An alternative to the archaic method of producing nuclear energy from Uranium/Plutonium is to use Thorium. (Nukes in Wisconsin Not Likely - Shepherd Express - August 14, 2008) Because Thorium is not a fissile material: There is no danger of a melt-down or nuclear proliferation because it is not suitable for the production of weapon grade materials in fact we should be able to share information with our “enemies.”

Love it or hate it, the high-profile Bronze Fonz statue is nearly complete and gearing up for its placement on the Riverwalk. While the art elite cringe, the city is celebrating today with a slew of events. The Fonz himself, Henry Winkler, will be on hand as Culver’s dishes out free frozen custard from 11 a.m. to . . .

The Fonzie celebration spills over into tonight’s 7:05 p.m. Milwaukee Brewers/Houston Astros game, which cast members from “Happy Days” will attend. Fans will receive a special Fonz baseball card and Anson Williams (“Potsie”) will sing the national anthem—you can’t make this stuff up. No word as to whether Marion . . .

Eddie Vedder’s deep-throated yowl has been parroted by some of the very worst modern music has to offer, from odious “American Idol” contestants to chest-beating Christian rockers. Don’t hold it against him. Vedder himself has denounced the stage-diving, jock-rock posturing of Pearl Jam’s early . . .

Plenty of listeners argue that the essence of jazz is chaos, or rather a channeled, directed chaos. While this may not be true for all jazz, it’s certainly the case for the Milwaukee trio ha HA Potato, who opt for dual drums and a saxophone instead of a traditional setup. The resulting sound is unruly as you’d expect, yet . . .

The Harley-Davidson Museum’s recent opening comes just a few weeks before the corporation’s 105th anniversary, and it’s already attracting tourists with its splendid collection of motorcycles. Naturally there is a gift shop and, for those who have time to stay longer, a cafe and restaurant. This week, that restaurant . . .

For the fourth in a series of films made outside of his beloved New York, Woody Allen moves from Great Britain to sunnier climes. Set in Spain, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is an ocean away from his mature Manhattan comedies geographically, but emotionally it might as well be just across the Hudson. A rueful examination of love, desire and the impossibility of achieving happiness, VCB unfolds in a dreamy Europe where everyone is a poet or a thinker and great conversations spark to life around copious glasses of wine even in the humblest cafés.

Asia has become fertile ground for horror films. A steady parade of such movies from the Far East have been poached by Hollywood, gutted of their subtlety in clumsy adaptations and pushed into multiplexes, mostly to little acclaim. Remade from a recent South Korean film, Mirrors is the latest among the mediocre-bad attempts to transpose an Asian supernatural sensibility into an American popcorn flick. Kiefer Sutherland stars as Ben, a troubled ex-NYPD detective relieved of duty following a fatal shooting. Popping prescription medication to fight his alcoholic

The Harley-Davidson Museum’s recent opening comes just a few weeks before the corporation’s 105th anniversary, and it’s already attracting tourists for the splendid collection of motorcycles. Naturally there is a gift shop and, for those who have time to stay longer, a cafe and restaurant. This week, that restaurant . . .