Madison's dirty jobs Doing the work no one else wants to do can be fullfilling Mary Ellen Bell on Thursday 09/02/2010, (2) Comments, (2) Likes You think cleaning your garage or policing your backyard for dog poop is a dirty job? If so, you really need to read this article. Modern life is full of truly dirty jobs, and Isthmus set out to find some of the nastiest ones and the people who tackle them. From cleaning up crime scenes to mucking out cages at the zoo, these are jobs most of us would never consider doing. But here's the kicker: Many of these workers love their dirty jobs. >More
NEWS
Dems run a close race for 77th Assembly District seat Up for grabs Joe Tarr on Thursday 09/02/2010, (2) Comments When Spencer Black first ran for the state's 77th Assembly District seat in 1984, he slugged it out in a primary with eight other candidates. Black won and went on to become a political institution, crusading for environmental and labor causes for 26 years. Five Democrats are vying to succeed Black in the Sept. 14 primary: Dianne Hesselbein and Brett Hulsey, both current members of the Dane County Board of Supervisors; John Imes, executive director of Wisconsin Environmental Initiative and owner of the Arbor House bed-and-breakfast; attorney Fred Wade; and Doug Zwank, former Middleton mayor. >MoreMadison Marathon bans runner She ran without registering; now she's persona non grata Bill Lueders on Thursday 09/02/2010, (2) Comments Ramona Villarreal considers herself an athlete and an honest person. The 56-year-old Madison resident has competed in Ironman competitions and run at least 15 marathons -- including, she reckons, 10 Madison Marathons. But no more. Villarreal has been "permanently banned" from future Madison Marathons. If she tries to register, she will be denied. If she shows up anyway, she's been warned, "We will have the right to remove you...and won't hesitate to do so." >MoreMike May's personal emails Bill Lueders on Thursday 09/02/2010 Madison City Attorney Mike May thinks it's no big whoop that the state Supreme Court recently ordered records custodians to prune out the personal content of emails sent and received by government employees on their work computers. While the case was pending, his office filed an amicus brief supporting this result. >More
MUSIC
Touring bands will light up Madison stages in fall 2010 Starry nights Jessica Steinhoff on Thursday 09/02/2010 When it comes to bringing concerts to town, Madison is happening. With our booming student population and proximity to Chicago, Minneapolis and Milwaukee, we're able to attract big-name performers and under-the-radar talents alike, a rare feat for a city of 235,000 people. >MoreCarnival of Sorts isn't your average summer fair No beer tent Rich Albertoni on Thursday 09/02/2010 When Adam Gregory Pergament talks about his approach to art, he likes to use the term cross-pollination. It means the transfer of pollen from one plant to another. It's nature's way of promoting genetic diversity. In his quest to further artistic diversity, Pergamente has been spreading spoken-word poetry around Madison music venues since 2005, first as a member of Stonefloat, and now with Venice Gas House Trolley. >MoreAngels, wizards and flying pasta Fall children's shows are action-packed Dean Robbins on Thursday 09/02/2010 My son is still humming songs from last spring's production of The Lion King at Overture Hall. I am, too, along with repeating the funny lines and sniffling whenever I think about the emotional climax. an any family-friendly shows for the fall season match The Lion King for sheer entertainment value? Let's survey some of the contenders and keep our fingers crossed. >More
Free speech on a plate Why should the state rush in where fools seek self-expression? Christian Schneider on Thursday 09/02/2010, (1) Comment MSTRB8S. QQQQ2. RU46T9. BVRETR. No, these aren't U.S. government nuclear launch codes. They're actual entries on the list of nearly 7,000 vanity license plates banned by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. (Go ahead, read them again. See? They are sneaky gross.) >MoreBirth control for Catholics Is it a moral failing? on Thursday 09/02/2010 Dear Tell All: As a Catholic, I was struck by the Madison Catholic diocese's recent response to the new state law requiring that it offer its employees insurance coverage for birth control. The law says that commercial policies with a drug benefit must cover prescription contraceptives -- and that, amusingly, happens to be the kind of insurance the diocese has. >More
Dance based on They Marched Into Sunlight to premiere spring 2011 War movement David Medaris on Thursday 09/02/2010, (1) Like "I never could have foreseen that one of my books would sort of transmogrify into a modern dance," marvels author and Pulitzer laureate David Maraniss. New York choreographer Robin Becker approached Maraniss a few years ago. She had read They Marched Into Sunlight. Moved by its juxtaposition of the Vietnam conflict with the antiwar movement on the UW-Madison campus, she proposed an original dance based on his book. >MoreLosing weight hurts in Thintervention with Jackie Warner Dean Robbins on Thursday 09/02/2010, (1) Like Jackie Warner is a workout guru, shameless self-promoter and reality-series repeat offender. In Thintervention with Jackie Warner, she oversees a group of overweight people interested in losing weight. "Workouts are not painful," she assures them. "They are pleasure!" >MoreMafia II is a hacky mobster title, with redeeming values PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (Rated Mature) Doug Elfman on Thursday 09/02/2010 The reason I've never been enraptured by The Sopranos, GoodFellas or other mob fictions is the characters always seem too dumb and cruel to care about, and they say boring things that are supposed to "feel real" simply because they're insulting. The new video game Mafia II likewise features such verbal inanity. >More
MOVIES
Danny Trejo is the new Bronson in Machete Wronged man Marjorie Baumgarten on Thursday 09/02/2010 Machete has been a long time coming, and the so-called Mexploitation film gets an extra kick from the American political climate. This revenge film's roots go back to co-director Robert Rodriguez's first employment of Danny Trejo, the titular Machete, on the film Desperado. >MoreA killer searches for his soul in The American The sensitive assassin Scott Renshaw on Thursday 09/02/2010, (1) Comment Usually, when people talk about a movie feeling "European," it's not exactly a compliment. It's shorthand for languid pacing, character-based drama, maybe a few casually naked boobs and a general lack of Hollywood conventionality. The American feels very much like the product of people who want to make a "European"-style movie. >More
Francesca's al Lago brings big Italian to downtown Madison Comfort all around Erin Hanusa on Thursday 09/02/2010 Maybe it's that Wisconsin-Illinois rivalry thing, but I was dubious about the prospect of a Chicago-based Italian "family of restaurants" plopping a cousin onto the Capitol Square. After all, most of Madison's culinary crown jewels are scattered around there -- why toss a cubic zirconium into the mix? After eating at Francesca's al Lago, though, I had to concede. >More
SPORTS & RECREATION
Twitter reveals secret lives of Badgers Jason Joyce on Thursday 09/02/2010 Last month, Boise State football coach Chris Peterson, whose team is ranked in the top five by coaches and media, announced that he had banned his players from using Twitter during the season, calling the social media tool a distraction. No word yet on whether Peterson is also banning girlfriends, postgame keg parties and midterm exams. >More
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