Chaos reigns supreme...I'll drink to that!

Well, my posting has been a bit sporadic lately, because we've got so dang much going on right now. Last week during the muggy-wave our AC didn't work, problems with the phone and Internet, our bakery case up and died after overheating, gelato equipment was scheduled to arrive and got delayed, and we were running up to Green Bay every day to work on our new cafe...not to mention all the other usual living life things that we all do (you know, like concocting beer smoothie recipes and Simpsonizing ourselves).

We opened the shop in GB yesterday (softly, quietly, don't even have the sign up yet...). More on that location and that cafe' later. Gelato equipment was supposed to come in today (after it was supposed to come in on Monday) but it's looking like tomorrow will be the day. Guys are coming in today to fix the bakery case...the kitchen fridge is full of everything that was in the case.

Beer Smoothie! Spent the last week playing with the blender (really looking forward to getting a new one) refining my beer smoothie recipe ("drinking" might be a better word than "refining" actually). It's definitely a winner. Everyone who tried it really likes it (except for Kelly, but she doesn't like beer anyway...go figure...). Have to credit a friend on the HTR forum (won't reveal his identity here...don't have his permission) for challenging me to come up with a "hops-based smoothie." It hits your palate with chocolate, then you taste the hint of coffee mixed in, followed by a really nice chocolate/beer aftertaste. It's the perfect combination: chocolate, espresso, stout.

We're taking suggestions on a name for it now. Drop in and have one and give us your name suggestion. We'll have a beer delivery Friday afternoon so come on in this weekend if you can.

PS: We are planning to be closed Sat & Sun, August 25 & 26. I'll repost this over the next couple weeks and periodically move it to the top of the list to keep it in front of people. You might want to come in and buy some beans before that weekend. Thanks.

Stumpjack Crossing

Rod put this together...keep your eyes on the road, you never know what you might see...

I'm a poet, I know it...hope I don't blow it...

Brian Muenzenmeyer

Last night (Friday) we did our second poetry night and our first "open mic" (sans actual mic though). Our friend Brian Muenzenmeyer was the featured poet, the main man of the evening, with nine or ten poems that he read before a very appreciative group of maybe 15 folks. It was very cool to not only listen to Brian recite his work but also watch him become more comfortable and find his groove as the session went on. It takes guts to get up in front of a group of people and speak things that you've written that are often very personally relevant.

Bobbi

I told everyone that we want to do poetry night at least once a month, and also that anyone who felt the urge to read or recite or perform to please jump into the fray. I read a couple of my own, along with Big Poppa E's "Wussy Boy Manifesto" to hopefully get the ball rolling. And so it was very cool when our friend Bobbi Schuetze did, in fact, step up and read one of her own poems (she had to print it off my laptop). And Brian's friend Lauren also stepped up to the plate, plugged in her laptop and read three of her writings. Brian finished everything up with a final triad of poems.

It was fun, and I feel like we've taken the first step to working this into a bigger, louder and more vibrant happening as we continue. The hope is to eventually have true slams every month. Check the blog for the next calendar of events.

Stumptoons

Check out my Stumptoons blog for some smack about the beefeater Stumpjack banner at AcousticFest. I'm having too much fun with one square piece of vinyl.

Pat says Stumpjack Coffee Sucks!

Ok, Pat MacDonald did not really say that (my other friend Pat Sheehan did, but he was giving me the business). I hope that everyone, at least everyone who was at AcousticFest during MacDonald's and Dorothy Scott's set, could tell I was engaged in a little bit of sarcasm and exaggeration in the previous post where I mentioned Pat MacDonald's comments on Stumpjack Coffee. He did say that stuff, but he didn't really sob and I "exaggerated" when I said he gave us an enthusiastic endorsement.

Dorothy and Pat at AcousticFest, image by Eric from Pat's MySpace site (click on the image to go there).

In reality he was dissing Stumpjack Coffee because, as I gathered, he was peeved that a sponsoring coffee shop didn't have coffee available for him. I wonder if he also felt that Lakeshore Cigar Company ought to have cigars available for him, or that Health Reach should have had a booth set up with massage tables, or if Cher-Make should've had some sausages on hand, or First National Bank a desk set up so he could open an account while there. Well, even though I don't believe that that is what he really meant, there is an argument to be made for that very arrangement with sponsors. I wish we would have had some coffee there for Pat and anyone else that desired it. Next year...

You can also get Dorothy Scott's music here (click on her image above)

But the one thing that Pat said that I did find curious was his statement to the effect that sponsor banners ought to be "made fun of." I believe what he said was "I just think that sponsor banners...deserve to be made fun of" or words to that effect. My question would be, why? Tell us why you feel that way, Pat; don't just say it and then make fun of a sponsor without telling us why that's important to you. It struck me as disingenuous; making a statement in order to have it be perceived, hopefully, as having some sort of intellectual or "artistic" merit; trying to appear as the subversive and anti-corporate/anti-commercial artist. If Pat was sincere then it only reveals naiveté and a disconnect from folks/entrepreneurs with small businesses who work hard to create something. Sponsors of small-town events like AcousticFest are generally not the corporate or commercial behemoths that I think Pat would rail against...they're people just wanting to help their communities do some fun stuff, and also help their businesses/livelihoods stay afloat in the process. Andy Warhol once made the comment that "business art" is the highest art form (and as an art historian and artist I think I might agree with Andy on that).

The response to Pat's comments was interesting too, as I walked around the park and several friends/Stumpjack customers made a point to tell me that he was way out of bounds with his comments. And I've got a few emails since then saying the same thing. People getting ticked off when someone is perceived as attacking their place, Stumpjack Coffee...man, that is just so amazingly cool and I am just so very grateful that people feel that way about the place.

So, do I take offense at what Pat had to say in calling us out? Not really. Because I also have to acknowledge that Pat did us a favor in singling us out and talking about us. While I don't necessarily agree with the old adage that says that any press is good press, in this case I do think it was good press. And also, I really like Pat MacDonald's music...the guy is an artist, and he puts out some really great stuff. So I'm cool with him saying whatever he wants to say about us...they're not the first dumb statements I've heard, believe me...it's all good.