Pixelated Imagination - Inside my head, there is a box, a frame defined by me. I take this box and capture it, pixelated for all to see.

New Site!

Mark — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:20:36 -0400

I started a quick site on WordPress and will be working off of there. Check it out miphotos.

Problems with the site

Mark — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:52:18 -0400

Thank you to everyone who has looked at my site over the years I've been running it. Unfortunately, as of now, my Gallery is down, so I am not able to post any of the great pictures I've been getting with the warmer weather. I am in the process of trying to figure out how to get it up and running.

While I work out the kinks and possibly just start posting pictures on my flickr account while gallery is down, feel free to page back at my past posts (though you can't look at any of the albums, alas). I hope to come back strong very soon!

Shamrock once again closes its doors unexpectedly

Mark — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:18:17 -0400

I heard just before heading to work last night that the Shamrock had once again closed its doors with no indication prior that it would. This is the second time in a year and third in two that the doors closed and the buzz that I'm hearing hopefully is just rumors.

Many of the bartenders stopped in to WOOF's last night to spend some time together and patronize the freshman gay bar in town.

I have a lot of respect for the owner of the Shamrock, Glenn Jahns and know that he has gone through a lot with his ownership of the Shamrock. I am greatful to him for everything he has done for the LGBT community and the community at large as he is truly a selfless man of the community at large. Best to everyone at the Shamrock.

Bockfest 2008

Mark — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:40:31 -0500

The 2008 Bockfest at Capital Brewery was back in full force this past Saturday at the brewery in Middleton. The beer garden, normally dormant and vacant in the cold winter months sprung to life as thousands of eager beer enthusiasts filled the grounds to get their chance to taste the new stock of Capital's Blonde Doppelbock.

We arrived around 10:20 to be one of the first 105 in line, who all received a free mug (we didn't realize they were selling them for $3 inside, which was worth coming later). There were about 70 people in line in front of us, and the wait went pretty quickly. This was my first Bockfest, so I didn't realize how into it some people got, complete with costumes, belts with 10 mugs, and mighty long lines.

After the MC opened the festivities, literally, with a bang, the drinking commenced. Let's be honest here, this festival was pretty much about the alcohol. With limited food selections capped at pork sandwiches and wings, the focus revolved mostly around consuming some good brews, in my opinion, the best being this year's Maibock, rumored to be one of the best batches they've had in years. Don't get me wrong, either, spending a day with friends, a beautiful day relative to February weather, enjoying some great beers makes for a very enjoyable time for me as much as a slew of other activities.

Other highlights of the day included the fish toss, dodging beads, country music, waiting in line for the bathroom and seeing lots of people you knew. To see all of the pictures from the festivities, check them out here.

February 20th Lunar Eclipse

Mark — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 09:43:36 -0500

The last total lunar eclipse for a few years occurred last night and I managed to get a few pictures of the tail end of it. Check em out here.

The Icicles Return

Mark — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:16:23 -0500

It was just a matter of time before they came back, and boy did they en masse. The icicles are back, plaguing our rooftops and putting cars and other inanimate objects at risk, not to mention the threat of possibly hitting a person or animal.

With that, I reopen my challenge to find the biggest icicle in Madison. Remember, it has to be free hanging, not stuck partially to the building. In the meantime, here's a few of the ones I've seen in the past few days below the fold. The rest can be seen here.

2008 Wisconsin Presidential Primary

Mark — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:50:48 -0500

February 19th marks the day where voters in Wisconsin head to the polls to cast their ballot for one of the nominees. The kicker of this primary is that all of the candidates who have been in the race are listed not just the two Democrats and two Republicans still in the running. The other difference between previous elections is the change of address from. I never remember having to fill out such an extensive, full sheet paper to change my address.

Not like it was a big deal or anything as it took me no more than 5 minutes to fill the sheet out and cast my ballot. However, this could cause some back-ups for those who are coming to the polls later, so my suggestion, as has been the suggestion for all events this cold, snowy winter, get it done early and you won't have to worry about that added time nor about waiting outside in sub-zero temperatures. If you must come later, for Heaven's sake, dress warm, make sure you have a valid form of ID or piece of mail if you're changing your address and keep your spirits up; for, you are doing your civic duty.

Good luck out there and I'll be excited to watch the results tonight, from the warmth of my apartment (okay, that was a low blow).

February 17th, 18th? 19th? Storm

Mark — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 12:31:52 -0500

It started late last night innocent enough. A little bit of drizzle as I was going out to the bar (yeah, I had a late start to my night). Upon leaving the bar at bar time, though, the conditions outside had drastically changed. It rained for several hours freezing rain that made at least the sidewalks pure ice 100%.

The balance between fun, caution and completely lack of control wavered as my friend and I ventured home, each only falling just once on the grounds of the Capitol. It was nearly better to have brought my skates as I might have had better balance. Luckily, we didn't have any hills to go up, and the one on Hamilton we had to go down thankfully had ledges along their buildings so there was a 4 inch or so space with no ice.

That freezing rain soon turned to just rain, and now the city is finding itself, at least in the downtown area, bogged down with water. Walking a few blocks to the corner store on East Johnson and Paterson, I opted to walk in the street after a half block. A couple came up behind me and told me it was best to just get soaked and get it over with because it was much easier. They had been walking up Johnson for who knows how long, and from the picture at the head of this story, you can see that the sidewalks are under about 3 or so inches of water.

The roads were pretty clear except for a few puddles here and there. It was East Johnson I was walking up the middle of, so every minute or so, I'd have to dive behind a parked car to avoid getting sprayed with slushy water. I made it, got my milk, Life Waters (still 2 for $2) and paper and headed back home. The South side of Johnson was a bit better, but I still stuck to the road, nearly making it back with only rain and a few splashes on my pants. That was, of course, until a truck came barreling down the road, kicking up water 4 feet high and giving me a pretty good sopping.

Ah well, the worst is over for me for now. That is of course, until the rain turns to snow, whereby we'll be getting an estimated 8-14 inches. Yay, more snow (read, total sarcasm). If you have to go anywhere, I would do it immediately and only if you HAVE to. These conditions aren't getting any better.

Oh, and what kindness I just saw from my window! My attention was caught as I saw a minivan speed backwards up East Johnson. It was to ask a blind man if he needed a ride. He accepted. That brings some cheer to this dreary day. Take care everyone, stay inside and check out these photos to see the current conditions as of 11am.

Obama at the Kohl Center Part 2 - The Rally

Mark — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:12:25 -0500

The extent to which the turnout for the Obama rally yesterday couldn't be imagined, as the Kohl Center was filled to the brim, with thousands lined up to get on the floor over two hours before the doors opened to get in. The overflow room was nearly full as well at 17,000 people in all made for one great rally

Time flew, though, as people filed in. Spirits stayed high as folks waited for the polls to close in Maryland, which was delayed due to weather.

Several people working on the local Obama campaign spoke before Governor Jim Doyle came out to introduce presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama. Obama's speech was a new page in his campaign. He has begun to sound a lot more like the nominee than just a candidate for nominee. He charged the American people in a way that reflected JFK, offering a plan to fund college up to $4000 as long as students did something for their country. He called upon parents to turn off the TV and video games and start being more involved in the upbringing of their children.

See all of the photos from this landmark rally and possible turning point in the 2008 election campaign here. Makes you almost feel excited that there will be 9 more months of campaigning.

Obama at the Kohl Center February 12th, 2008

Mark — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:17:17 -0500

As of about 2:30pm a line was just starting to form inside of the Nicholson Center, the practice basketball courts attached to the Kohl Center, as about 20 folks came out early to get a front row spot for one of the highlights of the day for Wisconsin, namely, Senator Barack Obama's visit to Madison, Wisconsin.

Poised to sweep the Democratic races today, Obama will likely use this venue as his platform to delivery not only his message of change, but his victory speech to the entire country. Rumors are amiss about who will be the one to introduce the candidate, with heavy speculation as to whether Wisconsin Democratic Senator Russ Feingold will accompany Obama back to Wisconsin. Feingold has yet to throw his endorsement to either Obama or Senator Hillary Clinton, whose daughter, Chelsea was in Madison yesterday on a stump for the Senator's run.

The Kohl Center will most definitely be bursting at the seams as supports flood in from all over to get to see and hear first hand the candidate who could become the 44th President of the United States. The doors will open 15 minutes earlier than announced at 6:00pm with the speech starting at 8:00pm. Though the line is rather small as of now, flocks of people will be heading that way at quitting time.

Worried about the cold? As I said, the Nicholson Center will house the first 1000 or so people, maybe more, with two televisions set up with television to help pass the time. This is the place to be tonight, so if you want to make it, make sure you are already planning on getting downtown as the snow is still coming down, which will surely slow things down a bit.

In the meantime, check out the photos from Obamawatch and stay tuned for a possible other update.

So...was this a blizzard?

Mark — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 08:51:51 -0500

After 2 days of snow and a predicted several more days of flurries turning to a few more inches of accumulation, the question must be asked, was this a blizzard? Last year at the end of February, at a week out, professional and amateur weatherpersons were having their storm watching palettes whetted as they anticipated what was predicted to be the storm of the century, only to see if fizzle down to a depressing showing.

This most recent storm didn't really get any play at all except for the last minute, "We should be getting a good amount of snow. Don't go anywhere if you don't have to." Well, after 12, 13, 14 hour traffic standstills on 90/39 and authorities saying don't go that way, many people driving sliding into snow banks, getting stuck only to have to be pushed out by the goodness of local folks or shoveling themselves out, I again ask, was this a blizzard?

From the looks of today's picture, the only logical answer is yes. Snow piled 20-30 feet high outside of the parking ramp on Francis and West Johnson with more to be added, side streets still looking pretty iffy (though, the city did do an amazing job of cleaning the main arteries of at least East Johnson and Gorham East and West), cars stranded in parking lots all seem to indicate that the city is pretty slowed by this most recent dumping.

If you're not out of the door yet today, make sure you get out the door with plenty of time to spare as you'll have to dig out your car, your driveway, and then navigate sometimes questionable paths as your comfort level wavers the entire time. Breath...breath, take your time, don't drive to closely, call in if you don't have much to do today. It's not worth it to get stressed out. Strap on those cross country skis and have some fun because this snow isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Editors with Hot Hot Heat and Louis XIV

Mark — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:10:44 -0500

Those in attendance last night for the Editors with special guests Hot Hot Heat and Louis XIV saw not only an amazing show, but one that was viewed in the intimacy of the restored Majestic Theater, making it all the more personal.

I arrived just as Louis XIV was finishing their last song. I had been a little confused by what I had listened to by them as being Blues as they are identified as on their myspace page. In the one song I heard, I still couldn't see the Blues influence, but then again, I'm no expert in that style. It was a decent song, nonetheless and after they finished, the crowd quickly swelled for the next act, Hot Hot Heat.

The collective age of the crowd dropped significantly for Hot Hot Heat as they are probably the most commercially known band of the three acts for the nights and the show was also all ages. Being the second act before the main act Editors, the set was significantly shorter than expected with few songs from their newest album, Happiness Ltd. played most significantly, their newest single, Let Me In (also, my personal favorite of theirs). This didn't stop them from electrifying the crowd with their upbeat, New Wave style rocking out with songs that covered their entire discography.

Editors then hit the stage, coming on strong with Bones and the tearing through some of the best of their two albums. True to their reviews, frontman, Tom Smith was the life of the band, switching from guitar to piano, moving all over the stage, even on top of his piano with a passion that was just short of completely captivating. Marry that with the beauty and perfection of their songs' executions and you have the recipe for a show that is sure to leave its mark on the fans and Madison itself for time to come.

The highlight of the show, as I had expected, was the hard driving Escape the Nest, the newest album's hardest and most forceful song. This didn't diminish in the least other greats that were near album perfect reproductions like Smokers Outside the Hospital Door, The Racing Rats, Bullets, Lights and really every other song in the set. They even pulled out a rarity in their first encore song, You Are Fading.

The entire set list is below and the whole photo album from the show can be seen here.

Mad Rollin' Dolls January 26th, 2008 Bout

Mark — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:21:00 -0500

The Mad Rollin' Dolls kicked off their 2008 home season with a pair of bouts that were both action packed and high scoring. Those freshman on the teams fit right into their teams holding their own with some of the best veterans out there.

The first match-up featured the 2007 champions, the Reservoir Dolls against the Vaudeville Vixens. The match-up was tight as both teams swayed back and forth in score, but a few key penalties on the part of the Dolls gave the Vixens the opportunity to score some big points and come out on top.

The second match saw the Unholy Rollers battle against the Quad Squad. The first few jams were low scorers, but then as the clock ticked on, the Quad Squad began to pull farther and farther ahead. Ultimately, the Quad Squad pulled far enough ahead to have a run away win.

To see all of the shots from this night's exciting bout, check out the album.

January 21st, 2008 Snow!

Mark — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:26:46 -0500

Holy snow! We got a mighty dumping yesterday, adding to the large amounts of snow we've gotten this season already. Good thing we had that spat of warmer weather to get rid of a bit of it before we got this most recent storm.

The city did a pretty good job with keeping the roads clean, mostly likely due to the snow being light and the accumulation taking nearly 24 hours in total to complete. Landlords and those responsible for shoveling the sidewalk, though only did so-so as well more than half of the sidewalks this morning had yet to be shoveled even once. Thank goodness for snow boots!

Shadows of the Past - Royal Crown

Mark — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 13:14:04 -0500

I noticed this as I was gazing out the window at work and talking with a coworker. I've looked out that window hundreds of times, but never in any of those times, have I noticed this newest addition to my work in progress album, Shadows of the Past. Along the side of the building housing The Karaoke Kid and Caspian Cafe is a remnant of the past in the form of an advertisement. All that can be made out are the words "Royal Crown", which, according to the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation, can only be guessed as an advertisement for Royal Crown Cola, all my life known better as RC Cola.

Store closed....finally

Mark — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 08:40:34 -0500

Okay, that title sounds bad, but really, how long had that store just off of State Street on Johnson with various imports and other knickknacks advertised it was closing? One year? Two? The games store around the corner on State was forced to advertise that they were not the store to be closing.

So, we bid adieu to another store on (or just slightly off of) State State closing. The new question now is what will fill it's space? Another high end jewelry or women's clothing store? Another ice cream, popcorn or kitschy fast food restaurant? The question mark in the window might imply that the puzzle store is taking over this space (though, honestly, I haven't been on State to see if that closed as well). In time, we shall see.

Vandalizing our veterans

Mark — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:42:21 -0500

Anyone who's lived or walked by the VFW on North Hamilton would know that this building is a hotspot for taggers, terrible ones at that. What an honor to our veterans to constantly vandalize the VFW.

I guess I've never understood the mentality of people who tag letters and words, as though they somehow feel they are so important because their name is crudely written everywhere. It doesn't work for Britney with the tabloids, and it's not working on my in Madison.

Icicles Galore!

Mark — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 10:14:10 -0500

I apologize to all my adoring fans (ha!) who have been incessantly checking for updates to my phlog. Rest assured, I'm back now with a few good shots to start the year off with, and what better to start with than a rant!

There sure are some big icicles out there, huh? Sure, I guess there's some sort of beauty in frozen water spears draping those hundred or so year old buildings, but spears...spears, some nearly 20 feet in length hanging at the mercy of mother nature, at any moment capable of at the very least, giving passersby a good smarting if not a permanent vacation.

As you can tell by today's picture (true, it was taken a few weeks ago), dangerous icicles don't just hang out (get it?) along the sides of houses where landlords don't shovel, they sometimes line the sidewalk, in this case, the busy walking area of East Johnson Street. Keep your eyes to the sky as you walk, or maybe bring your handy telescoping pole and do the city a service yourself as it doesn't seem like too many property owners are concerned with alleviating this danger.

I am making an open call to anyone to find the biggest icicle in the city. The only caveat is that it has to be free forming, not running along a drain pipe or adhered to a building (though, those are pretty cool to see). I know I've seen ones that near 20 feet. Find it before I do. Feel free to comment on my page with a link to the pic or just the location if you don't have a camera/place to post it).

Tree Truck

Mark — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 11:45:36 -0500

Today's picture comes from last Saturday, and it paints a brighter picture on the messiness that most of the city is still slipping and sliding through. I was invited on a tree hunting excursion. A friend invited me to one of his friend's parent's farm in order to do a little quid pro quo.

The family had planted some 2000 fir trees in order to facilitate oak tree growth, but now that the tress have become established, they no longer have any use for the firs. What a novel idea to allow groups to go up and harvest their own tree, and in turn, their oaks could grow unobstructed. All they asked was for a food donation to a local food pantry.

Despite its causing a much longer car ride than expected both into and out of Barneveld, the snow added a very pleasant aura to the experience, well, until it started to freeze and pelt us. It was a bit of a trek to get to the trees, but once there, there were countless beauties to pick from. That made the decision easy as I quickly found a beaut and started hacking away. A minute later, I hate myself a tree!

I'll post a picture of the tree once I get it decorated, but alas, it's hard to judge height when the sky's the limit. I was about right, the tree is almost exactly 10ft tall, the height of my ceilings, but I need to trim a bit from it to put the star on the top and to allow a smaller trunk to fit better into the stand so it doesn't fall over. Anyone got a handsaw?

Snow Emergencies, what's the deal?

Mark — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:00:31 -0500

Today's picture is of a very snowy Johnson Street after a harsh weekend of snow, minor thawing leading to icy freezing as the temperature dropped well below the freezing point to hold at its current 19 degrees.

The city declared its first official snow emergency this past weekend, which again raises the question, what the heck does the mean? Even after reading the details, the answer isn't so clear.

First, it's great that the city has an email listserv that residents can sign up for to be informed when an emergency goes into effect. It's not so great, though, when the email is not received until nearly 24 hours after the emergency has gone into effect.

Second, alternate side parking - do you park on the even side on even days and the odd side on odd days or do the plows plow the even side on even days and vice versa? This is probably the most confusing of all, and the devil is in the details. Technically, it's counterintuitive, well, sort of.

The snow emergency goes into effect between 1am-7am, so you shouldn't have to park your car on the even side on even days until 1am, but if you look at this chart, you see that you should be parking on the odd side on even days and vice versa. Confused yet? I'm sure all those residents along East Johnson who got tickets at 5pm on Saturday, December 1st for being parked on the odd side are sure confused. Bottom line, unless you're a late arriver home, park on the opposite side (odd on even days, even on odd) as you would think to avoid that nasty $20 ticket outside the Snow Emergency Zone and $30 within.

Finally, what good does it do fining folks $20 or $30 for not abiding by these rules? Anyone who has ventured out can see all of the problems that a lack stiffer penalties has caused. There are huge mounds of snow where cars were plowed in and worse, cars buried under the snow. Who knows when this snow will melt, which then leads to a severe reduction in parking spaces available on the streets. From what I hear, Madison should look to other cities for their strategies to find a better plan, which should include towing of cars to ensure that streets get adequately plowed (let's leave the argument about the quality of Madison's street plowing for another day).

In all, it's safe to say street parking in Madison (snow) blows.

Ice at James Madison Park

Mark — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:20:31 -0500

Last year in April, the freezing temperature spat mixed with the thawed Lake Mendota caused the creation of a thick layer of ice over a good part of the shore at James Madison Park. Pictures of that can be found here.

Well, it's started again as the frigid temperatures mixed with high winds cause waves to crash over the barrier and spray onto the shoreline only to freeze at it's final resting place. The warmer temperatures of the past few days have stalled the progress of ice coverage, but upon passing this morning on my way to work (trust my freezing ears, it's cold again!), the barricades had a substantially thicker layer of ice than when this picture was taken.

Click here for a few other shots of this beautiful icescape.

Zombies at the Mall...How Predictable

Mark — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 15:50:01 -0500

Have you ever wondered why zombies always seem so attracted to malls in the movies? Oh wait, I get it now, it's got to be all the consumerism. Well, true to the stories, zombies invaded a Madison mall on Black Friday, but not to consume brains.

No, these zombies were there to "encourage" folks to, "Shop....Shop..." As Madison's finest zombiographer, I nearly escaped with my life and credit line maxed out. These zombies were out in protest of what is sometimes viewed as mindless and unnecessary consumerism. Handing out papers explaining some of the views behind Buy Nothing Day.

While serenading the passersby with a zombie carol, security took over, doing a much better job than in the movies. In all fairness, these were very complacent zombies who saw their welcome warn and lurched back from whence they came.

Check out the few shots I got here.

In Remembrance

Mark — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 13:39:53 -0500

If you haven't noticed, I've sort of fallen off the radar in the past few weeks without any posts. I lost someone very dear to me and have been spending a lot of time with my family and, frankly, just haven't had the motivation to get out and take pictures.

My grandfather was an incredibly kind person whose selfless acts will forever be ingrained into my families memories in hopes that we can be half the person he was. His passing was marked by a military service in Union Grove that concluded by a lowering of the flags to half mast.

In his honor, today's picture is a shot of this honor bestowed upon Erwin Sadowski, a great soldier, husband, father, grand and great grandfather.

Leroy - Staring at the horizon

Mark — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:30:19 -0500

Today's picture was taken this past Sunday while I was dogsitting for my sister while she was up in Green Bay seeing the Packer completely stomp the Vikings. In the meantime, I was hanging out with my buddy, Leroy at the Quann Park dog park.

Leroy would have never known that the Packers had a runaway win except maybe that there were few dogs out to play with. It didn't stop him from finding a terrier to wear him down before working on the full loop of the park.

In today's shot, we see Leroy set at ready to sprint across the grass to play with one of the few dogs in the park. It was funny that he got into this ready position, which was set against the beautiful late autumn colors and hazy sky, because he was so tuckered out by his first playmate, that he passed every other dog he got close to by.

Veterans Day "Memorial Mile" at Olbrich Park

Mark — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 17:23:18 -0500

Today marks the day to remember and honor our veterans for their service and sacrifices for our country. Veterans Day ceremonies are being held all over, and one notable one right close to home at Olbrich Park has erected a "Memorial Mile" honoring specifically those fallen in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sponsored by the Clarence Kailin Chapter 25 of the Madison Veterans for Peace, over 4200 tombstones were erected along the 1 mile stretch as well as a timeline leading from the first day until today noting important dates. State flags indicate Wisconsin soldiers lost.

There was a ceremony at 2pm featuring several speakers coming from a wide range of experiences. The tombstones will be up until tomorrow evening.

Here's a gallery of a few pictures one the first stretch of the tombstones.

Madison Pop Fest at Music Hall

Mark — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 14:03:19 -0500

Madison Pop Festival made its return to Madison starting Thursday night with a performance by the party hardy music of Andrew WK. I missed that, but have a feeling that they did not fail to get the crowd moving and the energy swelling.

The festival continued last night as the Rathskeller hosted a viewing of "The Hip Hop Project" followed by a few artists. Those looking for a more indie spin to the pop music spectrum made their way over to Music Hall. Hosted by JustSayinIsAll.com, the night opened up with a panel discussion on the state of Madison music presented by Dane101.com followed by several local and touring acts.

We didn't arrive until Austin's Billy Harvey was on. The one man act brought a commanding stage presence, as is to be expected by an effective solo act. He brought some humor along with his act when he reminded the crowd to return the notepad he had passed around for those interested to sign up for his fan club. He then continued to bring the laughs as he explained that he normally descends through the stage in a dramatic apparent anti-deus ex machina fashion.

After a short break and some setup behind the big red curtain, the hosts of the event introduced what most of the folks in the crowd came to see, the Pale Young Gentlemen. Beefing up their act with a trio of violinist, PYG didn't fail to impress. This added element heightened their music to near theatrical levels as new emotion and feeling was evoked by this added element. They were dead on with every song in their set, which included several new songs. They seemed to go on forever much to the crowd's delight. Alas, though, all good things must come to an end, surprisingly without playing their most notable song, Clap Your Hands.

After their set, I was thoroughly pooped after a long day, and so, we headed out, much to the chagrins of Kyle Pfister, who beckoned to the waning crowd to stay for the last act, Baby Teeth. I missed them as well as a showing of Daft Punk's Electroma.

The rest of the weekend is filled with more music, including some hands on music workshops. Check out their website for all of the details. Check out this gallery from last night for shots of Billy Harvey and the Pale Young Gentlemen performing.

Downtown from Picnic Point

Mark — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 11:35:49 -0500

Madison is a beautiful city pretty much all year round (maybe not midnight when there's eight inches of snow) and it's no more evident than Autumn. What better place to view the city than at Picnic Point? Check out this photo album to see some great late season color from campus through Mansion Hill.

New New Glarus beer in the works?

Mark — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 10:29:01 -0500

Today's shot portrays a possibly better fit than Fat Squirrel as the name of a Wisconsin beer (except for those of you who frequent the Capitol Square). So, take note New Glarus Brewery, get your brewmaster going on a new concoction for the next hit beer, Flat Squirrel.

A week away from humanity

Mark — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:36:55 -0400

I had a bit of trouble this weekend getting pictures taken of the Halloween celebration. Part of it was that I just wanted to go out this year and have fun instead of toting around a camera and taking pictures all night. Part of it was that the camera kind of ruined my costume of Donnie Darko (cliche and over done, yes, but still kind of cool for a last minute costume). Part of it was because I was burglarized and didn't have a camera or any of the other essential items needed to function properly in our modern day society.

Here's what we know: I went to bed at around 5am, first mistake. The front door was left unlocked, second mistake but really only a half mistake because you always figure, "I'll wake up if someone came in." Uh, review mistake one...guess that makes the latter a full mistake two. Those teamed together made for one passed out Mark, so much so that I didn't notice the person enter our apartment, grab my camera bag also containing my wallet, my mp3 player, $6.50 in change and two car CD holders off of my desk, nor even the removal of my phone off of my bed while I was asleep in it. He also, interestingly enough, felt it necessary to steal a half can of Pringles from me

Burglars first mistake - robbing people at 7am, in broad daylight. Second mistake - not figuring anyone would wake up. He entered my roommate's room and took his phone and some items of modest value before my roommate stirred. He then must have got a little jilted and left the apartment. Third mistake - stealing not one, but two people's phones with government mandated GPS locaters in them. We didn't get to utilize this function due to his fourth and biggest mistake - robbing no less than 3 people in broad daylight. He was apprehended across the street while his next burglary was in progress.

It took a few days, a few days in agony because neither my roommate nor I had any means to get into contact with directly aside from online chat and email and the few hours I was at my desk at work. It made coordinating getting our stuff back a little difficult, but ultimately, the difficulty paled in comparison to the relief that we were actually, eventually going to get our stuff back.

We got it all back last night minus the smokes and lighter my roommate lost and sadly, yes minus my half can of Pringles. I want satisfaction, dammit! All kidding aside, the police did an excellent job in handling this and all I can really say any further is, why still haven't I called to sign up for renter's insurance (fyi, I have it pulled up right now to price out and get).

Here's a shot of what all was lost (minus the camera, which was used to take the pick).

A-maze-ing View

Mark — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:50:35 -0400

Today's picture comes from my trip to the Treinen Farm out in Lodi this past weekend. This year, they have created a labyrinth shaped like an enchanted castle.

As usual, those challenging this corn maze were given only the first of 8 pieces of the map and had to go from point to point each time getting a piece that took them further into the maze. Along the way, there are 8 posts with a differently shaped hole punch at each one not located on any of the map pieces that were put in as an extra challenge.

We made our way through the maze, finding 7 of the 8 challenge posts. We finished the maze in a little over two hours, claimed our candy and popcorn prize and then headed out. There was also an optional hay ride, a children's play area, and a pumpkin launch, where folks were encouraged to catapult gourds into the pond that is at the East end of the farm.