Friday Cocktail - Frozen Apple - News, Quirks, Insights and Other Odds and Ends - November 2017

What. A. Week/Month.

Right now I am toasting not being Matt Lauer or any guy for that matter, who didn't get the memo that acting like you are on spring break in college is not acceptable in the workplace.  Just in case you thought these harassment issues were just among powerful public men, think again.  This podcast, Hollaback Girl, makes it abundantly clear that many, many more have no clue how their actions frighten and disgust women.

Some other odds and ends that caught my eye...

My son is obsessed with Stranger Things.  Apparently, he is not the only one.  Yay for a non-profit benefiting from the hoopla:  Star Tribune

News, Quirks, Insights, and Other Odds and Ends - January 2016

The Force is strong with this one.

Whenever I go overseas, inevitably someone will ask me where I am from, I will say Chicago and they will either say, Al Capone!" or "Michael Jordan!".  Al Capone is long gone but his legend refuses to die.  Good news for those curious people who want to see some of the gangster hangouts and speakeasies he frequented, Thrillist put together a map.  

News, Quirks, Insights and Other Odds and Ends - December 2015

Chocolates in Paris

It is 60 degrees outside, it has been raining for two days straight, and this is Chicago in December.  We are in bizarro land.  Below: some reads over the past month that were a welcome break from the holiday insanity.

Not even Yoga is politically correct. We can just call it stretching class.

Apparently, how you dress does matter.  Should I take it personally that my significant other sent me this article?

A peek inside the difficulties of quitting an addiction.  This story talks about heroin, but it is also about the daily, unexciting but difficult grind of getting up everyday and living life.

Foods that TSA will confiscate.  If you do put them in your checked baggage, pack them well so you don't come out on the other end with vodka gravy jam.

This article is about a Father/Daughter relationship but it might as well be a message to all parents.  It's not the things we buy our kids, it's our behavior everyday that counts.

Our phones are turning us into old people with hunched backs.

Some sore throat remedies from folks who depend on their voices more than the weekend karaoke crowd.

Where would we be without Will Ferrell?  Laughing a whole lot less.  His SNL appearance was classic.

The food companies do some very shady things to keep you eating.  Be warned before you grab that bag of chips.  There is a science behind not wanting to stop eating once you start.

News, Quirks, Insights and Other Odds and Ends - November 2015

How I Feel

This has been loooong week.  Client meetings, way too early in the morning puppy bathroom breaks, birthday's, all while trying to wrap up, close out, push through deals to finish strong at year-end.  Happy Friday to all of those in the same boat.

Yes!  Now this is my kind of work environment. Woof! Woof!

This is the best outline I have seen yet on why the issues in the Middle East that are now bleeding into places like Paris, that are so difficult to address. The Strategic Limits of ISIS.

We have a long way to go but WOW, we certainly have come a long way and these two women deserve a lot of credit.  Gloria Steinem and Ruth Bader Ginsburg reflecting on their extraordinary lives.

Guess I will be holding off on buying the standing desk.

I have always had a far away crush on David Beckham.  People finally caught on that he is indeed sexy.

I, like most Gen Xers, grew up drinking copious amounts of milk based on the widely held assumption at the time that it would prevent broken bones, improve posture, and it was full of nutrients that did a body good.  These days, that thinking has changed.  A guide to milk.

I am not usually a fan of rap.  That is, unless it's Missy Elliott.  She's back and awesome as ever.

Always fascinating to me how obsessed people are with Obama's refusal to scream and shout in a crises.  I personally prefer the measured calm response, but that's just me.  Good news to those who want a more passionate President, you can vote for this guy.

News, Quirks, Insights, and Other Odds and Ends - March 2015

Spring Break is here and I am headed off for a Cruise with the kiddo.  The picture above captures how I am feeling about being on a boat where no one can reach me.  Cheers!

Hale to all things Bourbon.

Could not be happier that these jeans are back in style.  They make we look way skinny.  Win!!  Down side is that this pair had to be taken up by about 8 inches.  Fashion is a cruel world to us standing at 5'4.

Selfie-stick etiquette.  I first saw these peculiar contraptions on a boat out to Las Caletas, which, by the way, you should do if you happen to be in Puerta Vallerta and you have kids (see picture above).  So much fun.  Anyway, so the people on the boat who were using them clearly had not been educated on the etiquette of the selfie-stick.

Crazy coffee.  Crazy indeed.

There are Reindeer People in Mongolia.  Amazing that I find pictures every day that blow my mind.

Although I am not from Australia, I can relate to family in far off places and the sweet and sad emotions that come from moving further and further from our childhood into the life we make for ourselves.  This article is about so much more than falling in love 10,000 miles from home.

I have always loved Suze Orman for her sound investing and spending advice.  She is moving on from CNBC and that means I have to find something else to do on Saturday nights.

Post workout recovery nutrition.  Increasingly important as the years pile on.

Know what ABC technology is in reference to Lululemon's man workout wear?  You are about to find out.

All of a sudden, my business travel headaches don't seem so bad.  At least I can look out the window and walk in the front door of the hotel.  Not so much if you are POTUS.

Nutella for Breakfast?

http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/a-healthy-chocolate-breakfast-for-kids/

I recently read this (see link) and I have to ask the question, are there really parents out there who would serve this for breakfast? I love Nutella and I believe it is excellent for a million different recipes but serving it for breakfast to kids in a nation that already has an obesity epidemic is appalling and totally irresponsible. Harsh assessment? Maybe. I just think somewhere along the line we became lazy with nutrition and we can do better.

So, just go for it and chuck the salt soaked lunchables, the fruit roll-ups, potato chips, fritos, gummy anything, granola bars, wonder bread and anything else that has a main ingredient of corn syrup, salt, white flour or partially hydrogenated anything. In the long run when your kids are healthy, diabetes free and above all, not getting made fun of for being fat, they will appreciate that you went the extra mile to make healthy food and to teach them what proper nutrition is and tastes like.

Cheers to the work of child-rearing - not a job for sissies! AJ