Seen before a screening of Warfare at Point. Warfare was very intense, edge of seat tension from almost the get-go. Loved that there was no non-diagetic music. Great flick.
Marcus sure slips in a lot of commercials before their movies. I am not in the market for a pickup truck. Lame.
I noticed these a year or 2 ago despite having driven by them for decades and finally went to take a look yesterday.
After wandering the old foundations closest to the road, I looked around and saw something on a hill. It proved to be another ruin.
Seen on Madison's south side.
It looks to be one but has been tricked out, given various face lifts, and so on. And so I am unsure. But the bit above the door looks very Trachtey to me.
I noticed today a section of a ghost sign that was revealed recently.
Seen at the IMAX in Fitchburg before the excellent Sinners. If I was one of those unfortunate fellows in Plato's cave watching these, I'd know that summer is coming soon as there was a mix of big budget action movies and horror flicks.
This was a shorter teaser trailer and more of a commercial as there was no MPAA band preceding it. I don't think the name of the movie is in it. I thought it was Maybrook Missing as that's the website name that flashes at the end but the movie's title is Weapons, I just learned.
Trailers seen at AMC in Fitchburg before The Ugly Stepsister.
Before the trailers proper was a commercial for Skill House.
I have seen this trailer 3 times and still don't quite grok what the movie is about.
This Swedish sci-fi flick looks pretty good but I have read that AI was used to alter the images to accommodate being dubbed in English. I am torn. On the one hand, I'd like to see it in the theater. On the other, I want to boycott it so this behavior stops now before it becomes a trend.
For the love of God, please let Marvel Studios die a dignified death and stop clogging up screens.
The plan is to see this next week. What trailers will AMC put in front of this? Is there a new Brandon Cronenberg movie out soon?
A shorter than average trailer, thankfully.
How about baseball horror: Clown in a Cornfield of Dreams.
The official beer of Gencon has been announced:
Thank Christ it's not another breakfast cereal beer such as Froot Loops Hazy IPA. Cyzer is apparently an apple ale which doesn't sound bad at all. Unless it is brewed with Apple Jacks...
I heard tell of this ghost sign not far from my house last year. I think. Last week I finally took a stroll across the creek and got a photo of it.
"SHIP VIA .... SYSTEM"
If memory serves, someone did the Blade Runner image enhancement on it and surmised that it was "SHIP VIA GATEWAY SYSTEM". So I tried to do it for myself.
I think that person on Facebook(?) was right.
It was a cloudy day so no Technicolor red. Still pretty, though. There was a blue jay nearby but I managed to only get out of focus photographs of its butt.
I visited my friend down in Illinois and got to spend time with Chom(p)sky!
There are some plump robins around. I finally got a photo of one in focus.
Lots of mallards down at Starkweather Creek, as always.
"What are you doing, hoo-man?"
Last weekend I went to see the Alash Ensemble down at The Bur Oak. It was a wonderful show with lots of songs about horses and mountain ranges. Someone captured a bit of it on their phone and has posted it.
Some scenes from spring '25.
While working one day, a Mourning dove decided to hang out on my neighbor's roof. Since I have a window seat when I work from home, I was able to get a photo.
On a rainy day our neighbor's trees were full of grackles and had strong vibes of The Birds. They took turns zooming down to our feeder for a nosh.
A Leaning Tower of Pisa tree down at the park.
On a recent walk along Starkweather Creek, I found that the trees were full of grackles.
The gardens on Hargrove Str. looked ready for sowing. Mostly.
Also seen on my recent stroll along Starkweather Creek: mallards.
As a muskrat was truckin' along, some painted turtles took in the sun.
A sandhill crane at the Voit Farm.
Madison, to the best of my knowledge, doesn't have a broadcaster with an instantly recognizable catchphrase. When you hear "Good night and good luck" you know you're listening to Edward R. Murrow; when you hear a guy yell "Holy cow!" you know you're listening to Harry Caray. "Good night and may your god go with you"? Dave Allen.
Well, Madison didn't have such a broadcaster - until recently.
Bianca Martin is the host of City Cast Madison and, although I don't listen to it very often, her opening "TA-day!" is always a Midwestern comfort to my ears. It is becoming, if it is not already, iconic in these parts. Well, to my ears, anyway.
CORIANDER
Leipziger Gose is such a tasty beer. Let it warm a bit and the coriander really shines.
Locally, outside of Delta Beer Lab, it's nigh on impossible to find a non-fruited gose. Skip the lime and let the spice flow!
The imperial pilsner is having a micro-moment, it seems.
New Glarus recently released one and now Lake Louie has their own take.
A bit less potent than New Glarus', a rich, biscuity malt foundation sounds tasty.
Trailers seen at a screening of Mickey 17 at Point.
Sinners looks like it could be fun but otherwise some pretty lackluster trailers.
For reasons unknown, a few days ago I just got the urge to listen to Los Lobos, specifically "Reva's House". Kiko is a great album, Los Lobos are underappreciated geniuses of American music, and I am pissed that I keep forgetting to buy tickets early to their shows at the Stoughton Opera House and so keep missing them.
They'll be at the Big Top Chautauqua up in Bayfield on 23 August.
"Two Janes" is such a beautiful song.
You can hear me scream on this.
The Trump administration's efforts to downsize the Federal government are threatening Ice Age Trail projects. The Wisconsin State Journal has an article about this but it's behind a paywall.
It apparently notes that the National Park Service office for the Ice Age Trail has had its staff reduced from 7 to 4 and that the Ice Age Trail Alliance hasn't gotten $600,000 that the National Park Service had earmarked for them.
To find out more, I asked a co-worker who is a member of the IATA, at least I think he is. He gives them money and volunteers for them, at any rate.
He said that, generally speaking, money from the NPS goes to infrastructury things like boardwalks and porta potties while a small amount is used to provide a modicum of food for volunteers working on the trail. In addition, he noted that volunteers who go out to clear the trail with chainsaws do so while covered by an NPS insurance policy and now volunteers are unsure if that's still the case.
It's a hardball world. We've gotta keep our heads until this DOGE craze blows over. In the meantime, donate to the Ice Age Trail Alliance, if you can.
Upon hearing that New Glarus was to release an imperial pilsner, my mind immediately said, "I've had one of those before!" and I recalled thinking that the ostensible pils was really just a helles bock given an "imperial" moniker for marketing cachet. Wasn't it from 3 Floyds? Then I recalled that Point had brewed one for their Whole Hog series but I never reviewed it. Going back through my blog, I realized it was, in fact, an imperial helles from Southern Tier that seemed to me better described as a helles bock.
I also discovered that Lakefront brewed an imperial pilsner as the 9th entry in their My Turn series, Pilo. Furthermore, Chicago's 5 Rabbit Cervecería brewed one as well called Super Pils. (R.I.P. 5 Rabbit.)
New Glarus' brewmaster, Dan Carey, discussed the beer on the latest episode of New Glarus Brewing Podcast W/Dan Carey which I listened to with great interest and, by the time it came for me to sample one, I had forgotten everything he said about it except that it wasn't a big version of their regular strength pilsner, Pilsner. The label doesn't say what variety pilsener this is an imperial take on, though. It does say, however, that there are German and Czech malts in the recipe along with a trio of German hops: Diamant, Hersbrucker, and Spalt.
While I still feel that imperial pilsners are just helles bocks trying to get above their raisin', I chose this brew over New Glarus' other new beer, Tailwagger, as it is spring, the season for pale bocks.
Imperial Pilsner is of a slightly darker yellow than your typical German pils yet not quite the golden color of a helles bock. There was a smattering of bubbles inside that floated up to the big head of pure white foam. The aroma was very pilsnery with cracker, bread, and hay/grass to be had.
My first sip had a medium dose of fizz to it and revealed a medium-heavy body, the first real sign of the imperial here. That variety of grains in the recipe yielded a rich bready flavor (after decoction) [Mmm...decoction...] along with some honeyed malt sweetness. My tongue was pleased to also taste a bit more than enough grassy-herbal hops to balance out the big malty taste. The bready sweetness lingered on the finish for a bit until the hops, having taken on a spicier flavor, really dried things out and gave a firm dose of bitterness.
My sampling began with Imperial Pilsner right out of the refrigerator. At the nice cold temperature, sweetness was moderated and this stuff went down easily, not unlike a regular pils. As the liquid warmed, the honeyed sweetness became stronger and the beer became more bock-like. I scrambled to down the stuff before it became cloying and soon enough I had an empty glass before me as my head buzzed. I also found that I was a bit peckish.
I suppose that it was the extra hops that gave this brew a pilsner quality to distinguish it from a run of the mill helles doppelbock and I really appreciated the extra bitterness they gave to the cause to counter all that malt and the very dry finish. And that bready malt flavor was simply savory and delicious.
Imperial Pilsner is a fine spring beer but go easy on it and/or share your can with a friend or loved one.
Junk food pairing: Pair your Imperial Pilsner with a bag of Herr's Carolina Reaper Cheese Curls. Actually, with this beer's potency, get multiple bags. They have a rich cheesy taste and the chili dust adds a firm, though not deadly, heat to complement the hearty hops.
Another new tune from Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson. I am really looking forward to their album What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow which is to be released on 18 April.
I was traipsing down the organic junk food aisle at my local supermarket last weekend not really expecting to find a new salt & vinegar snack as it had been months since one was seen. Indeed, it was just the usual suspects until I near the end of aisle when I spied bags of Miss Vickie's Sea Salt & Vinegar chips. The brand looked familiar and I, at first, assumed that I had already reviewed it. Well, René Descartes would have been proud because I began to doubt.
I didn't mess around and just logged into Blogger and did a search of this very blog only to find no reviews of Miss Vickie's salt & vinegar chips nor indeed anything Miss Vickie related whatsoever. I did, however, discover that she is Canadian.
Cue the David Attenborough voice in my head.
"And then a rare Canadian salt & vinegar chip comes into sight. With its brilliant blue bag it signals to potential eaters, 'Here! Come hither and take me home!'"
Yet the brand remained so familiar. Perhaps the store had carried the brand for ages but only recently started stocking the salt & vinegar variety.
Now that's how Vittorio Storaro would have photographed a bag of potato chips if one had been featured in The Conformist. Just look at that fine chiaroscuro!
According to her website, Miss Vickie began making potato chips from spuds that sprouted from the terra firma of her family's farm back in 1987. Wikipedia expands on this and reveals that her real name is Vickie Kerr and that she had some help with the whole potato chip manufacturing thing from her husband Bill. It also notes that the potato farm that launched a thousand chips was in New Lowell, Ontario.
Furthermore, Wikipedia informs us that Miss Vickie's was bought by Frito-Lay in 1993 and, since I read nothing to the contrary, I assume that it remains part of the Evil Snack Empire.
One last thing I discovered: these salt & vinegar chips are apparently available at my local Dollar Tree's. Perhaps they also carry other salt & vinegar snacks...
As you can see, I hope, the chips were of a lovely yellow hue with some spots there were more tan along with bits of brown. I think the skin remained on these puppies as the edges of some chips looked like the fibrous, vitamin-laden outer layer was still there. Sticking my nose, well, my face, really, into the bag and taking a whiff, I was surprised to find that a rich potato aroma dominated followed by oil and a touch of tang. Usually it is the oil that dominates things on the nose.
As you can from the bag, these are kettle cooked chips - I think all Miss Vickie chips are, actually - and they had the requisite kettle crunch. Biting into some, I found them to not be salty above & beyond your average chip and that the vinegar tang was rather moderate. However, they did have a really tasty potato flavor. They tasted like roasted potatoes. As in when you take some baby reds, quarter them, toss them in oil and seasoning, and then bake them for a spell. I don't think I've ever had a chip that tasted quite like these. That wonderful earthy potato flavor overlaid with a healthy dose of Maillard goodness. Quite sapid, mind you, just something novel for me.
A bit more salt & vinegar and I think Miss Vickie is onto something here.
I have some memories of buying The Division Bell, which was released on this day in 1994, and bringing it home. It was good to see that Rick Wright and Nick Mason had more prominent roles, including five writing credits for Wright. The album sounded a bit more like their mid-70s stuff as opposed to A Momentary Lapse of Reason which couldn't be mistaken for anything but a product of the mid-80s.
One of my favorite songs from The Division Bell was and remains "Take It Back". I was thrilled to hear them play it when I saw the band on a rainy Sunday, 3 July 1994, here in Madison. And here it is.
Genesis released Duke 45 years ago today. 45 years! Holy biscuits! This is "Behind the Lines" from Milwaukee on 7 June 1980.
