Mayor Dave's weekly whereabouts: Blog Kristian Knutsen on Tuesday 01/06/2009 4:30 pm Like many of us, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is easing back into routine work patterns after a couple weeks of holiday disruptions. An early order of business in this New Year is a public relations push in the form of a brand new mayoral blog that he started publishing today. >More
UW SWAP strikes big with Union South bowling alley auction David Medaris on Tuesday 01/06/2009 2:30 pm, (4) Recommendations Eight lanes for $17,503. If that was a contractor's bid on a highway project, the figure would be laughed off as too lowball to be serious. But we're talking bowling lanes here, and $17,503 is the winning bid on the Union South bowling lanes. It was posted by United Bowling at 9:50:42 p.m. on Monday night, less than 10 minutes before the UW-Madison SWAP (Surplus with a Purpose) facility closed the online auction. >More
Blaska's Blog: A hero who deserves his pedestal David Blaska on Tuesday 01/06/2009 12:00 pm, (1) Recommendation We know about Ilsa Lund and Victor Laszlo, and their rendezvous at a certain fictional cafe in Casablanca. My guess is that few of us are aware of the heavy resistance to Adolph Hitler's murderous reign within the Third Reich itself -- or that so much of that resistance was located within the Wehrmacht. >More
Madison eats trends in 2008 and wishes for 2009 Viability, infill, overload, late nights, and foodie energy mark changes Kyle Nabilcy on Tuesday 01/06/2009 12:00 pm, (1) Comment, (8) Recommendations We're not a big town, but we're awfully tumultuous. Last year was no exception to that rule. As we reflect on the year that was, take in a small sample of some noteworthy culinary developments of 2008, and some new ones yet to come in 2009. >More
Win tickets to The Phantom Tollbooth, The Projection People, Last Band Standing V, Bobby McFerrin, and more! on Tuesday 01/06/2009 11:00 am The Isthmus Guest List is back with another round of free tickets to amazing concerts, shows and more fun events around Madison. This week's contests include tickets to: The Projection People, Last Band Standing V, and Vic Chestnut with Elf Power at the High Noon Saloon; The Phantom Tollbooth, Bobby McFerrin, Sweeney Todd, the Russian National Ballet, Interpreti Veneziani, and the East Village Opera Company at the Overture Center; Larry the Cable Guy and the Monster Nationals at the Alliant Energy Center; Chris Pureka at Café Montmartre; and more. >More
PBS's Antiques Roadshow to visit Madison in July Dean Robbins on Monday 01/05/2009 5:34 pm, (2) Recommendations We're all gonna be rich. The PBS series Antiques Roadshow is coming to Madison on July 11, so all we have to do is haul our old junk out of the attic, show it to the Roadshow appraisers, and find out how many thousands of dollars we can sell it for. >More
My most memorable concerts of 2008 in Madison and Milwaukee Shelby Lynne, Derek Trucks, The Guarneri Quartet, Sam Baker and Gurf Morlix, The Tender Land, and more Marc Eisen on Monday 01/05/2009 3:00 pm, (11) Recommendations It was a marvelous moment, yet another reason why I love live music. The pleasures are visceral, surprising and life affirming. It's why I headed for the concert hall and the clubs 50-plus times in 2008, culminating New Year's Eve at Uihlein Hall watching the Milwaukee Symphony and Chorus performing Beethoven's awe-inspiring 9th Symphony. >More
On the Agenda: A new library and a new way to teach math Vikki Kratz on Monday 01/05/2009 12:30 pm, (1) Recommendation The Madison school board holds two meetings to discuss possible changes in the district’s math curriculum. A task force, which recently completed a one-year study, recommends that the district have full-time math teachers for grades 5-8 and dramatically increase the training of math teachers. >More
Group plans fundraiser, more meetings to address Café Zoma's future Sarah White on Monday 01/05/2009 10:57 am, (2) Comments, (4) Recommendations Sarah White attended and commented on developments from the first two community meetings addressing the future of Café Zoma, a popular neighborhood coffee shop and gathering spot on Atwood Avenue. TDP asked her to report on this past Saturday's planning meeting as well. As should be obvious from the following report, she is an active participant in the process. >More
The Week: January 5-8, 2009 on Monday 01/05/2009 6:00 am Keep the warm spirits of the holidays flowing and make the first full week of 2009 count with: Mad Toast Live with Andy Moore and Greg Dierks and a WORT benefit with Tani Diakite and Tropical Riddims Sound System; more live music from Charlie Parr, Greensky Bluegrass, Aaron Williams & the Hoodoo, Frank James, Catfish Stephenson, Jim Schwall; and, a performance by the MadKings. >More
My favorite video games of 2008 Madison developers and gaming continue to move forward in 2009 Zac Shipley on Sunday 01/04/2009 2:00 pm, (1) Comment, (17) Recommendations The last several years have been wonderful for gamers, setting a ridiculously high bar. Was last year up to the challenge? I initially jumped at the chance to rant and rave at the best and worst of electronic entertainment in 2008, but I'm far from an unbiased professional. >More
My favorite vinyl finds of 2008 The year in obsessive collecting Bob Koch on Saturday 01/03/2009 10:00 am, (9) Recommendations This year was feast or famine as far as tracking down vinyl. I seemed to either come home with a giant pile of random records to sift through, or not much of anything. Since I write in this space most weeks about LPs, here's a double album's worth of singles that stuck out! >More
Blaska's Blog welcomes the New Year! David Blaska on Saturday 01/03/2009 8:10 am, (6) Comments, (1) Recommendation I am feeling good about this new year of 2009. Mostly, though, I’m shocked that it is 2009. I was amazed when we hit 1984, that being the title of the George Orwell book we read in high school. Gobsmacked when we reached 2001, the year of the Space Odyssey. >More
Wilmington on DVD: The best releases of 2008 Mike Wilmington on Friday 01/02/2009 4:00 pm, (1) Recommendation To everyone in Madison, a city I love and miss: Here are my top tens this year for both DVD singles and box sets. Here's hoping the next eight years will be better than the last -- and that the movies will help. >More
MadTracks -- 'Down On A Bender' by the .357 String Band Jessica Steinhoff on Friday 01/02/2009 12:00 pm, (6) Recommendations There are some regional differences that simply can't be denied, especially when it comes to how we deal with life's ups and downs. Californians have exercise, New Yorkers have therapy, and here in Wisconsin, we've got booze. >More
The Week[end]: January 2-4, 2009 on Friday 01/02/2009 10:00 am The first weekend of the New Year is a big one, so get out and start 2009 on the right track. The fun includes: stand-up by Jerry Seinfeld and Claude Stuart; the Furthermore Beer Rock, Rock, Rock & Roll Imperial Brew Ha Ha; storytelling by Stuart Stotts; and live music by Harmonious Wail, The Melismatics, Old Cool, The Body Thief, Pat McCurdy, Ka-BoomBox!, Oh Shit! A Geyser!, Oak Street Ramblers, Paul Kosower and Namji Kim, Yid Vicious, Mal-O-Dua, and The New Monarchs. >More
Madison Bike Polo challenges NYC in New Year's Championships Kristian Knutsen on Thursday 01/01/2009 2:00 pm, (7) Recommendations Wind, ice, and snow have long been a minor deterrent for the committed squad of Madison bike polo enthusiasts who play through all four seasons. Cold conditions won't even be a factor over this long holiday weekend, though, as the group hosts the New Year's Championships, an indoor tournament that brings together many of the top teams from around the continent. >More
Pictures of a lost world in Suburban World: The Norling Photos Linda Falkenstein on Wednesday 12/31/2008 1:30 pm, (5) Recommendations It's a happy day when I get a new catalog from the Minnesota Historical Society Press in the mail. Our neighbor to the west is home to "the largest historical society press in the country," a publisher of innovative titles concerning northern Midwest history, nature and culture. If that sounds dull, it’s not. >More
A musical whirlwind of my favorite albums from 2008 Jessica Steinhoff on Wednesday 12/31/2008 1:00 pm, (10) Recommendations If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that my taste in music is pretty eclectic, if not eccentric at times. As such, my take on this past year's releases veers slightly off the beaten path. >More
Madison beer makes for big smiles in 2008 A look at more than a dozen of the best local brews this year Robin Shepard on Tuesday 12/30/2008 12:00 pm, (19) Recommendations Another year has passed, and looking back at the beers released by breweries around Madison and further afield in Wisconsin can't help but encourage a smile. >More
MadVideos -- Bon Iver plays 'Skinny Love' at the Barrymore Kristian Knutsen on Tuesday 12/30/2008 10:00 am, (1) Recommendation The final Friday before two weeks of holidays saw one of the biggest concerts of the year in town when Bon Iver played at the Barrymore. This band and its driving force, singer-songwriter and Wisconsin native Justin Vernon, has been the recipient of near universal acclaim this year for the album For Emma, Forever Ago, and this stop in the Madison marked the penultimate performance on its fall tour before a homecoming show in Eau Claire. >More
Blaska's Blog: Scary stuff, kids! David Blaska on Tuesday 12/30/2008 8:25 am, (3) Comments, (1) Recommendation The Kathleen’s re-election strategy is pretty obvious. The embattled county executive is going to conjure up a carnival spook house of goblins and gremlins so that she can avoid debating the issues. >More
Win tickets to the Furthermore Beer Brew Ha Ha, Start from Scratch, and more! on Tuesday 12/30/2008 8:00 am The Isthmus Guest List is back with another round of free tickets to amazing concerts, shows and more fun events around Madison. This week's contests include tickets to: the Furthermore Beer Rock, Rock, Rock & Roll Imperial Brew Ha Ha at the High Noon; Start from Scratch at the Majestic; and more. >More
MadTracks -- 'Wonder Woman' by VO5 Jessica Steinhoff on Monday 12/29/2008 3:00 pm, (1) Comment, (14) Recommendations Windows Media Player -- thanks to the wacky, mutating psychedelic images that appear when it's used to play music -- can turn almost any song into a laughingstock for a few seconds. Strangely enough, the VO5 cover of the classic theme song "Wonder Woman" is one of few tracks that almost, just almost, seems to complement this aesthetic train wreck. >More
My top ten Madison food finds of 2008 A look back at a year of cheap eats Linda Falkenstein on Monday 12/29/2008 12:00 pm, (9) Recommendations Sadly, some of my favorite food finds for 2008 are already gone with the wind. El Corral, a good South American restaurant on the north side, turned in terrific Peruvian dishes like ahi de gallina. Here's a recap of some other of my favorites from the last 365 days in frugal foraging. >More
Blaska's Blog: How to write the BlaskaBlog way David Blaska on Monday 12/29/2008 10:57 am, (7) Comments, (1) Recommendation It amazes this former journalist, as Bill Lueders insists on calling me, that the Chicago Tribune is nearly bankrupt and that the New York Times is worth no more than its Manhattan real estate. Paul Soglin is reporting (can we use that word, Bill?) that once-flourishing Lee Enterprises, $48/share as recently as 2004, is now trading at less than 1% of that amount, 36 cents a share. >More
Madison Snaps -- December 29, 2008 Kristian Knutsen on Monday 12/29/2008 8:00 am, (4) Recommendations Today's image is titled "Last year it was penguins, today I found Loch Ness Monsters!" was photographed by Allison Jennings. >More
The Week: Isthmus critics picks for New Year's Eve on Monday 12/29/2008 6:00 am Madison bids farewell to 2008 this week with New Year's Eve -- and morning -- celebrations of all flavors and intensity. More than two dozen are detailed here, with a focus on the myriad bands and DJs marking the parties lively all night long. >More
Our favorite eats of 2008 A look at some of the standout dishes around Madison this year Linda Falkenstein on Sunday 12/28/2008 8:00 am, (5) Recommendations Anyone's diet can use dishes both untried-and-new and tried-and-true. Here are 10 of our favorite foods from the course of a year's restaurant reviews, in alphabetical order. >More
BoDeans faithful rock the Barrymore for Boxing Day Rich Albertoni on Saturday 12/27/2008 1:26 pm, (11) Recommendations Twenty years ago the BoDeans created a logo to say something about who they are. It's a circle with a heart in the middle and a cross on top. Like everything BoDeans, it's a symbol of fidelity. >More
Vinyl Cave -- 1967-1969 by The Hour Glass Bob Koch on Saturday 12/27/2008 8:00 am, (4) Recommendations For those who stuck it out through failure and found success down the road, those early recordings usually came back to haunt them. Gregg and Duane Allman experienced this scenario, and a pair of their failed '60s albums were repacked into The Hour Glass compilation come the early '70. >More
With Lee Enterprises unlikely to have the cash required to make a $142.5 million debt payment due this spring, there is "substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern," according to its auditors. Alan Mutter at Reflections of a Newsosaur
In the grand tradition of navel-gazing, end-of-year posts, I offer you now the Lost Albatross anno mundi 2008! Emily Mills
I felt sadness upon hearing of the passing of Madison Alderwomen Betty Smith, but I also smiled. Paul Soglin
El Guante named one of Twin Cities' top artists of 2008. City Pages
Dawn Crim named Chancellor's special assistant for community relations, succeeding LaMarr Billups. UW News
A Supreme Pizza celebration for Madison Try a new pie for National Pizza Month! Linda Falkenstein on Tuesday 10/21/2008 2:00 pm, (3) Comments, (10) Recommendations October is National Pizza Month. Yes, it's true. The pizza, which frankly seems like a food substance that in America is in no danger of becoming an endangered species, has its own celebratory promotional month. And why not? While I presume that most of us eat a good deal of pizza in any/every month, it's not a bad idea to pause and give thanks, to truly appreciate the pizza pie. >MoreBeer Here -- Kilbourn Hop Ale from Moosejaw Pizza & Brewing Robin Shepard on Thursday 10/16/2008 2:06 pm, (12) Recommendations While Chief Amber Ale is Moosejaw Pizza and Brewing's flagship offering, the Kilbourn Hop Ale is a favorite of the local beer enthusiasts for its bold bitterness and locally grown hops. >More
Vinyl Cave: Cajun in the Blues Country by Rusty Kershaw Bob Koch on Sunday 10/19/2008 4:00 pm, (3) Recommendations When Doug "The Ragin' Cajun" Kershaw vaulted to crossover success in 1969 after an appearance on Johnny Cash's variety show, many listeners at the time may not have known he had been performing successfully for a long time. Kershaw formed his first band with older brother Rusty all the way back in 1948. >MoreCellist Alban Gerhardt finds the sadness with the Madison Symphony Orchestra Chosei Komatsu conducts Elgar, Holst and Copland Kenneth Burns on Saturday 10/18/2008 11:00 am, (4) Recommendations The German cellist Alban Gerhardt has a dramatic vibrato, and it seemed to shake the very platform he sat on Friday night in Overture Center's Overture Hall. That is where he and the Madison Symphony Orchestra performed Edward Elgar's "Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in E Minor." >More
Obama campaign cancels Madison rally on Thursday, October 23 Candidate to visit ailing grandmother in Hawai'i Kristian Knutsen on Monday 10/20/2008 7:58 pm, (1) Comment, (2) Recommendations Barack Obama will not be holding a rally in Madison on Thursday, October 23 as was announced last Friday. "We got a message earlier this afternoon from the organizer saying that they were going to cancel the event," says Laura Whitmore, the community relations coordinator for the Madison Parks Division. >MoreACORN organizer Austin King talks voter registration and the McCain campaign An interview with the former Madison alder on the presidential election Vikki Kratz on Monday 10/20/2008 2:47 pm, (14) Recommendations During his years here, former Madison Ald. Austin King had a reputation around town as a bit of a troublemaker. He left Madison for New Orleans last year, where he's been working for ACORN, a community organization supporting low-income families. And his job -- as national director of ACORN's financial justice center -- has landed him in the thick of things again. >More
firebretbielema.com blogger speaks Jason Joyce on Thursday 10/16/2008 9:59 am, (6) Recommendations In his column earlier this week, Wisconsin State Journal writer Andy Baggot called attention to the blog firebretbielema.com. Included in his pokes at the site, Baggot wrote "its instigators are anonymous." But in 2008, finding out who has purchased a domain is easier than tracking down Badger Allan Evridge's quarterback efficiency rating. >MoreOnce upon a time at Derby in Dairyland... Melissa Faliveno on Wednesday 10/15/2008 1:30 pm, (15) Recommendations After three days of hard-hitting, fast-paced, eight-wheeled excitement over the weekend, Derby in Dairyland came to an end, but not without leaving a lasting impression on every skater, volunteer, and fan that took part in the fun. The 2008 Women's Flat Track Derby Association Eastern Regional roller derby tournament was, to say the very least, a success, and while host team and hometown sweethearts the Dairyland Dolls may not have made the cut to go to the nationals, they certainly put together one heck of a celebration that won't soon be forgotten. >More
Blaska's Blog: Send in the farm team David Blaska on Friday 10/17/2008 9:09 am, (3) Comments, (3) Recommendations Keith Ripp looks a little like Gary Cooper in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, only larger. He is one big, strapping fellow with an open, sun-splashed face and hands as big as grain shovels and a certain shyness about him. You expect him to say, “ah, shucks, Ma’am.” As a public speaker, he makes Cooper seem verbose. >More
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MADISON HALLOWEEN
The Zombeatles tease All You Need Is Brains with new trailer Kristian Knutsen on Tuesday 10/21/2008 12:00 pm, (52) Recommendations Hey food, don't be afraid,
I have found you, now you are my dinner,
The minute, I've eaten all of your skin,
Then I'll begin, to eat you better. >MoreThe Zombeatles and undead fans infest Frequency to shoot mockumentary Zac Shipley on Tuesday 10/07/2008 3:00 pm, (44) Recommendations One crisp October afternoon, a small music venue in downtown Madison was transformed into a nightclub of the living dead, when Doug Gordon and a small team of assistants shot scenes for All You Need Is Brains, a terrifying glimpse into the zombie apocalypse. The reanimated masses clawing for the stage at The Frequency didn't just have a hunger for decaying flesh, though, they also wanted a piece of the band performing atop it: The Zombeatles! >More
Rich textures in The Love of the Nightingale by University Theatre Classics illustrated Bruce G. Bradley on Tuesday 10/21/2008 4:00 pm, (8) Recommendations Centuries after its creation, Greek legend still has a remarkable power to affect us. The dreams and desires, fears and follies of those long-ago people in faraway places have stood the test of time astonishingly well, not least because, while circumstances may change, human nature does not. >MoreBack to the future with David Maraniss at the Wisconsin Book Festival From the Rome Olympics to Barack Obama Kristian Knutsen on Sunday 10/19/2008 1:22 pm, (4) Recommendations Madison gave a warm welcome to journalist and historian David Maraniss at the Wisconsin Book Festival on Saturday night in Promenade Hall at the Overture Center. The hometown luminary introduced his new book Rome 1960 with a discussion that wedded the triumphs, intrigues, novelties, and most of all, change afoot in those Summer Olympic Games and the broader world at the onset of that tumultuous decade to the realities of 21st Century athletics and politics. >More
Wisconsin Book Festival 2008: M.K. Asante, Jr. speaks David Medaris on Tuesday 10/14/2008 10:00 pm, (3) Recommendations In his new book, It's Bigger Than Hip Hop, the poet, author and filmmaker M.K. Asante, Jr., chronicles the rise of the post-hip-hop generation, its ownership of the spoken-word movement as a vehicle for social justice and its savvy rejection of corporate exploitation. He describes the inspirations for and the fluid process of researching and writing the book, recounts a formative childhood encounter with Public Enemy, outlines the consequences of the corporate hijacking of hip hop, and more in an email interview. >MoreWisconsin Book Festival 2008: Patricia Smith speaks David Medaris on Monday 10/13/2008 5:00 pm, (3) Recommendations Published last month by Coffee House Press, Blood Dazzler by Patricia Smith is a searing portrait of the horrors wrought by Hurricane Katrina -- told from perspectives including the hurricane itself, its victims and survivors, politicians and more abstract points of view. In an interview conducted via email, Smith describes the genesis of Blood Dazzler assesses the legacy of Katrina, compares the rewards of teaching public-school students vs. prison inmates, and explains the responsibility that comes with fearlessness. >More
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