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Archive Archive 16 |
Current
Diaries: i drink beer battlestar galactica shameless thor screening titus andronicus @ mercury lounge I apparently drink lots of beer. And I love to catalog stuff. In fact, this entire Website is just one giant catalog. So here are all the different kinds of beers I drank between May 2009 and March 2013. Or at least the ones I remembered to take pictures of. Affligem Brewery Affligem Blonde [My Photo] Asahi Breweries Asahi Super Dry [My Photo] Ayinger Brewery Ayinger Celebrator [My Photo] Ballast Point Brewing Company Sculpin IPA [My Photo] Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier [My Photo] Beck's Brewery Beck's Sapphire [My Photo] Birra Moretti La Rossa [My Photo] Brasserie Achouffe La Choufee [My Photo] Bernard Bernard Pivo Lager [My Photo] Bitburger Bitburger Premium [My Photo] Köstritzer Pilsner [My Photo] Blue Moon Brewing Company Spring Blonde Wheat Ale [My Photo] Blue Point Brewing Co. Toasted Lager [My Photo] Winter Ale [My Photo] Boon Rawd Brewery Singha Lager [My Photo] Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyner Wheat Beer [My Photo] Brown Ale [My Photo] Oktoberfest [My Photo] Pennant Ale [My Photo] Sorachi Ace [My Photo] Summer Ale [My Photo] There Will Be Black [My Photo] Budejovicky Budvar Budweiser Budvar [My Photo] Budweiser Budweiser American Ale [My Photo] Bud Light [My Photo] Budweiser [My Photo] Budweiser Black Crown [My Photo] Butternuts Beer & Ale Porkslap Pale Ale [My Photo] Butternuts Amber Lager [My Photo] Moo Thunder Stout [My Photo] Snapperhead IPA [My Photo] Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. Captain's Kolsch [My Photo] Freshchester Pale Ale [My Photo] Liquid Gold [My Photo] Carlsberg Breweries Carlsberg Elephant [My Photo] Cervecera Del Sur Del Peru Cusquena Beer [My Photo] Chelsea Brewing Co. Checker Can Blonde Ale [My Photo] Sunset Red Ale [My Photo] Chimay The Chimay Premiere [My Photo] Coors Coors Light [My Photo] Cricket Hill Brewing Cricket Hill American Ale [My Photo] Cricket Hill East Coast Lager [My Photo] Deschutes Brewery Mirror Pond Pale Ale [My Photo] Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale [My Photo] Dos Equis Lager [My Photo] Duvel Moortgat Brewery Duvel [My Photo] Einbecker Brewery Einbecker Pilsner [My Photo] Elysian Brewing Company The Immortal IPA [My Photo] Flying Dog Brewery Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat [My Photo] Old Scratch Amber Lager [My Photo] Under Dog Atlantic Lager [My Photo] Flying Fish Belgian Abbey Dubbel [My Photo] Oktoberfish [My Photo] Friesisches Brauhaus zu Jever Jever Pilsener [My Photo] Full Sail Brewing Co. Full Sail Session Lager [My Photo] Fuller's, Smith and Turner Fuller's Bengal Lancer [My Photo] Genesee Brewing Company Genesee Cream Ale [My Photo] Goose Island Beer Co. Goose Island Matilda [My Photo] India Pale Ale [My Photo] Summertime [My Photo] Greenport Harbor Brewing Co. Greenport Harbor Pale Ale [My Photo] Greenport Summer Ale [My Photo] Greene King Old Speckled Hen [My Photo] Grolsch Grolsch Premium Lager [My Photo] Grupo Modelo Corona Light [My Photo] Negra Modelo [My Photo] Guinness & Co. Guinness Draught [My Photo] Hacker-Pschorr Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen [My Photo] Harpoon Brewery Harpoon IPA [My Photo] Harpoon Octoberfest [My Photo] Harpoon Summer Beer [My Photo] Harpoon UFO Pale Ale [My Photo] Harpoon Winter Warmer [My Photo] Heartland Brewery Indiana Pale Ale [My Photo] Heineken International Amstel Lager [My Photo] Heineken [My Photo] Killian's Red [My Photo] Newcastle Brown Ale [My Photo] Newcastle Founders' Ale [My Photo] Newcastle Werewolf [My Photo] High Point Brewing Company Ramstein Blonde [My Photo] Ramstein Oktoberfest [My Photo] Hofbrau Munchen Munchner Sommer [My Photo] Hofbrauhuas Traunstein Traunsteiner Helles [My Photo] Hunterdon Brewing River Horse Summer Blonde [My Photo] The Innis & Gunn Brewing Company Innis & Gunn Original [My Photo] Ithaca Beer Co. Ithaca Cold Front [My Photo] Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company Leinenkugel Summer Shandy [My Photo] John Smith's Brewery John Smith's Extra Smooth [My Photo] Keegan Ales Keegan's Hurricane Kitty [My Photo] KelSo Beer Co. KelSo Nut Brown Ale [My Photo] Kirin Brewery Co. Kirin Ichiban Special Reserve [My Photo] Kona Brewing Company Longboard Lager [My Photo] Kronenbourg Kronenbourg 1664 [My Photo] Krusovice Brewery Krušovice Mušketýr 11° [My Photo] Lagunitas Brewing Company DogTown Pale [My Photo] Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale [My Photo] Leffe Leffe Blond [My Photo] Leffe Brown [My Photo] Left Hand Brewing Company 400 Pound Monkey [My Photo] Left Hand Milk Stout [My Photo] Sawtooth Ale [My Photo] Stranger Pale Ale [My Photo] The Lion Brewery Lion's Head Pilsner [My Photo] Long Trail Brewing Co. Long Trail Imperial Porter [My Photo] Magic Hat Blind Faith [My Photo] Hex [My Photo] Wacko Summer Seasonal [My Photo] Margaritaville Brewing Co. Land Shark Lager [My Photo] Matt Brewing Co. Saranac Adirondack Lager [My Photo] Saranac Brown Ale [My Photo] Saranac Pale Ale [My Photo] Mendocino Brewing Company Red Tail Lager [My Photo] Miller Brewing Company Miller High Life [My Photo] Molson Coors Brewing Company Molson Ice [My Photo] Molson XXX [My Photo] Moredsous Abbey Moredsous Blonde [My Photo] New Belgium Brewing Company Fat Tire [My Photo] Northcoast Brewing Co. Acme IPA [My Photo] Scrimshaw Pilsner [My Photo] Novoměstský Pivovar Novoměstský Pivovar [My Photo] Ommegang Brewery Chocolate Indulgence [My Photo] Duvel Blonde [My Photo] Hennepin [My Photo] Oskar Blues Brewery Mama's Little Yella Pils [My Photo] Palms Breweries Palm Amber Ale [My Photo] Peak Organic Brewing Company Peak Organic IPA [My Photo] Pilsner Urquell Pilsner Urquell [My Photo] Porterhouse Brewing Company Porterhouse Oyster Stout [My Photo] Privatbrauerei Gafell Becker & Co. Gaffel Koelsch [My Photo] Radeberger Radeberger Pilsner Zwickel [My Photo] Red Hook Long Hammer IPA [My Photo] River Horse Brewing Co. Unfiltered Pale Lager [My Photo] Rogue Brewery Dead Guy Ale [My Photo] S.A. Damm Brewery Estrella Damm [My Photo] Samuel Adams Summer Ale [My Photo] San Miguel Brewery San Miguel Pale Pilsen [My Photo] Schlenkerla Schlenkerla Helles Lager [My Photo] Schmaltz Brewing Company Coney Island Lager [My Photo] Shiner Beers Shiner Black Lager [My Photo] Shiner Blonde [My Photo] Shiner Bock [My Photo] Shiner Hefewiezen [My Photo] Shiner Kosmos [My Photo] Shiner Oktoberfest [My Photo] Shiner Old-Time Alt [My Photo] Shipyard Brewing Co. Shipyard Summer Ale [My Photo] Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Sierra Nevada Kellerweis [My Photo] Sixpoint Brewery The Crisp [My Photo] Righteous Ale [My Photo] Sixpoint Redd [My Photo] Smithwick's Smithwick's [My Photo] Smuttynose Brewing Co. Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale [My Photo] Smuttynose Star Island Single [My Photo] Southampton Ales & Lagers Burton IPA [My Photo] Southern Tier Brewing Company Pumking [My Photo] Squatter's Pub Brewery Full Suspension Pale Ale [My Photo] Provo Girl Pilsner [My Photo] Staropramen Staropramen Svĕtlý [My Photo] Stella Artois Stella Artois [My Photo] Stoudt's Brewing Company Pilsener [My Photo] Texelse Bierbrouwerij Texelse Fall Dubbel [My Photo] Texelse Skuumkoppe [My Photo] Thomas Hooker Brewing Company Blonde Ale [My Photo] Thornbridge Brewery Jaipur English Ale [My Photo] Three Heads Brewing Three Heads Common Man Lager [My Photo] Troegs Brewing Co. Troegs Summer Pilsner [My Photo] Tsingtao Brewery Tsigntao Lager [My Photo] Two Brothers Brewing Company Two Brothers Domain Dupage [My Photo] U Fleků Flekovský Tmavý Ležák 13° [My Photo] Unita Brewing Co. Doolan's Golden Ale [My Photo] Victory Brewing Company Helios Ale [My Photo] Victory Lager [My Photo] Prima Pils [My Photo] Victory Scarlet Fire Rauchbier [My Photo] Wasatch Brewery 1st Amendment Lager [My Photo] Polygamy Porter [My Photo] Wieckse Wieckse Witte [My Photo] Yards Brewing Company Brawler [My Photo]  I've already extolled the virtues of the Roku, and this, my second go 'round with watching an entire television series from episode one until the series finale (the first being Lost) was an awfully enjoyable experience technically and convenience-wise. Using Netflix streaming, I could pause when I wanted, stop an episode halfway through when Ms. Hipster nodded off and start right back up the next night. And I didn't have to wait through the summer for the series to start back up, a week for the next episode, didn't have to wade through commercials, wait for DVDs in the mail or anything else that could interfere with my viewing pleasure. Sure, it takes away some of the build-up and suspense, but what the hey. If I'm going to commit to watching 77 episodes of anything, it better be on my terms. Now, I was a fan of the original Battlestar Galactica series. I know that makes me like 100 years old, but we had very little in terms of entertainment back in those days. I recently watched a couple episodes of Buck Rogers and realized how just incredibly horrendous it was. It made the Flash Gordon movie look like an ILM wet dream. So, in a nostalgic mood, and based on highly positive reviews from trusted sources over the past few years, we decided to dip our toe in the modern Galactica water. Did I ever mention that Edward James Olmos was an actor I actually "studied" in one of my criticism classes back in college? Well, I did. And also growing up watching his prototypical police captain performance weekly on Miami Vice I knew we were in for a good time. The man -- who is apparently a notorious pain in the ass -- never met a close-up he didn't love. And how do you force close-ups? You talk real quietly and mumble a lot so they have to get right in on your face to understand what's up. And then? And then you fucking explode and clear all the shit off a desk and throw yourself around. He's the actor's version of grunge music. Get real quiet and then, blam, hit 'em with the screaming. Amazing for music. For acting, not so much. But so, so entertaining for drinking games and making fun of when the series is in one of its many lulls. EJO (as I like to call him) is one of the very few name actors in the series. Mary McDonnell is arguably a name, but she could be any middle-aged actress who looks like she might or might not have been Amy Madigan at some point. This was actually a plus for me, as even a couple characters like Dean Stockwell and Lucy Lawless, who rotated in (and out) were kind of a distraction. Despite this, the acting, while over-the-top at times, was relatively decent for a sci-fi series. With marked acceptions (I'm looking at you Sharon the Cylon). The gist of the series is that there's a war between the Cylons and what is left of the human race after the Cylons pretty much nuke them out of existence. Granted, these aren't Earthling humans, but a human race that is essentially alien (to Earth), but may or may not be related to our modern-day human selves. And, unlike the old series, the Cylons have moved on from being shiny robots (though those still exist) and have taken on human form and have assimilated into the Galactica's populace. Or so every paranoid thinks. So the humans, spread across a fleet of spaceships spend the series "jumping" from place to place trying to both find the mystical Earth and avoiding getting blown up by the Cylons. That's pretty much it. Mixed in there is lots of political and emotional and religious stuff. And the word "frack," which is basically the equivalent of "Smurf." You know, "Smurf this," "Smurf that," "Smurf you." In fact, if I didn't know any better, I would swear that what started out as a story that clearly was meant to mirror the events and aftermath of 9/11 turned into an almost uncomfortable (at least for my non-believing self) quest for God. Granted, a muddled quest for God, but one that almost preached pre-ordained religious fate and angels and shit. A strange turn, to be sure. And then there's the British scientist dude who sells out the human race, has this imaginary Cylon in his head, somehow becomes president and cries in almost every scene he's in. And then he becomes this weird leader of a harem of religious followers. It makes almost no sense. And while I enjoyed my time upon the Battlestar Galactica with Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace and Apollo and stuff, the series ultimately made about as much sense as religion ever does.  I just finished watching the first season of Showtime's original series, Shameless, on On Demand. And may I say: how the fuck did I ever live without On Demand and my Roku? Between this On Demand doozy (watched on nights when Ms. Hipster was out cavorting or working or whatever) and our joint viewing of the complete new Battlestar Galactica series on Netflix streaming on the Roku I shudder at the thought of the old days when we'd be stuck watching re-runs of Modern Family, Pawn Stars and Finding Bigfoot all summer long. So, semi-modern technology has brought Shameless to my doorstep. At first it was just something to have running in the background one night when the Missus was hanging out with her band. I mean, it's William H. Macy and a bunch of other folks I don't know, so how bad can it be? Plus, it's another one of those debased Britcoms that we Americans (land of the death of the original idea) decided to "re-imagine." So it'll most likely at least have a pretty edgy approach. And, as it turns out, the thing is pretty edgy -- almost a little too much for my delicate sensibilities. At least at first. Macy plays the drunken debauched patriarch of the Gallagher family. His six kids, varying in age from like 2 to 22 (or so), live in a house together and are mostly cared for by their oldest sister. Macy (Frank) rarely comes around and the mother isn't in the picture. He will drop by on occasion to collect disability checks, to hide from money collectors and maybe pick up some food. Mostly he hangs out at a bar in their Chicago neighborhood, harassing the patrons and spouting nonsense to whomever will listen. The family is rough around the edges, running scams, stealing, basically doing what they can to survive. The first couple of episodes painted a bleak picture and kind of made the characters, in their willingness to fuck over anybody, completely unlikable and relatively cartoon-ish. I had an impulse to turn it off and never come back. But out of desperation, I tuned back in to this group of despicable misfits. And as the episodes progressed, and we learned more about each character, and their dossiers got fleshed out, I became engaged. Now this ain't no PG-rated ride. If there's a female character, she will get naked. If there's a male character, he will get punched or punch someone else. And in between all the nudity and beatings there's tons of fucking. This seems to be a theme of Showtime shows. See Californication, where lead character Hank Moody (David Duchovny) drinks, gets punched a lot and fucks everything that moves. In fact, there's a book written by him on the series that is stolen buy one of his conquests that is changed to be a memoir and renamed "Fucking and Punching." So Shameless could have stolen that title and just called is "Drinking, Fucking & Punching." There's just a lot of it. Now, I'm actually a big fan of people getting punched in stories. I think it shows raw human emotion and all that happy horsehsit, and I suppose drinking goes along with that. The fucking part is just what apparently happens to people. So there's Macy and Joan Cusack, who plays his agoraphobic kind of girlfriend and this Emmy Rossum chick whom I've heard of, but don't think I've seen in anything since she was a child. Which is creepy, because she's naked in practically every episode (not because she doesn't look good--cuz she does--but the whole child actor getting nude thing is a little weird). There are a couple other recognizable character actors in peripheral roles, but none of the main family folks look familiar to me. The acting is solid all around, and that's probably what makes the show compelling. That, and they've managed to make each of the characters recognizable on his/her own and built their personalities well. It's a series that takes a little while to build, and certainly takes some jaw-dropping turns just in its first season, but the writers have managed to create enough mystery and conflict to make it a pretty damn good watch. They've also done a decent job of building plotlines and development that opens a whole universe of possibilities ahead of them should Showtime renew the series for a few years. So, assuming I decide to keep Showtime and my completely insane cable bill another year, I guess I'll be reporting back on what will most likely end up being a lackluster year two (because it just usually is). Or, if I decide to chuck it, I'll be reporting back in three years after I've streamed year two on the Roku. So this happened.  Yes, my buddy invited me to a lovely screening of the movie Thor. He being an employee not of the folks throwing the screening, Acura, but another entity tied in a roundabout way to the production, I think neither of us knew what to expect. Not from the movie of course. That was pretty evident. Lots of very loud fight scenes, not much in the way of acting (though looking at Natalie Portman and Kat Daniels for a couple hours was nice) and some completely unnecessary 3D. I mean the after party to which we were invited. Would we get an Integra in our schwag bag? Could we count the number of ping-pong balls in a jar to win our very own dealership? Not quite. We hoofed it down from the Times Square theater to espace to join a bunch of dudes in what turned out to look pretty much like an Acura car showroom with a couple open bars and some oddball set ups. You could, for instance, watch a dude play the Thor video game in 3D in a little living room set up, get a tour of a new Acura somethingorother from a salesmodel or take a wonderful green screen photo with Thor's image like the one above. More attractive, but ultimately way more nerdy, was the chance to win a sitting with an actual Marvel cartoonist (if that's what the dorks call the guys who draw comic books). He would basically draw whatever Marvel character you could dream up. I didn't get a chance, but of course I can name like Spiderman and The Hulk, though I don't even know if the second one is a Marvel character. We did watch as some douche in a Doom t-shirt asked the guy to draw some dude who looked like maybe he was one of the bartenders at the event. But was probably like Mr. Shiz from the third book of some series that nobody has ever heard of. He was very proud of the fact he stumped those of us watching the guy draw. Mega-nerd, no doubt. There was also this interesting CRM ploy as they tried to capture our info by offering us an I.D. for their fake CIA organization from the movie. They did totally screw up my name somehow (how do you misspell Hipster?) even though I handed them my driver's license, but they did indeed capture some of my info, but not the peritnent stuff like email or cell number. Maybe they'll mail me something? Did it make me want to buy an Acura? Well, after a few free Grey Gooses and a free poster, keychain and hat in the schwag bag (was hoping for an iPad or like a coupon for a six month RDX lease), I was ready to drive one on out. 
 This was my second time seeing Titus Andronicus. My first was in their native New Jersey. Maxwell's in Hoboken to be more specific. The show was rad (I think they still use that word, right?) This time we took them in at The Mercury Lounge in NYC as the headliners of a fundraiser for the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls. It was cool on a couple fronts. The first being that Titus Andronicus are amazing live, full of energy and good times. The second was the fact that Ms. Hipster actually went the to the Williie Mae Rock Camp for Woman back a few years ago, which is like the adult version of the girls' camp and also benefits that program. Her band at the camp was called Insomniacs--a nod to classic, uh, band names of the past. Titus' is a reference to an oddball Shakespeare play. We skipped the first two opening bands (both alums of the Willie Mae camp) to grab some grub, but stood to watch Care Bears on Fire realizing that those garage-rocking girls were completely young enough to be our kids. Creepy in ways I can't even begin to explain. And then, about eight feet from where we were standing, Titus Andronicus took the stage. The Mercury Lounge is far and away my favorite joint to see shows in NYC. The space is small, the sound is good and it's super-easy to pop out to the empty bar right outside the performance space to grab another overpriced beer. Granted, this is the first show I've seen with "moshing." I put that in quotes only because it was more like a pack of nerds in plaid kind of gently bumping into one another with their messenger bags (present company included). That said, it was still way more manly than the crowd at the Miles Kurosky and John Vanderslice shows I saw there the last time couple of times. Of course they sounded great, of course the banter was more than anyone could expect and of course, in the ultimate irony, we had to leave before the show was over (again!) to catch a train home to... New Jersey. Anyway, go see 'em if you can and you can see the kind of thing I've posted below. Sorry for the crappy, tiny camera and my rubbery noodle arms that couldn't hold the miniscule thing for all nine or so minutes of the song. Go see them if you can. They seem to lose bassists and drummers every couple of months, so definetly hit them and hit them hard before they're an electronic duo. And make sure Amy Klein , the guitarist and sometimes violinist, is in your siteline, as she could make even a jaded curmudgeon like me smile like my twelve year old self finding that stack of Playboys in my friend's poolhouse. Too much information? |
| More on Mr. Hipster |
 Hipster Movie ReviewsEnjoy the rantings as Mr. Hipster proves he slept through his film criticism courses in college. |
 Hipster Book ReviewsThis much ignorance about literature can only lead to hurt feelings and a whole lot of nonsense. |
 MusicCheck out the albums that have left Mr. H with permanent hearing loss in his left ear, but a song in his heart |
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