This is just awesome – I love the Muppets (my brother and I lived for “The Muppet Show”) and the folks at The Muppets Studio have created a really fun video of the Muppets singing “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Check it out by clicking the picture of Animal or clicking here. And for those of you on Twitter, you can follow The Muppet Studio – they are @Muppetsstudio.
Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow!
Listening to NPR the other night (shhh… don’t tell my employer), I heard the start of the piece about All Song’s Considered’s “The Decade’s Most Important Recordings” but missed the report because of a phone call. So, I made a point to check out the list on line and I’m not so sure I agree with it. While I appreciate that the list has different styles of music on it (some of which I’ll check out after reading the list), it still reads as the Hipster’s List of the Decade’s Most Important Recordings. In my opinion, the most obvious omission is Outkast – that double CD definitely had an impact on the music scene.
So, what do you think of the list? To read the list only, click here. For a list with descriptions of the recordings, click here.
Share your thoughts!!!!
Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow
Yes, yes, I know – I am totally slacking when it comes to doing the blog! At some point I’ll figure out a balance and get everything done! Until then, it will be sporadic posts here at Bright-Yellow.
I just learned that here in Illinois you can go to the Secretary of State’s Web site and register an emergency contact (and a secondary contact). If, God forbid, I were to get in an accident, now emergency crews can scan my driver’s license (it has a bar code) and find out who to contact right away. I’m sure most other states have this type of registry, too, and I encourage you to sign up. If you live in Illinois, all of the information can be found here. Outside of Illinois, try your Secretary of State’s Web site.
On a completely unrelated note – I went to see “Precious” today and I can’t recommend it enough. While the subject matter is tough, you still walk away with a feeling of hope. The entire cast mesmerized us and I suggest you definitely make a point to see this movie!
Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow!
Whether you have kids or are just a big kid (and a music fan) at heart, Peter Himmelman puts on a great show. A few years ago I did a promotion with him where he wrote a song for someone and performed at their house. I ended up driving him to and from the promotion and after basically trapping him in my car so that I could ask him all sorts of questions, I admire his talent even more than I did before (which I didn’t think was possible).
For the grown-ups, Peter writes and performs stunningly beautiful music. For the kiddos, Peter has a knack for figuring out what is important in a child’s heart and whimsically turns it into a tune. For those of you who live in Chicago, Peter is performing at the Land of Nod at North and Clybourn on Sunday at 2PM. It’s sure to get a little crowded there so I’d suggest getting there early – you and your kids (if you have ‘em) will love it!
Looking for some more “grown up” tunes – Peter has plenty. Personally, one of my favorites is “Mission of My Heart” (one of the BEST love songs ever written) but you can’t go wrong with most of Peter’s tunes. Also, Peter hosts and awesome online music show, “The Furious World“, where he interviews all sorts of musicians, actors, authors, etc. and often plays a tune or two. “The Furious World” airs live on Tuesday nights but you can also see past shows. Check out “The Furious World” by clicking here (there’s a schedule of upcoming guests on this site, too).
Another reason to love Peter? Even though he lives in LA, he’s still a Minnesotan at heart!
Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow! Have a favorite musician I (and fellow readers) should check out? Post the info in the comments section!
After a little break, I’m back with more Bright-Yellow posts! However, I think that I’m not going to be able to keep up the daily writing schedule so I’m going to work on figuring out a schedule. Now that I’m working, if I have plans at night, then I don’t get a post up. So, I’m just going to write when I can.
As for today’s Bright-Yellow, I have two tips for you. The first, in case you haven’t 
heard, is that the Museum of Science and Industry here in Chicago is FREE on weekdays throughout the month of October! This freebie is part of the launch of “You! The Experience” which is described as “A new permanent exhibit celebrating the connection between the human mind, body and spirit.” I’m not entirely sure what that means but I’m excited to find out this October! Free admission runs weekdays through October 30.
My next piece is what one of my favorite gossip sites would call “A Kindness”. This past weekend I attended a fundraiser for L’Arche Chicago (a great organization that builds communities where those with and without intellectual disabilities live together) which featured a terrific cabaret performance by AOK Cabaret (Acts of Kindness Cabaret). The three women who performed engaged the crowd and had amazing voices. The kindness comes in when I tell you that they performed basically free of charge so that L’Arche Chicago did not have to incur the expense of hiring entertainment for their fundraiser! AOK Cabaret founder, Hilary Ann Feldman started the organization because, like many of us, she was often asked to donate or purchase high priced tickets for friends’ fundraisers. Since she is a full-time artist, Hilary couldn’t always afford to buy those tickets or make that donation. So, instead, she rounded up a bunch of her fellow cabaret musicians and started AOK Cabaret and now she helps a number of organizations by performing largely free of charge. If you’re planning a fundraiser, I highly recommend looking into booking AOK Cabaret.
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Our last stop on the Beercation was New Holland Brewing in, of all places, New Holland Michigan. We traveled from Grand Rapids to New Holland for the brewery’s 12th annual Autumnfest. I think this was my favorite beer stop on beercation (perhaps because Deb took over the driving duties? Who knows!).
Autumnfest takes place in the brewery’s parking lot and we were greeted by a pig roast with some of the best corn I have ever had (sage butter!!!!). But while the food was good, we were there for the beer. We started out at the bar with sampler trays. Jeff tackled the high gravity (gravity apparently means alcohol and/or dark at New Holland Brewing) tasting while Deb and I split a sampling of every other beer except one that I don’t remember. Deb and I actually liked the Dragon’s Milk brew in Jeff’s sampler (the rest were way to dark and strong for us) and we had two favorites in our own sampler – the Ichabod pumpkin ale (yum yum yum) and a ginger beer that I can’t remember the name of and that doesn’t appear on the Web site.
By far, though, the highlight of the fest was the “Beer & Cheese Smackdown“. Who doesn’t love an event with the word smackdown?!?! This smackdown involved New Holland President Brent and New Holland Eventinator Phil each pairing beers with cheeses from local dairies. After each tasting, all of us voted for which pairing we liked better. Fortunately, Brent likes Phil and Phil is great at his job since Phil totally smacked down Brent in the pairings! That said, they both did a great job with the pairings and we all learned a lot about beer and how certain foods bring out certain flavors in the beer.
If you’re in New Holland, stop by the brewery and if you’re not, look for Ichabod and Dragon’s Milk at your local liquor store (you know in Chicago, we’re partial to Sam’s) and give them a try – I think you’ll enjoy your own Autumnfest with these beers!
Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow!
Beercation continues…
From Jolly Pumpkin in Dexter, we hit the road to our primary destination – Grand Rapids to visit our friend, Deb, and to explore more beer!
We first visited Founders Brewery in downtown Grand Rapids (side note here – this was my first visit to “the GR” and since I have a few friends who grew up there, I just assumed GR was like any other suburban town but I was pleasantly surprised that GR was, instead, a small city with a lot of culture, dining, and business!). Founders brews a base of year-round beers, seasonal beers, and specialty beers. I tried the Cerise, a cherry infused beer (hey – I was in Michigan – I had to do it!) which was tasty but very sweet. Jeff enjoyed a Red’s Rye PA (a little too strong for me) as well as some other samples when he wandered over to the bar (you can sample just about any of their beers)! The Founders crowd was a wide range from old to young, families, singles, etc. I’m sure it changes as the night goes on but 8:30PM on Friday night was when we fit in perfectly!
From Founders, we wandered over (well, actually we drove) over to HopCat 
which Beer Advocate named the third best beer bar in the US. Needless to say, we were all very excited to check it out (by we, I mean me and Jeff. Deb had been there and was just surprised by the rating). Yes, it has an extensive beer list and yes, the food was tasty but, honestly, I didn’t find it all that special. I guess I’m just spoiled by the Map Room in my own back yard! I’ll take the Map Room’s impressive (and, yes, large) beer list, funky vibe, and knowledgeable staff over HopCat any day. That said, Deb did tell us that when she has been to HopCat in the past, she has had much better and more knowledgeable service than we had during our visit.
Tomorrow – the final stop of the Beercation (hint: Smackdown!).
Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow!
I’m not sure why I went with “Day 1″ lingo yesterday for Beercation since the whole trip was really only two days. It was Part 1 yesterday and here is Part 2!
From Bell’s Brewery we made our way to Jolly Pumpkin in Dexter Michigan. Of all of our stops, this was by far the most educational. Our host, Mike, explained that Jolly Pumpkin is the only brewery in the United States that barrel ages (mostly in bourbon barrels) all of its beers for a minimum of five years. What does this mean for you, the drinker? Well, it means you drink a flavorful beer that takes on some of the characteristics of the barrel – and you drink it in a 750ml bottle that has been bottled by hand (we saw the process ourselves!).
We also met owner and brewmaster Ron Jeffries, his wife, Laurie, and his son, Daemon, who all work at Jolly Pumpkin. Ron’s laid back (he loves Hawaii) attitude permeates throughout the brewery – everyone is working triple time but with a smile and not a sign of frenzy anywhere!
The stories of the beers (found on every bottle) add to the personal touch that makes Jolly Pumpkin so special. For example, the two Bam beers are named for the Jeffries’ dog, Bam, who, according to the bottle, survived being hit by a car. What is not on the bottle is that Bam has also survived an attack by a bigger dog who bit Bam in the throat and nearly electrocuting himself after chewing on a cord. Bam is appropriately named!
If you are near Dexter (which is about 5 miles from Ann Arbor), definitely stop in for a visit at Jolly Pumpkin. They are expanding and have opened a brew pub in Ann Arbor and are opening one next to the brewery later this fall. Ron is also going to start roasting coffee beans – oh, and he also shapes surfboards!
Can’t get to Dexter? No problem, Jolly Pumpkin is available in 42 states and if it’s not in your state, I’m sure it will be soon!
A big thanks to Mike, Ron, Laurie, Daemon and the whole Jolly Pumpkin crew for a great visit!
Thanks for Reading Bright-Yellow!
First, an update on last week’s post about Bleeding Hear Bakery’s Top Chef cupcakes. Bleeding Heart gave me some more details via Twitter: “(the cupcakes) will debut every fri using the main ingr. from the winning dish of the elimination challenge”. So, since cactus was not the elimination challenge but the quick fire, I guess we won’t see cactus cupcakes. But, we will see some sure to be interesting cupcakes in the weeks ahead!
Now, on to today’s post. Last weekend Jeff & I went on what we called a “beercation”. Jeff is studying beer (sounds like a contradiction, I know) so he wanted to check out some local breweries. And, he needed a driver! This week, I’ll share some highlights from the beercation.
Our first stop was Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo. I was super excited for this one because I LOVE Bell’s Oberon beer (and mourned its loss when it was briefly not available in Chicago). Jeff shared my excitement for this stop because Bell’s usually has a wide range of craft beers and he thought he’d get to try some brews not available here in Chicago. Alas, no such luck (probably due to timing – according to the Web site, specialty brews are often on tap) and, in the end, this was my least favorite stop (by comparison only – if we had gone only to Bell’s, I’m sure I would have thought it was fantastic).
The brewery is not accessible to the public so we ate lunch at Bell’s Eclectic Cafe and shopped at the general store. The cafe was cute, simple and offered a charming outdoor dining area. The menu is not large and some items (brats) go fast (we got the last one). The food was good but we were there for the beer. Like I said, we were disappointed that what was offered was available in Chicago (and Jeff had tried many of them). I did learn, though, that I like IPAs. I always assumed I did not like IPAs because of their dark color. However, after tasting Jeff’s (called Two Hearted), I actually liked it better than the Oktoberfest brew that I had ordered (which was also tasty).
At the General Store you can purchase not only anything and everything you can think branded Bell’s, but also ingredients for home brewing. When we visited, the guy working in the store was super knowledgeable and if I were a homebrewer, I would have spent a mint there! Since I’m not, though, we left with a branded beer glass to add to our collection.
My vote – if you’re heading through Kalamazoo, stop by Bell’s Brewery for a pint and a bite to eat but I’m not sure that it’s worth a special trip unless you go for one of their many Bell’s events.
Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow!
Today’s post is not going to be as detailed as I would like but I’m hoping that the subject, Bleeding Heart Bakery, will chime in on the comments since we’re Twitter friends. And before you non-Chicagoans click off at this point, I think you’ll like this post no matter where you live.
If you are a Daily Candy Chicago subscriber, this won’t be brand new news to you. I love Bleeding Heart Bakery which is a local, organic bakery here in Chicago. However, they are so much more than that – they are creators of some of the most amazing baked goods you will ever taste – especially the cupcakes. I also love “Top Chef” (don’t worry – these two will connect).
The Bleeding Heart Bakery bakers really are exceedingly clever cupcake masters. Sure, they make the traditional vanilla and chocolate but they also take it one (or ten) steps further and bake one of a kind cupcakes like the Half Acre Cupcake (using local brew Half Acre Over Ale) and cupcakes that benefit area charities. Now, Bleeding Heart is introducing a weekly cupcake based on “Top Chef”! Here’s where Bleeding Heart, if you’re reading, I need your help. I’m assuming these cupcakes will make their debut each week on Thursdays and will be based on the “Top Chef” episode from the night before. However, after looking at the Web site, I can’t confirm that. I wish I had a chance to swing by to see if there were cactus cupcakes today! Even if you don’t live in Chicago, the creativity of a “Top Chef” cupcake is worth a visit to the Web site, right (just click here)?
For you Chicagoans, Bleeding Heart Bakery is located on Belmont just east of Damen. Soon, though, they will also be downtown in the Block 37 area (yay for me!)! And, no matter where you live, I encourage you to follow Bleeding Heart on Twitter for witty commentary (and for Chicagoans – inside scoop on specials like buy one get one cupcakes!).
So check out Bleeding Heart Bakery and their cupcake creativity – maybe someone from Bleeding Heart will be on “Top Chef” someday!
Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow!
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