Greater Milwaukee Men

Healthy, educated and compassionate people make a community thrive. That may sound like the Well-Met Code , but instead its the opinion of  Northwestern Mutual . Unfortunately, for many within the community, limited access to life's most basic needs detracts from their quality of life. That's why Northwestern Mutual is pleased to announce a program that will lead to improvement in three Milwaukee neighborhoods. Northwestern Mutual, through its Foundation , is committing more than $725,000 in grants to nonprofits in Amani and Metcalfe Park, two north side neighborhoods, and to the south side neighborhood of Muskego Way. The company is joining federal support that builds resources in both the Amani and Metcalfe Park neighborhoods.

Community-operated workspaces, a sort of coop for people with various creative interests, have become popular around the county, and Milwaukee has been right there with the movement. Called hackerspaces , makerspaces (I like how this site compares them to libraries for community and checking out materials), hacklabs, or hackspaces these locations provide not only space but also equipment for a reasonable price for entrepreneurs and creatives to work on anything from computers to machining to art, even start a business. In addition to workspaces they often have meeting spaces for small meetings to large events, they may provide space for education or even spiritualual pursuits. There are many in Milwaukee, but one of the leaders in time and impact has been  Bucketworks . Bucketworks has helped the community allowing many creative and entrepreneurial people achieve their goals, I myself have experience with them helping a project, but now they need the community's help.

I may be a techie, bookish, some might say nerdy type of guy that could easily fall prey to the dangers of becoming attached to my desk and computers; but I also love nature and outdoor activities that keep me grounded, social, and healthy. One of the best ways to BeGreat and Feel Great is to get outside and be active. And so it is that I fully endorse June being  Great Outdoors Month . As amazing as this photo is of Wisconsin's Apostle Islands is, experiencing it in person is even better Excitement is growing across the nation about plans for Great Outdoors Week and Great Outdoors Month 2013. Great Outdoors Month celebrates a variety of important events and actions that occur during June, and highlights the benefits of active fun outdoors and our magnificent shared resources of forests, parks, refuges and other public lands and waters. Great Outdoors Week (June 1-8) showcases efforts enhancing outdoor recreation for all Americans in the 21st century through awards, briefing...

I like to call out athletes when they do good things, and in the Great Play I do just that. I wish that I had the opportunity in the near future to call out Daniel Snyder as making Great Play, but its not likely. Daniel Snyder thinks he is manning up by saying he  will never change the name of Washington D.C.'s NFL team from the Redskins. But he isn't. The manly thing, the gentlemanly, the Great thing to do would be to change the name. Yeah, that's not a stereotype at all... I have a few other opinions about team identities which I may have to do Great Play articles about (like cities sharing team colors across all league teams and teams that move not getting to take the history of the team with them) but this one I feel strongly about. Though there is a movement to force a change from local and national leaders, now even lead by members of Congress , it's not a popular opinion among sports fans (79% approve of the current name in a recent ESPN poll ) who don...

You may have seen my post earlier this month about Melanoma . Thanks to an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week, I learned that  Bob Harlan, the former president of the Green Bay Packers, is a melanoma cancer survivor.  Here is what Mr Harlan has to say "To this day I'm afraid of the sun. I will not sit out in the sun at all; I'm scared to death of it," said Harlan. "I've even stopped playing a lot of golf because I'm not comfortable anymore. I've mentioned that to other skin cancer patients and they tell me they feel the same way. If I go to a driving range just to hit some golf balls, I wear a great big straw hat."

In The Man Way column we talk about how guys do things, especially when we do them right. With it being Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to cover ways for men to do right by the holiday - to observe the reason for the holiday in addition to the fun festivities we will participate in as part of the three-day weekend and the unofficial start of Summer. The holidays seem to have evolved into days we celebrate for having a day off of work rather than for recognizing why it is a holiday - a 'holy' or sacred day. We plan parties or dinners, go to sporting events or use the extra time to fit in a movie, but the commemoration of the day's origin and meaning fall by the wayside more and more each year it seems. So this Memorial Day, make sure you take some time to honor what it is about, a Memorial or memory of men and women who died in service to America. There are of course the parades and ceremonies that you can find around town, but here are some different and lesser kno...

I recently made a snarky comment in my post about Charles Ramsay about people with photo editor skills using their powers for 'good not evil', to borrow a trope . My short rant was directed at not only them but any people that have a talent and waste it and valuable time by using said talent for useless, often negative results. For those photo editors out there the example are all the memes of photos with Helvetica font sayings attached to them. Well, now those talents can literally be used for GOOD - the magazine and online community 'of, by, and for pragmatic idealists working towards individual and collective progress' in a new campaign to help restore photos damaged in the Oklahoma tornadoes.

I could say something about the gender of the person, but I won't. In any case  you don't want your grill to look like this. With the outdoor activities involved in the (hopefully) warm(ish) three day weekend, some consider Memorial Day the unofficial or even official start to summer, though astronomically it is June 21 for the Northern hemisphere. Though grilling season (which I would argue is the same as the seasons of Roadconstruction and Humidity) aligns with the start of baseball and tailgating, Memorial Day is one of the biggest days of grilling. That means a lot of grills that may have not been used all winter are being brought out for the first time. Before you fire that thing up, treat it like one of your tools and be sure you take a few minutes to clean it and ensure you are using it safely. Think of it like a spring tune-up much as you would give your motorcycle or lawnmower after taking it out of storage. There are three main parts of grill safety: cleaning...

Macy's has teamed up with the organization Got Your 6 to help contribute to their organization in a super easy way that benefits you too - When you shop at Macy’s between May 12th and June 9th , you can buy a pin for just  $3 to Got Your 6 at the register and in return, will receive a 15/20% savings pass for any day you choose (exclusions apply.) You can also donate $6 to Got Your 6 and receive a golden Got Your 6 pin to wear your support, as well as the savings pass. Click here to find out more. And if you go on Saturday, June 1st  Macy’s shoppers will receive a 25% shopping pass when they donate at least $3 to Got Your 6. The goal of Got Your 6 is for us "regular citizens" to find a  way to show appreciation for those who have served. This includes a focus on what they call the "Six Pillars" Jobs, Education, Health, Housing, Family and Leadership. The term " Got Your Six" is a military term that means I've got your back, and I know you...

One of the greatest things about watching the craft beer movement, besides great beer, is seeing so many embrace responsible business practices that the big brewers would be hard-pressed to try due to their size. From organic and local ingredients like Lakefront Brewery's Wisconsinite to green brewing practices like   Alaskan Brewing Company's grain-powered steam boiler breweries in Wisconsin and around the US embrace Well-Met practices. Even our local (or not) macro-brewer MillerCoors is involved via their  Great Beer, Great Responsibility program which includes community programs, alcohol responsibility, and environmental responsibility. As of last week, at the top of the list must be considered Milwaukee Brewing Company ( MKE Brewing ) by joining the DNR's Green Tier program which recognizes businesses with a commitment to sustainability and have put in place a sustainability management plan.

We love to boast about Milwaukee achievements, our  #MKEPride , especially when they relate to aspects of Wellness or manliness or hopefully both - and so we must continue the tradition with a story recently posted on the Menuism blog. So what did we excel at this time? It's Milwaukee so it must be beer, or brats, maybe cheese. No, this time its burgers, and not the meaty variety like those in the famed Food Wars segment that pitted AJ Bombers vs. Sobelman's . Surprisingly, well maybe not to those veg eaters out there in Milwaukee who know we have some great places for them to eat, its for meatless , i.e. vegetarian, burgers. Among the list of 'manly' foods, most of which are meaty (there's a pun in there), burgers rank right up there with steaks, sausages from dogs to brats, wings, and chili. Fortunately for those looking for options due to health or philosophical reasons, burgers are one of the easiest to replace. Sure it took a while and there are still some s...

I know many people who are frustrated that a few cancers seem to get all the attention and fundraising. Recent experiences and publicity made me want to bring attention to a cancer many men don't even think about, but should . . . . Former NFL coach Bill Cowher announced this week that the NFL will be working with several organizations on Melanoma Exposed. This is a program targeted at MEN to offer free skin cancer screenings at pro football events this year. You can find m ore about this program kickoff  here . Mr. Cowher said his reason for involvement is "As a former football coach, one of my biggest lessons to my players was about being accountable for their actions. I apply this 'no excuses' attitude to my health as well... Getting your skin screened by a dermatologist is quick and easy -- it takes about 10 minutes. Men need to face the truth and learn the facts about melanoma. " 

That headline is more deserving than the internet memes being made with his image. In traditional theater, no to mention psychology by the likes of Carl Jung, there are different archetypes  including the hero, and the clown/fool/jester. In the theater of news it is no different with news organizations placing people into an archetype. But what happens when someone fits into more than one archetype? The emergence of Charles Ramsey , rescuer of the three Cleveland abductees , has not only me asking the question - when did Mr. Ramsey become the fool, not the hero? He is rightfully getting coverage for being a hero, but the soundbites and memes (including being auto-tuned) more often than not seem to put him more in the role of fool -  someone to make us laugh. But are we laughing at or with him?

For most of us (winter bikers excluded), this is the time to dust off our two-wheeled vehicles whether powered by man (bicycle) or machine (motorcycle) and so the month of May is both  National Bike Month  and Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month .  We all know that in the home of Harley motorcycles are a big deal here, but Wisconsin has an ever growing community of bicyclists in Milwaukee and Wisconsin. Among other activity-specific bike organizations, the overall community is represented by the Wisconsin Bike Fed , which was formed ' to cultivate, motivate and unite a strong community of citizens as well as business and political leaders to move bicycling forward in Wisconsin – through education, legislation and involvement.' As part of National Bike Month, those interested in getting in on the movement this month can join in many fun events centering on Bike to Work Week  May 13-18 . More information on the Milwaukee events is here , below is a schedule of events...

This is a "man's blog", but sometimes it takes a woman to know a good man when we see one! (Although we don't think that's an issue with this person in particular - Men know he's a Man too.) Like the rest of the women in the state I think I have a crush on Donald Driver . With good reason - not only is he handsome and a class act, he sets a great example off the field such as with his Donald Driver Foundation . Their goal is to give "a hand up, not a handout". It seems we are heading into his peak season of events with football camps, a bowling classic, a golf classic and his annual Packers softball game in Appleton. He has this to say about the upcoming game: “I can’t wait to take the field for year number four and give fans a good game for a great cause,” said Driver. “The fan support has been awesome. It’s allowed the foundation to positively impact a number of quality organizations and people. And the defense is on a losing streak which is...

Wouldn't you rather learn about whiskey than wine? In the world of cuisine and fine dining, what once was a stuffy affair is increasingly casual and masculine with decor, dining, and drink that appeal to even the manliest of men. Where once wine and fruity cocktails, French food and romantic design held domain, you can now find traditional cocktails and hearty fare served in industrial-chic restaurants. Thankfully, Milwaukee is part of, even a leader in, this new movement chock full of man-friendly gourmet and/or healthy dining choices (many listed here ), not least of which is the new Braise Restaurant . Braise is a Milwaukee business that 'makes local, peak of season produce easily accessible to area restaurants', and has their own restaurant as well. Like others who get their food from Braise, the restaurant itself proves that fresh, local, and good doesn't have to be flavorless and includes meat. In addition to their RSA and CSA, and the restaurant, Braise al...

National Donate Life Month may have ended, but for four people, and their families, it will never be forgotten. On Friday, April 26 Froedtert Hospital reported that earlier in the month, within a 12-hour period, one deceased organ donor and the transplant team at Froedtert Hospital saved four lives.

I am hoping most have heard about the Honor Flights - it is an amazing cause that honors all veterans by flying WWII, Korean War and terminally ill veterans from other conflicts to Washington, DC to visit their memorials" You can find more information on the Milwaukee-based chapter Stars and Stripes Honor Flight  here . Its quite an adventure as most of these men are in their 80s and 90s and its a full day. Even so, many who make the trip count it as one of the best days of their life. These are men who came home, put their duffles away, and went on with their life, often rarely talking about their experiences.

The Hunger Task Force farm in Franklin Harley-Davidson motorcycles may rumble, but they want to end rumbling in the stomachs of the hungry in the Milwaukee area. The Harley-Davidson Foundation announced a partnership with the Hunger Task Force that comes with a $2.5 million donation over three years to help the organization continue its mission work at the farm  in Franklin. Harley is foregoing naming rights and instead allowing a contest to name the farm , though I am sure most if not all submissions will reference Harley in some manner.

May is National Celiac Awareness Month , promoting awareness of Celiac diease - an autoimmune disorder triggered by the ingestion of gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. While I could use this space to talk more about it and specifically man-friendly ways to avoid gluten, instead I am going to broaden the conversation and talk, with personal experience, about why everyone could and should avoid wheat. Opinions about different foods and diets come and go, so it can sometimes be hard to trust the newest fad of what to eat or not eat. Eat less meat, eat less carbs, consume less fat, wait some fats are good for you. Ordinarily I would subscribe to the everything in moderation opinion, except I have recently personally experienced a lifestyle change for the better and in conjunction with Celiac month, it just seems right to pass those experiences and opinions on. That lifestyle change - not diet - was giving up wheat.