Point Made

After FaceBook redesigned its homepage page, I found FB Watch. As it is with everything in social media, the algorithm is slicing and dicing my habits online and answering without me asking, "If you liked X, then certainly you're going to enjoy Y." I get a stream of music videos including a string of Simon's greatest hits from America's & Britain's Got Talent, Sheryl Crow, Fleetwood Mac, James Taylor, Sara Bareilles, Graham Norton, and the occasional pop-up performance (You know, the symphony orchestra that surprises everyone in the town square or mall.) This morning I got this one.  https://fb.watch/2D2v7IaMVk/ Warning; Don't shut this down. There is a method to the opening of this music. Not only does it entertain, but this performance is also imaginative and stunning all on its own. Notice how much fun and how excited the chorale members are experiencing as they perform this. Speaking of finding gold as I wind my way through a rabbit hole online, I ...

And I don't mean Garfunkel. I noticed that now when I'm looking at people, I imagine how I would sketch them. I begin planning what colors I'd use to paint them. Noticing the detail in their eyes and ears is not something I did before. Is this a blessing or a curse? I got this from my usual source of zany shit from the internet, David Nitz. This guy would be a huge hit at a tailgate party at Lambeau. When experts overestimate what other people know about their specialty. I'm learning that whenever something you want to do on the internet starts with "Follow these simple instructions," you are soon to be throwing things at your computer screen. It begins with, "Click on the icon on the upper left-hand side of your screen" It doesn't make any difference what comes after that because there is no icon on the upper left-hand side of your screen.  The reason is simple. Because almost anything can be improved over time. So, by monitoring the comments an...

 I'll admit it. Nothing brings out your weaknesses like pressure. The legendary professional golfer, Lee Travino, defined pressure as needing to sink a putt to win a fifty dollar bet when you don't have the fifty dollars to pay if you miss.  And while most of us wouldn't be crazy enough to get ourselves in that position, at this time last year, nobody would have thought our lives would become so complicated. On the face of it, living by yourself is not unusual. Many of the singles out there are seniors, and there are a fair amount of young people who haven't paired up. Living alone is one thing. Not feeling comfortable mingling in society is another thing altogether. When you can't join friends for social activities, life becomes monastic, from not having coffee to attending church. There are obvious drawbacks. Since I'm Irish, I miss having people around that allow me to bore them with my stories and the obvious embellishments I add to almost every tale I tell....

 I really must think about putting more posts with photographs of my infant grand and great-grandchildren. They are hits for sure. This last weekend was a winner for me. My local TV viewing is obstructed. I get two channels on my antenna, Channel 12 and 58.  Saturday on channel 12 (WISN), I watched the Badgers play Indiana. So sad that I had to text my son-in-law Dan to make sure he wasn't sitting in a warm bath with a razor at his wrists Sunday, I watched the Packers play the Eagles on channel 58. I  joined the game at the end of the third quarter. According to Jim Nance, I no more than sat down with my popcorn, and the Eagles scored two touchdowns in 82 seconds. Do you ever think that if you don't watch, they will win? Do you fantasize that you are a curse. As we know, the Pack turned back the momentum (another sports fantasy) and won the game. Least you somehow think that someone forgot to turn down the outdoor thermometer, and you can't remember a December when you di...

I happened to glance up at the top of my Blog Desk Page. This post is number 274. I began it when Maria and I moved to Louisiana. I began publishing it to keep a promise to my friends to stay in touch.  I have taken a week off here and there, but I've published on Tuesday mornings for most weeks. Because Gmail doesn't allow publishing to large mailing lists, I have to split the mailing list (110 People) in half. In my head, as I punch up my mail contact list (A-List) from my Google Contacts, it's like calling an infield double play in baseball. The first name on the list Balcer to Krolikowski, then La Joie to Zarnow. I've written this before, but I know from the analytics report that between 40 -50% of the people on my list open the post. I have no idea who these people are. I am equally mystified that if the post is regularly ignored, why don't they ask to be removed from the list. Then I found out something interesting. Because I'm not addressing the post to a...

 I can't resist the pun about kneading to bake bread.  So that is out of the way and we now are moving on. I have lost my favorite sandwich bread recipe. Tomorrow I'm going to attempt to make it from memory. If it doesn't work I'm probably going to need mental health advice. As I often say things like this aren't a matter of life and death, it is slightly more important than that. I loved that bread. I never had a loaf from that recipe that didn't work and it tastes so good. I had my annual physical yesterday. Outside of mobility issues, I seem to be in rather good health. All of the plumbing works. (Blood circulation, heart, and digestive functions) The electrical is functioning. (Nerve, sight, and hearing) The controller is adequate. (Cognitive.)  Good news: I don't have to have any more colonoscopies. They will not be checking me for prostate cancer. Apparently, medical science says that if I have it I will die of something else first. That's reassuri...

I can keep up and have a safe masked face to masked face communication with some of my friends because the restaurants can still serve outside. This advantage will die a natural death as the weather turns, and even the restaurants will give up outside service.  As far as outside dining goes, the exception might be the Hollander on Downer. They installed several plastic enclosures on their spacious outdoor service area, including the Downer St. side's parking space deck. (They refer to them as Bubbles)  They are habitable for dining or drinking, with the heater inside the enclosure. I have two concerns with this alternative to inside dining. Number one, the customers maybe be comfortable draping their coats over the back of their chairs, but what about the waitstaff, who are already running up the stairs to the second-floor kitchen to fetch the food, also have to run outside to deliver the orders? Outside of the justification for not going to the gym for a workout, this is a re...

The older you get, the more you cry. It started becoming noticeable when I was watching a movie either in the theater or on TV. It's not as apparent with women because women rightfully are allowed to express their emotions from the earliest age. However, with us men, it can be downright embarrassing. Even women who profess they want their male friends to be more emotional can turn away in horror. Here I am creeping up on (age - This information has been challenged and will be withheld from publication until certified. We are having problems getting the necessary documents as our request has been challenged by the deep state.) , and some kid actor gets me trying to swallow my emotions over his reaction to his dog dying. I don't want to talk about what happened when I had to deal with the reality that I faced when I heard that my Lucy was put down. All of the scenes in movies that I used to call 'tear-jerkers' can create a tump in the chest and a tear in the eye. This kin...

 ... but if you climb up on the roof, you can see it from here. At least that is what a guy I met told me about Wichita Falls, a small town an hour's drive from Dallas / Fort Worth.  We might want to equate that to the election we are involved in as I publish this blog post. I have no idea when it will be finalized. We are forewarned. It may not be by tomorrow. Depending on how many states secretaries officially declare the vote in their state is certified, it could be days, weeks, or maybe even months before we know for sure. Or maybe the anticipated landslide indeed flows, and the battle will be over quickly. Leave us to hope so. Livity aside, you might notice a large reduction in Emails and Instant messages tomorrow. I have developed serious muscle and coordination problems from trying to get President Obama, his wife, James Carville, Joe Biden, Kamila Harris, former Mayor Pete, Julio Castro, Elizabeth Warren, and an untold number of first name interns who were all telling ...

 We got our first credible snow forecast today. We haven't had a 'killing frost' yet so even if it does snow it won't stay long because the ground temperature won't support it. In about ten days we slowly dropped from high temperatures in the mid to upper fifties to this week the highs will be in the forties. Low temperatures are flirting with freezing and the end chills are dropping into the twenties. Last Thursday, (10/22/20) we got a lot of rain. It was warmer so it wasn't that uncomfortable. But I thought to myself the next one might be the event that produces an ice layer. There may not be anything that threatens my health and mobility more than ice. To mock a local law firm, "One Fall That's all" It's a little bit puzzling even to me, that I traveled through the rain to buy a loaf of bread at the Downer Avenue location from the Breadsmith. I used to play golf in that kind of weather, so that might explain it. I was honored once more this ...

 I have six unread books on the shelf. The Girl Who Lived Twice,  A Lisabeth Salander tale, by Lagercrantz Created by Seig Larsson A Place Called Freedom , by Ken Follett A Column Of Fire , by Ken Follett Fevre Dream , by George R. R. Martin Squeeze Me, by Carl Hiaasen Women in the Moonlight , by Patricia Morrisroe Which one should I read first?  Full disclosure . I have read all of the Lisbeth Salander books except this one. I think I've read all of Follett's books except these two. For those who do not read fantasy, Martin wrote Game of Thrones. Book Report. My novel 26 Women is going to collect some dust for at least a week. I'm going to do research on which platform I'm going to use to Publish.  My next story,  Star Struck, is in first draft status.  For some reason, story ideas are cascading through my mind like boulders in a landslide. Since the idea for Jamieson is so close to home, I've been writing a page a day just to keep the atmosphere and ur...

Face it we're all, Like The Maidan Tied To The Railroad Tracks . To further the atmospheric think of Johnny Cash singing, "I hear the train a-coming. Coming down the tracks." The one huge headlight on the charging rail beast will soon brighten the scene, and our end will be accomplished. I'm speaking of the arrival of Winter in Wisconsin.  Sadly we are closing the season I call "The 120 Days Of Possible Good Weather In Wisconsin." And there were good weather days this season. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seemed like the warmest days were in late June and early July. We experienced a few days with disagreeable conditions. They being the outbreaks of high temperature and high dew points that produce the environment that sucks the energy out of you and make you wonder why you didn't buy that air conditioner. We had far more days in the mid-seventies to the mid-eighties with low humidity. T seems to me we had pleasant weather with enough rain to keep ...

Recently I submitted an article, to my editor at Urban Milwaukee.com, about the future of theater. Specifically, I attempted to focus on what theater companies learned from their efforts to remain relevant during, pun intended , these dark times. I did rant and ramble through an attempt to explain the difference between live performance (Audience and performers in the same venue), streamed live performance (Audience watching the performance, live but separated), and streamed recorded performance ( the version that could be edited more like a movie). I am contemplating a much-needed rewrite of the column. When I was doing research I found a discussion with Superfan Hilary Clinton and a panel with four successful broadway stars about the Question, 'What does this shutdown mean for theater, theater fans, and society? If you find Hilary too polarizing, then just pull the little slider on the bottom until you get to the panel discussion. If you do that, you're going to deny yours...

 In the Red Zone is a phrase from Football that means the ball is close to the goal line. It is meant to raise the expectations of success.  Yesterday I was in the red zone with my vote. I had received my ballot last Friday, September, 25th. Yesterday during lunch with my friend Micelle Mooney, we went through the witnessing ceremony. I stopped at the Eastside Library, walked up to the dropbox on the sidewalk near the entrance, put the ballot through the slot, and scored.😄😄 I hope everyone knows that the ballots are picked up every day and you can go to MyVote.wi.gov and check to see if it's been scanned as received and after Nov. 3rd to confirm it was counted. Still in the Red Zone This week Pam Frautchi and I finished the second line-by-line edit of my novel, 26 Women. I have to go through it for some continuity issues and some extensive rewriting in a couple of areas, but I'm close to publishing it. I'm on my own twenty-yard line with a new idea. My new character is ...

 I'm no Andy Borowitz. Maybe I'm just messing with you. Here is what I posted on Facebook this morning The sad part about this is I will never know how many people are going to believe this. In Wisconsin, we are experiencing what I call San Diego weather. Many people have told me that the most perfect weather in the mainland USA is in San Diego. We are having cool nights Mid '40s-'50s) and warm days (Hi 60's to mid-'70s), small amounts of rain, and scattered clouds.  This is when I miss playing golf. If you have an early tee time, you start out with a light sweater over a polo shirt. As you make the turn on the tenth tee, you probably have put that sweater in the bag. The leaves haven't fallen yet, so you don't lose as many golf balls. The only thing you have to watch is that it starts getting dark earlier. Since Poppa Jeff can't stand up without a cane, he cannot swing a club without falling down. I'm relegated to watching the Pro's play n ...

 From time to time I may have slipped a subliminal endorsement for a service or product I've purchased or used. Today I'm going to be a little more blatant. I saw a woman posting her accomplishments as a ceramicist. I liked what Melissa did with functional pieces, but she didn't have what I needed. I wanted a shallow eight-inch diameter bowl to be used for pasta or a large salad. I messaged her and asked her if she could do it. She accommodated me by not only creating the bowls but delivering them to me personally. She rocks, people! Melissa Muller https://www.facebook.com/mjmuller Courtesy of David Nitz  My Greatgrandchildren, from left to right,  Jonny, Brixton, & Ledger It's obvious the young lady is bored with her two male companions. The rumor persists that at the delivery of the twins the doctor remarked, that they suffered from a case of the cuties and there was nothing they could do about it.

I'm not ready. It's way too early for an old man like me running around in public. There are way too many people not wearing masks and observing social distancing. Even though my COVID test, taken a week ago was negative, I'm not going to take any risks. I only meet certain people, outdoors, and wearing a mask. With cases occurring at an alarming rate and the death toll climbing, I'm not rolling that set of dice. I wish people would quit pointing out that the birds have started migrating and the sumac is changing color. The month of September and up to mid-October are part of The 120 days of Possible Good Weather in Wisconsin. Do not rain on this guy's parade! I am ready.  I may be optimistic but I've started planing for the morning after November 3rd when my email account will be almost empty when I open it. (If I could get Lending Tree to stop, it would be empty for sure.) While the late-night comics will have a couple of more months to have fun with Trump, t...

 Pam and I have been working from home on the line by line edit of my novel 26 Women . When we work, she is at home looking at the latest draft I've emailed her and I'm at home looking at the same version.  It's like being back in one of Marshall Cook's gatherings. Marshall ran the Writers Institute in Madison for a number of years. Participants would come with a short piece and exchange them with the others. He would moderate a discussion of the entries that would allow the writers to get input on their work. It's always interesting how readers will misunderstand the brilliance of your writing. Or put another way, how your writing will defy explanation.  Pam will ask me some form of the question, "What are you trying to say here?" We usually ended up rewriting a word, sentence, or paragraph. Only occasionally, the work would stand scrutiny and remain unchanged. I also seem to go into a coma using commas. I tend to sprinkle them like fairy dust in hopes th...

Let me tell you about my latest medical adventure . I had heard the term hernia, but honestly, I had no idea what it really was until I was diagnosed by my primary physician. The solution to the problem is a one-day surgical procedure. And I'm assured that I can take care of myself at home. I've had a lot of surgery in the last couple of years. This is the first time I've been required to have a test for COVID 19. My best summer's day was on August 19th. It was a Wednesday and two friends and I met at the Benelux in the 3rd ward at a rooftop table. It was warm but not hot and the humidity was more than tolerable. Even though the company, Barb Katz and Anne Wilde, would have been great in any case the weather and the setting made it perfect. Request: I have been asked to repeat two helpful ideas I've written about in the past in the past. One essay is why you should never cook cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower.  The other is how to eat cereal that's not soggy ...

I didn't exactly move from Appleton to Milwaukee until August 15, 2019. However, I did stay with a friend here starting on the seventh until I could move into my apartment on the fifteenth. It enabled me for that period of time to begin renewing my friendships in the city. One of those meetings was extremely timely. I got together with Whitney Gould. It would be the last time I would see her. She passed away not long after that lunch we had together. There was a flurry of coffees, lunches, and breakfast meetings as I touched base with as many people as I could. Then it was time for the Milwaukee Film Festival. I know I wouldn't have attended near as many films if I hadn't been in the city. After that, it was seeing some films that were reprieved for a couple of weeks after the closing of the festivals run. As the theater season began it's run, my efforts to publish my theater preview column were rewarded. I got the opportunity to write for Urban Milwaukee.com . Not only...

No, that is not the title of my next manuscript. And yes, If you're trying to keep track, the last chapter of my Novel 26 Women went out last Thursday. Watch this space for the announcement of the beginning of the latest one currently entitled Working Title.  Also, I happy to announce to all of you grammar experts, my friend Pam Frautchi has volunteered to edit 26 Women . So all of those irritating punctuation issues and sloppy sentence constructions will be gone. I will be deciding on how I'm going to publish it. My goal is a reasonably priced digital and hardcopy available in time for the Holidays. Ah, Let me get back to week twenty, or the seemingly never-ending period of quarantine. You readers have to be tired of the recitation of my daily schedule. Nothings changed except maybe what I'm working with my art projects. No, let us talk about what I'm streaming. Many of us loved Michelle Dockeryas the Lady Crowley in Downton Abby. You see her ability to play an Americ...

This week marked my nineteenth week in quarantine. Human contact consists of the following things.  I shop for groceries in a store.  Once a week, I meet with one friend, outdoors and we chat. I met Larry Krowlakoski in a park. Bill Sell and I purchased lunch at the public market. Pamela Frautchi and I had lunch on the patio at the Knick. Michelle Money met me for coffee at Stone Creek on Downer.  Everyone wore masks and we were careful with everything with which we made contact. I suspect this limited social life will continue through fall and possibly into 2021. As many of us are, I am active on Zoom. My association with the Zeidler Group, interviews conducted by Urban Milwaukee's Jeremay Jannene, film studies conducted by John Hickey from St Marks film club, and theater readings by American Players to name a few, occupy a couple of hours a week. I'm in email, phone conversation, and Instant messaging contact with friends, relatives, and societal dropouts in all shades ...

The air is thick. The light breeze is juicy with the sweat of summer. How quickly the clouds form and the thunder rumbles warn us. The birds cry. They are telling the rest of their flock to be aware that soon the damp earth will yield the crawling worms they like to feast on. It is a quick attack. It sweeps over us with menace and leaves us in peace. Soon the clouds linger and the thick air wraps us in its arms. We can hear few rumbles off in the distance as the danger retreats. We are left with the air cleansed. The tires of the few cars, that are in the streets these days, hiss through the wet pavement. The rain will cause the lawnmower engine sounds in the coming days, flowers in the fields to grow, and salad greens in the garden to prosper. Still, we must fear the sickness.

Breaking News! I received my absentee/vote by mail ballot for the August 2020 Primary. Delivered July 2, 2020 Theater News. With the COVID 19 pandemic still closing theaters from Broadway NYC to Broadway MKE, we theater lovers do have a huge hole in our hearts and minds to fill. Let's start in agreement on one thing. No experience is close to seeing theater performance in a theater with an audience. We have acclimated ourselves to watching sports on TV, We have learned to accept TV drama in the darkness of our living room or on our phones while riding a bus rumbling down our poorly paved streets.  However, the magic of theater is sitting in a dark room with others while we witness the talents of men and women who bring the magic with them when they arrive for work. Given that we have now shed our tears and gnashed our teeth over the necessity of giving this experience up, because of the Virus, we can view theatrical performances that are recorded and then streamed. Why would we wan...

Scorched Earth Retreat Reading the National Media and peeking at Tweeter (don't dwell too long, it's a Rabbit hole gateway) you could get the idea that our president has lost what little mind he had left. The national problems with the virus, the economy, the social justice movement, and anything else you might want to throw into the soup, he appears to be troubled.  Polls showing him behind Joe Biden in many of the swing states that he carried in 2016. Some reports have him roaming the White House in the middle of the night screaming at the portraits of past presidents, asking, "Why oh why don't people like anymore?" The paintings don't answer, of course, and it isn't because he doesn't remember any of their names. I've said in many past postings on Facebook, and in this blog, that he is showing signs of dementia. I'm serious about that observation. It is not an attempt to insult him but point out a condition that I think is getting worse from...

Everything In It's Place And a place for everything Some of you might remember my attempt at creating hilarity when I stored my pots and pans in the refrigerator because it was the only place where I had the room. I had just moved into a Studio Apartment in The Lakeside Building on Milwaukee's lower east side.  A studio apartment, or my snuggery according to my word-of-the-day email , is a fairly large bedroom with an attached galley kitchen and full bath. I eventually rectified the pot and pans problem with a cart that handles most of my cooking utensils. The rest, like the cast iron and my baking utensils, are in the oven. This necessitates taking them out when I want to bake, but that is another story to be told at another time. I often remark to friends, living in a studio apartment is like living on a boat. Every space has to designed to serve more than one function. I have kneaded bread dough on a wood cutting board in my double-wide stainless steel sink. I have stored b...

Poppa Jeff On Zoom I was made aware of a feature of my Blog, Point Made. Published by Halvin and Cobbs. My blog has a comment feature. Yes, I knew that but, I didn't realize I was getting comments, aside from verbal observations and the occasional email. I really didn't know how to find them. I guess I thought they would find me. No such luck. I found out, quite by accident, how to view your comments. I am so sorry. Some of them were encouraging. Others, I saw as constructive criticism. Some of you just weren't buying what I was selling, and that's okay. A couple of comments asked questions. Because I was not aware of these posts, they bothered me the most. Jill Frisbie, the talented and wonderful wife of my sister's brother-in-law, Terry, way back in December, asked about the Aussie TV I was watching on the streaming services. Jill, I watched Tangle, City Detectives, Silk, Bloom, and Nothing Trivial. On  New Zeland TV Programing, I'm watching Step Dave. Don...

Spring In The City by Jeff Jordan Any year as the seasons roll by, some benchmarks indicate the changes. The leaves are budding, or they are falling. The grass is growing, or the frost is taking over. The days are getting longer or shorter. The flowers are pushing their way up or submit to the colder temperatures.  In the city, there is the blossoming of another sort. It's the opening of the umbrellas over the street tables next to the restaurants. Outside dining, while more traditional in many other countries and warmer parts of the US, is relatively new in the upper midwest. This last weekend in Milwaukee signaled another benchmark in the city. The city of Milwaukee's public health department rolled back restrictions, put in place due to the Pandemic, and allowed restaurants and bars to reopen with some restrictions. Make no mistake about the significance of this ruling to the citizens of Milwaukee. The allegations of the drinking habits of Wisconsin residents are probably co...

This is the beginning of week eleven of my personal quarantine. I was reminded during my weekly visit with CBS Sunday Morning , that we are in the midst of World War with a virus. Think about it, every human being on the planet is fighting the same enemy. With that encouraging thought in mind, t his week may go down as one that hosted the most disasters in seven days ever .  There is no surprise here. The instigator is our current President. While it is true that sometimes what Trump does leads to chaos, his preferred atmosphere of operation, it is often when he fails to do what is necessary and what we expect from a president that fans the flames of confusion, anger, and outrage. Why is Trump pulling out of The World Health Association?   By badgering Republican state governors and threatening Democratic governors so they will relax stay at home regulations, and by not following his own administration rules on health safety practices during the pandemic COVID 19, Trump is not...