Play "Clue" Live in Waukesha and Zombie Walk

We are in this! I should ask Rich to audition as Colonel Mustard. I have never played Clue, but I saw the movie.

And also the following weekend... Here is more info.

This is gonna be a fun October! Someone at Dells gonna be super jealous.

Another coming event

Art Crawl is coming next weekend. We will have the reception for our current show "WOMEN" by Carroll University's own Art Czar Phil Krejcarek, and an up and coming artist Michaela Marecek. Waukesha Tattoo Blend popcorn from POPPIN ON BROADWAY will be served and Sprecker root beer. The show is R-rated so you know.

Downtown Waukesha will be a happening place once again, but there is another way to see downtown...

Just because I am too fat and too lazy to ride a bike, it does not mean I won't promote a good thing! :)

Lucky 13

13 is our number, and no, we are not affiliated with an east coast gang. 13 is always a lucky number for the tattoo world. 13 means a lot for us and on every Friday the 13th, we will only tattoo #13 tattoos for $13 (with a $7 tip).

The first Friday the 13th is coming up in August, we do not know if there will be lines of people, a few people or somewhere in between, but we cleared our schedule and will do walk-ins all day, first come, first serve. We are coming up with a sheet of #13 designs to pick from, and we will be ready for this.

We will be open at 11am and close at 9pm, we are still trying to have a special guest there for a book signing as well, but that is TBA. :) With you new #13 tattoo, you can also go see a special Friday the 13th show by PUT HER IN THR TRUNK for free (21 or older), just show your new #13 at the door!

How did the street closing do?

Wife and I walked to Rochester's Deli for soup and sandwich, and the place was packed as usual with some familiar faces. I also could not resist their addictive pecan bar. Freeman's Friday Night Live was going on, lots of police presence.

I do not know how it went for the other merchants, my last customers parked all the way on the other side of roadblock and walked down to us.

Any report from anyone else? By the way, one comment and one reply was removed by request. I am back to moderating the comments. Keep it civil, please; we are all in this together.

Thumbs down from Huck.

Any advice?

I am hoping to make the shop more cyclist friendly, but I am not sure where is a good place to put a bike rack.

This is all said after an unruly kid charged down the sidewalk on his BMX with no helmet, and ran right through several adults' stop signs to leave a mark on the freshly poured concrete for Bill's memorial.

Good Old Bill would say that kid is a "Crotch Dropping".

Street Closing 4

I do think there are some serious issues to be considered, because there is a fine line between using the public resources/space for a greater good and harming other business establishments.

Should Main St be the next Fremont street in downtown Vegas? Should Farmers' Market be held right on Main St. instead? Did any other more moderate option considered and tried before closing part of Main Street?

When the venue grows too big, perhaps it is the responsibility of the organizers to provide security and workable solutions.

We support a vibrant downtown, also an united community and we do urge everyone to tread on this carefully. We are interested at solutions, not emotional talk points.

Last weekend for Summer of Giving!

Here is the press release once more!

You still have time to enter the raffle, you can win more than one envelops containing poker chips range from $500 to $5. More entries mean more chances to win! The easiest way is to clean out your food pantry and bring them down to donate!

Summer of Giving

Waukesha Tattoo Company is proud to announce the Summer of Giving. A raffle which started on Saturday, July 10^th and continue until Wednesday, August 4^th. There are three charities that the staff of Waukesha Tattoo Company are helping by making contributions to. The first is the Waukesha Food Pantry. This organization is wonderful in helping those in need of necessities in Waukesha County. They supply food; nonperishable and perishable items including fresh meat and milk, baby food and formula. They also provide personal hygiene items such as shampoo, soap, toothpaste, diapers and so much more. They also facilitate clients' links with local agencies for budgeting assistance, food preparation, medical issues, and employment assistance. They work with existing community resources that supplement limited budgets by providing school supplies and medications. For every $5 worth of food donated or $5 donation made, you will receive one entry into the raffle if it's donated at the Waukesha Tattoo Company's collection bin, located at 463 W Main St in the beautiful West End of Waukesha.

The second is the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Children's Hospital is one of the nation's leading pediatric facilities and is a level 1 pediatric trauma center. They are a private, independent, not-for-profit hospital that provides care for children from Wisconsin, Michigan, norther Illinois and beyond. They have over 70 specialty clinics that provide diagnosis and treatment for a wide variety of pediatric disorders. In addition to the clinics at the Milwaukee hospital campus, there are also outpatient services located in other areas such as the metro Milwaukee area, Waukesha, and northern Illinois. This is such an important facility to have available to the children of the community. They continue to conduct further laboratory and clinical research to discover new treatments, preventions, therapies and cures for patients. For every $5 donation made to the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, you will receive one entry into the raffle. Any donations made can be done online at www.firstgiving.com/waukeshatattoo.

The third and final charity is the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The MDA is a nonprofit health agency that is dedicated to curing muscular dystrophy, ALS and other related diseases through world-wide research. The MDA provides comprehensive health care and support services, advocacy and education. The MDA supports more research on neuro-muscular diseases than any other private-sector organization in the world. The Association's comprehensive services and programs include diagnostic and follow-up consultations, flu shots, support groups, MDA summer camps for children, a medical equipment loan program, assistance with equipment repairs and resource referrals. Waukesha Tattoo Company's very own George Wang will be participating in the MDA Lock Up. He's being locked up for a good cause. Only your donations will bail him out! For every $5 donation to the MDA, you will receive one entry form into the raffle. Any donations made can be done online at https://www.joinmda.org/MyLockup/MyHomepage/tabid/161695/Participant/waukeshatattoo/Default.aspx.

These three charities are so important to people in our community, surrounding communities, and around the world. Supporting a cause that will go to medical research to help find a cure for disease, feed a family in need, or fund treatment programs for children are all so important. Giving back to the community is something the staff at Waukesha Tattoo Company holds very dear to their hearts. They continue to donate to numerous charities, participate in fundraisers, and donate gift certificates to auctions. They truly care about this community and encourage everyone to do what they can to help where help is needed and ultimately assist in making the community the wonderful place that we all know it is. For every $5 donated to any one of these three charities, you will receive one entry into the raffle. A person can win multiple times. The more you donate, the more chances you have of winning prizes like the top prize of a $500 gift certificate poker chip, you can use the chip for tattoos, merchandise, art or acupuncture. The raffle will continue until Wednesday, August 4^th at noon. At 3:00pm, the drawing will take place. All winners will be notified and will be able to pick up their prize(s) on Saturday, August 7^th at 8:00pm. If unable to do so, you may designate a staff member of Waukesha Tattoo Company to draw for you and have it mailed to you. For further information, please go to the company website, www.waukeshatattoo.com. Good luck everyone!

Welcome to the WTC@GE team!

We have a new team member! Our new shop manager is Lynda, many of you might have seen her around downtown already!

Come in and say hi! She will be the new face greeting you as you walk in!

New Picture This!

Hmmmm, where can this be? I have NO CLUE!

Be careful Mr. Mayor

Downtown street closing will be a tough subject to deal with and if not handled with care, it can really rip the community apart more.

Be ready for a firestorm. It WILL be complicated.

Street Closing Part 3

This is a hot topic among downtown people, and all I have to say is that there is a reason we have a property with a private parking lot. A lot of merchants do go out and set up their business with enough space for certain options. Sprizzo has its outdoor garden, Magellan has M2, Nice Ash expanded to next door.

I can see outdoor dining is one thing to find that balance of public safety and creating an unique atmosphere for downtown. BUT closing down some streets including a part of Main every Friday night? What do you do with Clarke Hotel guest check in? What do you do with business on the West End?

I do support the LePien Option of giving up street parking instead of street closing. OR set up in a park, riverwalk parking lot, a side street,or even negotiate to use a private parking lot (hint...Main and Clinton, Avalon, Ace, Discount, formerly Walgreen site).

Street Closing part two

Dear Downtown Constituents,

Regarding Friday Night Live street closings, I support the police department in shutting down streets to maintain pedestrian safety.

I do not know which streets specifically they will or will not be shutting down. My understanding is that this Friday night will be the first test of how this works. I will be down there to observe.

My recommendation is that we see how this works and then have a large group meeting sometime next week to discuss

Jeff Scrima

According to the Webster’s dictionary the definition of Main Street is: The principal street of a small city or town. That got me thinking about the “heart”; (an organ that supplies blood and oxygen to all parts of the body), of downtown Waukesha, or any downtown for that matter. What happens when someone has a heart attack? The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute say that a heart attack occurs when blood flow to a section of heart muscle becomes blocked. If the flow of blood isn’t restored quickly, the section of the heart muscle becomes damaged from lack of oxygen and begins to die.

So why I am giving you a refresher course in Biology 101? To express my concern of street closures in the “heart” of Waukesha…the downtown. There is talk of closing Main Street on Friday nights. The reason? To accommodate the crowds of people that are coming down to listen to the many bands that are placed on various streets throughout the downtown known as Freeman Friday Night Live.

I think it is great that this event has become so successful that the organizers feel the need to close Main Street. As a business owner on West Main Street, I would like to keep the blood pumping throughout the entire “heart”. There are a lot of different parts to this organ that need to work properly in order to keep the heart healthy. To those in charge and to any future business owners, PLEASE take into consideration how closing streets is just like blocking an artery. It would be a shame to have a heart attack when it could be prevented.

Katie Stewart
Katydids

Hello fellow colleagues and team members of downtown Waukesha,

I heard via the grapevine that Main Street will be closed for all Friday Night Lives. It is most unfortunate as a taxpayer, B.I.D. member, resident, and landlord to several downtown businesses that I have to find out through the grapevine. I feel this is a joint effort and all should have been notified of the street closing before a decision had been made.

I love Friday Night Live and have no objection to the event at all. I actually think it is a great event for all involved, not only the owners of all businesses but the Waukesha community as well. It is a nice way to showcase the downtown.

What I am concerned about is no one was notified of the decision. It is not for only the Merchant Association to decide. Not all persons downtown are members of the Merchant Association. What about persons who reside downtown in the apartments? What about the businesses on the West End? With WI avenue closed and persons coming from Milwaukee it would be a challenge to get through. We worked too long and hard to remove the Spring House and open up the downtown and now we want to close it again. What if the Art Crawls start asking to close streets? Let’s have meetings that all are made aware of and can voice their opinions too.

It is common sense if a band or duo is booked to entertain in front of stores that people will congregate. My suggestion is to block off all parking on Main St. (we have plenty of parking structures to accommodate) and still keep Main St. open for traffic.

We still have the stigma of “I can’t navigate around in Waukesha” Let’s get rid of this stigma and leave streets open to the public. Let’s make it fair for all who have a common interest in the downtown.

From the outside looking in I don’t see team players in the downtown. We should all be looking out for everyone’s interest. I see pettiness and bickering and jealousy. Let’s stop and get along. The downtown is thriving and we should all hope to keep it that way. There will be times decisions are made and not all will agree.

If we all are in this for the same cause and work as a team, the downtown will flourish even more. Isn’t this everyone’s main goal? How cool that people talk about downtown Waukesha and how great it is. I’ve been down here for 20 years and this is a first. Kudos to Downtown!

Thanks everyone for listening to me.

Carol LePien

I think it is the police's choice to close the streets for safety. However, I do support the LePien Option. Give up street parking but keep the street open.

Street closing?

There are some talks of street closing during Freeman's Friday Night Live for public safety. I do hope there will be detour signs to direct people to come in from the West End of Main Street instead.

The easiest way to downtown Waukesha is really through the West End. All you need to do is take HWY F straight south, pass all the STOP LIGHTS, cross the river, and make a left on the STOP SIGN.

There are usually street parking at the beautiful West End, but that is a secret for people who knows. :)

I AM RICH!!!

Just received this in my email:


Your Email ID has been awarded 1,000,000,00 GBP in the Tobacco Promo send your:

Name:
Address:
Tel:


IS that 1 mil or is it 100 mil? I don't know, that makes a big difference if I reply or not.

No brawl

Fellow blogger Brien "Call me Bruce" Lee and I were at the meeting tonight, figuring there will be a brawl between politicians. What we did not expect was two of the Waukesha's Finest breathing down our necks in case we, I mean Mr. Lee starts any trouble. Big time celebrity blogger Mr. Wigderson was sitting in the more civil and unguarded section, I was only able to shake his hand after the meeting. There were people lined up to talk to him. (Perhaps he is the few people Mayor Scrima wanted to talk to after the vote.)

Was there tension, you bet, there were even a little spat between the Mayor and the City Administrator, but it was clear to the audience that certain information did not get to who need to see them before the media did.

I was there during the mayoral campaigns, and witnessed an angry exchange between then Mayoral candidate Scrima and Alderman Paulson, I do think all the information was quite clearly presented tonight and yes, I do support the application going forward after the presentation. For the future of Waukesha, it is clearly the best option by far.

Now for the political life of young Mayor Scrima, I do think there is a window of opportunity right now. No more talk of conspiracy. He can still declare some kind of victory. He can claim that he secured a promise of the 164 million set as a firm number with 25% extra already built in. He can still say he stood up for the taxpayers BUT with the clarification, he now fully supports the council and he stands with them.

Mayor Scrima, you DO have a team of extremely smart people, and they are all around you but you do have to be on that team. For the future of Waukesha, I beg you to see that there is a silent majority out there whom love to see Waukesha prosper and want a good clean water source for their kids and grand kids. A political fight in the public is not good for business, and a little trust does go a long way.

P.S. A complete coverage here.

hmmm

Guess what I am doing tonight?



The Taiwanese Terror....ha ha

Disclaimer: I will be very respectful and I will just be there to listen.

From WCCC

On Tuesday, July 27, at 7:45 p.m., the Waukesha Common Council has scheduled a special meeting to formulate its response to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources regarding the city's stalled application for Great Lakes water.

Prior to Tuesday's meeting, the Waukesha County Chamber of Commerce believes it is important to briefly review several facts central to the Chamber's ongoing support of the City of Waukesha's pursuit of Great Lakes water.

When did the Chamber first support the city's effort to pursue Great Lakes Water?

In 2007, the Chamber adopted a resolution supporting the Great Lakes Compact, and in-turn the City of Waukesha's effort to secure Great Lakes water as a sustainable and cost-effective means for addressing the city's critical water needs. The resolution was reviewed and approved by the Chamber's advocacy committee, executive committee and board of directors. The Chamber also hosted a well-attended public meeting in which proponents and opponents of the plan were given the opportunity to debate the issue and share their views.

When does the city have to be radium compliant?

The city must be radium compliant by 2018-as ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and reaffirmed by the courts. While this may seem a distant date, the reality is many steps still need to be taken before a Lake Michigan water source can be made available to Waukesha residents and businesses - including approvals from the other Great Lakes states, negotiations with a provider such as Milwaukee, Oak Creek or Racine, and the planning and building of the new water system itself. The Chamber believes it is critical to move forward with the application now if the EPA's 2018 deadline is to be met.

What happens if the city isn't radium compliant by 2018?

If the city isn't radium compliant by 2018, it faces fines of up to $80,000 per day until it achieves compliance. Extension of the 2018 deadline is highly unlikely, as previous extensions have been given and already considered by the courts. Failure to meet the deadline will result in costly EPA enforcement action against the City of Waukesha.

How extensively has the water issue been examined?

Addressing the city's water needs has involved countless hours and resources, both internal and external. Specifically:

· Waukesha Water Utility:

o Held 41 open, public meetings.

o Contracted with six different engineering firms to analyze the water issue, including the various options from a sustainability and cost perspective.

§ Results: A 2,000-page analysis, from which the city's application for Great Lakes water was derived.

· SEWRPC:

o Leading the effort to develop a regional water plan, SEWRPC organized a regional advisory committee of 32 experts, which met 21 times to discuss water supply. Experts included environmentalists, planners, water experts, scientists, as well as leaders in the academic community.

· City Council:

o Held numerous pubic information sessions and thoroughly reviewed the data prepared by the Waukesha Water Utility and SEWRPC.

o After years of study and public input, the Council ultimately concluded the Lake Michigan water was the only cost-effective and sustainable source of water for the city and voted 14-1 this past April to advance the application.

Conclusion:

At Tuesday's meeting, the City Council is expected to revisit a multi-supply option that was previously reviewed and dismissed. The Chamber encourages the Waukesha business community to get all the facts and weigh this option (and others) according to the following criteria:

· Does it provide a long term, environmentally friendly, sustainable (with equal usage and return) water supply for the city?

· Does it provide the greatest value for the city, with both capital and operating costs providing the least impact on water bills?

Action Item:

· The Chamber will be monitoring upcoming Council action and attending Tuesday's meeting in order to reaffirm its support for the city's application seeking Great Lakes water. A statement will be read.

· The Chamber encourages its members to attend Tuesday's meeting (7:45pm - City of Waukesha Council Chambers) and speak out in support of the city's application seeking Great Lakes water. If you cannot attend, please take a moment to contact your alderman and ask him or her to continue to support the city's application for Great Lakes water:

Alderman Terry Thieme - (262) 524-1627

Alderman Eric J. Payne - (262) 544-4688

Alderman Christopher Hernandez - (262) 446-9739

Alderman Joseph M. Pieper - (262) 896-0454

Alderman Paul Ybarra - (414) 807-7858

Alderman Paul Furrer - (262) 436-1159

Alderman Peggy Bull - (262) 547-3552

Alderman Vance Skinner - (262) 643-5213

Alderman Kathleen M. Cummings - (262) 853-6272

Alderman Steven G. Johnson - (262) 547-6814

Alderman Roger Patton - (262) 951-1391

Alderman Charles Lichtie - (262) 547-7930

Alderman Rick P. Tortomasi - (262) 544-5373

Alderman Joan L. Francoeur - (262) 547-9149

Alderman Duane Paulson - (262) 542-4174

Thanks for the plug!

Fellow blogger and neighbor Curt Otto mentioned us in his latest and long awaited entry. His art school must be doing really, really well, or he is too busy building his 2012 bunker. I do think it is the first one.

We like to extend our offer to use our basement/bunker but I have to find the entrance first. I do have a feeling where it is.

Interview Day

Barry, Rich and I conducted the first round of interview today, we did have a lot of interest and we are very thankful for that.

There will be a new team member soon after all these rounds of interviews. I do think the newest team member will bring a new energy and perspective and make us all better. We have so many dreams and we will rely on the next team member to get us there as a team.

Deep in my heart, I do believe what will be will be and karma will decide.

It was a long day and more to come but we are excited.

Wise words

From Freeman's Pete Kennedy:



"As the mayor, Lombardi used to tell aldermen, “We can agree to disagree, we can debate. We will have a vote and we will leave these council chambers respecting each other.

“That all has fallen apart.”

Now other things might start falling apart. Attracting businesses and development is hard enough during booms. The economy isn’t booming, and this water thing doesn’t make us look too hot.

“People bumping heads is not attractive,” Lombardi said.

So now what?

Pursue the Lake Michigan water, Lombardi said. She has no doubt it is the best option, and that tapping the lake will become more urgent as the federal government enacts even more stringent water rules.

“We have to have an additional source as we get into the future,” Lombardi said. “Why would we not want to get this process started to see if Lake Michigan will even be an approved source?”


Mayor Scrima, are you listening?


"So what should happen? Scrima should listen to the experts who investigated this matter, starting in about 1985 or 1990, Lombardi said.

One of those experts is the much maligned Dan Duchniak, general manager of the Waukesha Water Utility. Duchniak is smart, competent and professional, Lombardi said.

“Dan has great respect in his water profession,” Lombardi said. “Waukesha is extremely fortunate to have him here. It boggles my mind when we have an educated professional making that recommendation” and Scrima won’t listen, she said.

Duchniak wasn’t hired to blindly pursue Lake Michigan water, Lombardi said. Members of the Waukesha Water Utility Commission and aldermen had never predetermined that Lake Michigan water was the way to go, either. Instead, they pursued a variety of options and dismissed them one by one based on much study. Eventually, Lake Michigan water stood alone.

And now, years later, many of these same “ideas” have resurfaced. If pursued, they’ll eventually be dismissed again, though a lot of precious time will have been wasted along the way. "

The question is...

WHO HAS THE BEST PIZZA in downtown Waukesha?

I am on a mission...

Rosati's and Magellan's are the ones to beat right now, but Clarke Hotel's is yet to be reviewed.

Pizza war anyone? Perhaps EAT would like to contribute to the debate.

The best burger for me is Taylor's People's Park right now and they are tough to beat at this point. (Yet to try Fuzzy's.)

The best sandwich is Rochester's Deli for sure, I am addicted to the Daily Double. (Unless Crazy Train comes around with the Nacho cheese covered Italian beef.)

The best mango smoothie is Steaming Cup, that is a no-brainer.

The best house wine... Clarke and People's Park both have delicious reds.

The best horchata is at Casa Del Rio.

The best fish fry is Eric's for me.

Best breakfast? Best coffee? Best dessert(Pecan bar from Rochester Deli?...)? Best martini (that lemon thing at Clarke is the front runner right now!)? Yet to be determined.

...but you find the best donuts in Waukesha Tattoo Company @ Galleria Edge on Saturdays! :)

P.S. I think the BID should have the Band of Bloggers form a panel to come up with some reviews or power rankings...

heaven for foodies

It is Friday night and downtown Waukesha is a heaven for foodies!

Robin, our acupuncturist, Rachel and I decided to go for fish fry after a long day working, we went to Eric's because I was craving for the roasted chicken they have. (But they were all out!) No matter, I still managed to filled my belly with fried fish and German potato salad. If that is not enough, we topped it with some gelato.

We were invited by Dan from Magellan's for a drink but we were so full, I did see Detective "Player" as well hanging out with some friends. I invited them to come tomorrow for some donuts... even though he had switched to bagels.

Rachel just requested Magellan's for tomorrow night, I still would like to try the Chicken Alfredo pizza Barry had been raving about.

It is very kool seeing Clarke hotel bar packed, Magellan packed, People's Park packed, Social Club packed Sprizzo's packed at 10pm, it was also nice for us to discover some other places like Beading Hearts, Chill. Downtown Waukesha is alive and people are working hard to make it truly a destination.

If you noticed how kool downtown Waukesha is, tell a few friends and bring them down. If you haven't, come and see it for yourself!

*Kodiak Kid, make a note that we ARE going to Magellan's for pizza tomorrow night, you should bring Mrs. Kodiak Kid down for some awesome pizza (and garlic bread.)

Update: Chicken Alfredo pizza at Magellan's was pretty good, but I do prefer their sausage and pepperoni pizza.

Update 2: I have to give the best pizza sauce to Magellan's. Clarke's pizza crust is thinner, which is pretty good. I wonder if they deliver.

Let's go, Waukesha

Despite all the political drama, we, the merchants and property owners have to make Waukesha better ourselves.

Coming soon! To City of Waukesha

I shake my head.

It is a political "Show" and it is designed to show one's followers how "passionate" one is with one's cause, unfortunately a lot of the followers do not understand the rule and procedure and act on raw emotion, like a mob, then the band of politicians start to act like a mob as well. Once you pull one stunt, you have to up it and up it or no one will pay attention.

This is a dangerous game, and a total lack of respect.

If it comes down to "choosing sides", I rather see peace, order and respectful disagreement.

Well written by Mr. Wigderson:

Reading the newspaper this morning I found this part particularly interesting:

The crowd of people supporting the mayor erupted in applause, stopping a long-time practice to not allow clapping, booing and cheering during Common Council meetings. Little was done to stop the clapping, but Merchle’s comments frustrated at least one alderwoman.
“The mayor should tell,” Alderwoman Peggy Bull said about the recent decision to change Luther’s contract. “Ask the mayor why.”
Scrima refused to comment on the issues leading to the change in Luther’s employment contract prior to Wednesday.
Alderman Charles Lichtie attempted to stand up for the Common Council until he was called out of order by the mayor. The Common Council and city staff are not allowed to address citizen comments during the meeting unless the issue is placed on the agenda prior to the meeting.
“I am tired of week after week of everybody diminishing this council,” Lichtie said. “… If you don’t like it, run for alderman yourselves.”
One person in the crowd was upset by Lichtie’s comment as the person yelled “Go home” to the alderman.
Bull asked the mayor to stop the clapping from the audience as it continued, to which another person in the crowd loudly commented, “What about the First Amendment?”
The disrespect shown during the public comments frustrated downtown resident Vicky Hekkers, who said during the meeting she had shown up to support the mayor.
Hekkers told The Freeman on Wednesday that conflict is needed for change, but the conflict needs to be done with respect.
“I did not come here for this, I will go home,” said Hekkers during the meeting. “… These people work very hard. I see both sides.”

Perhaps I’ve been to a few more Council meetings than you, but the behavior never sunk this low even during the Frame Park debate. That it was allowed to do so by the Mayor should send a clear message to the members of the Common Council that they are dealing with a different political animal, one that is not interested in reasoned political debate.

Say hi to Mickey!

Grandma Anne and our niece Kaytie are moving to Florida, of course they are flying out tomorrow morning and tonight is like 2012 already.

We had to drive Kaytie back to Milwaukee, but we avoided the trouble area and we did alright. I do think this is a good time to negotiate for water with Milwaukee, they have a bit of a surplus problem right now.

The TV news just said the airport is closed...

I have to go find my life jacket, Fox River is looking kinda high.


P.S. The TV news reporter said : This is a FLUID situation.

Picture This

I have a pretty good guess, because that is coffee in the background, and only one place in Waukesha carries Barries' Brother coffee.

Don't you think it is about time I win one?!

So kool!

$125 if you have not reserved one, men and women sizes available but not for long, some size is down to last one already! This will sure be a collector's item! (People from Europe are asking about them! )

We have only made one youth size jersey and that is ordered just for my niece Lyra, oh, it is so cute.

Once these are done, we will be doing hockey jerseys!

(Thanks to Barry for modeling, he can be for sale too, but the galleria does take a commission. )

Guest Artist Coming!

The good thing about have a nice studio is that we can now attract national /international talent to come to Waukesha, and really show off what a nice place downtown Waukesha is to everyone that comes here.

We do like to announce we are a stop in Ken Karnage's tattooing tour during 8-18 to 8-21. He is our first of many guest artists to come. Who knows which famous tattoo artist will be next? :) ( I think Kari Barba said she would to Rich, she gave me a tattoo in 1991 and it was rejected in a tattoo show because " it looks like a painting and not a tattoo", she was way ahead of the time as far as female artists. )

Rich is our tsar of tattoo world relations, and much credit to him to promote us in that arena. All is coming together, folks, Waukesha was known locally for its tattooing for years and now it will go national!

Getting things done

The bench and the stone plaque are here, we have all the elements to start renovation the front below the outdoor sign. If the weather gets better, the painter should also be ready to paint the outside.

The jersey shipment should be coming this week, we are all very excited.

We do have to start the search for the next team member to help us out, and it is now ongoing.

Summer of Giving is also in full swing, we just need to get the words out there. We do need all the support we can get.

We met with Adam from Nilson Studio and we do plan on tricking out few more things yet. I do hope people come in and expect new creations because it is an art space, and it should be always evolving.

Summer of Giving

Summer of Giving

Waukesha Tattoo Company is proud to announce the Summer of Giving. A raffle which started on Saturday, July 10^th and continue until Wednesday, August 4^th. There are three charities that the staff of Waukesha Tattoo Company are helping by making contributions to. The first is the Waukesha Food Pantry. This organization is wonderful in helping those in need of necessities in Waukesha County. They supply food; nonperishable and perishable items including fresh meat and milk, baby food and formula. They also provide personal hygiene items such as shampoo, soap, toothpaste, diapers and so much more. They also facilitate clients' links with local agencies for budgeting assistance, food preparation, medical issues, and employment assistance. They work with existing community resources that supplement limited budgets by providing school supplies and medications. For every $5 worth of food donated or $5 donation made, you will receive one entry into the raffle if it's donated at the Waukesha Tattoo Company's collection bin, located at 463 W Main St in the beautiful West End of Waukesha.

The second is the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Children's Hospital is one of the nation's leading pediatric facilities and is a level 1 pediatric trauma center. They are a private, independent, not-for-profit hospital that provides care for children from Wisconsin, Michigan, norther Illinois and beyond. They have over 70 specialty clinics that provide diagnosis and treatment for a wide variety of pediatric disorders. In addition to the clinics at the Milwaukee hospital campus, there are also outpatient services located in other areas such as the metro Milwaukee area, Waukesha, and northern Illinois. This is such an important facility to have available to the children of the community. They continue to conduct further laboratory and clinical research to discover new treatments, preventions, therapies and cures for patients. For every $5 donation made to the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, you will receive one entry into the raffle. Any donations made can be done online at www.firstgiving.com/waukeshatattoo.

The third and final charity is the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The MDA is a nonprofit health agency that is dedicated to curing muscular dystrophy, ALS and other related diseases through world-wide research. The MDA provides comprehensive health care and support services, advocacy and education. The MDA supports more research on neuro-muscular diseases than any other private-sector organization in the world. The Association's comprehensive services and programs include diagnostic and follow-up consultations, flu shots, support groups, MDA summer camps for children, a medical equipment loan program, assistance with equipment repairs and resource referrals. Waukesha Tattoo Company's very own George Wang will be participating in the MDA Lock Up. He's being locked up for a good cause. Only your donations will bail him out! For every $5 donation to the MDA, you will receive one entry form into the raffle. Any donations made can be done online at https://www.joinmda.org/MyLockup/MyHomepage/tabid/161695/Participant/waukeshatattoo/Default.aspx.

These three charities are so important to people in our community, surrounding communities, and around the world. Supporting a cause that will go to medical research to help find a cure for disease, feed a family in need, or fund treatment programs for children are all so important. Giving back to the community is something the staff at Waukesha Tattoo Company holds very dear to their hearts. They continue to donate to numerous charities, participate in fundraisers, and donate gift certificates to auctions. They truly care about this community and encourage everyone to do what they can to help where help is needed and ultimately assist in making the community the wonderful place that we all know it is. For every $5 donated to any one of these three charities, you will receive one entry into the raffle. A person can win multiple times. The more you donate, the more chances you have of winning prizes like the top prize of a $500 gift certificate poker chip, you can use the chip for tattoos, merchandise, art or acupuncture. The raffle will continue until Wednesday, August 4^th at noon. At 3:00pm, the drawing will take place. All winners will be notified and will be able to pick up their prize(s) on Saturday, August 7^th at 8:00pm. If unable to do so, you may designate a staff member of Waukesha Tattoo Company to draw for you and have it mailed to you. For further information, please go to the company website, www.waukeshatattoo.com. Good luck everyone!

***Good job, Amy, this is a nice press release. I am still sorry to see you go.

Sadness and hope

Waukesha Tattoo Company had to say goodbye to Amy as our manager tonight, I am especially sad. It was a professional decision by the owners and nothing more, but it still really sucks.

I hope she had a good experience with us and we wish her all the luck on future endeavor.

She helped me with a lot of projects and I will not forget that. I know I will miss her around the shop. Thanks, Amy, for all your hard work and I do hope you reach your dreams and be all you aspire to be. Don't ever let someone or something define you. For every door that closes, there is another opening.

Thanks and good luck.

You make the call

Here is the Mayor Scrima's position.

Here is the Common Council President Paul Ybarra's position.

The water issue is not likely gonna get better, just look at the western states fighting over the water rights.

Guys, lay your cards on the table and get it figured out. The mandate is to listen and serve.

Conversation

I have many interesting conversations at work, recently some pretty good life experience stories and some insight to serial killers.

One of my customers was approached at a motel lobby by an man to offer her free breakfast years ago in Kansas, she did not go for it, and years later, she saw the same man on history channel as a serial killer and she would have been one of his many victims.

We were then talking about neighbors who are not social. Could their backyard be full of bones?

I said, no, they are likely gamers or bloggers... ;)

For the Star War fans

http://thebubble.msn.com/video/?id=25ad20e1-c48f-43e7-b4a6-e3c24e23bbd1

Tough girl

I can not imagine 4 hours of tattoo on the ribcage, I have one on me that was 3 hours.

I had a customer last night did that with zero movement, not even a whine or anything. It was her second tattoo ever.

That settles it, she is one tough cookie, Barry and I were both amazed. I know I would at least whine a little.

This week's Picture This

I totally know where this is, not from the slogan but from the building behind it!!!

A gift certificate from here will be VERY awesome...

Planning my escape

https://www.joinmda.org/waukesha2010telu/waukeshatattoo

The bail is set pretty high, and it will be a long and lonely walk back to the shop once they realize they do not have someone of any significant importance in their hands.

Thank goodness Waukesha still has a bus system.;)

Cruise Night

From Jo Ann of Ferris Travel

Ferris Travel is having a "Cruise Night" on July 30, from 6p-8p at our office, 223 W. Main Street. A representative from Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines will be here to discuss their incredible ships, fantastic cruise itineraries and one of a kind features. We will have refreshments and prizes as well as discounts on cruises. No pressure to buy...just a night of discovery. I realize it is a busy night for everyone with Friday Night Live going on but please stop by if you get a chance and discover Royal Caribbean's "Nation of Why Not". Tell your friends!

We are No. 50!

Check this out!

Let's keep the momentum going and make Waukesha better and better.

We will do our part!

Mini Facial treatment at Moxie and WDBA meeting

Today is another spa day for me. I told Sabrina I will be trying the facial treatment and it was very relaxing. I highly recommended.

It was very different than the last facial I had, that one I thought someone peeled my face off. I had always have acne problem, even if I am way old for that. It was way overdue.

We also hosted the monthly Waukesha Downtown Merchants Association for the first time. It was a full house! We featured the cookies from Cookies Galore and More, and I can say only a couple was left from three Baker's Dozen.

We were also asked to be hosting a reception for Art Alumni of Carroll University Homecoming in October. We might also be part of CLUE in downtown Waukesha later in October. Not mentioning the Waukesha Zombie Walk on Oct 30th...

West End is gonna be a happening place... :)

looking for some love

This is the email I sent out

https://www.joinmda.org/waukesha2010telu/waukeshatattoo

I am here for offer you a bribe, for every $5 you donate to bail me out for a good cause, you will receive an entry to the raffle we are running. We will draw 13 winners on Aug 4th and you can win more than once. The winners will get to pick out one envelop out of 13 each on Aug 7th during Art Crawl ( We can pick it and send it to you if you are out of town). Inside each sealed envelope is a gift certificate poker chip. You can win the top prize of $500 and you can use that for tattoo, merchandise, art, or even acupuncture. More entries means more chances to win and you can win several envelops.

Of course if you think bailing me out of Texas Road House is not the thing to do, you can donate to Children's Hospital here, http://www.firstgiving.com/waukeshatattoo

or bring in non perishable food items or money to the shop http://www.waukeshatattoo.com for the Food Pantry, same term applies for every $5 worth of food.

Please tell all your friends and support all of these charities. Any little bit helps and I thank you for your support. George

Public service announcement

Watch out.

Mural

Look what I've found! This is what is going on the wall by Discount Liquor!

On our walk back yesterday, we also discovered a very nice drawing of a cherry blossom tree design posted in Moxie, could that be another tree in the works for the West End Tree Project???

A lot of people are putting in a lot of effort to make downtown Waukesha unique and beautiful, for that I salute you!

No duel

Ms. Kool reported that no water duel happened, even though fellow blogger Mr. Wigderson saw more water than needed. He did raise a lot of money for charity. I guess I have to do my part now, I am going to be locked up next month. However, to make things interesting, Waukesha Tattoo Company is running a big raffle to benefit three charities. MDA is just one of them. For every $5 donated, you gains one raffle entry. You can win one or more of the 13 prizes. The top prize is a $500 gift certificate poker chip! You can gain entry here to support the Children's Hospital, or bring non-perishable food to the shop for the Food Pantry. You can donate money to them or for every $5 worth of food, you also gain one entry. More entries means more chances to win, and you can win them all! You can use the poker chips for tattoo, merchandise, art or even acupuncture. For more detail, please see here.

Of course I hope there is enough donation to bail me out of the lock up...

By the way, thanks for the visit by another fellow blogger Brien Lee. Hey, you are always welcome here, we are a band of bloggers.

Dinner at the Clarke Hotel

Barry, Rachel and I decided to try out the new menu at the Clarke Hotel Chop House.

The rain had just washed down the street, and the walk down Main was nice and easy. The dining room was about half full and there seems to be a whole lots of new staff there. The new management must be doing something right.

I ordered the New York Strip, Rachel ordered the special: fillet with crab meat on top, along with their delicious $3 house wine. Barry had his favorite hard to find vodka and a salad, he had a late lunch.

Our hostess was young but she did a good job, we had a nice meal. The steak was tasty and just a hint of sea salt, the grilled vegetable was nicely flavored. Rachel was also impressed with their signature five lilies soup. I have to take my fellow foodie and steak connoisseur Kodiak Kid there.

Since we just went through the remodel, we did have some observations: I still think there should be an entrance lead right to dining room, we also noticed the chandeliers are hanging quite high, we think they should be lowered to create some compression, give guests more of a sense of intimacy.

Next time we go back, I will try their pasta dishes and the pizza. We will see who has the best pizza on the Main Street. :) (Barry said the Chicken Alfredo Pizza at Magellan's is just out of this world, I am a Alfredo aficionado so I will be trying that soon.)

P.S. A bit of sad news that Red Stone closed. I never did get a chance to try the crab cake people are telling me about.

The sign is done!

Before

After



Next project: Painting, change the ceder shingles and re-do the space below the sign.

Another thumbs up

Fellow foodie Kodiak Kid and I visited Magellan 2 last night, since he requested some good pizza in Waukesha. So far he had given thumbs up to the burgers and fries from People's Park, and hooked on the popcorn from Poppin' on Broadway.

The pizza did not disappoint. It looks just like another pizza, but when the ingredients are the real stuff and the sauce is perfect, it fools the eyes but not the stomach.

The garlic bread is made with real garlic too, imagine that!

I once stood on a balcony of a hotel in Las Vegas overlooking the city, I realize with my "donations", (sadly) I build that city. I think I can proudly say that with Waukesha as well, with my lunch and dinner money...

It is good to be in downtown Waukesha.

Friday reading

Taoism is a philosophy or way of life that may have been started by a man named Lao Tsu (or Lao Tzu) who lived a little before Confucius, about 600 BC. Tao means the "way" or the "path". According to the traditional story, Lao Tsu worked as a librarian in the emperor's library (this was in the Eastern Chou dynasty).

Lao Tsu believed that the way to happiness was for people to learn to "go with the flow." Instead of trying to get things done the hard way, people should take the time to figure out the natural, or easy way to do things, and then everything would get done more simply. This idea is called "wu-wei", which means "doing by not doing".

Taken from here.

Life does not have to be full of friction. Sometime less is more.

I did not win AGAIN!

So I did not win the contest as I predicted... I am really confused about this one now... hmmm, what and where is this? Is this a bank? I need a hint here!

Cookie Galore!

I had not traveled past Rochester's Deli for food for a while, and today I decided to go check out Cookies Galore and More.

They were out at our space during the July 4th Parade and I am ashamed to say I did not give them any business yet. Perhaps the pecan bars at Rochester's Deli stopped me from going any further, but today is the day.

I have the Baker's Dozen and my favorite is the peanut butter with chocolate chips. It is moist and soft like a dream. People at work are giving me evil eyes...

Go check them out, they can use some support during the road construction time. These are good cookies.... ( No, Ms. Wife, there won't be any left to take home. )

It has to be even better!

Have you seen our new outdoor sign yet? It is up and it is lit at night.

Of course it is being painted again. It was good but it will be even better!

Come by and see the progress! The WTC is now in CHROME!

Ash Bum T-Shirt

I got the Nice Ash newsletter all the time and since it was one of Bill's favorite hangout and his artwork is still their logo, Nice Ash has a special place in my heart even though I do not frequent.

They had done a very good job and Nice Ash is really a big part of the downtown Renaissance. The bartenders are always nice and on Mondays and Wednesdays: Poker in the Ash-hole (The basement that is.) I did it a few times but I did not last long.

When I read that they have Ash Bum tees available, I have to have one! I believe they are in limited supply and even qualify you to some drink discount in the future....

I will be sporting the shirt proudly, for my buddy Bill.

Yes to less drama

We all have things happening, and instead of making an emotional issue, can we just deal with them rationally?

When one make things so stressful as one set such a high expectation, it is a setup to fail. Take things as they are, and with logic.

A sharpshooter can panic if he is standing on the edge of the cliff and expect to perform his duty, not if he can calm himself and do it as if he is on flat ground.

Drama is the way one forces stress on everyone around. It sucks and it drains energy. Yet some people prefer the drama and waste everyone's time and resource.

Less drama please, think of the big picture.

Spa Day

Wife and I had a rare day off together, and she felt like a spa day.

She wanted me to go to her nail salon for a pedi together and Cheri Nails actually was open yesterday.

For married couples out there, especially the husbands, you really should try a good pedicure with your wife sometime. It is relaxing and your wife will appreciate it.

( You do not have to have your toenails painted BTW, only if you want to.)

Now I have to go to Moxie for a facial...

It's on!

Mr. Wigderson made it official.

...I know I have a rag arm but cowardly!? I have a legitimate excuse with a signed note from my parents... I have to work, so I will send my wife who played collegiate sports to take some shots at Wiggy if it does not conflict with her busy shoes shopping schedule.

When is the wing eating contest? I might be able to make that one...

MIT

MIT (Made In Taiwan) is the new label coming out of Taiwan.

Here is Taiwan's latest contribution to the world.

(Hey, if we clean it, do we get to keep the oil?)

The find

Hidden treasure like this can be found in the Farmers' Market on Saturdays in Downtown Waukesha.

I know a lot of people are super jealous right now and I will make sure I enjoy every bit of this pie!

Gridlock

With all the conspiracy talk, and one group going against another, is Waukesha living through an epic movie plot?

I remember watching CNBC over the election, and they said if there is a split house/senate and president, the market goes up.... because through all the gridlock, NOTHING GETS DONE, therefore no change will take place.

If this model holds true, I guess we business people will just have keep our noses down and keep on working hard and not expect much change coming from the local government.

I am not taking sides, but how much political drama do we need in Waukesha?

Peace, dude. Let's get things done and do what is best for the city.

The Duel

VS.

Local celebrity and columnist James Wigderson is calling out Mayor Scrima for a "Duel" over "Water".

I think for a good cause and some levity, Mayor Scrima should toss a few balls at it. ( Or at least hire some ex-baseball players as ringers. ) It would be a good practice for throwing out First Pitch at Frame Park in the future.

Only Nixon can go to China and only Kirk can go to the Klingons.

Wouldn't you pay just to see this happen? It would be quite a media event, well, at least for a bunch of Waukesha bloggers.

( My Major Little League fastball tops out at 56 mph, so is my change-up. I have to send my wife up to throw if it comes to showing Wiggy some support.... :( )

Best of luck

A colleague from the past is making the move to the Dells. I guess her new professional home will be across from Noah's Ark. You will not find me anywhere near a water park...

Best of luck, Shugar.

The turn around team

Managers of Clarke Hotel came to visit us today. Chad and Anthony are pretty nice guys. They told me about some new things like Walleye and Perch for fish fry, also a TAKE OUT MENU! They even delivered some appetizers to our neighbor Moxie the other day.

They are a part of downtown community, and they do need our support. Please do take the politics out of this because like it or not, all the downtown business are interlinked. We want everyone to be successful and be an asset to this greater puzzle of things.

Of course for some I just need to say DOLLAR MARTINI ON TUESDAY! :)

Public Enemies No. 1

#1 on the so called "Enemies List" is gonna be here!

My wife just might think he is gonna be there.



:)

new one for contest!

I was so wrong on the first one!....

Now this can only be of two places in downtown Waukesha!

$20 worth of chocolate covered goodies...hmmm, I think I can do it. Just watch, I will be the next winner!