Thursday, July 31, 2014

Clown School Vacation

A lovely 81 degree day in Milwaukee. Played some more soccer with Coco today. I'm starting my new workout program tomorrow and I'm sure it will be easier than what the kid has put me thru this week!

Speaking of Coco, he decided to make some caramel yesterday while I was busy upstairs. Let's just say, I wasn't too happy scrubbing a pan for 30 minutes but I managed to save it.

We watched Sharknado 2 last night on the Sci Fi Channel. I have to admit it was amusing. I taped the first one but never got around to watching it. I have to now.

Stocks got rocked today because of the Latin American credit crisis. It pales in comparison to the 70's and it's just an excuse for fund managers to drive some prices down. Give it a week tops to start recovering and don't listen to most of the talking heads. Their agenda has nothing to do with your agenda.

John Wilson left for his fishing trip last saturday. Apparently he's hitting it hard. The bars that is as he hasn't caught a fish yet to my knowledge. I offered to grill his catch on saturday when he returns so he still has some time to leave the rum house and hit a fishing hole!

The U.S. House was supposed to vote today on their own border bill. They have a strong distaste for the Senate but at least the Senate tries to do something. The House couldn't find enough support for their bill so they packed up their ball and went home on a 5 week vacation. They will call it a recess. I call it a bunch of old white guys who do absolutely nothing for the american people. Nothing! This Congress has become a clown school and I apologize to hard working clowns throughout America. Except these clowns aren't even funny. Just sad pathetic souls who refuse to move on and let somebody else offer an idea. So sad.

Later

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

27 Pulitzer Prize Winners

A breezy 68 degrees today. I'm predicting a much warmer month for August. I say that every month but I have to be right one of these months. I'm sure the local energy company will raise rates very soon. Those guys hate it when we aren't using the A/C despite what they say publicly.

Congrats to Jim Gaffigan for landing a television show on TV Land. His wife has family in the Milwaukee area and he plays a New Year's Eve show every year at the Pabst Theatre. I caught the show once and it was very good.

The GDP numbers for the second quarter came out today. Last week I predicted to someone that it would hit 4% and it sure did. That's the highest growth number in a decade.

Coco is over today and we hit the soccer field for the second time this week. His game has really improved and my conditioning has gone south. Starting August 1st, I'm working out everyday.

It's mini-lobster season again in the Keys. The shallow water in some areas makes it easy for people to catch them with their hands. Key West will be packed this week with people looking for some fast and easy cash.

Twenty seven Pulitzer Prize winners have lived in Key West at one time or another. Not bad for a small island with about 27,000 people!

Later

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Careful On The Beach

Mid 70's and sunny in Milwaukee today. Still below average and it's the coolest July I can remember. I know, I know, I've been saying that for the last 4 straight months but it's true.

I noticed that Bradford Beach has this neat little contraption next to the beach house called a solar trash compactor. I'm anxious to hear some feedback as to how well they actually work.

The U.S. stepped up today with even more sanctions against Russia. The EU also stepped up big time with them. Let's see how deep the wallets are for the Putin supporters. I'm still in favor of yanking the New Jersey Nets away from his crony.

The MLB trade deadline ends on thursday. Let's see if the Brewers make a major move like they did with CC Sabathia a few years ago.

Megan McCain is apparently no fan of her father's running mate Sarah Palin. Megan has publicly said that she won't be subscribing to the new Sarah Palin channel as she's had enough of the former republican candidate. The channel is just under ten bucks a month or around one hundred for the year. I'm sure a person could allot about fifty bucks as she'll probably quit halfway thru.

Two small planes have landed on Florida beaches in the past week and people have been injured or killed. I'm not sure why the pilots aren't just dumping into the water next to the beach. Not all beaches in Florida are enjoyable. About twenty two years ago I spent a week in Daytona Beach. They let cars drive up and down the beach compacting the sand down hard like a road. I almost was hit by a car once and developed tendinitis in my knee. I saw a podiatrist when I returned home. He gave me a prescription and some good advice. Always vacation on the Gulf of Mexico side!

Later

Monday, July 28, 2014

Enchiladas Over A Big Mac

It was a chilly morning reminiscent of a late september morning but it turned out to be a beautiful day. Coco is over with his dog today. So far so good.

We're still eating leftovers from saturday. We made 14 pounds of chicken and 7 pounds of red and yellow peppers. Krissy stopped at the store and is going to turn some of it into enchiladas. She's always thinking!

Dollar Tree announced today that they are buying Family Dollar. With less competition in this niche market I'm sure everything will soon be two dollars. I actually use both of these stores for cleaning supplies and mops. I'll use the mop once and throw it away rather than store something smelly in a closet. I hate spending money on stuff like that.

China is having a perceived problem with Facebook and has placed them under investigation. It seems like the Chinese are getting hacked a lot lately and think that Facebook could be part of it. 

China is having an even bigger problem than Facebook. There's a Big Mac shortage going on as we speak. Apparently a major meat processing plant was busted for sanitation problems so severe that McDonalds chose to go without until they find a new supplier. At least the french fries are safe although I'm thinking the Chinese people will manage just fine!

Later

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Shishkabobalooza


The weather was great last night for the Brady Street Festival and the crowds were enormous. A big thanks to everyone who turned out last night. It was hard to leave the cookout and walk down to Brady Street but we finally made it out around 9:30pm.

Next year we might move the Shishkabobalooza to another weekend. While it's great to have it in conjunction with the Festival the parking has become such a nightmare for anyone from outside the neighborhood.

The cleanup went pretty quick this morning and it's been a lazy day. Coco is over now so I'm gonna run. We have some of Julie's monster cookies to eat!

Later
Jenny and I


Jason



My tribute to Gary



Holly



Krissy's Mom and Angela



Julie and Holly



Aimee, Holly, Michelle and Gary

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Brady Street Festival

It's not even 1pm yet and there's a good crowd already on Brady Street. The entire street is shut down with 4 stages and tons of booths. Side streets are blockaded off including ours and little Cushman four wheelers all over the place. 80's and humid today but no rain likely.

We were up early preparing and cleaning everything. I washed out my two grills really good on my neighbors property. Apparently he's a slum landlord these days as he hasn't had his lawn mowed once all year so I'm not really in the mood to give a flying crap about his feelings.

So far two politicians crews have come to our front door handing out flyers asking for our vote. We have a primary August 12th so it's nitty gritty time.

The whole neighborhood is hooting and hollering already or cranking their music. It's going to be a long, loud and rowdy night. I'm still having a sore dry throat so my remedy is simple. I won't start drinking till 4pm. Tomorrow's blog photos should be interesting. GO BRADY STREET!!!!!!!

Later

Friday, July 25, 2014

Remember Tang

I walked to the drugstore this morning and Brady Street is all the buzz with workers cleaning it up nicely and delivery trucks all over the place. It should be a nice crowd tomorrow for the festival with a forecast in the 80's and no rain.

Krissy and I have been cleaning the house and getting ready for Shishkabobalooza II tomorrow. It's our party that runs in conjunction with the Brady Street Festival.  We will be marinating the yardbird soon then we have to head down to the Old German Beer Hall for a going away party.

An 83 year old Wisconsin man with alzheimers was lost for 3 days. Then, a drone was launched and it spotted him in a soybean field in a mere 20 minutes. Good to hear that it has some good uses other than bombing things and delivering pizza.

Andrew Wiggins signed his contract with Cleveland today. Now they have to wait 30 days before the trade him to Minnesota. If I was Wiggins, I would have signed a one year contract with a European team then came back next year as a free agent with my choice of playing for any team that I wanted to. Being the first overall pick should have some resemblance of being wanted by the team that chooses you.

It looks like the GOP is going to sue the President for using too many executive orders despite using less than the previous 5 president's. So what happens today, the Texas GOP members want the President to use an executive order for the refugee crisis at the border. I'm not sure if we should laugh or cry but I'm really starting to feel the need for congressional term limits.

All this 45 year anniversary talk of man landing on the moon this month brings back some memories. I remember being very little watching it on our Zenith television that was in this beautiful but heavy wood cabinet. Right after the historic moment I made my mom buy me some Tang. It'd been around for 12 years without much success until it hooked up with the NASA projects. Marketing at it's finest because sales went thru the roof and the stuff really did suck!

Later

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Dinosaur Poop and a Theory

It's a lovely sunny day in Milwaukee. It seems warmer than the 70 degrees I'm seeing on the old thermometer. Today and tomorrow will be busy days getting ready for Shishkabobalooza II which runs in conjunction with the Brady Street Festival. I just looked at the band lineup and I'm only recognizing one band, The Carpetbaggers and that's because a friend of mine is in the band. That doesn't mean it won't be good though. I prefer to put a positive spin on this and we get a chance to see some up and comers that haven't had a chance yet.

Another airliner went down today and it's believed it crashed in Mali. Nobody seems sure as they haven't found it yet. I'm still trying to wrap my finger on how Apple gives me the ability to GPS a place yet we keep losing airplanes throughout the world in different manners this year and it's tough to locate them.

It's  been a strange day so far so I'll just recap it as I lived it. I went to the grocery store to get chicken and charcoal. Walked into the store and was asked for money by a man down on his luck. Saw a man inside the store holding his head strange and taking giant enormous steps/hops so he wouldn't step on tile lines on the floor. Came out of the store with my cart and was asked again by the first man for more money as he was still down on his luck. To his credit he did apologize for the second asking. Then, I saw the second man standing on a parking lot ledge holding a soda bottle contents unknown and he was either howling at the sky or perhaps just singing with a real shitty voice. Either way he jumped down and hopped into a station wagon with a float on top of it made out of flowers. Then he drove away and unfortunately headed back towards my neighborhood. Yes, I did say he had a float out of flowers on top of his station wagon. You just can't make up facts like those.

Anyway, I made it home and mowed the lawn and watered the plants. While watering the plants an Italian guy dressed up like he just got off the set of a 'Love Boat' episode introduces himself to me as the landlord for the property behind me discussing ways we should trim the trees. It's the first time I've met him in almost 8 years. I certainly could have gone another 8 years my friend!

Anyway, yard work is done as I did gorilla glue the solar flamingo, don't ask. I also staked down the wooden ostrich. Again, don't ask!

A 40 inch dinosaur coprolite is going up for auction this saturday in Beverly Hills, California. It's expected to fetch up to $10,000. That certainly seems like a reasonable price for a fossilized piece of dinosaur poop. This brings me to a new theory on dinosaur extinction. It wasn't a giant explosion or the ice age. They simply spent a few years with people then they all just decided to kill themselves!

Later




Wednesday, July 23, 2014

The One Day Summer

We went to bed last night at 11pm with it being about 85 degrees. Woke up at 7am and it was 60 and never rose much higher. The forecast stays low 70's for a while. Possibly rain on saturday but I'm keeping my fingers crossed at it's the Brady Street Festival that coincides with our Shishkabobalooza party and it's never rained on that day in my 12 years here.

My computer class went well this morning. It was an intermediate class and I picked up a few things. Next week I'm taking an excel class at the same library.

The other day was my 200th blog and I didn't notice that fact until after it was posted. A big thank you to everyone for reading it and making it such a huge success in it's first year.

Former Dallas Cowboy Robert Newhouse passed away tuesday. He played on three Super Bowl teams for the Cowboys. He was an all around outstanding fullback with the hugest thighs I've ever seen.

I was watching a segment about famed gangster Al Capone last night. It was mentioned that Alcatraz prison was used for confederate prisoners during the Civil War. I never knew that. It must have took forever to get the prisoners there back in the 1860's.

Gotta run now.  I bought some paint today for the outdoor bar. Now I just have to finish the sanding.

Later

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

George Harrison Memorial Tree

We finally hit 90 degrees for the first time this year. It's terribly muggy but I'm not complaining. My neck and hands feel great today with no stiffness or soreness.

Besides, it's going back to the low 70's tomorrow. I'm gonna try and finish the outdoor bar tomorrow. Just a bit of sanding left then throw a coat of paint on it and a bamboo skirt. I also have a two hour computer class tomorrow morning at the library. I've never really had a computer class before and it shows!

Last thursday night I finally had to turn off the news for the first time in my life. Too many dooms dayers out there with an agenda. Especially one network which has become such a joke that doubt if anyone takes it serious anymore.

 I'm a huge fan of news programming but there's no Walter Cronkite's anymore. Someone with the audacity to just report some facts instead of their version of the facts they want you to hear. Since they've chased me away for a while I'm stuck watching Bigfoot Survivorman on Animal Planet. At least they seem more honest!

Coco was at the Wisconsin Dells this past weekend. It's now known as the waterpark capital of the world. When I was a kid we just went there to fish and eat breakfast at Paul Bunyan's!

Los Angeles has a George Harrison memorial tree. Well, it did have one. It seems it was overrun and killed by beetles. Where's the mutual respect?

Later




Monday, July 21, 2014

Alligators In Sheboygan

The mosquito bites are all gone and finally a good nights sleep. No more worries about raccoons getting into coolers but it was a great camping trip. It was my third time with the fun bunch and the first time it hasn't rained.

In fact, it's a real summer day today and I even turned on the air conditioning. Let's hope it stays dry for the Brady Street Festival saturday as I'm grilling out for the masses. Well, okay, maybe just around 20 people but it still takes talent and skill.

Legendary actor James Garner passed away over the weekend. He was one of my all-time favorites. The Rockford Files was an excellent series. But "The Great Escape" and "Barbarians at the Gate" were two of my favorite movies. He will be missed by many.

NASA has renamed a building at the Kennedy Space Center after recently passed astronaut Neil Armstrong. It's hard to believe it's been 45 years since he made the first walk on the moon.

We played a game at the campfire tent over the weekend called Cards Against Humanity. It's really a politically inappropriate game but one I wished I would have invented. It's so clever and the most hilarious game that I've ever played.

Legos still keep washing ashore near Cornwall, England. It's been 17 years since a large wave knocked over 62 containers holding 4.8 million Lego pieces overboard from a cargo ship. They are always in pristine condition after all this time. Just think how long those plastic bottles float around for.

A four foot long alligator was caught up north in Sheboygan County. Somebody apparently had a baby alligator and just released it into Sheboygan. Maybe the Legos aren't so bad after all!

Later

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Lake Kegonsa State Park

What a beautiful weekend to go camping. The only negative part was the mosquitoes which we expected. We were too busy fending them off to take many photographs. A special kudos to Holly for once again setting up a nice weekend for everyone.

I did write the blog on saturday and received a confirmation that it was posted but somehow it never did. So, when we got back at 3 pm we pasted that blog onto here then took a nap after some quick tacos.

All the kids seemed to have a great time as well as the adults. There was a certain card game we played that put the trip over the top. I'll go into more detail tomorrow about that as I'm going to bed!

Later
Coolest Bike
Aimee's Tent
The Campfire
Drinking Coffee
Playing Pirate With Krissy
Holly and the Board
The Table
Getting Sprayed


Mosquitoes, Skunks and Sunburn

Saturday, July 19, 2014



We actually left at 12:30ish yesterday and were the second party to the camp site. The mosquitoes are the worst I've seen in years!

Tents went up in orderly fashion with dinner and drinks around the campfire. About 2am there was a terrible odor by the tent and I know a skunk when I smell one. I never saw the skunk but it took a good hour for the odor to leave.

I'm typing this blog on an I Phone so I'm not sure how it will come out so I'm keeping it short today. We just got back from the beach and perhaps a little sunburn. That's ok though, it's covering the mosquito bites!


Later

Friday, July 18, 2014

Milky Skies Over Milwaukee

Another gorgeous day in Milwaukee as I pack up the truck for camping. The goal is to leave by noon. It will be close. Krissy was up half the night coughing but she's looking better now. No rain in the forecast but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

Krissy has a new IPad Air and the color on the camera is absolutely amazing. Hopefully, we'll get some good pictures with it this weekend. I'm hoping to have a saturday blog but it will depend on wi-fi connectivity at the camping area. We'll be back late sunday, so if nothing else my sunday one will be longer.

Legendary Bluesman Johnny Winter passed away in Switzerland yesterday. He worked with such legends as Eric Clapton and Muddy Waters. He grew up in Texas and Mississippi listening to the blues and basically toured from 1968 until he passed.

Senator John McCain is calling for putting U.S. troops in Ukraine and supplying them with more weapons that they can't secure. He's not going to be happy until World War 3 starts. Bitterness must make the brain foggy.

The night skies over Milwaukee have a light milky appearance the last few nights. It's from a gigantic fire 1600 miles north in Canada. People always seem amazed at these incidents when they are forced to breathe this crap. I'm always amazed that they are amazed!

Later

Thursday, July 17, 2014

The World's Gone Mad

An absolutely gorgeous day in Milwaukee. It's hard to enjoy it though when the rest of the world seems to be falling apart. A passenger jet gets shot down in the Ukraine skies and there's a ground war going on in the Gaza Strip. Peace certainly seems to be out of fashion so far in this century.

A busy day getting ready for our camping trip tomorrow. The beer is bought and a new oil change for the vehicle has been taken care of. We went grocery shopping a little while ago and we're starting to pre-pack as I write. The weather forecast is great and we're looking forward to spending time with our friends.

Coco looks almost 100% from his recent health woes but Krissy is still battling her maladies. Hopefully a little rest and relaxation is all she needs.

Tiger Woods is back and played a pretty decent round at the Open Championship. He's good for the game and I'm glad he's back from his recent surgery.

A big get well to former NBA star Bill Russell. He's always been a first class act!

Later

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Peter Anderson Passes

Apparently the average temperature for the Milwaukee Lakefront this July is 68 degrees. I'm just amazed at how rain and cool it is every single day in the heart of summer. Coco is home sick for the third day in a row and Krissy finally went to urgent care to get some medicine for whatever she has had for the last two weeks.

It's hard to believe that it's been 15 years since JFK Jr. passed away in a plane accident.  I remember that I had plans to see a Jimmy Buffett concert that weekend. Jimmy sung a special song solo in his honor. From one aviator to another in remembrance.

The final season of " Sons of Anarchy" premieres on September 3rd. I wouldn't doubt it's warmer that day than it is today.

A 78 year old woman was stuck in quicksand for 14 hours outside of Moab, Utah. I never even knew we had quicksand in the United States!

Peter Anderson, the Secretary General of the Conch Republic passed away today. He was a legend in Key West and was a vital member of the 1982 brief secession from the United States. Please check out www.conchrepublic.com to learn about their movement as they really made a point. By all accounts he was truly an original and special type of person that made Key West a spectacular place! His legacy will live on forever in the Conch Republic.

Later

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

A Selfie In Pamplona

At least I slept well for most of the night. It rained pretty good last night and I never heard a thing which is very difficult with a skylight 8 feet above your head. Coco is still sick and I spent most of this gloomy day running errands.

A panel of NASA space scientists believe that we will find extraterrestrial life within 20 years. Judging by what I've seen lately, I think some are already living amongst us!

It's MLB All Star week. I can't remember the last time I even watched one as it's just a fancy exhibition game.

It's Festa Italiana this weekend at the Summerfest grounds in Milwaukee. Unfortunately, it's the first one I will miss since moving to town as we are going camping this weekend with friends. Festa is a lot of fun with great food!

Rick Santelli had another melt down on CNBC today and actually walked off during his interview. This guy is a major embarrassment to any network and that doesn't even factor in the fact that he's wrong about 90% of the time.

I saw a wonderful photo today that was taken of the 'Running of the Bulls.' A man is participating in the run wearing a bright red shirt and white pants. He is calmly looking ahead and taking a selfie with his camera phone. Apparently he didn't have a wide angle as there is a bull about 5 feet behind him with his head down. I'm going to spend the rest of the day wondering how the next photo went!

Later

Monday, July 14, 2014

Christopher Walken As Captain Hook

It's a gorgeous day outside but it's been one of those days. I won't go into detail but anything that could go wrong did and anything that could go right didn't. You can attribute that quote to me as I believe I invented it.

Speedy get well to Coco who is battling a high fever today. It could be ear related, not sure yet. You know a kid is sick when he readily agrees to a suppository. Even in sickness he gave me some sound advice today which put some tears in my eyes. I'm still betting he makes President someday. Accuse me of bias as I don't really care!

The cruise ship Costa Concordia that ran aground a few years ago is finally getting towed approximately 150 miles to a scrap yard. There's still one victim that hasn't been recovered. The cost to move it so far could buy somebody a nice NBA team.

Key West is really pumped up about Hemingway Days which starts tomorrow as I mentioned a few days ago. In addition to the look- a- like contest,there's a marlin tournament, an arm wrestling tournament, 5k race and a short story contest. The spirit of the legendary writer will always live on in Key West!

Special kudos to Krissy for all her help today. Not sure what I'd do without you!

My man Christopher Walken is coming back to Broadway as Captain Hook. He's one of my all time favorite actors. Obviously he was great in such classics as "The Deer Hunter'' and the James Bond thriller "A View to a Kill." But my favorite movie of his is a small independent film called "Wild Side" co-starring a very underrated Joan Chen. And don't forget his Saturday Night Live skits. Give me some more COWBELL!

Later

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Germany Wins World Cup

So far it's a picture perfect day and we're even sniffing 80 degrees today after a downpour last night. Krissy isn't feeling well and she's sleeping in late today.

Pau Gasol chose to sign with the Chicago Bulls after Carmelo Anthony re-signed with the New York Knicks. I never thought Anthony would walk away from a sky high pile of cash. It looks like the Bulls are going big with twin 7 footers in their lineup next season. They also brought in Europe's best power forward in Nikola Mirotic and re-signed veteran guard Kirk Hinrich.

Solar panels are being stolen in Florida. This is actually a good scenario in a strange sense. It means they have value and the technology is working. Thieves never steal worthless items.

I spent the day sanding a new outdoor bar that I'm planning on painting and perfecting a new chicken recipe. Still have some work to do on it but it was good.

Congrats to Germany on their World Cup victory. It was certainly a great event for the world to see and Germany played splendidly every single game. I'm sure the great German beer is flowing tonight!

Later
Coco Built a Train Set Again...........





Saturday, July 12, 2014

The Amazon Drones Are Coming

How does one beat the hot July heat? Easy, move to Milwaukee. We can't break 70 for more than a couple hours a day. We've only seen 80's a few times this summer and we haven't even sniffed 90, especially by the lakefront.

We watched the whole Whiskey Belles show last night at Bastille Days and both of us agreed that it's been their best show that we've seen. During the intermission I bought Coco a Batman and Robin metal picture that he spotted on thursday night. We've already hung it in his room to surprise him!

I caught some of the Tour de France this morning. It sure is some beautiful countryside they race thru. The race itself was started in 1903 to promote local magazine sales. Besides a brief hiatus during two world wars, it's become one of the largest sporting events in the world.

Amazon is asking the FAA for permission to test commercial drone deliveries in the United States. Amazon first broached the idea last year and it would certainly decrease their delivery costs tremendously in the long run.

However, I think the commercial drone idea is terrible for several reasons. Some of them will likely fall out of the sky and kill someone as they are mechanical objects. Also, I can see some people shooting them out of the sky like a turkey shoot just to rip off some merchandise.

Most importantly though,  I can't think of a better way for terrorists to attack and damage large buildings throughout the country. Let's just keep it simple for once. Besides, I have friends that work for UPS!

Later

Bastille Days Friday Night
Selfie at the Bar
Coco's New Sign

Friday, July 11, 2014

Babe Ruth 100 Years Later

Bastille Days was quite an enormous success last night. The Storm the Bastille 5k race had a great turnout and I picked most of the top 10 finishers just by looking at the racers warming up. After so many years of distance running I truly do miss the racing aspect of it. But, I'm well past the point of grinding out 80 miles a week.

Coco certainly enjoyed the race and wants to give cross country a try. I let him wear my North Central College warmup shirt that took part in two national championship races when I was in college. He wore it with pride.

Babe Ruth made his major league baseball debut 100 years ago today. He actually started out as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox before becoming a famous home run hitter. My grandmother was a huge baseball fan and actually saw him play back in the day. One hundred years later and Babe Ruth is still the most popular player to ever play the game. That's truly legendary!

ESPN just announced that LeBron James will be returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers. At least I correctly predicted that one earlier this week.

Krissy has the day off and wants to head down to the lakefront. Maybe Bastille Days tonight. Enjoy your day!

Later

At Storm the Bastille 5k


Watching the Action 

Coco With the High Fives


 Shouting Old School
 
A proper picture of Chloe-Krissy took it

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Chicagoan Gored In Pamplona

Happy Birthday kudos to John Wilson this week. Apparently it's a big one as there's been no reported sightings of him lately. When the man of intrigue resurfaces, I'll be grilling him a huge hunk of red meat on the old grill.

Key West will be hosting Hemingway Days next week starting on July 15th. Hemingway lived in Key West for most of the 1930's. In between deep sea fishing and boozing it up on Duval Street, he managed to write a few literary classics. His home is now a museum and it's certainly a stately manor which I recommend touring. The festivities include a Hemingway look-alike contest which people from all over the world participate. So, if you have a crazy uncle that needs a trip, send him to the Conch Republic.

Coco and his new dog are over tonight. So far, so good!

Bastille Days in Milwaukee starts today and runs thru sunday. We'll be heading down to Cathedral Square to watch the 5k race appropriately called Storm the Bastille. The celebration is full of great bands and food. Five of our favorite local bands are featured performers this year. Tough choices to make as I'm not sure how much time we'll have this weekend with our camping trip coming up.

A Chicago man was gored yesterday at The Running of the Bulls. It's always a Chicago guy lately. A few years ago brothers from Chicago were gored by the same bull. A wonderful photograph captured the kodak moment for all the world to see!

This wounded warrior will be hospitalized for a few days but is expected to make a full recovery. To date, twenty people have been injured seriously in this year's run. Since 1924, fifteen people have actually died in this annual event.

Ironically, this latest Chicago runner is a veteran bull runner of ten years and wrote a book on how to survive the run. Perhaps a re-read of his own book is in order!

Later


Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Mel Fisher Days

It seems to be the summer of no 80 degree days. Not one in the forecast for the next 10 days and 70 could be challenging on some days. We're going camping next weekend and I should probably go mosquito repellant shopping with all this rain!

Some big NBA decisions loom tomorrow. Once a couple of top guys decide then you'll see a frenzy of signings. Rumors have it that Carmelo Anthony will stay in New York just as I expected. Don't be surprised if LeBron James heads back to Cleveland though.

Mountain climbing isn't very forgiving if something goes wrong. In, 1982, a man fell while climbing the Mont Blanc of the Alps. His body was never recovered until last week and it was preserved as if he died yesterday!

Key West is having Mel Fisher Days from July 10th thru the 13th. Mel passed away in 1998, but he'll always be remembered for discovering and salvaging Nuestra Senore de Atocha. It was a spanish galleon loaded with silver and gold that sank in a horrific storm off the Florida coast. People are still finding treasure to this day due to the massive debris field.

Mel Fisher grew up on an Indiana farm before opening a dive store in California. Once he arrived in Key West he searched for treasure without much success until hitting the motherload of all treasures. There's a couple museums bearing his name in Key West including the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum. At one time it held a gold bar from the wreck that was encased in plexiglass which allowed visitors to pick it up. However, in 2010 thieves somehow stole the gold bar which was never recovered. I swear, it wasn't me!

Later




Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Courtney Joins Anarchy

A sunny humid day after another rainstorm last night. Southern Wisconsin is getting besieged by mosquitoes. It's too bad we can't send some of this rain to our drought stricken states.

Germany beat Brazil 7-1 in World Cup soccer today. At first I thought it was a baseball score as I don't ever recall seeing a soccer score that high.

I had an emergency call from Coco today. It seems like the sitter at his mother's house is afraid of the new dog Chloe. All 12 pounds of the gentle beast. I had to run over there and help him walk the dog. That pretty much sums up my day. I must be having the Summerfest Blues!

More trouble in the Middle East and the stock market is all jittery again. Gone is last weeks exuberance over the solid jobs report.

I just received an email that our order of World Cup soccer shirts can't be filled. That's an awesome way to run a small business. Don't fill orders and don't get any money. Blame it on the government though!

Courtney Love is joining the cast for the final season of "Sons of Anarchy." Krissy and I never miss an episode. Apparently, Love will be playing a preschool teacher. Courtney will definitely make it interesting! She was superb in the Larry Flynt movie in 1996.

I started an organization project today to diverse myself of less paperwork to get myself more organized. The world seems to be going to hell in a handbasket today. If it is doomsday tomorrow, I want to leave behind a tidy house!

Later



Monday, July 7, 2014

It's San Fermin Festival Time

It's a beautiful sunny 84 degree day and Coco's mom bought him a dog. A sweet little collie named Chloe. She's 3 months old and so well behaved. No incessant barking, biting, chewing or accidents. Almost the perfect puppy actually. They are both hanging around my house today.

The do-nothing Congress actually seems to be taking a deeper slide. Their approval rating has slipped from the low teens to a whopping 9 percent. Even family and friends are starting to bail out on this miserable bunch.

I'm going to give Summerfest a solid B for the 2014 festival. The bar has been set so high the last 10 years with simply great festivals year after year. The addition of the giant ferris wheel was certainly a nice touch. Who doesn't like a ferris wheel? The view was spectacular and I took some breath taking photos up there.

The Marcus Theater feature acts were excellent and offered at least one night for every music genre. I thought some of the sidestage feature acts were a bit weak compared to past years. Naturally, a lot of the selections depends who's currently on tour.

The Milwaukee area bands were exceptional this year and the food was great. A special kudos to A.J. Bombers with huge lines but excellent service and food. Beer lines seemed shorter this year although attendance looked a little down this year. Nothing but iffy weather to blame for that and it was still a solid turnout. I'm not sure how parking was as we walked or grabbed a bar shuttle. Living close has it's advantages and we made it down there 6 times.

Pamplona, Spain is on my bucket list. More specifically, the San Fermin Festival. Even more specifically, 'The Running of the Bulls.' It's happening this week and I check out various websites to follow it each day. I was scheduled to go one year but a serious event made me cancel my trip. It's the ultimate race for a old school distance runner like myself. Ernest Hemingway made this event over the top famous with his 1926 book, "The Sun Also Rises."

It's actually a 902 yard run in the street with 6 bulls released amongst the participants. People do get hurt every year and some have died. I'll run it very shortly and I'm confident of that. Hopefully, I 'll take my son along some day and run it with him. If I can hang on long enough, I'd like to do it with him and any child of his someday. Hopefully, he'll have kids sooner than I did or I might end up a statistic!  

Later
Chloe


Taking a Snooze

Sunday, July 6, 2014

The Milwaukee Trifecta

We closed out saturday night at Summerfest in a pretty strong fashion keeping our reputations in tact. We saw Chasin Mason a Milwaukee area country band who put on a great performance.

Then, onto the Jo Jo's Martini tent to watch the Love Monkey's another Milwaukee area band with a very strong following. Those guys must never drink anything as they never took a break and just played forever it seemed.

We made sure to get a Cherry Crisp at my favorite dessert place and then took the Sky Glyder to the north side of the grounds where we grabbed a cab home around midnight.

No rush to get up early this morning but we did make it down to the AVP finals at Bradford Beach where a large crowd showed their support. We hung around the Tiki Hut bar for a while before heading over to the Nomad to check on a special clothing order.

Krissy is a bit tired so we ordered Lisa's Pizza before calling it a night. If you like pro beach volleyball, world class soccer bars and the greatest music festival in the world, Milwaukee was indeed the center of the world this weekend!

Later
Krissy and I enjoying our final night at the fest

Out shuttle to summerfest driver was also an attentive bartender. Gotta love Milwaukee

 
fun side stage at summerfest

Burger from AJ Bombers 

APV  finals at Bradford Beach

Noticed this "beer garden" on our way to the beach this morning  



Saturday, July 5, 2014

Shower Beers

Today is almost an exact replica of yesterday. Last night wasn't a replica of thursday night. We made it out last night to Jamo's Tavern for one and I mean exactly one. No big deal. Thursday night was so much fun and I spent 5 hours cleaning out the basement so we were tired.

We still made it down to Bradford Beach around noon for lunch and the AVP volleyball tournament. Angela and John joined us later for a while. Lots of great play down at the beach today. One of my favorite Chicago Bulls, Jimmy Butler was in attendance. He's a former Marquette player so he received a nice hand.

At this point I'm hoping Butler is still with the Bulls this season. He's been mentioned in trade rumors as the Bulls attempt to acquire Carmelo Anthony. I'm just as happy if they keep the roster together and bring over Nikola Mirotic from Spain. It looks like it's going to happen and if he was in the draft this year, he probably would have been the first player overall drafted.

The Chicago Cubs traded 2 of their best pitchers to Oakland for a couple of good prospects. I still don't think they received enough but Theo Epstein has done pretty good at the tradeline so far.

Well, I'm drinking a Corona Light for my shower beer and getting
Jimmy Butler Above Me
At the Tiki Bar
ready to head down to Summerfest with Krissy. It will be our 6th and final time this year. The festival ends on sunday and by tuesday I'll start making a band wish list for 2015!


Later

Friday, July 4, 2014

Ziggy Marley "True To Myself"

Wow, what a night at Summerfest last night. We arrived there at 6pm and saw De La Buena whom I've seen before. Just a tremendous Latin Jazz type of band with a lot of horns.

Then, at 8pm we saw our local favorite Reggae band, RAS Movement. Brilliant as always and we never had to leave the Briggs and Stratton stage. We stayed at the same table all night for 3 unbelievable bands.

The feature band was one of my all time favorites, Ziggy Marley. Definitely he has been the highlight of Summerfest for me this year. "True to Myself" is such a heartwarming song. I've been to Jamaica several times and it's truly a beautiful country!

A lot of people have misconceptions about Jamaica as being a large violent slum. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It's full of warm, friendly and compassionate people. It's a country that has never started a war and takes care of their less fortunate. The worst  thing you can say about Jamaica is that they like their reefer and have a soft spot in their hearts for pirates. Hell, in the United States we just call that place Key West!

Have a Happy 4th my friends!

Later




My Marley Shirt

Clair, Julie and Allen



Thursday, July 3, 2014

Now It's Hurricane Arthur

We finally have a beautiful day. Last night was a different story as we had a bit of drizzle and fog at Summerfest. Overall, we really made the best of it and had a great time.

I went down early with Coco. We saw the Booze Brothers then watched a soccer exhibition with the Milwaukee Wave. Onward to the Tiki Hut stage for a while then over to the Bridgestone Tent where Coco won a promotional game for a couple of dandy prizes.

Finally we met Krissy, Jen, Holly and Michelle to watch Oumar Sagna put on a great drum performance followed by King Solomon. Coco and I cut out a bit early to ride the sky glyder and the ferris wheel. Throw in some root beer, ice cream sundaes and lemon shake ups and the night was quite fun for us!

The feds release the June job report and it was quite a good one. This is the best 5 month period since 1999. The second half of the year could be quite a good one economically.

Tropical Storm Arthur is now a category 1 hurricane. By the time it reaches North Carolina it's expected to be a category 2. Let's pray for the best for our east coast friends.

Enjoy the photos. The first one is from Krissy's birthday. Back to Summerfest tonight for Ziggy Marley. The tough get there early and the weak hands fold!

Later



 \

Let Them Lick Cake

View from the skyglider!
Brave girls on the skyglider
U.S. Bank from the Ferris Wheel

Summerfest smiles
Holly & Jenny
   
Jenny, Michelle,Cole and myself watching Oumar drumming! 

Cole dancing to the drums

 Great afternoon with Cole at Summerfest!

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Alice Cooper Is Back

We woke up to more rain and 50 degrees again. So much for the summer drought with heat waves that I predicted after a miserable winter. We're going to Summerfest late this afternoon and it looks like I'll be wearing pants again.

I ran some errands this morning and noticed that they are getting ready to set up for Bastille Days next week at Cathedral Square. It's always blistering hot for Bastille Days so maybe this year will be different.

Krissy took Tammy and Maddie out shopping this morning. Jen came over and we cooked out for lunch. Just waiting for Holly now and we'll be off for Summerfest. Coco is very excited to be going.

Fabien Cousteau emerged from his underwater habitat today after 31 days of living below the ocean surface near Key largo. As you might remember he was the feature of my blog on May31st. Welcome back to land!

One of the morning radio shows were talking about Alice Cooper this morning. Not only have I seen him in concert 3 or 4 times but I've met Alice. In fact, he was sitting directly behind me at the Bally Indoor Games in Chicago once. It was an elite track meet at the time and Alice was an old school distance runner like myself.

He's a really great guy. He signed my program. He gave autographs and took  photos with everyone really. We talked about about my favorite album of his 'Welcome to My Nightmare.'

Originally from Detroit, Michigan he got caught up in the rock n roll life for quite a while. He decided to quit drinking and took up golf. Seriously, he plays 365 days a year and became a 4-5 handicap since he took up the sport late in life for a golfer. He opens at Summerfest July 4th for Motley Crue. If you go golfing on a nice course in the Milwaukee area this week keep an eye out for Alice. He's truly legendary!

Later

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

The Key Lime Festival

Last night was one of the worst storms in the last decade with massive power outages to over a 100,000 area homes. Today has been fairly nice overall with a pleasant breeze for those attending Summerfest. We're taking the night off.

Maddie and Tammy drove up this morning from Illinois. Krissy dropped them off at the Summerfest grounds to see One Republic tonight before they come back to spend the night at our place.

It was a tough day at Wimbledon for a couple of tennis legends. Serena Williams bowed out with some kind of viral illness and Rafael Nadal just plain lost to a teenager from Australia. Wimbledon was my mom's favorite sporting event and it really made her holiday week back in the day.

The USA soccer team lost out to Belgium today 2-1. A tough way to get eliminated but they played a gallant and entertaining World Cup to make everyone proud.

It looks like Tropical Storm Arthur has picked up a bit of energy and could hit the Carolinas sometime on thursday.

The second annual Key Lime Festival runs from July 3-5 in Key West. It's complete with a 9 foot diameter key lime pie on Greene Street. I'm a little biased since key lime pie has always been my favorite but nobody does it better than Key West. There's a key lime pie store every few blocks and key lime pie on a stick is great on hot days. My personal favorite is at Blue Heaven where they make it with 8 inches of crispy meringue! Simply heavenly!!

Later