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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.