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. >MoreMadison 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, (10) 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
Holy redeemer After three decades in law enforcement, Jerry Hancock turns his focus to prison ministry Esty Dinur on Thursday 01/01/2009, (2) Recommendations Much of what the Rev. Jerry Hancock has to say about the criminal justice system sounds reasonable coming from a clergyman who heads a Madison-based prison ministry program. But when you consider that he's spent more than 30 years as a lawyer in this system, many of them as a prosecutor, his perspective is positively stunning. >MoreHolistic Moms Network gets back to basics Come together Melissa Allen on Wednesday 12/31/2008, (1) Recommendation One recent cold November night, a small meeting room in the Mount Horeb Public Library is warm and inviting -- and packed. Over the course of an hour, 19 women trail in, many carrying babies or chasing young children, most wearing the familiar fatigued look of parents at the end of a long day. >More
Dobra brings a leisurely approach to beautiful tea Linda Falkenstein on Thursday 01/01/2009, (4) Recommendations Kakuzo Okakura, author of The Book of Tea, writes that "The cult of tea is founded on the adoration of beautiful things among the sordid facts of everyday existence." That's a guiding philosophy for State Street's Dobra Tea, which opened in September, transforming the former Real Chili into a passable slice of what used to be called "The Orient" (i.e., "everything that is not the West"). Plush rugs and rattan chairs evoke India or the Middle East; couches and a few raised seating areas where footwear is left behind prompt visitors to settle in to a celebration of tea. Don't expect to run in for a quick cup to go. >MoreMadison 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
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! >MoreZebras: Animal instincts Trio crafts a danceable rock vision Jessica Steinhoff on Thursday 01/01/2009, (4) Recommendations Local prog-punk trio Zebras is only a year old, but it's managed to play some of the most rocking local shows of 2008 and assemble a fan base that stretches from Madison to Milwaukee. >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
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