Morning Links for Nov 20 2013

Morning Links for Nov 20 2013

No, magician David Blaine didn’t make more taxis appear on Milwaukee’s streets or Badgers hoopster Frank Kaminsky’s shots go in. But both he and they made it to our morning links. Add another chapter to the gospel of Walker’s Point as Milwaukee’s hot neighborhood. An Associated Press food and travel piece is garnering national attention for such Walker’s Point mainstays as La Merenda, Atomic Chocolate Co. and Great Lakes Distillery, among others. Perhaps it’s another step to alleviating the neighborhood’s “dimly lit streets and empty buildings.” Speaking of food, perhaps you’ve heard of Thanksgiving and partaken of its bounty? But…

No, magician David Blaine didn’t make more taxis appear
on Milwaukee’s streets or Badgers hoopster Frank Kaminsky’s shots go in. But
both he and they made it to our morning links.

  • Add another chapter to the gospel of Walker’s Point as
    Milwaukee’s hot neighborhood. An Associated Press food and travel piece is
    garnering national attention for such Walker’s Point mainstays as La Merenda,
    Atomic Chocolate Co. and Great Lakes Distillery, among others. Perhaps it’s
    another step to alleviating the neighborhood’s “dimly lit streets and
    empty buildings.”
  • Speaking of food, perhaps you’ve heard of Thanksgiving
    and partaken of its bounty? But the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service has a
    look at some newly arrived Americans who hadn’t. Check out the story of how
    international refugees in Milwaukee are being introduced to the holiday.
  • Theoretically, it should be easier to catch taxicab in
    Milwaukee soon. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports how the Common Council
    approved a measure to add 100 new taxi permits over the next year. Detractors
    say the extra cabs will have a negative effect on existing drivers, because
    there isn’t enough cab business to support them now.
  • For the casual sports fan who is only impressed when
    records are set, well, here’s your chance to be impressed. The WisconsinBadgers have been playing men’s basketball since 1898, but nobody had done what
    Frank Kaminsky did Tuesday. The junior center set a single-game scoring record
    with 43 points in Wisconsin’s 103-85 win over North Dakota. His per-game
    average before the outburst, according to the Wisconsin State Journal, was 8.7
    points.
  • And finally, new-guard magician David Blaine got
    Entertainment Weekly and much of the Internet buzzing with his ABC TV special
    last night, largely because he stuck sharp metal sticks through his bodies
    while celebrities watched and squirmed. (Warning – you may squrim, too, if you
    watch this linked video and see some of the accompanying language.) We are
    sorry to report, however, that none of Blaine’s tricks involved using those
    sticks to fix Aaron Rodgers’ collarbone.

Howie Magner is a former managing editor of Milwaukee Magazine who often writes about sports for the magazine.