Author: Katey Psencik
Shia LaBeouf got married, so here are all of his bizarre connections to Austin
Shia LaBeouf, a.k.a. Louis Stevens, a.k.a. Stanley Yelnats, a.k.a. that dude from the "Transformers" movies, is apparently now a married man.
ORG XMIT: MSC117 Actor Shia LaBeouf attends the German premiere of the movie Transformers 3 in Berlin on Saturday, June 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
He's had a hell of a year. He live-streamed himself watching all his movies, locked himself in an elevator and took part in the weirdest road trip experiment ever. And now it appears congratulations are in order! He reportedly tied the knot with his girlfriend Mia Goth at a wedding chapel in Las Vegas, and of course, the wedding was Elvis Presley- and Hawaiian-themed. Of course.
#BREAKING Watch Shia LaBeouf GETTING MARRIED RIGHT NOW!!!! https://t.co/JF939juoLT
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 10, 2016
Is it a real wedding or just the latest in an endless list of pranks and performance art pieces? There's no way to know, really, but in honor of the actor's nuptials, we've gathered a list of his strangest Austin connections.
1. He was arrested for drunkenly making a scene on Sixth Street almost exactly a year ago.
Photo by Austin Police Department
Seriously, is this his way of celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Austin arrest that made worldwide headlines?
On Oct. 9, 2015, he and two women (was his now-wife one of them?) were stopped for jaywalking and obstructing traffic on Sixth Street after he raised his hand to drivers as if directing them to stop as he crossed the street. Police said he "became increasingly confrontational, aggravated, profane and verbally aggressive" with the officer during the encounter and called him a "silly man" three times, and then he began puffing out his chest at a man who was recording a video of the strange encounter. That was enough to land him in the Travis County Jail on a charge of public intoxication.
2. He gave a talk about one of his really weird art projects at South by Southwest last year.
2015 was apparently the Year of Shia in Austin. During the 2015 South by Southwest Festival, he talked about his performance art piece called #FOLLOWMYHEART, in which viewers could monitor his heartbeat in real time, in case that's a thing that you wanted to do. You do you, Shia.
He also bopped around town for the festival, taking in show after show. He and his now-wife showed up at a StubHub-sponsored show I was attending at Clive Bar and nodded his head along to Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires, then straight jammed to Future Islands and Portugal. The Man. The weirdest thing about this appearance was probably the existence of a rather misguided rattail braid. Not a great look.
3. Louis Sachar, "Holes" author, lives in Austin.
This one threw me for a loop. Louis Sachar, who wrote "Holes" (which you probably read in elementary or middle school), is a longtime Austinite.
Sachar moved here from San Francisco in 1991, and "one of the hardest things to get used to was the long, hot summers here," he told Scholastic in an interview. That's when he came up with the idea for the book, which takes place at Camp Green Lake, a Texas town that was so hot that even the lake dried up. And thus Stanley Yelnats was born, and LaBeouf would go on to play the starring role in the 2003 film adaptation of the book.
So you can thank Austin for Stanley, Zero and the gang — not to mention that dope "Dig It Up" song from the movie soundtrack.
Author Katey PsencikPosted on October 11, 2016 October 11, 2016 Categories Austin, celebrity, internetTags things to doLeave a comment on Shia LaBeouf got married, so here are all of his bizarre connections to Austin
Austin ranked 18th on list of America's best foodie cities
Austin's a food city. Thanks to our thriving Tex-Mex scene, barbecue galore and food trucks on every corner, it's easy to live here for years and still have a foodie bucket list a mile long.
According to a new WalletHub study, Austin ranked No. 18 on a list of America's best foodie cities. Surprised it's not higher? Us, too. The good news: It's the highest-ranked Texas city on the list (take that, No. 39 Houston).
LAURA SKELDING / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Austin360Eats 2015 Dining Guide: Top 25 Restaurants
RELATED: Austin's all-star food trailers
WalletHub analyzed the 150 most-populated cities in the United States and ranked their food scenes based upon affordability, diversity, accessibility and quality.
The affordability factor was based around the cost of groceries, beer and wine prices, prices at high-quality restaurants and sales, food and restaurant taxes. The rest of the study factored in the total number of restaurants, the ratio of full-service restaurants to fast-food restaurants, number of food trucks (we had to have ranked high on this one, right?!), healthy food options, farmers markets, ice cream and frozen yogurt shops (I'm getting hungry just writing this list), craft breweries, wineries, coffee shops, grocery stores, butcher shops, food festivals and cooking schools.
Sure, Austin may have ranked lower than we'd like (seriously, Orlando is No. 1?!) but we're still damn proud of the good eatin' we have to offer around town. Plus, we were ranked fifth for low-cost groceries, so that's something.
Related: Where to find Austin's best BBQ
Author Katey PsencikPosted on October 11, 2016 Categories Food, RankingsTags things to doLeave a comment on Austin ranked 18th on list of America's best foodie cities
Buzzfeed names Round Rock Donuts the best doughnut shop in Texas
What's the best doughnut in Austin?
That's a highly disputed topic. We compiled a list of the five best shops to visit in the Austin area, but to be totally honest, that's just a starting point. We've got everything from our own iteration of Seattle-based Voodoo Donuts to a magical place called Donut Taco Palace that can only exist in Austin, so your doughnut options are truly endless.
Buzzfeed, however, has decided that Round Rock Donuts has the best fried, sweet, gooey goodness not just in the Austin area, but in the entirety of the state of Texas.
Image via Round Rock Donuts / Instagram
RELATED: An ode to doughnuts, and 6 can't-miss places to try them in the U.S.
RELATED: UT to doughnut shop: Yeast and desist
The site's definitive ranking of the best doughnut in every state was compiled based primarily on Yelp reviews, so take it with a grain of salt (or glazed sugar). According to Buzzfeed, Yelp's ranking used an algorithm that compared the number of reviews for each shop as well as how many stars it received.
What say you? Does Round Rock Donuts deserve the title of the best in the state?
Author Katey PsencikPosted on October 10, 2016 October 10, 2016 Categories Food, RankingsTags things to doLeave a comment on Buzzfeed names Round Rock Donuts the best doughnut shop in Texas
This Texas teenager decorated her dog's house for Halloween
Plenty of people dress up their dogs for Halloween. It's an increasingly common trend, and after seeing how cute our furry friends look in their get-ups, it's hard to resist finding the perfect costume (my shih tzu, Oso, is going as an Ewok this year – so yes, I've joined the dark side).
But one Texas teen decided to take her dog's Halloween celebrations one step further.
Yes, I decorated Tyson's house for Halloween & he's excited about it!!! 🎃🍂💛 pic.twitter.com/o0MgAERyOH
— mya 😎 (@Mya83Mya) October 6, 2016
According to Buzzfeed, 15-year-old Mya Martinez from South Texas decided to decorate her dog Tyson's house because it's his first Halloween.
Martinez tweeted the photos of Tyson's house on Oct. 5, and since then, it's garnered more than 20,000 retweets and 32,000 likes.
And of course, Tyson has an adorable Halloween costume.
sure pic.twitter.com/6cPDDlWZAf
People say dogs don't enjoy the same things their humans do, but the 10-month-old pug looks SO HAPPY in his newly decorated home.
That puppy grin is priceless.
RELATED: Austin named America's best city for dogs
Author Katey PsencikPosted on October 10, 2016 October 10, 2016 Categories Halloween, internetTags things to doLeave a comment on This Texas teenager decorated her dog's house for Halloween
This Craigslist ad for an ACL wristband is a serious literary journey
Weekend Two of Austin City Limits Festival is underway, and there's no shortage of people trying to get rid of their wristbands last-minute.
A search for "ACL" in the Austin Craigslist turns up more than 9,900 results (how many of those are legit, it's hard to say) and ticket prices are dropping fast since the festival is well underway.
Well, one person really wants to sell their wristband, and they've taken a unique marketing approach.
This Craigslist ad for a "magic wristband" has been making the rounds on social media lately. We hate to break it to you – the wristband isn't actually magic, but the wearer "may still have many good things happen to them," the seller reassures.
The story woven in the post depicts the storyteller wandering through a wooded area (the Greenbelt, maybe?) when he ran into a dark, robed traveler. He reassured the traveler he was simply avoiding the foot traffic of "Mountain Pack Road, or MoPac as you locals call it." He relayed his difficulty in selling his three-day wristband, so the hooded figure revealed his true identity: he's a tiefling (yep, Dungeons & Dragons-style) and he cast a spell on the wristband "which will give the wearer boundless good luck."
No promises on what kind of good luck you'll receive, but the phrase "free drinks" was used, so…fingers crossed.
You still have to pay for the wristband (less than face value, though!) but the ACL/D&D fanfiction, thankfully, is free.
One question remains: How has nobody bought this yet?!
Author Katey PsencikPosted on October 7, 2016 October 7, 2016 Categories ACL Fest, internetTags things to doLeave a comment on This Craigslist ad for an ACL wristband is a serious literary journey
The new trailer for the 'Legends of the Hidden Temple' remake is here
'90s kids, rejoice: "Legends of the Hidden Temple" is back — sort of.
The legendary (get it?) Nickelodeon show is the latest piece of '90s nostalgia to get the remake treatment, this time in the form of a Nickelodeon original movie.
The trailer, released exclusively to Buzzfeed on Wednesday, is a brief but fun look at how the network has changed the classic game show into a 90-minute full-length film.
According to Buzzfeed, the story follows three siblings: Sadie, Noah and Dudley, who "wander away from their tour group and find themselves in the middle of an unexpected adventure."
The trailer features some familiar figures, if you're an old-school "Legends" fan.
RELATED: Nickelodeon brings back "Hey Arnold" and "Legends of the Hidden Temple"
There's the Shrine of the Silver Monkey (fully assembled, thankfully).
Image: Nickelodeon
And it was always hilarious to watch contestants fall into this water pit.
The movie wouldn't be complete without a Temple Guard that looks legit terrifying.
And…is that…a red jaguar?
Our good buddy Olmec is back, with the same familiar voice and everything. Some things shouldn't be changed.
You can watch the full trailer here. The movie premieres Saturday, Nov. 26 on Nickelodeon.
RELATED: A giant Nickelodeon theme park is coming to make our dreams come true
Author Katey PsencikPosted on October 6, 2016 October 6, 2016 Categories televisionTags around the web, things to doLeave a comment on The new trailer for the 'Legends of the Hidden Temple' remake is here
Austin Panic Room makes list of best escape rooms in the country
Austin Panic Room has been listed as the seventh-best escape room in the country, according to a new ranking compiled by USA Today travel experts.
The local attraction opened in September 2014 downtown at the corner of 12th and Rio Grande streets and offers a variety of themed rooms, with the themes changing every 10 to 12 months. Currently, you can choose from five themes: Museum Heist, Prison Break, Abandoned School, Cabin Fever and Phase III: Human Trials.
Robert Ma is the brains behind the Austin Panic Room. It has become a popular venue for companies, tourists, friends and family and thrill seekers to participate in solving puzzles and clues in a locked room to decipher the correct answer and "escape" safely RALPH BARRERA / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
According to USA Today, the top 10 best escape rooms in the country are:
Real Escape Game – San Francisco
Mission: Escape – Atlanta
Palace Games – San Francisco
Locked In: The Birmingham Escape Game – Birmingham, Ala.
Breakout KC – Kansas City, Mo.
House of Hints – San Diego
Austin Panic Room – Austin
Room Escape Live – Los Angeles
Trapology – Boston
The Basement – Los Angeles
Owner Robert Ma said he got the idea to open Austin Panic Room after visiting an escape room on a trip to London.
Author Katey PsencikPosted on October 4, 2016 October 4, 2016 Categories RankingsTags things to doLeave a comment on Austin Panic Room makes list of best escape rooms in the country
The first trailer for Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' is here
Netflix's highly anticipated remake of Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" has finally released its first teaser video, and it's just as meta and macabre as every fan hoped.
"A Series of Unfortunate Events" debuts on Netflix on Jan. 13. Photo from Netflix
The trailer features Patrick Warburton as author Lemony Snicket (a pseudonym for Daniel Handler) walking through Netflix's set for the TV show and, true to form, attempting to dissuade fans from even watching the series at all.
"Under ordinary circumstances, this room would be buzzing with excitement and activity as directors, designers, stagehands and indentured servants prepare for a dazzling season of top-notch entertainment," Snicket says, walking past lights, cameras and a crate curiously labeled "Very Flammable Dandelions."
"But the story of the Baudelaire orphans is so upsetting and so utterly unnerving that the entire crew is suffering from low morale, a phase which here means, 'Currently under medical observation for melancholia, ennui and acute wistfulness,'" Snicket continues.
No appearance of Neil Patrick Harris as the infamous Count Olaf, unfortunately, but you can hear his voice cutting through Snicket's warning as he sings off screen: "Joy, joy, happiness, my fortune's about to change."
Looks like not everyone's suffering from low morale.
The teaser tells little to nothing about the show itself, so here's hoping we see more sneak peeks of Snicket, Count Olaf and the Baudelaire orphans before the show debuts on the entirely too perfect date of Friday, Jan. 13.
Author Katey PsencikPosted on October 4, 2016 October 4, 2016 Categories televisionTags netflix, television, things to doLeave a comment on The first trailer for Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' is here