1. See Mark Z. Danielewski at Boswell Book Co.
ARCHER PARQUETTE, MANAGING EDITOR
When I was but a young college boy with a glint in his eye and a half-eaten pack of Sour Patch Kids in his cargo shorts, an English professor recommended that I read the novel House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. Obviously, it was difficult for me to find time for this in between all the wild parties and crazy adventures of college. (OK, OK, I spent like 85% of my time in the library, and the other 15% wishing I was in the library.) But as soon as I opened the monumental literary horror novel, I was hooked. Danielewski gets real funky with this one – it’s full of textual trickery, constantly playing with form in a way that doesn’t feel ostentatious but instead like a natural extension of the labyrinthine narrative. The story follows a family who moves into a new home and discovers strange, impossibly vast rooms within that defy explanation. It gets much, much weirder from there, and ever since that professor recommended it, it’s remained one of my favorite novels.
All this goes to say that I’m pumped to see Danielewski give a talk at Boswell this Saturday. The author is visiting Milwaukee to promote his new novel, Tom’s Crossing, a 1,200-page behemoth western saga that’s included with the price of the event ticket. I’m excited to hear what he has to say – and to see if he’s as perplexing a figure as his books would suggest.
2. Play Social Deduction Sunday at Indeed Brewing
AMRITA THAKKAR, DIGITAL EDITOR
Lying to your friends is bad, and so is yelling at them – but at Social Deduction Sunday, you can do both in a (mostly) controlled, socially sanctioned setting. In the game room at Indeed Brewing, you’ll find groups of intrepid detectives playing Blood on the Clocktower, a social deduction game based on the age-old premise – which one of these very nice, normal people is actually a cold-blooded killer? The game starts with a scream in Ravenswood Bluff, where the town’s beloved storyteller has just been found hanging from the eponymous clocktower. The storyteller then lays out the game: You, the townsfolk, each have different powers, and must share information to find the evil demon and their minions who live amongst you.
This, of course, is complicated by the fact that the demon continues to commit a murder (or two, or three) every night, you have to be selective about sharing information, and sometimes, good will lose no matter how carefully you put the clues together. Then again, you might be assigned an evil character, and that’s when you get to find out how much chaos you would cause if you were actually a serial killer. Hypothetically, of course.
Games are largely beginner-friendly and take place at Indeed Brewing on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month at 1 p.m. Show up and you might also get a BOGO coupon for a pint or drink of your choice.
Architects, interior designers, renovators and landscapers: Submit your best work for consideration!
3. Listen to Balloon Balloon Balloon by Sharp Pins
EVAN MUSIL, ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
During this crunchy time of year, an album always finds me that I drink up like sweet nectar. It sustains me through the grind and swats away fatigue. Right now, that album is Balloon Balloon Balloon by Sharp Pins, the solo project of 21-year-old Chicagoan Kai Slater. He and his main act Lifeguard are part of a circle of young musicians, including the bands Friko and Horsegirl, who’ve recently shot up in the indie rock world.
Sharp Pins is Slater’s outlet to live fuzzy power pop dreams, by way of Guided By Voices and The Cleaners From Venus. Balloon Balloon Balloon might feel faux if it weren’t stuffed with such delightful hooks, compact songwriting and infectious confidence. “I Don’t Have the Heart” was enough to reel me in, and should be for you, too.
4. Don’t Merge Until You Need To
CHRIS DROSNER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Listen. I know we’re all just trying to be good citizens. I know it’s a bad look in polite circles to speed by slowed traffic in a lane that’s ending in a quarter-mile, and then ask someone who waited longer than you to let you into their lane. But, folks, this is exactly how this is supposed to work. It’s called a zipper merge, and multiple upper Midwestern states, including ours, have tutorials on how to do it – and, notably, how not to do it, which is by merging early.
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Minnesota’s DOT says proper zipper merges can reduce the length of backed-up traffic by 40%. Of course, the reason I bring this up is because many Milwaukeeans confronted with multiple lane closures on I-94 in the western end of the city are A) merging early and B) getting mad at those who aren’t. I was one of them, a few years ago, and it was uncomfortable looking like someone trying to cheat the system. But folks, using all available lanes and then taking turns is the system! And it’s so much better than what we’re doing now.
5. Buy a Gift From the Chocolate Sommelier
ANN CHRISTENSON, DINING EDITOR
Chocolate is, to me, the perfect gift. One of my favorite places to shop for something special, unusual and/or not available elsewhere locally is the Chocolate Sommelier (829 E. Brady St.), which stocks truffles, caramels and chocolate in many forms. On a recent visit, I contemplated a grouping of more exotic bars, including one that included ants, but I think I filled my quotient of ants earlier this year. I love browsing the tiny wrapped chocolates on the main/checkout counter. So many delicious things.
