A visit by Cuban painter Orestes Larios Zaaka and sculptor Gregorio Perez Escobar Guest artists Susan Kepecs on Friday 10/30/2009 Finally, here's some change we can believe in. The U.S. blockade on Cuba is alive and well, but Obama's given us wiggle room. For the first time since the start of W's second term, Cuban artists can get visas to visit the States. Thanks to impressive efforts by the Madison-Camagüey Sister City Association, with support from Edgewood College, the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission, and the Overture and Pleasant T. Rowland Foundations, painter Orestes Larios Zaak and sculptor Gregorio Pérez Escobar will be our guests. It's part of the Madison-Camagüey association's 15th anniversary celebration. >MoreMadison makes 'em laugh After a rebuilding season, local comedy is hitting its stride Emily Mills on Friday 10/16/2009, (1) Comment, (3) Recommendations Madison has always had its fair share of sketch, improv and standup acts -- not to mention being the hometown of comedic titan Chris Farley. And these days, there's a flourishing scene taking shape here, one that offers a supportive community for those wishing to flex their funny muscles. >More
Aliens are the new terrorists in V Dean Robbins on Friday 10/30/2009, (2) Recommendations Suspicious-looking aliens come to Earth in ABC's remake of the 1980s series V. They resemble humans and claim to have peaceful intentions. Ominously, their leader announces that her race doesn't believe in negative feelings. >MoreA gorgeous pair save White Collar Dean Robbins on Friday 10/23/2009 No, White Collar is not set in the real world. USA specializes in this kind of crime-solving fantasy, but the new series lacks the magic of Monk or Psych. >More
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves delivers globe-trotting adventure PlayStation 3 (Rated Teen) Doug Elfman on Friday 10/30/2009, (1) Recommendation This fall continues to be a very good season for games. The latest, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, is an excellent and addictive action-adventure where you portray an Indiana Jones-styled explorer searching for the lost treasures of Shangri-La, as you follow clues left behind by Marco Polo. >MoreBrutal Legend embraces heavy metal while thrashing it PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (Rated Mature) Doug Elfman on Friday 10/23/2009 Brutal Legend is a wondrous, creative video game that feels like Conan the Barbarian meets This Is Spinal Tap. Which means you kill a lot of monsters on a fantasy planet of Nordic ruins, megaliths and Stonehenge replicas -- by playing heavy metal music on your flying-V guitar. >More
Madison Etsy explorations: A Handmade Portland Shopping locally online Megan Larson on Wednesday 10/07/2009 12:00 pm, (2) Recommendations I have a fairly large jewelry collection; consequently if I am going to expand my collection the piece needs to be unusual. Ordinary just won't do. Classic hoops are not going to excite me, neither are plain gold studs. Luckily, Etsy is ripe with unique shops and A Handmade Portland is no exception. >MoreW Cupcake: Handmade and remade Up-cycled craftery showcases one-of-a-kind items Linda Falkenstein on Friday 09/25/2009 Given the popularity of cupcakes these days, it's understandable that the not-paying-close-attention community might come to the conclusion that W Cupcake is another one of those east-side cupcakeries. It is not. >More
OUT!Cast Theatre's Dog Sees God spoofs the Peanuts gang (don't bring the kids) Bruce G. Bradley on Saturday 11/07/2009 12:00 pm It's a fairly good bet that when Charles Schulz created his beloved Peanuts cartoon strip, he never foresaw the futures that his characters live into in Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, a decidedly adult spoof that is the debut production of the OUT!Cast Theatre company. >MoreEmotional power in Madison Opera's vividly staged Carmen John W. Barker on Saturday 11/07/2009 10:33 am Friday night the Madison Opera opened this season with a lavish production in Overture Hall of the perennial crowd-pleaser, Bizet's Carmen. And a production to please it surely was. >MoreA Book A Week: Caravaggio's Angel by Ruth Brandon Becky Holmes on Thursday 11/05/2009 6:00 pm I am very picky about writing styles. Have you noticed? I don't like (and won't read) badly written books. I will, however, sometimes read a decently written book with a lousy plot. Ruth Brandon's Caravaggio's Angel fits into this category. I am a sucker for art mysteries and picked this up by chance. >MoreMadison Etsy explorations: The Fairy Garden Megan Larson on Wednesday 11/04/2009 12:00 pm, (1) Recommendation Halloween may have come and gone but that doesn't mean the little ones have to stop playing dress up. Playing princess has never been easier or more adorable than with a tutu from The Fairy Garden. With only a little tulle and a little sparkle, shop owner Heidi Duss has created an invitation to the magical world of make-believe for your child. >MoreReligion is a drag in StageQ's charming, irreverent The Stops Jennifer A. Smith on Saturday 10/31/2009 10:18 am, (9) Recommendations Meet Ginny, Euglena and their friend Rose in StageQ's latest production, The Stops, directed by John-Stuart Fauquet. It's a giddy musical blend of drag show and church-lady comedy à la Church Basement Ladies. >MoreA Book A Week: The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff Becky Holmes on Friday 10/30/2009 6:00 pm Some books just take longer than a week to read. David Ebershoff's The 19th Wife took more than two weeks, partly because it's long, and partly because some of it is a slog. Nevertheless it's an interesting book and worth reading for the 85% non-sloggish bits. >More
Robert Rauschenberg's closeup MMoCA show focuses on one era, one medium Jennifer A. Smith on Friday 09/25/2009, (1) Recommendation You don't have to look hard to find uncanny parallels between the 1960s and our own decade: the election of a charismatic young president; a frayed social and political climate; and a prolonged war with seemingly no satisfying resolution. While some artists confront times like these head-on, others focus on personal or purely visual concerns. Some, like Robert Rauschenberg, do all three. >MoreOverture Center helps pump big bucks into downtown economy Jay Rath on Thursday 09/24/2009 9:30 am Just in time for its fifth anniversary celebration this weekend, the Overture Center for the Arts has received a special gift: fresh financial impact figures that show audiences pumping $9.8 million in related spending into the downtown economy annually. >More
Robert Rauschenberg's closeup MMoCA show focuses on one era, one medium Jennifer A. Smith on Friday 09/25/2009, (1) Recommendation You don't have to look hard to find uncanny parallels between the 1960s and our own decade: the election of a charismatic young president; a frayed social and political climate; and a prolonged war with seemingly no satisfying resolution. While some artists confront times like these head-on, others focus on personal or purely visual concerns. Some, like Robert Rauschenberg, do all three. >MoreHarry Whitehorse leads Effigy Tree homecoming (video) David Medaris on Sunday 09/27/2009 8:00 am, (3) Recommendations A neighborhood, a city and a nation welcomed a tree home to Hudson Park on Lake Monona's north shore during formal rededication ceremonies Saturday afternoon for "Let the Great Spirits Soar," the extraordinary sculpture by Ho-Chunk artist Harry Whitehorse. >More
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