Horse at UW-Madison
I saw this horse on UW Campus right off the bike path on the Saturday of Freakfest. My best guess is that it was going in for surgery. (why else would it be shaved?) Is my idea plausible or is there a better explanation?
I recently had the chance to visit the Madison Public Library for the first time since it reopened the central branch. I was really impressed. I got there just before opening on a cold October morning and there was a line waiting outside. It seemed to me that quite a few of the people were homeless and were looking to get inside the warm building. Continue reading
I went to the farmer’s market last Saturday and I wanted to share two observations I made. The first was about windows and shades.
I am fairly certain that this is an office building (at least the upper parts; the lower is the Veteran’s Museum). I was looking up and noticed that some shades were down and some were up. I think this is an opportunity to make a cool design. Maybe every other window or a zig-zag could be made. I don’t think there is enough to make a lot of letters and words.
Matching the shades would be a solid idea in my opinion. Maybe every Friday the company could send out an email that the shades should either be up or down. Down is especially good during the summer to keep the AC costs low. For some reason the shades being so randomly different stood out to me. I am sure most people didn’t notice. It was interesting to think about though.
The shades also don’t match here but I can give this a pass because it is residential. For me random shades is fine on houses and apartments but doesn’t look as good on commercial buildings.
The second thing I wanted to share was this cool backpack:
His lady companion was putting something in and asking if it was evenly loaded so I wonder how the weight transfers onto the shoulders. It seemed to be getting quite a few comments for the short time I was near this guy.
If you haven’t ever been to the farmer’s market I encourage you to go to it at least once.
Last weekend I saw Eraserhead (1977, David Lynch) at the UW Cinematheque. It was a full house. Several things about the movie struck me. The first thing I noticed was the doors. It seemed to me that there were a lot of doors closing, or that the focus was often on that. Strange thing to notice. The second thing was the noise. It was constant noise which was a big part of the movie.
I must be honest. I did not like it right after it finished. In fact when the screen cut to black and the silence washed over me I felt relieved. But in the few days since it has grown on me. I won’t be re-watching the movie soon but I will probably view it again in the future. The main character – Henry – has such a distinctive hair style. I wonder how much of the low budget went to that!
Afterwards I ate at Paul’s Pelmeni. It was delicious as usual. Give it a chance if you are downtown. And it seems other people are getting hip to the jive – see this article in the Isthmus.
I was at the farmer’s market before the Taste of Madison last weekend. All of the restaurants and such were set up and waiting for the start. I noticed something unusual about it. Can you see it?
Taste of Madison Canopies
No? What about here?
Taste of Madison Canopies 2
Nearly all of the canopies are either red, white, or blue. I only see one (in the lower picture) that has any other color in it. Is this normal? Do canopy makers not sell any other colors or do people only buy red, white or blue? I thought I would share.
PBR Skateboard in a store window – State Street – Madison August 2013
Reflecting on your journey can help you as you move forwardMy journey of life improvement has lead me to cut down on my television consumption. I always read that watching less or no tv was better for you, but until you try it you just don’t understand how much better it is. I still keep a 20″ tv for the Packer’s games and the occasional Rick Steves’ Europe episode.
For entertainment I find myself listening to the radio more. The main advantage of listening to the radio is that it does not lock in your sight and sound the way television does. I can wash dishes, cook, write or just plain stare out of the window while listening to the radio. With a tv I keep my butt in the chair and my eyes on the screen. My apartment is small enough that I can listen to it all over with ease.
One of the favorite things about the radio is that there are some stations that are commercial free or commercial “lite”. These are the stations I like to listen to; I have grown an aversion to advertisements. Some of my favorite stations in the Madison area are:
Thanks to the internet I can listen to stations from all around the world or those just outside of my geographic reach:
Those are my favorites but I am always looking for more. When I was out in South Dakota I heard an advertisement for a radio show called the “Floydian Slip”. You just don’t get that on normal radio stations!
Do you have a go to radio station? Do you ever listen to radio from other countries or in a different language?
I had a hankering for some cookies, and my go to cookie is oatmeal (it has to be marginally healthier than anything with chocolate chips, right?). As I was getting all the ingredients together to bake I noticed I was out of brown sugar. What a perfect excuse to walk to the store!
I live on Old University Avenue and my store of choice is the Regent Market Co-op. I have gone to quite a few grocery stores since I moved to Madison in October of 2012. I have settled on the RMC for several reasons, the first of which is location! It is less than a 10 minute walk from my door. It also has everything I need and nothing I don’t. I don’t waste time deciding from 27 different kinds of peanut butter. It is small, with full shelves. It reminds me of some of the grocery stores that I remember from my semester abroad in Poland. From the front door to the back of the store isn’t even halfway across the parking lot at many stores. It also has a sense of community – most of the time I see the same people working there. For me it is a good fit. When I eventually move it will be one of the things I will miss the most.
The walk there on Allen Street is a pleasant one. It seem like a nice neighborhood, almost idyllic. Someone had a sprinkler out and it was hitting the sidewalk. I tried to come up with something clever and the best I could do was “Those who water the sidewalk shouldn’t be cross if pedestrians walk on the lawn.” Kind of a poorly executed modern day Confucius says. I need more creative exercise.
It has been hot out and I have been trying to keep my apartment cooler. My south facing window, an asset in the winter, has become a liability in this summer heat. I have had to decide between keeping the blinds and curtains closed and letting my window plants suffer and keeping them open and letting all the heat in. But this morning I found a happy medium. I opened the blinds half way and put the curtains behind the plants. By the time I returned from work the area in the light was 90 degrees F but the rest of the apartment in the dark was a cool 85 degrees. I am chalking this solution up as a “win” for life improvements.
Have you improved your life recently, even with something as small as keeping your room cooler?
Website for Regent Market Co-Op here: http://www.regentmarketcoop.org/
I went on a tour for the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation this morning. I had picked up a brochure earlier this year at the library. I always thought it would be a good way to learn about my new town but I never got around to it. My aunt is somewhat active with historic architecture in the Milwaukee area so when she decided to visit me today I thought it was a good idea.
This tour was of the Westmorland neighborhood. It was a suburb back in the day but is now firmly in Madison. It has houses ranging from about 1916 to the 1960s if I recall correctly. Some of the notable houses were a Frank Lloyd Wright, a few Sears & Roebuck mail order catalog houses, and a Lustron house. The last one was new to me. It is a house made out of enameled steel. The outside has porcelain and never needs painting.
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Picture from Wikipedia
Apparently if you want to hang something on the walls you need a magnet. But the roofs have lasted 50 years+ without a leak.
The neighboring house from my childhood home is a Sears house and it still has the original copper(?) roof. It is a big brick house while the Sears houses on this tour are smaller. I also learned that there were over 400 models of Sears houses to choose from. Very interesting.
These tours change from week to week. Most are downtown and last about an hour. I learned a lot, walked a bit, and now know more about the city. You should check it out. They have a web presence: Madison Trust for Historic Preservation
I went to the Art Fair on the Square here in Madison today with my Aunt. There were some very expensive pieces there! There was also an Art Fair off the Square that featured all Wisconsin artists. Some of my favorite things were the bottle cap furniture pieces and the clocks made out of serving trays. There was a lot of different work in many mediums.
I wonder what it costs to be a vendor on the square? My aunt was talking to a hat seller and she said that she had by trying to get on the list for 13 years! It was busy when we were there. There were a lot of people looking, but I didn’t notice as much buying.
I am glad I went once but I don’t think it is something that I will need to do again.