2004-11 Vital Source Mag – November 2004
The New and Improved Holiday Letter
By Lucky Tomaszek I remember opening Christmas cards as a teenager and being frustrated by the ever-growing number of holiday letters. You’ve probably received at least one yourself. They’re the form letters that run down the year in review on behalf of the sender. At that point in my life, I was only responsible for myself and the demands on my time were few. I was also a budding writer, in love with language and looking for any excuse to fill page after page with my every thought and feeling. I felt almost superior sending out my Christmas cards, lovingly scribed by hand. No form letters for me! Then I got married and had a baby. The first year after Lena was born, I picked out beautiful cards and matching lined stationary so I could sit and write letters to everyone on my list about my little girl and the progress of the restoration of our 1880’s Victorian home. I got two of them done. Nine years later, the box of cards is still in with my wrapping paper collection. The next year I did a little better. I actually signed the cards and mailed about half of them, but there was no personal note inside. I felt bad. My family and friends had spread across the country and I had become lax with my correspondence. As the New Year rolled by, I considered writing a holiday letter for the next year. The First Time. My first Tomaszek Family Holiday Letter was a pitiful attempt at communication. I simply couldn’t figure out how to sum up the previous year of our life in an interesting way. I think I managed to squeeze out about three paragraphs on snow-man paper. In a desperate attempt to spice it up a little, I decorated the envelopes and included Lena’s most recent photo. By the following year, Emma had joined our family and we had lots more to talk about. We also had great pictures of the girls wearing their pretty red dresses. Lena, now three, helped me decorate the envelopes that year. It was a great success. People actually took the time to call me and say how much they liked having something homemade included with the letter. Well, that sealed it for me! If people liked homemade things, we could do that! I quickly developed a little routine for putting together our holiday letters that has lasted several years now. It’s not too difficult and our extended family loves getting them. Making It Special. I start by finding a box of very basic holiday cards. I’m always careful not to buy anything that mentions Christmas specifically and I tend to lean toward something with a brief message about peace. I like to get a package of holiday-themed paper as well, and can almost always find something at a dollar store. We all sign the card by hand and then I type up the big letter, which follows the cosmically-developed format utilized universally. We also […]
Nov 1st, 2004 by Lucky Tomaszek
The Ex
By Jeremy M. Rottgen When you think of The Ex, imagine mad scientists with guitars and drums pushing the raw sounds of their musical and political agenda through anything from punk to noise. Now imagine these scientists staying up all night in the lab, spreading their message relentlessly… for over two decades. Since their debut, Disturbing Domestic Peace, in 1980, The Ex have released almost two dozen albums. Turn is a long listen on two discs, defying the punk way by creating huge textures and strange harmonies. The set offers more standard rock fare, plus several excursions into house beats. The Ex rely on over-driven yet articulated rhythms. Stand-up bass provides a solid bottom. Steve Albini produced Turn, giving the guitars punch, but it’s the beat that ends up taking you away. “Listen to the Painters” begins Turn with the rant “We need poets we need painters.” “Pie” is a great rendition of a sweet potato pie recipe being barked into a microphone before a ridiculous breakdown. Disc two features more of a percussive onslaught inspired by international rhythms. “Theme from Konono” has a catchy African-themed guitar sway. “In the Event” ends Turn with a haunting melody accompanied by a lone saxophone. Turn is a roller-coaster ride of interweaving dynamics; from extreme highs to subterranean lows, unafraid of risks. That’s a good thing for a hazardous band like The Ex.
Nov 1st, 2004 by Vital Archives
Not So Fast – Slow Food at Sticks & Stones
By Catherine McGarry Miller Britton Unkefer cooks in the slow lane, which isn’t to say he’s pokey. As head chef of Sticks and Stones in Brookfield, he serves between 120 and 200 customers expeditiously six nights a week. Rather, Unkefer is a devotée of the Slow Food movement, the idea behind which is to stop and smell the roses, or in food talk, slow down and smell the chicken (or whatever’s on your plate). Sparked by the 1986 opening of the first McDonald’s in Rome, journalist Carlo Petrini founded the movement to save regional food cultures from homogenization by promoting food appreciation, preserving culinary traditions and using local and seasonal organic products. Chef Unkefer applies these principles at Sticks and Stones, employing locally-sourced foods, adapting his menu to seasonal fare, promoting these ideas with his staff and creating an atmosphere that engenders conviviality. “I love the artistry of cooking, but when it comes down to it, it’s food. And what counts the most is where it’s coming from and the quality when it comes in your door.” Unkefer came to the culinary arts through his family. At thirteen, he began working at the family restaurant, Nelsen’s Hall on Washington Island, which served a country French menu, with his mother at the helm in the kitchen and his father managing the front. In college, Unkefer toyed briefly with the idea of medical school, but found his true calling closer to his roots. Trained at New England Culinary Institute in Essex, Vermont and the Domino Carlton Tivoli Hotel and Business School in Lucerne, Switzerland, he cut his teeth at Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio, the Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River, Oregon and the Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton, Wisconsin. Chef Unkefer’s menu requires the freshest, most natural ingredients available. For the Roasted Chicken dish, Dominion Valley Farms of Allenton provides pasture-raised chicken “where they eat what they’re supposed to,” which ramps up both flavor and nutritional value. It’s roasted with just sea salt and pepper and served with a sauce made from pan drippings. “We keep it pretty simple” says Unkefer. “More and more I try to do that with a lot of the things on the menu – just let the true flavors come through.” One taste and I could see why this rich, moist chicken is a customer favorite. There’s an emphasis on local ingredients. Carr Valley Cheese of La Valle provides the Cocoa Cardona, a complex hard goat cheese with unsweetened cocoa rind. The elegant aged Stravecchio parmesan from Antigo Cheese Company graces Umkefer’s signature risottos (“some of the best risotto you’re going to get anywhere, even though we’re not Italian”). Menomonie’s Sweetland Farms supplies the two-year-old undyed cheddar made from organic grass-fed Jersey cows. The Scottish Highlands beef comes from Fountain Prairie just north of Madison. But occasionally, Unkefer’s high standards demand products that are only available from a distance, like the $6 per pound French butter he insists on using for the risotto and for finishing his sauces. […]
Nov 1st, 2004 by Cate Miller
Willie Nelson
By John Hughes Willie Nelson has turned in a quietly elegant album that showcases his singing talent in its burnished, golden essence. It Always Will Be is perhaps not on the level of Nelson’s masterpieces, Red-Headed Stranger and Stardust, but it is among his top ten records (out of over 100). The title cut is a classic of Texas Mellow, and the duets with Paula Nelson, Lucinda Williams, and Norah Jones, flowing from a bluesy feel to country to pure jazz, evoke Nelson’s finest singing in recent memory. The women are in superb voice as well, and these three songs are the backbone of the disc. A weak moment is Nelson’s cover of Tom Waits’ brilliant “Picture in a Frame.” Whereas Waits’ rendition features a deeply resonant piano, and Satchmo-style vocalizing, Nelson’s sounds like Muzak. The guts are gone from the song. This is quickly forgiven, however, and forgotten, because from there Nelson quickly moves onto his home turf with the delicious “The Way You See Me.”On the whole, the disc evokes dreamy reverie as the songs melt seamlessly into one another. The consistent use of electronic instruments is a slight annoyance, and the album’s sound could have been improved with a switch to acoustic guitars. Still, there is no denying that Nelson, despite his lack of vocal range, is a tremendous singer. His immaculate taste in songs is evident here, and after he closes the album with a Latin-tinged song called “Texas,” the listener walks away from the experience with a tranquil heart.
Nov 1st, 2004 by Vital Archives
Challenging Charities
By Frizell Bailey The nation’s poverty rate rose for the third straight year in 2003. According to a Census Bureau report released in September, 35.9 million Americans were living in poverty, up 1.3 million from the previous year. Most alarmingly, that figure includes 17.6 million children. The Census Bureau report supports what those in the business of meeting the needs of the poor and homeless have known for several years. The demand for emergency food and shelter is on the rise. Unfortunately though, the same factors generating this increased need are also having an adverse effect on charitable giving. As a result, organizations that require such funds to feed, clothe and house those that have fallen on hard times are, in many instances, finding that overall contributions have declined in the wake of record donations in the late 90’s. Vital Source recently spoke with three local charities who provide food, shelter and other services to citizens in need to gain a clearer understanding of the rising demand/declining resources situation in Milwaukee, and to learn how those organizations have worked to meet the challenge. Harder now for Hope House. Hope House is a homeless shelter near downtown Milwaukee. In addition to providing emergency and transitional housing for individuals and families, Hope House also provides health care, childcare, emergency food service and educational services for youth and adults. “One of the trends we have been seeing is the decrease in government funding allocations that Hope House has in the past relied upon” says Kirk Stone, Fund Development Coordinator. He says funding from government agencies for charities has been dropping since 2001. This has been particularly difficult for Hope House, since government funding typically covers over half of their operating budget. To compound the problem, they have also seen declines in other revenue sources. “School-based giving is down and corporate giving is down. We are starting to see a greater increase in the dollar amounts of individual gifts that are coming in, but from 2001…the total number of individuals who have been giving is down” says Stone. The same paradox holds true for foundations. “Foundation gifts have increased in terms of dollar amount (per capita)” says Kirk. “But the (number of) organizations that are giving and the organizations giving specifically to homeless issues has been decreasing.” Working with less. Hope House has had to scale back its staff as a result of their funding crunch. According to Executive Director Ken Schmidt, they have tried to make cuts that don’t directly affect services. It hasn’t been easy. “In 2002 we lost $85,000, which we made up through our fund balance. Most of our cuts have been on the administrative side. For example, I no longer have a secretary. It’s kind of a catch-22 because I should be spending more time raising resources, but I’m doing more administrative work.” Their youth education program, for example, used to be funded partly through literacy grants from the W2 program. The state has been forced to cut these […]
Nov 1st, 2004 by Frizell Bailey
Reeve Oliver
By Jeremy M. Rottgen In teen-angst TV shows like Dawson’s Creek or The OC, soundtracks featuring music that boosts the drama of adolescence are linchpins of the genre. From a songwriter’s perspective, the subject matter of those tumultuous years will never run dry. Reeve Oliver may not be as sappy as the aforementioned television programs, but they do have their moments of post-adolescent rock. “I Want Burns” starts out with an acoustic strum-along evolving into an almost Weezer-esque distorted progression. “Young and Dumb” features a cool intro of major to minor chording which spins into a sweet music box-type love song. “Until Someone Loves You” opens with softly blended vocals and piano keys, then reverts back to a distorted, happy guitar sound. “Revenge” is probably the hardest-hitting track, with a flying-fingers kind of riff. Guitarist Sean O’Donnell is singularly talented, both vocally and on the six-string. If only the subject matter could change up from teen romance and break out of the formulaic. Nevertheless, R.O. are successful at what they do and can certainly take charge of the pop-music spectrum. It’s not exactly the toughest music in the world, but they probably get a ton of groupies.—Jeremy M. Rottgen
Nov 1st, 2004 by Vital Archives
A High-Velocity, Low-Stress Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days
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Nov 1st, 2004 by Vital Archives
Re-Branding the Brewers
By John Shivers Twelve years ago, I wrote a column for the local weekly that asked a simple question: can we build the park and lose the Seligs? Needless to say, it didn’t exactly make me a favored member of the Milwaukee Brewer press corps. Still, I believed that the then-heated issue of a new Miller Park was really two separate issues – did Milwaukee need to build a new baseball park (arguably, yes) and did the state of Wisconsin have to bail out Bud Selig for his financial losses (arguably, no). Yet, a dozen years later, the Brewers and their long-suffering fans are looking at a brave new world – major league baseball without the Seligs. What will it look like? Will it be better? Will the new ownership spend to build a winner? You’d have to think that the new guy in charge will increase the payroll from its present $27.5 million status, currently the lowest in the National League. Commish Selig likes to trot out so-called “small market” teams like Oakland and Minnesota as proof that it’s not all about the money. Still, the A’s were defeated in the American League West by the free-spending Anaheim Angels, and those plucky Twins have been dispatched by the New York Yankees (a.k.a. The Best Team Money Can Buy) in each of the last two playoff seasons. In the case of the Brewers, it can certainly be argued that they got what they paid for – a miserable offensive club that finished last in the league in batting average (.248), slugging percentage (.387) and tied for last in home runs (135). Manager Ned Yost did a superlative job in the first half of the 2004 season, but the team’s subsequent slide after the All-Star break was one of the worst in major league history. Who should stay and who should go? The Brewers’ best offensive player was first baseman Lyle Overbay, but he may be merely filling the position until Prince Fielder makes it to Milwaukee. All of the highly prized farm talent is still a year or so away, so the Brewers are not looking at seriously contending for a 2005 playoff berth. A key question is which Scott Podsednik will show up next season – the sparkplug who emerged from minor league obscurity two years ago or the slumping sophomore who couldn’t make adjustments last season? The answer might be somewhere in between, which would make finding a new leadoff man/center fielder a top priority. Off the top of my head, I see three positions where the Brewers need immediate help: third base, right field and catcher – if not in that particular order. Wes Helms played his way out of consideration at the hot corner, and his replacement Russell Branyan is a strikeout machine – another in a long line of Brewer mascots from Gorman Thomas to Rob Deer. While the top free agents will likely be out of Milwaukee’s price range, a couple of middle-tier stars […]
Nov 1st, 2004 by Vital Archives
