Comforting the afflicted UW's Patient Partnership team helps seriously ill people fight for the care they need Maggie Ginsberg-Schutz on Friday 10/30/2009, (8) Recommendations Pam Thompson's February 2006 breast cancer diagnosis had been the shock of her life. But after a year of treatment, she thought the worst was over. The 50-year-old Sun Prairie woman had no idea a fight remained, on a front she never expected. >More
NEWS
Sheriff's deputies make their presence felt at Dane County budget meetings Hell no, we won't go (along) Joe Tarr on Thursday 10/29/2009, (1) Recommendation During recent budget deliberations by the Dane County Board, one group has consistently stood out. They come dressed in black T-shirts that read: "DCDSA: Dane County Deputy Sheriff's Association." Most of the deputies stand silently, while spokespeople condemn the board for contemplating 3% salary cuts with eight furloughed days. >MoreSparking visions for Madison's Downtown Plan Joe Tarr on Thursday 10/29/2009 Bill Fruhling knows better than to turn down free help. When the city planner began working on Madison's Downtown Plan in April 2008, he was approached by a group of local architects and urban planners from Downtown Madison Inc., offering to help craft a vision for downtown. >MoreDoes Madison's chronic-nuisance law spur evictions? Critic laments that the answers may come too late Bill Lueders on Thursday 10/29/2009, (2) Recommendations Brian Solomon framed it as a plea. At last week's Common Council meeting, the Madison alder argued passionately for a substitute version of the city's chronic nuisance ordinance, with stronger tenant protections. He recalled a case where the firing of shots in his district led to the eviction of "the vast majority of tenants" from a given building, presumably some of whom were not involved. >MoreA chronic-nuisance success story Ordinance leveraged a needed change in ownership Joe Tarr on Thursday 10/29/2009, (8) Recommendations For years, Trevor Ilk had a problem with his next-door neighbors, at 1118 Petra Place, concerning their apparent involvement in illegal activity. He put up with it because he loved his landlord and his apartment, at 1122 Petra Place, off Fish Hatchery Road on Madison's south side. >More
MUSIC
Alison Margaret links jazz improvisation with activism Rich Albertoni on Friday 10/30/2009, (1) Recommendation Alison Margaret's arms are adorned with as many tattoos as the punk and metal musicians who play at venues like the Annex or the Frequency. But Margaret leads a jazz quartet backed by a soothing vibraphone and a stately upright bass. She gigs at places where wine and fine dining are in vogue, the Brink Lounge and Restaurant Magnus. >MoreBassnectar whips up an electronic cocktail Jessica Steinhoff on Friday 10/30/2009, (1) Recommendation Some know Bassnectar founder Lorin Ashton from the miasma of out-there creativity known as the Burning Man festival, others from his Bassnectar Transmission podcast on iTunes. No matter where you've encountered his electronic cocktails, one thing's for sure: This guy can combine almost any type of melody, rhythm or bass line -- ska, metal, ragtime, gangsta rap, you name it -- in a ridiculously fun way. >MoreBrother Ali: Us (Rhymesayers) Rich Albertoni on Friday 10/30/2009, (1) Recommendation Across 16 tracks, this Minneapolis rapper laments the double lives of gays, racial minorities and children of divorce. He professes his love for his family and his God. He even brags a little about being a bad motherfucker. >More
Desperately seeking H1N1 vaccination Hassle of warding off swine flu is enough to make parents hog wild Ruth Conniff on Thursday 10/29/2009 If nothing else, public health authorities have hit on the perfect formula to motivate Americans to get their flu shots: Declare a public health emergency, urge everyone to get vaccinated...and then fail to provide enough vaccine. Just as demand spikes, there are no vaccinations to be had. >MoreOscar Mayer's outlet store sells more than just wieners 'Do you have any Grey Poupon?' Michana Buchman on Friday 10/30/2009, (3) Recommendations The company store has historically gotten a bad rap (cue the coalminers' debt-bondage lament: "Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go, I owe my soul to the company store"). But times have changed, as I discovered when a coworker introduced me to the Oscar Mayer/Kraft company store. >More
Madison's Freakfest solves a nasty civic problem Jay Rath on Thursday 10/29/2009, (2) Recommendations Trick or tear gas? Treat, says Mayor Dave Cieslewicz of Freakfest. "We've been able to transform what was once a black eye for the city into a safe and fun event for all of our citizens." How we turned things around may be taken as a civics lesson in problem-solving. >MoreIs Madison's Freakfest too tame? Emily Mills on Thursday 10/29/2009, (2) Comments, (5) Recommendations Time was city officials and area police would be using this time to go over their best riot-squelching plans. Downtown businesses would be bracing for the descent of vandals from near and far, and the news media would be dusting off their usual stories speculating on the levels of debauchery and debasement that might be reached by State Street partiers. >MoreA 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. >MoreAliens 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. >MoreUncharted 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. >More
MOVIES
An elegy for Michael Jackson in This Is It Strange film is a fitting farewell Marjorie Baumgarten on Friday 10/30/2009, (1) Recommendation Ever see a dream moonwalking? Well, I did. Michael Jackson's posthumously released film about the preparations for his 50-concert comeback extravaganza is a strange creature indeed. >MoreSoul Power: Spotlight on James Brown Kenneth Burns on Friday 10/30/2009, (1) Recommendation There are a lot of mind-blowing moments in Soul Power, the documentary about a 1974 music festival that brought James Brown, B.B. King and other greats to Zaire. >More
JA's Soul Food is Madison's catfish headquarters Kyle Nabilcy on Friday 10/30/2009, (4) Recommendations Madison has seen quite a few cherished soul-food storefronts disappear, including Kipp's Down Home Cookin', A Place for Friends and the east-side location of Madtowne Fried Chicken. Jada's Soul Food was another, but there was one thing going for Jada's that the other restaurants didn't have: Larry Jackson, now the owner of JA's Soul Food. >MoreTen reasons to unearth a clay pot and get cooking Dinner in a vessel Terese Allen on Friday 10/30/2009 Whenever someone asks me how to cook: a) simply; b) seasonally; and c) sustainably -- and all in the face of cold climes -- one of the recipes that come to mind is chicken and vegetables cooked in a clay pot. Here, in fact, is my top 10 countdown for reasons to make this dish. >More
SPORTS & RECREATION
Bret Bielema vs. the critics Jason Joyce on Thursday 10/29/2009, (1) Recommendation In talking about last week's bye at his press conference on Monday, Badger football coach Bret Bielema mentioned that taking a break from critics could be just as therapeutic as a week off from bone-crushing hits. >More
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