Beyond The Fonz
Notes from FUEL Milwaukee’s “Beyond the Fonz” event this week at the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
Apr 2nd, 2009 by Erin Petersen
Shampoo. Rinse. Recite.
A few years back, I found this great illustration. It was tasteful, whimsical line art of a young woman in the shower. Drops of water fell from the showerhead onto her mop of squiggly blonde hair. I think it was in the back of Real Simple magazine or something. And all it said was “God grant me the power to get out of this shower.” It became my mantra. I posted the illustration near the shower in my own bathroom. The drawing is gone. But the sentiment remains. In fact, it’s become a bit of a mini-devotional for me each morning. And now it’s just part of the routine. Shampoo. Rinse. Recite. Lather. Rinse. Recite. Never mind the fact that I just tried to use a travel-sized bottle of conditioner to shave my legs. God grant me the power to get out of this shower, indeed. I’m sure a lot of people feel this way – like getting going each day is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest. Without safety gear, a compass, or oxygen. And little do you know, once you get to the office, an avalanche is in motion. So what can we do? Where does the power really come from? Not only to get going every day, but to actually get through the day in one piece? You have to do it in the face of small hurdles like running out of peanut butter when you really, really want some. Or having a flat tire when you really, really need to get there. Never mind large obstacles like worrying about the economy or the war. I personally believe part of the power does come from God. The other part comes from within each of us. Some people pray. Others meditate. And of course there are other worthwhile practices such as yoga, exercise – and happy hour. The thing that always trips me up is that we do all of these things in order to reset. And stay productive for our partner, family, friends, boss and the local soup kitchen. All of which we wholeheartedly believe we need to tend to every single day, hour, moment. Meanwhile, we personally suffer. We try to do too much. We use up all our energy. We believe we’re operating as a super-efficient hybrid when we’re really burning through energy like an SUV. The reality is life doesn’t have a reserve tank. You have to refuel every so often. Or you’ll miss something while you’re broken down. If you ever want to know the true value of spending your energy more wisely, ask someone who has survived cancer. Or the loved one of someone who didn’t. And that’s why I really want to learn how to slow down. I want to trade my laptop for better eye contact. I want to take in everything life has to offer. I don’t necessarily want to live like my days are numbered, but because I have no reason to believe they are.
Apr 2nd, 2009 by Michelle Sieg
Zweig Project Held by City Committee
This committee meeting had numerous items of significance relating to the built environment that were up for debate. A couple highlights (or lowlights) included the holding of a file over budget concerns, a heated discussion over Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (“CMAQ”) grants, and a most intriguing debate on public art. The approval of the schematic designs of public artwork which is to be incorporated into streetscape improvements within the first block of East Wisconsin Avenue was up for approval. The project put out a RFQ to which nearly fifty artists responded. Artist Janet Zweig was selected to design the artwork and at a recent Streetscape Public Art Advisory Committee meeting the committee approved the schematic design. The design would include five kiosks attached to five light poles. Each kiosk would essentially be a historical reference to a type of flip board system that existed in train stations. Each kiosk would display flip movies of Milwaukee, and would be custom built to hold 80 flaps. This project was funded under the federal CMAQ program to promote walking as an alternative method of transportation by making improvements to the pedestrian experience. Additionally, of the total project only a little over 1% of funds has been allocated to public art. Initially, Alderman Robert Bauman was concerned that there might be a cost to moving this project forward so he questioned, “tell us why this is even in front of us?” After much discussion it became clear that this file was just the approval of the schematic design and that as he said “rejecting this concept saves no money.” At this point Alderman Bob Donovan began railing against the design saying “Thomas Edison had that 100 years ago,” and that “I refuse to have my name associated to something as ridiculous as that.” Alderman Willie Wade took a more measured approach in his response to the work stating “I’m not impressed with this at all” and that “this is too old school for me.” Attempting to bring the discussion back to the overall idea of improving public space through the addition of public art Alderman Bauman explained that “art is in the eye of the beholder.” Debra Usinger, who appeared previously in regards to a Riverwalk project, explained that “public art is great” and that despite the sentiment in the room, this art works because “all of a sudden we’ve created discussion in here.” She added that “I think this is really innovative.” This file was held to all for public input. A file that would have funded a variety of nonassessable public improvements was held because of future budgetary concerns. Alderman Joe Dudzik questioned the wisdom of this spending while planning on significant layoffs, which sparked the discussion regarding holding the file. Wondering if there was a cost to delay action on the file, Alderman Dudzik questioned “is there any urgency in getting this file passed today?” Apparently if delayed projects might see a increase of 10% to the cost so the […]
Apr 1st, 2009 by Dave Reid
Discover ThisTV, even if by accident
It was a channel that remained in the ether and away from the ethos until many picked up a digital converter box. On Nov. 1, 2008, Time Warner Cable bumped a channel to make room for ThisTV (201 on cable and 58-3 on digital air in Milwaukee). Now audiences are discovering this quirky pre-programmed channel offered by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting and MGM to bolster sibling station WDJT CBS-58 and predecessor MeTV (58-2). In an age where most Americans have at least seen a cable channel (walking through an airport or bar) or, more likely, have several televisions programmed into a system in their home – the memory of what it was like to get four or five VHF channels and a handful of fuzzy UHF ones on a second dial is fading like a lost signal. But digital antenna programming is about to birth a new renaissance. At first, viewing habits were established around a channel hierarchy which was later weakened by the increasingly commonplace remote control. Cable and satellite programming went from being a luxury of the privileged to a necessity for all classes to stay informed and entertained. Now, in a strange back-sidestep, the strength of independent national broadcasting companies and alliances with multiple local stations have likely created a new form with a widespread marketing campaign and government subsidies proliferating the digital converter box before the new conversion deadline. Watching ThisTV, it certainly feels like a secret. While the rest of the world copes with a proliferating density of cable channels (which then split into additional HD versions and sub-categories i.e. Discovery for Kids, Investigate Discovery, Animal Planet, Discovery Health), the effort to get some piece of the pie with non-cable (ThisTV doesn’t appear to be on DirecTV locally) audiences emerges in a niche programming way. While MeTV plays old TV shows 24/7 similar to TV Land or WMLW, ThisTV mostly plays movies “from the classic age” – as one incessant interstitial ad likes to tout. Read: not classic movies, but from that era. After the overnight and early six hours are done showing old Patty Duke and Mister Ed episodes, the rest of the day is programmed into blocks showing movies from MGM’s lesser-known library. While a few these films’ production dates stray into the new millennium, most are from the 1950s to 1980s – excluding a range of films which were sold and still under control of other companies. Theme days are built around a performer, like the recent Vincent Price set (The Abominable Dr. Phibes, From a Whisper to a Scream) or famous directors (Stanley Kubrick’s Killers Kiss, Brian DePalma’s Blow Out). All the films on ThisTV may be considered B-Movies or second-run features; nothing on the roster ever reaches into AFI’s or imdb.com’s “Top 100” anything. However, there’s a peculiar grace and quietly assuming nature to these films that make them low culture reborn as fresh entertainment. When I worked in video stores, there were always rows of VHS boxes bleached on one […]
Apr 1st, 2009 by Brian Jacobson
Milw / TCD Filmmaker Finalist in Warner Brothers / CW Network Film Contest – VOTE TODAY!
LAST WEEK TO VOTE!! Local filmmaker and long-time, much-loved TCD contributor Howie Goldklang is a FINALIST in the CW Green Your World contest. The contest has 4 filmmakers submitting weekly vlogs (video blogs) reporting on green, eco-cool initiatives in their town. Please click over, vote MILWAUKEE, vote for HOWIE GOLDKLANG! CLICK HERE TO VOTE
Apr 1st, 2009 by Amy Elliott
Art and Performance April 2-8, 2009
Visual Art Art in Bloom, Milwaukee Art Museum. 4/2 through 4/5. Celebrating springtime, Art In Bloom showcases the talents of more than 40 renowned floral designers interpreting masterworks from the Museum’s Collection. This year’s expanded exhibition also includes lectures and workshops with celebrity floral designers and master gardeners, book signings, plein air painters, a multi-vendor indoor marketplace, a garden sculpture sale, and floral-inspired dining in the Café Calatrava Garden Room. Presenting lectures, demonstrations, and book signings will be Michael George—one of the most sought after floral designers in the United States; Milwaukee native Michael Weishan, former host of PBS television’s The Victory Garden; Portland-based vine expert Linda Beutler; landscape designer Craig Bergmann; Chicago Master Gardener and radio host Mike Nowak; local horticulture expert Melinda Myers; renowned children’s book author Lois Ehlert and many others. Awesome Art Sale, Racine Art Museum, 4/3 Due to overwhelming success, this awesome event is back with more artwork than ever! Many one-of-a-kind items priced as low as $20! Discover original, museum-quality artwork donated by collectors and nationally known artists from across the country. Purchase a great piece of art and know that you are contributing to the sustaining growth of RAM’s exhibition and education programs. This is a fabulous time to add to your art collection or start one now! For more info click here! Frankie Martin, Green Gallery West. 4/3 Get down with the (original) Green Gallery on their momentous fifth anniversary with an exhibition of new works by Frankie Martin, whose work was a part of the very first Green Gallery show. In Life or Death?, Martin will show new video work as well as paintings and video stills. Who Died? is a five part, non-linear narrative video that reinterprets popular representations of death and the transcendence of the human body. Some light paintings will accompany this piece. Frankie will also present part of her series Left Behind which features paintings and mobiles based on the idea of what normally gets discarded. To do this she stretches her drop cloths as finished paintings that expose the materials and process of the work done in her studio. Frankie also incorporates objects from her neighborhood or from her own garbage into the work. In Frankie’s words “the idea is that these things become non-things, then become re-contextualized as things again.” Frankie will also exhibit Born Again, a video in which Botticelli’s Birth of Venus is translated into the video format. Frankie Martin’s work has appeared in galleries all over the world, from Milwaukee to Oslo to Paris to San Francisco and New York, where she now lives. Bon anniversaire, Green Gallery! Marina Bychkova: Enchanted Doll, Villa Terrace, 4/8 Exploring the dark, dreamy side of folklore and fantasy, Bychokova transforms a children’s toy into an exploration and reinterpretation of femininity, tradition and fairy tales. Says the artist, ““Creating a visual narrative is the most intriguing way of articulating my ideas and a doll is a perfect medium because of its potential for such visual story. My […]
Apr 1st, 2009 by Ryan Findley
TULPAN a huge hit in NYC, coming to MKE Monday!
This just in: the New York Times‘ A.O. Scott posted a fabulous review today of Tulpan, a romance, coming-of-age story and epic landscape drama set on the desolate steppes of Kazhakstan. Scott writes: Tulpan, the first fictional feature by the Kazakh director Sergey Dvortsevoy, might be described as an epic landscape film, a sweetly comic coming-of-age story or a lyrical work of social realism. But the setting — a windswept, sparely populated steppe in southern Kazakhstan — gives the movie a mood that sometimes feels closer to that of science fiction. … [The lamb birth] scene, a milestone in cinematic ovine obstetrics, is both crucial to the story and a tour de force, the kind of thing a director like David Cronenberg or Takashi Miike would attempt only with prosthetics or other special effects. In “Tulpan” you see it for real, a perfectly ordinary event that is also something of a miracle. Tulpan took home the Prix un Certain Regard at Cannes this year, and it celebrates an anticipated opening in New York today. And here’s the best part, Milwaukee: you can see it here on Monday as part of Milwaukee Film‘s so-far-successful Monday Night at the Movies series at the Marcus North Shore Cinema in Mequon. It’s unusual that we have the chance here on the Third Coast to see an independent international release within the same week of screenings on the East Coast, so we recommend you attend. You can buy your tickets online now at milwaukee-film.org. See the Tulpan trailer and learn more here. Don’t feel like driving to Mequon? No car? NO PROBLEM! Join Milwaukee Film, WMSE and TCD at the Wicked Hop for a big, bad bus party. Come early for drink specials and burger madness. Bus departs at 6:30 sharp. Play trivia with WMSE DJs and join Program Director Jonathan Jackson for a casual discussion about the film on the way back. We’ll have some great giveaways on the bus and after the show! The bus is FREE, so save some cash, save the earth, and have a crazy good time. See you there, film-os.
Apr 1st, 2009 by Amy Elliott
MCTS Adds New Bus Route
MCTS, empowered by a veto override by the Milawukee County Board in November, has added (in reality restored) a bus route to their service offerings, offering service from the Downtown Transit Center through downtown and out to 60th Street via Vliet Avenue.
Apr 1st, 2009 by Jeramey Jannene
Abrahamson and Evers, Don’t Leave it to Chance
If you’re reading this, you probably know that there is an election in Wisconsin next Tuesday. Turnout for these Spring elections tends to be notoriously low which is never a good thing for democracy. Yet the candidates for the two statewide races present critical differences in experience and philosophy and the choices that voters make will have an enormous impact on Wisconsin’s future. We will select someone to serve on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court for a ten-year term and the state Superintendent of Public Instruction who will guide state oversight of education for the next four years. Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson is a nationally respected jurist who deserves reelection. Her tenure on the court has set a standard for judicial excellence, not only in terms of her decisions but also for her administrative acumen which has expanded openness and efficiency. Her opponent is an unabashed conservative who is asking for your support based on his ideology. This is the third year in a row that the voters are being asked to choose between two very different candidates for a seat on the state’s highest court. Conservatives and business groups have succeeded in the past two, more egregiously last year when Michael Gableman engaged in an ethically challenged, despicable campaign to defeat incumbent Louis Butler. Gableman’s defense to the charges he faces about the distortions in his ads is that the First Amendment protects political advertisements as free speech. It’s not very reassuring when a judge sitting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court claims that the Constitution gives him the right to say anything he wants regardless of its truth or any ethical standard set by a judicial commission. But it shouldn’t be necessary to rehash the elections of the past when discussing Shirley Abrahamson. She has earned your vote. And then there’s the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction between longtime education professional Tony Evers and another ideologue, Rose Fernandez. Evers has served as a teacher and administrator for decades and has helped improve the working relationship between the state and local school districts. Fernandez has no experience in education other than as a supporter for alternatives to public education. She also wants to replace Milwaukee’s elected school board with an appointed board. If you care about public education, especially in Milwaukee, the choice is clear. Vote for Tony Evers. There are also local court and school board elections that deserve your attention. So get out and vote on April 7th. Your vote matters especially during the low turnout Spring election.
Apr 1st, 2009 by Ted Bobrow
Drink Like An Egyptian
Who knows if King Tut was given to tippling, but when his tomb was opened in 1922, three dozen plain pottery wine jars were discovered inside, twenty-six of which had hieroglyphs telling of the vineyard location, the estate where it was produced, and the vinter who produced it. Two pots were labeled “very good.” Tut died in 1352 BC, and perhaps the labels were the first, or almost the first, examples of things to come in the world of labels. A few of the wine jars in the tomb were empty. Or perhaps laced with poison, who knows? My personal favorite label, is pasted in my Cooking of Provincial France cookbook, circa 1968. The label from a Beaujolais Saint-Amour burgundy produced by “Jaboulet-Vercherre,” is square, designed in tones of burgundy, white and metallic gold. Stamped “JV,” it includes a coat-of-arms bannered “in tenebris lumen rectis,” which means, “true light in the darkness.” I drank large draughts of the Beaujolais while mastering the art of whipping up Coquille Saint-Jacques a la Provencale, which incidentally, is best served with a dry white wine. Dude, peel me a grape. Paper labels as we know them today, weren’t developed for general use until around 1860, when manufacturers understood how to make them stick to glass. Prior to that, well-heeled households used silver “bottle tickets” hung by narrow silver chains from wine decanters. In the 1740s, European wineries sold their products unlabeled. They were stored stacked in bins and the bins were then identified with glazed pottery tags. Labels were designed to inform. Consider this from a late 1800s bottle of sweet red Tokay from Hungary: This wine having been stored in wood for the full period necessary for maturity, and all unwholesome acids being thereby eliminated, is safely included in the dietary scale of the invalid; whilst its fine delicate bouquet will please the taste of the connoisseur. Makes you want to drink yourself stupid doesn’t it? In 2001, an image of Mona Lisa sporting a red mustache took first prize in a label-making content hyped by Wine Maker Magazine An obvious rip off of “Got Milk” campaign, I wonder if it bombed? Anyone who shops for wine, knows it’s the label that grabs the eye and it’s the label that clinches the sale. Face it, it’s where “art meets commerce.” The youth of today now drink more wine than beer, and yes, these are the youths who grew up with television, digital graphics, People Magazine, and clothing “branded” with labels. Come on now, who wouldn’t want a bottle of “Marilyn Merlot,” named after Marilyn Monroe who died way back in 1962. She’s there on the label in living color…head thrown back, rosy lips parted to reveal pearly teeth. Her famous eyes are partially closed. Clad in a ribbed white tank-top; a delicate necklace dripping seal shells and polished stone hangs around her famous neck. A wine expert claims Marilyn Merlot (2003 Napa Valley Winery) is “middling,” and it’s suggested that perhaps connoisseurs should […]
Apr 1st, 2009 by Judith Ann Moriarty
Commission Approves Change to MPS Property Sale Process
The first was a step in the formal process of Milwaukee Public Schools (“MPS”) selling properties that have been deemed surplus to their needs. Specifically, MPS is moving forward on three properties, the Delaware Service Center, Clairmont, and the Happy Hill Elementary School. Unlike other properties held by the City of Milwaukee when MPS is involved the process involves hiring an outside brokerage firm and legal aide to facilitate the process. Additionally, unlike other City of Milwaukee land sales these sales will prohibit a private schools that participates in the parental choice program from purchasing the property, and prohibits a tax free use of the property unless a PILOTS is created. This file was approved and will now go before the Public Works Committee. The other item of interest was the proposed rehabilitation of Highbridge condominium building envelop. This rehabilitation has become needed because of several failures in the construction that has lead to extensive leaking throughout the building. The brick on the upper floors will be clad over with EIFS to create a new weather barrier, and new windows will be installed throughout the building. Kelly Thompson, the architect from Facility Engineering, who was hired to render repairs to mitigate these failures stated his desire to insure the rehabilitated building doesn’t take away from the neighborhood by saying “we really don’t want it to look like the Hampton Inn out on the west side of town.” This file was approved and will now go before the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee.
Mar 31st, 2009 by Dave Reid
Quiznos and the Free Gay Marketplace
Fig.1: A Quiznos mascot distributes pro-gay propaganda at Christian music festival Lifest 2008 in Oshkosh, WI When Sean Penn accepted the Best Actor oscar this year for his portrayal of the title character in Milk, he unapologetically turned his acceptance speech into a political statement on the advancing of gay rights and equality (as Sean Penn is wont to do, being a Hollywood actor whose opinions are more important than those of normal mortal humans like you and I): For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren’s eyes if they continue that way of support. We’ve got to have equal rights for everyone. Yes, Proposition 8 was a huge blow to the advancing cause of homosexual equality, but as many people more educated than I have noted, the slim margin with which the proposition passed compared to similar initiatives in years past shows that America is moving (albiet at a glacial pace) in a more progressive direction with regard to its stace on homosexuality. (In fact, the fivethirtyeight.com article linked discusses how divided the vote was on a generational basis–young voters overwhelmingly opposed Prop 8 while older voters supported it.) So the passage of Prop 8 was demoralizing for the forces of equality, it is true. But let’s remember, folks–we’re discussing government here, and government and politics move at a glacial pace when it comes to shifts in the cultural landscape (see: the difference between the hoopla over Bill Clinton’s pot use and the “so what?” reaction to Barack Obama’s admission of past drug use, including cocaine). To see where we really are as a culture, perhaps we should take a cue from our fellow Americans over on the right side of the aisle and see what’s happening in the free marketplace. Consumerism! Business! Advertising! The Republicans always say we should take our lead from the world of capitalism, so let’s play by their rules today. So, what’s been going on in the world of advertising lately? How are businesses looking to grab America’s ever-scarcer disposeable income? How does homoerotic fast food grab you, America? Fig.2: Put it in me, Scott…put that foot-plus slab of meaty torpedo goodness in my gaping maw The internet is buzzing over this one. No strangers to ads that, um, fall off the beaten path (remember the Quiznos rat-things?), Quiznos’ fast-food slashfic retelling of the relationship between HAL 9000 and Dave Bowman has all of Blogistan ruminating on the overtly sexual subtext. Of course, queer progress is hard to come by, or even measure. Just yesterday, the governor of Vermont said that he would veto any gay-marriage bill brought to his desk — let’s hope the lame duck is overridden. Yet some of the most optimistic evidence that bigotry is going down can be found not in the courts […]
Mar 30th, 2009 by DJ Hostettler
