Is This Man Insane?

Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend)

Link to December 29 Wisconsin State Journal article, "State rep from West Bend wants state to set Madison's snow policy".

Green Valley's Discourteous Departure from Middleton

Starting January 2, 2010, the City of Middleton goes to a automated collection system, provided by Pelletteri Waste Systems.

Manitowoc County Courthouse Interiors

Ordinarily, I'd start out with an exterior view, but when I took these pictures in December, an exterior refurbishment was still in progress.

The original Courthouse was located in Manitowoc Rapids in the year 1839. It was 24' x 30', one story frame construction and cost $650.00. It was destroyed by fire in 1852. In 1853, the county seat changed from Manitowoc Rapids to the Village of Manitowoc and county buildings were erected there with completion in 1857.

In 1861, five city lots were purchased for a new county courthouse, and an adjoining two lots were added in 1875 to provide for parking. The Courthouse erected on this property served until replaced in 1906 by the present Courthouse building. The cost to rebuild the Courthouse was approximately $238,000.

The Courthouse was designed by Manitowoc architect Christ H. Tegen. The Beaux Arts, Neo-Classical "Temple of Justice" originally supported a glass dome, permitting light to stream into the interior rotunda. The dome was sheethed with stainless steel in 1948 following a particularly severe hailstorm.


The Manitowoc County Courthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the Secretary of the Interior on April 16, 1981.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Park Bank

Wisconsin State Capitol at Night

Well, actually, it was around 5:40 on a Friday evening on my way to a holiday party at Madison's.

But it certainly looks as deserted as a much later hour on the Square.

Snow Sculpture

Backyard scenes from the first major snowfall of the season.

Bird feeder

Glass globe

Wind chime

Birdbath

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, Part 2

Accenture ad.

At a time when it's tougher than ever to be a Tiger.....

If only they knew.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

Misbehaving in the Library

This GraphJam effort reminds me of visits to the Warren Public Library when I was in the 7th grade. And in 1963, the library was indeed a silent, deadly serious place.
see more Funny Graphs

How innocent, though, compared with the stories that librarians can tell today.

Oh, and in case you're wondering. No, I didn't pee myself.

No Home Should Be Without One

Not available in waterbed models.

Hard Up for Entertainment In Oklahoma

Pretty Good Time Ambulance Driver - Watch more Funny Videos

(via Bors Blog)

Nanny State Wants Your Roman Shades

Here's the basics from an AP report.

The government and the window covering industry on Tuesday recalled more than 50 million Roman-style shades and roll-up blinds because of the risk children may be strangled by the cords.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said five deaths and 16 near-strangulations from Roman shades have been reported since 2006, while three deaths connected to roll-up blinds have been reported since 2001.

At the risk of sounding heartless, I have to wonder if this recall is really necessary.

Each roman shade or roll-up blind is responsible for 0.00000016 deaths. Some might call that a pretty good safety record.

Makes you wonder how we survived drapery cords all these years.

Song of the Day: "He's Mine" by Alice Wonder Land

Luxuria Music does it again. It's amazing what they can dig up.



And he's mine.
He's so fine.

If you listened to the song, you are correct to assume it wasn't a big hit. "He's Mine" spent 7 weeks on the Hot 100 in the fall of 1963, peaking at #62.


The Class of September 14, 1963
Songs that entered the Hot 100 that week.
Position, title, artist. (Weeks, peak)

67. "Don't Think Twice It's All Right" by Peter, Paul & Mary. (10, 9)
75. "Donna the Prima Donna" by Dion DiMuci. (11, 6)
80. "He's Mine" by Alice Wonder Land. (7, 62)
82. "Teenage Cleopatra" by Tracey Dey. (5, 75)
84. "Enamorada" by Keith Colley. (8, 66)
86. "Blue Bayou" by Roy Orbison. (10, 29). The A side, "Mean Woman Blues", peaked at #5.
87. "Fools Rush In" by Rick Nelson. (13, 12)
91. "Elephant Walk" by Donald Jenkins & the Daylighters. (8, 64)
93. (re-entry) "Your Baby's Gone Surfin'" by Duane Eddy. (2, 93)
94. "Deep Purple" by Nino Tempo and April Stevens. (15, 1)
95. "Down the Aisle" by Patty LaBelle & the Blue Belles (13, 37)
96. "Lonely Drifter" by the O'Jays. (2, 93)
98. (re-entry) "Hear the Bells" by the Tokens. (4, 94)
99. "Mr. Wishing Well" by Nat King Cole. (3, 92)
100. "Your Boyfriend's Back" by Bobby Comstock & the Counts. (2, 98)

Pheasant Branch Nature Preserve

A Place That Helps to Make Middleton a Great Place to Live

Starting at Century Avenue on a sunny afternoon, a day after a paralyzing big storm.


The right half of the two-story building is the location of the apartment where JoAnna and I lived from June 1986 to April 1987.




One of 3 new bridges, accommodating bicycles along a now paved path, constructed this year.




The middle bridge along this section of the trail.




The "horseshoe curve" location of the 3rd bridge.



And environs. Parisi Park panorama. Both Andy and Eddie played baseball on this field.



A circular slide and its shadow.


Boulder Lane in Middleton's 1960s Saks Woods development

Gillette Does the Pussyfoot

What a.....

From an article posted on cnn.com today.

Gillette said Saturday it was "limiting" golfer Tiger Woods' role in its marketing programs to give him the privacy he needs to work on family relationships after disclosures of his "infidelity."

1 set of quotation marks = disingenuousness.

2 sets of quotation marks = bullshit.

Read all about it.

Song of the Day: "Mrs. Bluebird" by Eternity's Children

Another gem polished to a bright sheen by Luxuria Music. (You should be listening.)

You can well imagine the Mamas & Papas recording "Mrs. Bluebird", which spent 7 weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 during July and August of 1968, losing what little momentum it had when it reached #69.

Downtown Perspectives

"Small Town America" flickr photo discovered via Lazyfeed

This stunning photograph reminds me of my collection of "downtown" postcards I purchased in the late 1970s. (To be scanned soon.)

Let It Snow

And it did!

Songs of the Day: "Is there a doctor in the house?"

Song of the Day: "Happiness is Just Around the Bend" by Brian Auger's Oblivion Express

I'd like dedicate this song to June 18, 1984.

What is the right amount of softness, anyway?

And what's with the patterns.

According to an article in yesterday's New York Times, "...fluffiness comes at a price: millions of trees harvested in North America and in Latin American countries, including some percentage of trees from rare old-growth forests in Canada. Although toilet tissue can be made at similar cost from recycled material, it is the fiber taken from standing trees that helps give it that plush feel, and most large manufacturers rely on them."

Let the toilet paper battles begin.

Song of the Day: "Sad Old Kinda Movie" by Pickettywitch

Leave it to Luxuria Music to scrape the inner walls of the deep recesses of my brain and uncover this little gem. Since Pickettywitch's "Sad Old Kinda Movie" never charted on Billboard's Hot 100, I'm sure I heard the song just a few scattered times.

Close your eyes and it seems as though lead singer Polly Brown is channeling Dionne Warwick.

And leave it youtube to have a video of this song in its vast library.

I love this online world.

Front and Centre

Larry and Alice Admire the Christmas Tree