Up at Salon today, their advice columnist Cary Tennis fields a question from a woman who is looking to relocate with her husband. They live in southern California at the moment and have fallen in love with a certain Midwestern state. The writer identified herself as "Wisconsin Dreamin'".
Along these lines, I thought I'd mention a blog over at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by Erica Perez called "Fish Out of Water". Ms. Perez moved to Milwaukee last year from Los Angeles and the blog chronicles her adjustment to Milwaukee and Wisconsin generally. You can read about her first Packer game amongst other experiences. She is really warming to her new home and it's interesting to get a view of Wisconsin through the eyes of someone who still has a set of outsider eyes.
10 October, 2007
Miller <3 Coors
Some news on the beer front - Miller is looking to buy Coors. What will the effects be? For starters, a Miller rep said "It's safe to assume there will be some reductions" so it looks like some folks in Milwaukee are going to get laid off. I'd also imagine that, with Miller gaining some new distribution venues, Leinenkugel's will be pushed into new markets. We'll just have to wait and see how where the chips fall.
08 October, 2007
A Trip to Watertown and a Search For Food Therein
Leaving Homestead Animal Farm, I decided that we should grab a bite to eat on the way home and I ended up choosing Watertown. Since it is not in Dane county, I don't know how it got its name exactly. While I'd driven by the Watertown exit many a time, I had never actually been there. I have a stepaunt who lives there and she seems to like it so it felt like the right time to check out the town.
Driving into the city limits, I was surprised that it has a population of over 23,000. I just always thought it was somewhere in the area of 8,000 or 9,000 people. Flying past a lengthy stretch of ugly strip malls, I recalled the speech by Peter Singer that I had attended in which he explained that Watertown was ground zero for modern veal raising methods in America. A company called Provimi had adopted the practice of keeping the calves virtually immobile in a pen from the Dutch and it spread throughout the country from right here in Southern Wisconsin. I have since found out that the Miller Brewing Company owns the Watertown Hops Company which produces hop extracts for most of their breweries.
Driving down Highway 26, we decided to follow the signs to the Octagon House.
Unfortunately we couldn't tour it but it looked really neat. Indeed, the town was full of old houses that looked spectacular. I must be old now if checking out historic sites and 19th century homes is something I consider to be fun. So we took a look and then found our way back to 26 and, from there, downtown. And what a beautiful downtown it was. Some kind of festival had wrapped up in Main Street so tents were being pulled down and tables put away. Most of the buildings looked to be from the 19th century. Gorgeous brick structures with a lot of nice detail missing from today's buildings. And there weren't a lot of vacant storefronts either. We eagerly sought a place to eat and settled on The Elias Inn.
We walked in and found the interior was really nice with a lot of dark wood. I started drooling like a Pavlovian dog when I read the words "Prime rib" on the specials placard. The hostess asked if we had a reservation and I replied that we did not. In a friendly tone she informed us that the next table would be open in two hours. With our tails between our legs we walked out and instead made our way to this joint:
It was a none-too-fancy pizza joint and we ordered the Palace Special which was a pizza with most of the varieties of meat they had on-hand and it included gyros meat as you can see.
Discounting the fact that I was famished, the pie was pretty decent and much better than one would expect from a small town in Wisconsin. The crust was nice'n'thin and, while the sauce was a bit bland, at least it wasn't sweet. After making gluttons of ourselves, The D and I took the long route back to the car. We discovered some more nice buildings and three churches within about a block radius. There were, according to one poster, 23 or 24 churches in town. Plus we saw a handbill advertising a cooking show taped in Watertown called Augie's Elite Cuisine.
With full bellies, our last stop of the night was the Tyranena Brewery which had earlier held their Oktoberfest Bike Ride. The D's friend Jen was bartending that night and I got to meet her for the first time. For a nightcap we each had a Headless Man Amber Alt which we drank out on the back 40 under the stars.
Driving into the city limits, I was surprised that it has a population of over 23,000. I just always thought it was somewhere in the area of 8,000 or 9,000 people. Flying past a lengthy stretch of ugly strip malls, I recalled the speech by Peter Singer that I had attended in which he explained that Watertown was ground zero for modern veal raising methods in America. A company called Provimi had adopted the practice of keeping the calves virtually immobile in a pen from the Dutch and it spread throughout the country from right here in Southern Wisconsin. I have since found out that the Miller Brewing Company owns the Watertown Hops Company which produces hop extracts for most of their breweries.
Driving down Highway 26, we decided to follow the signs to the Octagon House.
Unfortunately we couldn't tour it but it looked really neat. Indeed, the town was full of old houses that looked spectacular. I must be old now if checking out historic sites and 19th century homes is something I consider to be fun. So we took a look and then found our way back to 26 and, from there, downtown. And what a beautiful downtown it was. Some kind of festival had wrapped up in Main Street so tents were being pulled down and tables put away. Most of the buildings looked to be from the 19th century. Gorgeous brick structures with a lot of nice detail missing from today's buildings. And there weren't a lot of vacant storefronts either. We eagerly sought a place to eat and settled on The Elias Inn.
We walked in and found the interior was really nice with a lot of dark wood. I started drooling like a Pavlovian dog when I read the words "Prime rib" on the specials placard. The hostess asked if we had a reservation and I replied that we did not. In a friendly tone she informed us that the next table would be open in two hours. With our tails between our legs we walked out and instead made our way to this joint:
It was a none-too-fancy pizza joint and we ordered the Palace Special which was a pizza with most of the varieties of meat they had on-hand and it included gyros meat as you can see.
Discounting the fact that I was famished, the pie was pretty decent and much better than one would expect from a small town in Wisconsin. The crust was nice'n'thin and, while the sauce was a bit bland, at least it wasn't sweet. After making gluttons of ourselves, The D and I took the long route back to the car. We discovered some more nice buildings and three churches within about a block radius. There were, according to one poster, 23 or 24 churches in town. Plus we saw a handbill advertising a cooking show taped in Watertown called Augie's Elite Cuisine.
With full bellies, our last stop of the night was the Tyranena Brewery which had earlier held their Oktoberfest Bike Ride. The D's friend Jen was bartending that night and I got to meet her for the first time. For a nightcap we each had a Headless Man Amber Alt which we drank out on the back 40 under the stars.
Where All Animals Are Equal
Did you know that Cottage Grove was named for a grove of burr oaks in which William C. Wells built a cottage in 1840? Or that 40 years later the rail came that way and most of the town moved in order to be closer to the station? Thusly the Cottage Grove we know today was actually platted in 1882 while the original incarnation of the town is called Vilas. I never knew there was a Vilas so I looked at a map and sure enough, there is a Vilas (township?) west of Cottage Grove. In addition, Cottage Grove Road was the first road to run from Madison to Milwaukee.
I learned all this from the incredibly handy and informative book Dane County Place-Names by Frederic G. Cassidy which I picked up at a used bookstore a couple weeks ago. It was printed in 1968 but the bulk of the material was culled from another publication by Cassidy from 1947. For some reason the publishers decided to keep the original map from that same year on the inside of the cover. The interstate system was still several years off and so the stretch of I94 we were on used to be Highway 30 which began at County N. The book has been the companion of The Dulcinea and I on our recent day trips and we had it with us on Saturday as we headed east to Hartland and the Homestead Animal Farm.
Unfortunately, the book quickly became useless as Dane county gave way to Jefferson and ultimately to Waukesha. The farm is on Highway 83 a couple miles north of the town of North Lake. I must admit that I've never really explored the area between Madison and Milwaukee very much. They've generally been just names on signs I see when taking I94 to visit friends or see a show in Milwaukee. Ergo I thought I would be neat to check out the area a bit.
The drive up 83 from Highway 16 was a scenic one with trees on either side of the road plus long tree-lined driveways. We made it to the farm and found it packed with folks and their kids. It seemed that we were the only ones there without youngsters. We shuffled into the barn which doubled as a shop and ticket stand. For $9 you got access to the animal petting area, the corn maze, and a hayride so I bought a couple of those tickets. Our first stop was to check out the animals.
And we were greeted by this fella.
Walking towards the barn, we found a girl offering folks a chance to hold some chicks and The D didn't pass up the opportunity.
Stepping inside I was greeted by that farm smell and the echo of a cacophony of animal calls from out back. On the other side was a pen with a couple of alpacas (alapcae?) hanging out and eating hay together.
Also hanging out were a bunch of water fowl, including the one on the left here which waddled around a bit differently than the rest. Unfortunately I cannot recall the bird's species.
The alpacas basically ignored the fowl. While the former chewed, the latter wandered in and out of the fence quacking. I was a bit surprised that all the ducks hanged out together. For whatever reason, I figured that since they were of different species, they'd have some natural inclination to avoid each other. But, like a big extended family, the ducks formed a pack as they roamed the barnyard. The geese, however, were a different story. They stuck together and didn't mingle too much with their fellow animals.
We wandered out behind the coop next door and found a trio of turkeys. My mind immediately recalled that Benjamin Franklin thought that they should have been our national bird but they had lost out to the eagle. I next thought about how Thanksgiving is next month and how that means I am going to stuff myself with turkey, amongst other foods. Standing there it seemed that they were getting a bit perturbed. I was at one end with another guy opposite me blocking off that route of escape. They looked ready to charge. To my left I noticed a couple cockerels creeping towards me along another wall of the coop in the shadows. These guys looked mean with their big claws and all. I not-so stealthily maneuvered myself over to the fenced in part of the coop which held a menagerie of birds including three peacocks. Here's one of them.
The D and I then walked back into the pasture which was home to a phalanx of miniature donkeys who were chowing down. I couldn't help but think of Shrek but couldn't muster a decent Eddie Murphy imitation.
Standing out amongst them was a jenny who was pregnant that suddenly brayed and this, in turn, caused the jack next to me to follow suit. No idea what was happening. But they soon quieted down and resumed eating. They were like vacuum cleaners. They nibbled at the grass and stray leaves and steadily moved forward. I was crouching very close to one for a photo and, sensing the need to continue lunch, the donkey just walked right past, barely acknowledging the monkey in its way. There was also a smattering of goats in the pasture mingling with the asses. It was a prelapsarian paradise with all the animals getting along well, including the human animals.
The D and I slowly wandered towards the gate so we could begin our next adventure when we noticed that she had a companion. One of the donkeys was following her. If she took a right, it took a right; it followed her wherever she did go. She wasn't able to shake it until she walked in the barn where the donkey dare not enter. Instead it just stood at the threshold. I tried and tried to get it to come on in but I could not. And so we ambled over to the main barn where one enters the corn maze. Outside there were trailers full of pumpkins.
The entrance was guarded by a fierce hound not unlike Cerberus but named Nelly. Luckily I was able to dodge and weave my way into a position where I could scratch behind her ears.
Inside was a bit of shade, more gourds, and lots of old farm implements.
That last hoolie is a fanning mill which separated the wheat from the chaff. I dusted myself off and we headed out into the corn maze. The corn wasn't as tall as I would have liked but The D appreciated feeling a bit less hemmed in. Personally, I like my mazes to be of The Shining variety where you can't see above the rows nor through them. Still, it was fun. There were 12 hoolies to find which had dealies for punching these cards we were given. The signs were also fact sheets about the animals in the novel and so we learned, for instance, that a group of rats is called a mischief. Charlotte's Web was the theme this year and so the maze featured a web and characters from the book. To go along with this, various signs were posted in the field which had trivia questions about the book and correct answers gave you a letter to a mystery word.
After some time and having become soaked in sweat, we headed in for a breather and some water. There I sat next to Old Man Harmann, father of Mark who owns and runs the farm with his wife Barbara. A widower, Mr. Harmann hangs and helps out on the farm as he can. He was a friendly codger – asked where we were from and gave a bit of the history of the place. The farm has been in the family for generations. There was a newspaper clipping posted on a beam which noted that the farm had been in the family for over 100 years. The article was from 1977. I'm not sure when the family made its egress from farming but the old man was well pleased with what his son had done to the place. Kids from Milwaukee are bused out during the week to escape the city and enjoy some fresh air along with the company of the furry creatures.
Feeling refreshed, we headed back into the maze. And we sweated more and walked around in circles which meant going by the buttermilk question plaque about three times. But we eventually found all 12 punch dealies and were right proud. Again it was back inside for more water and a bit more chat. This time Mark himself came over. We'd met him out in the maze and he was again really friendly.
(I could hear those threshers comin', lookin' more than two lanes wide…)
The last bit of our day on the farm was the hayride. We piled in back along with a couple families and a gaggle of small children and were off. Through a stretch of woods and then around a couple fields we went. The sun was beginning to set which made it a beautiful evening as we bounced around the cart.
Before we left, I bought some gourds including a pumpkin for a pie and a turtle caramel apple which I am going to bite into faster than Eve ever did. A tender, succulent apple first dipped in chocolate and then in caramel which is finally topped with nuts. Mmmm…
I learned all this from the incredibly handy and informative book Dane County Place-Names by Frederic G. Cassidy which I picked up at a used bookstore a couple weeks ago. It was printed in 1968 but the bulk of the material was culled from another publication by Cassidy from 1947. For some reason the publishers decided to keep the original map from that same year on the inside of the cover. The interstate system was still several years off and so the stretch of I94 we were on used to be Highway 30 which began at County N. The book has been the companion of The Dulcinea and I on our recent day trips and we had it with us on Saturday as we headed east to Hartland and the Homestead Animal Farm.
Unfortunately, the book quickly became useless as Dane county gave way to Jefferson and ultimately to Waukesha. The farm is on Highway 83 a couple miles north of the town of North Lake. I must admit that I've never really explored the area between Madison and Milwaukee very much. They've generally been just names on signs I see when taking I94 to visit friends or see a show in Milwaukee. Ergo I thought I would be neat to check out the area a bit.
The drive up 83 from Highway 16 was a scenic one with trees on either side of the road plus long tree-lined driveways. We made it to the farm and found it packed with folks and their kids. It seemed that we were the only ones there without youngsters. We shuffled into the barn which doubled as a shop and ticket stand. For $9 you got access to the animal petting area, the corn maze, and a hayride so I bought a couple of those tickets. Our first stop was to check out the animals.
And we were greeted by this fella.
Walking towards the barn, we found a girl offering folks a chance to hold some chicks and The D didn't pass up the opportunity.
Stepping inside I was greeted by that farm smell and the echo of a cacophony of animal calls from out back. On the other side was a pen with a couple of alpacas (alapcae?) hanging out and eating hay together.
Also hanging out were a bunch of water fowl, including the one on the left here which waddled around a bit differently than the rest. Unfortunately I cannot recall the bird's species.
The alpacas basically ignored the fowl. While the former chewed, the latter wandered in and out of the fence quacking. I was a bit surprised that all the ducks hanged out together. For whatever reason, I figured that since they were of different species, they'd have some natural inclination to avoid each other. But, like a big extended family, the ducks formed a pack as they roamed the barnyard. The geese, however, were a different story. They stuck together and didn't mingle too much with their fellow animals.
We wandered out behind the coop next door and found a trio of turkeys. My mind immediately recalled that Benjamin Franklin thought that they should have been our national bird but they had lost out to the eagle. I next thought about how Thanksgiving is next month and how that means I am going to stuff myself with turkey, amongst other foods. Standing there it seemed that they were getting a bit perturbed. I was at one end with another guy opposite me blocking off that route of escape. They looked ready to charge. To my left I noticed a couple cockerels creeping towards me along another wall of the coop in the shadows. These guys looked mean with their big claws and all. I not-so stealthily maneuvered myself over to the fenced in part of the coop which held a menagerie of birds including three peacocks. Here's one of them.
The D and I then walked back into the pasture which was home to a phalanx of miniature donkeys who were chowing down. I couldn't help but think of Shrek but couldn't muster a decent Eddie Murphy imitation.
Standing out amongst them was a jenny who was pregnant that suddenly brayed and this, in turn, caused the jack next to me to follow suit. No idea what was happening. But they soon quieted down and resumed eating. They were like vacuum cleaners. They nibbled at the grass and stray leaves and steadily moved forward. I was crouching very close to one for a photo and, sensing the need to continue lunch, the donkey just walked right past, barely acknowledging the monkey in its way. There was also a smattering of goats in the pasture mingling with the asses. It was a prelapsarian paradise with all the animals getting along well, including the human animals.
The D and I slowly wandered towards the gate so we could begin our next adventure when we noticed that she had a companion. One of the donkeys was following her. If she took a right, it took a right; it followed her wherever she did go. She wasn't able to shake it until she walked in the barn where the donkey dare not enter. Instead it just stood at the threshold. I tried and tried to get it to come on in but I could not. And so we ambled over to the main barn where one enters the corn maze. Outside there were trailers full of pumpkins.
The entrance was guarded by a fierce hound not unlike Cerberus but named Nelly. Luckily I was able to dodge and weave my way into a position where I could scratch behind her ears.
Inside was a bit of shade, more gourds, and lots of old farm implements.
That last hoolie is a fanning mill which separated the wheat from the chaff. I dusted myself off and we headed out into the corn maze. The corn wasn't as tall as I would have liked but The D appreciated feeling a bit less hemmed in. Personally, I like my mazes to be of The Shining variety where you can't see above the rows nor through them. Still, it was fun. There were 12 hoolies to find which had dealies for punching these cards we were given. The signs were also fact sheets about the animals in the novel and so we learned, for instance, that a group of rats is called a mischief. Charlotte's Web was the theme this year and so the maze featured a web and characters from the book. To go along with this, various signs were posted in the field which had trivia questions about the book and correct answers gave you a letter to a mystery word.
After some time and having become soaked in sweat, we headed in for a breather and some water. There I sat next to Old Man Harmann, father of Mark who owns and runs the farm with his wife Barbara. A widower, Mr. Harmann hangs and helps out on the farm as he can. He was a friendly codger – asked where we were from and gave a bit of the history of the place. The farm has been in the family for generations. There was a newspaper clipping posted on a beam which noted that the farm had been in the family for over 100 years. The article was from 1977. I'm not sure when the family made its egress from farming but the old man was well pleased with what his son had done to the place. Kids from Milwaukee are bused out during the week to escape the city and enjoy some fresh air along with the company of the furry creatures.
Feeling refreshed, we headed back into the maze. And we sweated more and walked around in circles which meant going by the buttermilk question plaque about three times. But we eventually found all 12 punch dealies and were right proud. Again it was back inside for more water and a bit more chat. This time Mark himself came over. We'd met him out in the maze and he was again really friendly.
(I could hear those threshers comin', lookin' more than two lanes wide…)
The last bit of our day on the farm was the hayride. We piled in back along with a couple families and a gaggle of small children and were off. Through a stretch of woods and then around a couple fields we went. The sun was beginning to set which made it a beautiful evening as we bounced around the cart.
Before we left, I bought some gourds including a pumpkin for a pie and a turtle caramel apple which I am going to bite into faster than Eve ever did. A tender, succulent apple first dipped in chocolate and then in caramel which is finally topped with nuts. Mmmm…
04 October, 2007
Various Artists - Garage Mayhem: Live at Asbury Lanes
I just got a hold of a 13th Floor Elevators show from 1966 so it's a bit ironic that I've also recently acquired Garage Mayhem: Live at Asbury Lanes, a collection of contemporary garage rock. Asbury Lanes is a music club born only a few years ago out of the desire of an Asbury Park, NJ promoter to find a spot to showcase garage and psychobilly bands. The disused bowling alley of the album's title was resurrected as a live music venue and Garage Mayhem is a sampler of some of the bands that have performed there.
This album is totally without pretension and has provided me with some of the most fun listening all year. The promotional material lists four "key tracks" but this recommendation can be ignored as the whole album is a blast and full of good vibes from 40 years ago. Seven bands get two songs each with Muck & the Mires starting things off with "It's About Over Now", a high-energy song full of fuzzy guitar. "FM Receiver" by The Brimstones shows that garage rock was the prototype of punk with its chunky riff and general sense of anarchy.
More than a patina of surf emerges with The Coffin Daggers as they veer towards The Ventures with "Forgotten Prisoner" and then over to Man or Astroman? on "Shark Attack" with the staccato organ and 50s B-movie dramatics. The big burly voice of Sam Steinig dominates Mondo Topless while the two tracks by Sons of Moon features some great harmony singing. Why their ultra-catchy "No Soul to Sell" was passed by for key track status is a mystery. The last band here is Thee Minks and they feature the only female voices of the set. "Shut Up and Kiss Me" is a strong closer with the pounding beat and Hope Diamond (or is it Liz Lixx?) expressing her desire to have another beer and lose her mind with a potential lover. And she likes it dirty too.
Fans of the Farsifa no longer have to wear grooves in their old ? and the Mysterians albums because Headshop Records has some new blood for you. Now why did I ever get rid of my Standells tape?
Marvin's Garden - Why Should I Change?
Marvin's Garden is a Madison quartet which should be celebrating their second anniversary soon. The band consists of Tim Giles on drums, Ken Leiser on electric guitar and violin, Tim Peeters on bass, and Justin Sprague on acoustic guitar and vocals. Why Should I Change? is their debut album out on PBM Records. I've listened to this disc several times and have still somehow managed to retain a large amount of ambivalence about it. The band themselves admit they traffic in a variety of styles such as funk, folk, rock, and rhythm and Why Should I Change? is certainly stylistically diverse – almost to the point of distraction.
The lead track "Aurora's Song" starts with a burst of white boy funk and then becomes something akin to a jam band tune with its sunny disposition. Sprague's nearly too earnest vocals even give a nod to bratwurst making it a decidedly Wisconsin lyric. The happy-go-lucky feel is maintained for "Dock Ellis", about a baseball player who stands upon the mound tripping on acid. There's some great fiddle work here and the song got me wondering what 16 Horsepower would have been like had they eschewed the gothic and instead embraced the Summer of Love.
Things are generally cheery for the first several songs until we get to the cautionary "Great Big Wonderful (Mess)" with its synth, sitar solo, and washes of fuzzy guitar. "Windowsill" is a bit of jazzy swing while "Sandy O'Shea" is a faux Irish ballad which morphs into a reel, again with some great fiddle work. The album closes with further stylistic shifts, the first of which is "Redneck Stoners (in Luv)", a fun take on turbo tonk with its refrain of "Dang, heck/Redneck stoners in love". The terminal tune is the gritty, bluesy "Shitty Gin", which is an instant sing-along.
Why Should I Change? made for a nice change of pace in my musical diet with the paucity of power chords. Leiser is very deft at moving from rhythm parts to more muscular leads and so the music has some wonderful dynamics. But my ambivalence remains. At one listening session I'll enjoy going from folk-inflected pop to jazz to Irish folk. Then on the next I find myself wishing the band hadn't segregated each of their predilections into separate songs and instead found some way to integrate them. Disparate mess or eclectic collection? Even taking the former view, Why Should I Change? still has solid playing, great melodies, and that infectious fiddle.
Arthur Alexander - Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter
Last month saw the re-release of Arthur Alexander's comeback album Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter by HackTone Records. Originally issued in 1993, the album marked Alexander's return to music after a 15 year absence. He had helped pioneer southern R&B; during the 1960s and his songs were covered by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and other rock pioneers of that time. Along with great fame came alcohol and drug abuse as well as an inability to find a good manager. He saw little reward for his work and he dropped out of music in 1977 and apparently sustained himself by being a bus driver. In 1992 some old friends convinced Alexander to give music another go and the result was Lonely Like Me which was released on Elecktra. Tragically, Alexander died only three months after the album's release and in the midst of a triumphant comeback. This final chapter collects the original album and adds demos and live performances from the time.
Alexander had a fondness for not only R&B; but also country and so the twang and the pedal steel that emerges halfway through the opening "If It's Really Got to Be This Way" might make a listener think they've wandered into Charlie Pride territory. While country and the blues arguably emerged from the same mother lode and they are not mutually exclusive, the song sounds more like the glossy power country of Garth Brooks and his ilk of the early 90s than a gritty derivation of folk. Most of the rest of the album suffers a similar fate with producer Ben Vaughn's emphasis on polish instead of heartfelt performance. With its home organ drum box, "Lonely Just Like Me" sounds like something from a Holiday Inn motel bar instead of genuine heartbreak. It's nearly impossible to discern the genius that inspired the first British Invasion here.
There is the occasional moment of relief, though. The sparse piano of "All the Time" makes for a rare moment of intimacy and the bluesy "Sally Sue Brown" is a bit ragged in the best way. Unfortunately, these moments are fleeting and the bulk of Lonely Just Like Me is just too safe without any jagged edges.
The real music starts 13 songs in with the bonus material on this release. First we are treated to Alexander's appearance on NPR's Fresh Air program. Here he tackles three cuts from Lonely Just Like Me and his classic "You Better Move On", which was covered by The Rolling Stones. The newer material benefits exponentially from the stripped down instrumentation. Alexander's limited range is at home against a backdrop devoid of bells and whistles. Just compare live "Genie in the Jug" to its studio counterpart. They are poles apart and, when he sings "She ain't never comin' back to me", it actually sounds like he means it instead of the line coming across as a pleasant approximation of feeling suitable for folks who buy music at WalMart.
You can also compare these two versions of "Genie in the Jug" to a third which is a demo recorded in a hotel room by producer Vaughn. It's just Alexander and an acoustic guitar. This performance really cuts to the bone and exposes his blues roots. It's simple, plaintive, and has more depth of emotion than the entirety of Lonely Just Like Me. The album ends with a live rendition of "Anna" recorded at the Bottom Line in 1991. This show got Alexander his record deal with Elektra. It's just guitar and organ along with voice. It's a shame that the potential heard in this sparse arrangement was lost in the transition to major label debut.
03 October, 2007
A Matter of Loaf and Death
Wallace & Gromit are returning to TV! It is to be a 30-minute adventure called "Trouble at' Mill".
Trouble at' Mill is a murder mystery that sees Wallace and Gromit running a bakery business - with their house converted into a granary with ovens and robotic kneading arms.
The new film will reunite Nick Park with writer Bob Baker who co-wrote both The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave.
Mr Park said he was looking forward to making a short film after the pressure of a Hollywood feature.
"It's nice to be out of that feature film pressure now. I don't feel like I'm making a film for a kid in some suburb of America - and being told they're not going to understand a joke, or a northern saying."
Trouble at' Mill is a murder mystery that sees Wallace and Gromit running a bakery business - with their house converted into a granary with ovens and robotic kneading arms.
The new film will reunite Nick Park with writer Bob Baker who co-wrote both The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave.
Mr Park said he was looking forward to making a short film after the pressure of a Hollywood feature.
"It's nice to be out of that feature film pressure now. I don't feel like I'm making a film for a kid in some suburb of America - and being told they're not going to understand a joke, or a northern saying."
02 October, 2007
I See Embedded Video in my Future...
A little over a week ago I received an unpleasant e-mail from Janet Merino who took exception to my views about her business, the Psychic Gallery on State Street. There she practices palmistry, tarot card "readings", and other BS. For some reason Katjusa Cisar wrote a piece for the shameless Capital Times which went out of its way to avoid the implication that psychics are frauds. Seemingly without a critical thinking bone in her body, Ms. Cisar no doubt has a fine career in journalism ahead of her.
With this in mind, I found a couple nice videos which take a skeptical look at psychics. The first comes from a BBC program called The Real Hustle and it shows a, well, hustler doing cold readings.
The Real Hustle - The Psychic Scam - The funniest videos clips are here
In my post about the Psychic Gallery I also mentioned Mimosa who was to host The Goddess Akeeya who has the reputation of being the "female John Edwards", Mr. Edwards being another "psychic". Well, here you can watch two videos with Michael Shermer and Penn & Teller, respectively, taking on Edwards and exposing his methods for scamming people. P&T also comment on skepticism in the media, something I should hope Ms. Cisar might look into.
With this in mind, I found a couple nice videos which take a skeptical look at psychics. The first comes from a BBC program called The Real Hustle and it shows a, well, hustler doing cold readings.
The Real Hustle - The Psychic Scam - The funniest videos clips are here
In my post about the Psychic Gallery I also mentioned Mimosa who was to host The Goddess Akeeya who has the reputation of being the "female John Edwards", Mr. Edwards being another "psychic". Well, here you can watch two videos with Michael Shermer and Penn & Teller, respectively, taking on Edwards and exposing his methods for scamming people. P&T also comment on skepticism in the media, something I should hope Ms. Cisar might look into.
01 October, 2007
Bill Maher's Religious Test
This was a good episode with Janeane Garofalo and her great tattoos mentioning one of my favorite comics, Y: The Last Man which is coming to a conclusion soon.
I found out today that both Steven Pinker and Richard Dawkins will be speaking in Chicago this week at The Seminary Co-op Bookstore. Pinker on Wednesday evening and Dawkins on Thursday. While Dawkins continues his push for The God Delusion, The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature is Pinker's latest and was released only last month. His book tour does not bring him to Wisconsin, unfortunately.
McCain: Religious Nutcase or Doofus?
I know a few people who can best be described as Democrats. They're not hyper-liberal progressives but rather well-to-do folks who are left of center politically. There have been times over the past several years when they've commented that, if the Dems can't come up with a decent candidate, they'd gladly vote for John McCain despite the fact that he's a Republican. "He's centrist," I hear them say. "McCain is an honorable man who served his country and is honest," they tell me. Personally, McCain is likely to never get my vote. I'd rather "throw away" my vote with a nod to the Green Party than vote for McCain. The guy has certainly paid his dues with his military career. And I must give McCain credit for his stances on campaign finance reform and torture.
At the end of the day, however, McCain is still a politico. For every instance of reason and common sense coming from his lips, he balances this out with egregiously stupid shit like his recent comments about the U.S. being a Christian nation in his opinion so thusly non-Christians just don't make the best politicians. All of this despite the fact that the Constitution doesn’t doesn't mention Yahweh, that it does contain a no-religious-test provision, and that the U.S. government explicitly said in the Treaty of Tripoli from 1797 "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion". I couple McCain's recent parroting of the religious right with his support for teaching Intelligent Design in schools and other such stupidities and must seriously wonder if McCain really believes the shit he spews or if he has no other campaign tactic besides pandering. First he criticized Jerry Falwell and then he turns around and sticks his tongue up his trousers. Is there no ass that he will not kiss? Is there no scumbag he won't cozy up to?
At the end of the day, however, McCain is still a politico. For every instance of reason and common sense coming from his lips, he balances this out with egregiously stupid shit like his recent comments about the U.S. being a Christian nation in his opinion so thusly non-Christians just don't make the best politicians. All of this despite the fact that the Constitution doesn’t doesn't mention Yahweh, that it does contain a no-religious-test provision, and that the U.S. government explicitly said in the Treaty of Tripoli from 1797 "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion". I couple McCain's recent parroting of the religious right with his support for teaching Intelligent Design in schools and other such stupidities and must seriously wonder if McCain really believes the shit he spews or if he has no other campaign tactic besides pandering. First he criticized Jerry Falwell and then he turns around and sticks his tongue up his trousers. Is there no ass that he will not kiss? Is there no scumbag he won't cozy up to?
A Good Old Fashioned Revival at Westgate
Good news for cinephiles here in Madison – Westgate is continuing to counter-program Sundance and is becoming part revival house.
For the entire week starting this Friday, the four-screen theater, which traditionally shows new independent films, will devote one of its screens to playing two classic Eastwood westerns, "Unforgiven" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," as part of its new "Great Performances" series.
That series will be followed in early December with a weeklong run of the Audrey Hepburn movies "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Roman Holiday."
In addition, beginning this week, Westgate is introducing a new "Cult Classics" series every Friday and Saturday night, traditionally the strongest nights for new films. The series will kick off Friday with screenings of the Al Pacino gangster film "Scarface," followed by "The Big Lebowski," "Clerks" and "Pulp Fiction."
I have often wondered why Westgate stopped bringing back some classics. I recall seeing The Bride Over the River Kwai there as well as enduring the greatest thirst of my life as I watched the opening of Lawrence of Arabia. It's too bad it took increased competition from Sundance to get Marcus to bring back some classics. DVDs are great but films are meant to be seen on big screens. Some college kids at the UW were still shitting their pants when Unforgiven was released. Their age is not their fault and they should be given the opportunity to see classic films as they were meant to be seen. Plus older folks like me relish the chance to see them in the theatre once again.
I am glad that Sundance is here, to be sure, but I am disappointed that the theatre didn't take up Hilldale's mantle as far as revivals go. I recall seeing such great films as Ran and The Passenger at Hilldale and had hopes that Sundance would continue the tradition. Alas, it has not been the case thusfar. In fact, Sundance has turned out to be more of a place in which one can be trendy than a place which celebrates cinema. I'd trade all the birch branches for a single movie poster in the lobby. And I would gladly pay a little more to finally get rid of Waitress and bring something like the 50 Years of Janus Films retrospective to town.
Despite all this, Sundance should be praised for its upcoming DocuWeek which takes place the first week of November. I am especially excited about the prospect of seeing Protagonist. I guess I will gladly suffer stuff like Waitress and Juno as long as I also get Stellet Licht and Aleksandra.
For the entire week starting this Friday, the four-screen theater, which traditionally shows new independent films, will devote one of its screens to playing two classic Eastwood westerns, "Unforgiven" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," as part of its new "Great Performances" series.
That series will be followed in early December with a weeklong run of the Audrey Hepburn movies "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Roman Holiday."
In addition, beginning this week, Westgate is introducing a new "Cult Classics" series every Friday and Saturday night, traditionally the strongest nights for new films. The series will kick off Friday with screenings of the Al Pacino gangster film "Scarface," followed by "The Big Lebowski," "Clerks" and "Pulp Fiction."
I have often wondered why Westgate stopped bringing back some classics. I recall seeing The Bride Over the River Kwai there as well as enduring the greatest thirst of my life as I watched the opening of Lawrence of Arabia. It's too bad it took increased competition from Sundance to get Marcus to bring back some classics. DVDs are great but films are meant to be seen on big screens. Some college kids at the UW were still shitting their pants when Unforgiven was released. Their age is not their fault and they should be given the opportunity to see classic films as they were meant to be seen. Plus older folks like me relish the chance to see them in the theatre once again.
I am glad that Sundance is here, to be sure, but I am disappointed that the theatre didn't take up Hilldale's mantle as far as revivals go. I recall seeing such great films as Ran and The Passenger at Hilldale and had hopes that Sundance would continue the tradition. Alas, it has not been the case thusfar. In fact, Sundance has turned out to be more of a place in which one can be trendy than a place which celebrates cinema. I'd trade all the birch branches for a single movie poster in the lobby. And I would gladly pay a little more to finally get rid of Waitress and bring something like the 50 Years of Janus Films retrospective to town.
Despite all this, Sundance should be praised for its upcoming DocuWeek which takes place the first week of November. I am especially excited about the prospect of seeing Protagonist. I guess I will gladly suffer stuff like Waitress and Juno as long as I also get Stellet Licht and Aleksandra.
An Afternoon in Cornish Town Wherein Robert Johnson's Lyrics are Illuminated
With my illness having abated for the most part, The Dulcinea, M., and I drove down to Mineral Point on Saturday for Cornish Fest. Neither I nor The D is Cornish but M is of Cornish stock. So it seemed like a good excuse to check out Mineral Point and eat Cornish food while M ran around oblivious to it all. This was my first time in the town and I have to say that the historic downtown was marvelous for the antiquarian in me.
Most of the buildings downtown looked as if they were from the second half of the 19th century. By this time, the town was booming with lead mining, hence the town's name. Word of this had reached Cornwall, England a couple decades previously and scores of Cornish families came to Mineral Point attracted by the available work in the mines. Thus we have Mineral Point being home to Cornish Fest.
With tourism being such a big economic component, most of the buildings downtown were in good shape and relatively unmolested by current architectural fads or designs on making things look modern.
The coffeehouse/tavern we stopped at was gorgeous with dark wood everywhere and huge doorways. Aside from some modern conveniences such as coolers and beer taps, it was truly like walking into a different time. There was the odd sign in Cornish about town as well as the ubiquitous pasty which had found company with other assimilated cuisines at the Red Rooster Café.
After wandering around for a bit, we found that we still had time before the Miner's Buffet was to start. Since I have an interest in the history of rail in the area, we zipped down to the Mineral Point Railroad Depot Museum. On the way down the hill, we passed Brewery Creek, a brewpub.
Unfortunately, they were closing to prepare for the dinner hour and, with M along, it was not a day for hunkering down at the tavern.
I believe that railway service to Mineral Point started in 1857 as there was lots of lead (and later zinc) to be shipped out. The tracks are long gone and now are a trail but the depot has been lovingly restored. It opened only three years ago. It's a beautiful limestone building.
Unfortunately, photography was strictly forbidden inside. There was a display which documented the restoration efforts and, after seeing pictures of the interior which was totally trashed, kudos must be given out to the folks behind bringing the depot back to life. All the wooden floors and moldings were lovingly restored and the place was just great to wander around. Display cases lined the walls with artifacts from a long-gone era. It was more than ore and people that the trains moved as was evident from a shipping receipt for 2 barrels of whiskey. Shovels, pry bars, and levels lined one case along with a series of photos demonstrating how track was laid and how bad spikes were replaced. If you think it sucks sitting in front of a keyboard and mouse, think about lugging around a 26 pound pry bar all day. There was also a bunch of implements for the guy who kept the fire going on the locomotive. They looked quite a bit like those you'd have for your fireplace at home excepting that they were much bigger. I was reminded of the bit in Tony Robinson's series The Worst Jobs in History for the Victorian era - the engine cleaner. It's a great show so, if you've not seen it, do so. The engine cleaner would crawl inside the area where the coal or wood burned and sweep it out. Then, after the locomotive parked itself over the inspection pit and the guy would clear out the ash pans from underneath. Keeping the iron horses running was dirty, ball-busting work.
There was a slick pocket watch on display which made me wonder where I put my own pocket watch which is from around 1916 and, like the one I saw at the museum, belonged to a conductor. Aside from the neat maps and whatnot strewn about, the real treat was a gentlemen whose name I cannot recall. He was an old duff donning your typical Sconnie outfit of flannel shirt and suspenders and walked with a cane. The guy was a volunteer there and he wandered around the room which was the ticket office and waiting area looking for folks to talk to. It didn't take him long to flag down M, who was a little hesitant to talk to him. I, however, was quite willing. He'd worked on the rail in Mineral Point from 1957 until 1969. And he loved talking about his former profession and his current passion.
At one point I was looking at a map on the wall and he pointed out the routes that he had traveled while working for the rail. By the desk of the ticket agent was the ticket dispenser which was a shelf with a bunch of little compartments for stacks of tickets. Back then they were a bit larger than your typical raffle ticket is today. There were wooden balls in each of the compartments and it was explained to me that they kept the tickets from pouring out the openings. This guy was a font of information. He even knew the parents of my former co-worker who lent me the rail magazines I used in my Madrail series linked to above. This guy was a treasure and he put all the video displays and fancy interactive hoolies at larger museums to shame with his wonderful human touch.
While looking at one wall of lamps, I noticed one that had red and blue lenses. The gentleman explained that those used to hang from the caboose. I then realized I was standing before an illustration of some of Robert Johnson's lyrics, specifically those towards the end of "Love in Vain":
When the train, it left the station
with two lights on behind
Well, the blue light was my blues
and the red light was my mind
One can just imagine folks sitting or milling around waiting for the train. I found out yesterday that, if a Madisonian didn’t want to brave the rail yet needed to get to Mineral Point, they could always hitch up the wagon and take a certain road west from town – Mineral Point Road.
With 4:30 approaching, we headed off to the Hodan Center to fill our bellies at the Miner's Buffet. As the pictures below demonstrate, I stuffed myself.
This was my first course. We have a beef pasty, Cornish meat pie with dumplings, corn pudding, and mashed turnips. There was just the right amount of horseradish in the turnips. How many root vegetables can you get in one dish? Oh, and that's a bit of pepper relish which, I was told, was for the pasty. It was sweet and sour and quite good.
My second course consisted of baked squash, a slice of Herbie pie, and some sweet and sour beans. Herbie pie was essentially a quiche. A quiche with manna from heaven – bacon. And just look at all that bacon in the beans. They were excellent!
For dessert, I started with a slice of saffron bread and one of figgyhobbin.
I am not sure if the Cornish made saffron bread because they loved saffron or because they were ensconced in a perpetual butter shortage and they wanted it to look yellow. Either way it was very tasty. Figgyhobbin. What the hell is figgyhobbin? A figgyhobbin is a long pastry roll filled with nuts, brown sugar, and raisins. For the life of me I cannot find anything on the Net about its origin or name. I suspect figs were involved at one point or that the name is perhaps the corruption of some Cornish word but these are mere speculations on my part. Traditionally, one puts caramel sauce on it. I refrained but can say that it was very tasty nonetheless.
My second dessert was a scone-like hoolie and a piece of pie which, if my ears heard rightly, was sugar pie.
The scone thingy was soft and moist and good. The pie was, as the name implies, sugary. For a filling, it had a load of gooey caramel stuff which sent me into diabetic seizures. But it was oh so good!
This was a hearty meal. Much heartier than this office jockey required. But I can imagine a bunch of sweaty miners covered in coal dust grabbing a tin plate of stew and a pasty and chowing down.
Most of the buildings downtown looked as if they were from the second half of the 19th century. By this time, the town was booming with lead mining, hence the town's name. Word of this had reached Cornwall, England a couple decades previously and scores of Cornish families came to Mineral Point attracted by the available work in the mines. Thus we have Mineral Point being home to Cornish Fest.
With tourism being such a big economic component, most of the buildings downtown were in good shape and relatively unmolested by current architectural fads or designs on making things look modern.
The coffeehouse/tavern we stopped at was gorgeous with dark wood everywhere and huge doorways. Aside from some modern conveniences such as coolers and beer taps, it was truly like walking into a different time. There was the odd sign in Cornish about town as well as the ubiquitous pasty which had found company with other assimilated cuisines at the Red Rooster Café.
After wandering around for a bit, we found that we still had time before the Miner's Buffet was to start. Since I have an interest in the history of rail in the area, we zipped down to the Mineral Point Railroad Depot Museum. On the way down the hill, we passed Brewery Creek, a brewpub.
Unfortunately, they were closing to prepare for the dinner hour and, with M along, it was not a day for hunkering down at the tavern.
I believe that railway service to Mineral Point started in 1857 as there was lots of lead (and later zinc) to be shipped out. The tracks are long gone and now are a trail but the depot has been lovingly restored. It opened only three years ago. It's a beautiful limestone building.
Unfortunately, photography was strictly forbidden inside. There was a display which documented the restoration efforts and, after seeing pictures of the interior which was totally trashed, kudos must be given out to the folks behind bringing the depot back to life. All the wooden floors and moldings were lovingly restored and the place was just great to wander around. Display cases lined the walls with artifacts from a long-gone era. It was more than ore and people that the trains moved as was evident from a shipping receipt for 2 barrels of whiskey. Shovels, pry bars, and levels lined one case along with a series of photos demonstrating how track was laid and how bad spikes were replaced. If you think it sucks sitting in front of a keyboard and mouse, think about lugging around a 26 pound pry bar all day. There was also a bunch of implements for the guy who kept the fire going on the locomotive. They looked quite a bit like those you'd have for your fireplace at home excepting that they were much bigger. I was reminded of the bit in Tony Robinson's series The Worst Jobs in History for the Victorian era - the engine cleaner. It's a great show so, if you've not seen it, do so. The engine cleaner would crawl inside the area where the coal or wood burned and sweep it out. Then, after the locomotive parked itself over the inspection pit and the guy would clear out the ash pans from underneath. Keeping the iron horses running was dirty, ball-busting work.
There was a slick pocket watch on display which made me wonder where I put my own pocket watch which is from around 1916 and, like the one I saw at the museum, belonged to a conductor. Aside from the neat maps and whatnot strewn about, the real treat was a gentlemen whose name I cannot recall. He was an old duff donning your typical Sconnie outfit of flannel shirt and suspenders and walked with a cane. The guy was a volunteer there and he wandered around the room which was the ticket office and waiting area looking for folks to talk to. It didn't take him long to flag down M, who was a little hesitant to talk to him. I, however, was quite willing. He'd worked on the rail in Mineral Point from 1957 until 1969. And he loved talking about his former profession and his current passion.
At one point I was looking at a map on the wall and he pointed out the routes that he had traveled while working for the rail. By the desk of the ticket agent was the ticket dispenser which was a shelf with a bunch of little compartments for stacks of tickets. Back then they were a bit larger than your typical raffle ticket is today. There were wooden balls in each of the compartments and it was explained to me that they kept the tickets from pouring out the openings. This guy was a font of information. He even knew the parents of my former co-worker who lent me the rail magazines I used in my Madrail series linked to above. This guy was a treasure and he put all the video displays and fancy interactive hoolies at larger museums to shame with his wonderful human touch.
While looking at one wall of lamps, I noticed one that had red and blue lenses. The gentleman explained that those used to hang from the caboose. I then realized I was standing before an illustration of some of Robert Johnson's lyrics, specifically those towards the end of "Love in Vain":
with two lights on behind
Well, the blue light was my blues
and the red light was my mind
One can just imagine folks sitting or milling around waiting for the train. I found out yesterday that, if a Madisonian didn’t want to brave the rail yet needed to get to Mineral Point, they could always hitch up the wagon and take a certain road west from town – Mineral Point Road.
With 4:30 approaching, we headed off to the Hodan Center to fill our bellies at the Miner's Buffet. As the pictures below demonstrate, I stuffed myself.
This was my first course. We have a beef pasty, Cornish meat pie with dumplings, corn pudding, and mashed turnips. There was just the right amount of horseradish in the turnips. How many root vegetables can you get in one dish? Oh, and that's a bit of pepper relish which, I was told, was for the pasty. It was sweet and sour and quite good.
My second course consisted of baked squash, a slice of Herbie pie, and some sweet and sour beans. Herbie pie was essentially a quiche. A quiche with manna from heaven – bacon. And just look at all that bacon in the beans. They were excellent!
For dessert, I started with a slice of saffron bread and one of figgyhobbin.
I am not sure if the Cornish made saffron bread because they loved saffron or because they were ensconced in a perpetual butter shortage and they wanted it to look yellow. Either way it was very tasty. Figgyhobbin. What the hell is figgyhobbin? A figgyhobbin is a long pastry roll filled with nuts, brown sugar, and raisins. For the life of me I cannot find anything on the Net about its origin or name. I suspect figs were involved at one point or that the name is perhaps the corruption of some Cornish word but these are mere speculations on my part. Traditionally, one puts caramel sauce on it. I refrained but can say that it was very tasty nonetheless.
My second dessert was a scone-like hoolie and a piece of pie which, if my ears heard rightly, was sugar pie.
The scone thingy was soft and moist and good. The pie was, as the name implies, sugary. For a filling, it had a load of gooey caramel stuff which sent me into diabetic seizures. But it was oh so good!
This was a hearty meal. Much heartier than this office jockey required. But I can imagine a bunch of sweaty miners covered in coal dust grabbing a tin plate of stew and a pasty and chowing down.
20 September, 2007
Dear Stu Levitan
Dear Mr. Levitan,
I drove by Todd Drive yesterday and noticed a large banner proclaiming the groundbreaking for the Arbor Gate development. I wasn't sure what it entailed completely until this morning when the WSJ explained the project in more detail. Here's an excerpt:
That meeting at Kayser Ford brought together Loren Mortenson, of Mortenson Investment Group, and Pat Baxter, owner of Kayser Ford. The Baxters, including son Sean, and the Mortensons, including son-in-law Brad Hutter, decided to team up to redevelop the area along the Beltline.
The first effort, a $22 million project called Landmark Gate planned west of Todd Drive, was scuttled after the developers couldn't win the cooperation of existing property owners.
But they regrouped and decided to build a bigger project east of Todd Drive.
Well now it's come to fruition and it seems to have done so without the government having to use eminent domain and scuttle the rights of business owners in the area. I remember all of your whining and the false accusations you hurled up at The Daily Page forum; I remember your dire predictions for the neighborhood if the government didn't forcefully take the property of citizens. And now look. A group of determined people have created an even larger project and all without having the government be their bully.
Skip
I drove by Todd Drive yesterday and noticed a large banner proclaiming the groundbreaking for the Arbor Gate development. I wasn't sure what it entailed completely until this morning when the WSJ explained the project in more detail. Here's an excerpt:
That meeting at Kayser Ford brought together Loren Mortenson, of Mortenson Investment Group, and Pat Baxter, owner of Kayser Ford. The Baxters, including son Sean, and the Mortensons, including son-in-law Brad Hutter, decided to team up to redevelop the area along the Beltline.
The first effort, a $22 million project called Landmark Gate planned west of Todd Drive, was scuttled after the developers couldn't win the cooperation of existing property owners.
But they regrouped and decided to build a bigger project east of Todd Drive.
Well now it's come to fruition and it seems to have done so without the government having to use eminent domain and scuttle the rights of business owners in the area. I remember all of your whining and the false accusations you hurled up at The Daily Page forum; I remember your dire predictions for the neighborhood if the government didn't forcefully take the property of citizens. And now look. A group of determined people have created an even larger project and all without having the government be their bully.
Skip
19 September, 2007
How Many Police Officers Will It Take to Make You Safe?
I've been reading a couple posts over at Paul Soglin's blog which address the rise in crime here in Madison - "Why the Prospects for Madison Are So Bleak: Part I" and "The Madison Plan to Fight Crime: Not Nearly Enough". After having finished, I can only wonder when the white flight is going to start. Outlying areas take note: you are probably going to be seeing an influx of refugees from class wars soon.
This is because the views of people like David Blaska are going to rule the day. "Stop the crime, the poverty follows. Or maybe not. But, at least, the crime stops," he bleats. With such rhetorical force, how could those ideas not carry the day? The MPD's request for 30 additional officers, up from 18, is just the tip of the iceberg. "More cops" is nice'n'jingoistic and a palliative for the anxieties of white middle-class people so they're going to eat it up while the potential of a more comprehensive plan will fall to the wayside. What are tax-hating conservatives like Blaska going to do when the police want yet more officers and more stations and more prisons? It's not that more police officers is unwelcome, but is having more people charged with standing in a roadway really going to solve anything? I think we can look forward to a referendum on building another city pokey in the near future.
Sought or unsought, we're headed for an MPD-Prison complex here.
This is because the views of people like David Blaska are going to rule the day. "Stop the crime, the poverty follows. Or maybe not. But, at least, the crime stops," he bleats. With such rhetorical force, how could those ideas not carry the day? The MPD's request for 30 additional officers, up from 18, is just the tip of the iceberg. "More cops" is nice'n'jingoistic and a palliative for the anxieties of white middle-class people so they're going to eat it up while the potential of a more comprehensive plan will fall to the wayside. What are tax-hating conservatives like Blaska going to do when the police want yet more officers and more stations and more prisons? It's not that more police officers is unwelcome, but is having more people charged with standing in a roadway really going to solve anything? I think we can look forward to a referendum on building another city pokey in the near future.
Sought or unsought, we're headed for an MPD-Prison complex here.
17 September, 2007
13 September, 2007
Poophoria
I've never heard so many smart people use the word "poo" in a half hour as I did after listening to this week's episode of Berkeley Groks, a science podcast. The topic was fecal science and featured an interview with Anish Sheth, M.D. and Josh Richman, the authors of What's Your Poo Telling You?
It was a fascinating, if odd, conversation. Take "poophoria". It's one of those poos that "is distinguished by the sense of euphoria and ecstasy that you feel throughout your body when this type of feces departs your system." And why is this, you ask? Let Dr. Stool explain:
The distention of the rectum that occurs with the passing of a large mass of stool causes the vagus nerve to fire. The net effect of this is a drop in your heart rate and blood pressure, which in turn decreases blood flow to the brain. When mild, the lightheadedness can lend a sense of sublime relaxation.
The authors spared us actual photos but they did include illustrations. For instance, here's the Deja Poo:
It was a fascinating, if odd, conversation. Take "poophoria". It's one of those poos that "is distinguished by the sense of euphoria and ecstasy that you feel throughout your body when this type of feces departs your system." And why is this, you ask? Let Dr. Stool explain:
The distention of the rectum that occurs with the passing of a large mass of stool causes the vagus nerve to fire. The net effect of this is a drop in your heart rate and blood pressure, which in turn decreases blood flow to the brain. When mild, the lightheadedness can lend a sense of sublime relaxation.
The authors spared us actual photos but they did include illustrations. For instance, here's the Deja Poo:
I Want My Link TV
The Wisconsin State Journal had a piece yesterday about the absence of the Big Ten Network from the channel line-up of Charter Cable. Despite being a UW alumnus, I really don't care if we get the BTN or not. In fact, I guess I'd prefer we didn’t when there's other channels I'd rather have added. Charter carries enough goddamn sports as it is. In addition to the stuff carried by the affiliates of the major networks, we've got six ESPN channels (including one in Spanish), the Golf Channel, the Speed Channel, several Fox sports channels including one dedicated to soccer, College Sports Television, Fuel TV, and the Versus Network whose coverage includes that of hunting. Those hunting programs sure must be exciting. And as Bill Lueders noted (scroll to bottom) last month, Charter recently began offering several new Christian channels so there's even more crap on TV now.
None of this is to say that Charter is Satan because there is some good stuff to be had on cable these days. I am glad we get IFC, the Sundance Channel, and BBC America, for example. But when our local cable monopoly starts thinking about expanding the channel selection, there are some networks I'd like them to consider that don't involve sports or Jesus. They also don't involve people pimping their favorite means of transportation or remodeling homes. Instead they offer a chance at learning and hearing new perspectives. Here's some stuff I'd like to see Charter carry:
Link TV - looks like it would give news and views of life outside of the United States. It'd be great to see non-whites on other continents doing something other than being killed.
Free Speech TV - non-corporate media. 'Nuff said.
The Documentary Channel - docs on Canadian animators, Cab Calloway, surfers, Iraq, and just about everything.
Classic Arts Showcase - life beyond indie rock: "animation, architectural art, ballet, chamber and choral music, dance, folk art, museum art, musical theater, opera, orchestral, recital, solo instrumental. solo vocal, and theatrical performances, as well as classic film and archival documentaries".
The Science Network - C-SPAN for science. Listen to scientists actually explain things in detail instead of suffering with soundbites. And no crackpots are given time so the coverage has a patina of "balance".
The Tennis Channel - OK, so I lied. But I include this only for my friend Otto so he can timeshift instead of having to take time off from work to listen to tennis on the Web.
None of this is to say that Charter is Satan because there is some good stuff to be had on cable these days. I am glad we get IFC, the Sundance Channel, and BBC America, for example. But when our local cable monopoly starts thinking about expanding the channel selection, there are some networks I'd like them to consider that don't involve sports or Jesus. They also don't involve people pimping their favorite means of transportation or remodeling homes. Instead they offer a chance at learning and hearing new perspectives. Here's some stuff I'd like to see Charter carry:
Link TV - looks like it would give news and views of life outside of the United States. It'd be great to see non-whites on other continents doing something other than being killed.
Free Speech TV - non-corporate media. 'Nuff said.
The Documentary Channel - docs on Canadian animators, Cab Calloway, surfers, Iraq, and just about everything.
Classic Arts Showcase - life beyond indie rock: "animation, architectural art, ballet, chamber and choral music, dance, folk art, museum art, musical theater, opera, orchestral, recital, solo instrumental. solo vocal, and theatrical performances, as well as classic film and archival documentaries".
The Science Network - C-SPAN for science. Listen to scientists actually explain things in detail instead of suffering with soundbites. And no crackpots are given time so the coverage has a patina of "balance".
The Tennis Channel - OK, so I lied. But I include this only for my friend Otto so he can timeshift instead of having to take time off from work to listen to tennis on the Web.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)