Voted People’s Sexiest Man Alive 1987.  Happy Friday the 13th, geeks!

A list of everyone Jason ever killed and how.  That’s 148 casualties.  I’d imagine it’d be hard to stay so creative when dispatching of horny, drunken, half-clad teens…but Jason never fails.  He’s like the Martha Stewart of mass murder.  (listafterlist)

Jason’s 10 best kills.  It’s hard to whittle it down to just 10.  But this list covers some more memorable deaths.  But if you’d prefer to watch the kills…  (imockery)

How about a video of Jason’s 13 best kills?  And look at that nice, round number (for you superstitious types).  Again, hard to cut it down from 148.  But hey, some had to get the ax.  Oh, horror movie puns.  You slay me!  (youtube)

And who can forget Jason on Arsenio Hall?  Classic!  Things that make you go “Hmm”.  (youtube)

Ah, Adult Swim — you know just the way to my heart: a Friday the 13th reference!  (youtube)

A list of all beliefs, ideologies, and old wives tales of a superstitious nature, from A-Z.  It’s extremely unlucky to listen to Janet Jackson’s Black Cat, despite it’s use of cow bell.  Even unluckier still: Rhythm Nation.  (corsinet)

7 unluckiest people who ever lived.  See the theme I’m going for here?  Friday the 13th, unlucky?  Ah, forget it.  Why do I even bothers with you rubes?  (cracked)

Though there are no “guys” nor “sports” (sorry, Max) to be found on this misleadingly-named website, they do have an awesome and lengthy list of Friday the 13th related trivia.  Definitely worth a look, even if you’re only in it for the guys and/or sports.  (guy-sports)

6 insane, true stories behind cursed movies.  Similar to the Nerd City curse, where everyone says they’re not going to drink yet end up getting hammered.  It’s a terrible, terrible, delicious curse.  (cracked)

At this point I’m going to drift away from the superstitious themed stuff and get back to “the news”: here’s that sex toy infographic that you requested, Mr. Spencer.  Mississippi buys more anal toys than any other state?  Way to go, Mississippi!  (theirtoys)

Drinking etiquette whilst flying.  Do what Nerd City does: bloody marys during the A.M. flights and bloody marys during the P.M. flights.  (thesmokingjacket)

Some wacky dude sings karaoke to a Carrie Underwood song.  I really don’t see what’s so wei– Goddamn, this dude is nuts.  (collegehumor)

Much to my surprise, this chart about 80s sitcom doors wasn’t constructed by our own “Key West” Ken Bowman.  (buzzfeed)

Denny’s will not be outdone by any other establishment that thinks they can create the most sickening, fat-laden and ridiculously unnecessary fast food.  Denny’s will be king! (consumerist)

I’d love to make some witty remark about the 10 best movie parodies from Adult Swim, but my T.V. is so loud right now, my head feels like it’s being split.  I’ll BRB.  (adultswim)

And I’m back!  Now, like I was saying, The Fairly Oddparents is being made into a live-action movie (of course it is), and here are the first shots.  Jason Alexander looks like an Oompa Loompa with Progeria.  Sorry, but he does.  (buzzfeed)

6 insane attempts to film movies starring dead actors.  Because why let someone die with dignity when you can continue to milk their corpse for the big bucks!  (cracked)

And lastly, on the topic of dignity, here we’re presented with the most respectful Jesus-related products.  Jesus beer?  Mmm, tastes martyry.  (supertremendous)

Direct Link to Youtube Video

This will be the last Mish Mash until after the ‘Con, so until then be sure to check cnn.com for all your hip and nerdy internet news.  Now here’s a word from Nerd City’s own Diamond Dave, wishing you all a safe and happy ‘Con!  Bosey bosey BOP, biddy bop!

Seriously, if you see any of these Westboro Baptist fuckers at the SDCC, jump them and tell them Nerd City sent you.  (ranker)

The Hangover 2 to be set in Thailand.  You guys, look — I’m not afraid to be the one to say The Hangover really wasn’t that funny.  Sure, a throwaway line here and there.  But you dummies acted like it was a sequel to Fandango.  If you don’t get the reference, you’re dead to me.  No one puts Costner in the corner.  (comingsoon)

Rumor has it the new Batman villain is going to be the Riddler.  Much to my dismay, the role will not be reprised by a pitch-perfect, orange flat-topped, totally subtle Jim Carrey.  (gammasquad)

Do you like when books are made into film?  Do you love Beatles songs that sound like they belong at a Ren Faire?  Can you relate to tales of adolescence set in 1960s Tokyo?  Are you fluent in Japanese?  If so, you’ll love the new trailer for Norwegian Wood.  (youtube)

From the Memory Lane Dept.: Classic Big League Chew wrappers.  Boy, I miss my youth.  (totalprosports)

From the Memory Lane Dept.: The world of strange, discontinued cereal boxes.  (weburbanist)

And yet more of my youth: When I was a little kid drawing pictures of the villains I would make-up in my mind, the two things I always loved to accentuate them with were huge muscles and nasty scars.  So I can appreciate this list of cool movie scars.  (premiere)

7 terrifying prehistoric animals that still exist today.  For example: The elderly.  (cracked)

Probably Not a Good Idea Dept.: homemade improvised weapons.  Look, I’m not saying they don’t look awesome — they do — but come on guys.  This isn’t The Road.  It’s not Mad Max.  You don’t need to make a shotgun/hacksaw/blowtorch combo in your garage just yet.  (thebrigade)

Sometimes human beings can be so strange and sad all at once that you don’t know whether to laugh or cry.  Grown men, who are still closeted homosexuals, looking for JO buddies on Craigslist will stir up that confusing heartbroken laughter inside you.  (buzzfeed)

40 sexiest comic book covers of all time.  Depends on your definition of sexy.  Me?  I prefer a redhead with huge jugs.  (manofest)

4 health problems caused by modern living.  Well jeez…what with the unnecessarily large and deep-friend foods, the oil spils, the digital drugs, the laziness instilled by convenience, drinking alcohol rectally — pretty much anything post-2000 — whatever could they be talking about?  (holytaco)

More from the Probably Not a Good Idea Dept.: the world’s deadliest bullets (like saying ‘the world’s most frozen ice’) available for purchase on the internet! Seriously guys, c’mon.  I’d love if these bullets turned out to be made of lime jello, but they’re not.  You know where these are gonna end up, don’t you?  In the hands of some of those creepy egg-headed bastards from Alien Nation.  (extremeshockusa)

Popping a Healthy Choice in the microwave or putting a pizza in the oven is so last year.  What’s the new thing to do?  Get a Digital Food Printer! Sure you have to replace the cartridges (which are only available on this one website), and if it jams you’re totally screwed, and if you run out of one ingredient, you pretty much can’t make anything.  But hey, it’s way better than all that tedious, backbreaking labor you’d have to go through otherwise, right?  (geekologie)

Who cares if this 17-year-old traded a cellphone for a Porsche.  You know what I was driving when I was 17?  A ‘93 Nissan Sentra.  Aww yeeeeah! (yahoo)

Who cares if this 15-year-old tricked Apple into selling an illegal app.  You know what I was doing when I was 15?  Masturbing.  A lot.  Aww yeeeeah! (dvice)

And lastly, some may say this new college course to teach nerds how to flirt is pointless, frivolous.  But to those naysayers I ask: do you know what it’s like to make-out with your pillow?  I thought not.  (geekologie)

I love movie related t-shirts, this one being no exception.  And though Bixby Snyder may agree to buy it for a dollar, it’s actually $11.99, European.  (lushtshirts)

In sad news, Major League’s own manager extraordinaire Lou Brown, actor James Gammon, has died at 70.  Forget about the curveball, Ricky.  Give ‘em the heater.  (ew)

Being a bit touched with the white trash gene myself, I can appreciate this list of the top 10 white trash female characters from film.  I’m also startin’ to feel a little…anxious, if you know what I mean.  (brobible)

Here’s a great list of final films from living legends.  (bullz-eye)

Hahahaha!  Drug addiction!  Here’s Intervention the way it was supposed to be: with a laughtrack.  (warmingglow)

Zombie beef jerky.  Can’t be as bad as say, I don’t know, bacon-flavored spam?  (geekologie)

…Bacon-flavored spam.  Better than zombie jerky?  (nextround)

6 ways alcohol is good for you.  Wait, it’s good for you?? Hot damn.  And here I was just drinking it to be some asshole lout.  (cracked)

Despite it’s name, this site isn’t dedicated to what you do the second you get home after a six-hour train ride from Chicago.  (crapatmyparentshouse)

New vibration-powered batteries!  Essentially, you shake them to recharge them.  Note: babies do not work the same way.  (dvice)

13 most lovable T.V. alcoholics.  Why isn’t Tim Allen on this list?  (ranker)

Any red-blooded American likes a little T&A in his comic books!  It’s what this goddamned country was founded on!  (ugo)

What came first, the chicken or the egg?  The chicken, apparently.  Now someone tell Sheldon from Garfield and Friends it’s safe to come out.  I’m feelin’ a might peckish.  Oh snap! Get it?  Chicken, peck!  Nevermind.  (dailytech)

With a tip from our own fearless, alcoholic reporter Mike Haynes, we’re presented with a glass that is big enough to hold an entire bottle of wine!  It’s things like this I wish I had on a first date.  That and tons of lube.  (gizmodo)

And lastly, we all know Anchorman 2 is no more.  But, oh, what could have been! It was supposed to be a musical!  (chud)

Saturday Night Live has had a bumpy existence.  With the exception of a few standout performers each season or the occasional funny sketch (which you can bet will eventually be run into the ground) the show is pretty much a dud.  The hosts are usually out of place and act as if they just showed up for rehearsals, and the band’s are awful (and I use the term “band” loosely; it’s because “music” doesn’t technically exist anymore).  But what can you expect when the guy calling the shots is 65 and Canadian?

That being said, one of the worst things this show has spawned is movies based around it’s more popular characters.  Now, of course, there have been a couple winners (Blues Brothers, Wayne’s World), but overall they’re awful, cringe-inducing, quickly forgotten pieces of scrap celluloid that have no doubt allowed Lorne Michaels to install another pool in his house.  And despite all the terrible ones that get produced, there are a couple (good and bad) that slip through the cracks.  One of the possibly good ones that didn’t get made was a film based on the Da Superfans sketch, which saw George Wendt, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, and Robert Smigel as Chicago Bears superfans who sat around drinking, talking about their favorite team: Da Bears.

If you’re in Chicago this weekend, you can see Wendt, Smigel, Bob Odenkirk, Joe Mantegna, and Mike Ditka do a live-reading of the entire unproduced script written by Smigel and Odenkirk back in the early-90s.  It’s part of the Chicago Improv Festival and one-night only, and tickets go on sale Saturday at 10am.  This is not to be missed if you’re in the area.  Details at chicagotribune.

Wondering how you’re going to be spending your Summer?  Nerd City already knows!  Check out the Nerd City Summer Preview Spectacular, as Max, Ben, Crowley, Darwin, and Dr. Jose give you a preview of everything important in entertainment and culture in the coming months.  The podcasting equivalent of drinking a can of PBR and mowing your lawn is finally here.  Episode 87 of Nerd City demands that you listen to it!

Pics and links after the jump.

(more…)

The week of April 7th, our beautiful city of Chicago is being invaded…by Beer!

The Craft Brewers Conference and World Beer Cup are being held at the Sheraton, and it’s going to be the shit! Our sponsor/best-brewery-in-the-world Piece Brewery will be there, and Nerd City can’t wait to see them win.

There is going to be a ton of different beer and brewery related events at bars all over the city, and this should be one of beeriest times in recent history. Nerd City will be covering the entire event, (and drinking, good lord will we be drinking). Get all the info on the conference and all the beer events open to the public here.

Piece Brewery (awesome sponsor and home of the world-famous Nerd City podcast) is hosting their “Jam For Haiti” featuring legendary Cheap Trick-er Rick Nielsen Tonight!

Party starts @ 9 p.m.  With beer sales and $5 cover going to an important cause, you can finally use your drinking problem for good (after so much bad).

Direct Link to Youtube Video

Piece Brewery

1927 W. North Ave.

Chicago, Il 60622

Happy Monday Nerd City! I want to talk about a style of beer that people either love or hate, it has polarized more people then the Phantom Menace, I am talking about Double IPA’s or Imperial IPA’s. It’s a full on blitzkrieg of hops in your month that you don’t get with a normal IPA. When brewing beer hops & malt act as the Yin & Yang of beer; malt adds sweetness to beer and hops add bitterness. Most beers are balancing act between the two. Double IPA’s however are full on bitter tongue bruising hop over load. It used to be hard to find a Double IPA because for a short time in the early 00’s there was a hop shortage and hop prices made it hard for a brewery to make a cost effective Double IPA. Now they are becoming increasingly available year round. I will list my top 5 (This is just my opinion and according to my ex-girlfriend it doesn’t matter)

5) Great Lakes Brewery: The Lake Erie Monster. Great Lakes is one of my favorite breweries, the beers they make are always spot on for the style. I got excited to see their interpretation of a Double IPA and it did not disappoint big hop flavor with soft caramel malt flavors.

4) Southern Tier: Unearthly IPA & Inequity . Unearthly has big grassy hop flavors with soft citrus notes that is surprisingly well balanced for the style. I also wanted to mention Inequity because it’s a twist on the style. It’s a Black Double IPA, they use black malt similar to the malt used in stouts to give it a darker color but the citrus hop flavors are not masked by the darker malt.

3) Three Floyd’s: Dreadnaught & Apocalypse Cow. “I love the smell of hops in the morning, it smells like victory” Nick Floyd. Dreadnaught is a slick oily citrus hop assault a well crafted hop bomb from Three Floyd’s. Apocalypse Cow is another twist on the Double IPA, they use lactose sugar that adds a creamy texture to the the onslaught of hop flavor.

2) Lagunitas: A Little Sumpin’ Extra. It’s cool to see a west coast breweries take on a Double IPA, west coast breweries are known for making hoppy pale ales. Big grapefruit citrus hop flavors with a creamy malt. I really enjoyed this beer because it was real easy drinking for a Double IPA, the 8% ABV was well hidden.

1) Bell’s: Hopslam. The Double IPA every hop head dreams of. It comes out once a year and beer geeks squirrel away as many six packs as their fridge will allow. If I could I would dress this beer like Sailor Moon and marry it in Las Vegas. Hopslam is hopped to the gills but has this pleasant creamy finish.

Honerable mentions: Left Hand Brewery Twin Sisters, New Holland Double Hatter, Two Brother’s Heavy Handed, Founders Double Trouble & Dogfish Head 90 & 120 minute.

Till next time, Cheers!

Happy Wednesday, Nerd City. “The craft beer industry is 99% asshole free” -Sam Calagione. The craft beer scene is full of great characters; guys who name their breweries Rogue & Surly, name their beers Hopslam & Lil Sumpin’ Extra. People who work 18 hours a day 7 days a week because they wanted to help change the landscape of craft beer in America. Recently 2 of the biggest names, Sam Calagione & Ken Grossman, got together to make a collaboration beer. In 1980 Ken Grossman, using old dairy equipment and a soft drink bottling line, opened Sierra Nevada brewing company. A daunting task opening a craft brewery in 1980 when 3 company’s (Miller, Bud & Coors) controlled 90% of the market. In 1995, Sam Calagione opened Dogfish Head Brewery and Eats, the smallest commercial brewery in America (at the time), with each batch yielding only 12 gallons of beer. In the beginning, Sam Calagione would brew 3 batches of beer a day 7 days a week just to keep up with the demand at the brew pub. When he was not making beer he slept on a mattress in the basement of the brew pub. Today both men are at the top of craft beer scene, Sam Calagione a young maverick and Ken Grossman one of the founding fathers of the American craft beer. Their passion for craft beer brought them together to brew a beer called Life & Limb. Life & Limb defies styles, it was brewed with syrup from Sam Calagione’s father’s farm and estate barley grown at the Sierra Nevada brewery. The idea was to brew a strong ale that could age over time. A beer that Sam & Ken could share with their children when they reach the proper drinking age. Certain styles of beer age well, Barley wines and Imperial stouts are perfect for aging. These beers are well suited for aging because they are higher in ABV and darker. Keep an eye out for Life & Limb at you local liquor stores and bars and if you can buy a bottle and keep it in cool and dry place then save it for a special occasion. Till next time, Cheers!

Happy Saturday Nerd City. This weekend was the Great American Beer Festival in Denver Colorado. Hoards of thirsty beer geeks descended upon the beautiful wilderness of Colorado for 3 days of beer. Dressed in their in finest cargo shorts (Camo or Khaki), socks from REI (meant for hiking but work just as well for standing in line for beer) and sporting their best/cleanest beer shirt (I like to wear my Hofbrau beer shirt to such events because it give the false impression to the ladys that I am very well traveled). The Great American Beer Festival is in its 27th year, started in 1982 with a modest 20 breweries and 35 beers available for sampling. This year they had 495 breweries from across the USA and they had 2,100 beers available for sampling. To win a medal at the festival is a huge deal for young breweries/brew pubs. It shows that your beer is the same caliber of beer as the big guys who have been at this for years. Here are a couple of my favorite beers that won awards today.

Surly Brewery- Coffee Bender- Bronze Medal Coffee Beer

Green Flash Brewery- Hop Head Red- Bronze Medal American Amber/ Red Ale

Ska Brewing- True Blonde Ale- Bronze Medal English Style Summer Ale

Here are the big winners from Chicago.

Goose Island- Demolition- Silver Medal Belgian/French Style Ale

IPA- Silver Medal English Style India Pale Ale

Red Woody- Silver Medal Wood/Barrel Aged Beer

(The category invented by Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout)

Rock Bottom Chicago- Drunken Angel- Bronze Medal Specialty Beer

(Dogfish Head took the Gold & Silver to show you who they were up against)

The Crow and the Sparrow- Silver Medal American/Belgo Style Ale

Piece Brewery- Fornicator- Bronze Medal Bock Beer

Top Heavy Hefeweizen- Gold Medal South German Style Hefeweizen

Mad props to our Chi-town breweries Goose Island & Rock Bottom and congrats to Johnathan Cutler of Piece Brewery Nerd City is drinking to you tonight. Till next time, Cheers!