How did I go so long without knowing this singer/songwriter?? I kept hearing his song "Falling" at my gym, did a Google search for the lyrics, and discovered my new favorite recording artist, Ben K. I have two of his CDs, Ben Kweller and Changing Horses, and I look forward to filling in the holes soon. He's got a great, clean sound, lots of good melody and rhythm, and I love his voice, vibe and lyrics. 

My friend Katie turned me on to this guy, and I'm hard pressed to describe his CD, Greatest Hits, but you should hear it. He's like Ben Folds meets Adam Guettel meets Weird Al meets Dave Matthews meets... (you get the drift).  At times seriously beautiful, at times sarcastic and ridiculous, it's a real mixed bag, but there's at least something you will love on his CD.

This duo is SO up my alley. Tuneful, folksy, hooky, sort of a throwback vibe. And a lot of their songs are happy-making, so I'm a big fan. I have their most recent CD, Hideaway, and the one before that, Say I Am You, and they're both seriously addictive.

Regina has a new CD! Far is yet another great recording from this amazing singer/songwriter. Here's my original posting:

Great sound, surprising songwriting, wholly original. She has quickly risen to the top of my playlist, and I think she's going to be there awhile. At first, I was obsessed with her third CD, Begin to Hope, but I've switched my attention to her first 11:11 and second Soviet Kitsch. They're rougher, looser, and more daring, and I'm completely smitten.

This NPR radio show is a great way to spend an hour. It's part news, part human interest, part educational, part humor. Really well-produced, engaging, entertaining, and provocative. You should subscribe to it at iTunes and automatically download it free each week, because if you don't get the episode when it's new, you have to pay for it.

Dan Savage is a really smart, funny sex advice columnist (Savage Love) who does a podcast version of his column. Hear his listeners' amazing questions and his equally amazing answers by subscribing to his podcast on iTunes.

Did you know that if you arrive at a website, having been directed from another website, the directing website gets a commission on whatever you buy at the second site? Well, it's true. And if you let Ebates direct you, they will actually give you back the commission. Why? I don't know. But it really works. I've literally made money just by going to Ebates first and then proceeding to whatever website I'm wanting to purchase from. (Everything from 3% cash back from Macy's  to 10% from Proflowers to 16% from Magsforless.) If you sign up, you'll get $5 right off the bat, and if you tell them that I (jeff <at> jeffblumenkrantz.com) sent you, I'll get $5 too!

My friend and Northwestern classmate, Karen Schiff, has co-created this groovy, new website that tracks discounts and bargains from "green" and eco-friendly businesses. Check it out!

If you're a musical theatre performer, then you are probably faced with the challenge of learning new music for auditions with little preparation time. What Tom Griep offers (for a quite reasonable price) is an audio track of the piano accompaniment, with or without melody. It all happens electronically - email or fax him the music, and he will email you back an mp3 with whatever you need to get your work done. What a great service! Tell him I sent you.

This is the kind of page that makes me really appreciate the internet! Here is a list of many phone numbers and shortcuts to use when you're calling your bank/insurance/cable/shipping/travel/telephone/etc. company and you want to skip right to the live agent. Hallelujah!

This company, a presence in most major cities internationally, offers courses in how to be the most powerful, self-expressed, happiest you you can be. I've taken several courses there, and without exception, they've been immensely valuable. The prerequisite course, The Landmark Forum, is a not-so-distant relative to the EST Training. Rest assured, you can go to the bathroom now. This course starts on a Friday morning and goes from 9AM until 11PM or midnight every day until Sunday night, with a final session on Tuesday night. Sounds like a lot of time, but after you've done it, you'll be amazed how much they were able to squeeze in so quickly. I can't recommend this course highly enough. If you go, let me know - I'd love to hear what you got out of it!

Want to drop those extra five or ten pounds, but haven't been able to? Or maybe it's more like 20 or 50.... When I hit 200 lbs. a few years ago, I knew something had to change, so I joined Weight Watchers, and it works!! If you do what they tell you to do, you will get results! And you don't have to buy any special food or products. It's a lot about weighing food and knowing the nutritional content of everything you're putting into your mouth. I suggest attending the meetings. For me, it was a big part of the process. I hit my goal weight of 180 in a matter of months.