The Fonz in bronze in Milwaukee

by Jamie Rhein on

Almost a year ago, I wrote a post about a town in Serbia that was hoping to get some good luck by erecting a statue of Rocky Balboa. The original Rocky Balboa statue now resides at the base of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the same steps that Rocky ran up in the first Rocky movie. At first the museum said no go to keeping the statue. It was not considered art by the museum’s standards. The statue was sent on over to the sports arena until the museum changed its mind a few years ago and took it back.

There is a similar situation in Milwaukee where statues pop art has created a difference of opinion and a pop culture icon will permanently represent the city. A group has raised enough funds through “Bronze the Fonz” for a bronze statue of Fonzie from the TV show Happy Days. Happy Days was set in Milwaukee so these folks want to do something to honor the notoriety. Fonzie was picked to be the Happy Days icon since the Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli was an integral part of what made the show stand out.

There are some folks in Milwaukee that are not pleased that a fake person is being memorialized in bronze. Henry Winkler, the actor who played Fonzie of course is real and pleased with the efforts. As a matter of fact, I saw him in West Hollywood at the West Hollywood Book Fair I attended last September. He walked right by me on his way to his guest speaker session. Those that are complaining consider that a bronze rendition of Fonzie is a far cry from highbrow art.

My thinking is that popular culture is a part of art. Andy Warhol, for example. became famous for this concept. If the Fonz in bronze makes the group of people who raised the $85,000 in order to get the statue made are happy, and it provides some cultural interest in Milwaukee’s city scene for everyone else, why not? According to the AP article by Carrie Antlfinger, Fonzie has company as TV character people statues go. There’s a bronze version of Mary Tyler Moore in Minneapolis for example and Bob Hartley (Newhart) in Chicago.

Brewery Tours and Wine Tasting: Free, or at least Cheap

by Jamie Rhein on

Martha’s post on boozing for cheap reminded me of brewery tours. When I was a student at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark through the Danish International Student program (DIS), I was mostly broke and determined to have enough money for a month long trip through Europe before I headed back to the U.S. Most people in my program were in the same life of getting by on little cash. For fun and frolic, there was nothing like a Carlsburg or Tuborg Brewery tour in Copenhagen on a Friday.

I went to each brewery at least four times over the course of three months. There were so many people from my program that headed to Tuborg on a regular basis that the brewery gave us a huge party at the end of the semester. The catch was, we had to take the tour before the party. Some in my group were able to recite, word for word, the beer-making process and knew all the guides by name. For current review of Carlsburg, click here. The Tuborg Brewery bottling hall building I went to has been changed to the Experimentarium science museum.

Although there’s an Anheuser-Busch brewery in Columbus, this one doesn’t give tours. No free beer for me on a Friday. Of the 12 breweries in the U.S., you can see how Budweiser and other Anheuser-Busch products are made on a FREE tour at five on them: Fairfield, California; St. Louis, Missouri; Ft. Collins, Colorado; Merrimack, New Hampshire; and Jacksonville, Florida. At each you can drink FREE beer. At all but the Fairfield brewery, you can also see the horse stables of the Clydesdales, the brewery’s trademark.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a beer drinkers hot spot. There are three breweries that give tours. The Miller Brewing Company tour is FREE. I went on this slick tour the summer after I got out of the Peace Corps during my across the United States by bus sweep. I still remember the great time I had hanging out in the beer garden listening to music and visiting with my friends. Of, course, the beer garden isn’t open in the winter, but the Miller Inn is. At Lakefront Brewery the tour will cost you $5, unless you go on Friday. In that case, it’s $10. A fish fry is included in the price, so when you think of that, what a deal. You also get to keep the glass. This brewery is considered the most environmentally friendly in Wisconsin. The Sprecher Brewing Company tour is a chance to brush up on some beer brewing history at the Rathskeller museum before taking in the tour and the tasting. The tours cost $3 for adults and $2 for seniors. The $1 charge for the under 21 crowd is donated to charities. You get to take the souvenir glass home.

I haven’t been to Sarnac Brewery, but after discovering its Web site, I thought, this is appealing. The brewery has been making the good stuff since 1888. Personally, I love the labels and we do buy the beer, even in Ohio. Spending time in Utica, NY in the Adirondacks wouldn’t be a bad way to spend some time, either. Look at all there is to do in the city itself. I assume the tours are free since the Web site doesn’t say otherwise. You need to call for reservations, so ask.

I’ve also been on the Guinness brewery Storehouse tour in Dublin, Ireland. Even though I’m not too fond of heavy beer, the tour was great and I was more than happy to down the complimentary pint at the end of it.

Where ever your traveling, check out the brewery options. Maybe, you’ll find a local brewing company that offers tours and tastes. People who brew beer are passionate about it and it’s catching. Also, if you’re not a beer drinker and you have children along, these are kid-friendly places with soda options.

P.S. I noticed that I included wine-tasting in the title of this post, but didn’t included that. Stay-tuned.

Skybus Opens for New Routes: Move Quickly for the $10 Deals

by Jamie Rhein on

I’m waiting for a Skybus route to upstate New York to open. Stewart Airport in Newburgh would be divine. Not yet, but there are four more routes to start December 5.

If you have any desire or need to head to Chattanooga, Gulfport-Biloxi/New Orleans Area, Milwaukee or Punta Gorda/Ft. Meyers, check out Skybus to see if its schedule and airport locations suits you. Starting December 17 there will be one more flight a day to Jacksonville/Daytona (actually St. Augustine.)

Keep in mind, when you do book a Skybus flight, make sure you have a way from the airport to where ever you are actually going. A friend of a friend of mine was thrilled to pieces over her cheap flight to Boston. She didn’t know that the airport Skybus considers the Boston area is actually about 50 miles away and in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The friend she is visiting in Boston does not have a car. At this moment, she has no idea how she is actually getting to Boston.

Last week I tried to find the route from that same airport into Logan International Airport for a friend of mine. He’s flying from Atlanta to Boston and then wants to come to Columbus. Figuring out the logistics of how to get from Logan to Pease Airport made me tired, so I quit. Sometimes it’s just worth paying the extra money to be able to get to exactly where you need to go–unless you are renting a car anyway. Then, I say, go for the bargain.

TSA Thief Red-Handed and Arrested

by Adrienne Wilson on

While a few days old now, this news on TSA theft comes out of Milwaukee where a TSA employee was caught red-handed and arrested for guess what – stealing. Apparently times must have gotten hard for the 26-year-old woman, an employee for the Transportation Security Administration for four years who is now out on bail. The incident occurred at Mitchell International Airport while the woman was screening carry-on luggage at Concourse D. A co-worker, who spotted her taking money from a passenger’s wallet and stashing it behind a magazine rack rightfully snitched and investigators, went in for the kill.

How much money did they find? $235 behind the magazine rack and only $20 had come from the wallet that was seen being pick-pocketed. As mentioned earlier and according to the Milwaukee Channel news piece, the TSA thief is out of jail on $200 bail. Now, what is this news telling the good traveling citizens of America? Here are some of my thoughts: First, $200 bail is not justice and probably doesn’t come close to what the suspect may have possibly stolen in the past. Second, watch your check-in, your carry-on and your back now folks. If someone could be so bold to take your money during the screening process they’re bound to come snatch the shirt from your very back.

Oh, where will it end?

A TSA spokeswoman told the local news that only 1% of those who have donned the TSA uniform since August 2002 have been removed from employment for theft. 1% of the 80,000 = 800 and is still far too many for my comfort level, how about you?

via Jaunted