Post by Cincinnatus Van... on 5/13/2013 11:00am
Dear friends and gentle hearts,
This is the last regularly-scheduled No Pepper Games I will write for this website.
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for a sports columnist to separate himself from the blog which has so graciously hosted his musings for the last two years, a decent respect for the opinions of mankind state that the guy ought to state the whyfore that he's giving himself the heave-ho.
Some months back, an out-of-state professional opportunity was dropped in the water in front of me, and I; large-mouth bass that I am, clamped down hard on the hook and am now flopping around in a Styrofoam cooler far from home.
Madison is not an easy town to say goodbye to. They say it's 77 square miles surrounded by reality. Let me report from the outside that "reality" looks a lot like the parking lot of a Red Lobster.
Post by dane101 on 5/13/2013 6:30am
Today is May 13, 2013. On this day in 1995, 33-year-old Alison Hargreaves became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest without the help of oxygen or sherpas.
*WRN: Change to residency rule still falls short for Milwaukee.
*WRN: New oversight proposed for WEDC.
*MJS (paywall): Joint Finance Committee deals major blow to Milwaukee’s streetcar.
*WSJ (paywall): Wisconsin Technology Council head: Long-term growth strategy at play in WEDC flap.
*MJS (paywall): Wisconsin conservation groups hope to ward off cuts to stewardship fund.
*WSJ (paywall): Venture capital bill stalls; dispute over whether biotech firms should be included.
*WRN: Bipartisan bill would make unauthorized drone surveillance illegal.
*MC: A resource hub for the visually impaired promotes independence, equality.
*TDP: Beer Here: Thumbprint Berliner Weiss from New Glarus Brewing.
Breakfast Bonus below the fold: David Bowie's "Space Oddity," performed from the International Space Station.
Post by Scott Gordon on 5/10/2013 9:30am
This week marks the end of music writer Andy Downing's tenure at The Capital Times. His last full feature, previewing noise-rock band METZ's Saturday show at the Frequency, demonstrates why it's important that daily newspapers (or, in this case, whatever it is dailies are becoming) hire knowledgeable arts writers. You don't want just anyone to attempt writing about weird and abrasive music, and you want someone to be able to write about that music in a way that makes sense for a broader audience without dumbing it down.
Also: This means that nobody—not one single person—is covering music full-time for any Madison publication. In a recent shake-up at Capital Newspapers, Downing's position was converted to "Features reporter with music emphasis." And yes, there is a difference. Everyone else in town who writes about music for a local publication is either a freelancer or a full-timer with several things on his or her plate in addition to music coverage.
Downing is relocating to Columbus, Ohio, where he will continue to pursue freelance writing and other opportunities. Like his fellow Cap Times writers Lindsay Christians and Rob Thomas, he's banged out a hefty volume of stories and injected some quality arts writing into a daily-paper world that often fails to nurture it. Here's wishing him well.
Post by dane101 on 5/10/2013 6:00am
Today is May 10, 2013.
* C3K: Lawmakers consider how to spend $575M in unexpected revenue
* WSJ (paywall): Wisconsin LGBT Chamber plans Madison launch event
* MJS (paywall): Panel recommends Minnesota students attending UW-Madison pay out-of-state tuition
* TDP: Madison Urban Design Commission gets first look at the Hub proposal for State Street's 500 block
* IoM: Main Street Pour House
Post by Mark Riechers on 5/9/2013 10:15am
This week, Arts Extract Podcast co-host Scott Gordon and Isthmus food critic Andre Darlington take a food journey to Melly Mell’s, a soul-food institution located behind a metal door and down a flight of stairs on Madison’s south side. Hear owner and cook Carmel Jackson boast about her desserts and hear Scott and Andre trying to figure out how the hell to get there.
Subscribe to us on iTunes or Feedburner.
Post by dane101 on 5/9/2013 6:00am
Today is May 9, 2013. On this date in 1960, the FDA approved the first birth control pill.
* TDP: Tip Top Tavern will be rejuvenated by team behind Lazy Jane's and Mickey's
Post by dane101 on 5/8/2013 6:00am
Today is May 8, 2013.
* WisPolitics: Assembly, Senate pass food stamp legislation
* MJS [paywall]: Dalai Lama to speak to state Assembly
* BH: Faculty Senate votes down fossil fuel proposal
* WSJ [paywall]: Before calling 911, check to see if person lying on grass is dead
* CT [paywall]: WEDC spokesman quits after financial problems surface
* TDP: Madison Chamber of Commerce president thinks city could benefit from new venture capital bill
* TDP: Student activists unhappy with UW-Madison's stance on Palermo's Pizza labor dispute
Post by Christian Neuhaus on 5/7/2013 10:00am
Strollers Theatre is concluding its strong 2012-2013 season by getting “back to the canon” with Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s also a return to Shakespeare for director Greg Harris, who directed Pericles at Broom Street Theatre in 2012. Despite recent productions by University Theatre (2009) and American Players Theatre (2008), the Strollers production was my first experience of this play onstage. In his notes for the production Harris observes that “theaters are places of the imagination,” and the staging is one that consciously avoids spectacle.
The set, which Harris designed, employs white sheets as as a palette to which the audience must apply the imagined trees of the forest. The costume design by Matthew Schroeder takes a “conventional,” modern-day approach. It’s one that works fine for the Athenians and the comical “rude mechanicals” who stage the-play-within-the-play at the end, but at first I was a little thrown when I saw the denizens of fairyland dressed (for the most part) in similar clothes as the mortals. The costume Erin Baal wears as Titania evokes a lithe elegance befitting a fairy queen, but people expecting more in the whimsy department may have seething brains when they see Oberon as a dude in a denim jacket — even if he does have the Orlando Bloom kind of dashing mien that Kathy Lynn Sliter exhibits in the role. On the other hand, in appearance and manner Sean Langenecker’s Puck is an agent of comic chaos, literalizing his line at the end “I am sent with broom before/To sweep the dust behind the door” by brandishing different sweeping implements over the course of the play.
Post by dane101 on 5/7/2013 6:00am
Today is May 7, 2013. In 1952, radar scientist Geoffrey William Arnold Dummer presented the idea of an integrated circuit to the public at a symposium in Washington, D.C.. He has been called "The Prophet of the Integrated Circuit" as this was 6 years before Texas Instruments patented the idea, which gave rise to the modern microchip.
* CapTimes(paywall): Zombies invade Madison (according to hacked roadwork sign)
* WSJ(paywall): Scott Walker calls for special meeting of WEDC board following scathing audit
* Badger Herald: GOP leaders say Wis. opportunity to show ‘unified’ party
* JSOnline(paywall): Odd coalition opposes Wisconsin bill limiting junk food purchases
* Well Tempered Ear: On Friday, June 21, the Summer Solstice, Madison will be filled with outdoors music by the first Make Music Madison citywide festival. But so far, no acoustic piano is available for pianists and more classical musicians of all kinds are needed to sign up by the deadline of May 15.
* Citizen Dave: How did bikes become the problem?
* Sam Cook: Wisconsin wolf population drops slightly
Post by dane101 on 5/6/2013 6:30am
Today is May 6, 2013. On this day in 1844, the world’s first mechanically frozen ice arena, the Glaciarium, opened in London.
*MJS (paywall): Conservative law firm sues Milwaukee Area Technical College over “illegal” labor contract.
*MJS (paywall): GOP plan to limit Wisconsin judges’ authority may be unconstitutional.
*MC: Public and private schools in Madison consider the impact of voucher program.
*Esquire: Mad times in Madison.
*OTP: Wisconsin private school vouchers prove wasteful.
*WW: Gov. Walker to convention attendees: I’m making it easier to get a job.
*WRN: Another audit in the WEDC’s future.
*WSJ (paywall): Mifflin Street: A peaceful day in the neighborhood.
*TDP: Ablaze with live music: Revelry is a bright spot on a stormy Mifflin Block Party weekend.
