#Milwaukee River Walk

[mrsmoose54]

States 46 & 47 (Kenosha WI - Milwaukee WI - Chicago IL) Days 7 & 8

[fruitgoat]

Mapping/Routing the CTA

I'm still blaming @copperbadge for all of this.

As I am taking this trip in my mind, I have chosen to ignore a lot of the challenges the physical world brings.  Like road construction, neighborhood block parties, day of the week, trains that only stop there once a day in the opposite direction, buses that only run a few hours a day, the actual passage of time, etc.  This trip should not be attempted in the Real World – every route and stop apparently still exists, but you might need to wait hours if not days for the correct bus/train.  For the Extra Bonus Points of LOLs and Nostalgia I have included sections of the Metra (Milwaukee Districts North and West and South Shore Electric), Big Bus Tours, and the Water Taxi.

Again, do NOT try this route in Real Time.  Yet.  My ADHD brain may or may not get back to you in a few days on how long it would actually take just so we can all laugh at the idea of getting lost and being forced to sneak around and spend the night in a mattress store at the Golf Mill Shopping Center or whatever.  (Actually, that’s a hell of a meetcute.  I… I might need to go write something now….)

Starting at Linden.

Ride Purple Line to Howard.  Transfer to Yellow Line.

Ride Yellow Line to Dempster-Skokie. (Resist the muscle memory to catch the bus all the way to Deerfield. I really hated that commute.)

Bus to Morton Grove Metra.

Ride (MN) Metra to Mayfair.

Walk to Blue Line (Montrose).  Ride Blue Line to O’Hare.

Stretch legs and bathroom break.  Refill water bottle.  Refuel if needed.

Ride Blue Line back to Harlem. Bus to Fullerton.

Walk around my old neighborhood.  (I think the walk to Caputo’s is worth it, but maybe don’t buy any fresh squid if you’re getting back on the train.)

Ride (MW) Metra from Mont Clare to Grand/Cicero.

Bus to Blue Line (Montrose).  Ride Blue Line to Forest Park.

Bus to Green Line (Harlem/Lake).  Ride Green Line to Cottage Grove.  (I’m stopping along the way to visit family, get something to eat, and maybe nap while charging my electronics.)

Bus to Green Line (Ashland/63rd).  Ride Green Line to Garfield.

Walk to Red Line (Garfield).  Ride Red Line to Dan Ryan.  Hang Around Like An Idiot.  Ride Red Line to Lake.

Transfer to Pink Line.  Ride Pink Line to Cermak/54th, then back to Cicero.

Bus to Midway.  (Unhydrate.  Rehydrate.)  Ride Orange Line to Halsted.  Walk to River.  Or I think there’s a bus that’s just not showing up at the moment.

Water Taxi to West Loop.

Walk to Willis Tower.  (Bonus point for each instance of calling it Sears Tower.) Tour Bus to Museum Campus.

Metra Electric back to Millennium Park Station.

Walk to Washington/Wabash.  Ride Brown Line to Kimball.

Ride Brown Line back to State/Lake.  (Stop at Fullerton if it’s morning.  Walk to Orange and order the pancake flight and watch them fresh squeeze your citrus juice.  Walk to Molly’s if you like cupcakes.  Double Extra Bonus points if you pointedly reminisce about the Meatloaf Bakery when you pass where it was.  Crash a wedding at my old apartment building if you’re really bored. I really miss my neighborhood at the moment.)

Transfer to Red Line.  Ride Red Line to Howard.  (I’m going to stop at Granville for the Memories.  This was my first address in Chicago – even if I technically wasn’t supposed to receive mail because I wasn’t on the lease.)

[workingforitallthetime]

ok i am officially in love with the city of milwaukee! (mil-ee-wau-kay, algonquin for ‘the good land’) it has so many cool old brick buildings and it’s very german and i ate an entire pound of cheese curds and the frozen river is so pretty!

the admirals have a crazy balls-out milwaukee inside jokes intro video that is an absolute vibe. this team gets it. also they have a JOLLY BLIMP that was wearing a COWBOY HAT. i cannot explain it but this blimp cruised around the arena with personality.

going to an ahl game is like wait did that guy play for the kraken or am i imagining it?… maybe that other guy did too… oh i know that guy from sharksblr… oh is that pinehurst will lockwood?… oh i remember that dude from the gold medal canada team… where the hell are all the t-birds…

but @moondoggiestyle and i got to see john leonard score, and walk around with an uncannily familiar gait, and also not score on a number of shots that his little brother probably would have finished (most notably multiple opportunities by the post, and one lateral move across the slot that would have looked exactly like leno’s goal against switzerland if only john could finish.)

also we walked past a duck and i recognized it from this song! so i went back and found the other referenced statue too. fonz and the duck. i’m allowed to indulge myself on the blog about it bc i once used that song for a fic title.

[uwmarchives]

If you’ve taken a walk along the #Milwaukee River, you may have wondered how the many miles of beautiful greenspace got there. Indeed, the river looked completely different fifty years ago, when the city and its industries largely treated it as a dumping ground for industrial byproducts.

The battle to restore the Milwaukee River was largely fought by the #Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District in partnership with two organizations: the Governor’s Milwaukee River Revitalization Council (#MRRC), founded in the 1980s, and its successor organization, the River Revitalization Foundation (#RRF), founded in 1994. Through a mixture of public advocacy and education, grants, coalition building, and environmental stewardship, these organizations launched a decades long effort to return the river to its pre-industrial state, leading to a gradual increase in water quality with huge benefits for the region.

The RRF has passionately communicated its vision for a greener and #sustainable #Milwaukee across the decades, and the organization has published and circulated several maps of the region as part of this effort, including this one.

This map shows the northeastern portion of the Milwaukee River, along with the borders of the Southeastern Wisconsin Planning Committee Environmental Corridor (green), adjacent park lands (yellow), and the organization’s proposed boundaries for a zone in which future development would be minimized. The purpose of this document was to solicit comment from residents in these areas about these proposed boundaries, demonstrating the RRF’s engagement in debates regarding the tradeoffs between #environmentalpreservation and the #economics of #housing and #commercial development in the municipal context.

To learn more about one of the most significant actors in Milwaukee’s recent #environmental history, #UWM Archives invites you view the River Revitalization Foundation Records, our newest collection (MSS 385).

#RussellStar-Lack

[crmsnmth]

The All Is Lost Moment

He sits, bleeding on the curb His thoughts are lollipops and handguns Which is odd considering he was just beaten That's how we take care of the drunk depressed Boots to the guts and boots the head He can almost smell the leather as it crushes his nose

The world is dark, a corner with no street lamps He sighs at the slight gift of the darkness Eventually his nose will stop it's red rain and when that time comes, he can walk home for the night Stumbling into stranger's flower beds and pissing on the side of a stranger's house Even alone, he swears by his life of chaos

His lip his swollen, and his eye will barely open He doesn't worry now, he can scream when he gets home He makes his way with stumbling feet Down the right sidewalk, or so he hopes If he's lost, He'll find a place to spend the night Urban camping is homeless cosplay and it's a costume he wears often Seems most nights he's too messed up to find home So he makes home where he is

He makes hone in doorways He makes home on a park benches He makes home hidden in the tiny campus woods He makes home down on the banks of the Milwaukee river He makes home in trash bags and abandoned buildings

He makes it though Small favors for big ideas he thinks as he steps into his filthy room It's been weeks since he cleaned it It's been weeks since his all is lost moment and tore the room apart An emotional tornado destruction made of sobs and screams

He sits on his mattress and places his bloodied face in his hands The rest of the house sits in silence Silence that would engulf over any sound made And soon tears mix into the blood on his hands As he remembers his all is lost moment

And like he does every time his thoughts go here

He sees her and her shy smile He sees her throw her head back and laugh He sees her eyes which he thought he could swim in forever He sees her soft neck and wants toplace his lips softly on her skin He sees her at her most beautiful the all is lost moment the moment she said goodbye

[louisupdates]

FITFWT23: OUTRO SONGS

NORTH AMERICA

26 May - Mohegan Sun Arena, UNCASVILLE CT: The Best, by Tina Turner

27 May - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, GUILFORD NH: This Charming Man, by The Smiths

29 May - Place Bell, LAVAL QC: Downtown, by Petula Clark

30 May - Budweiser Stage, TORONTO ON: Summer of 69, by Bryan Adams

1 Jun - Blossom Music Center, CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH: Bittersweet Symphony, by Verve

2 Jun - Michigan Lottery Amphitheater, STERLING HEIGHTS, MI: Chasing Rainbows, by Shed Seven

3 Jun - The Icon Festival Stage, CINCINNATI: All These Things That I’ve Done, by The Killers

6 Jun - Kemba Live! Outdoor, COLUMBUS OH: The One I Love, by REM

7 Jun - TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park, INDIANAPOLIS: Love Will Tear Us Apart, by Joy Division

9 Jun - Saint Louis Music Park, SAINT LOUIS: Johnny B. Goode, by Chuck Berry

10 Jun - Starlight Theatre, KANSAS CITY MO: Moondance, by Van Morrison

13 Jun - BMO Pavilion, MILWAUKEE: I Can See Clearly Now, by Johnny Nash

15 Jun - Huntington Bank Pavilion, CHICAGO: September, by Earth, Wind, and Fire

16 Jun - The Armory, MINNEAPOLIS: Nothing Compares 2 U, by Sinéad O’Connor

17 Jun - Harrah’s Stir Cove, COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA: Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've?) by Buzzcocks

19 Jun - Denny Sanford Premiere Center, SIOUX FALLS, SD: American Pie, by Don McLean

21 Jun - Red Rocks Amphitheatre, MORRISON, CO 😪

24 Jun - Wamu Theater, SEATTLE: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, by The Smiths

26 Jun - Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Center, VANCOUVER BC: King Of Pain, by The Police

27 Jun - Mcmenamins Edgefield Concerts, TROUTDALE OR: Always On My Mind, by Elvis Presley

29 Jun - The Greek Theatre, BERKELEY CA: Never Tear Us Apart, by INXS

30 Jun - The Hollywood Bowl, LOS ANGELES: California Love by 2Pac ft Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman

1 Jul - The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan, LAS VEGAS: Human, by The Killers

3 Jul - Arizona Financial Theatre, PHOENIX: Liberator, by Spear of Destiny

6 Jul - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, IRVING TX: Hello, I Love You, by The Doors

7 Jul - Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park, AUSTIN TX: Teenage Dirtbag, by Wheatus

8 Jul - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, THE WOODLANDS TX: Walking On The Moon, by The Police

11 Jul - St. Augustine Amphitheatre, ST. AUGUSTINE FL: Every Breath You Take, by The Police

13 Jul - Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, HOLLYWOOD FL: Your Song, by Elton John

14 Jul - Yuengling Center, TAMPA FL: Hit Me With Your Best Shot, by Pat Benatar

15 Jul - Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park, ATLANTA: You Can’t Always Get What You Want, by The Rolling Stones

18 Jul - Ascend Amphitheater, NASHVILLE: Hold Back The Rain, by Duran Duran

19 Jul - Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre, CHARLOTTE NC: Perfect Day, by Lou Reed

21 Jul - Red Hat Amphitheater, RALEIGH NC: Moondance, by Van Morrison

22 Jul - Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia MD: Easy, by The Commodores

24 Jul - MGM Music Hall at Fenway, BOSTON: More Than A Feeling, by Boston

25 Jul - MGM Music Hall at Fenway, BOSTON: Here Comes Your Man, by The Pixies

27 Jul - TD Pavilion at the Mann, PHILADELPHIA: Nothing Compares 2 U, by Sinead O’Connor

28 Jul - Stone Pony Summer Stage, ASBURY PARK NJ: Dancing In The Dark, by Bruce Springsteen

29 Jul - Forrest Hills Stadium, NEW YORK: We Are The Champions, by Queen

Away From Home Festival 2023

19 Aug - Parco BussolaDomani, Lido di Camaiore: We Are The Champions, by Queen

EUROPE

29 Aug - Barclays Arena, HAMBURG: Love Will Tear Us Apart, by Joy Division

31 Aug - Royal Arena, COPENHAGEN: Under Pressure, by Queen and David Bowie

1 Sep - Spektrum, OSLO: Wake Me Up When September Ends, by Green Day

2 Sep - Hovet, STOCKHOLM: Seven Nation Army, by White Stripes

4 Sep - Ice Hall, HELSINKI: Always On My Mind, by Elvis

5 Sep - Saku Arena, TAILLINN: All Star, by Smash Mouth

7 Sep - Arena Riga, RIGA: Thuderstruck, by AC/DC

8 Sep - Zalgiris Arena, KAUNAS: Can’t Help Falling In Love, by Elvis [Zouis this day]

10 Sep - Tauron Arena, KRAKOW: Lust For Life, by Iggy Pop

11 Sep - Atlas Arena, ŁÓDŹ: Blitzkreig Bop, by the Ramones

13 Sep - Wiener Stadhalle D, VIENNA: Supersonic, by Oasis

14 Sep - Stozice Arena, LJUBLJANA: Smile Like You Meant It, by The Killers

15 Sep - Budapest Arena, BUDAPEST: Helicopter, by Bloc Party

17 Sep - Arenele Romane, BUCHAREST: My Hero, by Foo Fighters

18 Sep - Arena Armeets, SOFIA: Bombtrack, by Rage Against The Machine

20 Sep - Petras Theater, ATHENS: Go With The Flow, by Queens of the Stone Age

1 Oct - Bilbao Arena Miribilla, BILBAO (VIZCAYA): Where Is My Mind, by The Pixies

3 Oct - Altice Arena, LISBON: Farewell To The Fairground, by White Lies

5 Oct - Wizink Center, MADRID: Munich, by Editors

6 Oct - Palau Sant Jordi, BARCELONA: One Armed Scissor, by At the Drive-In

8 Oct - Pala Alpitur, TURIN: Are You Gonna Go My Way, by Lenny Kravitz

9 Oct - Unipol Arena, BOLOGNA: Helicopter, by Bloc Party

11 Oct - Rockhal, ESCH-SUR-ALZETTE: Where Is My Mind, by The Pixies

12 Oct - Sportspaleis, ANTWERP: My God Is The Sun, by Queens Of The Stone Age [very self-aware choice]

14 Oct - Accor Arena, PARIS : Bubbles, by Biffy Clyro

15 Oct - Ziggo Dome, AMSTERDAM: Song 2, by Blur

17 Oct - Lanxess Arena, COLOGNE: Can't Stand Me Now, by The Libertines

19 Oct - O2 Arena, PRAGUE: Are You Gonna Be My Girl, by Jet

20 Oct - Mercedes Benz Arena, BERLIN: Friday I’m In Love, by The Cure

22 Oct - Olympiahalle, MUNICH: Praise You, by Fatboy Slim

23 Oct - Hallenstadion, ZURICH: Last Nite, by The Strokes

8 Nov - 3Arena, DUBLIN: These Are The Days, by Inhaler

10 Nov - Utilita Arena, SHEFFIELD: Mr. Brightside, by The Killers

11 Nov - AO Arena, MANCHESTER: This Charming Man, by The Smiths

12 Nov - Ovo Hydro, GLASGOW: Gloria, by The Snuts

14 Nov - Brighton Center, BRIGHTON: I Wanna Be Sedated, by Ramones

15 Nov - International Arena, CARDIFF: 20th Century Boy, by T-Rex

17 Nov - The O2, LONDON: Can’t Stand Me Now, by The Libertines

18 Nov - Resorts World Arena, BIRMINGHAM: Till The End Of The Road, by Boyz II Men

You can also find the list at this Twitter account: ltwtoutros.

[o0o]

East Rock body ismaili esman is right this craft wow stuff wrong wrong blah blah that's right good job new Dodge rapids Africa Georgia Baptist Church walk to the Sea look exactly I'm Bail bonds I'll see some rapping Evans South Jersey River operator downtown Milwaukee five dunking that play around standing sale now I don't see that step up say sorry

?

[xtruss]

Scenes from Nazi Summer Camp

In the years leading up to WWII, children across the United States spent their summers learning archery and antisemitism.

— January 18, 2024 | Kirstin Butler

Children at a German American Bund camp stand at attention as the American flag and the Bund youth flag are lowered in a sundown ceremony in Andover, N.J., July 21, 1937. Associated Press.

Camp Wille und Macht—Will and Might—came first, in 1934, and was joined in New Jersey by Camp Nordland in Andover and Camp Bergwald in Bloomingdale. In Wisconsin, Camp Hindenberg claimed ground along the banks of the Milwaukee River, and children left their homes for Camp Siegfried in Long Island, the Deutschhorst Country Club in Pennsylvania and Sutter Camp in Los Angeles, California. Photographs and footage from the 1930s document those children pitching tents, cooking baked beans, hiking and singing songs. “It looks like any kind of Boy Scout camp or Girl Scout camp,” author Arnie Bernstein told American Experience. “But these were Nazi camps in America.”

The camps were owned and operated by the German American Bund, a pro-Nazi organization formed by U.S. citizens of German descent in the years leading up to World War II. With scores of chapters and thousands of members across the country, the Bund promulgated an antisemitic, isolationist agenda that sought to establish Nazi ideology in the new homeland. An important part of Bund policy was the creation of a program modeled after the Hitler Youth, the Nazi movement for young Germans. Bund parents enrolled children as young as six into the Jungvolk, which at age 14 split into the Jugendschaft for boys and Mädchenschaft for girls. The Bund camps became the main site for their indoctrination.

Most of the camps were located in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, but others sprouted up in locations like Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and California, with an estimated 15 to 25 camps distributed across the country, most in communities with a large German diaspora. Campers were dressed in uniforms featuring the Hitler Youth’s lightning bolt insignia, adorned with swastika pins and given knives inscribed with the phrase “Blut und Ehre,” or “blood and honor.” Daily activities also took on militaristic tones, including target practice and the Sieg Heil salute.

The Bund also published a German-language magazine for its youth members—first called Jung Sturm and then Junges Volk—whose pages featured campers’ accounts and photo spreads dedicated to selective parts of the camp experience. Not depicted, however, were activities that later became public knowledge—like forced nighttime marches that culminated in fireside renditions of the Nazi anthem—after an erstwhile camper testified in 1939 before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. (HUAC was originally formed in part to address concerns about the Bund, as well as other Fascist and Communist organizations in the U.S.) Its leader was ultimately charged with embezzlement, and the group’s assets were seized; some of its leaders and members deported. As the Bund’s troubles multiplied and membership dwindled, the camps closed.

But many of the camps’ archives survived, as did, presumably, children’s recollections of their time spent there and the messages that accompanied it. “It was an experience, a trip, that will remain in our memories forever,” Adirondacks camp director Gregor wrote in Junges Volk.

Four young boys peek out of their tent at the Deutschhorst Country Club, a recreational Bund site outside of Sellersville, Pennsylvania. July 26, 1937, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

“The German Youth Association will be opening a camp this summer… I’m looking forward to what we’re going to do. We’ll go swimming, play soccer, do gymnastics, go on rides, tell stories, go for walks, do outdoor activities and play lots and lots of games. And now the best part: get up at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow morning and bathe in ice-cold water.” - Edgar, 11, camper in Jungsturm

Bund youth raise a flag at half mast in tribute to Nazi Germany’s late President Hindenburg in Griggstown, New Jersey, August 1934. Getty Images.

“The bugle wakes you up for morning exercise, washing and raising the flag. After the stars and stripes and the camp flag have been hoisted, the pennants are put in their places, the daily motto is announced and a new camp day begins, filled with work and pleasure until curfew.” - Anita, 14, camper, in Junges Volk

The cover page of the inaugural issue of the Bund youth newsletter, first called Jungsturm. Image courtesy Leo Baeck Institute.

Bund youth group boys parade at Camp Siegfried, the largest Bund camp located in Yaphank, Long Island, in 1936. Alamy.

Female members of the Bund youth march at Camp Siegfried. The lightning bolt, or “sieg” rune, was the emblem of the Hitler Youth, and was meant to symbolize victory. 1936, Alamy.

“Just watch those long columns march past, their gaily colored flags flying in the breeze, their strong, tanned legs keeping time to the roll of the long drums, and you shall realize the value of the camp: training ground for the generation of tomorrow. This new generation used to the rigors of camp-life with its long marches, its lonely sentinel duty, its life in the open by rain and storm and hot, burning sun, will be fit to carry on the resurrection of the German in America.” - Paul M. Ochojski, Junges Volk columnist

The summer 1937 issue of the Bund youth magazine featured a gallery of images from its various camp sites—”unsere Jugendlager”—across the country. Image courtesy Leo Baeck Institute.

“We stayed at this fabulous lake for another week and a half, shot wild game and climbed the highest mountains, before it was time to go home. It was an experience, a trip, that will remain in our memories forever. Our youth group has been going to this wonderful mountain range for four years now to set up a summer camp there.” - Gregor, camper, in Jungsturm

Bund youth movement children give a Nazi salute onstage during a German Day celebration in honor of the first German settlers in America. October 5, 1936. Anthony Potter Collection/Getty images.

“We look with heartfelt reverence and sincere trust to the great leader of our old homeland, with the wish that God bless his new work—we are aware of our responsibility as German-American youth and will do our part to ensure that the new spirit of our times will once again become a force for the renewed health of our people. Rise up!” - Erna, camper, in Jungsturm

“This is our main goal, to create a large community of American-German youth, where all boys and girls who are of German blood pass through our youth movement. We want to ensure that the German race of the American people will be healthier and stronger, and from which the leaders of the nation will emerge.” - Junges Volk editorial, summer 1937

This image was part of Bund records seized by the Department of Treasury in 1942 in its investigation of the group’s finances. National Archives and Records Administration.

[mourning-again-in-america]

How do I describe what I like about Chicago? It all comes to me as a mix of scenes, watching the storefronts switch from Guatemalan to Korean to Yemeni walking east to west along Lawrence, seeing the flows of crowds of college students leaving and entering the bars on Lincoln Ave, waiting for the last Metra train of the night in a 24-hour diner right next to the tracks--and these are hardly idiosyncratic experiences in any real city (author's note: I'm not sure if either SF, DC, or Seattle are real cities)

Some of it must be a matter of familiarity -- the streets of cities west of the Rockies are all too damn wide, while all the streets in cities on the East Coast are either too damn tiny or are near-freeways. Some of it comes from the comfort of the building heights -- there's not much for suburban single family housing on the north side, especially as you get near the lake; even the more suburban areas are more likely to be 3-4 story walk-ups. Even though I live a good few miles north of city center, I'm still in a mid-rise apartment building and can see several such buildings out my window.

Some of it is certainly food -- I've not had a proper gyro (where the edges of the meat are crisp and crackly and the inside is thick and wet and spiced) outside of here and it's certainly much easier to find a restaurant that'll serve a half-pound of decent meat here than in Boston, Seattle or SF (also, Chicago's meat foods, like the Polish sausage or Italian beef knock any local meat-between-bread meal out of the park, go suck on your cheesesteaks, Philly). And there feels like there's more options for different cuisines here than anywhere not-NYC -- I really like being able to have a Cuban place and a Serbian place and a Kazakh place and a Nepalese place within a few miles! This isn't even for a lack of good American food -- the burgers here are a significant notch above the Bay, the fried chicken and barbecue are the best you'll get in a Northern city, and I even found a hole-in-the-wall breakfast place that opens at 7am and serves a five egg omelette with bacon and cheese, side of potatoes and rye for under $15!

Some of it has to do with the ease of walking around, people like to make Chicago out to be a dangerous city, and it is dangerous, in the way cities are and suburbs are not, but things feel far more demarcated than they ever were in Boston or the East Bay. I know the local hotspots from just reading reddit (Hermosa, Cragin, Lawndale, largely, for a north-sider, southside is more complicated but I can round it off to "anywhere >1mi from the river and not Hyde Park" and be done with it). In Boston, none of it made any goddamn sense, even just walking up Neponset/Dorchester Ave from Quincy -- things were certainly fine in North Quincy, got sus as I crossed the river, got worse and worse as I went north until I hit the Indochinese district just a bit south of UMass -- and then somehow things get worse again as I approach Andrew, but north of Andrew is completely fine?!! What gives? At least on Chicago I know that outside of the Milwaukee Ave sitch, things generally get worse as you go west and south. Simple as. East Bay, nobody seemed to talk about it, or assumed that if there was ever a problem, the problem was with YOU. So I got some weird signals west of MLK (except for the area near Tamaleria Azteca and Al-Maida, those places are goated), couldn't pick up any new info, there wasn't anything around I was interested in seeing, so I just gave up and learned the areas on Telegraph as well as I could.

A large part of it has to do with the night-scene--there's food-places open after 10pm here, that aren't even bars! What a wild world, coming from Boston and the Bay! More than that, they're often even open after midnight in the hotter areas--what bounty being able to choose if I want pizza, tacos, or a Polish around 1am on a night-walk!

I don't know why I like it here, but I do.

[throwdownyourheart]

Over 6,000 ships have gone down on the Great Lakes, and over 30,000 lives have been lost to their waters. Over 4,000 of those ships were lost in twenty year period between 1860 and 1880 alone, the years that sailing ships were in their heyday.

Chicago and Detroit were two of the most influential American cities in the 20th century, and would not exist without the trade lines and natural resources provided by these lakes.

I grew up on Michigan’s west coast, three miles from Lake Michigan. The little access point or trailhead, if you will, was called Whiskey Creek. You couldn’t see across the water were I lived, but sometimes, if the weather was clear enough, you could see the horizon glowing with the city lights of Milwaukee. We called her the Big Lake. I’d spend my summers in the water and the sun on her beaches, and visit in the winter to see the icebergs and frozen sand.

One summer, I found a note in a bottle on the beach — it was one of those little plastic single shot bottles of vodka, and the note was scrawled onto the back of a deposit slip from a bank. All it had written on it was a date, the name of the woman who wrote it, and something about her having been drunk and having dropped the bottle in the Milwaukee River.

Some of the sand on the shores of the Great Lakes “sings,” it was like that were I grew up — when you walk on it or rub it between your hands, it makes a distinct squeaking and creaking sound.

This song was my childhood, and is probably my favorite song ever written about the Great Lakes:

The Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River superimposed on a map of Europe

[seafoamchild]

my bartending job is so mid, but it's fine for the moment i suppose. i have no commute, which is amazing, and i never have to work past 11. i hope the money will be decent. at least i get $10.50/hr base wage compared to the $2.33/hr i was making in milwaukee lol. all this job is supposed to do is keep me afloat until i find something on the path of more fulfillment.

i decided to stop drinking for probably the hundredth time. we'll see how long it lasts. i was honestly drinking a LOT after i got back from colombia. like almost every day. and i'm just sick of the hangovers. i can't handle my booze, especially when i drink with T. i'm sick of his drinking problem too. i know it's from his social anxiety, and he truly believes he needs alcohol to interact with people he doesn't know very well. we've talked about it so many times. and it's so awful to have the conversation with him while he's inebriated, because he gets defensive and repeats the same excuses over and over again and then repeatedly denies how drunk he is, and then ends up in a shame spiral and projects his self-loathing by accusing me of telling him he's a terrible person and stuff like that, when i never in fact said anything of the sort. it's always the same. "i feel fine, i'm not that drunk, i just wanted to make friends, i had a long day at work, i was just trying to have fun, and now you're making me feel like a terrible person". i love him and want to be supportive because i know that this isn't easy and me acting angry about it will only make things worse. but he NEEDS to find a way out of this denial he's stuck in. he's used substances as a crutch for so many years and i know it's hard. but i hate, HATE seeing him when his eyes are half open and his breath stinks of booze and he's slurring his words and walking very carefully down the sidewalk because he's trying to pretend he's not drunk. i won't drink with him anymore, and the next time he does this i think i'm going to make him sleep on the couch for real.

other than that, brooklyn is good. there is so much in walking distance, it's amazing. we are slowly but surely decorating our space. T keeps the place so clean and organized which i'm so grateful for. i go for runs in prospect park, which i love. i made some friends through bumble BFF. i'm so busy that i've only met one of them in person so far, but i like being busy. i like not having a car. i'm trying to remind myself i don't have to do everything all at once. there is time.

it feels like so long ago that we were driving the moving van across the eastern half of the country. in indiana we saw the craziest moonrise, a big orange full moon resting just above the treetops as we barreled down the highway. it smelled like manure and sewage throughout the entire rust belt. we passed through the cuyahoga valley in total darkness. the rivers and gorges were soft and blue and quiet under the starlight, and i could sense how beautiful it would be during the day. we took a 5 hour nap in a shockingly disgusting motel 6 and woke up to frost and autumn leaves. that wasn't even three weeks ago. so i wonder what will come next.

[crossbordernarratives]

Pressure Cooker: Milwaukee Braces For Trump Convention

Residents and volunteers were urging a lowering of tensions Sunday in Milwaukee as Republicans descend on the city for their national convention just a day after Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally.

The lakeside municipality in battleground Wisconsin finds itself in the eye of a political and security maelstrom following the spasm of violence that has shaken the 2024 campaign and prompted questions about the country's political polarization.

Police were enforcing a buffer zone in the fenced-off blocks around Fiserv Forum, the sports arena where some 2,400 Republican delegates from around the country will gather, beginning Monday, to formalize Trump as the party's nominee for the third time since 2016.

And President Joe Biden, Trump's election rival, said Sunday that following the shooting he has directed the Secret Service, the agency which protects US leaders, to "review all security measures… for the Republican National Convention."

Several residents told AFP Sunday that they or their neighbors were nervous and on heightened alert, and were calling for an easing of the political pressure cooker.

"Tensions are high on both sides, and I think we've got to tone down the rhetoric," said 60-year-old Trump supporter Martin Kutzler, who was walking in downtown Milwaukee wearing a T-shirt that depicts Trump as 1970s movie character The Godfather.

"Calling any American officeholder Hitler just throws gasoline on the rhetoric, and calling a current president Sleepy and Crooked is not advisable either," said Kutzler, who works for Amazon.

He was referring to some of the ugly comparisons and nicknames that have been thrown around to describe Trump and Biden -- at times by the candidates themselves.

Resident Becca, 25, was walking her dog with her mother along the Milwaukee River when she paused to ruminate over the "kind of crazy" preparations for the convention -- and the passions that are driving US voters.

"It is scary that people are this heated about an election," Becca, who declined to give her last name, told AFP, recalling the trauma from Saturday in Pennsylvania.

"And with everything going on, like we're a little nervous." she added. "I hope that they don't take it and escalate it in certain ways."

Lynn Quirk, who owns multiple college housing units in town, stood somberly watching the proceedings at a security checkpoint outside the convention arena.

"Everybody I talk to is just really super shocked," the 60-year-old Milwaukee native said. "It's a crazy time."

"Talking with my neighbors yesterday, people are nervous," she added. "Some people were going to come down here and look around. Now everybody's like, 'Yeah, no I don't need to come.'"

High metal fencing rings the perimeter area and police vessels patrol the river. An employee of a downtown food establishment conceded that merchants have been meeting and coordinating with the Secret Service.

Security forces are believed to number in the thousands, including hundreds of police from states as far as California.

"Obviously, we're going to be more vigilant -- not that we weren't going to be vigilant before. But with yesterday's events, the security is going to be heightened obviously," said Captain Anthony Scott, one of 63 Indiana State Police officers joining the sprawling operation.

But for some, like convention volunteer and self-described "huge Republican" Becky Hawkins, who grew up in Milwaukee, the crisis of the past 24 hours has bolstered their resolve.

[future-crab]

Updated List:

Reminder to click the link to see the most up-to-date information

[ID:

February 14, 2024

PHOENIX, AZ | 4PM NE Corner of 7th St & McDowell Rd

PORTLAND, OR | 4:30 PM Pioneer Courthouse Square

SANTA ROSA, CA | 7 PM Courthouse Square, Unity Statue, 4th St.,

OAKLAND, CA | 6PM. ‘The Great Room’ in La Escuelita- 1050 2nd Ave.

ONEONTA, NY | 4PM Muller Plaza

WASHINGTON, DC | 2PM Dupont Circle

February 15, 2024

AUSTIN, TX | 10AM Austin City Hall, 301 2nd St

BURLINGTON, VT | 4PM UVM Davis Center, 590 Main Street- Intersection of University Heights and Main St

RICHMOND, CA | 5:30PM ‘Climate Justice Arts Project Space’ at Bridge Art/Storage Facility- 23 Maine Ave.

PHILLY TO D.C. | Solidarity walk from Philly to D.C. check website for exact locations

WASHINGTON, D.C. | 11 a.m. 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. (Lafayette Square Park/White House)

February 16, 2024

BUFFALO, NY | 3PM Lafayette Square

EAU CLAIRE, WI | 5:00PM Corner of Hwy 93 and Golf Rd (Outside Hardee’s)

FRANKFORT, KY | 3PM 700 Capital Ave.

LANSING, MI | 2 PM State Capitol Building front lawn

SAN PEDRO, CA | 5PM 13th and Gaffey St.

February 17, 2024

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, IL | 12:30PM 625 Lincoln HwY

INDIANAPOLIS, IN | 8:00 PM 200 E. Washington Street

OAKLAND, CA | 10AM-2PM 5543 Telegraph Ave.

SAN DIEGO, CA | 12pm. Sunset Cliffs Blvd and W Point Loma Blvd

SEATTLE, WA | 12 PM Westlake Park

SPOKANE, WA | 12pm, Corners of Wellesley and Division

STOCKTON, CA | 12PM Stockton City Hall. 425 N. El Dorado St.

WICITA, KS | 1PM 21st & Rock Rd.

VIROQUA, WI | 11 AM Corner of Main and Decker Streets

February 18, 2024

BOONE, NC | 3PM Corner of 321 and 105 (near Wells Fargo)

MILWAUKEE, WI | 2PM Location to be announced check link

MISSOULA, MT | 11 AM Missoula Co.Courthouse W. Broadway

NEW ORLEANS, LA | 11:30 AM ARMSTRONG PARK

REDONDO BEACH, CA | 11AM 1815 Hawthorne Blvd

SANTA ROSA, CA | 2PPM Courthouse Square, 3rd St., Santa Rosa

February 19, 2024

ARANSAS PASS, TX | 3PM 123 S Lamont St

CHICAGO, IL | 11AM Chicago History Museum, Children’s Fountain

February 25, 2024

SAINT PAUL, MN | 1 PM 1176 N Mississippi River Blvd, St. Paul, MN.

End ID.]

People in the US: find a protest for Rafah

I found out about my local protest too late to attend (I don't have a car and I live in an area with zero public transportation) so I thought I'd share this list of protests so that other people might be able to go to their's!

[ID:

February 12, 2024

AUSTIN, TEXAS | 5PM 1100 Congress

CHICAGO, IL | 4:30 PM Federal Plaza 230 Dearborn Ave

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON | 6 PM University of Washington Station

MANHATTAN, NY | 4 PM Union Square

SAINT LOUIS, MO | 2:30 PM @ Kirkwood Park 111 So. Geyser Rd.

February 13, 2024

SAN DIEGO, CA | 4:30 PM Federal Plaza

SAN FRANCISCO, CA | 5:30 PM Federal Building

ATLANTA, GA | 7 PM Israeli consulate

PHILADELPHIA, PA | 5:30 PM 1400 JFK Blvd

PITTSBURGH, PA | 5 PM 4100 Forbes Ave

HOUSTON, TX | 4 PM Houston City Hall

February 14, 2024

PHOENIX, AZ | 4 PM NE Corner of 7th St & McDowell Rd

WASHINGTON, DC | 2 PM Dupont Circle

February 15, 2024

AUSTIN, TX | 10 AM Austin City Hall, 301 2nd St

February 16, 2024

EAU CLAIRE, WI | 5 PM Corner of Hwy 93 and Golf Rd (Outside Hardee’s)

February 18, 2024

NEW ORLEANS, LA | 11:30 AM ARMSTRONG PARK

February 19, 2024

CHICAGO, IL | 11 AM Chicago History Museum, Children’s Fountain

February 25, 2024

SAINT PAUL, MN | 1 PM 1176 N Mississippi River Blvd, St. Paul, MN.

End ID.]

[fire-starterdylan]

@professor-shaw

Jason Shaw was not usually seen hanging out at the Foxhole. In fact, he was hardly seen there at all. When he trained, he liked to do it alone, preferably in the woods, but he had been hearing a lot about the nightly fights lately. So much so, that he had decided to venture out tonight and sit up front to see the whole thing happen.

The fights themselves had proven amazing -enough for him to turn into a little kid again as he cheered and egged the fighters on from one the front rows. By the time it all ended, the wolf had worked up a real appetite and went in search for the bar..which he walked over to. Brushing past someone by accident, Jace frown back at the face. "Wasn't gonna ask you to. Place's packed-" he shrugged. Then..then he noticed the blood and the face and couldn't exactly help himself. "Wait. Aren't you..? Damn..you were up there, weren't ya?"

Shockingly to some, Dylan had been recognized in the streets before. Milwaukee wasn't a big city and with his face being plastered over the news for a good few weeks a few years ago, most people left him be since. Niche crime aficionados liked to bother him when others left him alone - one time one asked for his autograph on a picture of him in court while he was on a date with his ex-girlfriend and he threw it into the river. Getting recognized for a fighting skill, something he did on purpose, was much better. Then again, it was hardly celebrity and had to because he looked marginally worse than everyone else around. "That would be me," he said, hissing after a longer swig of whiskey. "Hope you got some money out of it."

[crmsnmth]

Chemical Alterations

It's five thirty in the morning and instead of sleeping I am snorting lines of cocaine in a stranger's trailer On the far south side of Milwaukee Someone said they could keep this party going and I'll be damned if they didn't pull it off

My limbs are shaking, vibrating, seizing God, I hate stimulants so fucking much But I need to be chemically altered at all times I'm scared of myself when I'm not and so I snort another line off of a dirty mirrored

In another room, a bubble spins The smell of burning plastic, the taste sour More stimulants and I sart to ask everyone for a down But this party isn't over and nobody as so much as a Valium And that's enough for me to leave, after snorting yet another line Briefly I wonder who would be up, but know it's just me Walking home in a t-shirt and ripped up black jeans

Snow falls softly in big clumped flakes At first I don't feel them hit my skin I'll feel it by the time I get to the bus stop And I keep the idea of my rig sitting in my tainted room right in the foreground of my brain

Your voice keeps playing the role of conscious And I keep trying to shut it out permanently what does it matter, I've got a plan to fix this all and the bridge over the river is a good idea to I'm alone at the bus stop, just as I am in life

[oldmke]

The Holton St. viaduct is a familiar part of the East Side Milwaukee landscape, and there are, no doubt, many Milwaukeeans who can recall its dedication ceremonies in 1926. But there aren't too many people who remember its predecessor, this lift bridge, built in 1894 by the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Co. This early bridge had a roadway of 26 feet and two nine-foot walks. Its total length was 225 feet; its clear height above water was 70 feet, and its opening had a 66 foot clearance. Cost was $150,000. The "newer" viaduct's total length was put at 1,100 feet, and it had a roadway of 60 feet, and a river opening of 96 feet. Costing $710,000, it was pronounced "the best bridge in Milwaukee" at its dedication. (Photograph courtesy of First Wisconsin National Bank and information from the Milwaukee Public Library.)