Ace of Spades HQ

September 30, 2007

Serious matters of state
— Purple Avenger

Resolved: Should Milwaukee have a (privately funded) bronze statue of Fonzie downtown?

The discussion is getting heated and people are weighing in on this serious question in earnest. The detractors seem to slightly outnumber the proponents right now.

The bulk of the detractors seem to think a Fonzie statue is somehow beneath the image of Milwaukee they have in their minds, or just consider it a waste of money.

Cities have wasted money on far sillier things than statues of Fonzie though, at least the statue would retain some intrinsic scrap value should future generations decide its presence is simply too painful to endure. Palm Beach has a large ceramic fish statue along one of the streets. Last time I checked, the scrap value of a large ceramic fish was $0.00/lb. You have to pay to have'em carted away.

As for those who think it besmirches the (false) image they have in their minds of Milwaukee - get over it fools. Milwaukee is not Chicago or NYC and will never be Chicago or NYC in my lifetime. The Cheesehead snobbery thing doesn't work. Trust me on that.

Immortalize the Fonze in bronze? - I'm down with it.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 07:48 PM | Comments (44)
Post contains 205 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Will the statue be placed on private property, or is it intended to be a donation to the city government? If the former, what compelling interest does the city have in infringing upon the property owner's rights?

Posted by: Slowking Man at September 30, 2007 07:58 PM (XFjaO)

2 All the detractors of the Fonze can sit on it!

Posted by: Mark in Spokane at September 30, 2007 08:05 PM (q4UHB)

3
The bulk of the detractors seem to think a Fonzie statue is somehow beneath the image of Milwaukee

Just to echo a point you made, one has to marvel at what "beneath the image of Milwaukee" would look like. There should probably be a contest.

Posted by: VRWC Agent at September 30, 2007 08:34 PM (Z3AmO)

4 I'm thinking along the lines of Mogadishu or Beirut.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at September 30, 2007 08:43 PM (bEmmq)

5 Planet of the Apes 2

Posted by: z ryan at September 30, 2007 08:59 PM (PDeVA)

6 It's pretty bad when the only thing your city can brag about is a fictional TV character.

Posted by: Barry in CO at September 30, 2007 09:23 PM (kKjaJ)

7 Hey, Philly has a statue of Rocky Balboa. The Phillies played scenes from Rocky before today's game. Rocky is a secular freakin' God around here. Build the damn Fonzie statue already Milwaukee. You won't regret it. Pissing off the local artistes while drawing a few twisted tourists is a wonderful thing.

Posted by: Dr. Remulak at September 30, 2007 10:10 PM (Fab1X)

8 ;">"Schlemeel, schlemazel, hasenfeffer incorporated ;">."

;">I'm mad at the blatant anti-female bias of a Fonzie statue. What about Laverne and Shirley?

Posted by: Nom de Blog at September 30, 2007 10:35 PM (6Ie+q)

9 Winkler is a big moonbat, though, isn't he?

Posted by: someone at September 30, 2007 10:49 PM (2z2WN)

10 yeah, but he's still the Fonz. They have a Mel Gibson monument not far from Stirling Castle in Scotland, so why not?

Posted by: someone2 at October 01, 2007 12:33 AM (YvgAb)

11 I still think Fonzie was nailing Marion (and maybe Joanie) while Howard was at work.

Just sayin'.

Posted by: Dead Career Sketch at October 01, 2007 01:22 AM (NdG3x)

12 Heyyy, The Fonz did well with the all the older chicks! And Joanie, she came along for the ride!

That statue better be hung right...

Posted by: TheFonz at October 01, 2007 02:28 AM (IPeRj)

My concept of the ideal statue, is a Democrat pol dipped in Bronze. That way, pigeon droppings actually serve a purpose.

So, what greater purpose a statue of Fonzie would serve, I've no
idea. My guess is people are not going to drive more than 30 miles out
of their way to see it. The locals are likely to be somewhat
embarrassed by the tie-in, with which they have absolutely no
connection.

Certainly, there are worse examples of taxpayer funded art around.
But if you're going to setup a large pigeon perch why not set up
something that has some deeper philosophical meaning ?

Posted by: Bithead at October 01, 2007 02:29 AM (KdiBh)

It's envy. Minneapolis already has a Mary Tyler Moore statue.

A monument to a fictional character in a production filmed in Los Angeles. What city wouldn't take pride erecting such a thing?

Posted by: Rittenhouse at October 01, 2007 02:43 AM (MoS6J)

15 I've lived in both Milwaukee and Chicago, and that WI superiority thang is palpable, I've even been called a FIB ( F#*^ing Illinois Bastard) because they think Beertown is so mush better than Chicago.C'mon, its a nie litle city and all but get real and get a life.Over by dere in Cudahay it;s almost like being a Canuk,hey.

Posted by: Lindsay's pipe at October 01, 2007 02:57 AM (LLCm9)

16 He rode a Triumph. In Milwaukee. Kee-rist, only in Hollywood.

Posted by: comatus at October 01, 2007 03:17 AM (VjNM6)

17 Hey, Why not? He freed the squares, didn't he?

Posted by: lordsomber at October 01, 2007 04:14 AM (FkL60)

You know wiserbud, I knew that joke was in there but I couldn't get it out.

Good work.

I'm mostly wondering what they're going to find on his thumb after each weekend night.

Posted by: Veeshir at October 01, 2007 04:35 AM (ThMnZ)

19 There are snobs in Milwaukee? Based on what?!

Posted by: ricpic at October 01, 2007 04:36 AM (tng3f)

The detractors seem to slightly outnumber the proponents right now.

So other than Ralph Malph, Potsie, Richie and Pinkie Tuscadero, who's opposed?

Posted by: Sticky B at October 01, 2007 04:38 AM (jiwXA)

21 I'm shocked that this even an issue. Didn't anyone say "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" during the first objection. That should have settled the matter.

Posted by: Shtetl G at October 01, 2007 04:39 AM (VOWis)

First mankind made statues of Gods

Then it was Kings

Then it was Heros

Then it was naked people

Then it was blobs of abstraction given obscure names

Now it's fictional characters from entertainment intended to pacify the proles and dogsbodies.

Sad, sad, sad.

The only place left to fall is to statues of Brittany. .

Posted by: Lokki at October 01, 2007 05:08 AM (wSBsc)

14: It's envy. Minneapolis already has a Mary Tyler Moore statue.

by: Rittenhouse

Tha's exactly what I was thinking. I walk past Miss Moore a couple times a week and I think Fozie is far more culturally weighty. And I hardly think that Milwaukee is that much better the Minneapolis

Just my 2 cents

Posted by: Tavis C at October 01, 2007 05:15 AM (McH9+)

24 The statue could be worse. I mean, they could pay millions of dollars for some artist to weld three I-beams together into an asterisk, paint the whole thing orange and put it at the end of Wisconsin Ave right by the lake front...

oh wait...

Posted by: JSchuler at October 01, 2007 05:21 AM (MayXJ)

25 Did someone say Hasenpfeffer-Incorporated?

I posted about this last Friday on the Miller fetish-festival thread. This town has a sense of self-loathing that is not to be believed.

(But the FIBs...Jesus God, people learn how to read a fucking road sign--"Chicago Use Center Lane" does NOT MEAN COME TO A COMPLETE STOP IN THE LEFT LANE ON THE I-43 ON-RAMP)

Posted by: Heather at October 01, 2007 05:52 AM (yG+tb)

26 I guess you don't get it. The whole cheesehead thing is embracing a common insult for us and is somewhat self deprecating.

I don't feel too bad about the FIBs thing. If Illinois people weren't like locusts descending upon our state and driving like it's downtown Chicago every summer weekend maybe we wouldn't be so irritated with them.

But anyways, the Fonzie thing is stupid.

Posted by: tehdinj at October 01, 2007 06:06 AM (9KZ7w)

27 "First mankind made statues of Gods
Then it was Kings
Then it was Heros
Then it was naked people
Then it was blobs of abstraction given obscure names
Now it's fictional characters from entertainment intended to pacify the proles and dogsbodies."

That last one was a step up.

Besides, I worship the Bronze Fonze.

Posted by: Cincinnatus at October 01, 2007 06:09 AM (8lzaC)

28 Yeah, Lokki, this proposal pretty much sums up everything that is wrong with Western civilization at the moment.

Posted by: Rittenhouse at October 01, 2007 06:12 AM (zS9LP)

29 Well, I can't say I'd be too terribly surprised if someone put up a Sam Malone statue here.

Posted by: Farmer Joe at October 01, 2007 06:24 AM (gDNGv)

30 Andy Griffith has a statue in Raleigh. I say what the hell.

Posted by: Dudley Smith at October 01, 2007 06:36 AM (0S8Xt)

31 Hmmmm.

beneath the image of Milwaukee

Is this actually possible?

Posted by: memomachine at October 01, 2007 07:49 AM (3pvQO)

What next...JR statue in Dallas Alley?

Dun-de-dum-tha-ta-da...

Posted by: Paladin at October 01, 2007 07:52 AM (AfORa)

33 It will need to be a diversity Fonz, because there weren't any minorities in the Happy Days cast.

Posted by: Rittenhouse at October 01, 2007 08:33 AM (zS9LP)

34 Dudley Smith,
That's a statue of Matlock. Get it right!

Posted by: Nom de Blog at October 01, 2007 09:08 AM (6Ie+q)

35 Whoops. I forgot to change my name on the above post #37 to "Old People Who Stay at Home on Saturday Night de Blog".

Posted by: Nom de Blog at October 01, 2007 09:09 AM (6Ie+q)

I thought Milwaukee was famous becuase a bunch of beer is brewed there?

Wouldn't a leather jacket wearing statue with a thumb up saying "A" fit in there pretty well?

Posted by: Gunstar1 at October 01, 2007 11:41 AM (zh8i1)

37 Couldn't you have a statue of The Fonz jumping over the ceramic fish.

Posted by: Kevin B at October 01, 2007 12:05 PM (qBeum)

38 I've even been called a FIB ( F#*^ing Illinois Bastard) because they think Beertown is so mush better than Chicago.

Actually, we think the whole state is better. I live about an hour from the UP and that's common consensus up here, too.

As for the Fonz... well, he's no Hodag.

Posted by: catbat at October 01, 2007 01:50 PM (uAxIr)

39 I think it's funny that Happy Days is almost non-existent in reruns, except for tv-land, and nobody under the age of 40 has a clue as to who this weird bronze guy with his thumb up is!

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