Our cover story this week is "The Seven Deadly Sins of Fun." Don't worry, we're not going all theological on you. But I will admit to admiring the conceit of tying our irregularly regular Nightlife column to the classical checklist of bad behavior.
The credit for the conception goes, of course, to the author, Laurie Stark. This is her fourth Nightlife contribution since her first effort last November. She was discovered by arts editor Kenneth Burns, who spotted her writing on, where else, the Internet. She maintains that Net presence at your-illfitting-overcoat.blogspot.com. She's also a Twitterer and can be followed at @your_overcoat.
Well, we can't say that she doesn't have material to work with. Madison has had an outsized nightlife for as long as they've been calling it "Sin City." Which is a long time. Not the least of the reasons it has garnered that reputation is its status of state capital. A good portion of the nighttime iniquity is derived from the outstate legislators, legislative staff and lobbying legions who swarm our town when the Legislature is in session.
But for something completely different, take in Vic Feuerherd's interview with outgoing UW Chancellor Biddy Martin. Martin, who heads back east to take over the presidency of Amherst College, has some explaining to do considering the timing of her departure. It comes after her failed initiative to create more breathing space for the state's flagship educational institution was seen as collateral damage from Gov. Walker's budget bombshell.
There's no doubt that Martin's proposal received insufficient consideration, and she avers that the forces that prompted her have not abated and will be faced again. What she doesn't say is that her permanent replacement will need to be in possession of the seven cardinal virtues, which are: prudence, justice, temperance, courage, faith, hope and charity. It's not going to be easy.
- V.O.
vo@isthmus.com