Commentist Beer Barrel: Brut Strength

makeitsnowondem - August 22, 2018August 22, 2018

I don't love champagne. That's a hell of a thing to say to you Commentists after being away so long, I know, but it's the only honest way for me to launch back into this. I've had some good champagnes, and they were fine, but I've had to conclude that

Oscar Night 2018 Open Thread

makeitsnowondem - March 4, 2018March 4, 2018

415

Good evening, Commentists! It's Oscar night, and I'm here to set the stage for your finest cinematological dick jokes. Here are the nominees for Best Picture, ranked, and my predictions for which of them will actually win. 10. Darkest Hour Impeccably acted and unexpectedly pretty to look at. There are no bad movies

Oscar Preview 2018: Prestige Award Lightning Round

Entertainment

makeitsnowondem - March 1, 2018

I did it. I had to go to two different theaters yesterday because the one I went to first was having "events" of some sort and had canceled all its normal screenings with minimal notice, but I regrouped, ate something, and saw the last movie on the list, the Aaron Sorkin

Oscar Preview 2018: Salute Your Shorts

Entertainment

makeitsnowondem - February 28, 2018February 28, 2018

The animated features and short films are, collectively, some of my favorite awards-season categories. There's almost always something in there that's as good as most of the Best Picture nominees, and because it's not a Best Picture nominee, I get to feel smug about appreciating it. Also, a lot of

Oscar Preview 2018: Art for Film’s Sake

Entertainment

makeitsnowondem - February 26, 2018February 26, 2018

Good afternoon, Commentists! Today I'm cruising on through the more artsy categories today, and here's a status update: I have three more feature films to watch, and another seven shorts still, and as of tomorrow all of them will be available to me. We're really doing this! Let's get into

Oscar Preview 2018: Awards for Nerds

Entertainment

makeitsnowondem - February 25, 2018February 25, 2018

Good afternoon, Commentists. We're a week from Oscar night, and and my plan was to cover all the "technical categories" today, but that was before I did a little more research and discovered that there are seven technical categories and that they include costume design and production design. And, look,

Oscar Preview 2018: The Films No One Watches

Entertainment

makeitsnowondem - February 22, 2018February 22, 2018

Good afternoon, Commentists. We're ten days from the Oscars, and I believe that this will finally be the year that I can claim to have watched everything. Some of you may remember how close I've gotten the past couple of years; I missed the animated film My Life as a Courgette last year,

Commentist Beer Barrel: Hops and Chocolate

makeitsnowondem - February 15, 2018February 15, 2018

I sometimes think we're not experimenting enough, as a society, with hoppy beer. Sure, it seems like someone's cultivated a new hop every month, sometimes bringing brand new flavors to the table, but most brewers seem largely content to let the hops stand on their own, rather than try to

Commentist Beer Barrel: I Told You This One Would Be Cheap

makeitsnowondem - February 1, 2018February 1, 2018

In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Dr. Leonard McCoy, thrown back in time to the 1980s, tells a contemporary materials engineer that, if he accepts Montgomery Scott's detailed formula for transparent aluminum, he will be (in the words of 18th-century playwright Edward Moore) "rich beyond the dreams of avarice." There's

Commentist Beer Barrel: Portrait of a Beer

makeitsnowondem - January 25, 2018January 25, 2018

If I ever tell you there are two kinds of beer I love, I'm bullshitting you. There are a million kinds of beer I love. There's not a BJCP-certified style out there that hasn't produced at least one beer I thought was amazing, and as for off-style beers, well, I

‘A Christmas Prince’ for Best Picture: Oscar Nomination Predictions and Discussion Thread

makeitsnowondem - January 23, 2018January 23, 2018

Good morning! Condolences to any of you who are actually awake when this goes live. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the nominees for its ridiculous, interminable award show in a few hours, and as a man who's seen, like, forty or so of 2017's new

Commentist Beer Barrel: Don’t Haze Me Bro

makeitsnowondem - January 18, 2018January 17, 2018

Hey guys! Remember me? It's make it snow, the beer guy! No, not that beer guy. The alot of beer. Circumstances have conspired -- specifically, they've conspired with my innate laziness -- to keep me away for some time now. A lot's changed, but perhaps most importantly, I'm in Denver