Guides
THE 20 BEST REASONS TO SKI NEW ENGLAND
(This is our list, not the every-damn-bump in between Boston and Canada list)
SPECIAL FEATURE: THE 2015 DIGBOSTON STUDENT GUIDE
Keep this bookmarked through the school year, and, in the words of the patron saint of getting wild, Andrew W.K.: “Party till you puke.”
GET OUT THERE: WINTER NIGHTLIFE GUIDE
Think of it as a snapshot of what Sunday-Thursday has in store for you between now and the spring solstice on March 20, a time period that may later be referred to as “The Great Melt.”
KIDDIE KROAKERS 2014
Because police aren’t the only ones trying to murder your children.
FALL PREVIEW 2014: PLAYS AND PLATES
Great theater is wont to incite rapid-fire debate and discussion. And—not to sound like a silence-your-cell phones and shut-the-fuck up announcement—everyone appreciates it when you save your insightful banter until after the thespians have taken their final bow. There’s nothing worse than being ...
FALL PREVIEW 2014: 14 REASONS FOR FALL
Quit your bitching. Summer is over. Here’s an arbitrary list of reasons to look forward to cooler weather.
1. Fewer Croc sightings
2. Nutella is no longer a liquid consistency making it more reasonable to eat directly out of the container
3. See above, but apply also to peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter
4. Even if you have no interest in sports, you can make a pastime out of tallying how many times football players slap each other on the ass
5. Crass pumpkin carving contests
6. You’re that much closer to the return of “Game of Thrones”
7. For hardcore GoT fans, an The World of Ice and Fire encyclopedia is out in October (although this means the rest of us will have to hear about how it isn’t really an encyclopedia, so it’s really a scratch)
8. Ladies who perpetuate the myth that they shave everyday, all-year-round can now pretend they do
9. Thrift store sweaters
10. Public transit is considerably less smelly
11. Apples and the wealth of booze, fritters, pies, and bobbing they inspire
12. There is almost zero-risk someone will show up to a party with White Zinfandel or Lime Ritas as their offering
13. You can return your baby powder back to its shelf where it will remain until next June
14. Wabbit season
FALL PREVIEW 2014:
FALL PREVIEW 2014: OKTOBERFESTS
Contrary to widely held beliefs, the beer bash was not invented by college fraternities. No, it’s the good lederhosen-clad OGs of Munich who’ve been manhandling hefty steins of foam for nearly two centuries at the annual Bavarian beer binge that is Oktoberfest. The glorious gatherings and consumptions of suds has become understandably popular stateside, especially here in the Bay State. Here’s a selection to clear your calendar for.
OLDE MAGOUN’S SALOON OKTOBERFEST | SEPT. 3-OCT. 29
The massive two-month Oktoberfest blowout kicked off on September 3 with a ceremonial keg tapping. And through October, drafts of Paulaner brews (try the Oktoberfest Wiesn) will fill authentic beer steins in their massive makeshift biergarten. On Wednesday nights Oktoberfest beer promotions from German powerhouses Hofbrau, Spaten, and Warsteiner will appear before you, along with plates of obatzda, a Bavarian cheese spread invented to pair with good German beer.
[OLDE MAGOUN’S SALOON, 518 MEDFORD ST., SOMERVILLE. MAGOUNSSALOON.COM]
IDLE HANDS CRAFT ALES OKTOBERFEST & THIRD ANNIVERSARY
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FALL PREVIEW 2014: FAMOUS PEOPLE
FRI 9.12
JASON SEGEL AT FIRST PARISH CHURCH
Man-child Muppet-enthusiast Jason Segal has written a children’s book, Nightmares!, and he’s making a stop in Boston on his tour. We expect one-third of the audience to be accompanying children, one-third to be children, and one-third to be waiting for Segal to drop his pants, Waiting for Sarah Marshall-style.
THU 10.2
LENA DUNHAM AT THE WILBUR
“Girls” top girl Lena Dunham is touring with her book Not That Kind of Girl, which has received praise from both David Sedaris and Judy Blume. While she might not be that kind of girl she is our kind of girl, so we are pretty stoked to see her while she’s in the Hub. We may even don tights without runs in them for the occasion. Big maybe.
THU 10.02
B.J. NOVAK AT BRATTLE THEATRE
For the second time this year, B.J Novak , aka Ryan from “The Office” (he probably wouldn’t like it if you called him “aka Ryan from The Office”), will make an appearance in Cambridge for a book tour. His first book had a trailer starring himself and Mindy Kaling accompanying its release. This one doesn’t even have pictures. Hence the title: The Book With No Pictures.
FRI 11.07
NICK OFFERMAN AT THE WILBUR
In an interview last year, “Parks and Recreation” star Nick Offerman told the Dig that the key to a good relationship is “a considerable pair of testicles.” Apparently that’s also his secret to a solid stand up set as his tour “Full Bush” promises a wee bit of nudity.
MON 11.10
AMANDA PALMER AT HARVARD SQUARE + PORTER SQUARE BOOKS
Palmer’s debut book the Art of Asking, a spin off of her viral TEDTalk, is out on November 11 and the former Dresden Doll is hosting a midnight launch party at Porter Square Books, but first she invites fans to join in her in a celebratory parade through Harvard Square. Yes, a parade. How very Palmer-esque. Yes, that’s a euphemism.
FALL PREVIEW 2014:
FALL PREVIEW 2014: FILM PICKS
Strained metaphor time: Think of Hollywood’s yearly release cycle as a wobbly stool. The two legs that appear to be the same length do most of the heavy lifting; those are the summertime tentpole action flicks and wintertime prestige dramas. Then instead of putting the interests of the sitter (you, the moviegoer) first, the carpenter (Hollywood) uses whatever material is left to hobble together two crappy, uneven planks whose purpose is solely structural; those are the weirdo movies that come out late winter and early fall.
So as we emerge from the brain-hardening sensory overload of the summer superhero glut, the studios are now back to tenderizing our sensibilities ahead of award season with an odd mix of palate cleansers and early Oscar hopefuls. Things are about to get weird.
OSCAR BAIT
Kicking things off is The Boxtrolls (9.26), an early contender for Best Animated Feature … which isn’t saying much for a category that feels increasingly like “Best By Default.” Adam Sandler returns to drama in Men, Women, & Children (10.1), and hopefully he’ll fucking stay there because he can be great and we really don’t want to see a Grown Ups 3. David Fincher’s Gone Girl (10.3) is the last glimpse of Ben Affleck’s potential before he destroys that momentum (again) in Kent v. Wayne. As the threat of Batfleck looms, our most beloved Dark Knight actor Michael Keaton returns to form in superhero satire Birdman (10.7), and Robert Downey, Jr. gets back to his pre-Stark roles in The Judge (10.10). Rounding out the season is Christopher Nolan’s mysterious Interstellar (11.7), Jon Stewart’s directorial debut Rosewater (11.7), and Benedict Cumberbatch’s potentially riveting portrayal of persecuted genius Alan Turing in The Imitation Game (11.21).
ODDITIES
According to the trailer for Dolphin Tale 2 (9.12), “We don’t know if dolphins can make friends. But we think they can. And that’s not a bad thing.” What is a bad thing, however, is the fact that a human being actually thought that sentence made any kind of sense. Moving on. Liam Neeson strikes what may be a perfect balance between the dramatic roles that made him a household name and the dime-a-dozen grizzled action flicks that got him working again in A Walk Among the Tombstones (9.19). After the success of Red State, Kevin Smith is leaving the Askewniverse even farther behind in favor of horror with Tusk (9.19). Jimi: All Is by My Side (9.26), the controversial Jimi Hendrix biopic that features none of his music and adds an entirely fictional domestic abuse subplot, might be a disaster, but the directorial debut of 12 Years a Slave writer John Ridley and the inspired casting of Andre Benjamin has us curious. Just by his very presence, Denzel Washington makes bad movies good and good movies great, so we still recommend seeing The Equalizer (9.26) even if it’s total dogshit. Terry Gilliam is hit or miss these days, but we’re stoked for his team-up with Christoph Waltz in Zero Theorem (9.19). As evidence that the world can always be a tad more psychotic, we present Nic Cage in the de-Cameronized, big budget adaptation of evangelical post-rapture saga Left Behind. (10.3) And finally, Michael Bay sullies a preexisting IP that no one cares about in Ouija (10.24).