Far be it from me to keep hammering like a homer on Hammerin’ Hank. But when the not-so-new news reels come calling …

I just got done phoning and/or texted my one and only brother dear, biologically speaking, about needing a new functional phone and/or fire stick, as he is the one techno one in the family.

I never wanted to be that guy who only contacted him if I needed something, but … However this case was memorable, because indeed he messaged me first!

This was back around the time Bob Uecker passed on … God rest his sarcastic soul … and I got that text from THAT guy. No not Bob, from beyond the grave, but about him, from my bro, asking if I remembered seeing this moment that he called a climatic, if only in our minds, homer that came via the bat of Henry Aaron, he of the brave who returned to our beloved Brewers after a longer-ago stint with the Braves, then in Milwaukee not Atlanta. The game was at the old County Stadium, at a quant old time when the team’s main popularity did not really go much farther than the county line on the reels, but when we drove from not far from northern Michigan that summer, it was a winner-take-all slam of grand proportions. And we were there. Sort of.

— But this is Wisconsin, home of Harvey’s Wallbangers, rather than Iowa and Field of Dreams. But at old Athletic northward Park centerfield, in Merrill, it be over 600 feet away from home plate and over a tall rock wall with spire, but in left some slamming a full 700 feet made it over the river too in back, and in either case — as in Wausau where that same river had flowed 20 miles south — a fielder might spin a full circle, on a bat head, before soggilly catching the ball for himself. —

Mother dear wanted to end our attendance early, understandable for 18 reasons below, not stretching past the seventh inning, as our home team trailed. But when Hammerin’ Hank stepped to the plate in an even later inning, there was a certain something in the air, even though we were sensing it from the car driving away, (having made it a short distance.)

At least known in our minds.

His home run was base-clearing and a game-winner for the Brew Crew. And my brother wanted to know if I recalled the moment, via a four-minute radio highlight clip he happened to stumble upon on the internet, then texted to me. Again, not to repeat as he had so many such homers, but it was Uecker who made the (main) call on play-by-play. The clip rolled on at length through the balls and strikes of the at-bat.

I texted Tom back that I vaguely recalled the moment, thinking that I might have seen it on a church youth group trip, but one such Henry home run that stuck moreso in my mind was a line drive that barely cleared the left field wall. I can recall it landed about 60 feet from the foul line that was running parallel from our prime-seat vantage point — unlike the upper tier blasts of today — and was noteworthy because of its low trajectory and still over the fence. Tom quickly texted back that righto, but that might have been from a different end of that particular doubleheader — we those days would usually take in playing two as we traveled from northern Wisconsin — since we were asking mom to sit through a pair of games.

I did ask Tom if this clip was something that was a product of his cutting and snipping of video escapades, as per capturing their recent family European vacation — and yes, oh you Chevy Chase fans, it did indeed include a long visit to Germany. (I was surprised to see that Tom knew punk rock well enough, even if in light form, to include a bit of tuneage of London Calling from The Clash in an early segment on trekking through the UK. Funky music running like Helter Skelter too. And son Matthew dancing for one of just a few specific times, after being pulled from the crowd by a man doing a stunt, and I think he was wearing lederhosen.) Tom said no, he just came across it while streaming.

I earlier chronicled a come-from-way-behind, walk-off grand slam at a recent game called one of the best ever, where we also had left around the end of the eighth inning, this time Matthew’s choice, and again heard the call over the radio, and do we see a trend here?

What a difference your sex makes. And how much more or less than with indulgent (headliner) rock stars. And how it is reported by various outlets in the news media, and not just the biggest blaring tabloid headlines. And the long arm of the legal system having been reduced to mere inches. (See a few column inches down.) By a sitting president. So we are not talking about Bill Clinton. And not his sex or sax.

President Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC News and its presenter George Stephanopoulos for on-air comments where he asked congresswoman Nancy Mace in an interview why she backs Trump despite him being found “liable for rape.” The joke is obvious here, he might as well have been maced. She doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humor, however, as we will see later.

Last year, a New York civil court found Trump sexually abused E Jean Carroll in 1996.

But the jury did not find the president had actually raped her. The anchor, can I accurately call him that, should have been more vague, like grunge band Stone Temple Pilots around that same time in titleing Sex Type Thing.

The judge in the case later stated that the claim that Trump had raped Carroll was “substantially true … albeit [with his fingers] rather than with his penis.” Under New York law, rape can only be committed with genitals.

— This gets newly Wild although there’s not a big wilderness to traverse, and the XCel Energy Center, as stated, has a whole bunch of sports bars, some more prominent than others, within a few block region right adjacent to the rink, and if you travel a few dozen miles, you’re out in traditional farm country, usually sans ice.

So for hockey fans looking to hook up briefly with one of their faves, that’s not a lot of country to cover. Now a leader in that field as a fan choice, recently retired Zach Parise, is known to be cruising the various rinks in not much more than a quadrant (southwest) of the Twin Cities, going to his kids various youth hockey games. Fans are following behind, running the circuit formed by a small series of major highways, and becoming an entourage.

With Kirill Kaprizov there is less ground to peruse to keep track of him, except when he goes for offseason in Russia, but at first his English would make conversation difficult and he stuck mostly to his apartment. It did get better and he took on a girlfriend and its now becoming steady, and not just on the ice — a third access blocker for crazed local fans wanting a word with him. So there are just as many shorter-stint roadrunner routines done, as the KK, and not Dowling, breakaways on ice. His recent and latest lower body injury and subsequent surgery might end up keeping him at home sooner after various games, or if not having to shower and change after the contests, more accessible. So you have until his March 2 return … —

Carroll was awarded a sum of money for battery, and defamation over disparaging comments made by Trump when he denied her accusation.

The last March interview on ABC’s This Week program began with an archive clip of Mace, who has advocated on behalf of rape victims, talking about dealing with her own previous experience of sexual assault. A serious matter on all ends.

“You endorsed Donald Trump for president,” Stephanopoulos, a former Clinton White House spokesman, said to Mace. “Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape. How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony that we just saw?”

She also drew a distinction between sexual assault and rape, and said the allegation against Trump was not proven in a criminal court. And she alleged that Carroll had joked about the settlement. ABC News had said they settled to avoid being involved in a legal action against a sitting president, but let’s face it, chances of them winning were very high. (And the high amount given was called unusual.) But look how far Jack Smith got ….

Trump has a history of filing defamation suits against the news media, most of which have been unsuccessful.

Now what if I had said a “long” history? And that earlier, I inserted the word “actually” concerning the jury’s findings. Would he come after me?

Or, a question I put to a female friend and Trump supporter and got silence: Would you still vote for him if he groped you?

Since when is a president not considered a public figure; U.S. law says it is difficult or not impossible to libel such a figure and “actual malice” must be shown, not someone just going about their reporting business job and making an honest mistake. In this further step to silence the media and attack the likes of ABC News, MSNBC and CNN, Trump has again defied and denied existence of basic legal principles. Will I be next, I wonder, but doubt I am a big enough fish to merit.

But he can get away with such, so why not her?

I am talking about Lily Phillips, the 23-year-old — can’t be younger than 18 or in practice older than say 25 or 30 — who claims to have broken a record by having sex with more than 100 men in a 24-hour day. She has been labeled as a porn star in headlines by various news outlets that in most cases do not have the respect of those listed above.

To be an actual porn star, does not the result of your most graphic work have to be readily accessible to viewers, as in at least the infamous shot on video. And attaching the word star implies this person has high viewership. So legally, unless her FansOnly web endeavors or other such things go viral, has she not been libeled by being so labeled? It isn’t a certainty for one thing to stem from the other.

Can’t she sue just like Trump? At least the stardom of Stormy Daniels has had a more lasting effect than the 15 minutes, in working just a bit over 15 hours — were not talking only time-and-half but triple time — of fame now gained by Phillips? This form of news media will soon forget about her exploits and go exploit someone else with its news coverage, probably less willing.

To be clear, Phillips is in some part of the “adult industry” and has been photographed appearing in a dress, not undress, at the adult video awards, but it is not clear in which category or if just a presenter. OnlyFans has a lot of nudity, and although straddling a line and may be vague, prohibits on-camera antics such as sexual intercourse, that might be considered illegal or now with new rules even immoral. Granted, they can’t control what models do in their off time and it might be niave to think they don’t stray from the rules. Phillips reportedly filmed her stunt, but it is not clear if it was “published” per se, and that is a requirement for libel. The existence of the stunt came to light via a documentary, and she may have had porn offers since then that are too lucrative to turn down. It may be a matter of what came first. Any such thing she may have done has remained under the radar, or has ramped up in recent weeks, based on a google search. At issue, potentially, is on what date the headlines invoking “porn star” actually appeared. Considering all the adult videos that flood the ever-changing market, of all types, many prosecutors might relish being tasked with the job of “discovery.”

Their behavior invoked, it is unlikely Phillips would get much public sympathy, but Trump won’t or shouldn’t either. But all this raises another question: Is someone showcased in racy Cinemax-style movies, a “porn star.” They more typically are termed as being in “erotic thrillers.” Yes, we may be talking about splitting hairs here — although that’s the case also with the suit brought by Trump — and perhaps my query depends on who, which side, is the legal burden of proof. The work done by Phillips on OnlyFans may even increase.

Move on now to the lawsuit brought by actress Blake Lively in her alleged on-set sexual victimization. A friend of mine, a man, said this of that: What does she expect when shooting a racy movie? A point to be made, but now I have this one to add: For example, if your co-star is supposed to be in a steamy dance with you and the camera is just going to be on your two faces, it is not justified to grab her butt. 

At the place at which I asked him that question, a longtime local bartender has said that a former Cinemax actress used to come in for a drink on that one weeknight she had off. But the guy is cool and I doubt would have asked her about her on-screen work, much less touch her.

I’ve got a grab bag, again, of observations from Valentine’s Day, as we desire to gain in a desirable way that which we desire, but just don’t get her only a grab bag. Put something desirable in it. Or consider making it a small, or bit bigger, box. The Never Ending Story.

A guy pulls into The Nearest Store With V-Day Stuff Or It Will Be D-Day. Like if you forgot her B-Day. He grabs a card quickly, without reading much of it, just enough to know it will pass muster. Sweats a bit as it’s 1:26 p.m. The card, not the one being purchased, but the credit one to pay for the one being purchased, isn’t working. Whew. Then like the magic of the holiday, it’s approved, not necessarily yet by her, but by the key component of the transaction. He motions early with his hand toward the machine to pull it out and get going, but like the Hand Of Doom the Remove Card button just wouldn’t Busta Move. When it finally did, maybe prompted by something like the traction grid at the intersection that gives you a green when risking death and you creep forward and thus sit on it, he made the card(s) grab instantly, Like One Who Knows, and doesn’t want to be a Heartbreaker … Whew again.

This intersections into something my driver has taken to love, one of his online videos. It showed an out there babe he has been following — only online and just viewing her videos — and her preference for pink and white striped flooring, “like a carpet puked.” Do you like the colors, honey? Honey …This is where the experts, on relationships, driven to explain these things, give the same answer to the question of when she asks, I think she looks better than me. Do you agree? Say as little as possible, young man.    

— A last gasp if you still have not met your Valentine’s Day obligations, as this is the season of Red Alarm, or maybe only 3 on the heat scale, chili contests to warm your cackles and her heart and thus your soul, and could that not also melt the snow out in Malibu so it could be diverted into rivers that are further diverted over many acres to put out wildfires? No word on the mudslides. The grand-daddy of such chili contests takes place at Dick’s Bat starting at 1 p.m. Sunday. But based on what the bouncer said there last night, all the size-of-a-nightstand cooking or just maybe reheating spots over three rooms have been taken, so even if you have that killer new recipe to impress her centering on kale-basted-pickle-fried smelt, all that’s left to do is sample the many other entries. But will the roaming judge, as they all do that, still have the old-British-looks-like-white-ropes hairpiece, as in colonial times, as we are going back to that conquest era fast? —

— And there does seem to be some dissatisfaction with The Old Guard of been-in-there-forever circuit court judges, based on the turning out of candidates for last night’s election. And this was only the primary, the first of two. (And there was That School Board Thing also, at both the state and local level, and in a right society that would also attraction attention.)

So the signs have been out and about. Support who and diss who. There were for example, the big and bad almost billboard-size signs for James Johnson, a veteran of the local attorney scene, with those depictions of justice in the form of scales of justice taking up space, glaring at you, staring at you. They didn’t seem to help, as justice is blind and he did not win the contest and be the very top dog, thus one of three. Like in Metallica’s infamous album (back in the day) cover showing a blindfolded statue of liberty. Other signs, for Board of Education, showed things like check marks, pencils and stars. As it was, this primary election only attracted voters in the thousands, not tens of thousands. And with the election only in the books for far less than a day, there was a drapery of a sign posted over a metal fence that pumped up to-be turnout for another such April election, still coming.) —

Ah yes, on the 14th. But what if it was on the 15th? Will she cut you a bit of slack just past midnight? At my Kwik Trip, a cool V-Day special awaits your loved one, via you — as it says, will you be mine — via the killer convenience store. Buy one of a certain few things for her and get something free for her via the 15 visits-as-put-on-your-rewards-card. But then will she no longer be yours, if you try to visit on the 16th? How many are your numbers as per shades of gray, not pink?

You might not make it to Day 17, if you’ve botched this one up. At a local store, its candy special is billed as super sweet, as may be so at first glance. But then there’s these that don’t exactly say love, at least to her, and you don’t want to be a tool: A tool box with (kick) stand and other guy hardware although she can do it too, mongo man’s sweatshirt, guy grub and other gear, and stuff like mop and bucket.

Maybe that’s what he did. An open ended story follows. His frustrated wife put a coffee mug on his face, as it was written, and said to be done. As in a lower form of chuck it onto your cheeks. Just a note: If you’re going to get in his face like that, make sure it’s not decaf as that would not have the same (deathly) sting. Maybe substitute Liquid Death?

So what do you and I really know about Elon Musk, the pseudo-president and ultra businessman, space traverser and South American, god and geek.

There is a lot to say and more of it bad, but some good too, and if you were to pick this interloper’s cabinet it would tell more.

Cut, slash and burn people’s jobs and lives. Yes, as I and others have said for eons, there is waste everywhere in Washington and beyond, and in whole departments but no, not necessarily whole agencies. Especially if you have to make alliance for your boss, it probably gets as bad and specific as ad hocking without bidding private pork hocks onto every government convention menu in the land known as the Midwest, to benefit one little ol’ but well connected (not to Musk) pig farmer in one of the Dakotas. At prime rate paid. OK, not an actual example of pork-barreling, but you get the point. It gets that broad and ranging, and everyone’s pocketbook is hit. But this kind of thing is a Musk must hit target.

But give kudos to Musk for being in businesses and seeing that there is a problem and trying to do something about it. We all have had those many experiences, just for starters, where the same basic information was given and taken more than once, and by different methods, where one would have sufficed if there was more efficiency. But what’s called for there is tweaking, not throwing the baby out with the bathwater, or gutting an entire agency.

The further point is that for every such crimp stopper Musk and his mites snuff out, there are several that for too many reasons to name here that even he will never be able to touch. Every politician, and that’s what Musk is or has become, says they will tackle Washington inefficiency, and every politician eventually and inevitably fails. So you do the truest best you can, and call it good, but don’t bet your entire agenda on it — such as economic growth coming out of nowhere will fix all our problems — or there for sure will be no second term or second chance to fix all that waste that didn’t wane. For either Musk or Trump. And have a little compassion for those lifer corporate-government workers who are depending on that pension.

Then back to the latest gaffe of the week or even day, that being the goof-up take on racism by The Two concerning South Africa. Specifically on the new government plan to take back your rich white man farmer land and redistribute some of it to black farmers. Black people reportedly make up 80 percent of the country’s population but only 4 percent of private landowners.

So Musk and his men, Trump among them, are pulling out of the plan, saying this disenfranchises white farmers. There may be some of that, but let’s back up.

If there is to be such a plan, some of the money fleeced from black farmers over centuries should be used to carefully vett the program and who gets what. I am sure that much of the landowning is an, if slightly scaled back version, JR Ewing corporate model and thus pity them. Those, and not the average family farmer, should be the people the government program targets.

I will give this to Musk and his take on the inefficiency of bureaucracy, that there may be some smaller, white sharecropper-types that get stung in the process.

I will now address that whole thing of White Power salutes; you might add on those shown by the older-day Black Panthers. There are about two, or three things, at work here: White or Black or Power. They can be separately taken. Like when Phil, the lead singer of metal pounders Pantera struck such a pose, at a poignant point near the end of an all-out rocker. It could be that a fist is simply a show of power, and an embracement, of any type of unusually strong (and maybe not altruistic) sentiment and nothing more. Especially if done spontaneously, like when being in-the-moment like Phil. Musk may or may not have had time to plan or reconsider before thrusting.

So with Musk … Is he straight up racist? I would almost for sure say prompting white privilege.

That cabinet …

So who should he hire to help him? A planner and strategist, someone who takes a fleeting idea or raw concept and turns it into a full-blown, workable plan. A PR hack, who can take some of his more far-flung ideas and spin them for a semblance of sense. And a personal presence coach, to show a better grip and grin, and less geekishness.

And make him more of a rock star.

What’s hot stays hot. Including the Super Bowl. So then there was that one nun, you know, the one I’ve talked about who got the name of the Philly team wrong and thought it was a small dog, not a Big Dawg that was let out. Or was it Cincy? I’m guessing the first since her (B)Eagles are still Stayin’ Alive and Flyin’ High Again and High as Heaven. (Like Mary Jane these days.) And now to complete the joke, the Bengals now are has-beens — like the Chiefs? And as things go in cycles, possibly soon Taylor Swift too (and beau? Or will he renew?) But their end is still tight …

This one, not so much so. (Old) news from one of my other Holy Friends. There was a balloon, actually a blimp, over The Big Game that dragged a banner backing inclusion and diversity. But apparently it’s not big enough for that, as with the presence of Trump, it was ordered taken down. So she boycotted the game. As in have none.

Back back to more hot air, as in the Hudson Affair. Which will be back again early next February.

Staying Alive takes a lot of effort, like putting colored checkers on a hot air balloon canvas — and you can paint those too — to resemble disco-ball-type sparkles. Or kinda like shoveling snow but much better. Of course there is much more than music, (which was profiled in the post below), to Staying Alive in 2025! There are a full 38 separate semi-events listed for the Hudson Hot Air Affair, spelled out and slated out in not skated out in this winter event, in pink capital letters.

— Overnight into Monday morning, crews will be showcasing not their football analysis, but in a backwards way their teardown skills as they remove Super Bowl merchandising. As this is a commercial-driven event. At Walmart, for example, the late advertising forming a second entryway by the front door featured another gateway of sorts, a goalpost shaped rendition of boxes of potato chips and Pepsi. But don’t they know that the crossbar is the lowest, not highest-horizontal-running bar, in forming this big-box-shape of stacked boxes, metaphorically and otherwise? Dunk height, to mix sports.

I had taken a cab to get to this last place of buying madness, arrving just before gametime, as the two AAA batteries in my TV remote had run out. Small but powerpacking. Also got some chips and trail mix and beef jerky, turkey-based this time, and — yuck for this day? — cranberry juice too. I was going to duck into Green Mill and check out the first quarter, but I figured things would not be just ducky there, and the place was probably packed. The cabbie concurred, saying that I was and is his last running fare of the day. —

There are of course the three signature balloon launches, weather permitting of course and we’re expecting at least some ice baby — but there are plenty of other activities to provide melting — where more than three dozen will be perched on the ground and waiting to go, burners on. They occur around dawn on Saturday and Sunday morning, (set for 7:35 a.m. if you’re counting), and 3 p.m. on Saturday.

This is important: The launches are this year at a different location, as in a different school, this one just south of town. And the only parking there is for disabled — people not their cars — others must take a shuttle, so don’t wait until the last minute if you’re lingering at something (such as the traditional smoosh boarding set for 1 p.m. on the other end of the playground) for such comedy/competition/chaos as hey, four boards are not too many for eight feet, and oh that’s a weekend band! The actual site for the balloons to crest is the River Crest School.

Don’t forget the torchlight parade at 7 p.m. at this time, the same downtown site and route, with dozens of glowing and glaring gonzo floats to entice you.

And all weekend long, the event is driven by the Eat-Shop-Play promotion at Hudson and its area businesses, shops, run destinations and restaurants and nightspots, across more than one commerce district. A few dozen of these. There are coupons on the event flyer. And there is also the accompanying Sippin’ With The Hotties beverage crawl, with liberal loads of locally-created libations to sample, loaded or NA, and you can vote for your favorite and get a chance at a gift certificate — to come back for more, close to a dozen’s worth.

For example, Pedro’s Pizza Lounge invites you to try their Hot Buttered Rum, and if you order a big enough pizza, (see more about pizza and the Super Bowl below), as the Hot Air Affair like Texas goes big, you get a free glass of wine or beer. (Pedro’s is going out of its way, as it normally specializes in small plates.)

For more info, especially on the shuttle service, see HudsonHotAirAffair.com.

To spread out, and along the lines of diverse activities, musically, check out the genre-bending (about three or four kinds) band The Wilderness (much more than kill deer) at the Gaslite in Ellsworth on Saturday evening, profiled earlier on these pages.

— But with The Big Game coming, said thus for copyright reasons, you can go pizza, but maybe even more with produce, as they go together, with taco too. At County Market, there are four big bins right when you walk in the door, and they are telling. There are of course limes and avacados, (as when mixed with tequila, get your margaritas before tariff time), and also purple onions, (not lighter colors), and tomatos, (the red more than green bell pepper shaped kind.) Note the presence of Purple and Green in such bins, but those Minnesconin teams will not be playing Sunday. And as for the Gold shared by both squads, there are no lemon bins up front either, or yellow peppers.)

But on The Tube at the sports bar, there were more pizza ads, like at The Hut where you’ve never seen so many mounds of cheese (we are in Wisconsin) and pepperoni and the like and I’m guessing we’re talking at least three pies for a special price — but they were already being crowded out by admonishments for that materialistic holiday of holidays, Valentine’s Day. And online being floated by Fleet Farm, you could see specials on all related things such as garbage bags, pizza ovens and frozen pizza too, and even easy chairs if your spouse is the one sticking it in.

Meanwhile, across town we have just in time for all of the above celebrations, winter sales and such, winter frosty hair creations being hawked, and yes the winter market (made up in part by my Winter family?) at The Phipps Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, as not to compete with the Hot Air Affair events. There are also two more on Saturdays in March, third and fifth. —

Mountains of mini-balloons, some with hundreds or more of sparkly things adorning them, are Stayin’ Alive in 2025 as they started appearing around town right after New Year’s, which is in itself the queen of sparkle. Just check out, and claim your steak, the front window(s) at Bennett’s Chop and Railhouse, and other event sponsors.

You can see that influence, like an Old School supper club vibe, as mentioned below, in the theme ala theme of an event that’s being redone now 40 or so times running. Via like Steve Vai — who also recently played Wisconsin — bands who have been there, done that.

So, it is that time of year again, for the regionally-crucial Hudson Hot Air Affair ballooning event of the winter, like we needed to tell you that, although the temps have been very mild at some times, and if the breeze matches, it will thereby bode well for, again, their 40 or so envelopes to go postal and deliver with actual launches. We’ll see if the skies agree, and reveal a disco ball, all this coming weekend.

Again, this year’s theme is an oldie but goodie. And it’s where the glitz comes in. It’s a simple theme, actually, just Stayin’ Alive in 2025. You might need their help for that, these days.

To wit, the old Empourium in the town of Hudson across from the iconic truck stop brings back the heyday of Hudson rock ‘n’ roll — country too — with the solid, legendary and longtime band Austin Healy, for a Saturday night after-glow as in the Moonglow-shot-and-show, after all the ballooning events are done for the early evening. They play the various old and new sub-genres of country music, even as it crosses into rock, like they’d never missed a rehearsal, going back to the days of George Strait. This is a venue that more and more people are making it a point to check out, hello decades-back-Hastings Tom and crew, with its big ballroom, and make it a renewed and party part of their music-taking-in rotation.

Austin Healy has covered numerous country rock songs online — and don’t forget Dirty White Boy by Foreigner — and then there was a couple of years ago, with Have U 8 Yet, with no vocals (unusual for them) and complex grooves right off the bat and sustained. It smacks of Once Bitten, Twice Shy, and as for Foreigner, that song is and has been in my head lately.

Dick’s Bar and Grill has a relatively new deejay — so if you were at the balloon fest last year there is something new to check out — helping build a brand new clientele, both Friday and Saturday night, and he gets by with a little help from his (dancing) friends, under the lights shaped a bit like balloons. He specializes in urban-style dance music such as hip-hop and rap and funk and more until its doors shut, as many as six of them, and there is crossover as you may hear Eminem meet Twenty Dollars in my Pocket. You can check your cross necklace at the door.

The Smilin’ Moose Lodge Bar and Grill offers quality deejay music, which has old standbys a lot, in keeping with a Way Back theme, and such accompanying entertainment every weekend, and the party always keeps on running in the manner of a late last call. They also get the party started, on Thursday evening with karaoke, one of the longest lasting stints for such that’s running right now in Hudson.

But no one can challenge the karaoke run, going on for many years straight if you discount a brief hiatus during the pandemic, at Hudson Bowling Center in a much more intimate setting via the plaza lounge. It’s Saturday starting at (around) 9:30 p.m. all around the arch at mid-bar range, and entailing many flashy singers in an area directly opposite the alleys, open too.

Ziggy’s Hudson has music every day of the week, except maybe some Monday, often in the lower level with smaller and tighter groups, and up top with full bands among the lumber on weekends. Going on this weekend are Coconut Tiger on Friday night and Pop Syndrome on Saturday night.

Big Guys BBQ Roadhouse, just north of the village, and the Willow River Saloon over west in Burkhardt, also have bands in full stature on the days that constitute the weekend, both using a raised platform to push up the stage. And both have that roadhaus feel.

At Big Guys, the band known by Let ‘Er Rip will rip through it on Friday night, with the group 8-Foot-4, which always seems to make a showing at such festivals, going on Saturday.

Shift across-country to the Willow River Inn in Burkhardt — and also if early on the adjoining Carbone’s Pizza — with the old gents of Rizer. Not Rise Against. There is no word on what might be happening on Saturday, with the Super Bowl coming … 

Hop N Barrel Brewing Company offers some of the earliest music in the weekend, from 7-9 p.m. Friday, in the form of Sten Carlson with a Scandinavian vibe. Then get up early the next morning for not just the balloon launches, but a bean bag contest operated indoors, a rarity, in the big back room. Signup is around 10 a.m. with tossings starting at noon. They continue to roll out new craft brews regualrly with parties on that kind of theme, and new to their big front window right now are vibish signs for Zorro Rojo, showing a ranger cat with weapon, and Dock’s, an IPA being held by a man wearing baseball hat, sunglasses and T-shirt.

Other event sponsors in the nightclub realm include, also across-country are Cheap Andy’s Saloon in Hammond and related Nutty Squirrel Sports (again) Saloon, and back in Hudson, Jonesy’s Local Bar and Grill, and downtown, Lucky Guys Distillery and Pedro’s Pizza Lounge.