College for Kids 2014

If you do even the most basic of searches here on Slapinions you'll find near annual posts about College for Kids at UW-Milwaukee. I'll skip the usual recitation of accolades about the program - all deserved - and just go over this years experience. 

Here was this year's lineup: 

Discovery Camp 3

Junie: 

9AM  Creating with Recycled Products

11:30AM  Plants around the world

2PM  Navigating Africa

Smiley:

9AM  Food Chains

11:30 AM  Blueprints to Buildings

2PM  Plants around the World

YaYa:

9 AM  Royalty

11:30 AM Ethics

2 PM  Kinetic Creations

LuLu:

9AM Royalty

11:30 AM  Ethics

2 PM Blueprints to Buildings

**NOTE: Due to scheduled appointment’s both Smiley and YaYa will miss at least one class, and possibly two, during the week

Discovery Camp 2

Junie: 

9AM  Japanese

11:30 AM  #10 and Beyond

2 PM Puppet Storeytime

Smiley:

9AM  A Capella 

11:30 AM  Music of the World

2 PM Japanese

LuLu : CANNOT ATTEND – PRIOR COMMITMENTS

YaYa:

9AM  Geocaching

11:30 AM  Japanese

2 PM The Writer’s Den

There were some changes along the way. That A Capella class of Smiley's was an error on UWM's part and he had to go into Puppet Storytime, the only class with an opening in his age group. He was SOOOO Angry, but in the end he loved the class (as did Junie, who took the later time). The teacher was great, and the class was mainly about puppet making itself, with the kids actually sewing their own puppets! (He thinks they should change the name to make it more appealing though!)

All the kids enjoyed Japanese, where they learned some basics of the language and wrote their names in Japanese script. 

YaYa didn't enjoy the teacher from the writing class but enjoyed the course. 

LuLu actually wound up taking a single morning class (geocaching with YaYa) in the second week. We then picked her up to take her to a 3 day dance intensive class out on Brown Deer Road. 

Royalty was loved by Lu, and enjoyed (but not to the same extent) by YaYa. 

Surprisingly, both of the girls really loved Ethics class. They learned the six pillars of ethical behavior and engaged in daily debates on controversial subjects. They couldn't stop talking about the class on the morning we asked about it!

Anyway, part of our tradition is a visit to Eeyore's house, a downed tree in Downer Woods that resembled the famous character's home. I say "resembled' because nearly a decade has passed and time and weather has knocked it apart. 

I took the kids on a hike from the Union to Downer Woods to keep up the tradition. 

Here's the house: 

I love these pics of the kids of TeamSlap!

Another great year! What a great program!

RIP Robin Williams

About an hour ago I posted the following on Facebook:

OMG - RIP Robin Williams, age 63. Early reports indicate it was suicide. 

I have to admit, the news of his death has really knocked me into a funk. Maybe the initial reports are wrong, but with so many sources citing suicide and talking about the depression he was fighting in recent weeks, I have to imagine he surrendered to his demons.

I have personal experience with depression, and have been affected by others attempting suicide. A few generations back suicide claimed the life of a direct ancestor. And so on, and so on.

As far as I'm concerned, depression is damn near as viscous as the worst of physical ailments.

If you are battling depression and contemplating suicide, there are places and people that can help.

Rest in Peace Robin Williams. You made this world a happier place while you were here. 

Btw, the generation gap is a real thing: the kids didn't care about Robin Williams' death until they realized he played Peter Pan in Hook, Then, they were upset.

Vote on August 12th!

The race for the local state assembly seat has been fiercely contested, and the candidates have visited my neighborhood incessantly . How often do we see a candidate? Last week one of them, Jonathan Brostoff, was taking to a neighbor of mine when he stopped to wave hello and call out "Hi Dan".

Now, I've been told I'm hard to forget, but either he's got the memory of a born politician, or he and I have conversed far more than the norm for a primary election. As annoyed as I am by the constant swarm of candidates, I'm happy so many people care about our area and its future.

For the record, my vote is going to Brostoff. This being a progressive enclave of Milwaukee, all the candidates are left of center. That goes for Brostoff too, which isn't where you'd normally find me. But he seems to have a solid head on his shoulders, and a coherent grasp on the issues facing this community,even if we disagree on a few of his solutions, I admire his work with the homeless in our city, and from what I can tell from our conversations, I like him personally.

 So, there ya go. My votes for Jonathan. 

No matter who you choose, get out there on Tuesday and vote. If you don't make your voice heard, you can't t complain when the politicians don't listen. :)

Riots

ABC News is reporting of vandalism and looting in "protest" against a police shooting in Ferguson, MO. I fail to see how looting a liquor store or stealing a TV raises awareness for civil rights and police restraint, but #whatdaIknow

Lu at the Driving Range

I took LuLu to the driving range tonight, her first time ever holding a club. She was persistent, and by the end of the bucket had gone from "swing and miss" to socking some a few dozen yards down the range. On the way out we stopped at the putting green, where I somehow sank two long back to back putts, earning me some respect in her eyes. Great fun - and thanks to their reward program, only $1 too!

Ambassador Kennedy

Er, did you know the current US Ambassador to Japan is Caroline Kennedy (the daughter of JFK)? I sure didn't. Good for her.

Say What?

Some young black girl is lighting up my phone, begging me to answer her texts and calls. "Me" being "Dyshun", a [presumably] black kid who apparently sounds a helluva lot like a 40 year old white guy on the phone, because she won't take my word that I'm not her estranged soulmate.

Dropping Junie off at Camp

Opinions Needed

Need an opinion here; the second team in the draft is locked into a trade that forces him to lose his first round pick. I now have a shot at Megatron or Peterson. I also have Phillip Rivers on my bench as a 10th round keeper. I was just offered the following: 

Largest trade offer in league history!!!

Slapjacks get:

7th round (4th pick)

7th round (12th pick)

9th round (11th pick)

10th round (14th pick)

11th round (14th pick)

Taco Supreme gets:

P.Manning (slotted in the 1st)

10th round (3rd pick)

11th round (3rd pick)

12th round (3rd pick)

13th round (3rd pick)

14th round (3rd pick)

The NASCAR death of Kevin Ward

Not a fan or huge expert on auto racing . . but I've seen the video of Kevin Ward's death and there's no way you can blame Tony Stewart. Ward exited his car, stomped down the middle of a live race track and appeared to have gone so far as to swerve *into* Stewart's car as it tried to avoid him. That's nuts. My thoughts are with Stewart as he deals with being sucked into such a tragedy.

Still Miffed

Me? I'm the guy who just drove by the parking lot at Miller Park and screamed out the window "Bring back A-Rod! Boycott Selig!" while the union-busting, unconscionable masses trotted out to reward their billionaire puppetmasters.

The loss of the Photinia

Many years ago, when I was just a small child - I put it at around 1978 to 1982 - I remember a merchant vessel running aground in Lake Michigan, just off the shore here in Milwaukee. That's a little fancy for the way I *actually* remember it: "Stuck in the mud" is the way my young mind learned of it, and "Stuck in the mud" is still the way I think of it today. I vaguely recall the ship making the front page of the local paper(s), and I clear as day remember my Dad taking us to watch the ship from shore. 

The thing is, for the longest time I seemed to be the only person in Milwaukee who remembers this. Heck, I once asked my Dad and HE had no recollection of the event. I even put feelers out from time to time online, and no one had any leads. 

I was beginning to think I took a minor incident - say, a yacht or powerboat getting stuck - and inflated its importance in my young mind. And that was a shame, because it was such a powerful memory from my childhood, even though it probably consumed all of half an hour of my life and by any objective evaluation was minor and inconsequential.

So I put out a plea on FB: 

I think I've mentioned this before, but let me ask again: when I was a kid, sometime around '78-'82, there was a merchant ship that got stuck off the coast of Milwaukee ("stuck in the mud" is what I recall). It was on the front page of the Journal for a minute, and my loopy kid memory says it might have been stuck offshore for up to a month. My Dad took us kids to the lakefront to look at it at one time. Does anyone else recall this?

This time though . . . this time Lisa's Uncle Bruce saw my request for information and not only confirmed my memory, he came up with hardcore information proving it!

The picture below is of the Photinia as it lay stuck off the shore of Milwaukee. It was waiting to enter the Port of Milwaukee with a load of grain when she dragged anchor and got caught on a reef. 

The helicopter in the photo is presumably helping rescue the 33 crew members on board (all survived). The Photinia was declared a loss and scrapped. Additional information, as relayed by Uncle Bruce, can be found below, along with two pictures of the ship in happier days. 

Oh, and the date of this event? May 13, 1978. That means I was four years and two months old when this happened, and the memory of it has stuck with me all these years. Strange, the human mind, no? 

Thanks again Bruce!

PHOTINIA Other names : none Official no. : BR187933 Type at loss : propeller motor freighter, steel, bulk fright Build info : 1961, Redhead & Sons, South Shields, England Specs : 480x60x25, 7,660 gt Date of loss : 1978, May 13 Place of loss : off Milwaukee Lake : Michigan Type of loss : storm Loss of life : none Carrying : light Detail : Having just come up from Chicago, the ship was standing off Milwaukee, waiting to enter the harbor to load grain, when she dragged anchor and went on a reef off St. Francis Power Plant. Her crew of 33 was rescued by Coast Guard helicopters, and the vessel was later brought in to Sturgeon Bay. There it was decided that, due to the heavily damaged condition of her bottom, she was a constructive total loss of $2.5 million. Had participated in the repair and laying of communications cable near New Zealand in 1977. Image from AtlanticCable.com Sources : nsp,is(3-78),mpl,ac

Several readers correctly identified the April mystery ship as the motor vessel Photinia. Ray Hedley (3rd Mate Photinia 1969) of Sudbury, Suffolk supplied the following information: Photinia was built by John Readhead & Sons, South Shields for Stag Line Ltd, North Shields, and was delivered in 1961. The 7,665gt vessel measured 480ft by 60ft and had an average speed of 13 knots. She was a 10,500dwt bulk carrier, with four holds separating the aft and midship accommodation/bridge, and a further two holds forward of the bridge. She was a tramp ship, and was used to carry any type of bulk cargo. Like most of the Stag Line vessels, she often traded in the Great Lakes when they were ice-free. In 1965 she had a career change when she was converted by Readheads into a cable layer, and Harry Pollitt’s photograph was taken while she was loading cable in Manchester, at BICC’s (Glovers) submarine cable loading gantry on Trafford Wharf, Manchester Docks, prior to sailing to New Zealand, where the cable was laid in the Cook Strait. The job was completed in May 1965, and for a while she remained on charter to BICC, laying a further cable between the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Following the removal of the cable-laying gear, Photinia returned to tramping. In May 1978 she was caught in a bad storm while anchored off Milwaukee in Lake Michigan and was driven aground, fortunately without loss of life. She was declared a constructive total loss, but was eventually refloated and towed to Sturgeon Bay, where her machinery was removed. Over a year later, in November 1979, she arrived in Kewaunee, Wisconsin and was broken up for scrap. In 1961 Photinia had cost £919,216 to build and 17 years later, as a total loss, she realised £953,426 from insurers.

Baloney

ABC News is reporting that the death this week of James Brady (the Reagan Press Sec. wounded in the 1981 assassination attempt) has been ruled a homicide, with Hinkley named as his killer.

 [crickets chirp] 

Uh, a.) he was 73 b.) the family said he died of natural causes c) the shooting was 33 years ago. 

I know I've only taken one criminal law class in my time at Marquette, but good luck selling that shooting as the proximate cause of his death. And isn't it understood that for a wound to be responsible for a homicide it must have occurred within a year and a day of the death (at least in WI)? 

If he was an average Joe, you wouldn't hear squat about such baloney. It's an attempt to garner some free press and make a pitch for gun control all, as usual, on the taxpayer dime.

Kudos

Kudos to President Obama for authorizing airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq. He should have done it months ago, just like he should never have left the country to twist in the wind alone in the first place, and in the end the job probably won't get done without boots on the ground, BUT . . . it's something.

After a 3 day truce Hamas launched 50 rockets into Israel today, and in return Israel has resumed strikes against Gaza. Somehow, the Big Media will mold this into an undeserved act of Israeli aggression.

Enough PR

We may be done watching #ProjectRunway for the year. Sandhya won - AGAIN - and once again, it was with an ugly, POS design that the judges lapped up despite the evidence in front of their eyes. No doubt the woman can spin a good story describing why her ugly work is fraught with symbolism, but she cannot design clothing worthy of the show. The judges are casting their ballots based on her ethnicity and *not* talent. #reverseracism #PCrunamok #jumpedtheshark #done