Didn't see any of the movies nominated for best picture at the Oscars this year. That's OK. You're not missing much, if reporter and Brew Reviewer Mike Danahey is to be believed.

I've rounded up his reviews of this year's best picture-nominated movies. (His review of "Inception" remains one of the funniest things I've ever read.) Let's see how his reviews jive with the results of Sunday's awards, shall we?

• Black Swan
• Inception
• The Social Network
• The Kids Are All Right
• 127 Hours
• Toy Story 3
• True Grit

Other nominees for best picture include "The Fighter" and "The King's Speech."

For a complete list of nominees in each category and more information about the 83rd Academy Awards, visit Oscar.com.

Beer rating: The Oscars call for bubbly, don't they? Or maybe a champagne beer. Or maybe just the champagne of beers.

-- Emily McFarlan, Readers' Reporter

NOTE: In a revival of this "classic" Friday feature, Courier-News reporter Mike Danahey guesses how much beer (or other beverage of choice) it might take him to pay money to see a recently-released movie. His opinions are based on trailers, ads and advance hype.

Here's one movie playing this weekend...

Hall Pass

I want to like this movie because it's from the Farrelly Brothers who gave the world "Kingpin," "Dumb and Dumber," and "There's Something About Mary." But the ads make this seem like it would be middling Adam Sandler movie.

Beer rating: Lots of Bud Light. In cans.

WHAT?! You were looking for a REAL movie review? Our Sun-Times Media colleague Roger Ebert at the Chicago Sun-Times does a swell job at that.

-- Mike Danahey, Staff Writer

Attending a school board meeting is kind of like taking a class at the gym.

Hear me out: Before you go, you wonder what kind of people will be there. What if you're over-dressed? What if nobody else shows up? Or you wonder if you'll be able to keep up. What if you have NO CLUE what's going on, and everybody else is going at it like they do this all the time? Or maybe they all are just scheduled at really inconvenient times.

I totally understand.

I also totally understand what's happening at school board meetings -- after all, I'm at an Elgin School District U46, Carpentersville-area Community Unit School District 300 or Elgin Community College District 509 meeting just about every week. It's my job as the Courier's education reporter to make sense of what happens at those meetings for you in the next day's paper. It's my job to show how that will impact you, your children and your community.

One thing that undoubtedly will impact the District 300 community is continued cuts to the district's budget. The Carpentersville-area district is targeting $8.3 million in cuts to next school year's budget, which its school board plans to discuss tonight in detail at a special board meeting at 6 p.m. at Westfield Community School, 2100 Sleepy Hollow Road, Algonquin.

So here's a little experiment: I'm planning to live-tweet tonight's meeting from my personal Twitter account, at the suggestion of a few readers. You can follow my updates on my Twitter profile, twitter.com/mcemilywrites. I also will be using the hashtag #CUSD300mtg, so you can do a search for "#CUSD300mtg" on Twitter.com (you can do that by clicking here) or use your favorite Twitter client to follow just those tweets that apply to tonight's meeting. If you are on Twitter, you can ask me questions at @mcemilywrites, or you can join the conversation by using the hashtag #CUSD300mtg in your own tweets. (For more of a tutorial on Twitter and how @ replies, searches and hashtags work, visit Twitter Support.)

And you can do it all from your couch, with a laptop in one hand and a bag of potato chips in the other. You can't say that for the gym.

Not every photo our photographers take ends up in the paper. Sometimes you get a great photo, but it doesn't exactly fit with the story. Sometimes there just isn't enough room in our print edition.

And, sometimes, yeah, you are kind of missing out. Our photographers are a talented bunch.

Case in point: This photo of a Fox Valley boy by Beacon-News photographer Brian Powers.

But don't worry. You won't miss out any more: Our photo staff has started a new blog, Visualogue, to share all their favorite photos with you. Kind of like the photos behind the photos you see in the paper, just like Between the Bylines is the stories behind the stories you read in The Courier-News.

Check it out, and let us know: Anything else you feel like you're missing out on that we could include on Between the Bylines?

-- Emily McFarlan, Readers' Reporter

By now the flowers should be bought, the chocolates half-eaten, the dinner reservations made. And what could be a more romantic dinner destination than...

...White Castle?

Yup, that's right. White Castle. You've probably heard about this: The restaurant chain, famed for its delicious little sliders, hosts a special Valentine's Day White Castle dinner at some locations. Reservations required. Unfortunately, the closest participating White Castle location to Elgin appears to be in Chicago.

The next best thing? Pick up a bag of sliders at your nearest White Castle and enjoy a slider-scented candle-lit dinner at home with the one you love.

You heard me right. I said something about a slider-scented candle in there. We actually have one at The Courier-News, one of those things that got lost in our early December move. White Castle sells them around the holidays and sent us one to blog about at the time. It appears, without our plug even, sales of the burger-and-onion-scented candle, poured into a ceramic slider sleeve, topped $500,000. All that money will benefit Autism Speaks.

That does warm your heart a little, now doesn't it?

Journalists aren't exactly known for their warm hearts. We lit the candle and positioned it where the breeze would gently waft the scent of slider at Reporter Mike Danahey's desk. Across the newsroom, our editors thought the burger smell was being carried from the Grand Victoria Casino, not far from our former downtown office. Danahey thought it smelled like... Detroit.

But if that sounds like your idea of romance, hey, start planning for next year. We've got links to photos and more of Valentine's Day at White Castle and a list of our local White Castle locations, after the jump.

NOTE: Freelance writer Jason Duarte books shows in Elgin and Chicago, is part of a band and occasionally blogs about the local music scene (usually Wednesdays) on Between the Bylines.

Social Distortion: "Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes"
January 18, 2011
Epitaph Records

Last month, Social Distortion released its first album in seven years titled "Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes." In the 33 years Social D has been a band, they've blossomed from their Orange County punk roots, cross-pollinating with blues, rock 'n' roll and a little outlaw country, making them a well-versed hybrid.

Social D's last record, 2004's "Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll," was a soundtrack of love and loss. The band said in an interview that they wanted this one to be different. The album features 11 tracks, some of which the band has been playing live for several years, but all are finally recorded.

Full review, track list and band line-up, after the jump.

In case you haven't heard, Snowmageddon is coming. The Snowpocalypse. Or, as I like to call it, Snowverreaction.

Although, we'll see. Already, a light dusting of fluffy, white death is covering the ground here in Elgin. And the National Weather Service is forecasting the blizzard will bring at least a foot of snow through Wednesday afternoon to the Chicago area.

Meantime, we have some advice from the Kane County Sheriff and area municipalities in today's paper -- "Sheriff: Stay out of the weather & out of the way" -- and many more winter weather resources on our website. That includes:

• Emergency closings (Elgin Community College already has announced it is closing at 2 p.m. today and reopening Thursday.)
• Radar
• Current conditions
• Road conditions

We also want to see your photos of the snow, once it comes, or even your preparations for the Snowpocalypse. You can submit your photos here, using this easy form on our website.

AND we want to know: How bad will this storm actually be? Click here to vote in our poll: "POLL: Are you preparing for a major winter snowstorm?"

Not to mention, I'll be glued to our social networking sites as soon as the snow starts to fall. You always can share your stories and photos with us:

• Here in the comments on Between the Bylines


• On our Facebook page


• Or with @couriernews on Twitter.

We'll run them in Thursday's paper.

Meantime, stay warm. Stay in! And drive safely.

-- Emily McFarlan, Readers' Reporter