A Night for Menomonie to be Menomonie

Given where I went to High School, I should HATE people from Menomonie. I was taught to Fear them. You see, They had the better football team. The Fear was really a form of Respect.

Football is WAR. It is a Military Campaign with a short time table. There will be a winner and there will be a loser. You must understand this.

The People of the 1^st Nation used games to settle conflicts as well. WAR typically is not a good idea. All the time, effort, and money spent on WAR could very easily go somewhere else. That being said: WAR will happen. It solves problems.

Friday night was a time for celebration for Dunn County. The weather was nice and all the rich out of MUDDUCKS were out-of-town at Country Jam. Menomonie got a chance to be Menomonie. It was also a BEER release party for an Upstart Wisconsin Brewery.

A spiced blonde much in the tradition of the Belgians, this beer fit well with the summer heat. I look forward to having it again. Full Disclosure: “with yeast” beer at Das Bierhaus, coffee at The Raw Deal, “single feather” at The Den, shot of espresso at Legacy Chocolates, “summer beer” at The Logjam, (2) “Mississippi’s” at the Stout Ale House, and a bottle of Fanta.

The Firehouse beer dump in photos

Hipsters dump PBR.

...it’s like WATTS. Destroy something you love to prove just how angry you are. Of course the facts of this event can be called into question, but what is certain is everyone in attendance had a great time, met some like minded people, and drank beer.

A N.O.R.M.L. Thursday night was turned into a major cultural event. That doesn’t happen all that much. Take notice: If you declare a holiday people will celebrate. That simple. We don’t just drink for Badger and Packer games. Drinking in Wisconsin needs no excuse, but we’ll take one.

My hype of Jews, Vikings and “Other Whatnots” may have been out of line. Perhaps. That talk is what I hear when I subject myself to FOX “news.” HATETALK gets them attention. So why not me? The graffiti nearby made me feel safe. I had some threats throw my way in the days leading up to this event. Needless to say, I was a little on edge for the whole thing.

Be the change you see. Wisconsin needs to get its’ shit together. FAST. Bitching at each other is not working. We are a fucking joke to the rest of the world. Education, YES. Environment, YES. Health Care, Yes.

It is a smart move on their part to cut funding to Education. That way people will be stupid enough to elect these Fucks again. And again. And again. God damn it. They are Winning. They have more money and are on a mission from their Old Testament God to turn Wisconsin to Shit.

What does all this have to do with Beer, Wisconsin, or Music? Not too much, I guess. It looks like I’ve turned “wisconsinbeerun” into my own soapbox to bitch about shit. Which is fine. But not what I was hoping “wisconsinbeerun” would be.

I’ll gather some funding and support and come back with a more focused example of Wisconsin, Beerm and Music.

Origin of “Hipster”

The term “Hipster” is a reference to a poem by Ginsberg's epic poem "Howl", in which he celebrates his fellow "angel-headed hipsters" and harshly denounces what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States, is one of the classic poems of the Beat Generation

The Beat Generation was a bunch of really creative people who traveled a lot and saw a lot of things.  They did not fit in.  But they hung out with each other even though they didn’t always get along. 

Too much information and not enough information are creating the same problem.  Don’t make an important decision under a timeline.  Breaking news is typically not very important.

The first thing “white” people did was “remove” the original people.  The second thing “white” people did was exploit natural resources for quick economic gain.  Only a few “white” people were able to benefit from this.  You can make a lot of money by exploiting people, or exploiting natural resources, and even more by doing both.

Manufacturing waved bye, bye to Eau Claire long ago.  If it is not made in China we probably don’t need it.  Also not a good idea to dump chemicals in a river.  Or promote family members who take advantage of the company plane.  There is a reason everyone hates you but no one will tell you that.

Fear.

You hire people with a limited skill set, exploit that knowing full well these people have no other option.  Move the company.  You will never expand out of the midwest and will be bought out by some Asian People.  You offer noting of Cultural Value to out city.

Eau Claire is now the Cultural Center of the world.  The middle class is the new Casa de' Medici. Since you do not like culture or the middle class we are asking you to leave. 

Beer in (Eau Claire) News

Sorry to be so specifically "Eau Claire" today. I recognize (unlike most of Hipster Nation) that a universe exists outside of this fine city. Despite being named "Madison" Beer Review, I try not to focus too much attention here (much like "Harvard" Business Review does not only report on Businesses that come from Harvard). But there were two bits in today's State Journal that I thought were interesting.

The City Council has extended the Alcohol Density Plan for the time being. Basically, this plan acts to put limits on things like:

- How many liquor/beer licenses can be issued
- What kinds of establishments can be issued liquor licenses
- How long the city has to fill "expired" or "returned" licenses

The plan puts a cap on new alcohol licenses unless the establishment falls within a "protected class" such as a "movie theater" or basically anything that isn't a "bar." The plan allows for up to seven new licenses in the Density Area (basically the Mt Simon area including all of Water Street) for such "protected" venues.

If this sounds like the city of Clearwater hates bars it's because ... well ... the City of Clearwater hates bars. They attract all the wrong sorts of people - habitual drunks, child molesters, and muggers. Thankfully habitual drunks, child molesters, and muggers never go to concerts, movies, or restaurants; we can safely allow alcohol there.

"We don't see any data that connects (the density plan) to reduced crime," said Mary Carbine, executive director of the city's Central Business Improvement District, at Tuesday's meeting. "We do see data that shows a tangible link between problem establishments and crime."

That's right. Beer doesn't molest children, people molest children. It is possible to serve alcohol in a responsible manner; it is possible to consume alcohol in a responsible manner. Rather than focusing on the "type" of venue that can serve alcohol, it makes more sense to ensure that alcohol is being served in a responsible manner. I recognize that it is far easier to just regulate the "thing" (alcohol) than the actual problem, but, hey, like my mother once told me, nobody said life is easy.

Speaking of the Nanny-State. Turns out we have a Mayor with a brain. Mayor Paul Soglin wants to repeal a law passed last year that would require the police to keep and distribute (with photos!) a "no serve" list. An establishment would be fined if it served someone on the "no serve" list. We talked about this law last year when it was passed and I noted that: "The only 'crime' is being drunk too often - and for that we, as society, are going to pre-emptively, maybe, possibly, prevent someone from, maybe, committing the 'crime' of panhandling while intoxicated for the seventh time."

Mayor Soglin's far more reasoned take is that we should actually look at the root of the problem. What?! I know. Crazy talk.

Soglin said he first wants to explore all options to help a small group of habitually intoxicated people get access to treatment.

Of course, this is, also, not without controversy. It is far easier to just say "No, Wille Horton. You can't have beer today. You've already beaten up 6 people." Than to say, "Hey, dipshit, stop beating people up and get some help."

Episode L: Velvet Rope

Episode K: DejaVu