Amber Lancaster plays the cheerleading dream girl of a well-endowed geek on MTV's first single-cam comedy, The Hard Times of RJ Berger. The show premiers June 6th with a huge push by MTV, as they sober up from their ten-year reality show bender. The comedy is based around RJ's (Paul Iacono) huge appendage being unveiled during a school pep assembly, and how his popularity goes from zero to 60 quicker then Amber can do the splits. Lancaster has played a soap star diva, been part of the gang on Entourage, and, here, tells us about going to school with no clothes on. 

Describe your role on Hard Times.
I play the role of Jenny Swanson. She's the quintessential, all-American girl-next door that is also the girl of RJ's dreams (both literally and figuratively).

It's a funny role that requires good comedic timing.
The show is basically a series of awkward moments. My character is funny without knowing that she is funny, not because of the things she does, but because of how obsessed RJ is with her and she is completely oblivious.

Have there been any awkward moments on set?
My most awkward moment was a scene where RJ dreams that I come to school naked, with nothing but a backpack on. So I filmed the scene with literally nothing but a backpack and 50 extras, 4 cameras, 20 crew. You get the idea. It was very awkward.

PAPERMAG couldn't make it to Austin for SXSW this year, so we're living vicariously through much-buzzed-about Berkeley indie-pop band the Morning Benders. Currently touring in support of their just-released album, Big Echo, they're playing six shows in three days at the festival. Frontman Christopher Chu has been keeping us updated on their adventures and, here, he realizes that the entire city of Austin is totally drunk.

Though "The Allure of the Automobile" at the High Museum of Art Atlanta offers a new perspective on the exquisite contours of rare 20th century classic automobiles, the exhibit features automobiles as a work of decorative art -- the way car enthusiasts have always seen them. 

The 18 cars selected for the exhibit expand on former Museum of Modern of Art curator Arthur Drexler's premise for the 1951 MoMA show "Eight Automobiles." As Drexler said, "Automobiles are hollow, rolling sculpture. They have interior spaces corresponding to an outer form, like buildings, but the designer's aesthetic purpose is to enclose the functioning parts of an automobile, as well as its passengers, in a package suggesting directed movement along the ground."

"Allure of the Automobile" takes this concept further with a retrospective glance at the defining era of coach building. Cars are divided into pre and post-World War II designs, including American makes like the the 1934 Packard and the 1954 Dodge Firearrow, and European makes, like the 1937 Delage D8-120s and the 1938/39 Porsche Type 64. The exhibit marks the first time the one-of-a-kind Porsche Type 64 shell has left Germany.

Ron Labaco, High's curator of decorative art and design, says the museum has never featured automobiles before, but the show has allowed him to find many parallels between the car and art world. "It's about what denotes a car as a masterpiece," said Labaco. "It's a direct connection between decorative arts. You can compare them with Faberge Eggs."

The Allure of the Automobile opens to the public Mar.21 and runs through June 20, 2010.

PAPERMAG couldn't make it to Austin for SXSW this year, so we're living vicariously through much-buzzed-about Berkeley indie-pop band the Morning Benders. Currently touring in support of their just-released album, Big Echo, they're playing six shows in three days at the festival. Frontman Christopher Chu has been keeping us updated on their adventures and here, tells tale of a run-in with some Chicken Fries. 

Tried to make it to Austin in one day from Birmingham but stopped too many times to try and find decent food. Our first attempt was a Chinese restaurant that didn't exist, despite our GPS' constant nagging to "MAKE A U-TURN." Second attempt was a food court. They had a Subway and some place that served Chicken Fingers with a side of Chicken Fries. We aren't vegetarians but that shit just wasn't happening. We ended up at a place called Don Juanz. And wouldn't ya know, it happened to be TACO TUESDAY at Don Juanz. That's FATE y'all. We were rewarded for our patience and hard work with some pretty boring tacos, but at least they were $1.50. (PS: SXSW starts today so maybe we'll write something about music at some point soon....)

The Morning Benders' Diary, Day 1