SAN ANTONIO – Today at 10:30 a.m., Hollywood dreams, melted cheese and a punching bag that punches back.
AUDRINA MIRANDA, FROM SAN ANTONIO TO THE BIG SCREEN
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The San Antonio actress behind Isabella Delgado in “Jurassic World Rebirth” talked about what it was like to land a blockbuster role opposite Scarlett Johansson, and how close she came to thinking it had slipped away. The audition process stretched roughly three months, with callback after callback, and the call to come to Thailand arrived only a few days before shooting started. A planned family trip to San Antonio got swapped for a flight overseas.
She said the biggest lesson from the veteran actors around her was to stay grounded and keep a real support system. Next up: the reboot of “13 Going on 30,” which she has just wrapped, and a newly announced project called “Night at the Oasis.” A dream role would be anything in the Spider-Man universe, though she is also manifesting Coraline by way of a Halloween costume. Off set she dances, something she has done since she was two, including classes at her home studio whenever she is back in Texas. The visit included a Red Ribbon Week stop at Garcia Middle School, where she shared her story with students, and her advice to kids with big dreams was blunt about the math of it: there are a lot of no’s before the first yes. Also on the agenda while in town, a bean and cheese taco with bacon, or chorizo and egg, ideally at all three meals.
Three burgers sat on the table at Chris Madrid’s, 1900 Blanco Rd. in San Antonio: the American cheeseburger, a cheddar cheesy, and the Tostada Bean Burger, which comes loaded with refried beans, onions, nacho chips and a heavy pour of cheese. The manager made the case that the cheese is the differentiator, no one piles on more, alongside fries made fresh daily. He said he has watched kids who came in with their families grow up, finish college and come back as adults, which is part of why the dining room feels the way it does: people walk in alone and leave knowing half the room. The restaurant hits 50 years next year. For National Cheeseburger Day, viewers were told a free fry comes with a cheeseburger.
STRIKE COACH, A BOXING INVENTION MADE IN SA
Two Strike Coach units were set up in the studio, and the story behind them started with a client’s question at a heavy bag: where am I hitting this, and how hard? The founder, then a certified personal trainer, went home, sketched the idea and filed for a patent. What came out of it is an interactive boxing system that moves and engages the user while detecting and recording strikes in real time, so you get force data, a score and something to measure over time. Think punching bag with a brain, one that makes you work your footwork to keep up.
The technology side comes from the co-founder and chief technology officer, a San Antonio native and UTSA grad, who handles programming and firmware development and brought in his father to work out the mechanics and motorized movement underneath. A local boxing figure serves as brand ambassador and feeds the team notes on how the machine behaves. The chief-of-staff described the pull of working alongside people with very different specialties on something this ambitious. The company has already run activations at major wrestling and UFC events, and the roadmap includes more sensors, more motorized movement and a virtual reality mode built to feel like facing a live opponent. First units are headed to customers through a planned Kickstarter campaign.
Then came the demo, with the anchor going a round against the founder. Final tally: 41 strikes, a hardest punch of 12.5 G’s and a score of 1060 for one corner, 39 total hits and a top hit of 9.8 for the other. Verdict from both sides afterward: cardio on another level, and the movement is what does it. More information is available on the As Seen on SA Live tab at SALive.com.
STONE RIDGE DENTAL: DENTAL IMPLANTS AND FULL-MOUTH RECONSTRUCTION
Dr. Alfonso Monarres describes himself as the last dentist in the line of dentists, the one people come to when they have been told nothing else can be done. He said he evaluates patients one at a time and has yet to find a case he cannot help; the common no’s, not enough bone or not healthy enough, are often not the final answer now that the techniques and technology have advanced. One patient came in after two failed implant attempts and left with a full smile.
The first 20 callers receive a complimentary consultation and 3D CT scan valued at $750 at no charge. Stone Ridge Dental can be reached at (210) 405-2776 or implantssanantonio.com.
