Greater Milwaukee Men

When I find something that can cover multiple needs I take notice, and in  Palladium Boots  - recommended by a friend - I have found a brand that I could buy nearly every pair of shoes (other than athletic) that I might need now and in the future. Palladium is a French company with roots are in tire manufacturing for the aviation industry in the 1920s. After World War II they moved on to use their expertise with rubber and canvas to make shoes for the French Foreign Legion - the boots that serve as the inspiration for all their footwear. Palladium has made shoes with a classic style that can work with many different styles and levels of dress. From one line you can get boots or shoes on leather or canvas, even plaid wool, that can go from rugged outdoor use in their Tactical boots, to casual jeans in canvas lo shoes, to their leather oxfords and Pallabrouse boots (reminiscent of something by Kenneth Cole or Steve Madden) you could get away with in a more business attire fas...

The month of July is Family Golf Month , and Play Golf America  says it is a good time to get out with your family for a sort of staycation where you can be in nature, get some exercise, and bind with your family. Nearby golf courses participate in activities including free golf for kids and other specials for the family. A list of those participating in Wisconsin can be found here . Here in Wisconsin we have many golf courses, including the public courses of the Milwaukee County Parks , so it is easy to find one nearby and in various skill levels, including many 3-par courses for the beginner or casual golfer.

I wasn't sure if I would ever do Heviews - reviews for men's products, entertainment, or anything else - other than recommendations for green products for men or the like. Due to my career that allows me to work from home for the past five years I do not  have  to get dressed up, so though I like fashion I just don't need to buy it - besides there is already a great site for men's style at  Dappered , I like gadgets but I don't have that need to be the first one to have something, my music taste is somewhat obscure, and besides who really cares what I think about some product. However, I recently purchased two products that are worthy of my praises and recommendations to other men. The first is  Dominica Bay Rum , a fantastic product that is not only a cologne but can serve many other hygienic purposes such as an astringent.

OK so some of these 'months' 'weeks' and 'days' are getting a little too numerous and out there, but I think this is one we all should pay at least a little attention to. July is National Cell Phone Courtesy Month - as created by some etiquette 'expert'. It started with cell phones: not turning them off, taking calls, and other transgressions. Now we have smart phones where we can play with apps and search the web all while with other people. In some ways I think we are going to have to learn to live with a new set of rules where it is appropriate to use our personal devices, but I also agree that we all can be more conscious of the right and wrong ways and times to use them.

We men have a penchant for cycling through electronics, and this can mean a build up of old toys that just don't do well in a landfill. Habitat for Humanity's Restore and Vintage Tech Recycler have a solution: this Saturday, July 23, you can bring your old electronics to be properly disposed of, even recycled, between 8:30 am and 2 pm. More info here . Disposing of electronics properly is important to help keep harmful substances in electronics--lead, mercury, cadium--from ending up in landfills and contaminating the environment. About 60% of all electonics can be re-used and the rest get recycled to their original state. Items that will be accepted Saturday include man-gadgets such as cell phones, stereo equipment, game consoles, and televisions. Anyone who donates an item Saturday will get a coupon for 50% off their next purchase at ReStore. With how hot it is outside, this is a good time to stay inside and go through your stuff and take any old gear to State Fair...

I am not a fan of baseball or basketball, though I love football. One reason  I like football better is the lack of guaranteed contracts. In baseball and basketball you can miss time, even an entire season, and still get paid. But one player, Royals Pitcher Gil Meche, decided that was not right to himself and gave back $12 million in salary since he is missing the entire season from an injury. Meche has a contract for $12 million on 2011. In baseball, as with basketball, whether you are injured, are suspended, if you underperform, or miss time for any reason you are guaranteed your salary - only in rare cases of non-sports related injuries or gross misconduct can the team get out of paying it. But Meche realized that he would get the salary though he will miss the entire season from injury. Meche said: “When I signed my contract, my main goal was to earn it,” Meche said this week by phone from Lafayette, La. “Once I started to realize I wasn’t earning my money, I felt bad. I w...

I normally try to stay way from stories of men doing the wrong thing and stick with good examples, but the recent number of news items on men overreaching for baseballs in MLB games has struck me. And there are two current stories of fans and baseballs that have parts of them that show some honor. Last week a fan died trying to catch a ball thrown to him from Rangers star outfielder Josh Hamilton. This one was odd as it did not come from the usual attempt at a foul or home run ball, but from a ball tossed by a player. The throw must have been off the mark and the fan over-reached and in so doing fell 20 feet and suffered fatal injuries. In typical man fashion of not learning lessons, on the same day as the memorial service for the previous story, a fan at MLB's Home Run Derby, a fan trying to catch a ball stepped up onto a metal table about 18 inches wide and reached for the ball only to have his momentum carry him off the table and on his way to 20 feet below - the same distanc...

With a lack of news items lately I have decided to start a special section focusing on Well-Met men that are doing  what I aspire to out in the real world. These could be activists, philanthropists, environmentalists, nutrionists, or anyone like person that is trying to make others better. Where I can they will be your average guy, not wealthy or famous people who can do these things far easier and bigger than most of us can. Today I would like to tell people about a man that has captured the interest of not only myself but my wife as well, a man who is doing educational work on environmentalism of a sort. Normally I would title this type of article 'Green Man', after the architectural and artistic  motif  of faces surrounded by leaves, to call out a man who is promoting green practices, but with Eric Rochow Green 'Guy' seems to better fit.