In honor of the Self Hating Hipster’s first birthday, I asked the SHH himself what the topic of the first style guide in almost a year should be. If you’re not familiar with some of the other ones I’ve written, what I like to do is talk about a style of beer, it’s background, and offer some suggestions to help you navigate the beer store so you don’t have to ask the guy at the counter, who is busy doing scratchers. Continue reading
(Oh, hello. This is my non-triumphant return to blogging. Been a while since I checked in around these parts, but I am hoping to change that. Here is another installment of my fictional Sunday newspaper column.)
Dwight Howard will play next season in Los Angeles, whether he likes it or not. While nothing is official, it seems the Lakers are the last team standing in this race. Brooklyn/New Jersey got up from the table earlier this week, and made their peace with acquiring Joe Johnson and Deron Williams to lead them into the Barclay’s Center next season. Houston, while still technically in the race, is attempting to sell the farm to buy the prized cow. They even cut loose their hardest working player in hopes of freeing up enough money to land the big fish. Atlanta would have to similarly dismantle their team in order to bring Dwight to town. Continue reading
Let me start by saying this is no way an endorsement of the rather classless things UK boxer Dereck Chisora did to Vitali Klitschko before their WBC Heavyweight Championship fight on Saturday. First, at the weigh-in Chisora slapped Klitschko right across the face, which started a small tussle that really didn’t go anywhere because of Vitali’s completely ice cold murderer stoicism. Almost anyone caught up with what’s went on in the boxing world for the last four years or so seemed to indicate this meant Chisora had a deathwish. If that wasn’t bad enough, as the match was approaching the opening bell, Chisora took the opportunity to get nose-to-nose with Vitali’s brother Wladimir (aka, #2 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, and reigning IBF, WBO, and IBO Heavyweight Champion) and then be so kind as to spit water in his face. This incident again was snuffed out by the eerie Ukrainian stoicism Wladimir responded with, but pushed the fight to must-see levels of interest.
It’s rare that something I saw on a friend’s Facebook status would compel me so far as to write a post about it. The status in question, among other things, touched on whether or not people still care about Radiohead. Yes, that Radiohead. The one with the skipping, prancing, manic ball of ??? for a lead singer, the one with the spaced-out composer of a lead guitar player, not to mention an underrated drummer. While this is less a question about their earlier material, to what is the appropriate response to the band now that it really feels like there is nothing left.
I was at a wine tasting over the weekend. That sentence is a lot less cool than it sounded in my brain, but nevertheless, Continue reading
Somewhere, likely in Missouri, someone decided that Bud Light just wasn’t getting America’s college students and off-duty bus drivers drunk fast enough. Why sell it in a brown beer bottle, when it can be blue? Let’s pretend there is somehow a premium clientele for our high selling, beer-flavored enhanced water beverage. The end result, is Bud Light Platinum.
Anheuser-Busch’s newest creation boasts a 6 percent alcohol by volume, (up from 4.2%) and a special blue bottle normally reserved for over priced mineral water sold to women in funny hats at the race courses. Bud Light Platinum is even stronger than Continue reading
IT FINALLY SNOWED! After what seemed like forever, there is snow on the ground where I live. It is officially winter. The holidays are over and there is nothing but the grey sky and shoveling for two/three months. Refreshment be damned; it’s about staying warm. Stouts get all the love, and I’ve been on a porter kick lately [Ed’s note – not a euphemism] so I decided to crack an egg of knowledge all on all ya’ll. Porter: the other dark beer. Wikipedia’s got a whole bunch of facts that you can read if you want, but since I already did that just sit tight. Anyways, you know the band Joy Division? Yeah, Love Will Tear Us Apart and all that. Porter is what all their dad’s drank after a hard day at a Manchester textile factory. Your son would be depressed enough to write “The Eternal,” too. Continue reading
I’d like to take a moment to congratulate our own Andee for accepting a job offer today with a newspaper. A job transition (let alone transitioning into a writing job) is no easy task, particularly in this economy. Those of you who have read Andee’s articles have probably 1) enjoyed them, and 2) recognized his wide array of knowledge, talent and wit. As I understand it, he will be a sports writer and also doing some special interest pieces. Now his readership will be deservedly expanded.
This just goes to show that at least some of the shit that goes on this site is worthy of publication. Conrats, Andee!
Right before midnight on New Years Eve, while I was still plugging away at my Top 11 Albums article, I received an email from wordpress.com outlining some of the site’s statistics in 2011. I’m proud to say that in the first six months we had almost 5,000 views, we published a combined 129 articles and, believe or not, we’ve had visits from readers on the six inhabited continents: North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. When I first started the site, I knew that I couldn’t do anything by myself. So, I solicited some of my gifted (and opinionated) friends to write. I want to thank all of you who have contributed this year and I hope that you stay interested and active in 2012.
What wordpress didn’t do was highlight the major players on The Self-Hating Hipster this year and so I thought I owed it to my friends who were extremely dedicated to posting, collaborating with me (i.e. putting up with my bullshit) and ready to offer creative criticism despite how busy they are. Continue reading
Hello and welcome to the inaugural edition of ON NOTICE! The idea here is a really bastardized and far more serious version of what Stephen Colbert does on his television program. We’ll look at people, places, things, organizations, or whatever needs to be documented to let you know who’s peddling bullshit. This week, we’ll look at a few breweries that need to get their act together and quit skating by. All too often people fall into traps with some blind devotion to a brewery that really just wants to get as much of your money as possible. I’ve mentioned a few of these companies before, and not in a particularly flattering light. While this isn’t intended necessarily to accomplish anything, perhaps I can help you make more informed choices for your beer purchasing dollar. We’ll get right down to it and work our way from five to the number one.
5. Fort Collins Brewery – Fort Collins, CO: 
The beer scene in the state of Colorado is one that I’m pretty jealous of. While their distribution can vary, (No Lagunitas!) a few good friends live out that way and Continue reading
Some breweries just get it. Every distributed brewery has a marketing department of some kind. Judging by the amount of beer available at any given beverage center (back in Buffalo, they call them party stores) it’s no easy task to make sure you stand out from the crowd. I mean, I’ll occasionally buy a beer because its label looks cool. I’m no more oblivious to bright colors and fancy scripts as the next guy. I’ll buy based on style of beer more than anything, but breweries have to know I’m spending upwards of a half hour looking up and down at the same shelves hoping I’ll notice their brand. There’s always a different school of thought in how they get you to look their way. There is the big-swinging-dick approach, where places like Stone Brewery more or less question your manhood by daring you to try one of their beers. There’s the fancy swirling art motif employed by Continue reading
