September 29, 2024

About the author  ⁄ Alicia Lutes

This Hiker Stumbled Upon A 100-Year-Old Abandoned Town Inside A National Park

by 28 mins ago

Regardless of how small the Internet sometimes makes the world feel, reality is quick to remind us of its enormity: like with this 100-year-old abandoned town, which a hiker recently re-discovered within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee.

Few things are cooler than seeing the true power of nature, particularly when it wins battles against what we humans have done since we started turning everything into stuff for us. And hiker/abandoned place enthusiast Jordan Liles got a first-hand look at such business when he was hiking in the Elkmont section of the park, taking an old, unused road to a hidden gem: the disintegrating remains of the town and subsequent hotel that brought visitors to the now-abandoned area.

The town of Elkmont began as a lumber outpost, harvesting trees and transporting them down the Little River to mill the trees over in neighboring Townsend. The Little River Railroad Company — the folks that did the log transporting after the waterways method was axed — brought logging operations employees to the town and resulted in the construction of a fancy hotel and rich folk summer houses. There was even a section of the town called “Millionaires’ Row.”

But once the railroad skipped town, well, so did all the people. The Wonderland Hotel ran what was left of the place as a resort until it was purchased in the 1930′s by the New Smoky Mountain National Park, but the town itself vanished long before.

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This Is What It’s Really Like To Film A Hollywood Sex Scene

by 8 mins ago

Alright, prepare yourselves for the ultimate in second-hand gawking: we’ve got a behind-the-scenes video of a sex scene.

Here, at long last, is a look at how Hollywood makes the dirty deed look au natural on screen. Between the pretending, the intimacy, the natural and sometimes unavoidable bodily reactions to pretending to rock each other’s worlds, there is little doubt in our minds that getting intimate with a relative stranger (or someone who isn’t your current paramour) has infinite potential for total awkwardness.

When you’ve gathered a whole movie crew, a bevy of cameras, and a few pages of orgasms into one room for, uh, completion, the most important thing is to keep it light, keep it funky, and just lean into the moment’s absurdities — just like Brooklyn Decker and Patrick Wilson here!

The duo get a little bit of on-screen action time while shooting the Joe Carnahan-directed movie “Stretch.” What’s sexier than getting sprayed down with an aerosol can??

Watch the moderately NSFW clip below:

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.

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‘Gone Girl’ Disappears With $38 Million And The Top Box Office Spot

by 7 mins ago

Well, not that this news is likely to be a surprise to anyone, but: “Gone Girl” has disappeared (in plain sight!) with all of our movie-going dollars this weekend, taking the top spot at the box office.

The impressive little thriller number from David Fincher and novelist Gillian Flynn did gangbusters with pretty much everyone over the age of 25 (in fact, the mid-twenties-and-beyond set made up 75% of the audience: not something a lot of films do anymore, to be frank) and brought in bountiful accolades for its stars Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, and Carrie Coon.

Perhaps more surprising, though, was second place — and namely how “Gone Girl” was not the landslide-y winner of the weekend. That’s right, the number two film, horror film/”The Conjuring” prequel, “Annabelle” came in second, but just barely: it took home $37.2 million dollars compared to the $38 million of “Gone Girl.” Turns out this world loves two things: Fincher thrillers and creepy dolls.

Related: 8 Things You Need To Know About ‘Gone Girl’

But it’s also a big ol’ celebration for Fincher, who can officially name the film his biggest-debut-getting film of all: easily beating out 2002′s “Panic Room,” which opened with $30 million. Overall, both of these films out-performed people’s expectations, which is always a thing Hollywood executive-types like to hear. Basically, if you were an adult who enjoyed movies, you went to see some cinema ...

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The Coast Guard Had To Rescue A Man Who Was Trying To Float To Bermuda In An Inflatable Bubble

by 26 mins ago

Poor ol’ Reza Baluchi: all he wanted to do was navigate the Caribbean in a giant inflatable bubble in the name of world peace. Instead, all he got was airlifted by the United States Coast Guard.

Unfortunately a self-made “zorb” (or hydro pod bubble, whatever you want to call it) several bottles of water, a couple protein bars, and a GPS system are not accomplish one’s goal of “running” from Florida to Bermuda — regardless of the noble intentions.

According to Baluchi’s website, the ambitiously-minded goal-setting ultra-marathon-runner — he’s already run across the U.S. twice and around its perimeter once — had set a goal of running across 165 nations to encourage world peace. This most recent endeavor was part of a five-year plan to run across the world—even across oceans.

His Facebook page cites Baluchi designing “a boat that will allow [him] to cross the ocean 100 percent man powered.” It went on to say that he would be “supported by a larger boat to assure his safety,” though it does not seem that such a boat was with Baluchi at the time of his rescue. He also had plans to cross “the ocean from Rio de Janeiro to South Africa which, he has scheduled to take 67 days.”

On Baluchi’s actual site is footage of his trials with the resulting zorb, crafted for the running machine to continue his running even on top of the water.

The Coast Guard was first made aware of the existence ...

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Monster Truck Rally In The Netherlands Turned Deadly When A Vehicle Veered Off Course

by 23 mins ago

Over a dozen people have been injured in a shocking monster truck crash that left several people dead in the Netherlands on Sunday (September 28).

The city of Haaksbergen is grieving after the accident, where a monster truck equipped with tractor-sized wheels went off course. In a video of the incident, the truck can be seen knocking down a safety rail and driving into the crowd, following a stunt where the driver leaps over the top of a row of cars. A faulty accelerator pedal or brake failure are allegedly the cause of the incident.

There is video of the incident available via The Hollywood Reporter, but it the video shows the whole event. If you’re not comfortable with that, go ahead and skip.

Local police have been unable to confirm the number dead and/or injured, but conflicting reports have confirmed that at least one child and one adult are dead, with potentially a third (either adult or child) also deceased.

Reports from The Hollywood Reporter and The Guardian put the number of injured anywhere between 15 and 18, with 6 of those injuries reportedly serious.

According to a press conference held by mayor Hans Gerritsen on Dutch national broadcaster NOS, two children and one adult were killed — a number lated revised to say one child and two adults, before that number being changed, again, to one child and one adult.

As of publication, the exact number of dead was still unknown.

Jennifer Lopez Has Some Choice Hashtags For The Drunk Driver That Rear-Ended Her

by 20 mins ago

Jennifer Lopez is not happy about being rear-ended in her car Saturday (September 27) morning. But who would be, particularly when you’re not in the wrong in the situation!

There you are, having a nice little Saturday in your new ride, just driving along with your children and best friend (actress Leah Remini), minding your own business and abiding the law of the red light. That anger only increasing upon the realization that the offending driver was drunk (allegedly).

“Sitting at a light, Riding high right before some drunk fool rear ended us in my new whip!!!,” the singer Instagrammed. “Thank god everyone ok!!! #GRATEFUL #THANKYOUGOD #DontdrinkandDrive!!!! #cursedthatfoolout #theBronxcameout #dontmesswithmycocnuts #mamabear #leahstayedcalm #thatwasweird”

According to TMZ, Remini was driving Lopez and her two children in Lopez’s vehicle when they were hit by a pickup truck driver at a red light in Malibu. The driver of the truck rear-ended them before fleeing the scene, but luckily area police were able to locate the driver, subsequently arresting him for both driving under the influence and instigating a hit-and-run.

Thank goodness everyone was OK! Gotta love that she shouted out her Bronx roots in the hashtags though. Jenny from the block still amirite?

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.

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20 Things We Learned From James Franco’s SNL Documentary

by 1 min ago

On Friday, Hulu Plus made available doer-of-literally-everything James Franco‘s NYU thesis film, “Saturday Night,” a documentary on what goes on behind-the-scenes each week on “Saturday Night Live” (not to be confused with a similarly focused documentary called “Saturday Night Live Backstage” that came out in 2011). And though it may be more of a fly-on-the-wall look at the process rather than anything particularly in-depth, there was still plenty of interesting stuff to learn for anyone who’s a fan of the long-running sketch comedy series.

What did WE learn upon watching it? Lots — particularly when it comes to the looney-bin-esque process it takes to get the funny on TV week in and week out. We’ve highlighted the biggest takeaways below.

1. It’s not about Franco, but there’s a lot of him in it.

Though he stays mostly behind the lens, Franco’s voice is heard in several interviews, and he even appears on screen a few times to wax poetic on the sketch show’s inner workings.

2. The documentary focuses on John Malkovich’s hosted show from December 6, 2008.

Oh that Malkovich. He’s just so Malkovich.

3. SNL pitch meetings are “50% bullshit, 50% actual pitches.”

At least so sayeth Will Forte: “If you pitch something that’s funny, you’ve blown the joke.” So lots of times, writers and actors won’t even pitch the sketch they end up working on, saving the funny for the read-through.

4. If “Dangerous Liaisons” was performed in a hot ...

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Diem Brown Is Keeping High Spirits Despite Third Cancer-Related Hospitalization

by 51 mins ago

Two-time cancer survivor and MTV reality star, Diem Brown, has been hospitalized again in the wake of her third cancer diagnosis.

Brown was hospitalized on Thursday (September 25) in New York City following the discovery of a tumor causing blockage in her kidneys.

“They told me there I had complete blockage of my left kidney and 75 percent blockage of my right because of swelling and tumors,” she explained to People, “so they had to do a surgery and put in stents so things could flow normally again.”

“I didn’t realize that all the back pain was because of my kidneys,” she said.

Brown had recently been working on putting on weight following her last surgery in mid-August in order to begin chemotherapy.

“I was supposed to get my ‘chemo cocktail,’” on Tuesday of last week, she explained, “but after they did the blood draw they saw a spike in my kidney levels, so they were only able to give me one of the two chemos.” Those tests ultimately led to an ultrasound the next day, which led to the discovery of the tumor.

Thankfully, Brown has a strong support system in her best friends who are constantly by her side.

“Clearly we were delirious last night in the ER,” Instagramed E! correspondent and Brown’s dear friend, Alicia Quarles. “@diembrown & @JulieRotondi are the best at making lemonade out of lemons. I’m pretty sure the doctors could not wait for Jules & I to leave & stop terrorizing them.”

Still, Brown ...

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The Way Jordin Sparks Is Coping With Her Break-Up From Jason Derulo Is Inspiring

by 58 mins ago

Ain’t no one going to rain on Jordin Sparks’ parade. The actress/singer — who recently broke up with her fiancé, Jason Derulo, has been steppin’ out on the town in spite of the three-year-long relationship’s demise.

After all, she’s got a new movie to promote so it’s back to work! “Left Behind,” which premiered at the Catalina Film Festival on Friday (September 26). Sparks brought her buddy Lance Bass, prom-style, to the fête, and captured the whole thing on Instagram.

Sparks has previously used social media to let the world know there are no tears on her end, simply the memory of the good thing she and Derulo had, indicating the split was in the very least amicable. Quoting the old adage, Sparks reminded herself, and the world not to “cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

It’s the sort of positive attitude one must take in the wake of a break-up sometimes. And thankfully, Sparks is allowing herself to have a little fun and not dwell on the past.

Girl’s not wasting any time or resting on her laurels in any regard, even posting a photo of herself in the studio. As she said previously on Twitter, “write, sing, repeat.” Get those emotions out via song, girl!

As for Derulo, he’s staying a bit more reserved, Instagramming a photo of his statement to a news outlet in Minneapolis:

Break-ups are rough but these two seem to have the “mature, adult break-up” thing under ...

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Angelina Jolie Is Already Directing Another Film, And It Takes On Ivory Poachers

by 20 mins ago

We, for one, are totally on board with more women directing. Particularly when they’re telling stories as important as the one Angelina Jolie is tackling in her third jaunt behind the lens, the expansively titled film “Africa.”

Based on a true story, “Africa” will follow paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey’s battle to save the African elephant population in Kenya against the ivory poachers who cared far less about the gentle giants’ existence and fare more about their tusks.

“I’ve felt a deep connection to Africa and its culture for much of my life,” explained Jolie, whose other directed feature, “Unbroken” is said to be heading to theaters this Christmas.

That emotion was brought to life in screenwriter Eric Roth’s “beautiful script about a man drawn into the violent conflict with elephant poachers, who emerged with a deeper understanding of man’s footprint and a profound sense of responsibility for the world around him.”

Related: Surprise! Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie Got Married

We’re going to have to go ahead and agree with several other voices around the Internet though on that title front: calling the film “Africa” when it’s not about Africa but rather this one specific event in one country that exists within the whole continent of Africa feels pretty glib to us.

But who says that’s what it will stay, right? After all, Queen Angelina has the power now, so she’ll certainly use it for good, right?

Too much exuberance ...

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