Weekly Bookmarks – Monday, 07. July 2008
Hear the vroom at the new Harley museum in Milwaukee – Travel – LATimes.com JS Online: Cathedral Square may get historic makeover JS Online: High water marks for city JS Online: Milwaukee could become biker mecca JS Online: Nonprofit Milwaukee developer folding OnMilwaukee.com Travel & Visitors Guide: Los Angeles Times writer raves about Milwaukee Downtown Staybridge Suites development to include Qdoba – Small Business Times Real estate odds and ends – Small Business Times My Midwest Inflight Magazine » Steady as She Goes Marquette Interchange project ends in August – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: Direct Supply completes first building in expansion – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: Daniel Cody – “Left on the Lake” » Text of Proposed Sales Tax Referendum for Milwaukee County Joint water venture will put headquarters in Milwaukee area – Small Business Times
Jul 7th, 2008 by Dave Reid
Friday Photos Friday, 04. July 2008
Breakwater Condos Park Lafayette 1824 E. Park Place Downer Avenue Development The North End
Jul 4th, 2008 by Dave Reid
Mavericks and Leaders
There are only three paths in life for a free spirit: lazy dreamer, maverick and leader. Of course there’s a fourth option, and one that many attempt – some to the end of their days – avoidance of embracing one’s true nature. The strongest of these reassure themselves that they’re “doing the right thing” by attaining middle management status so their kids can have the opportunities they didn’t (though I believe this is a myth, and that foregoing your own fulfillment sets a terrible example). Others spend their lives bouncing from job to job, looking for that magical situation in which they can finally be happy. But for those who recognize their own nature and acknowledge its calling, none of the choices are easy (assuming the absence of a trust fund). Lazy dreamer is the most attractive option for the young. Life is simple: when you have ten bucks, you get three beers at your corner bar. You might have a guitar, or a cat, or a collection of first edition Raymond Carver hardbacks – things you cherish not for their material value, but because they’re special to you. You’re probably satisfactorily under-employed somewhere that offers a flexible schedule. Your friends are artists and activists, and collectively you reinforce each others’ belief in simple pleasures and the evils of material enslavement. It’s a good life for awhile, and some folks keep with it all of their days. For others, there comes a time – typically in one’s late 20s or early 30s – when la vie bohème loses its charm. You may want to set up house with your baby, you might be tired of being broke all the time or perhaps you’re simply sick of hearing that you’re a chronic fuck-up. At this disheartening fork in the road, there are two paths: the aforementioned denial of your nature (at least temporarily) or the reinvention of yourself as a maverick. Mavericks are the mythic darlings of American culture. They work tirelessly in pursuit of their personal goals while bowing to no man; they are the innovators, the self-made millionaires, the rock stars. They don’t punch a time clock. For hard-working free spirits, this is probably the best life imaginable. It’s helpful to have an in-demand business skill you can hone into a personal empire, but even if you don’t you can dedicate yourself to becoming a skilled artisan and make a nice living while maintaining your independence. One thing not taught in maverick school, though, is the catch: the successful ones will find themselves at another fork in the road, and they’ll have to make a choice: to stay free and accept the limits of the one-man band, or to build something larger than one person can achieve. It’s the very definition of irony. While mavericks enjoy (immensely, really) widespread fraternity with other mavericks, with the people for whom they provide services and with any envious joe they find on a barstool at 5:30 on a Friday night with their […]
Jul 2nd, 2008 by Jon Anne Willow
Common Council Votes Away Its Dark Shadow?
As few resolutions were returned to committee and only minimal discussions occurred on any individual resolution the highlight of this fairly mundane Common Council meeting was the passing of resolution 080042. This resolution brought forward by Alderman Terry Witkowski will cut off funding of an Alderperson’s transportation allowance if they have a month’s worth of unexcused absences at committee meetings. Alderman Witkowski pointed out that “recent events have cast a dark shadow on the council”, referring to former Alderman Michael McGee‘s legal issues, and clearly the intent of this bill was to rid the Common Council of this “dark shadow”. Unfortunately as Alderwoman Milele Coggs and other member’s attempted to point out this resolution will be more symbolic than effective as former Alderman McGee had been excused properly during his absence. This resolution passed the full Common Council on a narrow vote of 9 to 6.
Jul 2nd, 2008 by Dave Reid
The Series
I had promised a series on transit this week, and it’s still coming. I’ve done a substantial amount more fact checking and research than earlier anticipated, but the first article detailing “The Players” in Milwaukee transit will run Wednesday evening. Thanks for waiting.
Jul 2nd, 2008 by Jeramey Jannene
Fire in the Disco
Photos by Brian Jacobson + Eric Walton “Everyone calls me a magician. I don’t mind it so much, but – at least get it right.” If you’ve lived through a summer in Milwaukee and you’re not a total shut-in, you’ve probably seen Marcus Monroe – he’s hard to miss on his eight-foot unicycle, juggling knives taped to torches (the “knorch,” Marcus’ own invention) with a firecracker strapped to a helmet on his head. The extreme juggler and performance artist has been a fixture on the local festival circuit since he was a teenager. In 2004, Marcus moved to New York City to start his career as an entertainer and it’s been nothing but rock star success ever since – taking the stage at all hours of the night at NYC “playgrounds for billionaires,” opening for Cake and Talib Kweli, traveling the world with a knock-off Louis Vutton bag of juggling clubs and living with two other jugglers in a “fun house” apartment in the big city. But he’s more than just a certified phenom with a pretty face: the magnetic Marcus Monroe, a 23-year-old Milwaukee native, wants you to experience juggling like you have never experienced it before. He wants to make it fresh. He wants to make it hot. He wants to change it – forever. As a kid, Marcus “was kind of the goofy juggler,” he says. “But I wanted to appeal to a mass market. I wanted to start a new style of juggling … not the traditional sequined vest, crazy, ridiculous suits, colorful ties. I realized that there are no rules. I’m my own boss. I started dressing the way I would want to see a juggler dress. I wore what Justin Timberlake was wearing. I watched pop concerts to see what Usher was wearing and asked, how can this work on me? “I looked good. And the juggling was good.” JUGGLE FEVER When he was nine, Marcus saw one of his schoolmates juggle in a talent show – “just three balls, very poorly when I think about it,” he says. “But it was so inspiring to think about, someone that young … just a kid … juggling.” He spent that whole summer with his father learning the skill. “It took me so long, but my dad and I were so into it. I surrounded myself with everything juggling. I went to juggling clubs at UWM, started going to conventions, buying books on juggling, performing, videos – I didn’t care about school. I wanted to focus on juggling and performing.” His first performance – in overalls and a polka dot shirt, juggling to “Closer to Free” by the BoDeans on a boom box – was in fifth grade at the school talent show. Less than a year later, he was juggling at block parties, birthday parties, fairs and festivals. In high school he got a gig at Park Bar opening for bands, juggling fire, knives and glow-in-the-dark hoops. It attracted him a gathering of fans from […]
Jul 1st, 2008 by Amy Elliott
Calatrava’s Wings Get Clipped in NY
Santiago Calatrava’s design for the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Quadracci Pavilion (known to most locals as simply The Calatrava) has had an unquestionably transformative effect on our city’s urban landscape. This super-modern, sleek structure helped catapult Milwaukee into the new century. Though not of Milwaukee, Calatrava lent his brilliance, prestige and audacity to our city and we’ve embraced his design as the symbol of how we present ourselves to the world. It was only a matter of time before another high-profile Calatrava project usurped our unique relationship with the architect. His design for the new transit center at the site of the decimated World Trade Center promises to take Calatrava’s fame up a notch and supplant MAM’s position as the highest profile example of his work in this country. So perhaps Milwaukeeans will be excused for feeling a bit of schaudenfrade at the cost overruns and artistic compromises that the New York project is facing. These challenges will be familiar to those who have followed Calatrava’s career and the chances are good that the result will still be spectacular. Only time will tell, of course. But the guy sure knows how to get your attention. Avert your eyes at your own risk.
Jul 1st, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
Stars and Stripes Forever
My kids are growing up, and as they get older, I believe it’s increasingly important to educate them about their duties as citizens. I worry about the ignorance of Americans of their own history, from the framing of the Constitution to why we go to war with other nations. In anticipation of Independence Day, I sat down with my kids to see what they already knew and what was left to teach. I taped it all and some of it is below. As always, they amazed me with their honesty and their interest in the world around them. Try it with your own kids soon. You’ll probably be amazed, too. ON FLAGS: LENA: You have to stand up for the color guard. ME: Why? L: You have to honor them, the soldiers that fought for us. EMMA: They already honored us by fighting, and we have to honor them back. It’s a circle. ME: What else do you know about honoring the flag? L: It can’t ever touch the ground! ME: Right. It’s considered disrespectful. L: When Grandpa Allen died, they had a flag over his coffin. E: Then they folded up and gave it to Grandma Margaret. ME: What else do you know about flags? L: Ooh! I know! If it’s raining out, you take it down. E: And you take it down at night. JEFFREY: Why at night does it have to come down? L: So no one steals it! ME: No. Flag etiquette says it should only fly during daylight. So, do you guys know what happens when someone important dies? ALL KIDS: -blank stares- ME: They fly the flag at half-mast. That means only part-way up the flag pole. It’s a sign of respect for the person who died. L: If I was important and I died, I would want the flag to fly way up there for me! I would want a second flagpole stacked on top and then someone to sit up there and keep that flag safe! VOTING: J: I like going with you to vote. ME: Why? J: You like to vote. And I like it when you’re happy. E: I like going with you because it’s pretty amazing to see all of the people who just come to our school to vote. It makes me feel so proud to see everyone out voting. CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE: L: What’s it called when people are upset with the government and they show up in a group so the government knows? E: Protesting. ME: Yep. Sometimes it’s called demonstrating or marching. L: We don’t always march. You could hold a big sign that says what you believe, or make up a chant and chant it really loud. ME: That’s your responsibility as a citizen of this country. You need to tell the government in peaceful ways when you don’t agree with them. People don’t have this right in every country. THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: ME: When you started fourth grade, you wanted to know what […]
Jul 1st, 2008 by Lucky Tomaszek
Red, White & Bleu
The French celebrate their independence in July, just like us – on the 14th, the anniversary of the day the peasants stormed the Bastille and raided its cache of weapons. Their banner, like ours, is red, white and blue, colors that stand for liberty, equality, and fraternity, the ideals of the French Revolution. Taste Chef Frakes’ tribute to both cultures at his demonstration at Bastille Days on Saturday, July 12 at 2 pm. VS WHITE DONUT PEACH BEIGNETS, RED BEAUJOLAIS SYRUP & BLUEBERRY SMASH The Pfister Hotel 424 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee 414-273-8222 Brian Frakes, a Brookfield native, moved to West Palm Beach at the age of twelve. He majored in Psychology at Florida State University while launching what would be a distinguished career in hospitality as a dishwasher. Once finding his true calling, Frakes learned to cook under talented chefs in Florida and Los Angeles. It was The Pfister Hotel, and the fact that his family had moved back to Milwaukee, that drew him home again. “I was always proud of where I came from and The Pfister is clearly Milwaukee’s flagship property. It’s one of only 400 rated as a ‘Preferred Hotel’ in the world,” he says. Here’s a red, white and “bleu” play on the classic beignet. Stone fruits are back in season and donut peaches are among the best. Whip up this simple fritter batter the day before and have fresh donuts in the morning with your coffee! For donut peach beignets 2 c flour 2 T sugar 2 t baking powder ½ t salt 2 T powdered milk 1 t cinnamon 2 eggs each ½ c water 2 c roasted donut peaches, diced 2 T corn oil 2 T powered sugar Combine all dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients in a mixer and blend. Do not overwhip. Chill in refrigerator for at least an hour. Deep fry generous spoonfuls of dough in hot oil until golden brown (about 4 minutes). Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Red Beaujolais Syrup 1 c Beaujolais Nouveau ½ c white balsamic vinegar 2 T brown sugar ¼ vanilla bean Combine ingredients in a saucepan and heat until reduced by 2/3. Set aside to cool. Drizzle sauces over beignets and enjoy! Blueberry Smash 1 c blackberries 1 c blueberries 1/3 c sugar 3 T Grand Marnier Combine blackberries & blueberries with sugar in a sauté pan and heat on medium heat until sugar caramelizes. Drizzle in Grand Marinier and set aside to cool. GOUGERES (CHEESE PUFFS) Geneviève Leplae came to America from Vesoul, a small town east of Dijon. Now retired from teaching French at Berlitz and the Alliance Francaise, she recalls her heritage with this traditional Burgundian snack that can be made ahead and served later. A widow with five children, her oldest daughter, Anne Herisson-Leplae, is the Director of the Alliance Francaise of Milwaukee. 1 recipe Choux Paste: 1 c sifted all-purpose flour ½ c water ½ c milk 8 T butter, cut in small pieces ½ t salt 4 […]
Jul 1st, 2008 by Cate Miller
Summer Movie Ga Ga
Going to the movies in the summer sucks. It is an over-priced, over-hyped rolling out of films produced for the lowest common denominator of potential audiences, with special effects and cherry-picked corporate soundtracks trumping good scripts and stories. Ugh. You wedge yourself into some mall parking slot, work up swamp-ass on that hot walk to the theater, touch elbows with randoms next to you who will eye your girl and eat your popcorn when you go to the bathroom. And the food and ticket prices? Eff that noise. So yeah, go to a summer movie – it will most likely suck, you’re out a good $60 and you will probably lose your girlfriend. What you need to do is cut the bullshit, organize your friends and create your own Summer Movie BBQ Series. Once you do, post it on the REEL Milwaukee Blog on vitalsourcemag.com all summer long and peep it often for the sweet lowdown on your friends and neighbors. This is totally done in full-on renegade-DIY-not-paying-licensing-fee style, so do what you do and we’ll do what we do. Want in? Yeah, you do. Here’s how to get it together. 1. STEAL A PROJECTOR Depending on how you feel about taking things from other people, this can get tricky. Without giving away too many places I may or may not have stolen from, I say for the projector, Go Big or Go Home. Drink a few beers (stealing with a buzz is more fun), march your ass into Wal-Mart and take a projector from the back electronics section. An Epson Powerlite should do the trick – fits under your arm and has that red-white-yellow input to easily connect your DVD player. This is key: walk out through the Garden Center (I may or may not be referring to the Wal-Mart on Capital and Holton). You may want to coordinate this with your getaway car. The exits over there are wide and the metal sensors are usually off because employees are constantly fork-lifting and hand-trucking America’s Flowers in and out. As you approach the Garden Center exit (which may or may not be on the opposite side of the parking lot from Holton), pretend to be on your cell phone and have a small, receipt-like piece of paper in your hand. Start talking a lot as you walk by the unassuming exit employees, give a reassuring nod and do not break stride. Another projector option is slightly more boring than stealing from Wal-Mart, but can still be a bit of a thrill for you and your friend with a real office job. Tell your buddy to take the never-used projector from the meeting room on a Friday night. The projector will be so happy to get lifted from its grey corporate cubicle maze that if it gets wind of your plan it might walk to your friend’s car at lunch. All your directly-deposited friend has to do is stroll into work a bit early on Monday and place the projector […]
Jul 1st, 2008 by Howie Goldklang
Dead Man’s Carnival
Photos by Kat Berger + Lynn Allen (Black Sheep Photography) The circus has a long, romantic history in Wisconsin. The seven dashing Ringling brothers held their first circus in Baraboo in 1884, and the town remained their headquarters and wintering grounds until 1917. The site is now the Circus World Museum. Fast forward to 2008: the circus arts are dead, replaced with Nintendo Wii and flat screen TVs. Right? Wrong! Who is carrying on this ancient art? Bing! You win a cigar, kiddo. It’s Dead Man’s Carnival, a daring and different group of performers who shake together the old and the new, ultimately rendering classic Americana: a beautiful jazz siren with a nose ring, throwing flames. “A lot of these skits are a hundred years old,” says member Gypsy Geoff. “We just put our own spin on it.” A LIGHT BULB FOR ZERO THE CLOWN Gene – Zero the Clown – stands on the stage, wrapped in heavy chains. Erik Bang approaches with a wicked-looking tazer and applies it to the metal links. Gene thrashes, and Erik sticks a light bulb in his mouth. It lights up, and the audience cheers. Gene does fire performance, juggling, and comedy sketches with lots of costume changes. He was influenced by groups he saw at Burning Man Festival that mixed traditional sideshow fare with modern influences. These small circus groups have been popping up all over the country and Gene wanted to do something similar in Milwaukee. As he became involved with fire performance troupe Arson Etiquette and local juggling groups, he started to network with other performers. Last summer, Gene and his friend Ryan Aschebrook started booking sexy circus shows at Club ? called “Karnal:Ville.” The saucy show mixed traditional circus acts with sex toys and burlesque. The group gained a following, mostly because they were offering something different to do on a Saturday night. After a few shows, Aschebrook moved on. The group changed their name to Dead Man’s Carnival and Gene took on much of the scheduling and stage managing for the group. I ask him what the appeal of the circus is for him. He wears a suit coat over a gray button-up shirt; his clothes and posture give him the character of a magician. “It’s a medium that pursues a mixture of arts you wouldn’t necessarily get in another framework. It’s very flexible for doing everything your heart desires. That and the stripes. The striped clothing appeals to me.” He also cites the audience reaction as one of his favorite parts of performance – and there is a reaction. At a recent show I witnessed laughter, cheering, wolf-whistling, hooting, eyes covered in pain and even a few protests and disgusted mutterings. Gene (Zero the Clown) THE SURREAL YARD SALE In May, two of the carnival’s performers, Pinky and Erik Bang, had a rummage sale. It wasn’t your typical knickknacks, toasters and old dishes. The spread included juggling pins, swords for swallowing, eccentric suits, a bucket of raccoon bones […]
Jul 1st, 2008 by Tea Krulos
Earlimart
Must a band be loud to be heard? Or exceedingly different to be noticed? Must the middle ground be mediocre? L.A. duo Earlimart’s sixth full-length release, Hymn and Her, a string of twelve easy and modest indie rock songs, has the answer: it’s lovely, for once, not to have to stare directly into the sun of a band’s persona. In fact, lack of personality creates an odd wall of detachment. The lyrics are introspective, but in a distanced philosophical sense, not a messy emotional one. “We’re much more than that/But for now it’s a deathtrap,” bassist Ariana Murray sings of allowing a rocky relationship to breathe on “Before it Gets Better.” It’s wise and cool-headed; the band values breakups and let downs as occasions for personal rediscovery. Thematically, returning “home” is the heart of the disc. The tambourine-pulsed “Logically Follow” is a favorite and the second of three tracks where Murray’s earthy vocals aren’t just harmony. Earlimart’s other half, guitarist Aaron Espinoza, leads the rest, despite a tendency to sound a little sloppy (“For the Birds”) or too much like Elliott Smith (“God Loves You the Best”). But really, that’s nitpicking. The production is subtle and elegant, with piano, organ, and viola intensifying interest and structure throughout. Hymn and Her is ideal for a leisurely, windows-down summer drive, but as the price of gas rises (and given the likely advice of introverts Espinoza and Murray), this release is better suited for winding down with a drink on your living room sofa.
Jul 1st, 2008 by Amber Herzog
