Geek-esque singer Jonathan Coulton makes a return trip to Madison Thursday, February 26.  Coulton will play the Barrymore Theater with opening act Paul and Storm.  Tickets are $18.

This is Coulton’s first return visit since his May 2 show last year.

Known for his lyrics involving super-villains, math, zombies and technology, Coulton has established himself as the premiere geek folk singer of his time.  He recently traveled with Jonathan Hodegman (best know as “PC” from the Mac vs. PC ads) to help him promote his book “More Information Than You Require.”

To listen to Coulton’s complete collection for free, check out his website.  Also, check out my Cap Times article prior to his last appearance for more fun information.  A quick review of Coulton’s May show can be found here.

I can’t believe it took this long.

After living here for almost two years, I’ve determined it is necessary to add an “Only in Madison” section to this website.

In a Cap Times article,  Eric Sundquist, a member of the Madison Plan Commission and former Atlanta newspaper reporter proposes restricting or banning the drive through in Madison.  Quoting:

“Given the concern about all the carbon going into the atmosphere, I’m not sure we should be building more places for people to sit idling in their cars,” says Eric Sundquist, who was appointed to the citizen panel by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz this spring.

A former newspaper reporter in Atlanta now working as a researcher at the UW-Madison’s Center on Wisconsin Strategy, Sundquist notes that several cities in Canada have recently moved to ban the drive-through coffee shop or stand-alone fast food restaurant.

Seriously, what happened to American ingenuity?  Are we now forced to copy  bad ideas from Canada?
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An editorial today on The Capital Times site suggests that Madison should embrace Alderman Mike Verveer’s proposal to restrict sales of cheap alcohol downtown. The CT says:

The truth is that sales of cheap booze should be regulated. It is unlikely that Verveer’s proposal will address every social ill or challenge associated with such sales, but it is the beginning of a rational response — a response that can be tinkered with, extended or otherwise altered as evidence suggests is wise.

I’m sorry, I thought prohibition was overturned in 1933.

For a city that is supposed to be open and liberal, an ordinance governing what types of alcohol can and cannot be sold seems extremely hypocritical.

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With changes to the local media landscape in Madison, Thursday is the epicenter for publication releases. Within 24 hours, The Cap Times, Onion, Isthmus, and 77 Square are released into the Madison wild. This week we caught our first glimpse of the two CapTimes.com weeklies. Here are thoughts on each paper for this week.

The Onion. Wow, with the headlines in the Onion, it seems they never left Madison. The “Dying Newspaper Trend” article is ripped right from local media (including this site), while the “‘Get the fuck outta the road’ program” should be directed towards the students at the UW. The Onion also provided a great summer movie preview, that helps me hate Hollywood even more.

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It was usually still dark when the lines started to form. Some were students that partied all night. They brought a beer or two to ease the cold while they waited. Others were professionals, clad in ties and dress shirts, hoping to have a pint before heading to their jobs.

By 5 a.m, the line usually stretched past the heaters the bar positioned outside for early birds. By 5:45 a.m, the line circled the block.

When the doors finally opened at 6 a.m, the party began. Shirts that proclaimed “You can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning” were handed out to the first 100 patrons that entered. Green Guinness flowed, as did Irish music. By 8 a.m, many moved on to the next pub or headed to work.

Such is a typical St. Patrick’s Day in Milwaukee. So why is Madison so lame when it comes to the holiday?

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It was the perfect for Capital Brewery’s Bockfest. The weather was a balmy 20 degrees, the sun was out, and the crowd was ready for beer.

I arrived in Middleton a little before 11 a.m. The line was already quite long, but I knew beer awaited my arrival on the other side. Or at least so I thought.

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Madison and Halloween. For decades the two have been synonymous. Each year, students and spectators descend on State Street for the immense party dedicated to costumes and alcohol. This year was no different, as the attendance was estimated at 34,000. Last year became the first year the city charged admission to the gathering, while this year marked the rise of corporate sponsorship of the event.

A ticket provided by a friend informed me that the now-named “Feakfest” was brought to me by Mountain Dew. Since it was free, I decided to made my way to State Street late Saturday to check out the remaining costumes and have a beer. Memories of tear gas at such late hours in recent years permeated my mind. Was last year the exception to the rule, or would it be a night without incident?

As the evening ended, the party proceeded without trouble. The Wisconsin State Journal says that 120 arrests were made, down from 148 last year and 334 during the last riot year of 2005. Since this was my first year checking out the corporate “Freakfest,” I decided to discuss my observations of the event.

The bands serve as a deterrent for the rowdy behavior of years past. They provide spectators an alternative to drinking, and they provide an unofficial “end” to the evening, as many leave once the music stops.

The tension has dissipated. During the riot years you could feel the mood shift, and we left before the problems started. That never happened this year. Patrons were laughing and joking with police on their way out, thanking them for their assistance.

Lack of originality. Maybe it is just because I am a man that I notice what women are wearing most often. Maybe it’s because they are not usually wearing much. The “slutty” insert-random-profession-here is by far the most popular costume women wear. While the male part of me enjoys it a bit, the creative part of me screams in horror. You’re college students, spend five minutes and come up with something creative, and possibly warmer.

Read more about Madison’s Halloween celebration via WSJ

There are two possible recourses when you hire someone that does not perform the duties they were hired to do. The first and most obvious is to fire them. If you have an employee (or employees) that are a cancer, the top goal should be elimination of that cancer.

The second recourse involves hitting the employee where it hurts most – in the wallet. If they were hired to do a specific job, refuse payment until the job is completed. Suspend pay, and they will respond.

Over 100 days have passed since the Wisconsin State Legislature should have passed a two-year budget. During that time, the members of the Senate and Assembly collectively made over $1.2 million. That seems like quite a bit of money to waste on people that are not doing their job. Personally, I believe each member of the legislature should donate their income to the new budget, as the addition of $1.2 million would solve the current deadlock, and allow Wisconsin to move forward.

Since it would be near impossible to make legislators accountable for their actions by fining them, I vote we recall them all.

A blurb on the front cover of my Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reminds me that the wait is nearly over – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” arrives in bookstores tomorrow. The final chapter of the series will have kids and adults lining up at bookstores across the country tonight to grab a copy when it goes on sale at 12:01 a.m.

Flipping further through the paper, I find Milwaukee’s major independent bookstore Schwartz will host a party to celebrate the new book beginning at 9 p.m. The gathering promises costumes and free magical activities that “will keep wizards of all ages happy.” I attended the Schwartz party for the last book release, and enjoyed seeing kids and adults dress in Harry Potter attire. I decided since I am now a Madisonian, I would venture to a local bookstore tonight to enjoy PotterMania one last time.

I grabbed a copy of the Wisconsin State Journal on my way out of the coffee shop to find which local independent bookstores would have festivities tonight. The State Journal realized the importance of this book release, plastering an illustration of Harry across half the cover and moving less significant articles about a missing person and world events to the back pages. The “Potter Parties” section gave details of Madison bookstores that would be open late and have festivities to mark the arrival of “Deathly Hallows.”

Not one independent bookstore was mentioned.

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This was originally written for Dane101.com.

The sun and clouds vied for position over the parking lot at Warner Park.  The occasional break from the intense rays of the sun provided momentary relief to the group that spent the afternoon tailgating.

The group started small; two people started the celebration around 1:30 p.m.  By 2 p.m. the group had doubled in size, and continued to grow.  Shortly after three, the smell of burgers and bratwursts poured from their gill.  At its apex there were over a dozen baseball fans, most clad in Mallards colors or apparel.

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The Recording Industry Association of America has recently threatened college students that use peer-to-peer file sharing programs to download music illegally.  Since the days of Napster, file-sharing software has been the bane of the music and software industry.  Recent advances in technology and software have made it easier to download movies, much to the chagrin of the Motion Picture Association of America.

In an open letter posted on InsideHigherEd.com, Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO and Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America explain their position.  “[T]here is broad understanding of the impact from this activity, including billions of dollars in lost revenue, millions of dollars in lost taxes, thousands of lost jobs, and entire industries struggling to grow viable legitimate online market places that benefit consumers against a backdrop of massive theft.”

Thousands of lost jobs?  Did this mean music companies would be forced to fire bands?
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As the UW Board of Regents recently discussed changes in undergrad admission, I kept hearing the same story from colleagues and in the media.  A Wisconsin high school student with a high grade point average and good test scores did not make it the cut at UW – Madison.  How could this happen?  Were they the victim of reverse racism by UW admissions?

Last year over 22,000 high school students applied for 5,600 spots in the freshman class. The truth is there are few guarantees in life, including access to the UW’s flagship college.  However, if a student is serious about attending the UW, there are other ways to get in, guaranteed.

That’s right, guaranteed admission to UW-Madison.

Last year, the UW struck an agreement with three schools: Madison Area Technical College, Milwaukee Area Technical College and Nicolet Area Technical College.  The agreement grants students who maintain a 3.0 grade point average and earn 54 credits admission to UW-Madison.

A similar program has been in place with the two-year colleges in the UW system for a number of years.  By submitting a “Declaration of Intent to Participate” form, and completing the freshman and sophomore year with a grade point average of 2.6, students are guaranteed admission to UW-Madison.

“It’s a great program, and it saves you a lot of money,”  states Nathan, a sophomore at UW-Marathon County and a participant in the program.  Like a lot of students, Nathan wanted to attend UW-Madison when he graduated from high school.  Despite good grades, respectable test scores and a list of activities, he was not accepted.

Nathan was a bit discouraged, but decided to start close to home at a local two-year college.  He knew that if he kept up his grades, he would be able to transfer to Madison after two years.  “It’s nice because I was able to keep my job and live at home.  It helped me save money.”  Nathan also saved on tuition.  The difference between his two-year college and UW-Madison is about $2,000 a year.

When I talked with Nathan, both he and I were surprised more people don’t take advantage of the UW’s promise of guaranteed admission.  The UW system has thirteen two-year schools scattered across the state, including locations near most major cities.  The addition of the technical schools to the program makes a UW education even more accessible.

“I think some people think they are entitled to get into Madison if they did well in high school,” said Nathan.  “If they don’t, they’d rather blame it on someone else than find a different way to get in.”

Admission to UW-Madison is not a given, nor should it be.  Some people will be admitted to Madison right out of high school, while others will have to prove themselves at another Wisconsin university before gaining admission.  What is most important is the opportunity for a degree from Madison is there for those that want it.

In a world with few guarantees, admission to UW-Madison is a nice one to have.