they finish their run. My son had his first cinema trip here to see Frozen, and it's where I introduced him to the Marx Brothers. Leicester Square is an embarrassment, but the Prince Charles single-handedly redeems it. It's one of the places that makes London worth living in. Anthony Stamp, London
