New Year’s Day Hangover Remedies
By Bridget Brave, Tom Ganos, Ryan Findley, Noah Therrien and Amy Elliott This month in Eat This we featured a fresh, frilly New Year’s Eve menu from Dan Smith at McCormick’s and Schmick, perfect for entertaining and celebrating in style. But what do you eat on the morning (or more likely, afternoon) after? I asked VITAL Source Staffers, all of whom have plenty of experience, believe you me, with the dread Next Day. From easy microwave bacon to Nyquil and macaroni to what we have found to be the best Bloody in town (there is really nowhere I’d rather be on my worst mornings than Tom’s bar … or couch), we’ve got you covered. Be careful, have fun and feel better. – Amy Elliott Simple breakfast from Ryan Findley You’ll need … Frozen hashbrowns Cooking oil of your choice Bacon from the microwave Grapefruit juice from concentrate Bad movies, cartoons or TV shows on DVD 1. Start the hashbrowns. I like Ore-Ida, they’ve already got some seasoning on them, but not too much. Potatoes are starchy and filling and will soak up any leftover alcohol in your stomach while making you feel better. Heat oil in a skillet (you’ll need about a tablespoon – enough to fully coat the bottom of the pan). Dump the frozen potato pieces of goodness in and spread them out to a single layer. Leave them alone for at least 5 minutes, or until you start to see crunchy brown bits on the edges. 2. While the hashbrowns cook on the first side, make the grapefruit juice. I prefer grapefruit to orange because of the tartness – too much sugar will excerbate a hangover. Real grapefruit juice (and by that I mean the yellowy stuff, none of that Ruby Red) settles the stomach. I recommend Minute Maid frozen. Follow the directions on the can to prepare; all you’ll need is a pitcher and water, and a spoon to mix with. 3. Sprinkle the hashbrowns with salt and pepper and then flip them over. Again, leave them alone for at least 5 minutes, or until the crunchy brown bits are easily apparent at the edges. 4. While the hashbrowns cook on the other side, microwave some bacon. Mostly because bacon is delicious, not for any medicinal purposes. If you have a microwave bacon cooker (a plastic tray with ridges to catch the grease and trap it away from the bacon while it cooks), use it. If not, a microwave-safe plate lined with paper towels will do. Start with two minutes on full power, and check the doneness. Continue cooking in 30-second increments until the desired degree of crunchiness is achieved. 5. Transfer bacon to a plate, add the hashbrowns alongside when they’ve finished cooking, and pour yourself a nice tall glass of grapefruit juice. Sit in front of the television and watch bad movies at low volume while you eat. Bridget’s Easy as Shit Slow-Cooked Italian Beef From Bridget Brave The beauty of this is that […]
Dec 2nd, 2008 by Vital Archives
Not Junk
Big Big Bang for Small Small Bucks, well you can’t beat it. Nicholas Frank is one of many artists exhibiting at Dean Jensen Gallery in a show designed to keep art moving when all else seems constipated in today’s art market. December 5th is the be-there date at the Water Street Gallery. Lots of Wisconsin-based artists plus many who aren’t will show, all carefully selected by Mr. Jensen & staff. No junk here; but much to cheer. You can walk away with a Frank ( “Tondo,” one of a trio defining pure minimalism) or an equally minimalist photograph by Kevin Miyazaki. Re-configured ceramics and abstract meanderings abound in this something-for-every-taste-blast. Gentleman Jensen knows his stuff and you can preview some of it at http://www.deanjensengallery.com.
Dec 2nd, 2008 by Stella Cretek
The Producers
Broadway comes to Milwaukee, and not in the usual sense of a touring production. No, in this instance, the Skylight Opera Theater has acquired the rights to produce Mel Brooks’ The Producers, and they are the first regional theater in the country to do so. If you think that a full-on Broadway musical would be out of reach for a regional theater, you’d be dead wrong. The Skylight does a wonderful job bringing Brooks’ zany romp to the Milwaukee stage. Molly Rhode, Bill Theisen and Brian Vaughn. Photo by Rob Wagner. Max Bialystock, a washed up Broadway producer, and Leo Bloom, a neurotic, unhappy public accountant, hatch an ingenious plan: they collect $2 million dollars to finance a production, then pick the worst script they can find and hire the worst director in New York. The idea is to spend as little as possible on the show, then have it be so bad that it closes in one night and the producers can pocket the difference. The IRS won’t care about money spent on a flop, and no one will come investigating. But wouldn’t you know- the show turns out to be a hit, leaving Max and Leo scrambling to stay out of jail. In case you haven’t seen any of the various versions of the story out there in the world, the musical they pick to produce is called Springtime for Hitler and it includes some choice irreverence. The cast further incorporates a Swedish bombshell named Ulla, whose grasp of English is shaky at best; a former Nazi (the writer of Springtime for Hitler) named Franz; the flamboyantly gay director Roger DiBris and his “common-law assistant” Carmen Guia; and an ensemble that plays a variety of roles as well as the chorus. Jonathan West, Bill Theisen, and Brian Vaughn. Photo by Rob Wagner. All the performers are spectacular. Bill Theisen as Bialystock is deliciously slimy, and Brian Vaughn as Bloom is adorably nervous about everything. Molly Rhode as Ulla is hilarious as the knock-out exhibitionist (her solo song is titled “If You Got It, Flaunt It”). Ray Jivoff and Jonathan West deliver unbelievably amusing caricatures of a gay couple in the Broadway business. Perhaps the highest accolades should go to the terrific ensemble cast, who plays all the bit parts, the chorus, and serves as the stage crew throughout the show. One can’t imagine the number of quick costume changes and breathless entries that must have been rehearsed to allow fourteen ensemble members to accomplish all that. The sets were all constructed in the Skylight Scene Shop using materials almost exclusively recycled from previous productions. Because the ensemble serves as the stage crew, elaborate staging is absent, but scenic designer Brandon Ribardy does an excellent job creating spaces with minimal pieces. This also leaves the stage uncluttered for the many dance numbers that populate the show. The dancing may be the one weakness in the whole production; in the tap numbers, the dancers are often out of sync with […]
Dec 2nd, 2008 by Ryan Findley
VITAL’s predictions for 2009
By VITAL Source Staffers JON ANNE WILLOW – CO-PUBLISHER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF No matter how hard Wall Street works to lure private investors back into the market, ordinary citizens will go back to saving the old fashioned way: stuffing cash in their mattresses. By June, Verlo will offer an all-new custom model, The Saver 3000, which will include a hidden chamber accessible only with a card and PIN number. Sure, they’ll be uncomfortable as hell to sleep on, but Verlo will sell scads of them to freaked-out Baby Boomers, not only securing their own financial future but providing hundreds of jobs right here in Wisconsin. The Obama Administration’s new motto will be “A windmill in every yard.” AMY ELLIOTT – MANAGING EDITOR In 2009, the stupid but prevalently held idea that “deaths happen in threes” will take on a whole new level of mystical garbage meaning when a trio of prominent world leaders – Kim Jong-Il, Fidel Castro and, in a “freak accident,” Vladimir Putin – kick the bucket. Somali pirates will take over Cuba, Moscow will be annexed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and North Korea will allow Kim Jong-Il to rule from the grave. Also meeting their demise in 2009: million-year-old and long-presumed-to-be-already-dead Structuralist philosopher Claude-Levi Strauss; actors Sidney Poitier and Peter O’Toole; former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca and the already mostly decayed Amy Winehouse. James Brown, on the other hand, will be crowned the Funk Messiah when he unceremoniously rises from the dead on Christmas day. BRIDGET BRAVE – PRODUCTION MANAGER After its victorious parlay into the national consciousness via the New York Times, the Journal-Sentinel’s “Wasted in Wisconsin” series will continue to spread, resulting in a five-part BBC series, MTV True Life Special (“I Drink in Wisconsin”), and several obscure Family Guy references. Milwaukee will celebrate by doing a shot every time the city is mentioned by name. RYAN FINDLEY – ADMINISTRATOR/FINE ARTS EDITOR Gas will make a head-spinning ricochet back to astronomical prices. This ricochet will bring the boomerang back into style with a vengeance. And speaking of vengeance, God will hold off on striking us dead because, in electing Barack Obama, Americans have bought ourselves a few years with which to prove we’re not the awful human beings and wretched global citizens we appear to be. So, no plagues of locusts or rivers of blood or any of that stuff. Which is kind of a nice thought. ERIN LEE PETERSEN – CALENDAR EDITOR Unsatisfied with the Bronze Fonz’s lukewarm reception but still high on patina chemicals, VISIT Milwaukee will collect funds to bronze other pop culture icons loosely associated with Wisconsin. By year’s end, visitors to Milwaukee will be able to take souvenir pictures with Laverne & Shirley, the gang from That ‘70s Show and the entire cast of former TGIF fave Step by Step. The city’s main attraction, however, will be a life-sized depiction of that scene in Wayne’s World where Alice Cooper explains the Algonquin origins of Milwaukee to Wayne and Garth. Erin Lee Petersen […]
Dec 1st, 2008 by Vital Archives
Visual Arts Picks, December 2008
Getting back to nature needn’t mean you’re a tree-hugger determined to save the earth. That said, in this season of ho-ho overkill, perhaps you’re in need of respite in the realm of visual arts. Start with the December 3 lecture (Art, Ecology and Social Change) by New York artist Betsy Damon. Its part of the Wednesday night series in the Arts Center Lecture Hall, 2400 E. Kenwood Blvd, and it’s a freebie! From now – December 27, Tory Folliard Gallery offers painters (Dennis Wojtkiewicz and Flora Langlois) whose views on flora and fauna are at opposite poles and from greatly different distances. Dip into Brian Knep’s Healing Pool in MAM’s Baker/Rowland Galleries (now – January 09). The funky “waters” are projected from the ceiling onto vinyl flooring, an ever-changing reminder that no matter where we walk, no matter what we do, we are bound to disturb the biological system. Ever changing too, was the 19th century cultural landscape of Wisconsin, and until January 4, you can explore those changes during The Finest in the Western Country: Wisconsin Decorative Arts, 1820-1900, also at MAM. Items include Crazy Quilt, 1893, a stitched-together-landscape which warmed a long ago Wisconsin bed. At Paper Boat Gallery and Boutique on December 5, witness the bright, other-worldliness of Life in WonderMountain by San Francisco-based mixed-media artist Lisa Congdon. Paper Boat is also a great place to pick up affordable gifts for your friends and family. Grab crocheted purses in gumdrop hues, key chains, pendants, magnets, baby onesies or a copy of Paper Boat owner Faythe Levine’s new book Handmade Nation. For more cheap and wonderful gifts, consult our guide on page 12. And Vital Source has a gift for you: everything you want to know about Act/React at MAM, with a DVD, artist cards, essays and more, all packaged in a clever orange box. The first person to me at <a href=”mailto:art@vitalsourcemag.com”>art@vitalsourcemag.com</a> wins the loot! VS
Dec 1st, 2008 by Stella Cretek
Waswo India
Concerned about my former Milwaukee friends, Waswo X. Waswo and his partner Tommy, I emailed them in India to see if they were safe during the terrorist attacks in their adopted country. The two moved there several years ago and we’ve kept in touch. Waswo has shaped an excellent career as a photographer/writer in India, but now and then he returns with a new series of work, mostly recently seen at Grava Gallery and at the Haggerty Museum of Art where he had a solo exhibition. Woman with a Cow – Udaipur, Waswo X. “Yes, we are quite safe,” was the welcome answer I received on Thanksgiving Day. “I am in Sri Lanka, and Tommy is in Goa. But the Taj on fire is tragic, and Leopold’s is a haunt for not only us, but many of our friends.” Today came the announcement that our military presence in Iraq will soon be greatly reduced, thanks to an agreement with their government. We’ll see. Time will tell. There’s not much to be thankful for this year, but their safety and the news out of Iraq is a good start.
Dec 1st, 2008 by Stella Cretek
Quinn Scharber and the …
In one of his SubVersions columns several months back, our boy Matt Wild declared the basic guitar/bass/drums lineup of Quinn Scharber and the Electric Youth a refreshing novelty, or some similar turn of phrase — the implication being that bands in the Beer City have become so obsessed with attaching extra bells and whistles to their music (like, for instance, actual bells and whistles) that the simple effectiveness of a well-crafted guitar-pop song is overlooked. Maybe that’s the rationale behind titling their debut disc Being Nice Won’t Save Milwaukee; in a city where every new band is determined to throw their housemates’ thrift-store toy pianos on stage, playing a no-frills guitar riff is an act of defiance. If there’s rebellion in these songs, it’s not the type that comes screaming. Scharber is a graduate of the Pollard and late-Replacements-era Westerberg Academy, more “Can’t Hardly Wait” than “Fuck School.” In fact, the opening “Latest Flame” wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Pleased to Meet Me, as blasphemous as hardcore ‘Matheads may consider that. It’s all boxed wine and “Don’t you wanna be my latest flame/don’t you wanna make a big mistake,” delivered in Scharber’s conspiratorial half-whisper. It’s quite a feat to sing a refrain like “Keep it Legal” and sound like you’re getting away with something, yet there it is. Quinn Scharber and the Wrath of Khan (they change their name every show, so why let them have all the fun?) are doing little more than playing extremely well-crafted pop songs cobbled together by a dude, his guitar and a few of his drinking buddies backing him up. In a town overrun with banjos and glockenspiels, maybe an Epiphone will save the day after all.
Dec 1st, 2008 by DJ Hostettler
David Byrne & Brian Eno
What happens when English bloke Eno decides to tackle America’s gargantuan genre of gospel music? Uplifting takes a slight downturn into boring. Bless Eno’s fervent fascination and willingness to pan for gold in church, but his self-described ‘electronic gospel’ is, although earnest, also slightly tepid-sounding, and with David Byrne dutifully collaborating on vocal arrangements, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is only a ghost of an echo of the more mid-tempo songs of The Talking Heads, and not quite as inspirational as Eno was probably striving for. Influenced by Reverend Maceo Woods’ “Surrender to His Will,” Eno set off to create sonic emulations of the gospel music he found to be underappreciated in the country of its own origin, and certainly succeed in creating a unique take. Reaching back to the world-pop of the Heads rather than his collaboration with Byrne 27 years ago for My Life In the Bush of Ghosts (a complex and moody foray into ambience), Eno’s gospel-inspired music, although unique, doesn’t scream innovation; it only whispers of casual experimentation. Byrne’s direct vocal style hovers wobblingly over Eno’s electronic gospel tracks create a pleasant and comfortable environment with its ample sound and accessible addition of acoustic guitar work, leaving an album that is agreeable but nowhere near as much as a benchmark as the pair’s previous collaborations.
Dec 1st, 2008 by Erin Wolf
The Secret Machines
The self-titled third full-length release from The Secret Machines is just about the best collection of new music released this year. Within eight jams stands one of the most towering monoliths of sound I’ve ever cast my ears upon. From these three gifted New York (by way of Texas) musicians thumps a mighty beat of dance/pop and a noisy cinema of aural images. It knocked me on my ass. The party gets started with huge drums and distorted guitar melodies on the dance-floor beacon “Atomic Heels,” and then seamlessly slides into “Last Believer, Drop Dead.” There, Brandon Curtis settles into the contemplative crystallization of being a “dream enthusiast” in a “graveyard of hopes.” Throughout, there is the faint realization that much more is going on than just stellar music, but as the melodies and delivery are so subtly intertwined, the lyrics are felt more than understood. “Underneath The Concrete,” a total vamp with hooks via synth and voice, is the last glimmer of levity. Henceforth, “The Walls are Starting to Crack” and the closing “The Fire is Waiting” are huge, cataclysmic draperies of dark emotion and production. Every moment of these recordings has impact. In all of the songs are touches of many influences, which are never groped, just caressed, innovated and invigorated – in the true spirit of artistry – by The Secret Machines’ own formidable creativity.
Dec 1st, 2008 by Troy Butero
Remembering Republicans (if you must)
2008 will be remembered for many things: the nationwide financial crisis, skyrocketing gas prices, the rebooting of Beverly Hills 90210. But most of all, it will be forever remembered as the year Republicans – those strange, awful creatures who specialize in helping those who can already help themselves – had their collective asses handed to them in November. (Yeah, I know, the last thing any of us want to think about again is the election, but come on: doesn’t it feel good?) Republicans are an odd bunch, known to cheat their way into power and spend the ensuing eight years pissing and moaning about the mean ol’ liberal media and the naughty-waughty New York Times. When not rooting around in garbage cans like the feral raccoons they sometimes resemble, Republicans tend to hole up in soul-sucking suburbs while quietly contributing to the continued careers of Lee Greenwood and Sunday Night Football’s Al Michaels. They can assume almost any form: parents, teachers, and perhaps most insidiously of all, Facebook friends, where they typically pose as cute theater girls you had a crush on in high school while you were playing the part of Percy in The Miracle Worker (it’s funny because it’s true). Republicans are bad losers, worse winners, and only slightly less insufferable than their close cousins, Libertarians. In the wake of our historic recent election – and before the few remaining GOP-ers are shipped off and put into cold storage (that’s what happens after these things, right?) – I thought it might be useful to look back on these endangered, obsolete hate-mongers and offer up short profiles detailing who they were before they were silenced forever. (I mean, it’s not as if an Obama presidency will actually embolden these yahoos, right? Right?) In the interest of brevity, I’ve whittled the field down to two local douchebags: WTMJ “personality” Charlie Sykes, and Journal Sentinel columnist Patrick McIlheran. Charlie Sykes Everyone knows Charlie Sykes is the devil incarnate. Hell, even Sykes himself must suspect something’s up. The proof is indisputable: he has a top-rated radio program in which he parrots back the most inane right-wing talking points; he hosts an equally evil and insipid television show every Sunday night; he lives in Mequon. Case closed. Sykes is your typical conservative blowhard who likes sticking it to the usual suspects: gays, women, Mexicans, college graduates. He’s also the author of a slew of crappy books. In his 2007 crime against humanity, 50 Rules Kids Won’t Learn in School, Sykes (who pulls a Ricky/Rick Schroder and goes by Charles Sykes) spends 192 interminable pages passing off generic “Cut your hair, get a job and get off my lawn!” turds as good ol’ common sense that those pole-smoking liberals won’t teach ya’ in those fancy special needs schools. Take this chestnut, for example: “The real world won’t care as much about your self-esteem as your school does. It’ll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.” Damn straight Charlie – er, […]
Dec 1st, 2008 by Matt Wild
Obligatory year-end article … go!
What a crazy year it’s been for independent film in Milwaukee! Isn’t that what you’re supposed to say to start these year-end warm ‘n’ fuzzies? I am trying as hard as I can not to write that everyone should have a Christmas Story leg lamp in their window or remind you how Clark Griswold’s accapella drum roll before he plugs in the Christmas lights in Christmas Vacation might be Chevy Chase’s finest on-screen moment. Not this year. No sentimental musing from me. I won’t say a peep about how Scrooged, Die Hard, Gremlins or even the sexed-up weirdness of Eyes Wide Shut should be a part of everyone’s holiday movie season. What? It takes place during Christmas! I won’t reach for nods of approval from hipsters with A Nightmare Before Christmas midnight screening references. You won’t find me snickering over egg nog at the Red Room about how the 1934 Laurel and Hardy classic Babes in Toyland lives on as NYC sex store Toys in Babeland. They switched the words around and sell dildos! Unreal! Nope. This year, my lips are sealed. Seriously, I am three days past deadline. I have been trying to concentrate on awesome Milwaukee film happenings in 2008 and big action in 2009. If you’ve read this far, you can see I’ve been struggling. That was until last night when I didn’t meet Faythe Levine at a semi-annual meeting for Our Milwaukee (ourmilwaukee.net), a grassroots organization advocating the whole think local/buy local/live local thing. I slinked into the meeting, did a lap around the bar (free Lakefront beer), did the name tag bit, found a friendly face, pulled up a chair. After a brief welcome from one of Our Milwaukee’s founders, Faythe was introduced to discuss her Milwaukee-based book-turned-documentary-film project Handmade Nation as well as her handmade gift fair, Art vs. Craft. I snuck onto my iPhone, Googled her name and found more information than I knew what to do with. According to her blog (indiecraftdocumentary.blogspot.com): Faythe Levine is a filmmaker, author, independent curator and creative director. She is currently documenting the rise of DIY and the new wave of art, craft and design. I got tired just reading that. She even has a whole Wikipedia page with a timeline and external links and everything! F that! The projector and PowerPoint fired up and her presentation about DIY and Milwaukee began. She was passionate and cool and ended her presentation with an eight-minute clip from Handmade Nation – and that’s when it hit me. I got up and went to the bathroom because three beers can break the seal. After that, another thing hit me. DIY is the sometimes forgotten but definite heart of independent film. Plain and simple. Sometimes that golden rule gets lost in the shuffle of million-dollar movie ideas or fantasizing about what you’d say in your Oscar speech. Not like we’ve done that. Uh-oh … here come the warm ‘n’ fuzzies. This past year saw the fall of the Milwaukee International Film […]
Dec 1st, 2008 by Howie Goldklang
