The bright side: a band that ditched politics

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Welcome to Bright Side, your weekly roundup of all the good news and ideas you may have missed from the past week.

This week, we’re all Fat Bears on Halloween candy, wine that’ll make you feel like you’re floating, how eating together makes life worth living longer, and why the biggest rock band in history is so serious about having fun.

Biometrics

I have some friends that I met while working in stop-motion animation. Know They have been designing Halloween costumes since last Halloween. Unlike the viral Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, what golf influencers look like Paige Spiranak Freshly debuted, their pieces are lovingly handcrafted from head to creepy little toe. I love a good weirdo overall, but I have more bandwidth for those last minute store bought snacks. give me one Eyeball hot cocoa bombs and a “Purr-fect” boxed chocolates Reese’s Peanut Butter Squash on the side.

@nbcnews A bear broke into a hospital and attacked Halloween candy in Alxa. ♬ Original Sound – nbcnews

Well, I met my spirit animal. We’ve come to the end of Fat Bear Week, but…once a Fat Bear, always a Fat Bear. A carefree Alaskan black bear satisfied his sweet tooth by walking right through the automatic doors of an Anchorage hospital and scooping up donated Halloween candy. Any future hospital visits will bring new fears, but hey, I’m not in the business of janitoring free snacks. I’m Kramer from Seinfeld with free nachos in my mouth: “Are these all free?? “

Eat together

Ina Garten is my personal dinner party patron saint who uses “good vanilla” and casually throws in the phrase “how easy is this?” While I burn the cookies. But on a recent episode of her new podcast, Happy Hour , she hosted the cast Nathan Lanehe recalled being invited to dinner with filmmaking legends Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks. Carl and Mel are famous for their 70-year friendship, which included one in which they had dinner together every night in front of the TV (complete with a little folding tray) at Carl’s Beverly Hills home.

After Carl died in 2020, Mel returned to his best friend’s house and ate dinner in front of the TV every night for a year. (I’m not crying; you’re crying.) Their daily routine is featured in an episode of “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” when Jerry Seinfeld interviews Carl and brings back takeout from Nate ‘n Al’s for Carl and Mel (I haven’t decided if I want Carl’s Hot Tongue Sandwich, but I’ll go with Mel’s Chicken in the Pot).

The simple act of two friends eating together moved me so much. Mel is now 100 years old (Carl lived to be 98), but maybe those TV dinners had something to do with their longevity. Research shows that while eating alone can lead to sadness and depression, those who eat with other people (anyone you like!) generally live longer. I’ve heard of it Arthur Brooks Says eating with others strengthens emotional bonds and creates memories. He said: “The meaning of food is not food. The meaning of food is life and love.”

pop the bottle

Another high-profile robbery made headlines this week — this one involving 30,000 bottles €5 million worth of Italian wine – again I’m a little envious of people with such a gift for stealing. Apparently I wasted time playing football when I should have been developing James Bond life skills so I could take part in the biggest liquor heist in Italian history with my mastermind friend on speed dial. Can someone at least tell me where these absconding wines are allegedly being stored? I’ll bring the cooked food.

In more wine news, a blend hopes to make your next TSA trip totally worth the wait. Winemaker Jesse Katz teamed up with United Airlines to open the bottles at 35,000 feet to bring us the most intense flavors—an altitude that our taste buds would typically find a bit bland. His solution? Actually blending wines on the fly to determine the perfect ratio of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc for the latest offerings from aperture cellar. I pretend I can taste the difference between it and my ground-grown Botta Box Pinot Noir, but it’s time for air travel to really step up. Please hold out your pinky finger and hand out these free peanuts.

Free and unaffected by ideology

We all have choices when everything in life feels like just another lesson. Sports may be the last non-political realm. But locally, I also love my gym community, where there’s laughter, we sweat the sweat of our lives, and a good movie (I just watched Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentleman War on Netflix. Five out of five stars – definitely recommended). Another great escape? music. And leave it to some heavy metal bros to keep it that way.

Currently at a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, Metallica frontman James Hetfield thanked viewers for their time and money and added a very on-brand message (warning: rock language ahead):

“I’m just gonna say, Metallica isn’t going to sway you with their bullshit like other artists, okay? We’re here to forget all the outside shit. Metallica’s agenda is love, energy, and heavy music, baby!”

Metallica is different from other bands. this is a cool band. Kinda makes me want to play “Enter the Sandman” at Costco tomorrow. (I mean, the first line is “Say your prayers,” so it’s house-style metal, right?) How do you maintain sanity amidst the chaos? Share with us in the comments because we all need a little peace of mind.

Thank you dear readers for defending my use of “Duck Tape” brand duct tape last week, haha. I’m just here to spark a lively discussion (you can e-mail Me too). I also enjoyed the etymology lesson from a reader who posted, “That weird map of city names lists ‘Nimrod, Minnesota.'” But Nimrod was originally a great hunter/tracker in Genesis. Bugs Bunny sarcastically calls Elmer Fudd, which is thought to be an insult or a clown’s name. “Words are a great tool for telling stories, no matter where they go. Okay, I’m going to protect my candy stash (no one will peek at my Twix). Have a great weekend! — Lauren

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