Hey Ballers, this is Terry posting personally. above is not just a picture off the internet. It is my fathers home, my childhood home. This has affected me in ways I’m still trying to get use to. I cannot just stand around in central Texas doing nothing. Myself and a few others are looking to load up a couple of supply trucks and take them down as soon as we get the all clear for the roads but we need help. Anything you can give us will go a long way. If you have supplies already please message us and we will find places for you to bring it. Thank you so much, we are #texasstrong

 

SAN DIEGO, CA – July 17, 2017 – IMDb, the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content, today announced that for the second year in a row, writer/director/podcaster Kevin Smith will host three days (July 20-22) of original celebrity video interviews, the IMDboat party, a 90-minute live show (IMDb LIVE at San Diego Comic-Con, Presented by XFINITY) and other exclusive convention coverage aboard the IMDboat (#IMDboat) at San Diego Comic-Con® International 2017. Celebrities who are scheduled to appear include the casts of Arrow, Doctor Who, The Flash, Vikings, The Walking Dead, Preacher and more.

IMDb’s expanded Comic-Con 2017 presence includes the following: the addition of a massive LED screen located on the back of IMDboat so that fans on the street can watch live as Kevin Smith interviews leading celebrities; IMDb street teams who will will give away swag bags to fans at Comic-Con; and more off-boat editorial coverage, such as breaking news from the Convention Center floor, trending stories and daily recaps.

“IMDboat was the epicenter of Comic-Con 2016 and I’m excited to be the sweaty, sunburnt master of ceremonies again this year, talking with some of my favorite stars and filmmakers on the top deck,” Kevin Smith said.

“For the second year in a row, IMDb will create unique, multi-platform Comic-Con coverage that celebrates, chronicles and broadcasts the action from the world’s biggest celebration of fandom,” said Rob Grady, IMDb’s COO. “IMDboat is a floating video set for interviews and coverage, a hub for exclusive fan experiences and sponsor activations, an oasis for talent and an industry meeting and networking space. Our goal is to create unique experiences that make IMDb an even more engaging daily destination while empowering hundreds of millions of IMDb customers all over the world to virtually attend Comic-Con.”

About IMDboat at San Diego Comic-Con 2017
IMDboat, which is accessible by invitation only, will serve as a gateway to top entertainment brands and properties including Comcast’s XFINITY, Activision’s Call of Duty WWII, EuropaCorp’s
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets distributed by STXfilms, LEGO® Star Wars™ and Amazon Rapids by creating a must-stop destination for talent, industry VIPs and fans. The boat will be docked at Fifth Avenue Landing, immediately behind the San Diego Convention Center, and opens to invited guests on Thursday, July 20.

Events on and around the IMDboat at Comic-Con include:

• From Thursday through Saturday (July 20-22), IMDb will produce original video coverage on the open-air top deck, including Kevin Smith’s interviews with the casts of Arrow, Doctor Who, The Flash, Vikings, The Walking Dead, Preacher and more.

• On Thursday (July 20) from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. PDT in room 6A in the San Diego Convention Center, Kevin Smith will moderate IMDb’s first-ever Comic-Con panel, “Kevin Smith’s Comic Book Movie Trivia Mayhem Panel, Presented by comiXology and IMDb.” Kevin will be joined by a panel of pop culture expert contestants (including: Fatman on Batman’s Marc Bernardin; Julie and Shawna Benson, writers of The CW’s The 100; and DC Comics’ Batgirl and the Birds of Prey) who will play a competitive round of comic book movie trivia. Col Needham, IMDb founder and CEO, and comiXology CEO David Steinberger will judge the panel, awarding points based on the creativity of the answers.

• The second-annual IMDboat Party, Presented by XFINITY will take place on Friday (July 21) from 7:30 to 11 p.m. PDT. Special guests include: Kevin Smith; notable celebrities; industry influencers; IMDb, Amazon Studios, Amazon Rapids, XFINITY, Atom Tickets, LEGO® Star Wars™, Twitch, STXfilms and SModCo executives; and more. This is an invitation-only event.

• Thursday through Saturday (July 20-22) from 2 to 4 p.m PDT, select fans will have the opportunity to come aboard the IMDboat to relax and unwind in the IMDb Fan Lounge as space allows. The IMDb Fan Lounge will offer fans early (beta) access to play the new Call of Duty WWII before it hits stores and other special experiences. While aboard the IMDboat, fans can also get a closer look at Amazon Rapids, a children’s reading app featuring illustrated short stories told through the lens of characters chatting with each other. To be eligible for entry at check-in, fans can show a social post on one of their social media accounts that features the #IMDboat hashtag. Information about how to access the IMDboat will also be provided by IMDb street teams as they distribute swag bags and interact with fans. Additionally, affiliate restaurants in downtown San Diego will be distributing IMDb coasters that display trivia questions. Fans who post the correct answers to these questions on their social media accounts (along with the #IMDboat hashtag) will also be eligible for entry. Space is limited and during this time frame, fans will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition, for the first time, convention goers can watch Kevin Smith’s celebrity interviews and other exclusive IMDb Comic-Con coverage on a massive LED screen mounted to the IMDboat (facing the Convention Center).

• On Saturday (July 22), beginning at 3:30 p.m. PDT, Kevin Smith will host IMDb LIVE At San Diego Comic-Con, Presented by XFINITY, a 90-minute live-streaming show broadcast on IMDb, Twitch (twitch.tv/TwitchPresents), and Twitter. The show will feature Kevin Smith’s wrap-up analysis of the convention and conversations with special celebrity guests.

• To celebrate the July 1, 2017, launch of IMDb Ticketing, Powered by Atom Tickets, IMDb street teams will be in heavy circulation in San Diego, giving away swag bags to fans. In addition to other fan-favorite items, the swag bags will contain Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets-themed special offer cards (including a “buy one, get one free” ticket offer or a $5 off ticket purchase discount which fans can redeem when they purchase Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets tickets on IMDb’s website or mobile apps).

To follow IMDb’s exclusive Comic-Con coverage, which includes breaking news, expert analysis, original celebrity interviews, trending information, a 90-minute live show, field pieces shot around the convention (featuring fans, cosplay and top stories of the day), daily Comic-Con recaps, and more, visit http://www.imdb.com/comic-con, follow #IMDboat on Twitter or visit IMDb’s official Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/imdb), Snapchat (www.snapchat.com/add/imdblive) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/imdb/) pages. Coverage will be accessible by IMDb’s more than 250 million unique monthly visitors worldwide via IMDb’s website, mobile apps and social media accounts (including Snapchat and You Tube). IMDb’s2017 San Diego Comic-Con special section, located at http://www.imdb.com/comic-con, features preview coverage, a welcome video message from Kevin Smith, a Comic-Con events schedule and more.

To watch video highlights of IMDb’s original celebrity interviews aboard the The IMDboat at Comic-Con 2016, go to: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5831312/videoplayer/vi2319562521.

About the Launch of IMDb Ticketing, Powered by Atom Tickets
On July 1, 2017, IMDb (the #1 movie website in the world) and Atom Tickets (the cutting-edge mobile movie ticketing platform) launched IMDb Ticketing, Powered by Atom Tickets. Fans in the U.S. and Canada can now conveniently purchase movie tickets on IMDb.com, on IMDb’s mobile optimized website and on IMDb’s leading iOS and Android mobile apps.

IMDb Ticketing, Powered by Atom Tickets, offers fans the most convenient way to plan a night out at the movies. With this new service, fans can login and pay via their Amazon account, browse showtimes for movies in their area and skip the lines by purchasing tickets and preordering concessions (where available).

“We are thrilled to team up with Atom Tickets, who share our spirit of innovation and customer obsession, to offer fans our new, convenient and fun online movie ticketing solution,” said Rob Grady, IMDb’s COO. “The launch of IMDb Ticketing, Powered by Atom Tickets reflects our commitment to being the daily destination fans rely on when deciding what to watch and where to watch it. We will continue to collaborate with Atom Tickets, innovative studios and top exhibitors to provide IMDb customers with exclusive movie-going experiences and special offers tied to the hottest new releases, like our current Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets nationwide promotion.”

“IMDb is the global authority for everything movies, and we’re honored to provide fans with a seamless ticketing experience,” said Ameesh Paleja, CEO and co-founder, Atom Tickets. “Whether you’re using the IMDb app, mobile site or desktop site, you’re going to enjoy the fast, easy ordering process users have come to expect from Atom. We’re looking forward to serving new and loyal IMDb users through the exclusive offer to see Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.”

To celebrate IMDb’s new movie ticketing service, Atom Tickets and IMDb are providing fans who buy tickets to Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets through IMDb Ticketing, Powered by Atom Tickets (on IMDb.com or IMDb’s mobile apps) with a discount of $5 off the ticket price at participating theaters beginning on July 17, 2017. This nationwide discount will be automatically applied at checkout, while supplies last. To participate, go to: www.imdb.com/valerian.

To learn more about IMDb Ticketing, Powered by Atom Tickets and to buy tickets, go to: http://www.imdb.com/showtimes/.

About Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith first came to attention as the writer/director of a film called Clerks. It’s been all downhill ever since.

About IMDb
IMDb is the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. The IMDb consumer site (www.imdb.com) is the #1 movie website in the world with a combined web and mobile audience of more than 250 million unique monthly visitors. IMDb offers a searchable database of more than 185 million data items including more than 4 million movies, TV and entertainment programs and more than 6 million cast and crew members. Consumers rely on the information IMDb provides — including local movie showtimes, ticketing, trailers, critic and user reviews, personalized recommendations, photo galleries, entertainment news, quotes, trivia, box-office data, editorial feature sections and a universal Watchlist – when deciding what to watch and where to watch it. IMDb’s portfolio of leading entertainment apps (http://www.imdb.com/apps/) includes its popular “Movies & TV” app for iPhone, iPad, Kindle Fire, Android phones, Android tablets and its mobile-optimized website. To date, there have been more than 115 million downloads of IMDb’s mobile apps worldwide. IMDb’s X-Ray for Movies & TV Shows (www.imdb.com/x-ray) is a feature that revolutionizes the viewing experience by bringing the power of IMDb directly to Kindle Fire HD, Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. IMDb’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/imdb) and official Twitter account (https://twitter.com/imdb) are followed by more than 10 million passionate entertainment fans. IMDbPro (http://www.imdbpro.com) is the essential resource for entertainment industry professionals. This membership-based service includes comprehensive information and tools that are designed to help entertainment industry professionals achieve success throughout all stages of their career. IMDbPro offers members the following: detailed contact and representation information; IMDb profile management tools; exclusive STARmeter rankings that are determined by page views on IMDb; a casting service to post breakdowns and apply to roles, a mobile optimized website and more. Additionally, IMDb owns and operates Withoutabox (http://www.withoutabox.com), the premier submission service for film festivals and filmmakers, and Box Office Mojo (http://www.boxofficemojo.com), the leading online box-office reporting service. IMDb.com is operated by IMDb.com, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) (http://www.amazon.com). To learn more, go to: http://www.imdb.com/press.

About Atom Tickets
Atom Tickets is the first-of-its-kind theatrical mobile ticketing platform. Through its patent pending recommendation and personalization technology, Atom Tickets allows consumers to search for films instantly, invite friends, buy tickets, pre-order concessions and more. Enabled on more than 16,500 screens across the U.S., the platform’s innovative marketing capabilities help studios, exhibitors and brands maximize revenue opportunities. Atom Tickets is available as a free app in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store and online at atomtickets.com. For detailed information about participating theaters, go to: https://www.atomtickets.com/browse/theaters.

Come see Originator Studios and celebrate the opening of Austin’s first VR Arcade!
Get your virtual swords ready…for this free one night only event, they want you to take a slice at FRUIT NINJA VR!

All ages are welcome to join, and they will have a free Austin East Cider for the adults.
They will be tracking high scores throughout the night. Who knows, you may even take home a prize!

Tomorrow at 6 PM – 10 PM

If you would like information on booking a session at the VR Arcade, please visit http://www.originatorstudios.com/vr-arcade or email them at innfo@originatorstudios.com

Originator VR Arcade
718 Northwestern Ave
Austin, TX 78702

        This past month on 4/20, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the 1st annual 4/20 on the block celebration in Denver, Colorado. A one day celebration of Denver’s thriving cannabis community that took place at 6 different music venues in downtown Denver. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect other than a bunch of stoners hanging around downtown. However I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of hard work, talent and dedication I observed while enjoying some great music and meeting cannabis entrepreneurs. The festival kicked off at (what other time could it be?) 4:20 pm, I then spent most of my time in a two story venue called City Hall.

Inside, there were about 25-30 different vendors representing many different facades of the growing cannabis industry. From clothing designers to travel guides and accountants to candy makers , I was quite impressed with the number of cannabis related occupations that have come about since the state legalized.

 

 

 

 

Later in the evening began the music portion of the festival with headliners such as Blockhead, Cut Chemist and Del the funky homosapien. The way the acts where scheduled reminded me of sxsw where multiple venues in same block where host of the acts. There where 6 venues on the block and between each venue where consumption buses, a legal place to consume and smoke cannabis products. Public consumption is still a no no under their new law, however that just made way for a new industry, the consumption bus. It’s legal to consume cannabis inside private, for-hire vehicles (as long as you’re not the driver). Colorado’s “open container” rules for marijuana, enacted last year, track those for alcohol. Both make exceptions for motor homes and for “the passenger area of a motor vehicle designed, maintained, or used primarily for the transportation of persons for compensation.”

There where also visual artist and comediennes at one of the venues. Perhaps my only complaint was that it was a little much just for one day and would have been better suited as a two day festival. 420 on the Block was defiantly a postive eye opener into the growing cannabis industry, most importantly it was a ballin event.

This weekend we found ourselves fortunate to be invited to AIM fest aka the Austin instrumental music fest. A one day long musical showcase at the Empire control room with 2 stages and 20 acts. In its third year it has grown from a mere less than 100 in attendance to over 500. The ticket price was $25 and let me tell you, you got your money’s worth.

I didn’t really know what to expect from the music but was blown away by what I heard. From a bit of classical to jazz to heavy metal and some fantastic 8bit music I was not disappointed. My only regret was having to run errands and getting there late. My personal favorite band of the night had to be Bitforce. A power-trio with superhuman abilities that fights the evil of the universe with their tasty nerdcore groove as self-described on their facebook but I agree.

I hope that this fest continues to grow each year, it’s definitely underrated and underappreciated. This is the type of festival that makes Austin such a cool place to keep living in. We at Ballin most certainly cannot wait till next year.

Started in 2015, Day For Night is a visually immersive art and music festival that explores light, space, and sound.  Day For Night will take place at the historic Barbara Jordan Post Office (401 Franklin Street), designed by the same architects as the Houston Astrodome, will be the setting for this year’s hyper-sensorial festival. 

The 2016 Day For Night music line-up includes Aphex Twin, Ariel Pink, Banks, Blood Orange, Butthole Surfers, Little Dragon, Jesus and Mary Chain, Squarepusher, Thundercat, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Mykki Blanco, and SOPHIE.

But what we are most excited to see is the visual artist that are being brought in who are going to transform this space into a magical wonderland of sight and sound. Day For Night is excited to announce fifteen site-specific commissions and new media installations for the second edition of the festival. The 2016 Day For Night visual artists are AV&C + Houze, Children of the Light, Alex Czetwertynski, Björk, Damien Echols, Ezra Miller, Golan Levin, Michael Fullman, NONOTAK, Robert Seidel, Shoplifter, TUNDRA, United Visual Artists (UVA), and Various Projects.

Curated by Day For Night co-founder Alex Czetwertynski, the Day For Night exhibition program is a unique platform for artists to push the boundaries of their practice and create new sensory experiences for festival goers. Similar to the music line-up, which includes headliners Aphex Twins and the more underground Ariel Pink and Mykki Blanco, Day For Night presents an international group of emerging and established artists.

“Our intention is to bring together talents that fearlessly cross over multiple fields and blur the lines between media. From our more established artists, such as UVA and Bjork digital, who are both presenting works never seen before in the US, to our youngest artist, the twenty-year-old Ezra Miller, we want our audience to experience art at a scale that is almost impossible to see elsewhere, and in a grouping that would be hard to pull off in more traditional environments,” says Czetwertynski.

We cannot wait for what we feel will be the redeeming quality of the year 2016. After everything this year has thrown at us, a winter festival with this amazing lineup is just what we need. Stay tuned as we will be covering this experience from Friday night till Sunday. We’ll have tons of photos and some special one on one interviews with few of our favorite artists.

Full line-up here.

Tickets available here.

(images courtesy of Day for Night)

Today is my birthday and the best way to celebrate it, of course, is with free food! So how did I manage to accomplish that? Simple, the much overlooked restaurant “birthday club”. Some places now call it loyalty programs or some cute combo of their name with club. It’s honestly just a way for them to email you all the time about deals you don’t care about but I’ve signed up for many and narrowed it down to the top 5 most Ballin’.

1. Red Robin royalty– By far the best one. I like this one because there is not a big rush to claim it. You have your entire birthday month to claim it. And what is it you ask? A free full size burger with fries, no other purchase necessary, and for dessert, a free mini sundae. But be careful they will sing happy birthday to you.
2. Panera Bread My Panera Club– If that mini sundae wasn’t enough dessert for you then head over to Panera bread and redeem your free pastry. If you want to wait a while then good news, the reward they give you for your bday doesn’t expire until two months after. No purchase necessary to use.
3. Wingstop Email club– If you’re like me and you love Wingstop’s fries, that’s exactly what you get on your bday each year. You’ll get a coupon in your email that will let you redeem a large order of fries. No purchase necessary. You’ll get the coupon about 7 days before your bday and it will expire in about 7 days after your bday.
4. TGI Fridays Rewards– I signed up for this a week before my bday and didn’t get anything but just for signing up you get a reward. With just your email you’ll earn a free app or dessert up to $8 in value. No purchase necessary. Also you’ll receive a skip-the-line pass if your local Fridays is the place to be haha.
5. Alamo Victory rewards– Ok so this one isn’t food but I love this place, and especially the owner Mr. T (Tim League) himself, with all my heart. The Victory rewards program lets you earn things like free popcorn and free shakes based on the number of movies you visit throughout the year. However, on your special day you get a free movie ticket to treat yourself. The ticket has a 30 day expiration after your special day so no rush.