Restaurant review: Olde Madrid in downtown Racine
By Mark Czerniec
February 17, 2008 1:54 PM

Olde Madrid
418 6th St.
Racine, WI 53403-1218
(262) 619-0940

Having enjoyed tapas and paella over the years at Don Quijote in Milwaukee, Cafe Ba Ba Reeba and especially Emilio's Tapas in Chicagoland, we were excited when Manny Salinas and Natalie Pope opened Olde Madrid this past July on Racine's Historic 6th Street, a dynamic little strip of food and culture that runs west from downtown Racine.

During two visits this month, both on Saturday nights, we found the restaurant packed with lively patrons, people generally in their thirties to fifties wearing slightly upscale casual attire. Olde Madrid has been a big hit, winning several mentions in 2007's Best of Racine County, including second-place in the Best New Restaurant category.

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Campaign robo-calls: Mosquitoes of the political world
By Mark Czerniec
February 14, 2008 3:39 PM

It happened last night, at seven minutes before seven o'clock.

Amy and I were savoring our dinner of Cranberry-Pear Chicken (PDF recipe; we added fresh thyme), steamed asparagus and a cheap Zinfandel, and we were engrossed in Casino Royale, watching James Bond playing high-stakes Texas hold 'em in Montenegro. We were enjoying our first moments together in a day that had begun at 4:50 a.m.

Then the phone rang. I paused the movie, and Amy got up to answer it. It was Wisconsin for Hillary, pitching us via recorded message.

We are well aware that there is a primary on Tuesday, and we know that Hillary Clinton is on the ballot. Anyone who does not is probably in some sort of vegetative state. We have watched most of the debates, and hours upon hours of political coverage. We even read. The idea that an automated, prerecorded phone call would persuade us to vote for any candidate is downright insulting, and the fact that it interrupted our dinner and our movie is just plain annoying.

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Back Door Slam: British youngsters have got the blues
By Mark Czerniec
January 29, 2008 3:04 PM

My brother-in-law Wayne, out there in Columbus, Ohio, is something of a music connoisseur.

Wayne enjoys finding little-known talent. A couple of weeks ago, he gifted me with Mescalito, the major label debut from Ryan Bingham, a 25-year-old singer/songwriter out of Texas who sounds like he's packed a lot of experience into his short life. It's a very impressive piece of work.

Wayne also really enjoys guitar. Over the weekend, he sent me some links to the kids shown in the video above: Back Door Slam, a blues trio from the Isle of Man, which makes them Manx. Covering Jimi Hendrix's "Red House" makes them pretty gutsy.

They're fronted by a young guy named Davy Knowles, a 20-year-old who plays guitar and sings under the clear influence of musicians like Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, and Stevie Ray Vaughan — all of whom are referenced in the video for "Come Home," from the band's debut album, Roll Away:

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Gregory Berg's Kenosha tornado photos
By Mark Czerniec
January 23, 2008 5:30 PM

As people all over the world have heard, there was some frightening tornado activity just a few short miles from here on the afternoon of January 7. I received a lot of calls and emails from co-workers, friends, and family, but happily I had nothing to report. I spent a little time in the basement watching weather radar and reading ominous warnings.

Today, however, I was emailed by a former radio colleague — Greg Berg, Fine Arts Director and host of The Morning Show at 91.1FM WGTD in Kenosha. Greg, who is also Assistant Professor of Music at Carthage College, shot a number of remarkable photos of the tornado that day from right outside the Carthage music building. Yikes!

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Movie review: The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
By Mark Czerniec
January 22, 2008 12:20 PM

The Motorcycle Diaries is a 2004 Spanish-language buddy picture about two guys from Argentina on a leaky Norton motorcycle taking a road trip through much of South America in 1952. One of the buddies is the young Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who would go on to become an iconic Marxist revolutionary, and a close comrade of Fidel Castro.

This movie received a good amount of critical acclaim, and I procrastinated in seeing it, afraid that it would be too political or too heavy. It is neither. It is a visually-attractive, atmospheric piece that flits from anecdote to anecdote and gradually runs out of gas. There are a number of enjoyable scenes — some humorous, others serious — that ultimately don't lead to anything more specific than an overall tone of wistful compassion.

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The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee
By Mark Czerniec
January 21, 2008 12:34 PM

Today, on the national holiday celebrating the birth of the Martin Luther King, Jr., there's a news story about how King has been simplified into an icon and a catchphrase, and the details of his life and work have been softened, blurred, and appropriated. Being seven years old when he was killed, I certainly remember the event, but could not begin to understand his significance at the time. We were not taught much about him in school; perhaps he was still too controversial. What I did learn came from public television and my own readings.

A few years ago, however, we visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, and I was surprised by how powerfully it told its story — a story which also has been reduced to shorthand even as it has unfolded, since some of its features are so uncomfortable to face in full.

The museum is built around the former Lorraine Motel at 450 Mulberry St., where Dr. King was shot and killed, and going in, I didn't know what to expect. It begins undramatically, with informational exhibits recounting the beginnings of slavery in the British colonies, then proceeds down halls and through rooms, laying out the history of the African-American Civil Rights Movement chronologically.

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Patagonia R3® Jacket: Warm, lightweight fleece against winter winds
By Mark Czerniec
January 18, 2008 3:47 PM

Every once in a while, you buy a product that turns out to be worth every penny you paid and then some.

I was out walking for an hour or so today ahead of tonight's ominous Wind Chill Advisory when it occurred to me that I really love my jacket. It's simple, lightweight, and it stands up admirably against Wisconsin's winter cold. Then I tried to remember how long I've had it. Let's see — I bought it just before we got our car, so this has to be winter number five.

Yeah, I know. I'm a slave to the whims of fashion.

Growing up here in the Badger State, I had been used to big goose down pillows of winter jackets. I can remember the first one my mom bought me at a local ski shop, when I wanted to fit in with my lift-ticketed pals on the way to school. It was bright red and blue and yellow nylon, and I looked like a Technicolor Michelin Man as I struggled to squeeze through the school bus door. To this day, I see a lot of kids bundled up in those puffy comforters.

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Vimeo: Streaming high-definition video on the Web
By Mark Czerniec
January 7, 2008 11:48 AM

You can always find it... from ben on Vimeo

We heard a story on NPR's Weekend Edition yesterday from Dallas Morning News technology reporter Victor Godinez. He was touting Vimeo, a video-sharing Web site which, unlike the others, offers high-definition. According to Wikipedia, Vimeo has been around since November 2004, but has only supported HD since mid-October.

The Vimeo HD Channel showcases about 140 high-def clips, some of which are sort of breathtaking, especially when viewed in full-screen mode. Besides looking much sharper than the typical YouTube video, the content seems a lot more artsy.

Now, after watching a number of these, I have the sudden urge to rack up one or three or four thousand more dollars of credit card debt buying myself a nifty HD camcorder. Then I could go outside and shoot an awesome time-lapse video of our snow melting in the 64-degree January afternoon. Maybe the soundtrack could just be the natural outdoor ambiance and some wind chimes.

Amy, if you're reading this, relax — I'm just kidding.

Pretty much.

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The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard
By Mark Czerniec
December 31, 2007 11:03 AM

Here's an infectious little 20-minute video that's apparently been loose on your Internet since December 4: The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard. If you have a broadband connection, it's very worth watching.

This environmental warning is a clean, clever, snappy production that delivers a lot of food for thought with minimal political abrasiveness, and when I finally saw it this morning after someone posted it to our local newspaper's blogging system a couple of days ago, it caught me at a receptive time.

Christmas is over at last, along with the endless news updates on whether consumers have been fulfilling their sacred duty to retailers. Just before Christmas, I bought a stunningly inexpensive digital camera. Prior to that, I went through the process of having our washer repaired at a cost approaching that of a whole new machine. Also, even though a couple of years have since passed, I am still not over having my $300 iPod die one month after its 12-month warranty expired, requiring repairs estimated at (of course) $300. I have yet to repair or replace the device and possibly never will.

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Terry Armour, 1961-2007
By Mark Czerniec
December 28, 2007 7:20 PM

I'm sure everyone in the Steve Dahl Show family is stunned and saddened tonight as Amy and I were upon learning that Terry Armour has died. The Chicago Sun-Times has details, as does the Chicago Tribune.

Terry was an endless source of fun and humor at the remote broadcasts, concerts, and parties we had the pleasure of attending with him.

Our hearts go out to his wife LaNell, and to his friend and broadcast partner Stan Lawrence.

Update: The Chicago Tribune has published funeral arrangements for Terry Armour.

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