Head down to Alewife, and for forty dollars, you can get up to ten different tastings of pork and beef (and who knows what else) rolled up, as well as unlimited craft beer. Seriously, why wouldn’t you want to do this?

Alewife 5-14 51st Ave, Queens

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Fun drink recipes from the book, “Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist”, by Tim Federle. Cheers to good books and great drinks!

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Fortune recently released a list of the Top 100 companies to work for. At the top of the list was Google, followed by the analytic software company SAS and CHG Healthcare Services in Salt Lake City. Each organization varies greatly in size and product, yet they are all developing a positive, successful environment.  Looking closer, it appears these companies are doing many of the same things right.

Fun and freedom are a common thread for the companies on Fortune’s list. “If it isn’t fun, no one is going to be there for very long. Team outings, ping pong tournaments — whatever fits your culture — create opportunities to laugh and to see each other outside of just your day-to-day professional titles,” explains Nick Worswick, corporate vice president and general manager, at Seamless.com.

CHG Healthcare, number three on the list, keeps things lively with employee talent shows and trivia tournaments. Casual get-togethers and friendly competition often aid in talent recognition and team-building.

These tactics keep employees happy, which is vital in the hospitality business. Coming in at No. 28 on Fortune’s list was Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, owners of Philadelphia’s Hotel Palomar and Hotel Monaco. “At Kimpton, fostering a culture of care with a focus on fun has proven to be a recipe for success,” explains Mike Depatie, CEO, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. “Our employees are our brand, which is why we place an incredible amount of emphasis on making them feel their best at work.”

The perks of being an employee

It’s safe to say we all want work to be fun, but fun isn’t the only thing that makes for happy employees.

“While perks like free cappuccino, rock-climbing walls and nap rooms are very nice, they remain perks,” says Doug Claffey, CEO of employee survey company, Workplace Dynamics. “What we have found is that while these benefits are nice to have, they don’t drive true employee satisfaction.” According to a 2012 Workplace Dynamics survey of 1.7 million workers, people most desire the chance to be heard as well as a “visionary and inspirational leader that employees are confident in.” It probably doesn’t hurt, though, if that leader wants to put in a foosball table.

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The Grammys are not always easy to predict. Sometimes the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science gets it right, like with Adele sweeping all six categories she was nominated in last year, including the “Big Three” (Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year). But sometimes the Academy gets it horribly wrong. We still can’t figure out how Herbie Hancock won Album of the Year in 2008. There is one opportunity for a “Big Three” sweep with fun. being nominated in the major categories, as well as Best New Artist, but we just don’t see them joining the ranks of Adele, Dixie Chicks (2007), Norah Jones (2003) and only a half-dozen others. Here’s why.

RECORD OF THE YEAR

This is really the biggest Grammy, and people sometimes get confused because of those 12-inch vinyl things that are also called records. This award honors the actual
performance, the studio production and that certain X-factor that makes a song a defining snippet of sound for that year, or you know, a record.

THE NOMINEES: 

The Black Keys “Lonely Boy”
Kelly Clarkson “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
fun. featuring Janelle Monae “We Are Young”
Gotye featuring Kimbra “Somebody That I Used To Know”
Frank Ocean “Thinkin Bout You”
Taylor Swift “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”

WHO WILL WIN:

This was a big year for the Black Keys, and the Academy has been kind to the Ohio duo before, but more for categories like Best Alternative Music Album or Best Rock Performance. Does “Lonely Boy” say 2012 the way that “Beat It” said 1984? Not quite. Our money is on Gotye, though “Somebody That I Used To Know” says 1985 more than 2012. But this is the Academy we’re dealing with.

WHO SHOULD WIN:

We’re going with the fun. song here. While the intro is a little too Broadway for our liking, that chorus really is a perfect audio snapshot of 2012, isn’t it?

WHO WAS JUST A TOKEN NOMINATION:

After Taylor Swift got “Kanyed” at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, she received a secret lifetime guarantee of being nominated for something at every awards show every year she releases new music. This is speculation, but “We Are Never Getting Back Together” is too light to win an award in a category where past winners include “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “I Will Always Love You.”

SONG OF THE YEAR

This award is for the songwriter, so if Kelly Clarkson’s tune wins, she doesn’t actually win, because she didn’t have a hand in composing “Stronger.” All other artists in this category wrote their respective songs.

THE NOMINEES:

Ed Sheeran “The A Team”
Miguel “Adorn”
Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe”
Kelly Clarkson “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
Fun. featuring Janelle Monae “We Are Young

WHO WILL WIN:

This is the one that fun. actually will win, and when they skip up to the podium to collect their award, that chorus will sound great blasting over the speakers, won’t it?

WHO SHOULD WIN:

You read the nominees, and “Call Me Maybe,” is totally in your head! Not bad, right? Think about how long it took you to get sick of it. Not until at least the ninth B-grade YouTube parody. That is quality songwriting: catchy without pissing you off!  Go Carly Rae!

WHO WAS JUST A TOKEN NOMINATION:

Ed Sheeran? What billionaire decided this acoustic kid is important all of a sudden? And how much did said billionaire have to shell out to allow the Olympics to have him front Pink Floyd for “Wish You Were Here”?

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:

Ah, the album, that rare perfect collection of songs. It’s only getting closer to extinction as we get further away from the analog age.

THE NOMINEES:

The Black Keys “El Camino”
Fun. “Some Nights”
Mumford & Sons “Babel”
Frank Ocean “channel ORANGE”
Jack White “Blunderbuss”

WHO WILL WIN:

Like we’ve already established, the Academy has a soft spot for the Black Keys. This is their big one this year.

WHO SHOULD WIN:

Frank Ocean topped every critical best-of list this year and the guy is almost single-handedly pushing R&B into the future. And “channel ORANGE” is a great listen from start to finish.

WHO WAS JUST A TOKEN NOMINATION:

The nominees in this category are hard to argue with, but what’s easy to argue with is that the ladies were snubbed! Where’s Taylor Swift’s “Red”? While the Grammys are not a popularity contest, “Red” was the second biggest-selling album of 2012, behind only another lady, Adele, who happened to do pretty well for herself at the Grammys last year.

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