2003-10 Vital Source Mag – October 2003

In Search of An Agenda

In Search of An Agenda

By John Hughes Early next year, The City of Milwaukee will elect a new mayor, to preside over this city during what promises to be an era of accelerating change. With leadership crucial during the next few years, the agenda set during this election, which will frame the debate among voters, is still emerging. In our September issue, Vital Source put four questions to four mayoral candidates: Tom Barrett, Sandy Folaron, Martin Matson, and John Pitta. We believe the candidates’ answers to these questions reflect some of the leadership style which they would exhibit if elected. Already, the landscape is shifting. Pedro Colon is out. Rumors abound that the big money is hiding in the wings until David Clarke decides whether or not he will run. Others are rumored to be shopping their potential amongst the fundraising set. We shall see what the coming months bring. For this issue, we contacted candidates Frank Cumberbatch and Tom Nardelli. Marvin Pratt and Vincent Bobot are expected to reply for the November issue of Vital Source. Frank Cumberbatch has been Project Manager for the Waukesha County Department of Information Systems, Milwaukee Director of Service Delivery for Kedestra, a real estate e-commerce company, President of the Board of Directors of the Latino Community Center, and Executive Secretary of the Community Brainstorming Conference, among numerous other professional and community service achievements. Tom Nardelli has served Milwaukee for 16 years as a member of the Common Council as Alderman for the 15th District. He currently chairs the Common Council’s Public Safety Committee and serves as a member of the Economic Development and the Steering and Rules Committees. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Center District; owners and operators of the Midwest Express Center, U. S. Cellular Arena and the soon to be renovated Milwaukee Auditorium. He chairs the District’s Project Development Committee. He is a member of the board for the Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and a member of the MEDC Land Committee. 1. VITAL SOURCE: What specific steps will you take to make the police chief more accountable to the people of Milwaukee? Frank Cumberbatch: I will ask the police chief to submit a detailed plan for improving the relationship between the police department and city neighborhoods, especially high crime areas. I will also ask constituents, through surveys, to grade the performance of the police department in the following categories: crime prevention; response to calls; building trust; treatment of witnesses, suspects and victims; visibility and race relations. The survey results and the effectiveness of the plan will count heavily toward the chief’s overall job performance evaluation. Tom Nardelli: It will be my intent to have a good working relationship with whomever is selected to be the new police chief. State law gives the Chief considerable independent power from those who would attempt to politically persuade him/her to do their bidding. Under that State law, the Chief is solely responsible to ensure the public safety. I do believe that […]

Halloween Costumes

Halloween Costumes

By Lucky Tomaszek I have always loved Halloween. As a girl, I remember that the costumes in our family were consistently fun and well thought-out. We lived in a small town, so the treats from Beggar’s Night were tasty and plentiful. In addition to timeless favorites like Bit O’ Honeys and mini candy bars, lots of families prepared (and we were allowed to eat) caramel apples, popcorn balls and cookies. And, as my birthday falls the day before Halloween, we typically had a fun party that revolved around costumes and Trick or Treating. My mother has a long history with the theater (and drama of all sorts). She would spend lots of time with us helping put together great costumes. There was never a lot of money to spend on those things, but it seemed like she whipped up creative, even amazing characters for us out of scraps, cheap makeup and determination. It always made me feel so good to show up at the school Halloween party with the best costume. My love of Halloween has continued into my adult life, and now I get to share it with my kids. Following in my mother’s footsteps, I look forward every year to helping my children create one of a kind costumes. Kids love to dress up, and with a little effort, you can take store-bought costumes, street clothes, or footie pajamas and make them feel like they are the best dressed Trick or Treater on the block. And when you do it yourself, you’re only limited by imagination. In addition to traditional fabric stores, places like Drew’s in Wauwatosa, Michael’s and even Wal Mart sell craft materials like fabric, feathers, beads, paint and felt. Grease paint makeup can be had at any Walgreen’s, Target, or other discount store. And if you need at least one major prop, head for a Bartz’s, Toys R Us, or one of the many Halloween specialty stores that crop up this time of year. Personally, I like American Science and Surplus. They have strange and wonderful junk all year, and there are lots of things available that make a kid’s costume truly unique, from squeaking dinosaur tails to glow sticks and dry ice packets. It’s amazing how cheaply you can sew (or glue) some felt onto a sweat suit and end up with a warm and original costume that will thrill your children and dazzle your neighbors. To allow your kids to be able to Trick or Treat without covering their costume with a coat, buy everything a little big and wear lots of layers underneath. My kids have gone out with two pairs of tights, leggings, a t-shirt, a turtleneck, socks and mittens underneath their costumes on extra cold Halloween nights, and have fared very well. Kids feel good when they look spooky or scary or beautiful. And they feel even better when they and their parents take the time and the effort to create a truly unique costume. There are plenty of good […]

Milwaukee’s Philosopher Magician

Milwaukee’s Philosopher Magician

By John Hughes Meet ‘Professor Oops’ On the Sunday afternoon of the Harley-Davidson centenary, with motorcycles thundering all over town, I found a quiet spot in the side yard of Sky Schultz, known to audiences as Professor Oops. At his Riverwest home tucked into an out-of-the-way cranny, the yard is a thing of wonder — enchanted by the presence of well over 100 potted plants, a dozen birdhouses, a small statue and a tree swing. With trees draping their green canopy over us, and Sky speaking in a hushed, thoughtful tone, peace and quiet made their shy return. Sky Schultz, 62, has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. He says of his training, “They never told us we’re all insane. They never taught us to sit down and watch how our own minds work. Mark Twain said, ‘When you realize we’re all mad, then everything stands explained.’ This was not acknowledged in school.” He continues to speak in a voice guided by humor and kindness. His presence is an oasis to me of civility and sweetness. He peppers his conversation with quotes from Goethe, Nietzsche, Emily Dickinson and John Ruskin. I ask him about the genesis of his performance art alter ego, Professor Oops. “In 1986 I said to my self, ‘Self, you have made more mistakes than any other living organism.'” He laughs at himself. “And I thought that I ought to make something useful out of those mistakes. A mistake is an experience from which you can learn, and a failure is a success you don’t like very much. So I brought Professor Oops into being. George Bernard Shaw said, and this is my motto, ‘Try to find the most important thing to say, and then say it with the utmost levity.’ That’s what Professor Oops is all about.” According to Schultz, Oops “teaches creativity, science and ecology, in schools and nursing homes and other places. My audience age range is kindergarten through death.” AN Explorer of the Mind. He continues. “I am an explorer who stayed at home. I stayed here to discover amazing things about us. I study the mind, and it puts me in a constant state of awe. So I try to translate that into magic in my Professor Oops shows. The magic shows us that we’re always being fooled; that’s what I love about all magic. “I try to be the world’s greatest appreciator in my personal life, and I try to bring that awareness into my shows. But, of course, like everyone, I am an unfinished animal.” He smiles. Sky has a loving relationship with Lily, a child approaching her sixth birthday. Lily is “a wonderful radiant being.” She was born in the US of Mexican descent, and is, according to Sky, “the adopted daughter of my ex. Barbara adopted Lily, and Lily adopted me. Lily adopted me.” He spends time with Lily nearly every day. Just that week he had driven her to the Circus World Museum in Baraboo and to a […]

Is this thing on?

Is this thing on?

By Frizell Bailey The view from Ben Merens’ 23rd floor office is spectacular. It sweeps the eastern half of downtown, with the river and the lake as bookends. Admittedly, not at all what you’d expect from the offices of a public radio station; a ClearChannel office, maybe. “It’s a little embarrassing,” Merens says with a smile. He explains to visitors and would-be public radio members and underwriters that Wisconsin Public Radio got the space at a steal when occupancy in the building was low. Merens is the host of a call-in talk show that airs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the Ideas Network, broadcast in Milwaukee at 90.7 FM. The show covers current events and includes expert guests, policy makers and commentators. It’s a perfect fit for Merens. But it took a while to get there. PR = Public Radio. Merens studied Public Relations at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He admits that he didn’t really know what career he wanted to pursue while studying at UW. He recalls one of his professors hinting that Public Relations might not be for him. “She said ‘you’ll never practice a day in PR.’ I don’t know why she said that; I didn’t know it, but she was right. I never really have.” After graduation, he took a year off from school to study with the Second City Theatre Group in Chicago. He got a job doing singing telegrams to pay the bills. He eventually went back to school and received his Masters from Northwestern University’s Medell School of Journalism. Over the next few years he worked in print and radio in Long Island and Chicago, but he still hadn’t found his niche. In the late 80s, Merens was teaching at Chicago’s Columbia College. He remembers telling his class that it was not enough to simply get your degree without a plan for what you wanted to do once you completed your studies. He challenged them to think about what they wanted out of their career. They, in turn, challenged him. He had to admit that he didn’t know what he ultimately wanted to do, but he promised them that he would have an answer for them by semester’s end. He soon realized that what he liked most about journalism was asking questions and conducting interviews. “I was the kid in school who was always asking questions. My teacher would say ‘what is going to become of you, you’re always asking questions?'” Fast forward. Merens has been with Wisconsin Public Radio for twelve years, a job he might not have noticed had his wife not brought it to his attention. “I was looking for work and my wife said ‘have you read the paper today?'” It was Sunday night and he was in no mood to sift through the classifieds. But he took the paper from her and noticed the ad for a host/producer for a nightly business show on Wisconsin Public Radio. Ben landed the job, and in an […]

Milwaukee’s Best New Building is Invisible

Milwaukee’s Best New Building is Invisible

By Raymond Johnson One of the best new buildings in Milwaukee was completed last month, but you can’t see much of it from the street. In fact, if you go to 1990 N. Commerce St., there doesn’t seem to be a building there at all — just a small urban square with a lookout over the Milwaukee River and a one-store concrete and Plexon tower. Being invisible is just one of many architectural surprises the new Milwaukee Rowing Club (MRC) boathouse, designed by Vetter Denk Architects, has in store. Vetter Denk has been doing some of the cleanest modern work in the city in recent years. Much of it has been right next door to the MRC on the Beerline ‘B’ Trail in the River Homes project. The boathouse was designed principally by Sebastian Schmalling and Brian Johnson, who have since moved on to start their own firm, JPS Studio, with Adam Pearson. Two Concrete Planes The building consists of two concrete planes, one at city level and one at river level. Between the two planes, a translucent Plexon façade encloses the boathouse, while sliding wood doors provide access to a staging area to the northeast. The enclosure has a strong horizontal reading that, when combined with the two planes, suggest the movement of sculls in the water, and the river itself flowing through the city. The translucent panels give almost no suggestion to the sculls that lie within. But, from inside, one sees the echoes of the river that once was; the heavy brick factories across the river are presented as in an impressionist painting, their own future ghosts. Inside the space is a raw concrete open room, lit by dappled daylight and a few fluorescent lights. On top of the city plane, a small urban square was created. It is surrounded by a concrete walkway, which is connected to the sidewalk on the northwest corner and adorned with a simple industrial railing and eight bollard lights. The plane has been planted with grass seed, and one imagines that this will become a sunbathing mecca for city dwellers during the summer months. Hopefully, it will also become something more — perhaps a place where these residents go to protest something? Anything? (Like the lack of parking?) Although it seems a little sparse, this small piece of public space will likely do what all decent urban squares do, bring people together. Underneath the city plane, the morning sunlight reflects from the water to its underside. Here you are thankful the architects gave you this raw chunk of concrete to reflect the morning light. Building as Landscape In addition to its positive formal qualities, the MRC boathouse explores a number of contemporary architectural trajectories. The first is building as landscape. Originally popularized early last century by Wisconsin’s own Frank Lloyd Wright, this idea has been investigated again in recent years. Peter Eisenman’s competition entry for the Musee d’Ethnographie in Paris and Foreign Office Architects’ Yokahama Terminal in Japan are recent examples. […]

The Upscale Vagabond

The Upscale Vagabond

By Frizell Bailey One evening I was walking down Brady Street when a couple sitting on the sidewalk near Jimmy John’s asked me for some spare change, a fairly common occurrence. Usually, depending on my mood, I fork over whatever I happen to have in my pocket or say I don’t have any cash on me if my pockets are empty. The pair was a young couple, probably in their early to mid twenties. Their black lab-ish dog sat next to them wearing a bandana. Given my situation at the time, the term “spare” change had taken on a much more literal meaning. Struggling to balance graduate school and a personal life out to kill me, working had become sporadic at best. I politely told them that I had no change to offer and continued on my way. But a block or two down the street it occurred to me that there was something rather odd about this down-on-their-luck trio. While the two humans looked sufficiently scruffy to be panhandling, the dog looked decidedly less needy. What nerve they had, I thought to myself, to ask me for money when they have a dog that looked like it had never missed a meal or bath. The couple, I decided, must be dirty and un-kept out of personal choice, or to scam suckers like me for change. This got me thinking about myself and my own situation. My well kept appearance belied the fact that I had no job, very little money, and no place of my own to live. Despite this I had managed, through the kindness of others and other more creative means, to fairly closely maintain my standard of living. This was the genesis of the upscale vagabond. The Ethos of the upscale vagabond. The upscale vagabond ethos was borne out of necessity. Since college I have acquired certain tastes. Though not quite caviar in scale, my personal likes are definitely not the ramen noodle tastes of my undergraduate days. Needless to say, even though I was temporarily “down on my luck,” I had no desire to return to this lifestyle. Upscale vagabond existence is about living above your means, but without actually paying for it. It’s about being able to sip suds or martinis when you can really only afford fountain drinks with free refills. It’s who you know. The adage “it’s not what you know but who” applies not only to getting a great job, but also to having a fun and fulfilling social life, especially when money’s a little tight. When you’re broke is not the time to be timid or introverted. Trust me, people will exchange cocktails for lively conversation. On the question of libations, the first thing you want to do is chat up your bartender. They’re at work so they have to be there. And especially if they are working a shift alone, they’re probably jonesing for a little conversation, particularly with someone who is not either tanked out of their mind […]

Thinking holistically about menopause.

Thinking holistically about menopause.

By Jeffrey Langlois Recently, one of my clients came to me seeking relief from the myriad discomforts of menopause. Like most women, she had questions about how to best manage her symptoms as her body goes through this most important change of life. I work with women to help them understand the options available to them, along with the risks and benefits of each option. Many women complain about hot flashes, headaches, insomnia, irritability, and forgetfulness. There is also concern about preventing osteoporosis. My client was very familiar with the conventional medical treatment of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). While indisputably very effective for the relief of hot flashes, HRT isn’t effective for much else. She did not know that a large study of the benefits of conventional HRT had to be stopped, due to concern over an increase in breast cancer rates, or that Premarin (one form of HRT) is made from Pregnant Mare (horse) Urine. Proper nutrition is the first step. We then discussed designing a diet that was optimal for her lifestyle. Improving diet is always the first step in any treatment program. Nutritional supplements can be very helpful. I recommended starting with a very high quality multi-vitamin w/minerals (not Centrum or One a Day). I also suggested extra Vitamin E, which has been shown to be helpful for hot flashes. By talking with her, I was able to determine which foods she was eating too much of and which foods were deficient in her diet. We adjusted her diet to include more lean protein and vegetables, and to eliminate all hydrogenated fats and oils, as these are destructive to hormonal balance. I also advised her to make sure she is drinking 8 glasses of clean water daily. I mentioned that there are good studies indicating that soy products have positive estrogen-like effects on the body, without any of the negative effects of HRT. Black Cohosh can help. Many different herbs are used in the treatment of hot flashes but the one with the greatest clinical research has been Black Cohosh. Black Cohosh was widely used by the American Indians, and later by American colonists, for the relief of menstrual cramps and menopause. Nine European clinical studies supported its ability to relieve hot flashes, depression and vaginal atrophy. No contraindications were found, and less than 10�f patients reported mild stomach upset. Exercise keeps you cool. For a woman experiencing the symptoms of menopause (including fatigue) exercise may be the last thing on her mind. But a study in Sweden with over 900 patients clearly demonstrated that spending 30 minutes each day walking, gardening, riding a bicycle or swimming decreased the frequency and severity of hot flashes. My client agreed to implement as many of the suggestions I made as possible, and within four weeks was feeling much better. By 8 weeks she experienced complete relief of her hot flashes. Menopause isn’t the end of feeling young; it’s the beginning of a powerful new time in a woman’s life! […]

Slanted Soapboxes of Media

Slanted Soapboxes of Media

By Paul McLeary Healthy Debate or Disheartening Trend? For years, and some might say decades, conservatives had been up in arms about what they perceived as the media establishment’s liberal bias — and not completely without cause. But a funny thing happened in the early 1990s to change all that. Rush Limbaugh broke into the American consciousness through the snooze and clutter of AM talk radio, and with his ascension, station managers discovered an untapped reservoir of rage bubbling up in the country that needed to be marketed to. They quickly moved to flood the airwaves with fire-breathing right-wing evangelists. Pouncing on the bandwagon, FOX quickly moved in to cash in on the lack of a truly conservative presence in television news, much to the chagrin of the left. With this, the world of televised political punditry moved beyond what can now be seen as the gentler time of MacNeil/Lehrer and The Capital Gang, and jumped into the bare-knuckle street fight techniques practiced by attack dogs like Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and their ilk. In a much-publicized failure, lefty Phil Donahue threw his hat into the ring earlier this year to try and inject some left-wing thought into television punditry, but met with what at best can be described as a collective yawn, at worst a debacle of major proportions. More recently, liberals in general have started to wake up to their supposed lack of radio and prime time television spots, and this past year we saw wealthy Chicago couple Sheldon and Anita Drobny announce their plans to invest $10 million in a liberal radio network, and Al Gore try to raise funds for a liberal news channel. Forums for partisan sniping — oh my. With this, the American media effectively took one giant step through the looking glass. No longer considered objective purveyors of the truth, newspapers, radio programs, magazines, websites and blogs have become outlets for highly partisan sniping that purport to offer a claim to objective truth by bashing the other side’s every proposal as being something just short of complete insanity. Liberals and conservatives alike feed this machine with equal doses of venom, although both sides rather arrogantly hold themselves above the fray. American media seem to have entered a state of perpetual backlash, with the right railing against the “liberal media” and the left taking up arms against the media gains the far right has made. On the face of things, this looks to be great news for the concept of a truly deliberative democracy, where all parties have a voice in the great debates of the age. Unfortunately, while both sides are getting their airtime, more often than not they’re simply preaching to the choir. Take a trip to conservative blog Lucianne.com and you’ll find that the message board trolls don’t trust the AP, Reuters and UPI newswires because of their “liberal” slant. Likewise, there are a whole host of liberal blogs like “What Liberal Media” author Eric Alterman’s “Altercation” […]

Warren Zevon

Warren Zevon

By John Hughes WARREN ZEVON The Wind Artemis Records www.warrenzevon.com Before Warren Zevon died in early September, he assembled an all-star cast of friends to help him craft his own epitaph — a final CD recorded in the aftershock of his fatal diagnosis. A songwriter’s songwriter, he maintained great integrity throughout his career, no matter what the prevailing fashion. May he rest in peace. We are treated to much more than a parting novelty. In The Wind, Zevon takes us on a tour of American music. He sings like Woody Guthrie on the opening cut. From there he tours us through a Springsteen-esque rocker, hyper-charged by Bruce himself; and the Dylan classic “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” done with a touch of gospel. He gives us a blues romp and songs sung like Jackson Browne and Willie Nelson. “Prison Grove,” a standout effort that could have been pulled from the Lomax field recordings songbook, is highlighted by a chain-gang chorus of Springsteen, Browne, Jordan Zevon, Jorge Calderon, T Bone Burnett and Billy Bob Thornton. There are also two sensitive, lovely ballads, written and played straight, sung just like Warren Zevon. He deploys his friends — especially Ry Cooder, Emmylou Harris, Springsteen and Calderon — with maximum efficiency. It all adds up beautifully, for ten songs. But all this is just so much clearing of the throat as Zevon prepares us for song 11, the dramatic finale. In the final song of his life, Zevon blesses us with an extraordinary moment — a dying man bids adieu. He wrote the song for his two children, but sings it for everyone. He taps deep emotion without being maudlin. He stands tall in his deathbed. His last request? “Keep me in your heart for awhile.” Yes, Warren. Will do.

Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello

By Jon M. Gilbertson ELVIS COSTELLO North Deutsche Grammophon www.elviscostello.com As he grows older and perhaps wiser, Elvis Costello increasingly resembles another former enfant terrible from the UK: writer Martin Amis. Both sons of notable practitioners of their respective arts, both more famous than their fathers, they are almost embarrassingly skillful and variegated: Amis the novelist, reviewer, journalist; Costello the explorer of New Wave, Tin Pan Alley, country & western, rhythm & blues. Costello’s latest album, North, finds him meditating in the gorgeously melancholy shadows once inhabited by Cole Porter, the Gershwins et al. He’s been there before, but never so deeply. His facility with the forms – particularly the alternately lush and spare arrangements, which include a horn nonet, the classically trained Brodsky Quartet, and Attractions keyboardist Steve Nieve — recalls the clarion blurb on Amis’ last paperback, 2002’s The War Against Cliché: Essays and Reviews 1971-2000: “Is there anything Martin Amis can’t write about?” Indeed. Is there any musical style Elvis Costello can’t master? More to the point, does a creative chameleon eventually forget or lose sight of what he’s best at? The most devoted Costello fan, asked to define the man’s essence, would reach for the early work, its electric guitars and tumbling wordplay. Yet North deserves better than polite applause. Even more than Painted From Memory, Costello’s much-lauded collaboration with Burt Bacharach, these 11 songs weep with the admission of a romanticism usually thwarted by irony or buried in anger. From the desperation of “You Left Me in the Dark” to the serenity of “I’m in the Mood Again,” North is about passionately careful artistry. It is about Elvis Costello’s cracked but strong baritone register. It is about grace in the teeth of love. Above all, North is about hopes: betrayed, dashed, renewed, fulfilled. The album represents the outpouring of a beating heart, not another notch in an artist’s impressive catalog.

Nappy Roots

Nappy Roots

By John Hughes NAPPY ROOTS Wooden Leather Atlantic www.nappyroots.com Nappy Roots are the best musicians to come out of Kentucky since Joan Osborne, and a lot more fun. On this CD, like a champion racehorse at the Kentucky Derby, they burst out of the gate, grab an early lead, hold the pace despite some stumbles, and surge to a win. I am a 46-year-old white male, on whom the charm of hip-hop is often lost, and I can’t get enough of Nappy Roots. They have an infectious groove on 15 of these 18 songs; if you’re at all well they’ll get you on your feet, shaking it and clapping. The glorification of violence and misogyny so prevalent in much of rap is absent here. These gentlemen obviously have been listening to country blues, traditional soul gospel, Caribbean rhythms and Philadelphia soul, as well as hip-hop. But they are not at all derivative. They carry their forbearers in their hearts while living in the present, and create a vibe of joy and freedom. Nappy Roots are deeply proud of their rural background, and consequently remind me of the defunct, lamented, Arrested Development. But these ambassadors of the Bluegrass State are more lovable than Speech and Company, because Nappy Roots deploy funny vocal stylings, and avoid prophetic pretension. It’s just a rhythm party from start to finish, marred by a few bad songs, but ultimately ready for the Winner’s Circle. Yea, Kentucky!

Marj Hahne

Marj Hahne

By Russ Bickerstaff MARJ HAHNE notspeak When the instruments and singing voices are left out of audio, all that remains is the music of spoken ideas. In her poetry CD notspeak, Marj Hahne presents a gently flowing symphony of ideas almost completely devoid of music. What little music there is serves more as a segue to the next track than an accompaniment. The tracks add up to 39 minutes of audio, but there is far more here than a pleasant half hour. The CD contains 21 tracks that serve as doorways into a microcosm of familiar worlds that grow richer in depth with repeated listenings. Hahne’s childhood Barbies wore only go-go boots, and she describes them in the same tone and rhythms she uses when evoking a bug splattering on a windshield. One track honors New York with the words, “minus the twins.” It is one of the few points in the CD where Hahne’s cadence picks up a bit. She has a dreamy precision, hypnotic in its stark simplicity. Concrete pastel words form linguistic landscapes spoken in a voice lost somewhere near the horizon of its own distant rhythm. This is the kind of relaxing experience that can electrify when the last track ends, the dream lifts and the senses return. Interested in obtaining notspeak?Contact Marj Hahne at: marjhahne@earthlink.net.