Milwaukee, WI

With the crazy weather and the snowy forecast for this week, sometimes it is hard to remember what’s so great about living in Wisconsin. Want a reminder?

Places to Go and Things to Do
We have the Wisconsin Dells - a wonderful blend of beauty and campy. Go kart tracks, weird attractions, cheesy shopping, antique stores, the Wisconsin Ducks (and not the quacking kind!), amazing campgrounds, mini golf, and now the largest concentration of indoor waterparks in the world.

Madison - yes, there are plenty of reasons to hate the State Capitol, but if you can put politics aside Madison is simply an amazing city. From State Street’s offbeat shopping and great parties to the college bars to the bike trails and neat little shops everywhere, Madison is truly unique. And you never get too old for Ella’s Deli.
Our Lakes - we have over 15,000 of them. Big Cedar Lake is incredibly scenic. Pike Lake is another beauty, with a wonderful trail that goes around the entire lake. Lake Geneva is another gem - there’s a reason that rich people from Illinois own vacation homes in Lake Geneva…they only wish their state was this beautiful! And we have a state park system that other states envy.
Everybody likes to go Up North. The beautiful summers, the fall colors, the renewal of spring, and okay I guess winter too - the northern parts of Wisconsin have some of the most beautiful sights. On your way, if you are lucky enough to cross the Butte des Morts (which, oddly, is NOT French for “Butt of Death” but that shouldn’t stop you from telling people it is) bridge at just the right time of sunset, you will see the most beautifiul sight on earth with the sunset reflecting on the water creating this orange glow - it is too unreal to describe!
The House on the Rock inspired Neil Gaiman in American Gods, and anything that inspires the greatest writer in modern times is certainly worth a look, don’t you think? The House is more than just odd architecture - it is a crazy collection of all sorts of…things. You have to see it to believe it. And while you are there, check out Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s estate in Spring Green, Wisconsin.
Summerfest is an obvious choice…one of the biggest music festivals in the world, you know that summer is in full swing in Milwaukee when Summerfest starts. You don’t even have to like the bands that are playing to have a good time. While Summerfest is the biggest, Milwaukee has a TON of festivals every year, from the Lakefront’s ethnic festivals to neighborhood festivals. Good fun and a great way to meet new people.
Milwaukee Art Museum - This is a world-class museum, right here, right on the lake. The building alone is worth coming to Milwaukee just to see.
My personal favorite day of the year is July 3 - the day the huge Lakefront Fireworks display is on the lakefront in Milwaukee. For the best time, get to the lakefrotn early, bring a cooler full of drinks, lots of lawn chairs, kites, rollerblades and a frisbee and enjoy a full day of summer fun.

Eating and Drinking
Leinenkugels is the best beer ever, and its brewed in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The Honey Weiss is excellent and always popular, but their seasonal beers like the Apple Spice are just awesome.
Bars. We got ‘em. As the saying goes, all you need to incorporate a town in Wisconsin is two bars and a church. Some of them are dives, but a lot of them have character. Take At Random in Bay View - step into the ’50s decor and settle in for an ice cream drink or something else suitably offbeat. And the name? It describes their business hours. And every visitor who comes to Milwaukee should be required to go to the Safe House, a wonderful spy-themed bar/restaurant. Always great food, and always a great time. If ethnic food is your thing, we’ve got that too. From authentic Mexican to amazing Italian, extreme Thai and the best Serbian food you’ll ever have, Milwaukee has it all. If fast food is your thing, Kopps’ Frozen Custard can’t be beat, and Culvers serves the best fast food burgers in existence.

Our Seasons
Yes, we have more than just “winter and construction.” We have four seasons here, each unique in its own way. Fall is filled with beautiful colors - the red and orange maples are my favorites. Winter is cold and crisp but if you aren’t from a state that has snow I bet you don’t realize how many different kinds of snowfalls there are, and many are downright lovely. Spring is filled with awesome thunderstorms and the beauty of flowers starting to bloom and the trees and lawns returning to green. It is hard to describe the feeling of spring after a long winter…it feels a lot like being a kid again. Summer, my favorite, can be hot and humid and unpredictable.

Some of the other reasons to be here are harder to describe, but you can feel them when you are here. People are, on the whole, friendly and genuine. Many will go above and beyond to help their neighbors. The cost of living is more than reasonable. You can live here and have hope of a future instead of just scraping by because rent takes 65% of your take-home pay.

I feel like I’ve hardly touched on the reasons it is good to be here, but this blog is getting long! Sure, we talk kinda funny (eh?) and people here really do love their football team - sometimes to the point of insanity, but on the whole it is a good place to be.

And if you need further proof of why it is nice to be in Wisconsin, go spend a week in Illinois…

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Okay, after the Illinois dig, I have to give some love to the Chicago Blog. Read it here!

I have fond memories of the Seven Mile Fair, Racine County’s indoor/outdoor flea market. In the 1980s Seven Mile Fair was a treasure trove of typical flea market fare: overpriced antiques, handicrafts, Avon, knock-offs of popular toys, and good ol’ fashioned junk. One of my favorite childhood memories involved saving my pennies so that I could buy a copy of Mario Brothers for the Atari 2600 from the Atari game seller at Seven Mile Fair. Back in those days, a brand new video game cost less than $20.00.

In an effort to relive a small piece of my youth, I visited Seven Mile Fair over the weekend.

Oh, how things have changed. I’ve never been to Tijuana, but Seven Mile Fair is exactly what I imagine a Tijuana marketplace would look like.

Spanish is by far the dominant spoken language at Seven Mile Fair now. Dozens of booths featured Spanish music and movies, Quinceañera dresses, Mexican food, Western Wear, and similarly themed goods. Booths sported blinged-out jeans and hoodies, and women’s clothing that I can only describe as “hoochie-riffic” and gold-painted jewelry at ridiculously high prices.

The only thing there that was reminiscent of my childhood days at Seven Mile Fair were those awful booths selling cramped cages of stressed out puppies and birds - those were the memories of that place I wish I could have forgotten.

The best that Seven Mile Fair had to offer was long gone. I counted one booth that could appropriately be considered flea market fare - an older woman was selling some old glassware and hand-knitted barbie dresses.

Granted, the Seven Mile Fair experience during the summertime is certainly different. During the warm weather months some vendors set up outside and sell their goods under the hot sun. However, if the outside of Seven Mile Fair has changed as much as the inside did, I suspect that if I go there this summer I won’t find lemonade stands and antiques outside either. I wouldn’t be surprised if I could buy myself a burro though…

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Author’s Note, appropos of nothing at all: I saw National Treasure, Book of Secrets last week and enjoyed it immensely.

I love using Craigslist to find good bargains on furniture and household items. I’ve purchased quite a few nice things from Craigslist including a beautiful Captain’s bed and a gorgeous old Victor Victrola, but items like that are truly hen’s teeth. The vast majority of the ads on Craigslist are downright ridiculous, and although I must give points for creativity on some of them, it is incredible what people will say to make their trash sound like treasure.

Over time I have learned to interpret “Craigslist-ese,” and I think that I have figured out how to weed out the garbage by interpreting what people say in their ads and boiling it down to what they really mean. To that end, I’m making a little “Craigslist to English” dictionary. Feel free to use it as you browse Craigslist!

Vintage - Ah, vintage. Everyone likes something that’s “vintage.” “Vintage” means quality because they didn’t make garbage back in the good ol’ days, right? Perhaps, but that just doesn’t hold true on Craigslist. In the world of Craigslist, “vintage” means “comes in a tacky color that existed primarily in 1962 and could only possibly find a place in some Bay View hipster’s home.”

Unique - Everyone loves unique! We all like to be different and show off our “unique” style, don’t we? Not so fast…on Craigslist “unique” almost always means “a hideous atrocity that should be dismantled immediately so as not to offend the senses of our good citizens.” Avoid “unique” like the plague unless your a turquoise painted end table with red trim is your idea of decor.

Awesome (Or, as it is sometimes spelled, awsome) - Wow, dude, this couch is, like, totally awesome! On Craigslist, “awesome” is only used when referring to a piece of furniture that originally came from Ikea and then spent 4-6 years being laid upon, kicked around, and more likely than not, vomited on, in some frat boy’s dorm room. Think about *that* before you pick up that “awesome sofa” from Craigslist.

Rare. Guys, nothing that was purchased at Pier One can be considered “rare.” It was mass-produced, probably within the last three years in some third-world country, and readily available at a popular retail establishment. That isn’t rare, not by any stretch of the imagination.

No Craigslist ad would be complete, however, without a mysterious photo - a photo taken with the world’s worst camera from an indescribable angle with near- zero lighting.

Want a great example? This ad just about has it all:
Fabulous Vintage 1950s Barkcloth Curtains EAMES.

I swear to you that I located this AFTER I wrote that bit about the use of the word “Vintage.” Apparently these are curtains…I can’t actually tell from the photo. They are, according to the seller, “awesome,” although I may be inclined to disagree. As a bonus, please note the use of the word “vintage” and the address of the seller. The only thing this ad is missing is the high price tag that some Craigslist sellers like to attach to their treasures. You could go home with these Awesome Vintage Fabulous Rare curtains for just $15.00.

Here’s to you, Craigslist sellers. You bring me hours of entertainment. Beautiful, inadvertent entertainment.

Craigslist, eBay, Bargains

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Hey, Nintendo Wii Shoppers - Did you know about the rain check program? Check out this Wii blog for details!

Today Pavel Bernek’s little wrecked sailboat, the Falcon, was removed from Lake Michigan in pieces.

It is really hard to say why the wrecked sailboat along the shore of Lake Michigan has gotten so much attention, but I couldn’t resist driving along Lincoln Memorial Parkway to see it for myself. The sailboat’s visibility certainly had much to do with its popularity - even the most distracted driver can’t help but notice the forlorn little ship bobbing in the cold water. But the ship’s sad story was the real draw - Bernek’s dream of sailing the world was dashed upon Lake Michigan’s rocky shore by the novice sailor. Bernek has since returned to his native Europe, essentially abandoning it and leaving the salvage efforts to others.

The salvage team that has been struggling with the ship’s removal since the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Coast Guard have declined to act finally removed the ship today, in pieces.

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Need some holiday toy shopping ideas? Head over to the Household Tips blog for some inspiration!

With the copious amount of snow falling from the sky here in Milwaukee, it is easy to get the winter blues. Weather.com says that it is supposed to continue snowing and sleeting until 2a.m. Winter weather like we have today is a great time to think happy thoughts…happy thoughts of toasty drinks that are perfect for cold weather.

Hot Buttered Rum

* 1 small slice soft butter
* 1 tsp brown sugar
* optional spices: ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg
* vanilla extract
* 2 oz dark rum
* boiling water

PREPARATION:

1. Place the butter, sugar and spices at the bottom of an Irish coffee glass or mug.
2. Mix well or muddle.
3. Pour in the rum and boiling water.
4. Stir.

Hot Toddy

* 1 oz brandy or blended whiskey
* 1 Tbsp honey
* 1/4 lemon
* 1 cup hot water
* 1 tea bag

PREPARATION:

1. Coat the bottom of a mug or an Irish coffee glass with honey.
2. Add brandy and the juice of the lemon quarter.
3. On the side, heat water in a tea kettle and add the tea bag to make hot tea.

Hot Honey Lemonade

* 2 lemons
* 3 whole cloves
* 2 tablespoons honey, or to taste
* 1 cup boiling water
* 1 cinnamon stick

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon into a large mug.
2. Slice remaining lemon thinly. Poke cloves into lemon slices and drop slices into mug.
3. Add honey and fill cup with hot water.
4. Stir with cinnamon stick until honey has dissolved. Taste for sweetness and add more honey as needed.

Mulled Apple Cider

* 1 gallon unfiltered apple cider
* 10 whole cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, lightly crushed
* 2 strips orange peel, about 2 inches long
* 6 dried allspice berries
* 4 heads star anise
* 1 cinnamon stick
* 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
* Orange twists, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large pot, combine apple cider with all other ingredients except orange twists. Stir well.
2. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes before serving.
3. Serve cider in a heatproof mug, garnished with an orange twist.

Note: If you prefer, you may remove the steeping ingredients before serving by straining the cider through a fine mesh strainer.

Rusty Nail

* 1 1/2 oz Scotch
* 3/4 oz Drambuie
* lemon twist for garnish

PREPARATION:

1. Pour the ingredients into an old-fashioned glass with ice cubes.
2. Stir well.
3. Garnish with the lemon twist.

Nothing goes with hot drinks as nicely as some freshly baked cookies. Elementary Chef’s Blog is currently featuring twelve Christmas cookie recipes.

For many, the holidays are a time of reflection and a time to appreciate the good in our lives. It is also a time to think about the less fortunate, and many people do as toy drives abound. People have needs the entire year through, and Milwaukee has countless opportunities for people to give back to their community.

This city is very fortunate to have the Volunteer Center of Milwaukee. The Volunteer Center makes it easy for volunteers to find a volunteer opportunity that suits their schedule and skills.

Volunteers can find opportunities in one of two ways. With a telephone call to the Volunteer Center at 414-273-7887, volunteers can set up an appointment with someone who will assist them in locating a suitable volunteer opportunity. The more web-savvy will prefer the second option of using the search function on the Volunteer Center’s website. The volunteer can enter information about himself including age, time availability, and physical limitations. The search feature allows volunteers, if they choose, to search only for opportunities that help a particular class of people, such as children, immigrants, or older adults. Finally, the search function also allows a search that helps match an opportunity to the volunteer’s own skills. Volunteers can also seek out a particular organization, such as the Hunger Task Force of the Humane Society, and search for opportunities within that organization. The website is updated with enough regularity to ensure that willing volunteers can find something timely.

Anyone who wants to put in some time as a volunteer is sure to find a suitable opportunity through the Volunteer Center.

For those who want to help others this holiday season but are short on time, take a look at Ten Thousand Villages living gifts programs. This global program supplies plants and livestock to farmers in developing nations. The gifts have a price range that will fit every budget, and they are surprisingly specific. For example, a $33.00 gift buys, vaccinates and provides shelter for one goat, while also training farmers on how to raise healthy and productive animals.

Volunteer, Shelter, Hunger

The Wreaths Across America began 15 years ago when Worchester Wreath Company in Maine began a tradition of placing wreaths on the headstones at Arlington National Cemetery. Over the years, Worcester Wreath has donated over 75,000 wreaths which have been placed by volunteers at wreath-laying ceremonies.

This Saturday, December 15, 2007, wreaths will be laid at Wood National Cemetery in Milwaukee at 11:00 a.m. Turnout in the past has been sparse although there was some television coverage of the ceremony last year so perhaps this year there will be a larger showing.

To watch the ceremony, meet at the monument at the VA Cemetery on Walker Road in the cemetery. Take exit 308A south from I-94 west. Then use Zablocki Drive/General Mitchell Blvd heading south. The first street to the right (as you are heading south) is Walker Road and it dead ends at memorial. Parking is only along the roads - no parking lot at this location.

Contact Information:
Milwaukee Composite Squadron 5
Location Leader: Maj. Julie Sorenson
Telephone: (262) 751-0744

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Daily Blog Watch:
On an unrelated note, this is an old post but so useful that I had to share.
Uses for WD-40

We have another awesome criminal in our midst!

Jose Sandoval, 26 of DeForest, Wisconsin is accused of breaking into a store called Naughty Novelties and stealing, among other things, a $270.00 inflatable “love doll.”

Sandoval initially denied being involved in the burglary, but later admitted (in tears, no less) that he was in fact the culprit. He had been caught by the store’s surveillance footage and pulled over by police ten days later.

Humiliation is a wonderful deterrent and excellent punishment. This story has made national news, so we can hope that Mr. Sandoval has learned his lesson.

Felony charges were filed against Sandoval on December 3, 2007. His next court date is December 17, 2007.

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Milwaukee readers: Don’t miss Winnie McCarthy’s ongoing blog on the 12 Days of Chicago. Chicago can be a great place to spend time over the holidays, and this blogger has some great ideas.

It is only December 5, and already all of Milwaukee is sick and tired of snow. Saturday’s snow was messy, the ice that followed was problematic, and this week’s snow is light and fluffy but there’s just so much of it that we are all already overwhelmed. When you top all of this off with some mediocre plowing efforts by the City, it means we’re all hoping for spring already.

But does it mean that common courtesy has to go out the window?

My night consisted of being awoken at 2:00 a.m. by the bar crowd finding out the hard way that their cars were stuck on the street for the night. 4:00 a.m. brought the snowblower across the street (I can understand one or two pass-throughs with the snowblower, but five? Come on…). 6:00 a.m. brought tire spinning from a white pickup that had gotten stuck on the street in front of my house. By 6:45 the pickup had moved off of the street and onto my lawn where it spun its tires while its driver swore loudly. By 7:30 I was out shoveling and watching the pickup make a mess of my lawn. The cursing driver had been joined by two of his equally loud friends.

No one likes all of this snow. No one likes having to dig their cars out. No one likes the parking restrictions. No one likes getting stuck on the way to work. But on the other hand, no one likes their lawn torn up without so much as an apology. No one likes hearing a snowblower for a full hour at four in the morning. No one likes to hear the drunk drivers spinning the tires of their (thankfully) stuck cars after bar closing.

Can’t we have a little courtesy this time of year?

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On a more fun note, check out Rena Sherwood’s cute blog on Christmas Muzak Headaches.

Milwaukee saw its first big snowstorm of the year on Saturday, December 1. Wet snow followed by ice followed by freezing temperatures the following day made the roads treacherous. Six people died in traffic accidents over the weekend, and hundreds more were involved in accidents ranging from fender benders to serious collisions.

Every year the first major snowfall brings a significant number of traffic accidents. Why do we all forget how to drive every single year? Come on, Milwaukee - we know better!

I was on the road throughout Milwaukee all day on Saturday, and I made some observations about the drivers on the road. Some accidents are unavoidable, but following a few simple and intuitive rules could have saved a lot of people a lot of headaches.

Winter Readiness

A big part of being able to handle your car in winter is having a car that is ready to handle winter driving. Automotive Blogger has some great tips for readying your car for winter driving - it isn’t too late to get that done!

Following Distance

Braking on a slippery, snow-covered road is much different from braking on dry pavement. On Saturday I saw drivers driving bumper-to-bumper on some parts of I-94…if anyone in that freak parade had to hit the breaks it would have been a disaster for those who followed. When the roads are slippery, drive with the assumption that the person in front of you is a complete nut who is going to stomp on his brakes at any given moment. That should change your following distance.

Put The Cell Phone Down

Seriously. Don’t we all know better by now? Last week I saw a 17 year old destroy her Saturn on a dry road because she was texting when she should have been driving. If you need to make a call, pull over! Here’s hoping that Wisconsin will get a law on this soon.

We Don’t All Have 4-Wheel Drive

I have a rear-wheel drive sports car that handles terribly in the snow. In fact, if someone up the block from me so much as drops an ice cube on the ground in July, there’s a good chance that my car will fishtail and spin like a top. Yet I am on the road in winter, as are thousands of other people with vehicles like mine. And some of them are talking on their cell phones while drinking a latte and playing with their radios.

The lesson here is just because your lovely SUV has no problem with the roads does not mean that the rest of us are so fortunate. I admit it is really neat how you can quickly and dart from lane to lane with no skidding or sliding, but I bet you will be really bummed when you realize that I my brakes don’t do well enough to react to your your lane changing in a manner that won’t destroy your bumper. Even if your car handles the snow great, not every driver is so fortunate. Proceed accordingly.

Don’t Be Dumb

Really, this is the cardinal rule of driving in any condition. Drive safely, and don’t be dumb. That works on snowy roads, dry roads, wet roads, and anywhere.

In the big scheme of things, it doesn’t matter how fast you get there…it only matters that you come home at the end of the day.

If you were out traveling anywhere in Wisconsin this weekend you probably noticed a whole lot of dead and gutted deer being hauled home by successful hunters. This year’s gun deer hunting season has begun, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had some really interesting statistics about this year’s hunt.

According to the hunting licenses that were applied for this year, female hunters represented 7.9% of the total number of deer hunters and 13.26% of hunters ages 12 to 25. 20.6% of 12-year-old hunters were girls.

Dane County sold the most deer licenses. (I thought all you Dane County/Madison types hated guns…).

3,100 hunters were over the age of 80.

Source

One thing is certain: this State loves its deer season. 629,752 licenses had been purchased by late Friday.

No this is not some kind of weird dairy state Wisconsin foot race or a kind of fish. Um, salmon creams puffs, sorry does not work for me. What does work for me is standing in line no matter what the high temps to sink my teeth into an awesome work of damage to my diet, the Wisconsin State Fair Cream Puff. Light and airy pastry with a huge load of whipped dairy cream, topped with a dusting of powder sugar that always ends up everywhere on my face, except my mouth. Yes, the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee as started their 10 day run. So I have 10 days, roughly 200 hours to get my butt in line to taste heaven. If you don’t want to run into the fair, don’t forget their drive up. Where else in the US can you have a drive thru at a State Fair? Every one has the some kind of food on the stick, but we top it with the cream puff drive thru!

This morning I was getting my Vinnie fix on the local NBC channel morning show, hoping that one day they will get them brought into the studio. You just know that the anchor Vinnie will not let you down by providing something, just something, if you get my drift! However they had another person reporting from the opening of the fair, and what did he have in his hand, two big, mouth watering cream puffs. When he put them up so that my 50 plus inch TV had the whole picture those cream puffs, I was ready to dive right in. What torture!

So you better get down to the 80th streets and Interstate 90/94 and get them fast before I eat them up!

Ok, you all heard my ranting from the above story, now another one hits my desk. A 17-year-old south suburb, Greenfield girl conspired with a 14 and 16 years old, to rob her parents at gunpoint. Did you miss that last word? Gunpoint!

She had it all planned to have these two boys come in at GUNPOINT to rob her parent’s as a home invasion. Local Police responded to the home at 4:36 a.m. on July 26.

The parents where awoken by a teen brandishing a handgun and demanding money and a gun. The boys where later apprehened and provided a statement to the detectives implicating the victims’ daughter in the execution of the crime. She later confessed and was taken to the Milwaukee County Jail where she is pending formal charges of armed robbery. The boys have been referred to the Milwaukee County Children’s Court Center.

This goes on to say what the heck is it with people under 18 years old in Milwaukee lately. We have 12 years with sledgehammers and 17 year old planning a armed home invasion. Is there something in the water? No the problem honestly is the city. What is there for kids to do at night? They build a club, it gone because of gun fire. They build a skater park, its shut down because of violence. What is it going to take to save this around here? That is something the local guys should push, instead of the local Crate and Barrel or Cheesecake Factory. Give the ages something to do!

Last week several boys where captured on security video trying to break into the Brown Deer Target store with a sledgehammer last week Monday. There are reports that these where boys as young as 11 years old!

First lets explore the age. We are talking 11 year old kids at night bashing in glass doors at a Target with a sledgehammer. What the heck is a 11 year old child doing out at almost 3 in the morning breaking into a Target? And how do you get a sledgehammer to a place? On the bus? Lets ask the last question. Where are the parents? Hey, I know what I was doing at 11 years old, and it was no near a sledgehammer or a Target. Actually at 3am, I know without memory that my backside was pointed towards my bed with visions of, well lets not say who because that would give away my age.

Well according to the Milwaukee police account, yesterday they where able to capture the kids as they returned to the store. They where were recognized by a store security officer, who called Milwaukee police. Actually with all of the local media outlets playing this on their local news I am surprised this did not happen sooner.

After a short foot chase these boys ages 12 - 14 (when booked)where refer to the Milwaukee County juvenile authorities. But then again I go back to the ages and the parents. This is truly a case where the parents should be brought in too. Let’s be honest. This is not the age of responsible parenting here, come on let’s be real. Your 12 year old takes a sledgehammer to a local Target store. What to get games? To get food? Now we know what they wanted and it wasn’t the food.

This is a clear case where the parents should also be held accounted for because that age is not adult, it is not consenting and it is sure too young to be out of bed around 3am on a Monday morning with a sledgehammer!

Late night TV talk show host Tom Snyder who pioneered this style of journalism as passed away at the age of 71 years old from complications of leukemia in San Francisco on Sunday. He was known for having just one guest and talking with them in depth for the whole time with his signature cigarette smoke in the background.

As the host of NBC’s “Tomorrow, which followed the Tonight show from 1973 to ‘82, Mr. Snyder was fortunte to conducted numerous memorable interviews. For us music lovers he conducted John Lennon’s final televised interview in April 1975 and U2’s first U.S. television appearance in June 1981. Or who could forget his wild interview with Wendy O Williams of the famed punk group, one appearance she blew up a TV in the studio, and another appearance she demolished a car.

One of his most famous interviews came when he talked with Charles Manson. This was something I later studied in a Journalism class. You could see the way he weaved his way through the various sides of this person, without judging or losing his cool.

I remember watching his shows, one person sitting in this very plain studio, was such a departure from the glitz of the Tonight Show, thinking the network gave him a raw deal. Later I learned that it was the way he like it. Just plain and simple.

Later in 1982 the network decided to revamp it bringing in a studio audience and adding a co-host, but that he would have none of the glitz. Instead walked away at the height of his success and an unknown young comedian named David Letterman. Never forgetting what Mr. Snyder did for him, Letterman brought him back to create and host of The Late Late Show.

In 2005 on his website Mr. Snyder announced that he had chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

He is survived by his daughter and longtime girlfriend.