capitol craze

Yes, Hector is playing air guitar.

love is in the chair

Just a few more Madison snaps ...

baby 'roo

The other day I had the opportunity to videograph a baby kangaroo at the St. Louis Zoo. Teptep, the baby 'roo, was born in January and recently started peeking out of his mother's pouch. I was told if I was lucky, Teptep would leave his mother's pouch for a few seconds. Teptep came through! It was a quick-turn-around piece. I got to the zoo about 3 p.m. and had the video posted by about 6:15 p.m. I fell in love with baby Tep.

flower power

Flowers are cheap in August. So are flower boxes. Guess the cost of the flower box and win a prize.

doggie cruisin'

Bales sure loves to ride.

beer ponging senators?

When I walked into the room just off the Senate Chamber in Madison, I couldn't believe my eyes. They looked like water cups, left after a busy day of decisions in the Senate. But their arrangement is what caught my eye. The cups were set up in an unmistakable beer pong arrangement. I guess I'll never know whether a tourist set this up as a joke or if the senators were really "ponging." Either way, it's safe to say there are few better places for beer than Wisconsin.

pb & j

Anyone who knew me when I was a kid knows that I liked "kid food." Chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese and the almighty peanut butter and jelly. I would always substitute my mom's home cooking for a PB & J. I would even substitute my friend's mom's cooking for a PB & J. Man, was that rude. Now that I eat almost every food under the sun (except uni!), I'm sad for all the time I wasted eating the plain stuff. With that said, I occasionally revert back to my comfort foods, especially when there is peanut butter and jelly french toast on the menu. Yummy!

milwaukee art museum

I didn't know what to expect, and, I'll admit, I mostly went for the unique architecture. But when I got there I was very impressed with an exhibit called Sensory Overload. Blinking televisions stacked haphazardly on top of one another, a vibrating water box, crackling campfires and a dark room filled with blue strings of LED lights that makes you feel like you are in a movie. And last but not least, the infinity chamber; It's like sitting in the night's sky and looking out into forever. If that's not an overload, I don't know what is. Interactive art rules, as do settees like the orange one in the picture, circa 1820.

hello, milwaukee!

tolls in the midwest

Can't say I've seen a toll in the Midwest in a long time. In fact, I think the only two times I've paid a toll in the Midwest were in Oklahoma and Chicago. This one caught me by surprise. Good thing I had fat cash ;-)

for real?

I usually don't mind a good detour. It gets you off the beaten path and allows you to explore a little. But guess where this detour is? If you said a parking garage, you win the prize. A detour in a parking garage. Now I've heard of everything.

weekend ball

I had high hopes for the baseball game this weekend. It seems there is a correlation between rain delays, extra innings and me working. So, naturally, when I went to the game this weekend I thought I'd get some free baseball. Instead, the Cardinals made up for all my late nights on the desk and played the game it what felt like a record 2 hours and 15 minutes or so. It was an uneventful loss. Very few hits. Only single home runs. Blah. Oh, but the light was pretty.

magic cod liver oil

Short haired dogs don't shed, right? WRONG! When I got Baley I didn't think she'd shed much, but after picking up yellow hairs everywhere I looked into ways to prevent shedding. A guy at Four Muddy Paws recommended cod liver oil. I'll give anything a try once and, besides, the guy told me it smelled like strawberries. Within a couple weeks, she was shedding a lot less. After a couple months, her coat has turned to velveteen. I wonder what would happen if I started taking the cod liver oil with my pup. Hmmm ...

pupusas y what?

When I went to Kansas City two weekends ago, my friends took me to this awesome little Salvadorean restaurant. They recommended the pupusas. A pupusa is a thick, corn tortillalike food. I got mine filled with beans and cheese. It was amazing. My friend, Shannon, decided to be brave and ordered something called pacoya relleno. We have no idea what it was. (It's pictured above.) If you know what it is, please tell us. I couldn't find pacoya listed on any online dictionaries. It looked like a stringy root to us with a bitter after taste. Needless to say, I was happy I ordered the pupusa ;-)

cheese curds

There is nothing, I repeat, nothing like cheese curds. Have 'em from the state fair, the town festival in Minnesota or A & W. They always taste good, fried or fresh.