Inside agitator: Star UW history professor Jeremi Suri wants to shake things up Jennifer A. Smith on Thursday 11/05/2009 Jeremi Suri wants the UW-Madison, where he's a rising-star history professor, to be bolder, more daring, more adept at reaching out. Unafraid of controversy. More, come to think of it, like Suri himself. "We should be a place that takes risks [and] pushes boundaries between disciplines and in the way we teach." >More
NEWS
Taking stock of Lee Enterprises' ups and downs Cap Times, WSJ co-owner is on 'deathbed,' making a comeback Bill Lueders on Thursday 11/05/2009 It's hard to get a handle these days on the fortunes of Lee Enterprises, the Iowa-based half-owner of Capital Newspapers, whose products include The Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times. Staffs, resources and compensation have been cut at both papers, as throughout the Lee chain and most of the newspaper industry. Morale has suffered, and the newsrooms are hard-pressed to keep up with print and online coverage demands. >MoreProf renews psychology controversy Paper charges that therapists are ignoring clinical research Josh Wimmer on Thursday 11/05/2009 Timothy Baker has a problem with psychology today. He thinks it bears a dangerous resemblance to the medicine of yesteryear: anecdotal, unscientific, as likely to hurt as help. "[D]espite compelling research support for the merits of specific interventions for specific problems, clinical psychology, as a field, has failed to embrace these treatments," writes Baker, a professor of medicine at the UW-Madison's School of Medicine and Public Health, in a paper that's generating national attention and controversy. >MoreGreen Northeast Madison neighborhood gets green light Unanimous passage of Northeast Neighborhood plan Bill Lueders on Thursday 11/05/2009 Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is pleased with how it all turned out: "I got less resistance than I thought I would." The mayor is referring to the recent unanimous passage of his Northeast Neighborhood plan, which includes design features aimed at achieving a 25% reduction in the use of vehicles, water and energy. >More
MUSIC
Beyond 9 to 5: Some Madison musicians are weekend warriors Jessica Steinhoff on Friday 11/06/2009 Almost everyone who's tried to make a living as a musician has heard the old adage: "Don't quit your day job." The thing is, lots of local musicians have great day jobs that they wouldn't dream of ditching, and plenty have found a way to rehearse, perform and create while the rest of us sleep, watch TV and play Wii. We're a town of weekend warriors when it comes to music making. >MoreThe Sounds' tenacity yields success The hardest-working band in Helsingborg Rich Albertoni on Friday 11/06/2009 The Sounds didn't just wait patiently for success. They've earned it through years of long, hard touring that most rock bands would never endure. >MoreCash Box Kings: Cuttin' Heads at the Cuda Cafe (Blue Midnight Records) Jessica Steinhoff on Friday 11/06/2009 Blues is one of those musical genres best experienced live, and the tunes of Madison's Cash Box Kings are no exception. The evidence is the group's new CD of nine live performances from the now-defunct Cuda Cafe in Deerfield. The disc showcases their talents as an ensemble and their excitement about veteran Chicago bluesman Oscar Wilson joining their ranks. >More
OPINION & COMMENTARY
Cracking down on sales to chronic drunks is misguided strategy Address problem, not providers Emily Mills on Thursday 11/05/2009 I've been thinking a lot lately about how Wisconsin deals with citizens who abuse alcohol. With our dismal drunk-driving statistics, arguments over whether or not to allow children into bars with their folks, and proposals on everything from the size of liquor bottles that may be sold to the taxes placed on beer, the regulation of alcohol is a hot topic these days. >MoreUW females dress up when the sun goes down Ladies of the night on Thursday 11/05/2009 Dear Tell All: Sorry, but I have to correct your assessment of fashion or the lack thereof among University of Wisconsin-Madison students. First, you are correct about UW students dressing like total slobs -- during the day. >More
Carlota Santana brings flamenco to the concert stage Beyond nightclubs Susan Kepecs on Friday 11/06/2009 Flamenco's a cultural expression born of poverty, sex and violence in the medieval merchant ports of southern Spain. Culturally it's Spanish, Jewish, Moorish, Romani. As an art form it has churned for centuries on the rocks of politics and fashion. Flamenco's run the gamut of venues from street corners to taverns and proscenium arch theaters. >MoreSpongeBob SquarePants celebrates 10 surreal years God of the sea Dean Robbins on Friday 11/06/2009 It's official: Everybody loves SpongeBob SquarePants. You can tell by all the stars who line up for cameo appearances in the cartoon's 10th anniversary special, including Robin Williams, Pink, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Craig Ferguson, LeBron James and Rosario Dawson. >MoreRatchet and Borderlands: Good, but not for me Doug Elfman on Friday 11/06/2009 Just because I don't want to play a certain video game very much doesn't mean I hate it. To the contrary, two new video games are quite good, objectively speaking (they're entertaining and impressive), but simply aren't my cup of coffee. >More
MOVIES
Saving the planet, one film festival at a time Green screenings David Medaris on Friday 11/06/2009 Gregg Mitman thought Tales from Planet Earth would be a one-shot deal. The UW-Madison history of science professor and interim director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies was a principal organizer of the 2007 environmental film festival. "Opening night, there was a line two blocks long waiting to get into the Orpheum," he remembers. He had anticipated 500 people might show up the first night. Instead, more than twice that number turned out. By the end of the festival, total attendance was estimated at 3,500. >MoreThe Men Who Stare at Goats: Psychic spies Psychic spies Kimberley Jones on Friday 11/06/2009 The Men Who Stare at Goats is one odd duck. A title card reads "More of this is true than you would believe," but it's impossible to tell what's factual in this fictionalized take on Jon Ronson's book about Army experiments in the paranormal because it all sounds so deeply ludicrous. >More
Oysy Sushi and Seafood Buffet is an exercise in abundance Piled high Raphael Kadushin on Friday 11/06/2009, (1) Recommendation Sushi is the kind of food you can't really, in good faith, dumb down. In an age when elitism has become the dirtiest word, it remains an unapologetically elitist specialty. And that's justified. Genuine sushi chefs, the kind who turn the tradition into an art form, train for years to do justice to one piece of perfect yellowtail sashimi. >MoreHy-Vee is a supermarket and a cafeteria Tray chic Linda Falkenstein on Friday 11/06/2009 The new Hy-Vee, at 3801 East Washington Ave., was crowded on its grand opening Friday, Oct. 30. Madison schools had the day off, so kids trailed moms and dads pushing carts; plus there were lots of seniors, because who else would be grocery shopping at 10:30 a.m.? There were armies of staff, too, asking shoppers how they were doing, and mobile cashier stations to ease checkout congestion. >More
SPORTS & RECREATION
Tuning in, turning on baseball vs. football Jason Joyce on Thursday 11/05/2009 Game Four of the World Series on Sunday drew an average TV audience of 22.8 million viewers. That was the highest among the first five games and the largest baseball audience since 2004, when an average of 25.4 million people watched the Red Sox sweep the Cardinals for Boston's first title since 1918. >More
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