People are listening- an update on Keith’s story

Agents of Change?

Without question, the Republicans helped their cause this week. The Palin pick energized the base and McCain’s speech tried to make the case that the maverick war hero is the true agent of change. Both were smart moves to drive up enthusiasm among social conservatives and attract support from the narrow but critical minority of voters who, somehow, are still undecided. Of course, McCain’s pledge to shake things up did not match his agenda. His policies are right out of the same old Republican playbook. And McCain missed the opportunity to distance himself from any of George W. Bush flawed record (though his distaste for the guy seeps through). He paid tribute to Bush for leading the fight against terrorism then avoided mentioning his name for the rest of his speech. He said both parties were guilty of lapses in ethics and declared that he was a servant not of any party but of the American people. Talk about lofty but meaningless rhetoric! But anyone who sees McCain-Palin as agents of change is delusional. The “Drill, baby, Drill” chant, the opposition to a government role in health care, and, most scary of all, the commitment to continue, even expand, a confrontational approach to foreign policy makes it more than unlikely that these two will shake things up on any critical issue facing our nation and world. As expected, McCain’s personal story of suffering at the hands of interrogators as a POW during the Vietnam War was dramatic and compelling. But the maverick McCain should have used that story to criticize the use of torture by us as well as them. Notably he didn’t and other speakers in St. Paul tweaked the Democrats for suggesting that Gitmo prisoners had any rights. I don’t know how any independent observer could miss that odd dissonance. He vaguely referenced ethical excesses by both parties and pledged to seek common ground but failed to give a single example of an issue appropriate to compromise. His litany of priorities were lower taxes and less government, i.e. more of the same. My friends, Americans want change this year and Senator McCain realizes he needs to appeal to that zeitgeist. But Americans know what change looks like, what change feels like, what change sounds like. Sen. McCain, we know change and you ain’t it.

Farwell goes Atomic

Monster Mash

There’s a major battle gathering fury on Prospect Avenue. New Land Enterprises is trying to push through a condo tower on the site of the historic Goll Mansion, which NLE guy, Boris Gokhman, purchased several years ago. One of the area residents said it would include a tall obelisk on the east end, not unlike “Boris Giving Milwaukee The Finger.” The proposed condo will be only slightly more discrete than the Layfayette condo development looming to the north, which residents also tried to stop as did existing residents around Downer Avenue where Boris built the world’s ugliest parking structure which diminished neighboring properties, including the family home of alderman, Nic Kovac. So is Boris giving Milwaukee “the finger?” Is Alderman Bob Bauman, in tandem with Boris, also sticking it to area residents? Do we need yet another condo development? What happens if these mighty monoliths crumble in a sagging economy? On the same once lovely avenue (a former trail for Sauk Indians), the towering “Breakwater” condo is rising under the tutelage of developer Peter Renner, who promises the lobby will rival that of Roman emperors. Driving up Prospect from the south, the Breakwater thing is atrocious when viewed behind and beyond two mansions on the Westside of the avenue. Residents on Prospect have another name for “Breakwater”; they call it “Breakwind.” Everyone is entitled to freedom of expression, even the developers who mash us with these monsters. Anyone reading this blog who is concerned with the relentless march of monoliths on Prospect Avenue is urged by Stella to contact {encode=”rjbauma@milwaukee.gov” title=”Alderman Robert Bauman”} and/or {encode=”nkovac@milwaukee.gov” title=”Alderman Nic Kovac”}. Will they have their fingers in their ears?

The Wonder Bread Years

John McGivern returns to the Marcus Center this month for another run of Pat Hazell’s comedic monologue The Wonder Bread Years. One of the most recognizable actors in town, McGivern’s memories of growing up in a quirky Milwaukee has natural appeal for his fellow boomers and beyond. While Hazell wrote The Wonder Bread Years as something of a cross between a motivational speech and a standup comedy routine, John McGivern’s distinctive performance style turns it into a theatrical monologue that maximizes an audience’s empathy. McGivern’s enthusiastic delivery infuses these stories with the commonality of American youth – even for those of us not a part of the generation in question. McGivern mixes his own memories of childhood with those written for the stage by Pat Hazell, which localizes the monologue in Milwaukee – just enough. The show hopes to remind everyone of the wonder of their childhood regardless of age, but for someone born in the mid-1970’s, it’s interesting to see people from another generation audibly reacting in unison to pop cultural references from nearly half-century ago and commenting on them during intermission and idle moments. From those tiny boxes of cereal to tough skin jeans, bag lunches and a number of other icons of a generation, much of the show is pretty specific. As pop culture continues to fragment into an endless miasma of pop subcultures under the engine of emerging user-driven media, it’s fun to hang out with one of the last generations to share the same narrowly slices of pop Americana as they are brought to the stage and rediscovered one by one. There is no question that McGivern is the primary reason why so many people see this show, and the reason why continues to be sparklingly clear. He has incredible stage presence that is alarmingly natural, even when he’s delivering the same story he did dozens of times at the Marcus Center last year. When he interacts with the audience, he seems to have a genuine appreciation for the people who have come to see him perform. Clearly he’s enjoying what he’s doing here and it’s an enjoyment that is conveyed to the audience in a way that seems almost effortless. VS John McGivern stars in Pat Hazell’s The Wonder Bread Years now through September 21 at the Marcus Center’s Vogel Hall. 414-273-7206 or marcuscenter.org.

Friday Photos Friday, 05. September 2008

The Edge 1824 E. Park Place The North End Park Lafayette Breakwater Condos

Get Your LGBT Film Fest On

Sept 4 – 14, 2008 LGBT Film Festival – Milwaukee, WI click above for full schedule One of the community’s longest running film festivals celebrates its 21st anniversary with an international array of the finest and newest in films and videos by and about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. The screening-packed eleven days of features, documentaries, and shorts opens at the Oriental Theatre with the local premiere of Tom Gustafson’s Were the World Mine. The Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival is sponsored by the Cream City Foundation’s Joseph R. Pabst LGBT Infrastructure Fund and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Johnson & Pabst LGBT Humanity Fund.

Brief morning update- news of brutality starting to slowly spread

Republican National Ridiculousness

I’ll admit that I’ve been bored by this election for a few months. It’s crazy, I know. But ever since Barack Obama’s presumptive nomination early in June, it’s been kind of a snooze. Barack Obama is so compelling, and John McCain is so old — and careless. He can’t remember how many houses he owns. He can’t turn on a computer. He doesn’t seem to know where he is half the time. If this were 2000, McCain would be a dynamic candidate, a loud-mouthed maverick with ideas about war, torture, special interests and energy policy (Thomas Friedman’s piece yesterday about McCain’s energy policy is right on the money) that would make the sleepy Democrats stand at attention. He used to be a contender. Now he’s just a contender who needs a nap. This whole thing was one big “duh.” And it was boring me. But then! The McCain campaign announced, with a gigantic bang, a running mate: a 44-year-old virtual unknown … FEMALE … from Alaska. A hot female. With like a million kids. Including one with Downs Syndrome. We all said it together when the news broke in our hotel room in Des Moines: “Oh, SHIT!” It was like that moment from Trapped in the Closetwhen Twan and Sylvester find out that the police officer’s wife Bridget is three months pregnant … by a midget (Oh, SHIT!) But it was also such a thrill. What was McCain thinking? Who is this lady? Let’s watch the news for a few hours. Oh shit … she’s under investigation? Oh shit … pregnant teenage daughter? Oh shit … censorship controversy? It’s so bad. And so good. And so I found myself watching the Republican National Convention last night, writhing through Rudy Giuliani’s awful, awkwardly constructed, stumbled-through speech (“Imagine you’re voting for president …”), reminded every few minutes that this bankrupt party is anti-brains, anti-substance, anti-action, condescending, hateful and ignorant. Seriously, is making fun of Barack’s years as an activist the best you could do? Do you really think he’s been sitting around for the past 20 years eating Funyuns? Her derisive comment about her “actual responsibilities” as Mayor of Wasilla as opposed to Barack’s apparently “imaginary” responsibilities at the Developing Communities Project and on the board of Public Allies were downright off-color. When he started at Harvard Law in 1988, Sarah Palin was still a local TV sports reporter. The strangest part? They were cracking themselves up. Barack! What a crazy guy! Rudy actually could not handle it after he uttered the phrase “community organizer”. He started laughing! Don’t get me wrong. I still think this is a “duh” election, and I think whatever the Republicans can pull out of their crooked sleeves between now and November 4 will be too little, too late, especially if they keep making these glittery but poorly thought-through snap decisions. Those hundreds of RNC attendees in cowboy hats shouting “DRILL BABY DRILL” would be heeeelarious if they weren’t so scary. But then again, maybe they’d be […]

UWM Faces Slight Opposition

This meeting was appropriately held at the Urban Ecology Center. It was appropriate because one of the key opposition concerns around the Hometown site was its location along the Milwaukee River. Although the location was different many of the same citizens were attendance.

DPW Defends Pothole Filling Process

The hot topic of this committee meeting was a recent Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article accusing the Department of Public Works (“DPW“) of having a racial bias in their handling of pothole filling.  Jeff Mantes and Jeff Polenske laid out DPW’s process in regards to pothole repair.  Explaining that they prioritize arterial roads higher than neighborhood streets because these roads impact more drivers and have greater safety concerns because of higher speeds on these roads.Alderman Joe Davis, Sr. and Alderman Ashanti Hamilton were clearly bothered by this article’s findings and let DPW know it.  Alderman Hamilton stated that “my constituents can pay taxes but can’t get their potholes fixed on time” and further made his discontent clear saying “you have lost the benefit of the doubt”.  Ironically he also pointed out that many of his districts major arterial roads have recently been rebuilt.  This was key because representatives from DPW had explained that their priorities were to repair potholes along major arterial roads first and go into the neighborhood streets later. It was evident that the research for the article didn’t take this into account and as new roads wouldn’t need pothole filling the primarily work in this district revolved around neighborhood streets which DPW had indicated were a lower priority.The committee as whole appeared to question the report’s validity and the mayor’s staff pointed out a variety of methodology flaws.  These flaws including errors that could over count requests or place requests in the wrong census track, both of which could significantly sway the outcome of the research.  These concerns prompted Alderman Robert Bauman to question the article and pointed out how irresponsible an article like this is, if based on poor methodology.  Alderman Willie Wade joined in expressing his displeasure with the article’s methodology saying “personally I think we’ve been had” and that “we are here because of an article from the Journal Sentinel with bogus data”.  Generally the committee was concerned if the findings were valid but Alderman Bob Donovon seemed to wrap up the sentiment by repeating an old cliche, “you cant always believe everything you read in the paper”.

UWM Prospect Mall Parking Lot Dorm Renderings

Boulder Ventures provided us with a rendering of their proposed dorm for the Prospect Mall parking lot on the east side of Prospect Avenue.