Welcome to #WeWant, a weekly selection of the stuff OnMilwaukee.com editors and staffers love.
Document it: Scratchy Map
If you're a world traveler, it's fun to keep track and/or brag about where you've been. A new project on Kickstarter allows you to do this in a fun and different way. It's a 33x24 inch world map with each one of the world's 193 countries printed under scratch-off material. After you visit, you scratch off the gray and reveal a bright color. Simple and cool. For $39, it's a neat piece of art that will inspire you to see the world. –Andy Tarnoff
Play with them: Martin Acoustic
I've played a lot of guitar strings over the years, some better than others. But the Martin Acoustic SP are just about the best I've ever tried. Easy on the fingers, they stay in tune longer than any other I've ever played. They have a very clear tone, bright and crisp. I like the phosphor bronze light strings because the sound is wonderful and they are easy to bend. –Dave Begel
Drink them: Veglio Barolo and Bacco Sweet Red
For folks with allergies, headaches and nausea can make drinking red wine an experience to avoid. Piedmont, Italy's Michelino Veglio Wines – a small, family-owned and operated winery that offers a wide range of Piedmontese varietals, including Barbaresco and Moscato d'Asti – is the first to market with low-histamine bottlings of Dolcetto and Barbera, selected by consultant Sebastiano Romello. With less than 0.5 mg of histamine per liter, these wines allow everyone to enjoy two of Piedmont's classic varietals without fear of physiological retribution (other than the kind that comes with drinking too much, of course). Recently, I tasted Veglio's Barolo, which is more delicate than bolder examples, with a medium body, rich tannins and spicy black fruit and tobacco notes. Buy two so you can cellar one for a few years. The Bacco Sweet Red occupies the other end of the spectrum, blending 70% Dolcetto and 30% Barbera. As the name suggests, it is supremely drinkable – more sweet than dry – with just 9.5% alcohol and ripe fruit. –Bobby Tanzil0
Read it: "Making Nice"
Books come. Books go. Some stick with you. Others fade into oblivion. Technology affords readers more ways to satiate their hunger for text in more ways than ever, but with myriad choices, where will you find your next well-thumbed tome? Enter "Making Nice" by Matt Sumell. His style makes this book the most connected I’ve felt to a writer’s prose in a long time, and his navigation through seemingly mundane, everyday events in interesting ways draws you in and doesn’t let go. He’ll make you laugh. He’ll make you cry. And he’ll make you feel just about every emotion available along the way. But more importantly, he’ll make you think about things in new ways and look at things through new lenses. Anger? Check. Family dysfunction? Got it. Failed romance? Present and accounted for. But it’s his narrator Alby’s tales of loss that hurt your heart, in a good way, if that’s possible? On my ever-shrinking bookshelf, "Making Nice" earns two spots – a copy for me and one to loan to those deemed worth. Try to find your own copy today. You won’t be disappointed. –Mark Zimmerman
Use it: Sushi Roller
I gotta admit, I only think I want this. I actually wonder how well it works. If it really makes perfect, tight sushi rolls then I definitely want it, but if it's a gimmick and doesn't really work that well, then it's just going to end up at Goodwill. I make a lot of sushi at home and have gotten better at "rolling my own," but I'm still wondering if this little gadget could make my Japanese food making experience even better. Hmmm. –Molly Snyder
Wow Em: Zinc Gold Tone Keyset
Though it's designed as a gaming keyboard, I keep my Poker ii in rotation at work. I love the small footprint and the MX blue switches are super comfortable to type on. Massdrop is currently offering a set of gold-tone zinc keycaps and I really like the idea of a gold-on-white keyboard. I'd rather have a blank set in gold, but I haven't been able to find one anywhere. I passed on these last time and regretted it; might be time to jump in. –Nick Barth