Still smokin'

PEARL STREET BREWERY'S RUBBER MILLS PILS: A FIRST TASTE • PAGE 10

LA CROSSE'S FREE PRESS VoLume 10, no. 29 | auGust 5, 2010

PHOTO BY ASHLY CONRAD

Still Smokin'

One month into the smoking ban, how has La Crosse nightlife changed?

Page 5

PLUS: SOCIAL NETWORKING • PAGE 2 | THE MAJAK MIXTAPE • PAGE 7 | ADVICE GODDESS • PAGE 11

2// August 5, 2010

Second Supper

L'Editor

Social Networking

nAme AnD AGe:

whAt is YoUr biGGest pet peeve?

Della Hansmann, 28 Second Supper 614 Main St., La Crosse, WI 54601 Phone: (608) 782-7001 Online: secondsupper.com Publisher: Roger Bartel roger.bartel@secondsupper.com Editor in Chief: Adam Bissen adam.bissen@secondsupper.com Student Editor: Emily Faeth emily.faeth@secondsupper.com Sales: Mike Keith mike.keith@secondsupper.com Sales: Ansel Ericksen ansel.ericksen@secondsupper.com Sales: Michael Butteris michael.butteris@secondsupper.com Regular Contributors: Amy Alkon, Erich Boldt, Nick Cabreza, Mary Catanese, Brett Emerson, Jake Groteuschen, Shuggypop Jackson, Jonathan Majak, Matt Jones, Carolyn Ryan, Julie Schneider, Anna Soldner, Nate Willer Ralph Winrich Second Supper is a weekly alternative newspaper published by Bartanese Enterprises LLC, 614 Main St., La Crosse, WI 54601

where were YoU born?

Smoking! It’s unpleasant AND it kills you.

What a winning combination.

Madison, Wis.

cUrrent Job:

whAt one person, Alive or DeAD, woUlD YoU wAnt to hAve Dinner with?

Associate architect at Whole Trees Architecture and Construction

William Wilberforce

DreAm Job: Other than this one?

tell Us A Joke: A guy walks into a lumberyard. "Hello. I need some four by twos."

"Well," says the clerk, "I think you mean two by fours. How long do you want 'em?"

"Oh, a long time. We're building a house."

lAst thinG YoU GooGleD: Flights to New York

iF YoU coUlD live AnYwhere in the worlD, where woUlD it be?

A magical portal which would put the city of Utrecht within driving distance of Madison.

celebritY crUsh: Robert Downey Jr.

whAt is YoUr beverAGe oF choice?

Water from my trusty Nalgene, about to turn 8.

whAt book Are YoU cUrrentlY reADinG? “A Place of One's Own” by Michael Pollan, “Pride and Prejudice” (again), “Big Red Tequila” by Rick Riordan

tell Us YoUr GUiltiest pleAsUre: Teenybopper movies. I used to drive my little sister and her friends to see them, but now I sometimes still go on my own.

whAt's the lAst thinG YoU boUGht? Farmers market veggies

whAt's in YoUr pocket riGht now?: Lip balm, a few dollars and my iPod

whAt is YoUr FAvorite pArt oF seconD sUpper?

The upcoming live music announcements

how Do YoU know AmeliA (lAst week's interview)?

She's my boss.

— Compiled by Shuggypop Jackson. shuggypop.jackson@secondsupper.com

Dear Reader:

Andy Revels was my second cousin, grew up blocks away from me on French Island, was my classmate since kindergarten, became a writer, interviewed many of my friends and was a La Crosse media personality, yet I feel like I hardly knew him.

As you’ve probably heard, Andy died last weekend in an awful kneeboarding accident on the Mississippi River. Word travels fast in this town, but I could hardly believe the number of people sharing their memories of him on Saturday night or on his Facebook page every day since. That was Andy’s gift. He would talk to anyone, make you feel like a friend, and leave the world a happier place.

After we graduated, Andy moved to Texas and committed himself to a passion I didn’t even know he had. He was a writer, a poet of the mundane, but unlike many other armchair authors, Andy published three books and was constantly scribbling stories. To rise above the fray, he started a Web site, PlanetRevels.com, where he interviewed other artists and generally BS’d about lifestyles of the not so rich or famous.

He moved back to La Crosse just a couple years ago, and in that short amount of time Andy changed the tenor of this town.

His Web presence, passion and sheer output was impressive. But beyond all the books and videos, he was the same cheerful, hilarious kid I’d always known. We live in a sadder world without Andy Revels, but may his tooshort life be an inspiration to us all.

— Adam Bissen

Show us where Altra has taken you and win a Flip Mino™ Send us a photo of you with your Altra Debit Card.

Maybe it's a vacation, an unusual setting, or an everyday experience. Be creative!

Each month through December, a team of Altra judges will pick our favorite photo and award that lucky Altra Debit Cardholder a Flip Mino™ camcorder to keep recording their adventures.

Visit us online for complete details.

ago ic h C , r e w o T ) s r a Willis (Se ber hn Hestekin, Altra mem

ted by Jo Winning Photo submit

Open 7 days a week inside Festival Foods, La Crosse

608.787.4500 • www.altra.org

Monthly prize will be awarded at the sole discretion of the judging team. Photos showing Altra members in a dangerous or illegal setting will not be considered, so don't even try it. Same goes for photos not rated G. Photos will not be retouched other than to obscure the number on the card if visible. By submitting a photo, you certify that you have the legal right to grant Altra unrestricted permission to publish the photo in any medium. Contest open to Altra members who are current Debit Card users. Sorry, Altra employees and their immediate family members are not eligible for prizes.

Second Supper

Things To Do Bop on down to the Great River Jazz Fest

The Top

Things to ban (besides smoking) 1. Celll phones in checkout lines 2. Axe body spray 3. Political donations over $500 4. The designated hitter 5. Bank transfer fees 6. Spray-on tanner 7. Drunk Facebooking Endangered sounds 1. Dial tones 2. Modems 3. Baseball park organs 4. Rewinding 5. Typewriters 6. Record skips 7. Busy signals

August 5, 2010 // 3

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Experience the next best thing to the famous New Orleans Jazz Festival by checking out the Great River Jazz Fest this weekend. Moving back outside after a three-year indoor exodus, head down to Riverside Park this Thursday to catch the start of this cool festival, with some of the performances also being held in the La Crosse Center. With 11 bands and 100 players from around the country, the GRJF will have something to please all ears, from casual listeners to hardcore jazz nuts. The fest is also offering after-hour jam sessions at the Freight House, the opportunity to attend a Meet the Musicians Reception, a Mardi Gras Parade starting at the La Crosse Center and jazzy tunes on Saturday morning at the corner of Third and Main streets. There will also be a fantastic raffle, “Pianorama” at the Pump House featuring all the festival’s ivory ticklers, a “Dance to the Big Bands,” and a jazz ecumenical service on Sunday. Don’t miss out as the festival celebrates its silver aniversary. For a list of artists see our Entertainment Calendar, while a schedule and ticket information can be found at www.lacrossejazz.com.

1

Flying Waffles!

Soar on over to the Flying Waffles Fly-in event this Sunday from 7-11:30 a.m. at Colgan Air Hangar #3 near the La Crosse Municipal Airport. This fun-filled morning will include Dad’s famous Belgian waffles with all the trimmings and will be served in an airport hangar! There will also be classic cars, remote control airplanes and an air show with Bill Bland and his Super Decathlon. The event is sponsored by the La Crosse Area Flyers and Valley View Rotary Club, and the money raised will sponsor community programs. For more information call 792‐0113 or visit www.flyingwaffles.com.

2

Hear groovy Americana

3

Take a scenic drive up the Trempealeau Hotel tonight, Aug. 5, to see hear great old-timey music. Boo Bradley’s hot blues stompin’, jelly roll jumpin’, rag jazz infusion’, and two man acoustic jug attack from Madtown, WI will perform on Thursday beginning at 7 p.m. The gig will be held on the deck, perfect for taking in a great summer evening.

Or if you're more of a city guy or gal, Boo Bradley will also play the Root Note Friday night.

Walk against cancer

4

Dust off those sneeks because the La Crosse Area Relay for Life will be in full swing starting at 6 p.m. Friday and cruising through the wee-hours to finish at 7 a.m. Saturday morning. The Relay for Life is the largest fundraising event for the American Cancer Society.

Survivors will be honored with a survivors lap, and those who have lost the battle will be remembered with a Luminaria Ceremony. There will also be games, prizes, theme laps, entertainment, food and more, so come out to show your support. For more information call 783‐5001, or search www.relayforlife.org/lacrossewi

Paddle the mighty Root

Canoe dig it? You will have the opportunity to do just that this Saturday from 3-6 p.m. as the Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center hosts the Root River Canoe Tour. The tour will consist of paddling 3.5 miles of scenic waters down the mighty Root River! No canoeing experience is necessary but reservations and a non-refundable deposit are both required. The cost is $10 per person, and space is limited so be sure to call now and reserve your spot. The tour is available for adults and youths over the age of 15, however, ages 1517 must be accompanied by an adult. Call (507) 467‐2437 to hop on your next adventure, or visit www.eagle‐bluff.org.

5

4// August 5, 2010

Second Supper

COMMENTARY

The WisPolitics.com Week in Review stock report

risinG High-speed rail

Reminds you to support the retailers, restaurants, taverns and bands that support us. We are funded solely by advertising so if you want to support us, support them!

CONSCIENTIOUS COMMERCE: spark it up

Despite pledges from the GOP guv candidates to the contrary, U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood declares high-speed rail is coming to Wisconsin and “there’s no stopping it.” LaHood signs an agreement to release $46.5 million of the $810 million in federal stimulus funds that have been allocated to Wisconsin for the planned line between Madison and Milwaukee. Mark Neumann and Scott Walker denounce the move, saying they oppose Wisconsin taxpayers subsidizing operation of the line and they’ll fi nd a way to kill the project if elected. Still, insiders question whether it’ll make sense to live up to that promise should either of them win considering the money that will likely be spent before they get a chance to weigh in on it.

Considering how quickly the Doyle administration seems to be moving on the project, it could be past the point of no return once they get into offi ce, some say.

miXeD Louis Butler

The former state Supreme Court justice’s appointment to the federal bench in Madison is on hold yet again. This time, Senate Republicans objected to a fl oor debate and vote on his confi rmation. Butler, appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle to the state court but defeated by Michael Gableman in a statewide election, is one of nearly 20 judicial nominees the GOP refused to bring to the fl oor. A Republican source notes concerns among some GOP senators that Butler is soft on crime. Some Dems said the episode likely marks the death knell for Butler's nomination, reasoning his nomination will be cast aside if a compromise is made to speed more important ones.

FAllinG Race-based mascots

Sudoku

Answers on page 11

It didn’t take the Department of Public Instruction long to exercise its new power to nix race-based mascots. Concluding the Osseo-Fairchild Chieftains nickname and mascot are race-based and promote stereotyping, harassment and discrimination, the agency orders the district to drop them within a year, though the district can appeal. The decision spurs another round of complaints that it’s political correctness run amok and counterarguments that such nicknames and logos have no place in modern society. The ruling doesn't bode well for the 34 other districts that use Native American-based names, and two other complaints fi led against schools in Kewaunee and Mukwonago are currently pending. Meanwhile, some school administrators worry about the cost of replacing uniforms and equipment at a time when state aid for education is being cut.

thAt's DebAtAble

Editor's Note: WisOpinion.com has asked two veterans of Wisconsin policy and politics, Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now and Brian Fraley of the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, to engage in weekly exchanges on a topic of their choosing. In this installment of "That's Debatable," Fraley and Ross debate the fallout of recent flooding in Milwaukee.

Brian Fraley: The recent dumping of TWO BILLION gallons of human excrement-laden water into Lake Michigan further cements Tom Barrett's MMSD as the single-largest polluter in the state of Wisconsin. ... I see the Dem party is making a big deal of how two days after the fl ooding Barrett was on hand for some photo-ops.

Scot Ross: The criticism was about the county exec, Mr. Walker, being AWOL as usual when the people of Milwaukee County were looking for answers. But instead, Walker gallivanted across northern Wisconsin, as part of the campaign for governor he’s been running pretty much since he became county executive lo those eight years ago.

Fraley: Um, when your basement is fl ooded with knee-deep raw sewage and all the beaches are closed because BILLIONS of gallons of raw sewage has been dumped into the Lake, real people don't give damn which politician is posing for holy pictures on the news. As for staying in town, Barrett's unwillingness to travel the state for his “campaign” is nothing new. He's been a reluctant candidate from day one. Moreover, he could have six photo ops a day from now until he retires and that won't change the fact that the week before the fl ood, Barrett's sewerage district dumped

yet another 674 MILLION gallons of untreated sewage into Lake Michigan.

Ross: If after the numerous multi-jurisdictional issues that happened as results of a record-setting rainfall, you are ready for Barrett to be castigated for the sewer system and the beaches, I guess I’ll have no problem in fi nding all of the criticism leveled against Walker for allowing sewage from fi ve different Milwaukee County pipes to foul and close Bradford Beach a few years ago. Hold on. Googling. Still Googling. Nah, nothing.

No thunderous right wing indignation about the budget cuts that led to pipe failure and Bradford contamination and closure.

Fraley: Fact: Tom Barrett controls who runs MMSD. Fact: MMSD is repeatedly the largest polluter in the state of Wisconsin. Fact: In his fi rst year as mayor, Barrett supported MMSD's misguided efforts to focus not on the real problem of combined sanitary and storm sewers, but rather tangential issues.

Oh, and he launched a PR campaign to lower people's expectations. Yep, when it comes to Tom Barrett, lower your expectations.

Ross: Why don't we roll out the Walker playbook for real problem solving? 1. Offer tax cuts to the rich paid for by slashing education, health care and police and fi re protection; 2.

Deregulate big business; 3. End BadgerCare assistance to children and working people without health care coverage; 4. Destroy public infrastructure and mismanage public services; 5. Blame working people. And hell if that doesn’t work, the latest gem, actually call for cutting telephone assistance for jobseeking poor people.

news in brieF Kind votes for Afghanistan war funds, but other state Dems don't

Wisconsin's House delegation split evenly over continued funding for the war in Afghanistan, as House Appropriations Chair David Obey, D-Wausau, led a protest vote that included more than 100 Democrats.

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, joined Republicans Tom Petri of Fond du Lac, Paul Ryan of Janesville and Jim Sensenbrenner of Menomonee Falls in supporting the $59 billion war funding bill, which passed on a 308-114 vote.

Meanwhile, Democrats Tammy Baldwin of Madison, Steve Kagen of Appleton and Gwen Moore of Milwaukee joined Obey in opposing the president and the measure.

In all, 102 Democrats voted no, contending money is needed for economic troubles at home.

Obey said before the vote that he has a "double, and confl icting, obligation" because as chair he has an obligation to bring the bill before the House.

"But I also have the obligation to my conscience to indicate — by my individual vote — my profound skepticism that this action will accomplish much more than to serve as a recruiting incentive for those who most want to do us ill," he said.

Protesters clash at Capitol over same-sex marriage

Hundreds of protesters shouted down same-sex marriage opponents on the steps of the state Capitol, drawing an angry rebuke from one Republican lawmaker.

The rally planned by the New Jerseybased National Organization for Marriage, which attracted about 50 supporters of traditional marriage, spurred a counter protest by about 500 who support giving gay, lesbian and transgender couples the right to marry.

State Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, scolded the protesters, which he termed “the hard, anti-Christian left,” for being disrespectful to the NOM speakers.

“It’s only the people behind you who are scared to death of the truth,” Grothman said, drawing derision from the protesters.

The pro-gay marriage protesters gathered at UW-Madison's Library Mall and marched up State Street prior to the NOM event. At that rally, state Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, who married his partner in Canada where same-sex unions are recognized, said the campaign against Wisconsin's gay marriage ban strengthened the movement.

“We want marriage equality, and we are not going to stop organizing and agitating until we get it,” Pocan said.

Second Supper

COMMUNITY

August 5, 2010 // 5

Still Smokin'

One month into the workplace smoking ban, La Crosse cigarette culture is alive and outside Reporting by Adam Bissen, Jonathan Majak and Nate Willer ‘Smoke-free’ for business, not politics

When the State Room opened in March 2009, it was a breath of fresh air in the heart of downtown: a voluntary nonsmoking bar. A little over a year later, the State Room is surrounded by dozens of non-smoking bars, but owner Ryan Johnson said the workplace smoking ban had little effect on his business.

But even though the State Room was one of the fi rst La Crosse County establishment to go completely smoke-free, Johnson said the policy was strictly business, a way to attract clientele that didn’t want to be around cigarette smoke.

“Did it work for us? Yeah, it worked for us. But I don’t necessarily think that it works for everybody,” said Johnson. “On the State Room level we did it strictly as a business decision, not as part of a political stance or anything like that.”

Of course, with the entire state of Wisconsin now legally smoke-free, there is one prickly detail that still sticks to the State Room. It has a giant billboard attached to its State Street wall that proudly proclaims the bar to be nonsmoking.

“Right now it’s just an obvious statement, but what we’re going to do with it we haven’t decided,” Johnson explained. “Being with infancy of the law, right now we’re still going to leave it up for at least another month or two.”

‘Snuffers’ on the way

Driving hundreds of smokers outdoors to puff cigarettes has had one predictable effect on the bar scene: There are more cigarette butts on the sidewalk. To keep the place a little cleaner, Downtown Main Street, Inc. spearheaded an effort to have aesthetically pleasing cigarette receptacles, offi cially known as “snuffers,” outside of local bars – and they should be hitting the sidewalks in just a couple of weeks.

Tim Kabat, director of Downtown Main Street, said his organization worked with the city and local bar owners to order about 40 snuffers to help keep the streets clean and give a “unifi ed front” with a design that fi ts with the character of the city.

The snuffers will weigh about 250 pounds, “so hopefully pretty few of them will disappear,” Kabat said.

The city contributed $3,200 to purchase the snuffers, while the La Crosse County Tavern League and Downtown Main Street each contributed $275. That meant individual bars could purchase a snuffer for

around $100 (they retail for $220, plus shipping), and city is waiting for its order to be delivered.

Currently, bar owners use a pastiche of buckets, plastic snuffers or other receptacles to collect the butts, but many smokers still toss their cigarettes on the sidewalk.

But the city streets department hasn’t seen a dramatic uptick in refuse, largely because cleaning the sidewalk is the responsibility of individual bar owners.

“For the most part I think businesses are doing a pretty good job of staying on top of it and sweeping it up,” Kabat said.

Summertime patio party

One of joys of the statewide smoking ban is that it opened up smoking and drinking to the great outdoors. Sloopy's Alma Mater was one of many local establishments that constructed a patio to accommodate outdoor smoking, and owner Adam Weissenberger says the response has been positive.

"It works out great. People love being out there," Weissenberger said. "They go outside and have a couple beers on the back deck."

The cement patio, located behind the building, is fenced in and contains a half dozen tables with umbrellas. A recent afternoon was sunny and featured small groups of people hanging out, though it's hard to imagine the same scene occurring in January.

"I might put heaters out back, so it may be OK," Weissenberger said. "I'm still on the fence about it, just depending on how much it costs."

Matchbook mania at MyPlace

One of the greatest ironies created by the Smoke-Free Wisconsin Act is the idea that establishments are still very much allowed to sell cigarettes but are no longer allowed to provide matches for them.

For MyPlace bar owners Brent Anderson and Kevin Maass, this has caused them to add an extra bit of clutter to the basement of their bar as stacks of boxes sit on a shelf, fi lled with matches with the MyPlace logo printed on the front.

“We ordered the stuff way in advance because that’s what you have to do,” Maass explained.

“It’s probably about a $100 lost on this, four cents per matchbook,” Anderson said.

“And you never know about other stuff, how effective it was as a marketing thing for

Department of Corrections Last week's cover story on the Great River Jazz Fest, misstated president Terry Rochester's role in developing the festival. He joined the festival board in its third year, not "from the very beginning," as the article stated.

Also, Rochester was not president when the executive board dropped "Traditional" from the festival name.

The statewide smoking ban instituted a number of changes to La Crosse night life, including this new way to save a seat. people to see it and now that’s gone.”

And who knows, maybe the SmokeFree Wisconsin Act has just created the next collecting frenzy?

Nonsmokers invited out

Kyle Prentice, owner of the Helm bar for the past 23 years, has opposed the idea of a smoking ban from the very start. “This industry is tough enough the way it is without having a dictatorship placed upon you,” said Prentice, who doesn’t smoke but acknowledged the Helm had a reputation for being a smoky bar.

In the month since the smoking ban went into effect, the Helm’s air is much cleaner, but Prentice hasn’t noticed any uptick in business. He hasn’t seen a falloff either, but he said it’s hard to judge the repercussions of the smoking ban during summer.

He’s a little more concerned about its effect on the many pool tournaments his bar hosts, given players’ tendency to smoke while shooting stick. “Players are dealing with it so far, but I think fall is going to be a little more telltale in my opinion,” Prentice said.

Even though the air is cleaner, Prentice said customers aren’t staying in the bar any longer than they used to. And while the no-smoking ordinance was promoted to bring out potential patrons who are put off by cigarette smoke, Prentice said he hasn’t

noticed much change in clientele either.

“So we’re inviting all the nonsmokers into the clean-air Helm Bar atmosphere. We’re waiting for them with glorious specials, great service, and an award-winning staff.”

Smoking lounges look up

With the smoking ban already a month old, patios are beginning to be a familiar sight at bars around La Crosse. But what about places like the Starlight Lounge, which is located on the second fl oor above Buzzard Billy’s? A smoking patio would seem to be out of the picture for them, but when Second Supper caught up with Starlight manager Tryn Pelto, she had a different story.

According to Pelto, the Starlight Lounge “has a rooftop space available,” and they have contacted architects about building an outdoor rooftop patio. Although no defi nite plans have been made, do not be surprised to see a roof top patio on Pearl Street one day.

Patio plans aside, Second Supper asked Pelto about Starlight customer’s reactions to the ban and they seem to be positive. “Customers appreciate the cleaner air and the food and drinks taste better as well,” Pelto said. And the customers keep pouring in, because a little smoking ban is hardly enough to keep La Crosse residents from their martinis.

6// August 5, 2010

The Arts Review Bizarro Masterpiece Theatre Medium: Film Stimulius:Defendor (2010) Director: Peter Stebbings Starring: Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Elias Koteas Writer: Peter Stebbings

Considering Defendor’s superhero is a luckless wannabe who regularly gets beaten to a pulp yet refuses to give up his idealism, it would be easy to write this film off as another Kick-Ass. That would be completely missing the point. Unlike Kick-Ass, Defendor really isn’t a comedy. Sure, it’s great to see Woody Harrelson scamper around with a greasepaint mask and a duct tape D on his chest, leaping heroically into Dumpsters and fighting villainy with marbles and jars of wasps.

Yet Defendor is kind of a disturbing guy, a borderline autistic who believes it his holy crusade to rid the world of scum and villainy.

Despite his likeability and goofball antics, Harrelson’s hero is dark and intense, a lost citizen of a grim world in which he is out of his league. If there’s any lingering confusion, Defendor’s sidekick is a crack whore.

The film begins in the story’s midpoint, with our hero in the midst of psychological evaluation while in police custody. Even here, he refuses to give up his imperious persona. Catching up the viewer, we next see Defendor in action, saving his soon-to-be crack whore buddy from an “occupational hazard” at the hands of a crooked cop, the character who becomes the closest the film has to a real villain. While Defendor continues his pursuit of his sworn enemy, the ephemeral Captain Industry, his sidekick moves into his dingy lair, steals his stuff, and generally

Second Supper

ARTS acts like an ass. It’s she who points out the identity of Captain Industry to Defendor and gives him the righteous war that he’s been looking for, which leads to our hero getting pummeled repeatedly. Of course, Defendor’s childish good nature breaks down his ward’s bitter defenses, and the two become best friends.

But Defendor has other problems. After getting arrested for dispensing justice without a permit, the court orders our hero to cut the crap and be normal. For about five minutes afterward, Woody Harrelson portrays a junkie in withdrawal, the drug in question being justice. But right prevails; Defendor gets back on the horse and gives his city its hero.

One of the most interesting parts of this movie is the cloud of ambiguity that hangs over everything, so much so that the film’s valiant conclusion almost feels out of place.

While cloaked in comic book myth and delusions, what this story really becomes is that of an ordinary (OK, ordinary-ish) man whose relentless convictions bring light to a very bleak world — and ultimately, the only difference between Defendor and everyone else is the Duct tape D on his chest.

— Brett Emerson

The Screening Room Medium: Film Dinner for Schmucks (2010) Director: Jay Roach Cast: Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Stephanie Szostak Writer: David Guion and Michael Handelman, based on by The Dinner Game (1998) by Francis Veber

Constituting a very small percentage of the film’s actual run time, the titular meal of Dinner for Schmucks involves a soulless crew of uber-wealthy businessmen who each bring a weird, eccentric or just plain stupid person to dinner to unwittingly be made fun of. The film imparts a no-brainer moral: Never laugh at the misfortune of others.

But in true hypocritical fashion, Dinner for

Schmucks doesn’t practice what it preaches, and invites us to laugh at both the excessively dimwitted Barry (Carell) and the multitude of calamities his stupidity brings upon promotion-hungry businessman Tim (Rudd), who asks Barry to be his schmuck.

Schmucks elicits the majority of its laughs from either awkward, offbeat scenarios resulting from simple miscommunication, or juvenile slapstick gags, with lots of yelling, weird noises, strange poses, exaggerated facial expressions and cartoon violence.

The handful of laughs Schmucks actually earns feels out of character for the film, and a venerable lineup of comedy all-stars (including Jemaine Clement, Zach Galifianakis, Larry Wilmore, Kristen Schaal and others) adds nothing to the proceedings. In the absence of big laughs, Schmucks is one of the most unengaging comedies either of its leads has made. Not even a heartfelt ending can redeem the film from what it truly is: a sloppily made comedy of errors seemingly comprised of the worst outtakes of unscripted ad-libbing.

— Nick Cabreza

The Designer's Drugs Media: Album Stimulus: The Boxer Artist: Kele

Credit Bloc Party singer Kele Okereke for wanting to explore beyond his band’s usual purview, but at least half of his solo debut is unremarkable electro-pop. Most of the songs on The Boxer feature some form of dysfunction, whether it be excessive minimalism, dull and repetitive beats, the overuse of phone operator samples, or the cloying female backing vocals that derail a few songs. Indeed, the only constant to be found on this album is that Kele Okereke has a passionate and powerful voice, even when his lyrics are trite.

And he certainly is capable of trite, which clashes with his music at times. During the thrilling, dark electronic stomping of “Walk Tall,” Kele’s voice struts around a battlefield of his own making, barking out military cadence and listing nonsensical

rules of conduct. In the electronic throbbing of “Tenderoni,” he takes time out to spell the name of the song, which is rather asinine.

On musical merit, both of these songs rank among the album’s best, but the goofiness of the vocals distracts.

Yet there is some good to come from this experiment. Taken at face value, “On the Lam” is a flashy Europop tune, but it’s neat to note that the song’s seething female vocals are actually Kele, who tweaked his voice into sex change and plays it well. “All the Things I Could Never Say” takes the album’s forays into minimalism and does it right, with Kele overpowering a loop with his voice. Vocally, this is the most amazing piece on the album — that is, until Kele’s lady henchman bursts in.

There’s something telling about The Boxer, when its best song, “Unholy Thoughts,” is essentially a Bloc Party song, aglow in fast drums and high bass. Kele’s leap beyond a band serves up a few good tracks, but it seems that the structure of his group works best for him.

Media: Album Stimulus: And the Wicked Sea Artist: Pictures of Then

From the Twin Cities, Pictures of Then is a band that mixes strutting rock with softspoken piano and guitar balladry, throwing in a little country twang when the mood demands. The catchiest song in the collection is “When It Stings,” a track set to full strut and wail, accented by buzzing synths that serve as the most restrained element in a song that has lost its shit.

When it tones things down, Pictures of Then is at its best in the stately “Lands Uncharted,” which closes the album with stoic piano. “Stuck” is a lonely tune that swims between jangles of guitar and drops of piano, and “Ahead” carries on that mood with a little more space but no less gravity.

When the scales are set, the band’s softness outweighs its swagger. “When It Stings” is a fantastic song, but the rest of the album’s strut can fall short at times. The quiet, however, can be epic.

— Brett Emerson

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Second Supper

Y Marks the Spot

By Brett Emerson brett.emerson@secondsupper.com

It was the last day. I was leaving Wisconsin again, once more headed west to seek further adventure. This time the roads would take me to Washington instead of California, a place to where, as it turns out, I’m far, far more suited. Apart from the wretchedness and automotive paranoia that comes with mountain driving, it was an easy trip. I saw neon palm trees in Montana, of all places, a Tom Petty-themed van going through Seattle, and took part in an outburst of ass photography in Butte, Montana. Yet the strangest thing to happen during the four days between there and here happened on that last day in Wisconsin, when my grand exodus ceased to be theoretical, and got, well, kind of weird.

My cohort and I left town in the afternoon, having said our goodbyes to everyone who mattered and some who didn’t.

(One of the last things to happen to me in La Crosse involved a car’s passenger leaning out and shouting “Nice hair, faggot!” at me while it passed. I’ll treasure that hometown moment forever.) We drove through threats of thunderstorms that never followed through, passing through Minnesota and part of South Dakota before deciding to stop for the night.

We turned off at the 300-mile point, stopping in a town that time forgot called White Lake, South Dakota. I pulled into the first motel to cross my path, an all-purpose oasis that called itself A to Z. Red flags should have went up when I saw the motel’s gravel parking lot, its run down gas station, and a pair of shirtless good ol’ boys carrying on outside of their rooms. At this point, however, I didn’t care where we stayed, so long as it was cheap. Oh yeah, we got cheap.

The office was a cubicle lodged between the soda machines and the first stretch of rooms, manned by a gimpy old guy who appeared welded to the place. According to my cohort — who is a lady — the guy gave us the stink eye when we asked for a single bed, surely convinced that we were poised to commit all manner of sin against god and man in his establishment. He took my money, all the same, and gave us the key.

That key unlocked a wood-paneled wonderland of bad wiring and cramped space. The television perched on a ledge above a mirrored desk and green leather rocking chair, all of which looked like they could fall apart at a moment’s notice. In the bathroom, a cartoon towel disclosed to us the pleasure it received from being white, and it asked us not to use the real towels to wipe down our cars. There were bolteddown hand soap dispensers and a paper bag for tampons. Jesus poetry greeted us

COLUMNS from the bed. Classy.

But let this not lead you to believe that this idiosyncrasy was solely the domain of the A to Z Motel. As we’d soon find out, the whole town of White Lake was a bit odd.

My cohort, having run out of cigarettes, planned to go to the motel’s gas station and restock. She found out that it had closed at 6 p.m. On a Thursday. In fact, the whole town was closed up at 9:30 at night, with the exception of a sports bar down the street.

Of course. We crept in, briefly discussed the universally flammable properties of cigarettes with the locals, and made off with generic, patriotic smokes.

Meanwhile, the sky started to flicker.

We settled into our humble lodgings and watched astronauts on Comedy Central. Eventually I decided to wash the final days of Wisconsin off me and hit the shower.

Firing up both the water and the soap dispenser attached to the shower wall, I started scrubbing.

Then the lights turned off, and the window became a strobe light. We had entered a horror movie.

After wiping myself off with a white, white towel and pulling my clothes back on, I crept outside and beheld a maelstrom.

The entire neighborhood was blacked out, but lightning flashed every second, showing us the falling flood. It was both magnificent and terrifying.

Being that my flashlights were in my car, I decided to dash the 10 feet between the motel awning and my vehicle. When I came back, I looked like I had fallen into the ocean. We spent the rest of the night in dim illumination, and I fell asleep clutching my flashlight, not quite unconvinced that a horde of scarlet-robed cultists wasn’t going to burst in and sacrifice us to Cthulu. But everything passed, unscathed.

When we woke up in the morning, the lights were on and the ground was merely damp. Still, we got the hell out of White Lake in a hurry, and we stayed in bland, cookie-cutter, white-washed hotel rooms the rest of the way here. It seemed safer.

Writers Wanted Second Supper is looking to add freelance columnists to write on any of the following topics: • Local government/politics • Local bar scene • Local restaurants • Local arts scene • Life in La Crosse Send letter of introduction and 500-word column sample(s) to editor@secondsupper.com.

The Majak Mixtape

By Jonathan Majak jonathan.majak@secondsupper.com

Oh American Idol, you’re a hot ass mess now. Saddled with a boring current winner in the form of Lee “Couldn’t find the right pitch and key if he programmed it into his Ford Focus GPS” Dewyze, the departure of snarky ringleader Simon Cowell, the inexplicably resilient presences of Ryan Seacrest and Randy Jackson, and the abysmal idea of either adding Jessica Simpson or Jennifer Lopez to the panel, the Mixtape would like to give our suggestions of people we think should help fill the void left by Cowell and one-season judge Ellen Degeneres in a mix we’re calling, “It was a little pitchy dog but you made it your own” mix.

Up first, Kanye West, who is in the midst of promoting his hot single “Power” and prepping his album formerly and classily titled Good Ass Job. Think about it producers. He’s got the star power of Ellen, the industry knowledge of Randy and Kara DioGuardi, the outsized ego of Simon Cowell.

August 5, 2010 // 7

Plus, there is always the lingering potential for Kanye to grab the mic away from some poor singer during Barry Manilow week or something.

Our next choice is John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten, the former singer of the Sex Pistols who recently reunited with his follow-up band Public Image Ltd., who would make a great judge. Being the Sex Pistol not on a slew of Hot Topic T-shirts has kept Lydon a mean ole coot and would make him the perfect replacement for Simon, who has lost some of his sarcastic edge by hanging around with such wild and crazy acts as dry-as-white-toast Leona Lewis. Plus, a Sex Pistols week on Idol could be a Gleestyle disaster DVR would was made for.

Our last choice is melisma-loving Christina Aguilera. With her Bionic album on the Billboard scrap heap, Aguilera needs to do something between now and her potentially awful film Burlesque comes out this fall. What better way to claw onto the last shreds of relevancy then by doing American Idol. Is being a judge on Idol the most dignified way of going about prolonging popularity? No, but it’d still be infinitely less embarrassing than Aguilera’s track on Bionic referring to her vagina as her “woo hoo.”

Download this week: (500) Days of Weezy, a mash-up of Lil Wayne and the (500) Days of Summer soundtrack

Read: music blog Kickin the Peanuts (http://kickinthepeanuts.com/)

YouTube: She and Him’s music video for their single “Thieves”

8// August 5, 2010

Second Supper

MUSIC

music directory // August 6 to August 12 fridaY, .

August 6

Madison

Farmers Market // Cameron Park Mr. Blink (rock) •10 p.m.

population

Yo-Yo Ma // AUG. 22 Overture Center • $40.50-$85.50 Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr.) // AUG. 24 The Frequency • $10

Nighthawks Tap // 401 S. Third St. The Levitating Train Committee Band (classic rock) •10 p.m.

Pearl Street Brewery // 1401 St. Andrew St.

piggy's blues lounge // 501 Front St. S. Swing Inc (jazz) • 8 p.m.

Jazz jam session • 10:30 p.m.

Ozomatli // AUG. 28 Barrymore Theatre • $20 If you think it's fun to shake it for the YMCA, come on down to Rock n' the Dock this Saturday to hear four great bands perform by the beautiful Black River. Unity, a reggae/dancehall act from Appleton, will kick the day off with a performance from 2-5 p.m. Wisconsin favorite Pat McCurdy follows with a fun-loving set from 5-7 p.m. The twilight belongs to the beloved Shoeless Revolution (pictured — nice photo, guys) who will play from 7-9 p.m., and La Crosse favorite's The Remainders will headline from 9-11 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 the day of event, with all benefits going to the YMCA's Strong Kids Campaign, which allows the YMCA to provide financial assistance to youth, families, and adults in the community. Sounds like a great day to us.

Popcorn Tavern // 308 S. Fourth St. New Blues Crew (blues/rock) •10 p.m.

Nighthawks Tap // 401 S. Third St. The Levitating Train Committee Band (classic rock) •10 p.m.

Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe // W6015 Hwy. MM William Kuhlman (organ recital) • 3 p.m.

riverside park // Jazz Fest tent DC Five, Upstream Jazz Quartet, Debbie Duncan, AfterGroove (Great River Jazz Fest) • 4 p.m.

piggy's blues lounge // 501 Front St. S. Swing Inc (jazz) • 8 p.m.

Jazz jam session • 10:30 p.m.

The Joint // 324 Jay St. Adam Palm with Fayme Rochelle (Palm Sunday) • 4 p.m.

The Joint // 324 Jay St. Phocus (pop reggae) • 10 p.m.

Popcorn Tavern // 308 S. Fourth St. Fayme Rochelle and the Waxwings (old time string band) • 10 p.m..

mondaY,

The Root Note // 114 4th St. S. Boots Radley (roots boogie) • 8:30 p.m. the waterfront tavern // 328 Front St. Costello & Hipps (jazz) • 8 p.m

saturdaY,

August 7

Huck Finn's // 127 Marina Dr The Remainders, Pat McCurdy, Unity and Shoeless Revolution (Rock n' the Docks) • 8 p.m. la crosse center // 300 S. Second St. Debbie Duncan, Clearwater Hot Club, Wonderful World Jazz Band, AfterGroove, Upstream Jazz Quartet, Wonderful World Jazz Band, West Salem Big Band, John Paulson with Bill Allred (Great River Jazz Fest) • 1:15 p.m.

208,054

Glitch mob // AUG. 21 Majestic Theatre • $115

la crosse center // 300 S. Second St. Great River All-Stars, Clearwater Hot Club, Wonderful World Jazz Band, West Salem Big Band (Great River Jazz Fest) • 7:15 p.m.

Terrapin Shells (acoustic Dead) • 5 p.m.

just a roadie away

riverside park // Jazz Fest tent John Paulson Quintet, Debbie Duncan, Great River All Stars, Stardust Big Band, Clearwater Hot Club, AfterGroove Great River All-Stars (Great River Jazz Fest) • 1 p.m.

The Joint // 324 Jay St. Monkey Wrench (hard rock) • 10 p.m.

The Root Note // 114 4th St. S. The Ericksons (sisterly folk) • 8:30 p.m.

sundaY,

August 8

French slough // 1311 La Crescent St. Kin Pickin’ (jam grass) • Noon Popcorn Tavern // 308 S. Fourth St. Som'n Jazz (jazz) • 10 p.m.

August 9

Del’s Bar // 229 Third St. Open jam • 10 p.m.

Popcorn Tavern // 308 S. Fourth St. Shawn's Open jam • 10 p.m.

The Root Note // 114 4th St. S. Shape then Shift (experimental folk) • 8:30 p.m.

Carolina Chocolate Drops // AUG. 28 Orton Park Festival • FREE Atmosphere, Blueprint // SEPT. 8 Orpheum Theatre • $23

wednesdaY,

August 11

Nighthawks Tap // 401 S. Third St. Bad Axe Jam (gear provided) • 10 p.m.

Popcorn Tavern // 308 S. Fourth St. Jazz Liver (jazz) • 10 p.m. recovery room // 901 7th St. S. Kin Pickin’ (open jam) • 10 p.m.

thursday,

August 12

Ciatti's // 9348 Hwy. 16 Runaway (acoustic duo) • 6 p.m.

Freight House // 107 Vine St. Nick Sticka (folk) • 8 p.m.

Nighthawks Tap // 401 S. Third St.

tuesdaY,

August 10

bAND SHELL // Riverside Park Coulee Chordsmen (Harmony Under the Stars) • 10 p.m.

Popcorn Tavern // 308 S. Fourth St. Dave Orr (open jam) • 10 p.m.

Dave Orr's Damn Jam (open jam) • 10 p.m.

Southside neighborhood center // 1300 S. Sixth St. Seven River Brass (jazz) • 7 p.m.

The Starlite Lounge // 222 Pearl St. Kies and Kompanie (jazz) • 5 p.m.

Second Supper

The Best Food & Drink Specials in Town LOCATION

August 5, 2010 // 9

YOUR GUIDE TO CONSUMPTION

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

ARENA

SUNDAY

Midwest Poker League 7 p.m.

Closed

Wyld Wednesday: $2 Jumbo UV, mixers $1.50 Coronas

Ladies' Night, $5 Long Island pitchers

$1 Cherry Bombs, $1 Keystone Light silos

$1 Cherry Bombs, $1 Keystone Light silos

BODEGA BREW PUB

$2 BBQ Pork Sliders

2-Fers, Buy any regularly priced food item and get one of equal or lesser value for free

$2.50 Coors vs. Keystone pitchers. All specials 9 p.m. to close

AUC2D: $5, domestic taps, rail mix- 10-cent wings, $1 Miller High Life ers, Long Islands. All specials 9 p.m. bottles, $1.50 rail mixers; $2.50 call to close drinks. All specials 9 p.m. to close.

107 3rd St. S. 782-1883 122 4th St. 782-0677

BROTHERS

Closed

306 Pearl St. 784-0522

FEATURES

Free beer 5:30-6:30; Free wings 7:30- Taco buffet 11-2; 8:30, Free bowling after 9 $1 Pabst bottles and $1 bowling after 9

W3923 State Highway 16 786-9000

HOWIE’S

Fish Tacos: 1 / $2.50, 2 / $5.00, 3 / $6.50.

AUC2D: $5, domestic taps, rail mixers and Long Islands. Wristband Night: $2.50 SoCo & Jack. All specials 9 p.m. to close.

$3 3 Olives mixers, $3 Mojitos, $2 $3 Bacardi mixers, $3 Mojitos, $2 Cherry Bombs, $1 Bazooka Joe's; Cherry bombs, $1 Bazooka Joe's.

FAC: $3 domestic pitchers, micro/ All specials 9 p.m. to close. import taps, anything that pours.

4-9 p.m.

All you care to eat pizza buffet, 11-2

All you care to eat fish fry 4-10; unlimited Glow-N-Bowl $9.99

Prime rib dinner 4-10; unlimited Glow-N-Bowl $9.99 9 p.m. to close: $2 Bacardi mixers, $2 domestic pints, $1.50 shots blackberry brandy

1125 La Crosse St. 784-7400

Happy hour 4 to 9 p.m.; 9 p.m. to 9 p.m. to close: $3.50 domestic 9 p.m. to close: $1 rails, $2.50 pitch- $5 all you can drink close: Night Before Class - $3 pitch- pitchers ers, beer pong ers of the beast

9 p.m. to close: $1.25 rails, $1.75 bottles/cans

9 p.m. to close: $2 Captain mixers, $2 bottles/cans, $3 Jager bombs

IMPULSE

Closed

Closed

Karaoke 9 p.m.-Close; Happy Hour daily 5-8

Wine & martini night; Happy Hour daily 5-8

18+ night (1st and 3rd Thursday of each month); Happy Hour daily 5-8

$25 open bar package, 11 p.m. to Happy Hour daily 5-8 close: domestic/import beer, rail, call drinks, martinis; Happy Hour daily 5-8

JB’S SPEAKEASY

$1.75 domestic bottles

SIN Night

$1.75 domestic bottles

Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.

Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.

Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.

$1.79 burger (after 8 p.m.)

Breakfast 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Hat Night: Buy 1 drink, get 1 free w/ Rail drinks $2 (4:30 to close); Buckets of beer $10, Boston Bobby's Margaritas $4 (Straw, rasp, mango, hat (4:30 to close); $1.50 chili dogs After 8 p.m. specials: $5 skewer of drummies 10 for $2 (4:30 to close), peach and reg); After 8 p.m. specials: (after 8 p.m.) shrimp,l $1.79 burger, $1.50 chili dogs $1.79 burger (after 8 p.m.) $5 skewer of shrimp, $1.79 burger

214 Main St. 782-6010

Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.

717 Rose St. 796-1161

SCHMIDTY’S 3119 State Road 788-5110

SLOOPY'S ALMA MATER 163 Copeland Ave. 785-0245

SPORTS NUT

$2 can beer (2-6 p.m.) $11 buckets of beers (6-close)

$2 can beer (2-6 p.m.)

12" pizza: $8.99 up to 5 toppings (4-close)

Wings, Wings, Wings... $2 off 14: Ladies night, 2 for 1 drinks (6-close), pizza, $2 can beer (2-6 p.m.) $2 can beer (2-6 p.m.)

Buck Burgers

Tacos $1.25

15-cent wings

Breakfast 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Friday Fish, $2 can beer (2-6)

$8.99 12-ounce T-bone

2 for 1 pints/pitches w/ student ID over 21 15-cent wings

801 Rose St. 784-1811

THE LIBRARY

Sunday Fun Day - Wristband Night

Half price tequilla, $1 domestic taps Karaoke, $2 Double rails and all Beer Pong Tourney and and rails bottles; $3 Double call drinks wristband night

123 3rd St. 784-8020

TOP SHOTS

$3 Bacardi mixers, $3 Jumbo Long Island Iced Teas

$3 Jumbo Long Island Iced Teas, $3 3 Olives mixers $5 Miller/Bud Light Pitchers, $2.25 Leinies Bottles (7-1AM)

137 4th St. 782-6622

$5 Pitchers/$2 bottles of Miller $1.75 Miller/Bud Light Taps, $2.25 $1.75 Rails, $1.50 Domestic Taps, $2 domestic bottles, $2.50 Skyy/ products (11-4pm) MIcro/Craft Taps, $2.50 Cherry Bombs $3.50 Jager Bombs Absolut mixers, $2 Dr. shots $2 Corona Bottles, $2 Kilo Kai Mixers (7-1AM) (7-1AM) (7-1am) , $3 Bloodys (7-1AM)

5 Domestic Bottles for $10, $5 $2 Captain Mixers, $2. Long Island Micro/Import Bottles $11.50, $7 Mixers, $3 Effen Vodka Mixers (7Micro/Craft Pitchers (7-1AM) 1AM)

TRAIN STATION BBQ

Ask for great eats

11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Barn burner $7.95; 4 to 9 p.m., Hobo dinner (serves two) $30.95

WHO'S ON THIRD

Happy Hour until 10 p.m. $1.50 domestic taps, $2 rails from 10 to close

601 St. Andrew St. 781-0005 126 3rd St. N. 782-9467

$1 taps of PBR, $1 rails

11 a.m. to 3 p.m., extra side with sandwich; 4 to 9 p.m., $1 off rib dinner

Special varies

11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Chicken on fire One-half chicken three bones $7.95; 4 to 9 p.m., Bones and bris- $12.95 kets $13.95

$3 call doubles, $2 Bud products

Ladies' Night: $2 top shelf, $1 Pink $8.50 Fish Bowls, $2 Miller products $1 off Three Olives, $2 domestic taps Tacos Everyone: $2.50 bombs, $2 taps, $3 Jack/Captain doubles To advertise here, call (608) 782-7001 or e-mail us at advertising@secondsupper.com.

The Gamer Medium: Video game Boom Blox Bash Party (2009) Maker: EA Systems: Wii Price: $39.95 A few days ago I was sitting around and my mom asked me if I wanted to try out her new video game. It is not often that my mom, or any mom, suggests playing video games, so I jumped at the chance to fire up the Wii and give Boom Blox Party Bash a whirl. Boom Blox Bash Party is the sequel to the 2008 hit Boom Blox. Steven Spielberg

produced both games and reportedly came up with the concept for the game.

Like most Wii games, Bash Party is designed as a multiplayer party game, so there is no real story line to follow or a very exciting single-player mode. The real fun lies in playing with your friends. The game consists of using different tools and different motions with the Wii remote to score points.

Sometimes you are given paint bombs to throw at blocks to change their colors to get three of the same color in a row. Other levels you are given baseballs or bowling balls to throw at blocks to knock them over to score points. Some of the levels are like mini golf, where you have to sling a puck at a flag poll.

And the last tool you are given is a hand for

Jenga-like games.

Rewards for completing each level include blocks and tools that you can use when you create your own levels. You can then upload them online and download other levels created by other players.

The graphics are nothing to get excited about; most Wii games are limited in their graphical output due to Nintendo’s choice not to make the Wii HD capable. The game is geared toward children and families, so the graphics are very cartoonish, which makes the game more fun because it takes you back to the good ole’ days of eight-bit Nintendo games.

Bash Party loses steam in its repetitiveness. Even though you are given a multitude

of tools, the game gets a bit boring after an hour, even if you are playing with a group ... or your mother (who, in my case, is ridiculously good at this game). The game is suitable for all ages, and children will especially enjoy the animal sounds made by the random animals that litter each level to “cheer” you on or to take a few baseballs to the gut.

Boom Blox Bash Party is a welcome addition to anyone’s Wii game collection, and unfortunately EA has announced that this will be the last in the series so get your copy before the rest are blown away.

— Nate Willer

10// August 5, 2010

Maze Efflux

Second Supper

DIVERSIONS "Last chance, Harvey" Final words from the late Mr. Pekar

By Erich Boldt

By Matt Jones

The Beer Review Rubber Mills Pils Pearl Street Brewery La Crosse, Wisconsin

The challenge was a simple one: Name Pearl Street Brewery’s new Pilsner lager. The reward was sweet: Free beer for a year (which, if you read the fine print came out to one free pint per brewery visit per day, but who’s to quibble with free Pearl Street?) And the response was impressive: Hundreds of posts on PSB’s Facebook page ranging from Caterpilsner to Bohemian Bliss. Only one could win, and the competition was stiff, but when brewmaster Joe Katchever announced the winner at the beer release party July 29, I honestly thought he made the best choice [drum roll, please]: Rubber Mills Pils, submitted by La Crosse’s Theresa Held! A sonically pleasing name that pays tribute to the former La Crosse Footwear factory that the Pearl Street Brewery calls home, Rubber Mills Pils is a wonderful name that could help the brand expand beyond La Crosse, should PSB ever decide to go that route. For now, the RMP is just a seasonal release available on tap at Del’s Bar, the Flipside, Red Pines, Digger’s Sting, JB’s Speakeasy and the Pearl Street Brewery’s tasting room, but this Pilsner is the perfect seasonal to drop in the dog days of summer. But enough about the name and distribution — how does it taste?

Starting with appearance, it pours a perfect Pilsner gold, brilliant but translucent, with a white bubbly head and minimal lacing. The well-balanced aroma evokes a breadbox and owes a strong debt to the Bohemian brewing tradition.

Appearance: 8 The Rubber Mills Pils is brewed with Aroma: 7 all barley pilz malts and balanced with Taste: 8 Old World hops that give a reMouthfeel: 8 strained character beneath the spicy Drinkability: 9 dry-hopped nose.

It hits the tongue crisply, which is Total: 40 exactly what you want when it’s 95 degrees outside and more humid than a sauna. The flavor is a bit like saltine crackers with lemon juice notes seeping over the top. While some Pearl Street beers have a rather heavy finish, this Pilsner is delightfully clean and hopped to induce heavy salivation that makes you want to quaff another real quick. The mouthfeel is thin, which makes for excellent drinkability if you’re into this type of lager. I know I’ve sipped quite a few Pearl Street beers in my day, but this is probably my favorite release since the ’09 Smokin’ Hemp Porter. It’s official: Rubber Mills Pils is the real deal. Get it while it lasts, folks.

— Adam Bissen

ACROSS 1 Pro gp.

5 Tarheel's st.

9 Fat-sounding fish 13 Drying-out time 15 "Bitte ___" (2009 Dirty Projectors album) 16 Wasted 17 "The Devil Wears ___" 18 Watchman's shout 19 Uncle in a rarelyreleased Disney movie 20 First part of a Harvey Pekar quote 23 Second part of the quote 24 Squealer 26 Driller's deg.

27 Angular pipe fitting 28 They're checked at liquor stores 31 Love, Latin American style 33 Instructions part 34 "Don't ___" ("Hitch-

hiker's Guide" motto) 36 Comes to a stop 40 In a playfully reluctant way 41 Third part of the quote 44 Mrs., in Madrid 47 Insincere language 48 Dorm supervisors 51 Old enemy 53 Fourth part of the quote 55 First in the Hebrew alphabet 56 "Mr. Loverman" dancehall singer Ranks 59 Green organism 60 Final part of the quote 63 Perrier competitor 64 Hamilton vs. Burr, e.g.

65 Non-Hawaiian, in Hawaii 66 Take care of 67 In ___ (intrinsically)

Answers to July 29 puzzle Waiting to inhale ... Don't hold your breath

68 Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi DOWN 1 Dada artist Jean 2 Golf great ___ Pak 3 Al who was ordained a minister at age 10 4 Advocate-turnedpresidential candidate Ralph 5 Feature of seven Nolan Ryan performances 6 Wacked out 7 Roman ___ (novel type) 8 Noisy toy 9 Largest of the Greek islands 10 It may be relative to a meteorologist 11 E pluribus ___ 12 Bible divs.

14 Made some barnyard noises 16 Speak slowly 21 It closes some businesses in Europe 22 "Malcolm in the Middle" dad 24 Young Jeezy's genre 25 Doc bloc 29 Tierra ___ Fuego 30 One of a few Russians in 2010 news 32 Spare part?

33 Female pig 35 Mongrels 36 Sleeping tool 37 "What ___ to Wear"

(TLC show) 38 Hall and Oates, e.g.

39 DJ featured on MTV's "The Grind" 40 Shrub that produces a drug 42 "A little bit of ___ get you up" (Mark Knopfler, "Junkie Doll") 43 Hello, in Beijing 44 First word of an Indiana Jones complaint 45 Go back through 46 Audrey Tautou role 48 Look to 49 Lansbury of "Murder, She Wrote" 50 ___ Island Ferry 52 Key in that piano song played with your knuckles 54 "They go", in Spanish 57 "Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My ___" ("South Park" episode) 58 Tournament gimmes 61 Brian who scored the soundtrack to "The Lovely Bones" 62 Letters found on many sunless tanning products For answers, call (900) 226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Or to bill to a credit card, call (800) 655-6549. Reference puzzle #0477.

Visit us online at www.secondsupper.com

Second Supper

August 5, 2010 // 11

THE LAST WORD

The ADviCe GoDDess

By Amy Alkon amy.alkon@secondsupper.com The larva of the party

I love to dress up and go socialize with people. My boyfriend, however, can only smile friendly and chitchat for about 20 minutes before he seats himself in some corner and starts reading the host’s books. Last time we went to a dinner party, I found him alone in a room petting the owner’s dog! I do introduce him around and encourage him to be more outgoing. I think if he’d just make more of an effort to talk to people, he’d have a better time. He says he's not miserable but just can't do this social stuff for long. I love having him with me, even though he’s kind of not actually with me. So, can it work with a selfproclaimed introvert and a party girl?

— Social Butterfly

It’s a party! You’re in your element, making the rounds, meeting tons of new people, racking up invites to parties after the party, and your boyfriend’s, well, probably in that little crawl space under the

host’s stairs.

Sartre once said, “Hell is other people at breakfast.” An introvert sees no reason to narrow it down to a particular time of day.

My own introvert boyfriend is charming and fun one on one, but his favorite kind of party is one that’s canceled, and his preferred RSVP would be something Ving Rhames said on the set of “Out of Sight”: “I don’t want to talk to anybody I don’t already know.”

Ever since Freud decided (sans evidence) that introverts were repressed, narcissistic trolls under the bridge, extraversion has been considered the ideal and introverts have been seen as socially stunted. Introversion is also wrongly confl ated with shyness, but shyness is fear — and shame-based — quite different from seeing no reason to say anything to strangers unless you or they are on fi re.

More and more, research points to a strong biological basis for personality.

Brain imaging shows distinct differences in introverts and extraverts. Studies by neuroscientist Debra L. Johnson and others found that extraverts, who get energized from external stimulation like meeting new people, have increased blood fl ow to rear areas of the brain for sensory processing (like listening, touching, watching).

Introverts, who tend to be more pensive and introspective, and are easily overwhelmed by too much external stimulation, showed more blood fl ow altogether (indicating more internal stimulation), over more complicated pathways, with more activity in frontal regions for inward tasks like problem-

solving, reasoning and remembering. Put that together with a Chinese study adding evidence that introverts get socked with a higher level of cortical arousal from stimuli, and you get the idea that urging introverts to be more outgoing is a bit like urging scissors to be more like a stapler.

So, can it work between you and a boyfriend who probably researches the host’s wallpaper so he can dress to blend into the background? Well, maybe — if you’re independent enough to show up to most events without him as Your Date™.

There will, of course, be times when it means something to you to have him there, and the compromise then is his to make. Be sensitive to his feelings, try to get there early (when the houseplant-to-guest ratio is greatest), and be OK with him eventually slinking off to read “The Life History of the Dung Beetle” or talking to the dog (who’s sometimes the most interesting person at the party).

Toon deaf

date girlier types, and they’re called lesbians.

Otherwise, unless you’re joking, and your date shares your sense of humor, you probably will see a cartoon puff of smoke in her wake if you talk like her elderly aunt.

You don’t have to grunt and adjust yourself every two minutes, but if you’re looking for a conversational role model, lean more toward Clint Eastwood in “Dirty Harry” than Kurt Hummel in “Glee.”

People on dates often blurt out dumb stuff because they’re nervous and sitting across from somebody and have nothing on their mind but “I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY!” You can avoid this if you plan dates that have you going places, seeing sights and showing off your keen powers of observation by pointing out things of interest; for example, “Wow, look at that man running away with your pocketbook.”

Sudoku

Is there any way, for a man out on a date with a woman, to utter the phrase “Whoopsie daisy” and not see a Road Runner cloud where she was just sitting?

— Just Curious

Just wondering, under what circumstances would a man (you?), on a date with a woman, be compelled to utter the phrase “Whoopsie daisy”? Dropped your knitting? Or, was it your Hello Kitty wallet and matching compact?

There are some women who like to

Downtown La Crosse, above Fayzes - 782-6622

top shots joke of the week Two strands of DNA were walking down the street.

One says to the other, "Do these genes make me look fat?

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From page 4

12// August 5, 2010

Second Supper

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