Dogfish Head have officially announced that they are pulling out of Wisconsin. From the company's blog:
The distributors in the states we are pulling distribution from (Tennessee, Indiana, Wisconsin and Rhode Island) have already been notified of our decision. If your favorite pubs and beer outlets are no longer able to obtain Dogfish products, we are sorry that we are no longer able to supply them. Thanks for understanding and we are hopeful for your ongoing support.
Fans will have to make a run to the border, I guess.
11 March, 2011
Beer: Excise Taxes, Expansion, and Boycotts
The U.S. Senate will be mulling over a bill to reduce the beer excise tax for craft brewers.
Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) today introduced legislation to reduce the beer excise tax for America’s small brewers.
Currently, a small brewer that produces less than two million barrels of beer per year is eligible to pay $7.00 per barrel on the first 60,000 barrels produced each year. This legislation will reduce this rate to $3.50 per barrel, giving our nation’s smallest brewers approximately $19.9 million per year to expand and generate jobs. This change helps approximately 1,525 breweries nationwide.
Currently, once production exceeds 60,000 barrels, a small brewer must pay the same $18 per barrel excise tax rate that the largest brewer pays while producing more than 100 million barrels. This legislation will lower the tax rate to $16 per barrel on beer production above 60,000 barrels, up to two million barrels, providing small brewers with an additional $27.1 million per year that can be used to support significant long-term investments and create jobs by growing their businesses on a regional or national scale.
For now this is still just a bill but I can't imagine that the idea of lowering taxes would have a problem in the House. If it passes, would beer prices go down? I mean, when WI state Rep. Terese Burceau tried to raise the state beer excise tax, small brewers generally came out against it and, from my recollections, said that the cost increase would be passed onto consumers. Would the reverse hold as well?
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Canning is the latest trend in craft beer and I now read that Sprecher is going that route in an interview with Jeff Hamilton, the company's president. I'm pretty agnostic on the issue at this point. Here's an overview of the benefits and problems of each packaging method. I only hope that craft brewers don't devolve into a stupid marketing war where they try to pawn off cans with mouths wider than normal as a reason to buy their product.
Other news is that they've increased lagering capacity and now offer beer-flavored potato chips. Does any other Wisconsin brewery sell food products made with their beer? Is there a New Glarus mustard, for instance? Also interesting was that the brewery's founder, Randy Sprecher, now lives in California part-time.
Are any of their seasonal sodas available here in Madison?
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With all the protesting the past few weeks and now calls for boycotts of companies that contributed to Scott Walker's campaigns, I found this bit interesting.
The Midwest Beer Collective's 18 February news roundup had positive comments about the protesters. A commenter named "Jim Klisch" left the following comment:
Where is the money coming from to pay the state workers? It’s not like they are hurting. They will keep their jobs which is much better then[sic] the private sector. Stick to beer and leave your sophomoric politics out or yur blog.
Jim Klisch founded the Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee but I have no idea if it was he that actually left the comment. For fun, I looked to see if he had donated any money to Walker but found no evidence of that.
So, if you're a craft beer drinker and want to engage in boycotts of Walker supporters, would you consider boycotting Lakefront if you knew that this comment was from the company's founder?
And lastly, a big fuck you to the author of the member of the Midwest Beer Collective who wrote the new roundup mentioned above for writing "seriously, we get it Cap Brewery, you don’t like to make flavorful beer, but cans?"
09 March, 2011
Doctor Who: Grave Matter by Justin Richards
Despite having been a Doctor Who fan since the early 1980s, it was only recently that I read one of the DW novels from the time between the show going off the air in 1989 until its resurrection in 2005. During that time Virgin Publishing and then BBC Books published dozens of novels featuring all eight Doctors. I lost my virginity here to the BBC Past Doctor book Grave Matter, a Sixth Doctor story featuring Peri that takes place after the TV story "Vengeance on Varos".
The story begins with the eldritch thoughts of someone unknown. This person is locked away in a room but eventually finds a way to freedom. The cell is in a mansion and the escape is noticed by a butler who reports it to the lord and lady of the house.
We are then introduced to our heroes who land in a fog-shrouded area. They are on the island of Dorsill, just off the coast of England. Unable to see through the pea soup, Peri nearly walks off a cliff but is saved by a man in tattered clothing with missing fingers. He directs The Doctor and Peri to the village nearby. Upon entering, they encounter a funeral procession. Just as in Dungeons & Dragons information is to be found at the local pub. This scene is just like the one in An American Werewolf in London with the rustic locals wearily eyeing the strangers.
With no electricity and handmade clothing, The Doctor places their arrival somewhere in the Victorian era but clues betray that notion, including the village's latest addition, Dave Madsen, the local doctor who doesn't speak like a Victorian. But, unlike everyone else, he is friendly. The funeral was for Bill Neville who was part of the crew aboard a fishing boat that went under. His was the only body recovered. Eventually the pub's owner, Trefoil, opens up as well. He has a daughter, Liz, who is trading googly eyes with Madsen.
Indeed, we meet many of Dorsill's residents in the opening chapters of the book. In addition to those above, there's Mrs. Tattleshall, the village gossip hound, the mysterious Sir Edward, and Mike, Bill Neville's brother who is quite distraught and angry over his brother's death.
At one point Peri follows Sir Edward after he leaves the pub only to witness him chatting on a cell phone as he wanders down the lane. It isn't the Victorian era after all. Instead it is the 21st century. Dorsill was previously owned by a trust but was purchased by a former native named Christopher Sheldon who was thought to have missed out on his family's fortune. So where did the money come from? And where has he gone?
Without wanting to spoil too much, I will note that there is something afoot at the Sheldon manor – something which involves the dead coming back to life.
Grave Matter was a blast. I've read that many of the Virgin novels explore The Doctor's past and build up a lot of the mythology behind the character. This story as well as the other BBC Past Doctor novels I've read do very little of that kind of thing. Grave Matter took the tried and true DW formula and stretched it out a bit to make a novel but otherwise kept the show's conventions intact. Author Justin Richards does a lot of misdirection here which kept me guessing. For instance, was it the Victorian era with a mysterious anachronism or was it really the 21st century? A few characters are hiding something and Richards does a good job of letting the truth out and letting it out slowly so that one revelation doesn't everything and give the game away. You know that Peri is going to be in danger but by whom? Is it Mike and his strange animosity towards her? Or perhaps the real peril is from Sir Edward.
Richards kept me guessing and I liked that. I also enjoyed the mood he set. The islanders who revel in the old ways are largely cut off from the mainland and Dorsill is always covered in fog. The Doctor is his usual arrogant self while Peri is pretty much Peri although she does show a bit more initiative here than the character did on TV. One nice thing about the novel format is that it allowed Richards a bit more breathing room. There were no time constraints so events and storylines could unfold naturally instead of being hurried to fit a TV schedule. In addition the format gave room for more characters and that means more encounters which adds to the mystery as well as to the peril quotient for our heroes.
Grave Matter is a good old gothic-y Doctor Who horror story in the vein of Horror of Fang Rock with a bit of The Curse of Fenric thrown in for good measure.
07 March, 2011
Walker Channels Yahweh
Matt Rothschild of The Progressive has a blog post which concerns a speech Scott Walker gave to the Christian Businessmen’s Committee here in Madison. In the talk our governor lays out how Yahweh pulls his strings.
Walker said that God has told him what to do every step of the way, including about what jobs to take, whom to marry, and when to run for governor.
When he had first met his wife, he said, “That night I heard Christ tell me, ‘This is the person you’re going to be with.’ ”
He said he was trusting and obeying God when he took a job at IBM and then at the Red Cross. ““Lord, if this is what you want, I’ll try it,” he said. It was all about “trust and obey.”
Oh great. We have an evangelical who has voices in his head telling him what to do for governor.
So what would Jesus do?
Well, it seems that he might do whatever Evangelicals don't do. A recent poll reveals:
White Evangelical Christians are the group least likely to support politicians or policies that reflect the actual teachings of Jesus. It is perhaps one of the strangest, most dumb-founding ironies in contemporary American culture. Evangelical Christians, who most fiercely proclaim to have a personal relationship with Christ, who most confidently declare their belief that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, who go to church on a regular basis, pray daily, listen to Christian music, and place God and His Only Begotten Son at the center of their lives, are simultaneously the very people most likely to reject his teachings and despise his radical message.
Jesus unambiguously preached mercy and forgiveness. These are supposed to be cardinal virtues of the Christian faith. And yet Evangelicals are the most supportive of the death penalty, draconian sentencing, punitive punishment over rehabilitation, and the governmental use of torture. Jesus exhorted humans to be loving, peaceful, and non-violent. And yet Evangelicals are the group of Americans most supportive of easy-access weaponry, little-to-no regulation of handgun and semi-automatic gun ownership, not to mention the violent military invasion of various countries around the world. Jesus was very clear that the pursuit of wealth was inimical to the Kingdom of God, that the rich are to be condemned, and that to be a follower of Him means to give one's money to the poor. And yet Evangelicals are the most supportive of corporate greed and capitalistic excess, and they are the most opposed to institutional help for the nation's poor -- especially poor children. They hate anything that smacks of "socialism," even though that is essentially what their Savior preached. They despise food stamp programs, subsidies for schools, hospitals, job training -- anything that might dare to help out those in need. Even though helping out those in need was exactly what Jesus urged humans to do. In short, Evangelicals are that segment of America which is the most pro-militaristic, pro-gun, and pro-corporate, while simultaneously claiming to be most ardent lovers of the Prince of Peace.
The recall can't start soon enough.
Walker said that God has told him what to do every step of the way, including about what jobs to take, whom to marry, and when to run for governor.
When he had first met his wife, he said, “That night I heard Christ tell me, ‘This is the person you’re going to be with.’ ”
He said he was trusting and obeying God when he took a job at IBM and then at the Red Cross. ““Lord, if this is what you want, I’ll try it,” he said. It was all about “trust and obey.”
Oh great. We have an evangelical who has voices in his head telling him what to do for governor.
So what would Jesus do?
Well, it seems that he might do whatever Evangelicals don't do. A recent poll reveals:
White Evangelical Christians are the group least likely to support politicians or policies that reflect the actual teachings of Jesus. It is perhaps one of the strangest, most dumb-founding ironies in contemporary American culture. Evangelical Christians, who most fiercely proclaim to have a personal relationship with Christ, who most confidently declare their belief that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, who go to church on a regular basis, pray daily, listen to Christian music, and place God and His Only Begotten Son at the center of their lives, are simultaneously the very people most likely to reject his teachings and despise his radical message.
Jesus unambiguously preached mercy and forgiveness. These are supposed to be cardinal virtues of the Christian faith. And yet Evangelicals are the most supportive of the death penalty, draconian sentencing, punitive punishment over rehabilitation, and the governmental use of torture. Jesus exhorted humans to be loving, peaceful, and non-violent. And yet Evangelicals are the group of Americans most supportive of easy-access weaponry, little-to-no regulation of handgun and semi-automatic gun ownership, not to mention the violent military invasion of various countries around the world. Jesus was very clear that the pursuit of wealth was inimical to the Kingdom of God, that the rich are to be condemned, and that to be a follower of Him means to give one's money to the poor. And yet Evangelicals are the most supportive of corporate greed and capitalistic excess, and they are the most opposed to institutional help for the nation's poor -- especially poor children. They hate anything that smacks of "socialism," even though that is essentially what their Savior preached. They despise food stamp programs, subsidies for schools, hospitals, job training -- anything that might dare to help out those in need. Even though helping out those in need was exactly what Jesus urged humans to do. In short, Evangelicals are that segment of America which is the most pro-militaristic, pro-gun, and pro-corporate, while simultaneously claiming to be most ardent lovers of the Prince of Peace.
The recall can't start soon enough.
International Fest 2011
The 30th Annual International Festival was this past weekend at the Overture Center. It seemed to be well-attended to my mind. Usually the crowds thin out a bit as the afternoon goes on but crowds were pretty steady with many protestors carrying their signs with them.
The Swiss Alphorn Group from New Glarus started things off as they always do.
When they had finished, a woman came out onto the stage and greeted everyone. She began by thanking them for attending but quickly got caught up in the events up the street at the Capitol. The Wisconsin Arts Board is looking at major budget cuts under Gov. Walker's budget and the woman noted this and also that the International Festival is a free event due, in part, to funding from the WAB. While we were given no specifics on what the cuts might do to the festival, she implored everyone to go out and protest at some point during the day. At this point she got all fired up and her voice grew louder. Her message was that artists work and that they are not freeloaders. So go out and tell Walker that you appreciate the arts and what they bring into your lives.
An unexpected outburst but not at all surprising and one that got a thunderous round of applause.
When the festivities got going again, we were treated to the Zhong Yi Kung Fu Association doing a Chinese lion dance.
It's great how the lions fan out into the crowd nipping at the head of the occasional child.
Outside I caught a phalanx of protestors from the medical profession marching down State Street.
I tried to catch the Tania Tandias Flamenco dancers but the Playhouse was already full and they were only letting people in as others left. So I went to hear the Madison Männerchor, the oldest German singing organization in Wisconsin and the second oldest in the nation, doncha know.
Oddly enough, it was only when they had gotten about ¾ of the way through their performance that they finally did a drinking song.
After this I went to see the Taiwan Puppet Troupe. I saw them for the first time last year and wanted to catch their act again. Madison needs more puppets. I am jealous of Chicago when I go down to the Loop and see the Puppet Bike. Anyway, the Taiwan troupe do a couple tales from Taiwanese folklore and they're a hoot. Especially the tiger that eats the girl…
Here's Wojciech Czapliński of the Polish klezmer band KlezmaFour. He plays the clarinet and is the de facto band leader. He was at the table of the Polish Heritage Club hawking tickets for that night's concert at the High Noon Saloon and CDs.
KlezmaFour were to have local purveyors of klezmer Yid Vicious open for them and I caught a good chunk of their set. I spied Anna Purnell of Chick Singer and Reptile Palace Orchestra fame cutting a rug.
I took a break and caught a couple numbers by Charanga Agoza who put on a great Latin groove.
Then it was back upstairs to catch the guys in KlezmaFour do a number before Yid Vicious finished things off.
These guys were incredible. They got things moving and I saw Anna pull off her sweatshirt and hat and get down.
While I'd hoped to have more photos, my camera proved to be a pain. I couldn't get the flash to work for some reason and I suspect I have to get the timer thingy to stop flashing. Might be time to get a new camera. Either that or read the manual.
I would hate to see the International Fest go away. I'd be willing to pay a fee to get in but I'm not sure how charging would change the tenor of the thing. It would certainly throw off the informal nature of it where families can just walk in off the street to see what's happening without making a commitment. Even Adam Smith saw a role for government in providing public works so let's hope Walker's budget doesn't gut the state's commitment to the arts.
And where was the Indian fry bread this year?
The Swiss Alphorn Group from New Glarus started things off as they always do.
When they had finished, a woman came out onto the stage and greeted everyone. She began by thanking them for attending but quickly got caught up in the events up the street at the Capitol. The Wisconsin Arts Board is looking at major budget cuts under Gov. Walker's budget and the woman noted this and also that the International Festival is a free event due, in part, to funding from the WAB. While we were given no specifics on what the cuts might do to the festival, she implored everyone to go out and protest at some point during the day. At this point she got all fired up and her voice grew louder. Her message was that artists work and that they are not freeloaders. So go out and tell Walker that you appreciate the arts and what they bring into your lives.
An unexpected outburst but not at all surprising and one that got a thunderous round of applause.
When the festivities got going again, we were treated to the Zhong Yi Kung Fu Association doing a Chinese lion dance.
It's great how the lions fan out into the crowd nipping at the head of the occasional child.
Outside I caught a phalanx of protestors from the medical profession marching down State Street.
I tried to catch the Tania Tandias Flamenco dancers but the Playhouse was already full and they were only letting people in as others left. So I went to hear the Madison Männerchor, the oldest German singing organization in Wisconsin and the second oldest in the nation, doncha know.
Oddly enough, it was only when they had gotten about ¾ of the way through their performance that they finally did a drinking song.
After this I went to see the Taiwan Puppet Troupe. I saw them for the first time last year and wanted to catch their act again. Madison needs more puppets. I am jealous of Chicago when I go down to the Loop and see the Puppet Bike. Anyway, the Taiwan troupe do a couple tales from Taiwanese folklore and they're a hoot. Especially the tiger that eats the girl…
Here's Wojciech Czapliński of the Polish klezmer band KlezmaFour. He plays the clarinet and is the de facto band leader. He was at the table of the Polish Heritage Club hawking tickets for that night's concert at the High Noon Saloon and CDs.
KlezmaFour were to have local purveyors of klezmer Yid Vicious open for them and I caught a good chunk of their set. I spied Anna Purnell of Chick Singer and Reptile Palace Orchestra fame cutting a rug.
I took a break and caught a couple numbers by Charanga Agoza who put on a great Latin groove.
Then it was back upstairs to catch the guys in KlezmaFour do a number before Yid Vicious finished things off.
These guys were incredible. They got things moving and I saw Anna pull off her sweatshirt and hat and get down.
While I'd hoped to have more photos, my camera proved to be a pain. I couldn't get the flash to work for some reason and I suspect I have to get the timer thingy to stop flashing. Might be time to get a new camera. Either that or read the manual.
I would hate to see the International Fest go away. I'd be willing to pay a fee to get in but I'm not sure how charging would change the tenor of the thing. It would certainly throw off the informal nature of it where families can just walk in off the street to see what's happening without making a commitment. Even Adam Smith saw a role for government in providing public works so let's hope Walker's budget doesn't gut the state's commitment to the arts.
And where was the Indian fry bread this year?
"Please identify the one that is ausgezeichnet" - Werner Herzog on The Simpsons
I can't figure out how to imbed a clip instead of the whole episode so fast forward to 10:18.
04 March, 2011
Dem. Representative Nick Milroy Gets Taken Down at Capitol
Unfortunately I can't get the embedding to work but you can watch law enforcement take down Rep. Nick Milroy as he tries to enter the Capitol to retrieve some items from his office here.
03 March, 2011
The Troll Hunters at Wisconsin Film Festival!
Uff da! The Troll Hunters, which I expressed an interest in here, will be shown on Friday night at the Wisconsin Film Festival. Should be fun. Look for your humble narrator and Jesse Russell at the screening.
I don't recognize many of the other films playing but I am glad to see that A Somewhat Gentle Man and Viva Riva! will be shown. Oh, and I have read about Mozart's Sister. And it's odd to see Marwencol returning after having screened at the Orpheum already. Perhaps it got lined up before that.
Lastly, there's an 80's horror series too. Lots of schlocky goodness.
ADDENDUM: Yes, Auruora will play just as I prognosticated.
I don't recognize many of the other films playing but I am glad to see that A Somewhat Gentle Man and Viva Riva! will be shown. Oh, and I have read about Mozart's Sister. And it's odd to see Marwencol returning after having screened at the Orpheum already. Perhaps it got lined up before that.
Lastly, there's an 80's horror series too. Lots of schlocky goodness.
ADDENDUM: Yes, Auruora will play just as I prognosticated.
02 March, 2011
Radio Free Albemuth Trailer
This looks like it could be good. Nice to see a PKD adaptation not starring Nicholas Cage.
Radio Free Albemuth movie trailer
Uploaded by blankytwo. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.
Radio Free Albemuth movie trailer
Uploaded by blankytwo. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.
01 March, 2011
Dinner With Basil, Sybil, and Manuel
If anyone wants to know what to get me for my birthday, then hire these folks for a party.
These are the actors from Australia's Interactive Theatre's Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience. For a fee they'll come to the restaurant of your choice and put on a show in the tradition of Fawlty Towers. Here's an account of their performance in Edinburgh.
If you ask for more salt, you will get a bundle of salt in paper (salt and pepper). Then Basil – whose manhandling of Manuel has won newspaper plaudits for the most convincing random comedy violence – stabs him with a fork, with much punning along "you fork me" lines. Manuel, asked to wait on the tables, stands in the centre of a set of diners and does his matador impression. Meanwhile, there is plenty of running through the restaurant when Manuel mishears the word "sapphire".
Sybil, amid ear-piercing shouts of "Ba-sil!" tells us that she brought back her shoes from Spain – and got a much better bargain than Basil, who brought back the hapless waiter.
These are the actors from Australia's Interactive Theatre's Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience. For a fee they'll come to the restaurant of your choice and put on a show in the tradition of Fawlty Towers. Here's an account of their performance in Edinburgh.
If you ask for more salt, you will get a bundle of salt in paper (salt and pepper). Then Basil – whose manhandling of Manuel has won newspaper plaudits for the most convincing random comedy violence – stabs him with a fork, with much punning along "you fork me" lines. Manuel, asked to wait on the tables, stands in the centre of a set of diners and does his matador impression. Meanwhile, there is plenty of running through the restaurant when Manuel mishears the word "sapphire".
Sybil, amid ear-piercing shouts of "Ba-sil!" tells us that she brought back her shoes from Spain – and got a much better bargain than Basil, who brought back the hapless waiter.
Oldest Beer to Be Re-Brewed
Somebody get Ron Pattinson on the phone! Some beer recovered from a shipwreck dating back to the early 19th century has been recovered and it's in a lab being analyzed so some true beer geeks can replicate it.
In July 2010, a Baltic Sea shipwreck dated between 1800 to 1830 yielded many bottles of what is thought to be the world's oldest champagne.
Five of the bottles later proved to be the oldest drinkable beer yet found.
The local government of the Aland island chain where the wreck was found has now commissioned a scientific study to unpick the beer's original recipe.
The brew has already been sampled by four professional beer tasters.
"They said that it did taste very old, which is no surprise, with some burnt notes. But it was quite acidic - which could mean there's been some fermenting going on in the bottle and with time it's become acid," said Annika Wilhelmson of the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT).
VTT has now been commissioned to get to the bottom of the sunken beer's recipe.
"We're going to try to see if we can find any living yeast or other microbial cells, because that would be very interesting with respect to reproducing the beer," Dr Wilhelmson explained.
28 February, 2011
Christopher Hitchens Meets Clarence Kailin
Christopher Hitchens has an article up at Vanity Fair called "Don't Mess With Wisconsin" in which he looks at our fair state in light of the ongoing protests over Governor Walker's attempts at union busting and assuming more executive authority.
In it he talks about meeting Madison organizer and activist Clarence Kailin.
On one occasion I remember getting into conversation with a fit and wiry old man in a plaid shirt, who had bought one of my books and stayed around to make a few dialectical points. It emerged that he had been a volunteer in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. I was immediately embarrassed at having taken his money, and asked the staff to void out his credit card payment and charge it to me. In a Madison bookstore it didn’t take any time to explain why a fighter for Republican Spain didn’t have to buy his own book—or, subsequently, his own drinks. In fact, I think the shop ended up paying for the whole treat out of its own emaciated budget.
Ah yes, the plaid. I think he wore a plaid shirt every time I saw him whether it was a public event with John Nichols gushing over him or at family gatherings.
In it he talks about meeting Madison organizer and activist Clarence Kailin.
On one occasion I remember getting into conversation with a fit and wiry old man in a plaid shirt, who had bought one of my books and stayed around to make a few dialectical points. It emerged that he had been a volunteer in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. I was immediately embarrassed at having taken his money, and asked the staff to void out his credit card payment and charge it to me. In a Madison bookstore it didn’t take any time to explain why a fighter for Republican Spain didn’t have to buy his own book—or, subsequently, his own drinks. In fact, I think the shop ended up paying for the whole treat out of its own emaciated budget.
Ah yes, the plaid. I think he wore a plaid shirt every time I saw him whether it was a public event with John Nichols gushing over him or at family gatherings.
27 February, 2011
As I Went Walking I Saw a Sign There
Last week I asked a state worker if he had plans to join the protests. His reply was, "I would if I thought it would do any good." A different state employee was asked by a another co-worker to join the protests for a short time during their lunch hour. "I told him no. Some of us have lives. Besides, the bill is going to pass anyway."
Since they wouldn't help their own cause, this non-union worker went to the protests yesterday.
The bus filled up quickly after I got aboard which meant that we got packed in like sardines and I was unable to continue reading my Doctor Who book. With the bus completely full, a guy spoke up and asked, "Does anyone know what democracy looks like?" This got a big laugh and people started chanting the now-familiar refrain "This is what democracy looks like!"
Madison Metro's ridership numbers will look really good for February. Plus I have to say that the drivers of the buses I've taken the past couple weeks or so have been cheerier than normal. They've not been surly by any means but some just are normally a bit stoic. When I've said "Good morning" or "Good evening" in the past, some drivers just kind of nod and get on with things. These days they're all returning my greeting and smiling.
I got downtown and met up with The Dulcinea, the kids, and The D's mom. Miles, the youngest, was all frumpy. He wanted something to drink besides water. A trek down State Street proved futile as all the coffee houses had lines out the door. He settled for a smoothie. On the way back we discovered that the popcorn store on the 100 block of State had hot chocolate and that there wasn't a huge line. So let that be a lesson to everyone.
My camera got left at home, unfortunately, so no photos for you. However, thousands of others brought theirs so there are snaps all over the Internet along with video. Earlier in the week I'd been thinking about making a Doctor Who related sign but never did. I was going to put Walker's face on Davros along with a picture of the Sixth Doctor and a slogan like "Gallifreyans against Walker". Luckily someone else had a really cool sign featuring our governor's face on Davros along with the Fourth Doctor. I complimented the guy heartily. Another sign that I found funny had "Keep Librarians Sexy" on one side with "What Would Joe Strummer Do?" on the other. Oh, and I can't forget the sign with a picture of Admiral Ackbar that said something like "Don't negotiate with Walker. It's a trap." Lastly I'll note that I also saw signs in Spanish for the first time.
I was also pleased to see more signs this time that blamed Wall Street for the financial mess. It's too bad there weren't protests like this when Obama gave all these Wall Street executives Get Out of Jail Free cards. Their firms got all of that money and virtually no one who caused the crisis was jailed. Back in 2009 when I read about China executing a couple people over a scandal involving tainted powdered milk, I ran into a very interesting piece which is lost to me in which someone argued that financial titans who lose billions of dollars and royally screw over millions of people ought to be treated more harshly than they are now. The argument was that we should view the villains of, say, Enron, in the same way as we do murderers. Why is the act of murder given its own most heinous category full of the harshest punishments whereas defrauding thousands of people of their money and throwing them into the poor house something that demands short jail sentences in minimum security prisons? It's a utilitarian argument, I suppose. If a drug dealer shoots and kills someone, we are all revolted and rightly so. We want that person to get their comeuppance. People generally want to see that person prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and given the harshest sentence whether it be life in jail or, depending on the state, the death penalty.
Yet when the CEO of a massive corporation or Wall Street execs cheat, lie, and fumble their way to losing billions of dollars and send thousands or millions of people much further down the food chain into all kinds of distress, it's not considered a particularly heinous crime. As the author of the piece argued, these titans of finance arguably cause more grief and inflict more damage to society than that hypothetical murderer. So why don't we treat them more harshly? Perhaps a better question is why don't we generally think that they ought to be treated more harshly?
I'm not saying that we ought to make the people who knowingly sold credit derivative mortgage swap junk bonds should be dancing at the end of a rope on national TV, though I suspect that would provide some disincentive, but being put in stocks and having tomatoes thrown at you for a bit followed by a long stint in a prison where soap on a rope is mandatory might have a similar effect.
Back at the protest I caught the rallying cries of Bradley Whitford, Gabrielle Carteris, and Robert Newman. They all gave passionate speeches, especially Whitford who reiterated a call-and-response of "this will not stand". Carteris spoke of how her union supported her after an accident and was unable to work. I also caught UW-La Crosse physics professor Eric Bar. For a guy pondering quarks all day, he didn't come across as being very nerdy.
While I was standing and listening, there was a conversation going on to my left. A guy who was, if memory serves, a pipe fitter, was chatting. He had a beard and was wearing what appeared to be a Carhartt coat. He looked nothing like your average Commie pinko. He said something like "This is the best time to be alive. You've got to find something to be passionate about and I'm passionate about this." I also saw a lot of old duffs - gentlemen of retirement age who you can easily imagine hanging out at a café in small town drinking coffee and playing Sheepshead. They were there calling bullshit on Walker along with teachers, firemen, cops, all the wonderful SEIU folks in purple, the "union thugs" handing out free candy, and everyone else.
While I saw a few folks from a Canadian union who came down in support, I didn't see a single Walker supporter. This was genuinely surprising. I've since read that there were some but not very many. From the looks of things, there were more people out yesterday than last Saturday. And this was in sub-freezing temperatures with a steady snowfall.
Ironically, the start of the protests coincided with my listening to lectures on Adam Smith by Charles Anderson that I blogged about previously. The protests and the debates going on now really throw into sharp relief the ideas that Anderson is talking about along with the ones from the previous few lectures relating to Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and the rise of Liberalism, a.k.a. - classical Liberalism. Not too much longer and I'll be on the lectures about Marx.
Since they wouldn't help their own cause, this non-union worker went to the protests yesterday.
The bus filled up quickly after I got aboard which meant that we got packed in like sardines and I was unable to continue reading my Doctor Who book. With the bus completely full, a guy spoke up and asked, "Does anyone know what democracy looks like?" This got a big laugh and people started chanting the now-familiar refrain "This is what democracy looks like!"
Madison Metro's ridership numbers will look really good for February. Plus I have to say that the drivers of the buses I've taken the past couple weeks or so have been cheerier than normal. They've not been surly by any means but some just are normally a bit stoic. When I've said "Good morning" or "Good evening" in the past, some drivers just kind of nod and get on with things. These days they're all returning my greeting and smiling.
I got downtown and met up with The Dulcinea, the kids, and The D's mom. Miles, the youngest, was all frumpy. He wanted something to drink besides water. A trek down State Street proved futile as all the coffee houses had lines out the door. He settled for a smoothie. On the way back we discovered that the popcorn store on the 100 block of State had hot chocolate and that there wasn't a huge line. So let that be a lesson to everyone.
My camera got left at home, unfortunately, so no photos for you. However, thousands of others brought theirs so there are snaps all over the Internet along with video. Earlier in the week I'd been thinking about making a Doctor Who related sign but never did. I was going to put Walker's face on Davros along with a picture of the Sixth Doctor and a slogan like "Gallifreyans against Walker". Luckily someone else had a really cool sign featuring our governor's face on Davros along with the Fourth Doctor. I complimented the guy heartily. Another sign that I found funny had "Keep Librarians Sexy" on one side with "What Would Joe Strummer Do?" on the other. Oh, and I can't forget the sign with a picture of Admiral Ackbar that said something like "Don't negotiate with Walker. It's a trap." Lastly I'll note that I also saw signs in Spanish for the first time.
I was also pleased to see more signs this time that blamed Wall Street for the financial mess. It's too bad there weren't protests like this when Obama gave all these Wall Street executives Get Out of Jail Free cards. Their firms got all of that money and virtually no one who caused the crisis was jailed. Back in 2009 when I read about China executing a couple people over a scandal involving tainted powdered milk, I ran into a very interesting piece which is lost to me in which someone argued that financial titans who lose billions of dollars and royally screw over millions of people ought to be treated more harshly than they are now. The argument was that we should view the villains of, say, Enron, in the same way as we do murderers. Why is the act of murder given its own most heinous category full of the harshest punishments whereas defrauding thousands of people of their money and throwing them into the poor house something that demands short jail sentences in minimum security prisons? It's a utilitarian argument, I suppose. If a drug dealer shoots and kills someone, we are all revolted and rightly so. We want that person to get their comeuppance. People generally want to see that person prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and given the harshest sentence whether it be life in jail or, depending on the state, the death penalty.
Yet when the CEO of a massive corporation or Wall Street execs cheat, lie, and fumble their way to losing billions of dollars and send thousands or millions of people much further down the food chain into all kinds of distress, it's not considered a particularly heinous crime. As the author of the piece argued, these titans of finance arguably cause more grief and inflict more damage to society than that hypothetical murderer. So why don't we treat them more harshly? Perhaps a better question is why don't we generally think that they ought to be treated more harshly?
I'm not saying that we ought to make the people who knowingly sold credit derivative mortgage swap junk bonds should be dancing at the end of a rope on national TV, though I suspect that would provide some disincentive, but being put in stocks and having tomatoes thrown at you for a bit followed by a long stint in a prison where soap on a rope is mandatory might have a similar effect.
Back at the protest I caught the rallying cries of Bradley Whitford, Gabrielle Carteris, and Robert Newman. They all gave passionate speeches, especially Whitford who reiterated a call-and-response of "this will not stand". Carteris spoke of how her union supported her after an accident and was unable to work. I also caught UW-La Crosse physics professor Eric Bar. For a guy pondering quarks all day, he didn't come across as being very nerdy.
While I was standing and listening, there was a conversation going on to my left. A guy who was, if memory serves, a pipe fitter, was chatting. He had a beard and was wearing what appeared to be a Carhartt coat. He looked nothing like your average Commie pinko. He said something like "This is the best time to be alive. You've got to find something to be passionate about and I'm passionate about this." I also saw a lot of old duffs - gentlemen of retirement age who you can easily imagine hanging out at a café in small town drinking coffee and playing Sheepshead. They were there calling bullshit on Walker along with teachers, firemen, cops, all the wonderful SEIU folks in purple, the "union thugs" handing out free candy, and everyone else.
While I saw a few folks from a Canadian union who came down in support, I didn't see a single Walker supporter. This was genuinely surprising. I've since read that there were some but not very many. From the looks of things, there were more people out yesterday than last Saturday. And this was in sub-freezing temperatures with a steady snowfall.
Ironically, the start of the protests coincided with my listening to lectures on Adam Smith by Charles Anderson that I blogged about previously. The protests and the debates going on now really throw into sharp relief the ideas that Anderson is talking about along with the ones from the previous few lectures relating to Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and the rise of Liberalism, a.k.a. - classical Liberalism. Not too much longer and I'll be on the lectures about Marx.
26 February, 2011
Something In the Air
Grocery shopping this morning brought back memories of a conversation I had back in the 1990s. I was chatting with a woman at a coffee shop who was a Baby Boomer and she was fondly recalling the late 1960s/early 1970s here in Madison. She was complaining that people weren't politically motivated at the close of the 20th century. Back when she was in college, politics was in the air. Everyone was talking about the Vietnam War, Dick Nixon, etc. all the time and everywhere. She missed those days.
I was grocery shopping this morning and there were a couple fire fighters doing the same for their station. One of them was an older gentleman while the other was younger, probably in his late 20s/early 30s. Needing some ham for jambalaya I headed to the meat aisle and saw the older guy in conversation with a senior couple. He was talking about how Governor Walker's bill would screw over the teachers and he said that a family member of his stood to lose his or her job. The couple patiently listened.
Passing by the younger fellow who was waiting for his co-worker to finish chatting, I asked him if a lot of people like me stop and chat him up about the protests. He said that people do. He wasn't going to make it today because he was on duty but those in his squad (are fire fighters organized into squads?) would be there.
If that woman I talked to in the 90s is still around, then I'm sure she's happy because the issues of the day are seemingly on everyone's lips now.
On another note, I hear on pretty good authority that the union workers at the Kohler factory in Sheboygan are supportive of the protests here. I won't repeat the exact words I was told, but let's hope the National Guard doesn't get involved.
I was grocery shopping this morning and there were a couple fire fighters doing the same for their station. One of them was an older gentleman while the other was younger, probably in his late 20s/early 30s. Needing some ham for jambalaya I headed to the meat aisle and saw the older guy in conversation with a senior couple. He was talking about how Governor Walker's bill would screw over the teachers and he said that a family member of his stood to lose his or her job. The couple patiently listened.
Passing by the younger fellow who was waiting for his co-worker to finish chatting, I asked him if a lot of people like me stop and chat him up about the protests. He said that people do. He wasn't going to make it today because he was on duty but those in his squad (are fire fighters organized into squads?) would be there.
If that woman I talked to in the 90s is still around, then I'm sure she's happy because the issues of the day are seemingly on everyone's lips now.
On another note, I hear on pretty good authority that the union workers at the Kohler factory in Sheboygan are supportive of the protests here. I won't repeat the exact words I was told, but let's hope the National Guard doesn't get involved.
25 February, 2011
23 February, 2011
An Illuminating Visit at the Chazen
If you need a break from protesting, head down to the other side of State Street and go into the Chazen. You only have four days left to check out Hidden Treasures: Illuminated Manuscripts from Midwestern Collections. Being a fan of all things medieval I was really happy to see some manuscripts on display here.
I went to the exhibition last weekend Valerie Weilmuenster was on-hand to demonstrate some of the techniques of the medieval illuminator.
No, she's not asleep but rather showing us her gesso preparation technique as part of a larger demo on gilding or applying gold to the page. In this case, it is gold leaf.
She has a sheet of paper with the text on it and the marginalia in outline around it. To apply gold leaf you need gesso which is like a primer. It bonds to the paper and the gold adheres to it. Back in the Middle Ages gesso was made of stuff like chalk and fish glue. Ms. Weilmuenster was using a new-fangled variety made of acrylic. In the photo above she is gently blowing on the gesso in order to make it tacky just as the monks did in the days of yore.
Now she has placed the gold leaf onto the page and is using a burnishing(?) tool to press it firmly onto the gesso. With that done, she pulls the leaf backing away and uses a brush to clear excess leaf.
Ms. Weilmuenster also showed how you can put down two or three layers of gold leaf to give your work some contours.
Another method of gilding involves shell gold which is finely ground gold mixed with gum arabic. The name comes from the practice of illuminators who stored the stuff in shells. You know, like mollusks. It is reconstituted with water and then painted onto parchment like this.
The exhibit itself was really neat. Not only was the artwork fantastic…
…but it was simply wonderful to look at books that were hundreds of years old and think about monks creating them and distant ancestors reading them. A few of the folios had marginalia that featured strawberries and I stood there thinking about how a tasty, juicy strawberry and warmer weather would be so nice right about then.
Another highlight was the Franciscan antiphonary which is actually from the UW-Madison's collection. The thing was huge. Not quite as big as this one but still very large. The texture of the vellum looked like a football. There were large measures drawn on it along with squares and other shapes representing the musical notes. (Antiphonaries were books of chants used during liturgical ceremonies.) Being a music fan I guess I just am drawn to all things musical so this book really caught my eye.
And since I saw gilding demos, I have to admit that I didn't know that so many manuscripts had the stuff on them. Not every folio had gold on it but a lot did. At over six feet tall, I had to bend over or twist around to see the light reflect off of it but it was there. It really added to the beauty of the pages and I can imagine it enhanced the tactile sensation of turning the pages or using a finger to follow text. While I'd imagine lovely contoured gilding wouldn't be a big deal for a John Grisham novel, I can imagine it adding that little something extra to a psalter that you're paying an arm and a leg for.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I was done marveling over the manuscripts I took some time to check out the rest of what the Chazen has on offer. Much to my shame, I have to admit that it was the first time I'd wandered around the whole place in many, many years. One gallery had European art from 1300-1600 and it complemented the manuscripts nicely.
While I enjoy medieval art in a general way, I can only take so many paintings of magi, sheep, etc. adoring the newborn Christ. It seems that every artist was obligated to make pictures of Mary and the baby Jesus surrounded by onlookers and angels. I'm not sure if this is because it was just the hoopiest subject at the time or whether painters were constantly commissioned to paint them. Regardless, they get old for me eventually.
One interesting thing was to look at all these paintings by artists from Western Europe and then check out Deësis with the Twelve Feasts of the Church, a Byzantine Greek work. Unlike the works from Western Europe, this icon has no figures with blond hair and the people of the Middle East have brown skin instead of alabaster.
I also went to the fourth floor and saw the horny goats statue. Honestly, it didn't impress me. It's art, I don't have a problem with it, but it just didn't do anything for me. I found John De Andrea's Untitled Bronze #1 much more to my liking.
I am looking forward to the new wing opening this October. Perhaps some of those Japanese woodblock prints they have in storage will be put on display. And maybe another venue for some artsy fartsy films too.
I went to the exhibition last weekend Valerie Weilmuenster was on-hand to demonstrate some of the techniques of the medieval illuminator.
No, she's not asleep but rather showing us her gesso preparation technique as part of a larger demo on gilding or applying gold to the page. In this case, it is gold leaf.
She has a sheet of paper with the text on it and the marginalia in outline around it. To apply gold leaf you need gesso which is like a primer. It bonds to the paper and the gold adheres to it. Back in the Middle Ages gesso was made of stuff like chalk and fish glue. Ms. Weilmuenster was using a new-fangled variety made of acrylic. In the photo above she is gently blowing on the gesso in order to make it tacky just as the monks did in the days of yore.
Now she has placed the gold leaf onto the page and is using a burnishing(?) tool to press it firmly onto the gesso. With that done, she pulls the leaf backing away and uses a brush to clear excess leaf.
Ms. Weilmuenster also showed how you can put down two or three layers of gold leaf to give your work some contours.
Another method of gilding involves shell gold which is finely ground gold mixed with gum arabic. The name comes from the practice of illuminators who stored the stuff in shells. You know, like mollusks. It is reconstituted with water and then painted onto parchment like this.
The exhibit itself was really neat. Not only was the artwork fantastic…
…but it was simply wonderful to look at books that were hundreds of years old and think about monks creating them and distant ancestors reading them. A few of the folios had marginalia that featured strawberries and I stood there thinking about how a tasty, juicy strawberry and warmer weather would be so nice right about then.
Another highlight was the Franciscan antiphonary which is actually from the UW-Madison's collection. The thing was huge. Not quite as big as this one but still very large. The texture of the vellum looked like a football. There were large measures drawn on it along with squares and other shapes representing the musical notes. (Antiphonaries were books of chants used during liturgical ceremonies.) Being a music fan I guess I just am drawn to all things musical so this book really caught my eye.
And since I saw gilding demos, I have to admit that I didn't know that so many manuscripts had the stuff on them. Not every folio had gold on it but a lot did. At over six feet tall, I had to bend over or twist around to see the light reflect off of it but it was there. It really added to the beauty of the pages and I can imagine it enhanced the tactile sensation of turning the pages or using a finger to follow text. While I'd imagine lovely contoured gilding wouldn't be a big deal for a John Grisham novel, I can imagine it adding that little something extra to a psalter that you're paying an arm and a leg for.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I was done marveling over the manuscripts I took some time to check out the rest of what the Chazen has on offer. Much to my shame, I have to admit that it was the first time I'd wandered around the whole place in many, many years. One gallery had European art from 1300-1600 and it complemented the manuscripts nicely.
While I enjoy medieval art in a general way, I can only take so many paintings of magi, sheep, etc. adoring the newborn Christ. It seems that every artist was obligated to make pictures of Mary and the baby Jesus surrounded by onlookers and angels. I'm not sure if this is because it was just the hoopiest subject at the time or whether painters were constantly commissioned to paint them. Regardless, they get old for me eventually.
One interesting thing was to look at all these paintings by artists from Western Europe and then check out Deësis with the Twelve Feasts of the Church, a Byzantine Greek work. Unlike the works from Western Europe, this icon has no figures with blond hair and the people of the Middle East have brown skin instead of alabaster.
I also went to the fourth floor and saw the horny goats statue. Honestly, it didn't impress me. It's art, I don't have a problem with it, but it just didn't do anything for me. I found John De Andrea's Untitled Bronze #1 much more to my liking.
I am looking forward to the new wing opening this October. Perhaps some of those Japanese woodblock prints they have in storage will be put on display. And maybe another venue for some artsy fartsy films too.
My Kielbasa Pusher Is (Temporarily) Out of Business
Nooooooooooooooooooo! Andy's Deli in Chicago suffered a fire a couple weeks ago.
The best kielbasa within a 200+ mile radius - now where will I go? Actually, they make the stuff at their wholesale location farther south so theoretically their kielbasa is still to be had. But where? Might have to mail order the stuff.
Wait.
Now that I think about it, I've heard that the Russian grocery store here on the west side now carries some of Andy's sausages. I shall have to head over there. Also, Andy's is where I buy the Polish version of Playboy for a single friend. Looks like he's out of luck for a bit.
Thankfully they're going to rebuild and open again. My mother, who lives down the street a bit from Andy's, says that the remodeling is ongoing.
Reminds of me a certain Onion article from several years ago...
The best kielbasa within a 200+ mile radius - now where will I go? Actually, they make the stuff at their wholesale location farther south so theoretically their kielbasa is still to be had. But where? Might have to mail order the stuff.
Wait.
Now that I think about it, I've heard that the Russian grocery store here on the west side now carries some of Andy's sausages. I shall have to head over there. Also, Andy's is where I buy the Polish version of Playboy for a single friend. Looks like he's out of luck for a bit.
Thankfully they're going to rebuild and open again. My mother, who lives down the street a bit from Andy's, says that the remodeling is ongoing.
Reminds of me a certain Onion article from several years ago...
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