Mark's blog
Sporadic blog posts on a wide variety of topics, by Racine, Wisconsin web designer and blogger Mark Czerniec.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi: Mastermind AND numbskull?
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was in the news again yesterday when Multi-National Force-Iraq released outtakes of his recent propaganda video. Coalition officials held a news conference during which Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch ridiculed Zarqawi's weapons-handling skills and...
Creeping Charlie (ground ivy, Glechoma hederacea)
"Every minute I stay in this room I get weaker. And every minute Charlie squats in the bush he gets stronger." — Capt. Benjamin L. Willard in Apocalypse Now (1979) When we moved here at the end of last August, the drought had baked the lawn pretty well, and it...
President Bush: ‘Signing statements’ make him 3 branches in 1
Remember back in school when you were forced to read and recite all that mumbo jumbo about "separation of powers," "checks and balances," and America's "three branches" of government? What a drag, huh? Happily, schoolkids can forget all...
Labeling immigrants — with plastic embossing tape?
As they are wont to do when devoting all of their news-reporting efforts to a single topic, CNN has designed a special title graphic for today's "Day Without Immigrants." There's barbed wire, and there are pant legs and shoes, but what I'm curious about is the font....
Taqueria Azteca: Milwaukee Mexican restaurant
View Larger Map Taqueria Azteca 119 E Oklahoma Ave Milwaukee, WI 53207 (414) 486-9447 Finding ourselves on Milwaukee's South Side, we decided, based on a Yelp review I had seen, to try Taqueria Azteca at about 4:30 this afternoon — a rainy, windy Sunday. I was looking...
Birding: Backyard birds in Racine, Wisconsin
We have been feeding birds for years, but moving has made a huge difference in the variety of birds that visit us. The apartment in Kenosha was a second-floor flat. We hung feeders outside a couple of windows which attracted mostly House Sparrows and some House...
Main Moon 2: Chinese restaurant in Racine, WI
View Mark Czerniec's Racine & beyond in a larger map Main Moon 2 4915 Washington Ave Suite I Racine, WI 53406 (262) 638-9888 (262) 638-9988 (262) 638-1388 (fax) With two Racine locations, Main Moon serves this city's most popular Chinese...
Recipe: Hummus with Tahini (chickpea dip / spread with sesame seed paste)
Hummus, the ubiquitous chickpea dip of Middle Eastern restaurants (also spelled houmous, hommus, hummous, humus, or homus), is available pre-made in small plastic tubs at Jewel, but it's very easy to make your own at home. We buy the tahini at Tenuta's; they carry the...
Honada Sushi & Hibachi restaurant (Kenosha, Wisconsin)
Honada Sushi & Hibachi 8501 75th St Suite G Kenosha, WI 53142 (262) 697-5228 Wonderful sushi in Kenosha? Kenosha, Wisconsin, the city of tattoos, taverns and pizza parlors? It doesn't seem possible, and yet here it is at Honada. Since...
Charlie Beinlich’s Food & Tap (Northbrook, IL restaurant)
View Larger Map Charlie Beinlich's Food & Tap 290 Skokie Blvd Northbrook, IL 60062 (847) 564-9328 Great hamburgers in a great room since 1950. Charlie Beinlich's (charliebeinlichs.com) is a family-run place with knotty pine paneling and mounted trout on the wall....
Barney’s Memphis Style Ribs restaurant (Racine, WI)
Barney's Memphis Style Ribs 2920 Taylor Ave Racine, WI 53405 (262) 636-0051 Update: Barney's Memphis Style Ribs closed in November 2006 and was replaced in March 2007 by Teddy & Vic's Pig n' Out Barbecue. The Pig n' Out menu looks similar (right down to "The...
Tenuta’s Delicatessen & Liquors: Italian deli in Kenosha, WI
Tenuta's Delicatessen & Liquors 3203 52nd St Kenosha, WI 53144 (262) 657-9001 Tenuta's (TenutasDeli.com) is the best thing in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I say this as someone who lived in K-Town for 43 years. It's the number one attraction...
Houmann’s Fish & Seafood (Racine, Wisconsin)
Houmann's Fish & Seafood 1026 Liberty St Racine, WI 53404 (262) 633-2477 Update: The Houmann's retail store described here CLOSED (at least for the time being) on October 7, 2006. See the Journal Times story for more information. Empire Fish in Milwaukee is one...
Racine Produce: Mexican grocery in Racine, WI
Racine Produce 3701 Durand Ave Racine, WI 53405 (262) 554-5100 Update: Racine Produce is closed Racine Produce closed in October, 2009. See the Journal Times for more information. For a good selection of reasonably-priced produce, try Kenosha Fresh Market. [includeme...
Food Folks & Spokes in Kenosha: Superweek pro cycling race
Note: This blog post was made during the 1995 SuperWeek Pro Tour. For a more current listing of SuperWeek stages, see my Calendar of Events & Festivals. The past couple of weekends, we've been following the International Cycling Classic, commonly known as...
2005 Tour de France starts Saturday on Outdoor Life Network
Time does fly. It seems like only yesterday that the Spring 2005 catalog from World Cycling Productions arrived in my mailbox. Now, already, the Tour de France is about to begin once again. Over three weeks, the toughest cyclists in the...
Wimbledon time warp
I don't like the way NBC parcels out their Wimbledon coverage to us folks in the US Central time zone. First of all, NBC only wants a certain center cut, so we start this morning watching live tennis on ESPN2, just like we did last week....
British law to protect religion from hatred — and laughter?
This morning there was a story on NPR's Weekend Edition (click the "Listen" button) about a new law in Britain banning incitement to religious hatred. Reportedly Michael Palin, of Monty Python fame, has said that under this law, the comics would not have been able to...
Kenosha HarborMarket: Farmer’s market on the lakefront
Last Saturday — and then again today — we visited the Kenosha's HarborMarket. My dad used to take me to Kenosha's Farmer's Markets when I was a kid. He made the best dill pickles I have ever tasted. We would go to the grocery store to get the vinegar, the salt, the...
Steve Jobs commencement address wins me away from Windows
At exactly the right time, Steve Jobs has turned me away from the Dark Side. I have been agonizing over a laptop purchase for several months now. My first "real" personal computer (after the Interact I helped manufacture here in Kenosha)...
Memorial Day weekend up north
We spent the weekend visiting family up north. You can see an antonishing mess of stars in the sky up there. You can also find a hell of a lot of ticks crawling on you after a short walk. It is not the wilderness. America's franchise/sprawl culture is sprouting its...
The New Mastersounds at Subterranean in Chicago
It's hard for me to find any new music to get excited about these days. The last band that really impressed me was The White Stripes, and they're venerable veterans now. Before that, Lucinda Williams' Car Wheels on a Gravel Road blew me away. That was seven years ago....