Insane Inspirations from an Ice Cube Comedy Flim #tuesday #atozchallenge #foodie #amblogging

 

“...anything less than the best is a felony -- now that the party is jumping. With the bass kicked in, the Vegas are pumpin quick to the point, to the point, no faking. I’m cooking MCs like a pound of bacon...”

“Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice has to be one of the coolest one-hit-wonder tunes ever made. To this day, it is among my favorite songs and while I know many of you are probably either laughing or shaking your heading going “She can’t be serious!” right now -- I would still bump this song in my car (if I had a car) with no shame in the world.

Maybe it’s the beat or the image of Mr. Ice’s funny hairdo, I don’t know -- the song just makes me feel cool and want to move. If the unseasonably warm Spring we’re having this year is any indication of what’s in store for the Summer, then many of us across the country probably will likely try to limit our movements in an attempt to find coolness on an entirely different level.

So with that in mind, nothing says cool like an ice cream truck -- especially one that looks like it came straight out of an episode of MTV’s “Pimp My Ride.” Comedian-actor Faizon Love actually pulled this look off in his role as a drug dealer named Big Worm in the comedy “Friday,” starring Chris Tucker and Ice Cube -- go figure!

In “Friday,” Big Worm replaces the happy-go-lucky jingles that ice cream trucks are known for, with loud obnoxious hip-hop music, yells at his customers despite the fact that they are kids and he also sells more than ice cream from his little neighborhood food truck. While Big Worm’s behavior may not be something you’d want to emulate, his automotive style could make your next block party or family reunion an event to remember.

Inspired by Big Worm in “Friday,” pimp an ice cream truck for a large summer barbecue or related event. Replace the wheels with rims, play some wild music, paint it in neon colors, use graffiti similar to that in Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” music video to design the exterior of your automobile or share the fun and the work -- turn this task into a group activity where each member of your family is assigned to one part of the vehicle to pimp out in any way they desire. This may work better if implemented for family reunions or related gatherings where food is being served to large groups of people. 

In a family reunion setting, you could also setup several pimped out food trucks (if it takes place outdoors, such as in a park) featuring a design that is based on one of your favorite movies, but the truck should have a nickname with some swagger to it. A former associate that I used to work with was once referred to as L-Dizzle, which was a play on her name -- Lauren. So using this old nickname and the “Friday” theme, she could serve "L-Dizzle Ice Cream Pops" from her pimped out food truck today. 

Each truck at your family reunion could be assigned to one specific food item and they do not have to be specifically related to ice cream. In fact, you don’t even have to pimp out an ice cream truck, so long as you decorate some kind of large vehicle. There is a woman in Philadelphia who turned her passion for baking into a cupcake business called the Buttercream Cupcake Truck. She drives around Philly selling cupcakes out of a recycled postal truck, to people on the sidewalk.

So, consider going wild and crazy when serving food at your next family gathering. Hey, our former King Dong Rupert Grint aka Mr. Ron Weasley himself has an ice cream truck called Mr. Whippy -- maybe it's time for you and your family to get hip to the game, this summer!

What would YOU name YOUR food truck?

What variety of food would YOU serve to visitors?

How would YOU pimp the truck out?

Deep Cover Partying with a Disney Twist! #atozchallenge

 

"Yeah, and you don't stop, 'cause it's 1-8-7 on an undercover cop..." 

"Deep Cover" by Dr. Dre is one of those songs that you can just sit back in a lounge chair or a car and bop your head to the beat. Introducing Snoop Dogg to the rap music scene, this tune was produced as the theme song for the crime thriller, “Deep Cover” starring actors Laurence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum. The movie is about a uniformed police officer who infiltrates a drug smuggling organization to help the DEA prosecute the criminal network’s main boss and stop cocaine from being imported into their jurisdiction.

The movie plot in “Deep Cover” involves lot of corruption in various areas of the criminal justice system, from cops to lawyers. It got me thinking about the way cops are portrayed in the movies and more often than not, they are presented in a bad light. Our February 2012 King Dong, Denzel Washington played a dirty cop in “Training Day” and Keeanu Reeves was a corrupt police officer who did not play by the rules in “Street Kings.” Hollywood seems to thrive on story lines where cops are of low moral character and it appears to be rare for audiences to find a good cop on the big screen -- regardless of whether they are detectives, street cops or undercover police offers.

Good cops, just like movies with good cops in them, however, are out there -- as depicted in “Miss Congeniality” where Sandra Bullock plays an FBI Special Agent who goes undercover as a beauty pageant contestant to prevent a terrorist attack. So the next time you have a holiday party or other social gathering, try putting a positive masquerade type of spin on the whole undercover cop plot for some lighthearted fun. Host a masquerade party based on Disney's "Tinker Bell" movie, where your female guests are required to dress like Disney fairies.

All of the fairies don't have to be based on a fairy who is in the movie, which provides more flexibility for your guests to choose one based on who they like and/or the costumes that they can easily put together at a moment’s notice. Bess, for example, would be my personal choice despite the fact that she's only in the books since this particular Disney Fairy appears to be the only one whose favorite color matches a party mask that I already own. She and I also seem to have a lot in common -- go figure! She likes to paint. I like to draw. She likes blueberry pie. I like blueberry cobbler. She is messy. I tend to not only be messy but also very unorganized -- have you even seen my non-alphabetized movie collection?! Case closed.

 

During your party, provide all guests with a pencil and pieces of paper to write down who they think is under the mask during a fun guessing game. The object of this game is to try to figure out which guest is posing as what Fairy. Now, how is THAT for a little no-so-private investigation where the scene is more colorful and no one is at risk of getting shot or arrested?!!

Did you know? - Late actress Brittany Murphy was originally selected to play Tinker Bell in the Disney movie, before the role went to Mae Whitman!

If YOU (or your wife, girlfriend, daughter, etc.) were to attend a party dressed as a Disney Fairy, which one would you pick (or recommend to the female in your life) to go undercover as a masked fairy?

 *Disney fairy costume photo by Maryssa.

Creating Around-the-Clock Cinemas #atozchallenge

“Confusion never stops, closing walls and ticking clocks...am I a part of the cure or am I a part of the disease?”

"Clocks" by Coldplay is a groovy song that I listen to during moments of relaxation or times when I need a pick-me-up. Since I don't know what this song is about, however, let's talk about the seconds, minutes and hours in a day, instead -- particulary as these elements pertain to shorts.

Wouldn’t it be cool if movie theaters that only show short films existed? As it stands, film festivals and special one-off screenings are the only places where you can usually find short films to watch. If there was an independent theater or cineplex that opened to screen short films exclusively, this could probably be a nice little market that catered to audiences who sought convenient forms of entertainment in the middle of their busy day. Consider this, there are times when you may not have enough time to sit through a two-hour long movie -- especially when you factor in movie previews, pre-shows, corporate advertisements and all of the other onscreen junk that many cineplexes screen before the scheduled showtime.

Case in point, last month I went to a popular sports bar for dinner with a friend and we had to wait more than 45 minutes just to get a table. Although we managed to pass the time by checking out the games at Parx Casino in Bensalem, PA, an estimated hour and 30 minutes (yeah!..and the food wasn’t even that great) is a hell of a long time to wait around for dinner. We could have watched several short films within that time frame. However, if we went to a movie theater to check out a feature length film such as Tyler Perry’s “Good Deeds,” we would have wasted an extra hour and possibly missed our table call. Imagine if there was a movie theater where you could go and check out a film instantly, knowing that it will be over in like 10 or 15 minutes -- wouldn’t that be a more enjoyable way to spend your time in certain circumstances?

 While you ponder that idea for a moment, consider turning your home into a private movie theater the next time you host a birthday party or other social event. Tell guests to RSVP for tickets to see different films that are scheduled to play at your house at different times of the day.

You can rent films that neither you nor your guests have yet watched from places like Blockbuster, pull out some home movies to reminisce about or host a screening of independent films. The latter can be done by contacting the filmmakers directly or participating in international DIY film festivals such as Future Shorts, Secret Cinema or Couch Fest Films.

No matter how you select films to play at your makeshift movie theater, make it an all day marathon event, complete with a midnight awards ceremony where "The Academy" (made up of guests at your party) nominate and select winning films based on what they saw at your house. The guests who voted for those winning films get to "Win" their party favors and give an acceptance speech, therefore let them know at the beginning of the party that they have to vote in order to get party favors. Give the guests who voted for losing films different party favors than those of winning films.

What occasion would prompt YOU to turn your house into a movie theater?

Which movies would be on YOUR DIY cinema marquee?

Who would you invite to come visit YOUR spontaneous DIY home theater?

Would YOU buy tickets to see short films as a way to pass the time before doing other tasks such as waiting for a table at a restaurant, picking someone up at the airport, etc.?