Ok, so fabulous my be a little over the top but we do need your help. Our upcoming "Rockin Brews Cruise 2" is coming up and we need a t-shirt. For those new to the site the "Rockin Brews Cruise 1" was hoot and you can read about it here. It ended up selling out a month ahead of time and was one of the best shows we've ever been lucky enough to be involved with. We toyed with what to do with it and decided to let the people that make wellthatscool.com so awesome come up with the design, and those people are you. So this is our proposal to you. Design us this shirt and you will receive:

• Free ticket to go on the "Brews Cruise 2"
• A free t-shirt with your design
• $20 beer certificate for the boat ride

There are a few rules: first, the design must be front and back. The front needs to include a graphic that includes Wellthatcool.com, Rocking Brews Cruise 2",  on the Bama Belle and the names of the bands, The Blue Party and Model Citizen. The design needs to be a simple one color design, the t-shirts are gonna be blue so that can play into your design. The back needs to list our sponsors, Alcove International Tavern, Wilhagans, Little Willies, The Left hand Skin Care Company, Good People Brewery and The Pink Box Burlesque. They need to be in a matching or complimentary font to the front. It needs to be a high resolution and in .psd or .jpg format. Need to be emailed to wellthatscool(at)gmail(dot)com by June 15th. We are looking forward to another great cruise with tickets going on sale in early June. Hope to see you as we set sail down the Black Warrior for a night of beer bands and merriment. Read more »

We here at the Wellthatscool.com are really stoked about The howlies return to Tuscaloosa by way of Atlanta Ga. We first had the pleasure of catching these guys opening for the Dexateens a few years back at the Mellow Mushroom. We were blown away with the harmonies and twang thats its hard to put a finger on. It reminds us of the Kinks but with a little bit more aggression and dipped in low grade acid. I liked them so much that I bought a "Howlies hat". Their return trip leads them to the can't help but be intimate show at Egans on Saturday night. This show, flanked by former Tuscaloosa natives Abby Go Go is one of the first stops that will take these guys to NYC on June 4th to rejoin the Dexateens for a run of shows. Long story short come out and support a great touring band that might just rock your socks off.

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Shrek Forever After

Sequels are always troublesome.  Sequels to fairy tales are inherently embarrassing.

              One of the great things about Shrek was that it provided a new take on a classic item: the cartoon fairy tale movie.  It was filled with references to not only elements of the childhood canon, but also sassy bits of pop culture.  A movie that could be enjoyed by hoards of children and chuckled at by adults, where ugly triumphs over beauty and the prince in the castle is a dastardly fool, a new stage in fairy tale history.  It was also the first recipient of the Academy Award for Animate Feature.  The trouble with the films that have followed (mainly Shrek Forever After, seeing as I don’t remember the second one and didn’t bother with the third) is that the genre it is bending does not lend itself to continuance.  However cute and daring we may believe it is to look beyond “happily ever after,” in actuality what you get is a pathetic attempt to continue to milk the cash cow, and what results in guaranteed to be curdled.   

              In this installment of the series, Shrek is a poor bedraggled dad who misses his life before responsibility.  In the end (SPOILER ALERT) he grows to appreciate that which he once distained.  Just like the first film, this one is tackling a severely overdone plot line.  Very unlike the first film, the journey from sad to glad is done in the same humdrum way as ever.  There were no bumps and curves, no sense of urgency, no point where I wondered, “how is he going to do this?”  George Bailey had to really be convinced that the world needed him, but Shrek understands very early that he misses what he once had.  His journey to retrieve his lost love could have been noble and thrilling, but instead he was rendered pathetic and bland, with the supporting characters left to carry the weight of the film within their quirk.  Read more »

This is the first in a series of musical pieces that will highlight music we think is cool and somehow have not caught onto yet. We will let you know how we heard it and why we think it's cool. We hope this leads to some new cuts in everyone's collections. If you have an idea about someone we should listen to, please email us at wellthatscool(at)gmail(dot)com. With that being said, our first installment is Janelle Monáe. We learned about Janelle via our twitter feed from one of our favorite blogs, EDSBS.COM( Ed. note. this is one of the funniest football blogs ever. Any time you can make a project runway joke and tie it in with SEC football you're a stone cold badass). EDSBS's twitter feed had this to say, "This is last week, but if you didn't see it, Janelle Monae's Letterman performance was pure fucking fire" and posted a link to this video:

If that's not the funkiest thing that has come across our desk since this, then we don't know what is.She sounds like James Brown and Andre' 3000 spliced genes and created some sort of super space funk baby hell bent on out dancing any person on the planet. This is just once again proof that when you turn 30 evrything passes you by. Don't say I did'nt warn you kids.

   A yard sale is going on this Saturday that will be like no other yard sale you have ever been too. I guarantee it. Friend of the show, George Hadjidakis (that's right, George from Vinyl Solution) is one half of this Two-Family Music & Pop Culture Yard Sale. Now do you believe me when I say that will be like no other yard sale you have ever been to!
Saturday, May 22 6am-12noon
Two-Family Music & Pop Culture Yard Sale + more
1522 Bellwood Ln
Northport AL 35476
http://tuscaloosa.craigslist.org/gms/1749184500.html

    Here is just a sneak peek of what will be for sale!
THOUSANDS OF RECORDS, both LPs & 45s. All genres. Jazz, indie rock, punk rock, garage rock, classic rock, 1950s country & hillbilly,60s & 70s rock, 70s disco & 80s dance music, electronica, lounge & bachelor pad, classical. Obscure stuff & hits. Prices range from 10c to $350 (Japanese Beatles Collection box set) with most LPs for a buck. Also, a nice selection of CDs. Most in excellent to sealed condition. No junk! okay, maybe a little junk, but not much. You'll be thanking your lucky stars you came! Read more »

There are certain things a man is just not ready for at 7:15 A.M.: debating politics, tomfoolery, and now that I've had to confront one, a large hot air balloon shaped like a pink rabbit. This was the scene from Snow Hinton park this morning. It is here of course for the "Sunrise Community Hot Air Balloon Race." The race celebrates its 27th year of raising funds to provide people with intellectual and physical disabilities the assistance and support to enable them to live valued lives in the community. The event will occur on Saturday May 22nd with festivities starting at the cruel and mind numbing hour of 5:30 A.M.  A full list of the event's activities can be found here.The event we here at the wellthatscool.com world headquarters are most looking forward to is the "Bean Bag Competition". While we're not exactly sure how you compete with bean bags, we do know that we sat in them for days straight playing "Zelda" so this should be a breeze. All I'm saying is, "Tuscaloosa Airport, you have never seen anyone sit on a bean bag in a more dominating fashion." Read more »

Ichiban Japanese Grill

Ichiban is a small, yet cozy Japanese grill restaurant that has a menu to please both the sushi and hibachi grill lover.  I visited the restaurant on three separate occasions and found the food, service and overall experience enjoyable. Read more »

In an already crazy Alabama election season, we've seen dust-ups over the English language and self-proclaimed conservatives being pegged as closet liberal evolutionists. This man, Dale Peterson, takes it to a whole new level. Dale is like a Dixie-fied Hunter S. Thompson meets R. Lee Ermey. I've never really cared that much about our Agriculture Commissioner in the past, but this man demands that you give a shit. The hat, gun, and the veiled threats about me not not giving a hoot have been received, sir. You can now count me as one of those who don't want "thugs and criminals" controlling Alabama's agriculture. From the peaches of Chilton county to the peanuts of Barbour, our crops quite frankly deserve better.

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This is the first of what we hope are many contributions from FOTS Dosty Glory, Enjoy!

Kick-Ass (2010)

It's a premise that definitely hooks the trailer viewer. Comic book nerd, Dave, wondering why no one has followed the example of the heroes in his mags, takes on the city's underbelly in a mask and wet suit. The fact that he, and the other crusaders featured in this film, is a teenager, pushes the appeal even further. Read more »