Growing up, I watched a lot of Sesame Street. My favorite character was always Grover. So when I read about the sadness and pain hidden behind the furry blue face with the giant pink lipped smile, I felt I should pass it on to other fans out there. I had no idea, not even an inklinking of what he has gone through. He is a true entertainer who never let his fans see his pain. All of us here at layercake.net send Grover our best wishes for happiness going forward.

Check out this “VH1’s Where Are They Now”-esque piece on the real story behind that furry smile at Grover is bitter.com

Read more about Grover’s work in the hospitality industry.

Explore Grover’s artisitic contributions to the music industry as a Blues musician and singer. His Album, Grover Sings the Blues was slated to go Platinum but disappointing sales meant the album only went Copper with less than 200 copies sold. The album features the hit song I am Blue, which beautifully showcases Grovers range and lyrical style. Also present on the album is a duet by Grover and Little Girl and guest vocals by Cookie Monster and Oscar.

This Layercake.net entry brought to you by the Letter:

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Ok so here’s the deal:

1) It’s none of my business.
and
2) I don’t know the truth about the break-up or the real story behind all that is or is not Brangelina.

However when my copy of the July issue of W magazine arrived a few days ago and I finally saw the photos of Brad and Angelina (avec faux Bradlings) from the let’s pretend we’re married (insert catchy Prince tune here) 60 page photoshoot, all I could think was; ouch.. Don’t get me wrong, the photos are stunning. Photographer Steven Klein presents an amazing series of visually stunning photographs. I’m just saying, not so much with the nice. Ew.

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For the last several months Starbucks has been printing brief editorials on their coffee cups. The series is called “The way I see it”, each piece is written by someone famous or influential in some way; an author, political commentator, or an Olympic athlete. Anyway, you get the picture. I’m not sure how many guest writers have taken a stab at the catchy cup commentary and the Starbucks’s website doesn’t reference the series but after reading a couple of them I kind of wish I could learn more about what the intent of these paper cup blogs or er.. “clogs” if you will. So, I started clicking around a bit and while I wasn’t able to locate any press release or merchandising information for “The way I see it” I did find a few articles and blog entries discussing the cups and the controversy over some offended conservatives. Hm “offended conservatives” I guess that’s a bit redundant. So, after all of that clicking, I can also say for certain that just as there is a Starbucks on nearly every corner of every major city and suburb, there is also a website dedicated to the ginormous brand on every corner in cyberspace. So if you’re eating lunch in your office and you find yourself fantasizing about a frothy Frappaccino or coveting a creamy Cappuccino, curb your craving with a visit to some very interesting and sometimes rather um, how shall I put this, very passionate web sites dedicated entirely to all things Starbuck.

The Oracle of Starbucks created by Jennifer Bishop Fulwiler promises to tell you all about your personality based on your Starbucks drink of choice.

Here’s what the mighty Oracle has to say about my drink of choice in relation to my personality disorder:

Behold the Oracle’s wisdom:
Personality type: Freak
No person of sound mind would go to an EXPENSIVE COFFEE SHOP to get a drink WITHOUT CAFFEINE. Your hobbies include going to ski resorts in the summer and flushing $5 bills down the toilet. You are a menace to society.

Also drinks: Non-alcoholic beer
Can also be found at: Pools with no water

Talk some frothy smack about Starbucks:
Starbucks Gossip. It’s like Us magazine for coffee.

Grande extra foam no love for Starbucks:
Not so much with the liking of the Starbucks at I hate starbucks.com. Now, just to clarify, this is not to say I am a lover or a hater of Starbucks. And I cannot deny that I have been known to get my venti-decaf-low fat-extra foam-mocha-with whip on when the methadone clinic is closed. Yes I am aware that ordering low fat milk with whip is sort of a walking contradiction. Don’t they cancel each other out calorically speaking? And yes, calorically is not a word. But then neither is ginormous. Yet.

Venti extra hot passionate about Starbucks:
Lover of Starbucks everywhere. The self-proclaimed Starbucks “enthusiast” Winter (his full name), is on a mission to visit EVERY SINGLE STARBUCKS IN THE WORLD.

In closing, my own expression of passion for Starbucks in the ancient form of Haiku

Starbucks Haiku by: Heidi Nyburg

roast, grind, brew and pour
there’s no”x” in espresso.
barista, please know

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Today I had an appointment with a doctor who specializes in sports medicine. First of all let’s get this out in the open; I am not an athlete. The reason I am seeing this particular doctor is actually far too embarrassing to get into. But I will anyway. You see, it involves walking. Not extreme walking. Not walking on hot coals. Not wing walking at 30 thousand feet. No, this was just regular old one foot in front of the other, humans have been doing it for quite some time now, walking. There was a mishap when the right foot lost communication with the left foot after stepping into a poorly placed pit in the ground. Needless to say the pit in the ground was not in the flight plan. So, that in a nutshell is how I ended up injured and under the care of a bone and ligament healer type person.

But that amusing little bit actually has nothing to do with this piece. You see while in the Doctor’s office waiting patiently for my appointment I thoughtlessly took up the number one waiting room activity: Reading Stale Magazines. After pawing through piles of Ladies Home Journal and Women’s Day circa 1998 I caught a glimpse of an old friend. Under the stacks of meatloaf recipe filled, weight loss promising glossies it was there. In bright shining orange with the giant H peeking out at me, it was an issue of Highlights magazine. The quintessential children’s magazine, was smiling up at me promising “Fun with a Purpose” as it had in countless pediatricians’ waiting rooms when I was a child. I snatched the copy from under the piles and quickly returned to my seat.
Flipping through the pages, everything looked brighter and more colorful than I remembered. The pages were sort of glossy more like a real magazine. The features looked the same, Hidden Pictures, Check and Check Again, and of course the dreaded Timbertoes comic.

And then, I saw it, now in color but still recognizable, it was Goofus and Gallant. Gallant all shiny and right, with impeccable manners, thoughtful gestures and sappy empathy. With nicely groomed professional cartoon parents who praised him for every perfect little deed. And then there was Goofus. With his messy hair and overtly obvious faux pas involving poor manners, dishonesty and overall weaseliness. I always felt bad for Goofus. I remember as a child I would sometimes make up excuses for his poor behavior. Maybe Goofus didn’t realize he was eating the last cookie. Maybe Goofus had a bad day at school. After all of that admonition from his parents I wondered if Goofus ended up as some kind of cartoon serial killer. Hopefully he got therapy. Luckily I did. And now that I am no longer into seeking out and defending the bad boy, I have a greater appreciation for the Gallants out in the world.
While Gallant was annoyingly perfect, he was the hero. And as adults we could all learn a lot from Gallant. Holding the door for someone, letting someone cut in front in traffic and complimenting a stranger are all very grown up Gallant actions. Now if I could just rustle up some of those cartoon perfect praising parents.

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Ok so every once in a while I come across an image that is so amusing I feel the need to pass it along. Today that image is him. Just look at him. I hope he is a he. He does have that 80’s rockstar hair band thing going on so I think it’s safe to say he is in fact a he.

Now after you look at him, close your eyes and open them again. See him. You are laughing. I know you are. Admit it. Become one with the laughter.

Now let’s name him:

A)Velvet Elvis
B) Jon Bon Guinea
C) David Flea Roth
D) Motley Frew
Use the comments feature to cast your vote or to suggest a name.

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