Category Archives: History

A Downton Abbey Anachronism?

Posted on January 2, 2017 by

My daughter and I both had projects to work on last night and, wanting some familiar, companionable television in the background, decided to put on Season One of Downton Abbey. (Love that show 🙂 ) Around about the third episode, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Popular culture, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Drinking the Kool Aid

Posted on November 18, 2016 by

It still kind of shocks me to read or hear people using that phrase to describe positive buy-in to a new idea. As in, “We’re extremely excited about our company’s new product. Everyone has been drinking the Kool Aid, and … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Milwaukee, Movies and film, Popular culture | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

A Tale of Two Tennis Courts

Posted on July 20, 2016 by

This is a tale of two tennis courts in Milwaukee’s Washington Park. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted of Central Park fame (see a nice NY Times article about his Midwestern parks here), Washington Park was once home to the Milwaukee … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Some background on Turkey within the Middle East conflicts

Posted on July 16, 2016 by

Today seems like a good day to link to two of my older (March 2014 and October 2015) posts about Turkey. Mostly I talk about Turkey within the context of wider regional conflicts and history, but these posts may get you … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Political Analysis | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Random Reflections on Malls and Department Stores

Posted on July 13, 2016 by

Monday’s Wall Street Journal ran an article (read it here) noting the waning days of the department store as anchor in the American shopping mall: “Mall Owners Push Out Department Stores: Fast-fashion chains, restaurants, specialty stores do a better job of driving mall … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, Creativity, History, Life, Milwaukee, Popular culture, WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

In an Earlier Era of “Walkable Cities”

Posted on July 5, 2016 by

If you take a close look at some of Milwaukee’s older neighborhoods, you’ll notice that a hundred years ago (approximately, say, 1870-1930) factories were surrounded not only by the modest cottages of workers but also by the mansions of the owners. Today you’d … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, History, Life, Milwaukee | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ghost Sign (#2) – Seen in the French Quarter

Posted on July 1, 2016 by

I think maybe this was supposed to be a sign for Tutt’s liver pills, except there’s a window where the “T” would have gone. The photos below are from the first two hits from Google News, one from “The Florence … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments