VITAL
Flamingo Flap
Stella's been up all night wondering why we can't stop decorating our lawns with weird junk. Flamingos are one thing, but the Virgin Mary in a bathtub?
May 18th, 2009 by Stella Cretek
May 18-24
This week- buy local and save, Museum Day(s), Animal Collective, Barbeque and the beach.
May 17th, 2009 by Erin Petersen
Decision making 101010
Awhile back I came across an article about author and commentator Suzy Welch, who recently published a book on her new10-10-10 Rule. The idea behind this decision-making trick is to ask yourself a series of questions: Will this decision matter in 10 minutes? Does it matter in 10 months? How about in 10 years? And what is the impact of this decision within these time frames?
May 17th, 2009 by Michelle Sieg
CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT
Time flies when you’re having fun and the next thing you know, it’s the end of the season. Time for the moment of truth! Season One champs The Rushin Rollettes sought to regain their title, while contenders Maiden Milwaukee hoped to win it for the first time. Also banging heads in a grudge match were the Shevil Knevils and the Crazy 8’s.
May 17th, 2009 by Tea Krulos
The Milwaukee Sound – John the Savage
Fan-Belt Milwaukee's Erin Wolf has a seat with six of the seven members of John the Savage.
May 15th, 2009 by Erin Wolf
The Hollywood Collector’s Show
Mark Metcalf meet Lois Lane, Bobby Brady, Big Bird and a mailman with a machine gun at the Hollywood Collector's Show in part two of his three-part series on conventions.
May 14th, 2009 by Mark Metcalf
Dandelions and the Persistence of Life
Quite suddenly last week, there were dandelions everywhere. It was as if we were paying attention to other trivial matters when the little yellow flowers just popped into existence. They covered open fields by the thousands and small patches on city boulevards. It was the official sign that spring is here in Wisconsin, and a subconscious switch in the brain that life is still happening despite our best efforts. So let’s talk about our love/hate relationship with a bitter flower. What is considered a weed by many lawn owners, a brilliant bouquet to a child, a wine source to a few (recipe), and scientifically known as the flowering plant Taraxacum to horticulturalists often takes on a certain low-culture status when compared to roses and garlic mustard alike. Its scent is earthy, attractive only attractive to the bees. It’s an invasive species more prevalent than kudzu, yet milder and easier to get rid of, making it low on the daisy chain of pests to obliterate. But it’s also a symbol of true freedom. It can grow almost anywhere, from a bed of silt loam to a crack in the sidewalk. You can step on it, but it will keep going. It comes in only one color – joy – with intricate little petals. When the flower dies, those petals become ghostly parachutes and fly away. Its spirit is at once indomitable and transitory. There is already a canon of books devoted to ridding a prized lawn of dandelions, but there could also be a library dedicated to our sublime relationship to this temperate climate bloom, filled with philosophy and analogies to love, life, the recession, childhood, politics and so forth. What begins as a gentle and soft thing becomes sharp and brittle when aged (the origin of ‘dandelion’ is actually from the French ‘Dents de Lion’ or ‘Lion’s Tooth’). It is everywhere, and cannot be defeated by cutting off the head. Underneath the surface of a supple, green plant structure we pull out a massive, spiraling root that has burrowed deep into the soil. It is a menace when the little white puffs blow into our eyes and over our clothes. Yet we know that this process will ensure their return and sustain the environment. The dandelion might be perceived as innocuous and trifling in the detailed scope of daily life. It is persistent, it comes back in cycles, and the petals stain the skin. The bitter greens can be used in salads, but they also have a diuretic effect. The flower once picked for mother as a sign of love will quickly wilt and smell. It is something that we are aware of once seen, but quickly forgotten once gone until we encounter them again with spring anew. So what seems like something that is beneath us – not just beneath our feet – is the ultimate persistent advertising the world has to offer. The world cannot reason with us, but it can make us feel.
May 12th, 2009 by Brian Jacobson
Five questions for Milwaukee Film’s Jonathan Jackson
Milwaukee Film Artistic Director Jonathan Jackson answers five of YOUR questions about film in Milwaukee.
May 12th, 2009 by Jon Anne Willow
The Legend of Bob Marley
May 11 marks the 28th anniversary of legendary reggae musician Bob Marley’s death. For many people, Marley’s music offered a strong opposition to hatred, oppression and neo-colonialism. But for those with an unfortunately limited worldview, the musician was nothing more than the patron saint of weed. To illustrate the second stance, I’ve decided to turn this playlist over to my cousin, Ryan Schurk. Ryan is a former day-shift manager at the Grafton Costco who lost his job after an ill-fated attempt to turn a defective Slap Chop into a bong. At age 26, he currently lives with my aunt Gina and spends his days blowing smoke in the ear of his family’s cat, Tuff Gong, in an attempt to get him high. Ryan was kind enough to sit down and share five songs with ThirdCoast Digest that he feels are appropriate to commemorate Marley’s life. Sixto Rodriguez – “Sugar Man” I first heard Sixto’s album Cold Fact on a high school service trip to South Africa. I knew right away that it was something special. It’s a shame the R-Man never caught fire in the US. “Sugar Man” has got all the hooks of a Donovan jam, but cuts out the bullshit and directly professes love to my “Sweet Mary Jane.” When I got back to the states, I knew that my life finally had purpose. Cold Fact single handedly convinced me to forego “higher education” and devote all my efforts to being a full-time dude. Was it the right decision? You think that over while you eat your panini on your paid lunch hour. Meanwhile, I’ll be watching an all-day “Cheaters” marathon on G4. The Rolling Stones – “2,000 Light Years from Home” Their Satanic Majesties Request is probably my third favorite Stones album of all time. Whether I’m kicking around town trying to break in a new pair of mules or playing bag toss at my pal Moose’s duplex, there’s no better soundtrack than this underappreciated psych-rock gem. Sometimes I’ll throw “2,000 Light Years from Home” on when Tuff Gong and I are going on one of our “spirit journeys.” Before we know it, we’re tearing through the cosmos on big-ass Harleys in a mad dash to liberate the people of Space Station Zion from the dreaded Downpressor Men. The song’s spacey-synth is like something out of a sci-fi flick, and we’re frickin’ Jedi masters. The only difference: Once our job is done we score some “death sticks” and spit game at those sweet Twi’Lek honeys. Ghostface Killah (Feat. Raekwon) – “Kilo” I’ve never taken a ride on the white pony before, unless you count that nummer I did with the guys from the Costco TV department. Still, I think I know where Ghost and Raekwon are coming from with this song. I’ve dangled my fair share of God’s green herb, and I can tell you that the life of a kingpin isn’t easy. Shariff don’t like it when a small businessman such as myself starts climbing the […]
May 11th, 2009 by Nick Schurk
May 12-18
This week in Performance and Visual Arts: live improv comedy, Ko-Thi's 40th anniversary, "Common People" (yep, the Shatner ballet) at Milwaukee Ballet, Paul Cebar and David Greenberger at the Pabst, pajama jamborees, a "no instrument spared" musical event at the WCM, True Skool (sic) at MAM and much, much more.
May 11th, 2009 by Brian Jacobson
Save Us From Favre! (18-14)
No, the other Favre… Dear Ken Macha, Another series, Ken, and another victory — against the Cubs, no less. The bullpen shut down hitters when it mattered most and the offense perpetrated the most heinous form of mockery in modern baseball: the Craig Counsell homerun. It’s starting to look like the beginning of the season was just a terrible, late night cheddarwurst induced nightmare. But don’t put those TUMS away just yet, Ken. There’s something far worse than a Ryan Braun brushback pitch to the helmet coming your way. Brett Favre! You’re new around these parts, Ken, so you may not have heard about the yearly local news orgy that is “Favre Watch! 200_.” You have been hiding in the bathroom a lot since Trevor Hoffman rejoined the team. See, what happens is every year we spend way too much time worrying about whether or not Brett Favre is going to play football. Sound silly? Well, it is! But that’s what we do around here — cling to our past moments of greatness, never letting them go until each of our fingers have been individually pried away during the Sturm und Drang of recognizing that we can’t be what we were. Favre is just the largest manifestation of this feeling ever felt by the state’s baby boomers. In terms you might understand, it’s kind of like when in 2005 your contract with the Oakland A’s ended and GM Billy Beane didn’t resign you, but then six days later you were rehired. Now imagine that scenario happened annually for eight years! Why does this matter to you, Ken? Because if it happens again, and it looks like it might, you’re going to be competing for precious fan attention with The Gunslinger. If the Crew starts an ill-timed losing streak during the upcoming week and Favre Watch! continues unabated, you should be prepared to suffer with this monotonous non-story for the rest of the summer, leeching the media attention you rightfully deserve. But, if you can keep the good times rolling along up to and through the looming road trip through St. Louis, Houston and Minnesota you might be able to deprive the Favre media hydra of the attention it craves long enough to keep the focus on your well-playing team. That’ll put even more fans in the seats and a little extra scrilla in Mark Attanasio’s diamond-studded Brewers money clip. To accomplish this, you’re going to need to figure out what’s up with Jeff Suppan. Jordan at Brew Crew Ball doesn’t believe his better than expected outings as of late are a sure signal that everything’s ok. Today, it only took one bad inning to turn an acceptable outing into a loss. Suppan’s starts aren’t inconsequential and every win he earns the team will be well worth it as the pennant race starts heating up. You’re also going to have to protect Ryan Braun from sassy announcers. Ryan’s mammoth home run off on Saturday unleashed the fury of Cub’s announcer Bob Brenly, who […]
May 11th, 2009 by Rob Vosters
‘Children of a Lesser God’ and ‘The Great Divorce’
There is - at least on some surface or technical levels - a certain kinship of challenge between the two productions currently staging on two opposite sides of Milwaukee County this month. Both have entirely black stages, with many benches, stairs, or props painted black as well to give the idea that the play takes place in the mind of the main character. That protagonist remains on stage and speaking for most of the time. Both plays have religious or theological underpinnings, although one is more direct about it.
May 11th, 2009 by Brian Jacobson
