Marian Call 49>50 Tour

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Kevin A. Barnes

Note: Although this review is for Marian Call’s house concert in Wisconsin on May 27, 2010, her 49>50 Tour continues through January 2011.

Marian Call house concert in WisconsinSinger-songwriter Marian Call1 has been performing throughout the U.S. and Canada since April with her 49>50 Tour.2 On May 27,3 Call played an intimate house concert for about 40 people in West Bend, Wisconsin.

Call is an independent singer-songwriter who lives in Anchorage, Alaska. She describes her songs as “acoustic folk funk with a twist of jazz, both heartfelt and humorous” and her live performances showcase both the playfulness and emotional range of her compositions. Call has released two albums: the limited edition4 Got to Fly which was specially created for an audience of science fiction aficionados (although the songs on the album all transcend that genre), and Vanilla which demonstrates her breadth of talent in both singing and songwriting. She is currently at work on her third album, Something Fierce. Read the rest of this entry →

Notes:

  1. Marian Call website, @MarianCall, Flickr tour photos [↩]
  2. The tour is called “49>50″ because Call is taking it from the 49th state — Alaska — to all 50 U.S. states (and parts of Canada). Call is driving to every state except Hawaii, which for obvious reasons requires an airplane flight. [↩]
  3. Yes, I am extremely late in writing this review. Fortunately I still have the notes I jotted down immediately following the Wisconsin concert. [↩]
  4. Less than 100 CDs remain for purchase [↩]
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The Milwaukee airship sightings of 1897

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Kevin A. Barnes

Airship over Milwaukee City HallIn 1896 and 1897, before the first successful dirigible flight had even occurred,1 people across the U.S. reported seeing mysterious “airships” flying over major cities and rural communities alike. While in grade school, I remember reading how one of the most intriguing sightings occurred in Milwaukee where “thousands of witnesses” claimed to have observed a “machine” or “airship” fly in over the city, hover over the new2 City Hall for 15 minutes, and then fly away in the direction from which it had come.

When I recently took Milwaukee Ghosts’ Third Ward Walking Tour, I was reminded of the Milwaukee airship mystery. After the tour, I dug out the old boxes of books, magazines and newspaper clippings I had collected as a child,3 with the goal of seeing what — if anything — had been historically established or generally accepted about this strange Milwaukee incident. Read the rest of this entry →

Notes:

  1. Most historians date the first successful dirigible flight to November 3, 1897 near Berlin, Germany. A dirigible employs a rigid structure, in contrast to balloons or modern blimps which hold their shape because of the pressurized gas they contain. [↩]
  2. Milwaukee’s City Hall had just been completed in 1895 and at the time it was the world’s tallest habitable building. [↩]
  3. During grade school, I was fascinated by the subject of UFOs (no doubt because of the cool technology they appeared to employ) and at that time I also collected information about Milwaukee’s 1897 airship sightings. I had intended at some point to use that research to either write a nonfiction book about the Milwaukee airships, or perhaps use it to spur a historical novel exploring the (fictional) secrets behind the airships. Now that I’ve dug out all of this material, my childhood desire to write a book about the Milwaukee airships has been partially rekindled. [↩]
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The ghosts of Milwaukee’s Third Ward

Posted on August 15, 2010 by Kevin A. Barnes

Milwaukee GhostsLast evening, I finally1 took Milwaukee Ghost’s Third Ward Walking Tour. It was an entertaining, intriguing and educational 90 minutes. The tour currently includes 15 stops and covers such historical stories as the Great Third Ward Fire,2 the shipwreck of the Lady Elgin,3 the Milwaukee River serpent4 and the airship sightings of 1897.5

Regardless of whether you’re a skeptic or a believer in ghosts and the paranormal, this walking tour is a fun way to spend an evening. Ghost walks of the “Bloody Third” Ward are available most Fridays and Saturdays (and by appointment) from May through November. The cost is $10 per person.

Notes:

  1. I’ve been curious about this haunted tour ever since I first heard about it. [↩]
  2. On October 28, 1892, fire destroyed sixteen city blocks and 410 buildings in Milwaukee’s Third Ward. [↩]
  3. On September 8, 1860, the passenger steamer Lady Elgin collided with the schooner Augusta and sank off the shores of Waukegan with over 300 Milwaukee residents on board. It is estimated that one in every three Third Ward residents lost a family member or friend in the tragedy. [↩]
  4. Beginning in 1867, various witnesses reported seeing a “serpentine creature” swimming in the Milwaukee River. [↩]
  5. On the night of April 13, 1897, police and residents near downtown Milwaukee reported seeing blinking lights from “an airship” moving above the city. The sighting was one of dozens reported across the US during 1897. [↩]
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A new hope for science fiction on television?

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Kevin A. Barnes

Syzygy NetworkThose of you who know me are probably aware of how I frequently rant about SyFy (previously known as the SciFi Channel). This once promising science fiction cable network has devolved over the last several years into a dumping ground of cheaply made monster-of-the-week movies,1  paranormal scam-of-the-week reality shows2  and wrestlemania smackdowns.3

The good news is that a new science fiction cable network is in the works — Syzygy Network. The network has been quietly in development for two years and has just begun to go public. And based on what the network’s founders are saying, it sounds like a welcome alternative to SyFy, especially for viewers seeking something a little more intelligent. For more information, check our their website4  and their Facebook page (where they already have over 7,500 fans).

Notes:

  1. Mega Python vs. Gatoroid, Sharktopus, Bats: Human Harvest [↩]
  2. Ghost Hunters ad nauseum, Destination Truth [↩]
  3. Yes, I know that on occasion SyFy will have a show like Battlestar Galactica or Stargate, but that is the rare exception. [↩]
  4. Okay, is it just me, or does Syzygy’s website need a serious design update so it looks a little more science fiction and a little less ... um, 1998? [↩]
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Five people I’d like to meet

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Kevin A. Barnes

This week BizTimes.com ran an article about the “10 People who are Changing Milwaukee” and it started me thinking about the various people I’d like to meet.

Before creating my list, I set a few basic ground rules:

  • Unlike the BizTimes list, the people I want to meet could be anywhere — not just in Milwaukee.
  • No one would be included on the list merely for their celebrity status.
  • To keep the list manageable, and not dilute its value in my mind, I’d limit my list to the top five people.
  • The list would not contain anyone I already know or have already met.1
  • Everyone on the list is still alive at this time.2  They also must be real people — fictional characters need not apply.

I did some thinking, ranked people and selected the top five. So in no particular order, here’s my list of The Five People I’d Like To Meet: Read the rest of this entry →

Notes:

  1. That would somewhat defeat the purpose of the list, wouldn’t it? [↩]
  2. Sure I’d love to meet Einstein or Gandhi, but given the lack of affordable time machines, that is not going to happen. [↩]
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