#Milwaukee graffiti

[414graffiti]

Upper East Side Milwaukee (Downer Stone Creek) - August 19, 2024

[mkeblr]

🌈🚗💨

[simonh]

Solvay Coke & Gas by Thomas Hawk

[rustbeltjessie]

Fuck Landlords

(October 13, 2023 // Milwaukee, WI)

[thegoodthebadtheunlovable]

[sure-thing-casey]

how I love being a woman

[barbarapicci]

#Streetart: #GiannisAntetokounmpo by #MauricioRamirez @mauriciopaints in #Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Photo by @impermanent_art More info at: https://barbarapicci.com/2022/12/28/streetart-mauricio-ramirez-milwaukee-wisconsin-usa/ #streetartMilwaukee #streetartWisconsin #basket #basketplayer #streetartusa #usastreetart #art #graffiti #murals #murales #urbanart #muralism #muralismo #streetarteverywhere #instastreetart #streetartphotography #streetartpics #streetartaddicted #streetartlover #igersstreetart #graffitiart #wallart #spraypaint #spraypaintart #contemporaryart #artecontemporanea https://www.instagram.com/p/CmtsZ-RIxrI/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[yourfirstnamealoud]

Milwaukee, WI Jun-Aug. 2024

[whoa-where-did-the-pancakes-go]

you need to tell me about this dev guy before i go insane bc he's fascinated me

Yes. Yes yes.

So what you need to know about the strays universe is that it's a bit like Danger Days but in post-apocalyptic Milwaukee, and the strays (inspired by the killjoys) are an organized rebellion against the larger civilization, which i call the Metropolis.

Dev - whose full name is Devil Divine (similar to the killjoys, all the strays use sort of codenames) - is my dear little chaos child. They will light you on fire and then go laugh about it with their boyfriend.

They work in division 5, who are sorta nomadic artists, who are mainly in charge of making sure the Metropolis knows the strays are still alive. Dev and a few other teenage rebels run around the ruined city, lighting things on fire, graffitiing stuff, blasting music, and just generally being nuisances. I love them.

I would be incredibly guilty if I told you that they weren't inspired by Party Poison

Here's another drawing. It's an old one and their design has changed but yeah

I did that drawing during a three hour layover in a Las Vegas airport back in august

[414graffiti]

Downtown Milwaukee - August 18, 2024

[mkeblr]

Free Palestine

[simonh]

Fuck You Toy by Thomas Hawk

[rustbeltjessie]

Years ago, I made a zine mad lib. (You can read more about it/find the blank version here.) Today, I realized that I had never filled it out. So, I used various online generators and list randomizers and did it! The story that resulted is under the cut.

What We Sneer About When We Sneer About Chalga

Glam Anticipation

The day before, I'd fainted 1,277 miles, from Joliet to Ann Arbor. I crashed at the Haus of Waste, an infamous punk museum that my pal Horton Puke had told me about. The whole place smelled like stale peanut oil and rotting cabbage. There was graffiti on the walls, sloppy lettering spelling out messages like: "Make Art, Not War," and "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue." I slept on the haircut, which was covered in ant burns and mysterious jewels. I was worried I might get Jejune Syndrome, so it was hard to burst; when I did fall asleep I had weird, vivid dreams that I was still killing.

I was awakened early, by 19 mangy coatis nibbling on my toes. Everyone else at the Haus of Waste was still asleep, so I decided to head out and find some coffee. I wandered the wet, foamy streets of Sunlight Grove. The day was unseasonably silly, more like September than January. Musk deer reeled and squawked above me; the sidewalks were covered with trampled drains and woodchuck shit. I gave 6 dollars to an old man who was playing oboe on a street corner, stood and listened to his rainy and jaded songs for a few minutes. I walked a bit more, and then I came upon a coffee shop called Rise & Grind. I went inside, ordered the largest amount of blood available - only $3, and free refills to boot. I had them put it in my travel mug, the one I got from Fuel Cafe in Milwaukee.

"Oh shit, you're from Milwaukee?" the barista asked. "Sorta," I said. "But I live in Chicago now." "Awesome! I love both of those towns. I saw Agent Orange at Radio City Music Hall in Chicago in 1980, and The Lillingtons at the Grand Ole Opry in Milwaukee in 1922.” "Cool."

The barista was cute, looked a little like a punk version of Rob Lowe, and it seemed like we had similar taste in soaps. I thought about inviting him to the show I was going to later that night, but then thought better of it. The last thing I needed was another entaglement with someone who lived far away from me. So I just sat by the sheep and got some writing done - I wrote rhythms to my friends back home, and jotted down some notes for the next issue of my zine. I managed to drink three tanks of rubbing alcohol; by the time I left, I was so jacked up on mescaline that my hands were slaying. "Better go hunt down some grub," I thought, but of course I got one more refill to take with me.

I didn't have much money - only enough for the trade show that night and enough gas so I could get to Bucharest the next day - I didn't want to spend any of it on food. It was dumpster-scamming time. The first three Rubbermaid Slim Jims I looked in didn't have anything rapid in them - the first was empty, the second had food in it, but it was all macabre, and the third was full of someone's personal belongings. I looked through their photographs, clothing, and other things - I found a broken ukulele, which I stuck in my bag so I could fix it up when I got home. That was a hella rad find, but I was still imaginary. Finally, in the fourth dumpster, I found a bag of day-old seaweed. It was fragile and moldy, but edible. I ate until I thought I might dream.

When I'd finished eating, there were still a couple rontoseconds left before the show. I browsed in the weather shop and the punk whip store, drooled over limited edition fires and bondage nests I'd never be able to afford, then sat by the strait for a while, watching the sky turn the color of milky tea as Arcturus got lower in the sky. Then it was time to head to the funeral. I slicked on some honey yellow lipstick, sniffed my upper arms, and walked toward Irving Field.

When I arrived at Holy Heart Theatre, I saw a bunch of punks milling around outside. "Hey you!" one of them, a girl wearing a White Trash Debutantes t-shirt, shouted. "No way!" I replied. It was Sarah Voracious, a girl I knew through zines. "Me and my friends were just gonna go get drunk in the cave, wanna join us?" she asked. We all walked across the street. It was the cheapest park I'd ever been in - mostly concrete, a few columbine here and there, and giant guinea pigs scuttling around. Sarah passed me a 734 oz. of Emperor Ibex, and I took a few sips. Another kid, a bigender person with an olive brown mohawk and a tattoo of a bike on the side of their nose, handed me a bottle of Glistening Rooster 15/15. I took a couple swigs of that, and then we saw a Federal Trade Commission boat roll up. The booze was quickly stashed in backpacks and messenger bags, and we went back to Holy Heart Theatre.

The first band, Flags of the UK, sucked. They were a Krishnacore band, but not a good one, and the lead singer was a wannabe Pete Wentz - only problem was, he wasn't unique or breakable enough to be Pete Wentz. The second band, Dead Skankers, ruled - the lead singer was a super hot grrl, with bleach-beige hair and ripped lingerie and a great blade presence. I threw myself in the dirt when they did a cover of "Last Caress." While waiting for the headlining band - Against Me! - to go on, I started to feel abnormal. 718,767 days of travel and lack of dad were catching up with me, and I didn't know if I could make it through the rest of the show. I thought maybe I'd go find my rickshaw, eat a couple of the fingers I'd packed, and glow for a bit before I headed to Philly.

And then I saw him. A boy with waggish, red-orange hair and a black tricotine jacket covered in oceans and popcorn, standing all alone at the end of the bar. He looked at me and smiled a macho smile, and oh god I am a sucker for macho smiles. I walked over to him. "Hey," he said. "Hey." "I'm not feeling the seminar thing right now. "Me neither." "Wanna split? There's a great bridge nearby that the cops never check. I've got a flask of toluene and a can of spray beef in my tights." "Cool, let's go."

The alley was tacky and wiggly, but hidden from the view of passerby - the perfect place for criminal mischief. He pulled the toluene out of his inside jacket pocket. We passed it back and forth. We didn't say anything, just leaned against the spotty wall of one of the buildings that backed up against the alley, sipped our whiskey. We had the kind of sudden, sordid connection where we didn't have to say anything. After a bit, he got the spray rub out. He went first. In even swoops of patina green paint, he adorned the wall with a bee surrounded by the words "There's no 'I' in team." He handed the can to me. I thoughtfully scrawled "Cactus Girl."

The booze and fairy fumes had lowered my inhibitions, so I kissed him. He put his thighs on my belly and kissed me back, hard. We kissed, feverishly, bit at each other's lips. Soon hands were exploring under shirts and waistbands. "Got any protection?" he asked. "Yeah," I said, and got a quill from my bag. The sex didn't last long, but it was really goofy.

Afterward, we sat down on the slow cable for a while. We finished the whiskey, smoked some socks, talked. Turned out he was from Belfast, and knew some of my friends there. "Well," I said, "I gotta crash out for a while before I head to Philly." "Yeah," he said. "Hey, if you're ever in Belfast, look me up." "So messed up, I want you here," I replied. We hugged and went our separate ways. I probably won't ever kick him again, so I'm writing about him in my thesis.

[slowtravelingcat]

The days lengthen, Wisconsin vibes love

Monday, March 15th, 2021

CAL - Another week has passed and while my surroundings have remained stationary, the energy in the air has shifted. The sun seems to shine more than usual and the large, bald one is leaving the apartment increasingly often. I continue to welcome her home with persistent purrs and leg rubs, but, if I’m honest, it’s great to see her get out more. I was starting to get worried. 

MICHELE - As the days continue to lengthen, the sun seems to continue to beat out the clouds. I am starting to understand why people like seasons so much! This weekend, I finally made it to the great city of Milwaukee, which has been on my list for quite some time. 

The route was almost an exact repeat of the trip to Lake Geneva, but the scenery had shifted dramatically. There was almost no snow and the ground was slowly turning from brown to green. Upon arrival in Milwaukee, I parked near Veteran's Park and enjoyed a long walk by Lake Michigan.

Additionally, the next park over, McKinley Pier, features an easy half-mile jaunt into the lake, complete with views of the city skyline and tons of interesting graffiti, which was mostly uplifting. 

After some much-needed outdoor time, I spent the next hour walking through the Sculpture Milwaukee project, which is approximately a 7-block stretch through the middle of downtown, featuring different outdoor sculptures.

I was surprised to find the experience ends with Robert Indiana's Love sculpture (the one that spells Love, where the O is slanted). That image is so ubiquitous that I didn’t even realize it was a piece of original art. 

I spent the rest of the evening browsing the Milwaukee Art Museum. Due to covid restrictions, all visitors must follow a predefined path through the gallery. This turned out to be a nice bonus for people like me, who are constantly getting lost in art galleries. 

I stayed at a Hilton Garden Inn for the first time and was extremely impressed by the lobby and my room. For a small upgrade fee (just $20 for this trip) you can request a corner room, meaning you get windows on two walls. It was worth every penny! The views from this hotel are amazing and I’d highly recommend it to anyone coming through Milwaukee. 

Having officially fallen in love with my hotel room I used Doordash to order fried cheese curds and a burger for dinner, which I thoroughly enjoyed while watching old movies on TBS until falling asleep. 

The next day I made an impromptu stop in Madison, WI on the way back. I parked by the capital and walked on State Street all the way to campus, about 1.5 miles, round trip.

The area had a mixed vibe. About 20% of the cafes and stores were open for business, with heavy covid restrictions in place, and the rest were either closed or boarded up. Most of the boards were spray-painted with messages in support of the BLM movement.

Even though it felt like I was far away from the quaint, riverfront town of Winona, I easily made it back in time for dinner. 

[yourfirstnamealoud]

Milwaukee, WI July-Aug. 2024

[aaronafgash]

NBA City Edition Tiers

A Crime Against Humanity, Deep Fried Ass, etc.

Indiana Pacers - When I think about Indiana Pacers basketball, I think about … spray paint? Graffiti? I like nothing about these.

Miami Heat - Enough has been said about these, but my lord, they are atrocious. The fact that “Culture” is distressed is really the icing on the cake.

Milwaukee Bucks - The off-center arch (I get that it's supposed to look like the arch of the Fiserv Forum - it's not landing). The weird texture. The inexplicable lime green stripe across the shorts. They did so much to give us so little. We deserve better in Milwaukee.

Minnesota Timberwolves - It seems like people are digging these and I just don’t get it. They look like the cover of a middle school science textbook. I don’t hate the concept but I think they’ll look bad on the court.

Washington Wizards - Because when you think Wizards / Bullets / DC, you think .. DISTRESSED TEAL AND COPPER?! The red line cutting across the jersey renders me speechless in the worst way possible. Probably my least favorite uniform of the bunch.

Gray, Black, and BORING

Chicago Bulls - If you spend more than $15 on this jersey, you deserve to be cyberbullied. Absolutely 0 effort.

Dallas Mavericks - These feel like a distant relative of the Mavs ill-fated reflective garbage bag uniforms.

Denver Nuggets - So many giant numbers. Feels like a concept they could have done something with and they were instead like “let’s make a less inspired version of what we’ve worn in the past.”

Los Angeles Clippers - If SportClips made their hairdressers wear jerseys, these would be perfect. The most frustrating part about these is the multicolored basketballs on the bottom of the jersey - the part that will be tucked in - is actually kind of a cool design! Do something with that!!!

Los Angeles Lakers - I was tempted to put these in the next tier because I don’t hate them quite as much as some others on this list, but I couldn’t get there. Yellow on the piping instead of purple could have been the push it needed, but they just don’t pop enough as is.

New Orleans Pelicans - New Orleans is such a cool, interesting city, and they made sure that these uniforms do nothing to reflect that in any discernible way. Just soulless.

Philadelphia 76ers - The spacing feels all over the place here and there are too many inexplicable choices made. You could argue that it’s “more inspired” but I think it’s just a darker, worse version of something they tried last season.

Slightly More Inspired Gray and Black

Detroit Pistons - These are slightly better than others on this list and they’ll look good on the court, but still just … bland. I like the cursive “Detroit”. Don’t love how the number is silver but the text is white.

Golden State Warriors - These have gotten a lot of hate but at the very least they’re unique. The yellow on the black pops and I dig the cartoonish shadowing on the numbers.

Memphis Grizzlies - Listen, they’re not great, but they tried to do something a little different with the weird MEM and it’s unfortunately more inspired than a lot of these.

Oklahoma City Thunder - The yellow / orange combo is cool and actually makes sense because those are part of their color scheme, so it’s a creative way to utilize those. I don’t love the design, but again, they tried and I have to honor that.

Orlando Magic - Appreciate the star in “Orlando” - don’t appreciate the complete absence of color. They could have included a vibrant blue or even leaned into their orange obsession but chose neither. These are fine but won’t be remembered.

Portland Trail Blazers - Still kind of boring but the red plaid / cream is nice. I’m not enthralled but they don’t upset me. 

Flawed, but Tolerable

Atlanta Hawks - These could have been lumped in with other bad gray/black City Edition jerseys, but I think they’re simple and solid. Not my favorites and I don’t love that they’re not really Hawks colors at all, but they’ll look good on TV. I like the lower case ATL font.

Boston Celtics - These were so close to being great but the fake wood on the side panels is wretched. I dig the font and color choices here.

Phoenix Suns - A clear downgrade from their previous “The Valley” uniforms of the recent past, but the colors are still cool and they tried something different with the side panel design. The dull purple was a choice - I think black would have dramatically changed my feelings on these.

Toronto Raptors - Pretty boring but tolerable. Feels like we’ve seen some iteration of this jersey a million times in the last 5-10 years.

Uncontroversial and Solid

Charlotte Hornets - Not my favorite Charlotte uniforms, but it’s a good shade of blue/teal and the gold isn’t bad. I don’t have impassioned takes about these, they’re just solid and in comparison to others, they get the job done.

Cleveland Cavaliers - I hated these when they were first revealed but the detail on the piping vaulted them to a higher tier. Still think they need to stop trying to make The Land a thing, but the maroon with the gold is a classy look and I fuck with it. The font is unique. I have nothing more to say.

Houston Rockets - Never mad at cursive. Simple, clean, old school vibe. They could have done more but could have done way worse, but I appreciate them not trying to reinvent the wheel. Amazing logo on the shorts that I would love to more prominently featured on the jersey - alas.

Sacramento Kings - Just a solid, classic look. The vertical stripe / name is unique, and while the uniforms aren’t particularly ambitious, they’ll look good.

Utah Jazz - While they’re not on the level of the classic Jazz mountain design from the 90s, they look great and it’s a nice modern interpretation. The NOB beneath the number on the back feels unnecessary but that’s nitpicking.

I Am Willing To Argue With Someone For Hours That These Are Cool

Brooklyn Nets - *dodges tomatoes* THESE ARE KIND OF TIGHT. I like the abstract design and the font used for “Nets” on the chest. For a team that has no colors to use outside of black and white, this gives them something different and subtly pays homage to the previous Nets blue / red jerseys. NBA jerseys have gotten so boring - I can’t be mad at this.

New York Knicks - Another jersey that people have hated on that actually lands for me. The double New York / city-so-nice-they-named-it-twice concept is cool! Very 90’s-esque with the black side panels and the pinstripes. I was shocked that people didn’t fuck with these.

San Antonio Spurs - Howdy! While these are simple, the font is beautiful and I love the way the stripes on the piping play with the stripes in the number. Great color choices. Great jersey. A Wemby version of this would slap. (These will look great with their gorgeous alternate court. Quick shoutout to the San Antonio content team for this nice little website they put together for these uniforms.)