Pixelated Imagination - Featured Photo Album

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Architecture in Helsinki at the High Noon Saloon

Mark — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:42:30 -0400

Architecture in Helsinki played a show at the High Noon Saloon this past Tuesday. I worked late, so I only made it to HNS a matter of 10 minutes before AiH started. It was well worth it. They put on a solid show that didn't disappoint at any point, except maybe when they left the stage for good.

They played a mix of older songs to a good chunk of their newest album, Places Like This. This was my first time seeing them live, so I had no idea that every member of the band could, and pretty much did, play every instrument. "Lead singers" Cameron Bird and Kellie Sutherland led most of the songs as the band rocked the crowd with their unique style that they describe as mellowdramatic popular music, ghettotech and jungle, though at a few points, their music sounded a bit like death metal. Even their cover of a song from Crocodile Dundee was transformed at the end into their own style.

If you missed this amazing show, the next best thing is to go directly to the photo album and commence to drooling.

October 17th Budget Rally and Counter Rally at the Capitol

Mark — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:14:42 -0400

As I mentioned in my last post, a huge rally/protest and counter protest were scheduled for today. When I went by at 10am, there was little going on, but many people dressed in green AFSCME shirts were located around the square as well as a large presence of folks from the Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity, who were setting up for the main rally against any tax increase.

I went home to get some meds for my sinuses/allergies and when I returned, it was completely different. Hundreds and hundreds of people surrounded the King Street entrance where the rally was taking place. Vehicle horns blared as union members circled the Square. Cheers and boos erupted as speaker after speaker got up to advocate for no new taxes. A smaller crowd gathered in front of the steps in support of no new taxes while they were surrounded about 4 times over with the likes of iron and steel workers, the TAA, fire fighters, police officers, SEIU, a giant cigarette amongst many others.

Best thing overheard as said by one of the no new tax people, "Did you hear they want to build a hotel at the student union?" Uh, newsflash, Memorial Union and Union South have had hotel rooms in them for at least 30 years, and I thought construction and commerce were stimulants to the economy.

Weirdest costume, cigarette guy. Now, I should have probably gotten the scoop on this guy. I don't know if it was a supporter of cigarette tax increases or an anti-smoking person or what, but you have to admit, it was kind of cute and probably made some kids there think smoking is cool.

All in all, both sides got out their frustrations, and surprisingly, some AFP folks stayed after to talk with the counter protesters. I say that, though, there was probably very little accomplished by this aside from rabble rousing, in no way lessened by the words of local radio voice Vicki McKenna as she ranted about her right to have everything tax free (funny how she trumpets war, a branch of the government funded by tax dollars).

In any case, I really learned something today...squirrels don't give a damn about the budget. Check out all of the shots from today's rallies here.

Tour for the National September 11th Memorial Museum

Mark — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:06:22 -0400

I left work today due to a nasty sinus or allergy (or both) problem I've been fighting through. As I was making my way home, I rounded the Capitol, knowing that there was to be a big rally at noon about the budget.

There were a lot of green shirts around, but little action, so I continued around until I got to Martin Luther Kind Boulevard, which had been blocked off by a fire truck. It struck me that as I was going to have a drink last night, I noticed some a tent up on the road. Sure enough, it was there as part of the Madison stop for the Tour for the National September 11th Memorial Museum.

The tour is not only meant to honor the nearly 3000 lost on September 11th, 2001 but also aims at raising awareness and funds to build the National Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero. The ceremony included a speech by Lee Ielpi, Memorial and Museum Board Member and former FDNY firefighter who lost his son on 9/11.

Ielpi spoke passionately about his experience on and the days after September 11th and of the importance of keeping the memory of this day alive. He then presented an American Flag that was hung over Ground Zero to City of Madison first responders who were represented by Assistant Fire Chief James Keiken. Keiken commended the work of first responders in Madison and beyond and held fast the duty of first responders to be there in any time of need.

The first responders were then invited to sign a steel beam while fifth and sixth graders from St. James Catholic School and Amazing Grace. The beam will be used as part of the structure steel for the Memorial and Museum.

After the initial signing, everyone was invited to walk through the traveling exhibit that includes a timeline, photographs, artifacts and a short film as well as sign the beam themselves.

The exhibit will be in Madison until 6pm today. For all the pictures from the event, check out here.

Featured Photo Album - Coming Soon: Lovshack

Mark — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:17:18 -0400

The doors of the Den on State Street sadly closed a few years back, leaving one of the largest commercial spaces on State vacant. Over the past few months, though, there's been a significant amount of work being done. Older issues of The Booze News have slightly marred the view into the windows, but there is enough of a view inside to get a good idea that booths and counter space spell a new restaurant to fill this space.

If that weren't enough, visuals in the display case give passersby a clue of the tone that this restaurant will have. There is a huge rooster head next to a sign with the wording, "Home of the world's largest...". A set of four posters, one "Sex", one "Drugs", one "Rock", one "Roll" also peek out from the newspaper cover.

So, what is this place going to be - some place serving up risqué types of food, a new Hooters type restaurant focusing on women's lower region instead of upper? The only indication of what the place is is a sign above the rooster head with a picture of a heart with some kind of roof over it followed by "Shack". Piecing one and one together when you add in the website name, the restaurant will be called, Lovshack. Be careful if you choose to search the web for it, it is NOT loveshack.com, which will take you to a very different, not child friendly site (smart marketing might tell you it would be a good idea to gather the money to buy that domain name).

From their website, this looks to be the second Lovshack after one in Indiana. This restaurant specializes in a wide variety of calzones ranging from traditional to exotic to dessert even. The also have a selection of salads to choose from. This twist on the restaurant and the apparent attitude espoused through their window advertising, will probably lead to success for this location.

Check out a few shots of the exterior of Lovshack here.

Featured Photo Album - 2007 Midwest Harvest Festival

Mark — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:23:26 -0400

This past weekend, Madison saw the return of the annual Midwest Harvest Festival. This year marked the 37th year of this festival, touted as the Midwest's largest. Madison NORML amongst a few other groups put together this years "festivities", which included a medical cannabis benefit at the Cardinal on Friday, bands and speakers on Saturday and Sunday along with vendors, and a parade down State Street on Sunday.

I made it to see Sloppy Joe on Sunday at Library Mall. Their bluegrass music was nuanced by their mainly marijuana subject matter from song to song. The police were not in force as the city has seemed to take much to all of its focus away from pot smokers in order to focus on other city woes.

The day's timing wasn't exactly punctual as the parade time was changed from 2:00pm to 2:30pm and finally to 3:00pm but still shoved off late. I met again with the parade at the top of State Street as they were greeted by the sounds of Little Marsh Overflow. Little Marsh Overflow and folks waiting for the parade were greeted not only with hundreds of marchers marching for marijuana legalization chanting various rally calls mixed with booming music, but also the overpowering waft of marijuana smell from the many who were openly toking throughout the rally. The smell remained until the time I left.

Check out the pictures from the event here.

Featured Photo Album - Mad Cabaret at the King Club

Mark — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:27:06 -0400

Last Friday saw the return of the Mad Cabaret at the King Club, with many of the major players of the show making appearances. Of note in absence was Pierce Bottoms, so Neil MF'n Diamond took over leading the show. Joy Dragland, while soon to make a return to Madison for a Smokin' with Superman reunion, was also, sadly, not in attendance. Nevertheless, the show raged on much to the delight of the audience.

The King Club was rather packed upon entering, and I was immediately hit with the notion that this night had hosted one of the oldest average age of patrons the King Club has ever seen. There seemed to be one huge party of people dominating a good quarter of the bar. Now, I don't mean to make it seem like I don't want to be in a bar with middle aged+ people, it's just that in most of the younger bars I go to, the women know when to stop grinding on you or better yet, just get that you don't want anything to do with them. Also, this group was all to easily enticed into jumping up and down by the booming voice and chest mat of Neil Mothafuckin' Diamond, causing a rocking in the floor and a fear in me of a fall to the basement.

Mad Cabaret put on as great a show as I can ever remember with a healthy mix of songs from each of the regulars teamed with the visual burlesque we've come to know. Check out pictures from the show here.

Featured Photo Album - Majestic Theater

Mark — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:21:41 -0400

Well, today was the day Dane101.com did a feature on the Majestic Theater, an article which featured many of the shots I had taken including a couple I leaked here on PI. With the bulk of the shots being revealed on their site, I have moved the somewhat hidden set fully into the Majestic Theater album and am featuring it as well on my site.

This main shot is one not used, but really gives more of a sense of the detail work that has been put into the theater, set to open this Saturday. The gold leafing is gorgeous with its new paint job and is very distinct set against the deep red that covers much of the walls.

Getting excited to see the whole thing? It's only a matter of a few days before its doors officially open to the public for all to see.

2007 Southern Comfort Music Experience in Madison

Mark — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 11:41:14 -0400

Madison was blessed with not one, but two amazing, free music festivals Saturday. One, the WSUM sponsored once Party in the Park now turned into the Snake on the Lake Fest, featured smaller indie acts who led up to probably the Fest's top act, Leslie and the Lys. The other was the Southern Comfort Music Experience. I made it back downtown just in time for the start of the Ponys. Maybe it was the lack of band notoriety, maybe it was the late football game, but whatever it was, the Terrace was not that filled up by this point.

There were, however, some of the worst dancers I have ever seen including the three girls who made some sort of indie/hippie hump train and the other three girls who seemed to be mocking them along with the awkward guy with them either trying desperately to get into one of their pants or to be "one of the gurls". In any case, the Ponys put on a decent show, though the acoustics were terrible and the vocals, for the most part could not be heard.

The SoCo Music Experience, which had corporate sponsorship in the form of none other than Southern Comfort, featured a few very well known national acts, the least of which being the recent indie hit, the Cold War Kids and the long time rockers, the Flaming Lips. There were many other bands who played on the two stages that were set up on Willow Island, location of the World Famous Brat Fest on the Grounds of the Alliant Energy Center.

Featured Photo Album - David Bazan with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

Mark — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:18:02 -0400

Walking into the High Noon Saloon last night for David Bazan (from Pedro the Lion and Headphones), I was met by quite the surprise, not because I had missed the start of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone but because people were sitting on the floor. I can't recall ever being at a concert in a bar or club where people were sitting down, raves excluded, but nevertheless, about half of the crowd was seated somewhat tightly along the front of the bar quietly listening to Owen Ashworth, the man behind CFTPA, as he sang his songs that often refer to darker days while he played all of the various keyboards that he has in his arsenal. CTFPA did a few covers, most notably, a cover of the Boss's, "Streets of Philadelphia". Playing right until his time was up.

After a short break (really, it does take too long to disassemble a bunch of keyboards and plug in an amp and guitar), David Bazan took stage, with a solo force that could rival many full bands. Playing a mix of some of his new album, songs he's working on, covers, Pedro the Lion and even Headphones songs, Bazan brought the tempo down from what CFTPA had set to make for a relaxing end to the evening.

Of note were the points when he asked the crowd if they had any questions. The first question was, "What's your favorite book?" to which he couldn't answer but did divulge the last two books he read, Mountains Beyond Mountains and, I believe, The Deep End of the Ocean. The second was when his new album will be out, which was answered with, "Sometime in the Spring."

Shots from the s

Featured Photo Album - Geocaching in the North Woods

Mark — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 13:34:54 -0400

As I said yesterday, our trip to the Minocqua area was not met with hot, sunny swimming weather, so we were left with hitting more of our other plans than previously expected. I had been reading up on geocaching for a while and when I saw it listed on the Minocqua area Chamber's website, I figured now was a better time than any to get into this constantly growing new line of adventure seeking.

Essentially, geocaching is just another term for a scavenger hunt, but the twist is that the location is only given based off of coordinates that are input into a GPS device. We picked out 5 or so that we thought were cool, 3 of which were done in connection with the DNR.

Today's featured album is a few shots I took while doing my very first geocache! One of the cool things about geocaching is that you often times get to explore public lands that are "hidden" from the public at large. For this one, which took us to a former CCC turned Scout camp turned public land on White Sand Lake, had we not known that grassy road led there, we would have never thought to look for it.

The best part of this geocache was that we got a little sidetracked thinking we were going the right way by makeing a turn onto a lesser path. We were very wrong, as was soon found out as we walked through somewhat cramped forest, which led us to boat access only campsites(?) on the lake, past a boggy, pond and finally to the open pine area that covered the actual path.

Once on that path, it was a matter of minutes before we reached the camp. First, though we were met by a former toilet, the only remains of what can be assumed was an outhouse. We were welcomed to the actual camp by dozens of blue jays flying around and a conifer lined path that led to abandoned boat houses. After a little here and there walking, we found the OLD pine that was described in the hint. We quickly spotted the large ammo box which housed the log book and trinkets.

Featured Photo Album - Min-Aqua Bats Last Show of 2007

Mark — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:55:18 -0400

It's again been a while since I last posted, and I'm slowly getting my life back into order after my move.

I did get a chance to relax a bit last weekend up in the North woods of Wisconsin. Luckily, the Minocqua/Woodruff area was far enough North to miss the apparently torrential rain that was received in Madison. The weather did inhibit our chance to go swimming in as many lakes as possible, or even one lake for that matter, but it didn't stop us from enjoying some of the many other diversions to be found in this area, which is part of the Northern Highland - American Legion State Forest that encompass some 200,000 acres in Northern Wisconsin.

Our first night included a staple of Minocqua, their very own ski team, the Min-Aqua Bats.

Featured Photo Album - Cave of the Mounds

Mark — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:36:01 -0400

After a long weekend of Pride events and more helping with home improvement, I have returned with an adventurous featured album. The Cave of the Mounds, located between Mt. Horeb and Blue Mounds, is widely considered one of the most beautiful and important caves in the Upper Midwest.

The tour lasted about 45 minutes and went from one end, looping back past the beginning to head to the other end. There are many different cave formations throughout the CotM, one of the coolest being the phosphorescent rocks, "Polly" and the nearby stalactites.

There were many amazing sights to see throughout the cave that was only found by chance during the lead mining boom. Check out shots from the Cave of the Mounds here.

Featured Photo Album - BOAT at the Annex July 19th, 2007

Mark — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:39:40 -0400

I was told a few weeks ago about the BOAT show coming to the Annex and figured, for $5, there's no way I couldn't at least get my money's worth. I checked out BOAT's myspace page and was very impressed by their music. I also listened to a few snippets of Walker Kong, which built my enthusiasm for the show more.

I thought we may have missed Walker Kong because I didn't arrive until about 10:30-10:45, but that wasn't the case. They hadn't even started yet, which seemed odd to me seeing that there were only three bands and the first started at 9:30. I was surprised and somewhat a little saddened by the small number of folks who had made it out. There were maybe 30 or so people.

After about 20 minutes more of set-up and sound checking, Minneapolis based Walker Kong went on. The singer implored everyone to move in, "so this doesn't feel like band practice." Folks moved in and quickly started moving back and forth to the groups uppity style of rock commenced for a fairly long show. Their set was probably about as long as the "headliner", Seattle's BOAT.

BOAT took no time getting set-up and were playing less than 15 minutes after Walker Kong finished. And when they started, boy did they. They rocked those few who made it out to the show with one of the best sets I've seen this year in Madison. It's great to see a band that has every member active in various ways, whether all four singing together, the drummer playing keyboards, the keyboardist and bass player playing maracas and what sounded like either a really old mechanical timer buzzer or bike bell.

Despite the small crowd, two two bands put in their all and seemed to have a good time doing it. The singer of BOAT made the crowd feel a little better about a Madison show having such low turnout by recanting a story where he played a show with only 3 people in the crowd. Ha! We beat them 10x over!

If you missed this show or want to relive the night, check out the shots here.

Featured Photo Album - Concerts on the Square July 19th

Mark — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 12:23:16 -0400

Last night, I went to take a stroll around the Capitol Square to finish off shooting the remaining Destination bus shelters when I happened upon the performance of the Wednesday postponed Concerts on the Square. It wasn't very crowded, which was good because I was able to walk right up to the front to snap some shots.

The highlight from yesterday's concert had to have been the Beach Boys medley consisting of four of the bands most popular songs (fade outs excluded). I stuck around through this, which ended the first half of the performance and then headed around to get what I came for.

Check out the shots from yesterday's Concerts on the Square here.

Featured Photo Album - 07 07 07

Mark — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:29:22 -0400

This past Saturday was a number junkies kind of day, being July 7th, 2007, or 7/7/07. Any other day, right? Not for those few 7,777 flickrites (on flickr, it's a few) who were able to get into the 07_07_07 group. This was just an individual who came up with this idea, touted as the original flickr number day (24 hours of flickr is purported to have copied this idea). Participants were to take as many photos as they could last Saturday and then post their seven best to the group.

I was lucky enough to get in on this fun event, and got my seven in one loop of the capitol. Here's a gallery of the seven shots I selected for submission.

Featured Photo Album - Destination - Capitol Square - Part 1

Mark — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 22:40:20 -0400

Today's featured album is the first of a two part series documenting the Madison Arts Commission's public art exhibit, Destination. This show, which was put together by Melanie Kehoss, who is also Here's shots of the bus stations done by Melanie Kehoss, Craig Grabhorn, Nina Bednarsky, Darryl Jensen.

Featured Photo Album - Rhythm and Booms 2007

Mark — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 11:18:25 -0400

After a successful year with no rain, no tornado warnings, and traffic rerouting, Rhythm and Booms went off with a bang (heh, bang, get it?). It was a blast. Okay, I should have left it at pun one, possibly pun zero. Anyway, Rhythm and Booms 2007 was a very successful event.

As I said, the weather couldn't have been better, a little hot, but not overly humid. We did our tradition of dropping our blankets and then coming back later in the evening. This is the way to do it if you don't feel like paying too much for beer and food. The secret to traffic is to avoid it. If you feel real ambitious, you would have went around the Northwest side of Mendota to completely miss it all, or in our case, you took Wheeler Road into the neighborhood just North of Warner Park to find some relief parking and peoplewise.

The show itself seemed a little less firework-y than usual. The reason I feel this way is because of the amount of light that I was able to get for shots. There also wasn't an extreme diversity in fireworks. Despite this, I think the show was really enjoyable. The finale was definitely one to remember, as the night air was deafened for well over a minute as thousands of fireworks simultaneously fired off.

Afterward, I wasn't too surprised that the traffic on Packers to CV was redirected to one way going North (though, they didn't bother blocking off the road, which lead to us driving up the shoulder going Southeast. Yes, people, we knew we were going the wrong way). This worked successfully last year, and seemed to again. It was the way to take if you prefer to take a longer route that keeps you moving rather than sitting in traffic moving an inch a minute but only going 4 blocks.

Check out all of the shots from this enjoyable yearly celebration here.