Point Made

 This is the time of the year when the sun rises late and sets early. Persistent overcast gray skies lengthen the period of darkness. The damp, cold air enhances the dour mood.  You can scarf down all the vitamin D you can afford, but unless you take gummy vitamins, there's no benefit you can discern with anything but your taste buds.  Take heart, mates. The sun is rising earlier. The sun is setting later. Soon we will hear the death rattle in the throat of the winter of 2023. Look for it sometime in early March, with a predicted period of relief from the dark day malaise until June. Then we celebrate the 180 days of possible good weather in Wisconsin. Recent Art Work The Lakefront Inspired by a photo by James Rowen 9 x 12 Gouache Woman Protestor In Iran 12 x 16 Pastel Cardinal In The Snow 12 x 16 Pastel  

Like a Bill Bryson travelog, some things are more enjoyable if taken in small doses. I urge the consumer to take a sip at a time rather than gorging.  A friend and pun monster, Susan Rhode, messaged me this link to the contest results, where entrants try to write the worst opening sentence to a story. There are numerous categories, including the one that started it all, "It was a dark and stormy night..." Do yourself a  favor. When you start reading a category, do not read the next entry until you have quit laughing at the one you've just read. Do not read more than one category per day. And if you're like me, who always puts a humorous quote at the bottom of my emails, save this link. There is a lot to work with here. https://www.bulwer-lytton.com/2022?fbclid=IwAR2aqcBmyVrJtxHcQ-AJPXv8g5SXngNCwONugYnTB35zy7uvSldRP9qCeCg On My Easel Prey For Me Pastel 9 x 12 Paper Film Review  Short And Sweet, I Promise. Going to the Avalon theater is a wonderful experience all by its...

 ...or is winter, as we old folk remember, just plain dead? If damp leaves are blocking the storm drains, your boots are covered with mud instead of snow, and I'm dreaming of a brown Christmas is worming through your consciousness, if these things make you think of winter, then you may be too young to understand.  Not too many years ago, the standard winter in Wisconsin was like what you're reading about in Buffalo, New York. Where inches of snow are falling upon already fallen feet of snow. There were drifts the plow trucks clearing the streets left in our driveways that took hours to dismantle. We lost cars in drifts, and there was enough material to build an army of snowmen. Temperatures were so cold that you felt good about some obscure town in northern Minnesota that was always colder than our fair state. This is the place Howard Cossel on Monday Night Football named the 'Frozen Tundra.' Milwaukee was home to the National Bowling Association because it was the only...

 Jeanne In Wonderland Alice Couldn't Make It, Dog Trouble. Update on the Alice story. She can't find her dog. It's unknown if the dog was stolen, wandered off or ran away. In any case, it was a Toto loss. Wonderland is a restaurant on Burleigh Ave. in Milwaukee. It has a long tradition and relationship with the iconic Art Bar. My friend and I attended what turned out to be a going away party for David Sartori. David had spent the better part of last year tending to his late father, Bill Sell. Bill's passing and David's finishing taking care of Bill's estate cleared the way for David to move back to Florida. We had a nice evening visiting old and new friends. David supplied a generous ad tasty light buffet and negotiated a discount at the bar. He also presented a slide show of Bill's photographs. The images of Milwaukee events and people of note spanned from the 1960s until recent days in Bill's life. Some guests appeared in the photos. Other images broug...

  The New Yorker Magazine I'm taking a half hour to sprint through three copies of The New Yorker. I'm doing this because I am frightened that there's another one waiting in my mailbox in the lobby. It's not that there isn't exciting reading in the magazine. My God, it's been a bastion for top writers in America for many years. The reason I have so many unread issues is that it is so easy to set them aside for reading later. Later never comes.  Despite all this angst, I've gotten my money's worth if I peruse the cartoons. A day without Roz Chast is a day not worth the beans enough to make you fart.  Huddled Up And Waiting For The Storm Date 12/22/2022, 10:00 am. I'm angry and frightened about the behavior of those of us living in The Frozen Tundra. A week ago, the metrologists predicted a storm for the ages, leaving many of us buried in snow ventured then to measure 10-20 inches. For some, this means a journey to the garage to start the snow blower t...

 I'm one of those who greet people this time of year with "Happy Holidays." I do that not to disrespect the celebration of the birth of Christ but because I respect those that celebrate this time of year for other reasons, such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.  Least my comments section light up with flames of anger; I will mention National Drunk and Drug Driving Prevention Month. How could you include that in a holiday greeting? However, people do seem easier to insult these days. All of that palaver being uttered, I want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season this year. Entertainment: I keep questioning my subscription to the Apple + streaming app. It made perfect sense when I was giggling the night away watching Ted Lasso . I'm sorry, but after Ted retired until the next season, I found I didn't understand or enjoy Severance and for me, anything with Will Farrel is questionable, even if it co-stars Ryan Reynolds. And then Apple produced Slow Horses,  the best and funn...

 This week black armbands will mourn the loss our Men's National soccer team suffered at the hands...sorry, at the feet of The Netherlands team. It wasn't so much that they lost that I'm sad. They went down  2 - 0 in the first half. Then, at about the 74th minute, our guys scored. They had kept their opponents out of the net until a third goal was inserted late in the game.  What is sad was the USA played well until it came time to score. In the four games they played in the World Cup, they scored only three goals. One in a tie with Wales. The second goal beat Iran. The third goal was in the defeat by The Netherlands. Despite this, we have a young emerging team. There are many positive things to take away from this effort. Their future looks promising. On My Easel I'm experimenting with using Pastels. If you're unfamiliar with the medium, imagine a chalk-like crayon in many colors. We use special paper that is available in many colors. The colors eliminate the need ...