This adventure started innocently enough; I wanted to buy a birthday gift for my wife. She is fond of these bird paintings we had seen at various maker’s markets around town, a colorful bird painted on glass, framed in a vintage frame, on a printed, patterned background.
It was a moment I vividly remember, circa 1994. Music had not gone streaming yet — we were still virtually a decade away from those realities. Racks of compact discs lined the den walls of music aficionados – clearly before any notions that “we didn’t really own the music” had set in. Napster hadn’t happened yet.
Hey everyone, how you doing? Remember me? Aw, don’t look the other way and pretend I’m not here. You knew in the back of your mind that I could show up any time. You carry a Wisconsin driver’s license. You know how this works.
The mismatched mix of tables and chairs in the dining room at La Merenda is slightly unexpected as your host/hostess walks you to your table. As a culture, we’ve come to expect great décor to accompany our top level dining. But don’t underestimate the power of eclecticism. The dining chairs are merely a vehicle to keep you comfortable.
We frequently go to brunch because even those of us who despise generational stereotypes still love shakshuka we don’t have to make ourselves. A month ago we were at brunch sitting with our phones out (guilty!) beep booping around the Internet when we stumbled upon an event coming up in the neighborhood.
In 2018, when every single day spent as a cognizant human being who is aware of the world around them feels like an existential nightmare-cum-fever dream, what better thing to do than attend Milwaukee’s 3rd annual Diorama-rama?
The Cal-Neva is a casino in downtown Reno, Nevada on 2nd Street. And as I walk through the doors I imagine the hardened gamblers, cowboys, ladies of the evening, and down on their luck renegades that have walked these well-worn footsteps. The carpet almost feels – and looks original.
When she inserted the first needle into the webbing between my ring finger and pinky finger, I felt a jolt of tolerable electricity. I definitely didn’t expect that.
There’s an old Nordic Folk song titled “Varulven” which, translated to English is “The Werewolf.” It’s a Little Red Riding Hood type of story in which a werewolf terrorizes a young girl. When the wolf confronts her she offers him pieces of clothing, specifically a silver crown and silver gown.
Parents have a way of making anything seem unappealing. They do it by saying you have to do it. As a child and especially as a young adult, there is a burning rebellion within you that fights this. This is why, until recently, I was not interested in growing things.
On a recent cold Sunday I caught up with local filmmaker Carol Brandt at her quiet, warm space near National Avenue, which is a shared co-lab space for a handful of filmmakers from the Milwaukee area.
To love is a spectrum. I’ve recently started visualizing this spectrum in the grade school science class way—the electromagnetic spectrum way. A visible light, shining rainbow. A crystal hung in a classroom window that classmates would ogle at when spring light would finally be shown through it.
The mission of Commonstate is to champion creative thinking in every community, in every field. Filmmakers, musicians, fine artists, chefs, public servants and architects alike are at home here. And just because you don’t make art doesn’t make you less of a creator. Creativity of all kinds drives business, community,...
Steve Kodis is a freelance graphic designer, one of countless here in Milwaukee, immensely talented people who have willingly traded in a bit of freedom for a lot of responsibility. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Makes you think the word “free” in “freelancer” is a bit of a non-sequitur.
Have you ever had a day where you were sick of being depressed about something and wanted to venture out into the world, without quite knowing what you needed? Maybe just to be around people again or to see if the sun was still out there?
I made a list of all sides of Milwaukee I wanted to enjoy before drifting away from the Midwest and the tea service at The Pfister was at the top of that list.
There’s a noisy Thursday dinner crowd packed into Buckley’s in Milwaukee and I’m sitting in the back sipping bourbon waiting for Drew Britton to arrive. The crowd is probably not going to faze him; Drew has just returned from the Slamdance Film Festival, where thousands of people pack into a city whose population is close to 9,000.
Award-winning editor and film business entrepreneur Barry Poltermann talks about his latest project, “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond,” the story of the making of Milos Forman’s film Man On The Moon, where actor Jim Carrey literally became Andy Kaufman on and off set.