Massive Nights

We Went to Nomad in Milwaukee and saw America Beat Ghana in the World Cup

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

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Being a sports fan is a calculated risk. The highest highs are possible, but crushing lows are more likely.

I’m a novice soccer fan, I only watch every four years, during the World Cup. Soccer is not a sport we grow up with and not a sport our country excels in, but trust me on this … go to Nomad or Highbury or any other soccer bar before this Cup ends and watch the Americans.

The United States Men’s Soccer team is only certain to play two more matches in this year’s World Cup. What they do on Sunday and then next Thursday will determine if they move on.

If you’re lucky and this team has more magic in it, perhaps you’ll share the joy that millions of Americans–including Mike, Ryan, Adam and I–felt early Monday evening. Read More

That’s Local Flavor: Open House at the Milwaukee Brewing Co.

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

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In 2006, Clear Channel, a communications company, sponsored an event at the Milwaukee Art Museum that instantly became local lore. It was called Martinifest. All-you-can-drink martinis, only $30.

The results, even if you don’t recall the story, were predictable. In our most culturally important building, people were, according to news reports, “punching paintings, climbing on sculptures, vomiting everywhere, and then passing out.”

There will never be another Martinifest at the Milwaukee Art Museum. But if you are looking for the closest facsimile, albeit, one with a few smart substitutions–beer instead of martinis and a crowded Walker’s Point warehouse instead of the world-renowned Calatrava-designed wing–let me tell you about Milwaukee Brewing Co.’s Saturday Open House.

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That Time We Partied with Screech: Milwaukee’s Bayside Bash

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

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In the Saved by the Bell episode “House Party,” originally airing October 6, 1990, Screech’s parents take a vacation to Graceland prompting Zack to persuade his nerdy friend to have the gang over. When Screech’s mom’s prized Elvis bust crashes into a million pieces, the Bayside bunch throw a party to try to earn enough cash to replace the statue. There are a few other nonessential, implausible plot elements but, in the end, they get a new Elvis and Mrs. Powers is none the wiser. In the world of Bayside royalty, Zack Morris, throwing a well-attended party is the solution to nearly every problem.

But in real life, throwing a party can be a dicey proposition. Will enough people come? Will there be enough to do? Will people have fun? Are they willing to pay? Etc. This uncertainty was why I was interested in attending the first-ever Bayside Bash, hosted by Dustin Diamond.

For $14 per person, the Bayside Bash promised a Saturday night of video games, 80s and 90s music, and a chance to have your photo taken with Dustin Diamond, who, for legitimate reasons, seems really conflicted about whether to embrace or flee from his legacy as one of the 90s most popular television nerds (Steve Urkel, Blossom and Paul from The Wonder Years are also in the discussion). Read More

Officiating Zak and Kristi’s Big Day

Posted on by NicholasOfMKE

Kristi & Zak's big moment...

Two summers ago, when I officiated the wedding of my friends AJ and Sarah, I assumed it would be a one-time thing. Though I didn’t know what I was doing and feared that I’d mess everything up, ultimately, I think it went pretty well. Besides forgetting to tell the crowd to be seated, I did good. Michelle even overheard someone say, “Wow, that is a young pastor.”

I received my ordination from the Universal Life Church. I always end up telling people that this aspect of officiating a wedding, the actual ordination, is very uninteresting. All I did was give my name, address and credit card number. I keep my card in my wallet as a conversation piece, but I never I’d use it again.

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