General Topics
Everything else discussed on the porch.
Oscars Bingo Cards
February 24, 2013 | Scott Hoffman
Scott cornered all the Academy Award classic moments for this set of Oscars Bingo cards. Everything from the weeping, barely discernible “I’d like the thank the Academy…” to Morgan Freeman’s booming voice makes an appearance. Read More
Insiders Oscar Picks
February 24, 2013 | Nathan Tapp
With the 85th Academy Awards just around the corner, Drew and I decided that we’d give you an “insider’s” look at who could be taking home those golden statues in the big six categories! (Mind you, neither of us are actual insider’s, we just tend to see a shit ton of movies.) For clarification, Drew’s choices are listed first while mine follow. Here are our Oscar picks.
Pop Culture Review 2/16 – 2/23
February 23, 2013 | Nik Heimach
Let’s cut the fluff and get right down to brass tax; a lot happened this week, a lot is still happening, and you don’t have time to sit around not knowing about it. I get it, you get it, we get it, and I’m here to tell you, it’s cool. Relax. Crack a cold one. I got this.
Pop culture review, SlimFast style.
Beerstagrams 2/15- 2/22
February 22, 2013 | Lizzie Bourque
I give you fair warning- if you are grossed out by the majority of the photos from your high school science textbook then you might want to be careful when viewing this post. For some, particularly home brew enthusiasts, Brett’s pellicle might be a thing of beauty. I, however, have somehow never had the stomach for things like this. So if anyone out there is like me, don’t worry- I threw in a nice, calming shot from my Friday night at the local live jazz joint you can skip right to. It’s also been a little rough weather-wise this week, so if you need a good beer for your snow day, check out the (insert Milton from Office Space voice here) Red Swingline IPA. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend so you can get out there and enjoy a craft beer weekend!
A Fanatic Offers 2013 Oscar Predictions
February 22, 2013 | Jessica Sullivan
I usually start scribbling down my Oscar predictions next to my must-see movie list in October, but I make no claim to being an expert—only a strange fanatic. About this time last year, I realized with some degree of mild embarrassment that I received more text messages from well-wishers on Oscar Sunday than on my birthday. For as long as I can remember—charted by a collection of worn-out VHS recordings of prior ceremonies and list of old nominees tucked into my bookshelf—I have watched the Academy Awards every year with a kind of fervent enthusiasm people usually reserve for activities to which they have tangible connection. No, I’m like someone featured on Hoarders who is dramatically attached to paper scraps, while everyone around them thinks, “You’re obsessed with that?”
Academy Awards Live Blog
February 22, 2013 | Tristan Chan
We may have broke the internet the last time we tried to live blog an awards show, but this Sunday we’re going to win the internet with our Academy Awards Live Blog. Join us Sunday at 7 eastern, 5 mountain for a live blog to end all live blogs. We’ll bring the snark, we’ll bring the wit and we’ll have complete coverage of this year’s Academy Awards! With our new format you’ll be able interact with us in real time. See you Sunday!
Oscars 2013 Cheat Sheet
February 21, 2013 | Drew Troller
The 2013 Oscars are this Sunday. And you haven’t seen all of the movies and performances nominated. That’s okay. You can still pretend you did. This cheat sheet has all the info you’ll need! If you’re watching with friends or strangers, just spew some of these fun facts, behind-the-scenes info, and random trivia. You’ll seem like you know what you’re talking about. I did the research so you can seem like a movie savant. You’re welcome. Enjoy the show.
No Good From Playing Derrick Rose This Season
February 20, 2013 | Mike Zoller
Walk around downtown Chicago and you will hear a variety of sports topics being debated. You’ll hear the classic Cubs vs. Sox, Chicago Stadium vs. United Center and the hot topic of the past few weeks has been should Derrick Rose play this year or not?
PorchDrinking Playlist: Best Movie Soundtracks
February 19, 2013 | Tristan Chan
Sometimes the best movie soundtracks can help enhance the cinematic experience, and sometimes it can define it. In honor of this Sunday’s Academy Awards, we compiled a list of iconic movie soundtracks that had a profound impact on the films they were featured in. And while it may seem from the start to be a John Williams love fest, the man is a savant when it comes to composing cinematic scores. As always if we left any out, we’d love for you to share them in the comments section of the post!
Beerstagrams 2/8- 2/15
February 15, 2013 | Lizzie Bourque
Phew. Now that Valentine’s Day is over, we can get back to the actual loves of our lives: BEER. With all the stress of trying to find the perfect card, dinner reservation, gift…. oh wait, I didn’t do any of that.
Pop Culture Week in Review: February 16-22
February 15, 2013 | Admin 1
So the Grammys happened…remember?
I know Tristan already did a breakdown of the show, but I love the Grammys so you will hear what I have to say. I don’t give a shit about the awards themselves but the performances are usually bananas. I’m still talking about the Mumford/Avett/Dylan performance from two years ago. But this year, no trapeze. No weird eggs. And seriously not enough Beyonce. Ok, so apparently I just want it to be 2011 again. At least then we wouldn’t have to deal with LL Cool J or his silly hats. You’re not hiding anything from anyone- Just be bald. Own it. And I know they weren’t your fault exactly, but you could have chosen not to make a “Grandma/Grammy” or a “Fun. is fun” joke. We are the choices we make, sir.
Awesomesauce- Uncommon Goods
February 14, 2013 | Laura Mego 1
If you’ve never heard of Uncommon Goods, you’ve been missing out. The sustainable and eco-friendly purveyor of awesome stuff has been around since 1999 (that’s the same year this song was released, for some perspective.) They feature awesome handmade, specialty, and sustainable gifts for almost anyone you can imagine. Read More
Roundtable Discussion: What are you giving up for Lent?
February 13, 2013 | Tristan Chan
The Lenten holiday is upon us so we thought we’d find out just “what are you giving up for lent?”. As we found out yesterday, Nate will be giving up all other beverages besides water, so we asked our staff, what would be the absolute worst thing to have to give up for 40 days. Share your responses in the comments section below!
PorchDrinking Playlist | Valentine’s Day Playlist
February 12, 2013 | Scott Hoffman 3
We’ve put together a pretty damn expansive Valentine’s Day playlist. You want indie rock romance? We’ve got it. You want R&B? We’ve got that, too. You want a couple “anti-romance” songs? Oh, you’d better believe we’ve got a couple of those. So enjoy our selections – feel free to suggest any that we may have missed in the comments below. Happy Valentine’s Day!
The MLB Name Game: Baseball’s Best Hypothetical Matchups
February 11, 2013 | Drew Troller
DISCLAIMER: Even if you don’t like baseball, you can read this article. Believe me, it has SHOCKINGLY little to do with the actual sport.
This year, professional baseball is taking a huge step by shifting its American and National Leagues to two leagues of 15 teams each. This means that on any given day, an AL team will be playing an NL team, and interleague play will no longer be a special small stretch of the season. The Reds vs. the Angels will open the season as the first-ever Opening Day interleague game, and this season promises to create some new never-before-seen rivalries in baseball.
Looking over all the teams in baseball, something occurs to me: some teams have WAY cooler names than others. Teams are named after animals, American traditions, or in some cases just colors of socks. So in preparation for this season, I preview matchups not of actual baseball teams of players, but of team names themselves. Some matchups just make SENSE based on their names – who would win in a fight between a Cub and a Tiger? Which color Sox is the best? I will use any asinine criteria I wish to determine the outcome of these logical (and also sort of insane) hypothetical games.
The Grammys Recap
February 11, 2013 | Tristan Chan
Last night’s Grammys was amazing. In what was a brilliant mix of part old school comebacks, part indie folk taking center stage, and part Katy Perry’s boobs, we saw awesome performances from Justin Timberlake, Kelly Clarkson, The Black Keys, Mumford and Sons, and Frank Ocean. It was really awesome to see recognition for truly talented artists like the Alabama Shakes, Frank Ocean and the Lumineers and less focus on your traditional pop performers. Here’s your Grammy’s recap quick hits.
The Year of Beyoncé
February 10, 2013 | Laura Mego
We’re calling it now- 2013 will be the year of Beyoncé.
After the lip syncing/inauguration “scandal” that turned into awesomeness times a million (seriously, who else has the chutzpah to invite a bunch of reporters into one room and prove that you have the skills to sing the national anthem live?!?) and owning it at the Super Bowl halftime Show, Bey had a pretty great start to 2013. If you thought she was going to slink back under the radar for a bit, you were wrong. Thanks to the awesomeness that is the internet, we’ll all be rehashing her halftime performance for just a bit longer. Read More
Beerstagrams 2/1- 2/8
February 8, 2013 | Lizzie Bourque
This week on Beerstagrams, we are reminded that even though the Super Bowl sponsors try to claim this to be the biggest drinking holiday of the year, a good craft beer can make any occasion better. While Bud Light was trying to one-up it’s 2012 commercials, we were chatting over Renegade Triple IPA waiting for the lights to come back on. While the trivia team next to us struggled to name the 7 children from the Sound of Music, I sat back smirking as I sipped on Trinton’s Sin-Bin. And as the days get slowly longer and warmer, there’s nothing better than a victory beer after a long hike. So this weekend whether you’re hiking, bowling, skiing, sitting at a bar, or watching the game– grab a craft beer. You can thank us later.
Community Returns to NBC: All You Need to Know About Community
February 7, 2013 | Admin
I don’t know anyone who watches television that would say, “Oh Community? None for me, thanks.” But maybe you just somehow missed the train the past 4 seasons. Or maybe you need a refresher before the season 4 premiere on Thursday. Or probably you just find my writing charming and clever. Either way but it should mostly be the third reason, here’s everything you need to know about our favorite Greendale crew.
Happy Chinese New Year
February 6, 2013 | Tristan Chan 4
This Sunday is Chinese New Year, why is that relevant… well I’m Chinese and so is a majority of the world’s population. In honor of the upcoming year of the snake I thought I’d give you a little (not so little) introduction to Chinese food in America. I must start out by saying that this entry is entirely about food, more specifically Chinese food. So if for some bizarre reason you have an unfathomable aversion to eating, you should sit this one out, or put on eyemuffs for the next few paragraphs.
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