Sunday, January 22, 2012

The Big Chill

Over the weekend, we a festival here in downtown Racine called the Big Chill. Among the attractions were the Door County Sled Dogs and a snow sculpting contest. I didn't go (I'm not much of a fan of the cold weather), but I took these pictures as I passed through downtown. Had to hurry up to take the pictures, rain was coming in as it was slowly was dissolving the artwork.


Hello from the Big Chill.



Magnum Tractors built in Racine at J.I Case



I don't think that is Clarence Clemons



I'm not sure what that is, but it looks cool...



A vision of paradise on a tropic island....



Mice fighting over cheese?

20 comments:

OrbsCorbs said...

Thank you so much for the pics, drew. Last year I made it down there for this. I didn't have the chance this year.

kkdither said...

Very nice pics, drew. Thanks for posting. I didn't get down there, either. They almost look like marble. The artists are really amazing.

lizardmom said...

I was down that way Saturday night for a party for my sister at John's Dock and completely forgot to look for these, we came and went home via Spring St or whatever it's called, so close and yet so far :( thanks for taking and posting these Drew!

Anonymous said...

Nice pictures and that is some cool artwork in the snow.

With the picture taker, and the 3 who left comments, that is 4 for 4 who didn't go to the Event. I didn't go either. To me this says something:

Downtown is not as important as it once was.

City Halls constant infusion of money and attention to downtown is all wrong.

The centers of attraction and importance have moved.

DodgeBoy said...

We went yesterday afternoon. While it wasn't extremely cold, it was very windy with a heavy mist slapping you in the face. From what I saw through my mist covered glasses I was very impressed. I liked the Skeleton and the Gears Of The Mind the best. We then scurried across the street to the RAM to check out the polymer clay exhibit. Very cool stuff.

DodgeBoy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jedwis said...

Wow... some really talented artists, do we know where they are from?

MinnesotaChick said...

Very cool! Thanks Drew!

OrbsCorbs said...

Anonymous, I agree that the huge amount of money poured into downtown is misspent, especially when you consider that half of Racine is ghetto. However, City Hall and DRC have been in bed together from the start. Tax dollars will continue to be overspent and misspent on downtown as long as the cronies exist. Funny how we never hear about the riots downtown on First Friday drunkfests (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALD-jukoGfY), but we were bombarded with racist propaganda about Park 6. Our police chief even swore out an illegal warrant against the place. He was warned it was illegal, but they went ahead anyway. Now it's tied up in court (where all of lying John's lies end up) and we will pay through the nose for it. Always the piggies on top stealing our money for their friends.

Race hatred and greed - that's what downtown Racine means to me. Why the hell does all of our money go into one little area that produces so few jobs? Now we have to pay for a marina for the rich to park their boats while they get drunk downtown. $6.7 million and how many jobs will that produce? 10? What a fucked up mess from fucked up, lying "leaders."

Anonymous said...

OrbsCorbs - That Drunkfest may be a good thing for Downtown. Here is a recent article: "Binge drinking by Americans is much higher than originally thought—especially among the more affluent households, a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control finds." http://www.cnbc.com/id/46072292

Perhaps the old Zahn's could be turned into something ala "NITRO" (Industrial Strength Entertainment) that used to be in Milwaukee. Empty buildings could be turned into "theme specific" party spots/hotels and driving a privately owned vehicle Downtown would be illegal. Everything would be by foot, City approved Taxi, or Bicycle Rickshaw. One could go from party spot to party spot safely and a place to crash would be available. This would also create a lot of jobs - for everybody. If it's what we got - take it and run with it.

Perhaps we need to bring back some venues like "Tubby's" - I still remember it from the day. Las Vegas style games and entertainment would also be a nice edition. I could go on, but... just a thought.

Toad said...

Drew, GREAT photo's.

Toad said...

Orb's, How do you feel about the JT. publishing the names of the people that signed the recall papers for V. Wangaard? I think they should post the MILLION names that signed the Walker papers. LOL

kkdither said...

Toad, there are 30 pages of pdf scanned files. The JT didn't publish these, the GAB did. It is public record, but by making them available online, it adds the intimidation factor. Nice political move.

My name is in there somewhere. Good luck finding it. It takes forever just to open one of the documents.

They should be worried. They should be very worried. They were elected to represent the people's wishes. They ignored the mass opposition to what they were doing. They used sneaky tactics and quick voting to get their agendas voted in. They didn't listen to the people.

Now we have to hope that those who took the initiative to sign the petitions actually go and vote to make their displeasure something worthwhile.

Anonymous said...

kkdither - you seem nice and all, but your opinion isn't fact.

Toad said...

KK, I couldn't even figure out how to look at them. Either I would have had to wait forever, or I did something wrong. BTW. My next post Is separate, because I don't want It on the same post with a "Nice" one.

Toad said...

Anonymous, Hee, Hee. YOU have GOT to be kidding? What went on In the State Capitol while the handful of Dem's were doing what was RIGHT, (what would you do?) was despicable to say the least. The laws they RUSHED through while the Senators were missing, should all be voided. In my lifetime (62 years) I have NEVER seen anything like this. Even Tommy Thompson would never have resorted to such tactics. The Fitzgerald brothers, and the Governor took complete control of our entire system, and used It to their own advantage. They must NOW subject themselves to the wrath of the voters. Being a bit like Rick Perry, I am not a polished debater, but do know right from wrong, and I can honestly say what happened In our State was horrible.

OrbsCorbs said...

Toad said...
"Orb's, How do you feel about the JT. publishing the names of the people that signed the recall papers for V. Wangaard? I think they should post the MILLION names that signed the Walker papers. LOL"

As long as it's public information, I guess there's nothing wrong with doing it. I immediately thought of the intimidation factor that kk mentioned, but, like she said, the files are difficult to deal with and contain an enormous number of pages. If someone wants to read through all of that to see if someone they know signed the petition, well, fine. I don't have the time or the motivation to read petition signatures from either side.

What does bother me is the two-party system which forces us to choose from the lesser of two evils, something that I find very difficult to discern at times. I usually can't. As far as I can tell, both parties are bat-shit crazy and should be disbanded and prosecuted for crimes against the American people.

kkdither said...

To anon: this is a blog... it is FULL of opinion, including yours.

Orbs, I heard on the news tonight that there are privacy concerns of posting people's addresses. Not only do those who signed have to be concerned about some random NUT coming after them, there are people who have stalking/ex-spouse or other litigation issues that could potentially put them in danger by being tracked to a specific location.

Anonymous said...

The NUTS have been threatening Governor Walker and his family. The NUTS have been harrassing Firefighters and Teachers who speak out for Governor Walker and his reforms. That is FACT, not opinion.

kkdither said...

It is also a fact that a car was driven into a crowd of people who were simply gathering signatures. There are nuts on both sides, I'm sure. Nuts are everywhere.

I have friends who refuse to speak to me for just indicating my unhappiness with his politics. I do not preach what you should believe. You are free to disagree. I am also free to exercise my constitutional rights without fear of potential harm simply because my beliefs differ from yours.