Three brushes with greatness in a 42 hour span! A new record
Thursday evening, My-Sugar-Na and I went to Potowatomi Casino to watch the Packers game in the Northern Lights theater. We made the mistake of eating at the buffet before saving our seats, and when we got to the theater an hour before game time, all of the seats were either saved or occipied. My-Sugar-Na and I waited for about thirty minutes until two seats opened up. In the row directly behind us was Frank Calieno's father. Unsolicited, he introduced himself to us as "Frank Caliendo's Dad". I don't actually know his first name. Clearly, he is proud of his son, and he was quite proud of the fact that the elder Caliendo had just gotten back from California and will be on an episode of Frank TV in the near future.
This morning, as I was at Stone Creek on Bluemound Road for my second $5 cup of coffee of the week (I've tried to cut down to one a week, but I needed the jolt to get going this morning). The line was quite long, and the guy in front of me was a large, well groomed black man. As we got closer to the register, he turned to me and said that I looked familiar. I responded the same, and we tried to figure it out. He asked me if I had worked in radio (I said that I didn't) and it occured to me... I was speaking with James T. Harris, who is a semi-regular panelist on Sunday Insight with Charlie Sykes (as well as being a fill in for Jeff Wagner's radio show, but I couldn't recognize a radio guy, could I?) Mr. Harris did tip me off that there was some excitement on Sunday Insight tomorrow. They taped the episode Friday evening, and Mr. Harris said that one particular topic had the set riled up. He also said that they had to take a couple of takes to get the "Winners and Losers" segment done.
Continue the hijacked thread by talking about Jason Kendall here
Not that I mind the discussion about Jason Kendall on my blog entry about James T. Harris, but if we are going to talk about Kendall, let's do it here.
My thoughts?
Neighbors
In the forty years that I've lived in this house, I've seen many changes in my neighborhood, some very good, some awful. One of the main things I've experienced in those years are many different neighbors. Some of them have been pure nightmares, a few became friends and a few that have moved on, I truly do miss. However, now I've got some really wonderful neighbors. I dont want to mention any names but I will say that my grandson who lives with me calls the man "Mr. Wilson".
I just would like to publically thank "Mr. Wilson" and his wife for being good neighbors. He does my grass cutting in the summer, snowblows for me all winter long and fixes my car when it needs some TLC. His wife and I are friends also and we share a love of homemade bread pudding. The nicest thing bout the "Wilsons" are that we try very hard not to be intrusive into each others lives. Yet we keep an eye on each others property especially when one of us is on vacation and the "Wilsons" have a key to both my house and car for emergency purposes.
Parks are not the cause of high taxes-2
Often when there’s a debate over holding the line on taxes, County Park operations are brought up, as if Park expenditures are the fault for our high tax burden. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Last year, for every $100 that a Milwaukee resident paid in total property taxes, only $1.62 went to fund the 15,000-acre park system.
For 2008, the County Executive proposes cutting taxes devoted to Parks by 5.86%, compared to this year. The County Board’s Finance Committee alternative would impose a $24.2 million levy which amounts to a $2.1 million increase over this year’s budget. That increase would equate to an additional $4.41 on the annual property tax bill for a family living in a $130,000 house.
Neither funding alternative reaches the $26.9 million levy that was devoted to Parks in 1983. You read that right: the County is funding Parks at a level that’s less than what existed 25 years ago!
From 1983 to 2007, the County’s overall tax levy grew by 112%, outpacing inflation. Yet, during that same time, the County cut the Parks portion of that levy by 18.3%.
Our Parks aren’t the cause of high property taxes. Don’t let anyone tell you different.
We still have an indoor soccer team, folks
The Milwaukee Wave played a game which was broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel on Friday, December 7th. Only 2,690 fans thought enough about the Wave to show up.
The Wave started in 1984 as a glorified amateur team. After their fourth season, they moved to the Bradley Center, and for about fifteen seasons their attendance averaged in the 7,000 to 8,000 range. About five years ago, they moved to the US Cellular Arena and attendance has steadily declined. Along the way, the Wave won the league championship four times.
I am looking for a new church
Until 2002, I was a member of Our Lady Queen of Peace (aka "St. Southgate") on 27th & Euclid. (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Son, Mitten had gone to grade school there from kindergarten through sixth grade. For various reasons, when I separated from the Devil Reincarnate, I stopped going to that church. Since then, I have been looking for a new church to attend where I feel comfortable. I know this is going to drive the touchy-feeley churchgoing readers crazy, but I don't want a touchy-feeley church.
I have attended bunches of other churches for varying lengths of time over the last five years, but none have grabbed me and made me think "This is it!". The closest that I have found was Gesu Parish (aka "The Church of the Downtown Jesus"), however, going downtown is quite a trek some mornings (the offset is some of the Marquette students of the female race that attend that church!) Maybe Gesu is the church for me.
West Allis Winner
Who IS Michael James?
Maybe a check into some of the lists (lower right of this page, but conveniently linked in this post) would give us an idea...
Al's Ramblings - This is my favorite Brewers info blog. The updates are quick and an easy read, and usually the links contained within do the talking. I like this blog even though I am in complete disagreement about the Brewers rise and fall of last season (Al says that the 24-10 start, or the slide in August are small cross-sections of a season, and the final record is almost always what it deserves to be. I say that the 24-10 start shows how good the team can be, and the slide in August was a red flag that needed immediate attention.)
New park patrol program will enhance security for park patrons
The Milwaukee County Executive’s 2008 Recommended Budget proposed the creation of a Park Patrol. On Monday, November 5, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors supported the creation of a Park Patrol when they passed the 2008 Adopted Budget.
Various tidbits that aren't long enough to merit their own entry
1. My-Sugar-Na and I stopped by Tommasino Italia' for dinner last night. The restaurant on 74th & Greenfield (formerly the beloved Doyle's Milwaukee Inn) is owned by Thomas Doyle. During dinner (fantastic pizza, by the way, with fresh giardinara and parmesan on the side), I spoke with Mr. Doyle. He stated two very interesting and believable things.
First, he is amazed that more of his business wasn't from West Allis residents. Both the Milwaukee Inn and Tommasino Italia' were/are by no means George Webb-priced, but they aren't Eddie Martinis-priced, either. My large, three topping pizza was about $16, and the restaurant featured checkered tablecloths, linen napkins and good silverware. Some of the entrees were in the $15ish range, but that certainly compares favorably with other sit-down restaurants. He said that business has improved since he changed the offerings to Italian, but there is certainly room for more.
Christmas is Here!
It’s finally time. The mall trudging, crowd fighting, credit card swiping, coffee guzzling, gift wrapping, package mailing mayhem has finally come full circle.
So much for the sponsorship
Why limit myself to ONE advertiser, when these guys have the right idea?
The Upcoming New Year
First of all, I want to wish all the other bloggers and all our faithful readers a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. I've enjoyed writing my blog and enjoyed reading my compatriots blogs. It's always good to read the opinions of others and read the comments even though they are often at odds with the author.
On to the ubiquitous new years resolutions and wishes that we all make and oftentimes break within the month of January. Here are some resolutions and wishes that I truly hope are kept.
