Fifty Shades

I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the friends and family of Jim Ballweg. I did not know him but being on the Water and Light Commission I know he was loved and will be missed.

A Mass will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at ST. JEROME CATHOLIC CHURCH, Columbus. Rev. Ronald Rank will officiate. Inurnment will be in St. Jerome Cemetery, Columbus. Visitation will be from 5:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. on Monday at the Jensen funeral home and from 10:00 A.M. until 11:00 A.M. at the church on Tuesday. Memorials may be directed to the Columbus High School Athletic Boosters. In lieu of sending flowers please make a donation.

I am unsure what "Inurnment" actually means. 

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Peripheral #1

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Watched the Grammy's last night and I swear there has been a change in the last 5 years.  For a while I hated the award show because it seemed it was 90% Hip Hop.  NOT that there is anything wrong with Hip Hop but . . . . you know!  

The music was pretty darn good until Kanye got on stage with his over modulated computer voice and then Madonna.  A women on facebook commented "well, she is 56 years old" which to me was a slap in the face to 56 year old's and obviously the person who said that was NOT 56 . . . but it was rough seeing an elderly woman on shaky legs "prance" around stage.  Taken by herself she would have been fine but after seeing the 20 and 30 year old's prance around stage  . . .well . . .. you know.

And Sam Smith?? . . . Honestly, the first time I heard his hit song I thought it was a rehash of an oldie, not NEW!!! That is a new song?

And of course there was Kanye trying to get attention by saying Beck should give his Grammy to Beyonce because Beck is not an actual artist.  As one commenter said "I don't understand how a society that puts down rabid dogs for the safety and well being of others manages to let this guy roam around in public, speak, and have babies."

Speaking to the choir!!!
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Then there is a movie coming out this week "Fifty Shade Of Gray" an entry level soft porn BDSM book made into a movie.  Not that I'm against the book or anything.

I call "Fifty Shade Of Gray" the Spotted Cow of BDSM. If harlequin romance novels are the Miller Lite and Budweiser of "sexy" romance then "Fifty Shades" is a Spotted Cow, sort of a gateway book to real craft beer such as "The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy" by A.N. Roquelaure (also known as Anne Rice).

The "The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy" (can also be found in Target with The Story of "O" which totally blows my mind) is full bore BDSM, the high alcohol high hops beer Ale Asylum* puts out.

ANYWAY - the movie is coming out and you can by tickets in advance.  Many many theaters have already sold out the first showing but what I'm getting at is this. . .

Guess what states are selling the most advance tickets.  Arkansas and Mississippi with Tennessee right behind.  In fact "Fifty" is the fasted selling R-Rated movie of all time.

The book has sold over 100 million copies and has been translated in 50 languages!  Sex sells and in sexually backward America where actual sex has been demonized and frowned upon,  this is a surprising development.  (I have not actually read the above book).

 Ale Asylum* - tried their two new brews this weekend.  Velveteen Habit is a Citra/Cascade hopped IPa and I believe it is the best beer they have ever made.  HuMMMane is a India Brown and is delicious, not as robust as Dogfish Head's India Brown, a little tamer but wonderful.
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I just have to show you this - a new penthouse opened in New York.  The bedroom has a nice view.

So does the living room

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You think America has it bad for getting interest on money? The European Central Bank just cut it's rates to -0.20.  MINUS!!

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WOW - has Wisconsin been lucky.  All of these snow storms have zoomed by north or zoomed by south all on their way to Boston who in the last 3 weeks has had 5 FEET of snow.  For the 3rd straight Monday they are getting hammered with about 12-18 inches of snow.  Sucks to be them.

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Last Fridays job report was once again great. But what set this one apart was the revised estimates from previous months. November went from being a GREAT month to near historic with 423,000 jobs in one month.  But the real nice thing has been how steady the job climb as been.

But then there is wages which have been lagging.  Easy answer.  With so many people getting hired there is no need to raise wages. Wage growth always lags behind.  Unemployment ticked up but that is actually not a bad thing because it's because more people have begun to look for work.

Wisconsin ranks 34 in job growth and last in the Midwest even behind ILL.

In the 8 years under Jim Doyle Wisconsin averaged 29.5 in the country for job growth.  In the 4 years of Walker, Wisconsin averages 37.0.

If looking only at the Midwest, under 8 years of Doyle, Wisconsin's average rank was 2.75 out of 7. The four years of Walker 6.75 out of 7.   just sayin'

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I'm still trying to get good photos of the Icehenge in Lake Mills but it's a tough one. There is no contrast between the snow and ice and lots of people.  My plan is a sunset shot and I'll put on a special black glass lens on my camera.  This will eliminate the humans in the photo because it will be an extreme long exposure.  Humans reflect light and with a long exposure if that human moves the light can blend in with the landscape and anything that moves vanishes.  BUT - I need to have the sun in my eyes which is always a problem.

Fire Tree

 But not one I have not dealt with before.   This was actually 12 images on a tripod between Waterloo and Columbus.

Have a great day!