A Day at the Races: The Breeders’ Cup Classic 2014

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Erin

A Day at the Races: The Breeders Cup Classic 2014

By Erin

This past weekend, was a pretty exciting one with the Breeders’ Cup in town. The gates swung open for the start of the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic late Saturday afternoon at Santa Anita Park, in sunny California. Bayern, bolted out of the seven spot in the gate, took a hard left and bumped into the favorite, Shared Belief, and the 14-horse field quickly became a scene that has caused much chaos and discussion over whether or not Bayern should have been disqualified or not. I personally don’t think he should be DQ’d as these are animals, not machines, one cannot control their first few strides out of the gate. Here are just a few exciting photos from the afternoon at Santa Anita!

Bayern, at 6-1 odds, warming up before the big race.

For Bayern, it was of the upmost importance to break to the front, where he was able to use his speed from the start. When he is able to break to the front, that is when he wins his races.

California Chrome, getting ready for the race.

California Chrome ran his heart out, but it just wasn’t quiet enough. He finished third, by two heads. Bayern’s and Toast of New York’s.

How they ultimately ended up placing, Bayern (red), Toast of New York (blue), & California Chrome (black/purple).

Bayern was able to hold California Chrome and Toast of New York off as they ran down the stretch to give the Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his first Classic victory. The winning time from Bayern was 1 minute 59.88 seconds.

Bayern, Toast of New York, & California Chrome

Big Hero 6: Thoughts From the Cast & Creators

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Erin

Big Hero 6: Thoughts From the Cast & Creators

By Mindy Marzec

Last month I had the great privilege to see a screening of “Big Hero 6” and attend a press junket with some of the film’s creators and voice actors. It was a fun afternoon at the Disney studios in Burbank, CA, and I want to thank Erin at Horsing Around in L.A. for the experience! My review of the film is coming up, but first I wanted to introduce you to some of the creative geniuses behind “Big Hero 6,” then be on the look out for the scoop on the short film that runs before it, called “Feast,” tomorrow!

First we got a little background about how the film was made from Don Hall (Director), Chris Williams (Director), and Roy Conli (Producer). They were asked about how the project came to be and how similar it is to the original Marvel comic of “Big Hero 6.”

Don: “The project came from my love of comic books. It was a dream project to take these things (Disney and comics) and combine them. We inquired about the project because I liked the title, found out it was a Japanese super hero team and then became more intrigued, then actually read the comics and got really intrigued. And so when we met with Marvel and said, ‘We want to do Big Hero 6,’ they loved it, they loved the idea we were going to do, and they said ‘don’t worry about setting it in the Marvel universe. Do your own thing. Use your own creative and create your own world.” So then we created San Fransokyo, because that’s what we do first, right off the bat, what’s the world we’re dealing with here? We love fantasy and we do fantasy very well, and so we wanted to create a fantasy world. That’s what led to this mash up of San Fransokyo. We wanted this world to not be super powered beings walking around, there’s a reality to this world. And then super technology became everybody’s super power. So a lot of these little decisions took us farther away from the comic book.”

What about criticism from Marvel fans?

Don: “One thing about our process is, no matter what story you think you’re going to tell when you start out, it is going to be something else by the end. That’s just the way it is. (Changing the story) was always going to be that way. I will say that Duncan Rouleau, who is one of the co-creators of the original comic, just saw (the film) and loved it.”

Shaking It Up at the Hard Rock Cafe

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Erin

Shaking It Up at the Hard Rock Cafe

*I was unable to attend this awesome event over at the Hard Rock Cafe as I was on a media trip, so my girl Mary over at Along Comes Mary, graciously was able to cover it and report back to us! Thanks Mary!*

By Mary Lansing

(*Disclosure: I was The Hard Rock Cafe’s guest in place of Erin Miller. All opinions are my own & thanks to HRC & Erin for having me!)

Have you ever been to The Hard Rock Cafe? As someone who is both a LA native & self-proclaimed music lover, I am a little surprised that I have only recently begun going to this awesome restaurant. Each location has its own special touch; whether its Michael Jackson’s fedora at Hollywood Boulevard, a dress worn by Courtney Love in Las Vegas, or a famous ZZ Top car smack in the middle of the bar at Universal City Walk’s, they give each spot its own flavor!

Thanks to Erin, I headed out recently to The Hard Rock at Universal Studios City Walk for an amazing night showcasing their new, eclectic SHAKE IT UP private bartending classes. Perfect for a birthday party, bachelorette or bachelor night, or simply a fun way to gather up all your friends, these private group classes invite you & your guests to be one on one with some of HRC’s best bartenders, literally teaching you how to make your own concoctions…& oh yeah, keep ’em to drink following! 😉

For your soiree, you’re reserved the entire upstairs loft overlooking the hustle & bustle below your eyes at The City Walk’s location. Outside, you can relax & people watch all visiting the outdoor promenade. We were shortly after introduced to “Moose” & Rob. 2 of HRC’s star bartenders, who couldn’t have been more fun to show us the ropes as we attempted to make a Gin Martini, Vodka Martini, Margarita & HRC’s infamous “Hurricane” drink.

How did I do? Well, lets just say that I won’t be applying to work at Hard Rock anytime soon! But, it was extremely fun to learn just what goes into your favorite drinks; while my vodka martini was much too strong, the guys do step in to make ones to show you how they should taste; so, you’re guaranteed to have a well made drink if you’re not a pro yet 😉 As a margarita lover, it was interesting to learn just how true & pure HRC makes theirs; I had some in Las Vegas & thought they were the best I’d had in a long time, now I understand why. It’s all about a good quality mix, fresh lime juice & the best tequila they have.