Entries Tagged 'Milwaukee--A Place To Be' ↓

Next weekend, November 6th-8th, Muskego Library will host an awesome literary event. Over thirty crime and fiction writers will be in town.

First on Thursday night Sean Chercover, author of a highly praised Chicago PI series and Kat Richardson, author of the crossover Greywalker series will be at Mystery One to sign and discuss their new books. Blake Crouch, author of an original serial killer series, may join them.

On Friday night there is a wine and cheese party at the Muskego Library from 6.30 until 8.30. All the authors will be there on Friday.

On Saturday the programs are in full swing. From 9am until 7pm the authors will be involved in panels and discussions.

Dennis Lehane is the Guest of Honor, but also in attendance are, S.J. Rozan, Michael Koryta, Mario Acevedo, Lori Armstrong, Michael Black, David Case, Sean Chercover, Judy Clemens, Reed Farrel Coleman, Mark Combes, Blake Crouch, Michael Dymmoch, Jack Fredrickson, Victor Gischler, Chris Grabenstein, Harry Hunsicker, Libby Fischer Hellman, J.A. Konrath, Tim Maleeny, B.Clay Moore, Cornelia Reed, J.D. Rhoades, Kat Richardson, Marcus Sakey, Tom Schreck, Neil Anthony Smith, Charles and Caroline Todd and Simon Wood.

 Earlier this week screenwriter/novelist David Benioff dropped by Harry W. Schwartz on Downer to read from his new novel City of Thieves.

The new novel deals with the Fall of Leningrad, Nazis, war ravaged Russia, the stories grandfathers tell, and an impossible mission. I’ve only just begun it, but Benioff’s prose is absorbing and it’s a hard book to put down.

Having loved the 25th Hour, I found that with David Benioff’s work, you don’t read it in short spurts only to eventually get to the ending. Instead there’s lots of time well spent, engrossed, and eagerly awaiting to return to the pages when torn away.

Here’s audio from Benioff’s reading at Schwartz’s.

Louis C.K. and  Todd Barry have found their way into Milwaukee and someone convinced them to perform. The last time Todd Barry was set to take the stage here a few years back, a huge ass snow storm hit and made the travel a dicey proposition. This may be Louis C.K.’s first ever performance in Milwaukee, we’re not really venue that a lot of comics are drawn to despite our proximity to Chicago, Minnesota, and Madison.  The lack of strong venues for stand-ups doesn’t help. Jokerz tends to book mostly comics starting out or who have faded fast. But, what can you expect when the place is in the basement of a strip club next to the freeway? The Milwaukee area really lacks much in the way of a welcoming venue for the mid-range comic.

Tonight’s show is at the Pabst Theater, which is a nice venue for the show—if you’re in the lower level. The problem with the Pabst tends to be the price. Lately, the Pabst Theater’s calender has featured a more diverse selection of entertainment and ticket prices for their weeknight show’s can be in the $20 range.

That, however is the deceptive part.

The tickets for tonight’s show are $25 for any of the three levels. Totally acceptable. I would’ve even considered $30 sorta reasonable. What I don’t find remotely acceptable is the additional fees tacked on. Old, tired complaint, I know. Still though.

There’s a service and tax and an order processing fee of which a holding fee is apart. This brings the cost up to $34.57 for one ticket. Who or what is doing the holding? A computer database will be doing that heavy lifting. The very same computer, which will print the two tickets I bought when I arrive. There’s no holding being done. Paper and ink, that’s it. And a printer. You don’t even need a ticket person to slide them through the window the same machine could just spit them out at me.

I’d gladly hand Louis C.K. and Todd Barry the $15.64 extra. They’re working for it. If they’re holding my tickets, I’ll be glad to hand them $3.50, but this is why I go to the Pabst maybe once every three years. Beautiful building, but fucked up prices. I expect though, that Louis C.K. and Todd Barry will give me my moneys worth.

Call me petty, sure, but I’m not a high roller. If the Pabst really wants a diverse crowd to fill their seats they should reconsider their prices. 

There may be no bad words, but thirty-five years ago, George Carlin’s performance at Summerfest proved that when an off-duty police officer and his nine year old son are present there are inopportune moments.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Stingl spoke with Elmer Lenz, the officer who filed the complaint that led to Carlin’s arrest and subsequent infamy for reciting the Seven Dirty Words You Can Never Say on Television . At the time Lenz wanted to stop the show and drag Carlin off the stage. Instead he found a superior officer who apprehended Carlin after the show.

“I wouldn’t have changed anything I did if I had known there were children in the audience. I think children need to hear those words the most because as yet they don’t have the hang-ups. It’s adults who are locked into certain thought patterns.”

“I find it kind of funny to be hassled for using them¹ when my intention is to free us from hassling people for using them,” said Carlin.²

Ultimately, the case was laughed out of court.

This incident was in my mind last night while watching Lewis Black rant on everything from golfers to Scooter Libby. Standing next to my wife, a woman and her two bored looking children took in every “fuck”, “motherfucker”, and “cocksucker” Black spit out.

As Lewis Black yelled out a Tourettic “Fuck” my wife heard “Peanut butter” loudly shouted over her shoulder. Turning around to look at the source, her eyes met with the mother of two.

“It doesn’t matter what you say, as long as you say ‘Peanut Butter’ afterwards,” she said.

The fact that at 11:30 p.m. two half-awake children could’ve cared less what anyone yelled on stage because they soaking wet from standing in the rain for the better half of the last hour.

Somewhere I know George Carlin would be smirking.

A few years ago, Carlin was on tour and knowing how desperate I was to see him, my friend Charles got tickets for his stop in Madison. During college my attempts to see Carlin fell short three different times over the years. To my surprise the seats were second row center. We were so close, George Carlin could have pissed on my head. Accurately. I was so fucking excited.

Waiting for the show to start three elderly women sat down next to me. Three other women from their group sat down in front of Charles and Nathan.

Carlin’s career stretches across many decades, but these women seemed to be more like misplaced members of Lawrence Welk’s crowd. The shock on their faces when Carlin let loose a profane rant danced through my head until the woman next to me leaned over and asked me to watch their coats. The silver cross pin on the lapel didn’t catch eye at that moment.

“We’re going backstage,” the woman said.

Dumbfounded, they left me to ponder how they scored backstage access as the opener started his set.

Maybe they won a contest.

Maybe they were big supporters of the venue.

Returning to their seats during the intermission, the women bubbled about meeting George.
“He was my student,” the woman next to me said, as she sat down. The six women were nuns who had taught at Corpus Christi Elementary School in New York. The woman next to me had been Carlin’s third grade teacher and she had written him a letter earlier that year to tell him how proud she was of his achievements. Carlin responded to her letter and invited them to attend a show. The women were on a road trip and stopped in Madison to see the show.

If Elmer Lenz had been appalled to hear Carlin say “cocksucker” in the presence of his child, imagine the trip your brain takes as George Carlin takes stage five feet in front of you and three nuns and says: “You know what nobody talks about these days? Pussy farts!”

1. Shit. Piss. Fuck. Cunt. Cocksucker. Motherfucker. Tits. In case you were wondering.[back]
2. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel [back]

WNOV-AM (860) Milwaukee has barred talk show host Michael McGee for comments about the death of Katherine Sykes. Sykes, the mother of conservative talk show host Charlie Sykes, WTMJ 620 AM, died earlier this week in a fire at her Mequon home.

...”Mother Sykes, she dead. To me it’s the vengeance of God. I ain’t got no tears. Matter of fact a woman that would have a fool like that deserve whatever is coming her. She raised a sure enough idiot,” McGee said on his radio show. “My instincts say Charlie Sykes killed his momma, cuz she live out in this big palace in Mequon all isolated. He got tired of waiting for her money.”

Today, WNOV suspended McGee¹ indefinitely, and replacing him on the air will be his son, the equally bigoted alderman Michael McGee Jr.²

While Charlie Sykes mourns the untimely loss of his mother, Sykes is no stranger to the having his hand slapped over racist comments. He’s not big on Hispanics, immigrants of perceived illegal nature, and of-course the McGee’s who Sykes’ swung his share of verbal haymakers in their direction.

While talk radio seems to thrive these days on bickering over where the line on hate speech is these days, what do these talking heads manage to create beyond the further polarization of the community in which them spew their views?
Guess that doesn’t matter, just so long as they get paid.
Why does the city of Milwaukee and it’s community tolerate these assclowns? They can run their mouths, and but we don’t need to listen. This city has enough noise.

For more on this:

• The Latest on McGee Sr & Jr.—Badger Blogger
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tim Crispin offers a view about the decision to yank McGee.
• Sykes Calls Al Sharpton a “Pimp”
• Michelle Malkin declares: “A radio hatemonger in Milwaukee”.

tags technorati : Michael McGee, Charlie Sykes, Hate Speech, radio, Milwaukee, politics

1. for some fun filled reading check out McGee’s glee at forming a Black Panther Militia back in the 90s. He was intent on bring organized violence to Milwaukee because this was going to help the inner city be heard [back]
2. when’s he’s not hating on homosexuals McGee Jr. enjoys throwing bricks at reckless drivers[back]

Milwaukee has found itself ranked number two in the nation in teen pregnancy.
For those of you at home taking part in the Watching Milwaukee’s Further Degradation Drinking Game take a few for each of the future generations this will impact.

Fear not, we can expect this:

Conservatives and Liberals and in-betweeners will trade blame.

Governemnt officals will blame lack of leadership, tax dollars and funding, the school system, any which way it could be spun away from them.

Rich will blame Poor.

Whites will shake their heads shamefully at Blacks.

Blacks will shake their heads shamefully, and shake them right back at Whites who will pretend it’s not them.

Religious will again speak out about abstinence and the place of religion in schools.

School systems will point to the parents, the children, and the lack of resources.

The parents will blame the schools.

The irresponsible will blame the responsible.

And, some of those responsible will do what they can in the face of adversity and others will not.

So it goes.

The stability of Milwaukee is further shook. When will something or some people start responding and stop talking?

tags technorati : Milwaukee, Teen Pregnancy, Wisconsin

What we lack in high culture we make up for in alcohol consumption.

from the Green Bay Press Gazette:

State Senate OKs free beer samples at the store

The Associated Press

MADISON — Beer lovers of Wisconsin, rejoice! Thanks to the state Senate, you’re a step closer to getting a free (yes, free!) half-can of beer.

The Senate today approved a bill on an unanimous voice vote that allows grocery and liquor stores to hand out samples of up to 6 ounces of free beer per day to people of legal drinking age. The Assembly was expected to take up the measure later today.

Sen. Pat Kreitlow, D-Chippewa Falls, home of the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co., is the bill’s main sponsor. He said the measure is designed to help beer manufacturers compete with wine makers.

Jonathan Lethem stopped by Harry W. Schwartz books in Milwaukee, a couple of weeks ago to read from his new novel, You Don’t Love Me Yet.

Here’s some audio of the event.

[audio:http://www.notesofadefeatist.com/wp-content/uploads/audio/JonathanLethem.mp3]

tags technorati : Jonathan Lethem, books, reading, Milwaukee, You_Don’t_Love_Me_Yet, audio

From the Oconomowoc Focus:

One man’s viewing pleasure was the cause of another man’s alarm just before noon Feb. 11.
Let’s just say it was not your typical Sunday morning.

According to the police report, officers were called to a residence in the 100 block of North Main Street after a man kicked in his neighbor’s door and threatened him with a sword. The caller said the subject lived downstairs with his mother.
Police made contact with the neighbor, a 39-year-old man, who told them he heard a woman screaming from upstairs and feared she was being sexually assaulted.
The subject said he grabbed the 39-inch sword, went upstairs and kicked in the door to investigate. He repeatedly asked his neighbor “Where is she?” and made him open a closet, and searched the apartment looking for a woman in distress.

The victim told his neighbor, and later showed police the evidence, that the noise came from a pornographic movie he was watching.
According to the police report, the subject said he got the sword from his father, who had it in the armed forces. There was German writing etched on the blade of the sword.
The victim said he was fearful for his safety and was afraid the he would be stabbed during the incident.
Police are seeking charges of second-degree reckless endangerment of safety, criminal trespassing, criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct against the 39-year-old Oconomowoc man.

tags technorati : Porn, swords, trouble, men, Wisconsin, weird

From Penny Arcade:

Inspired by this hard hitting news story.

tags technorati : T.V., news, Fox, WITI-TV, Milwaukee, Catastrophe