Isthmus

If most of the Hollywood movies filmed on location in Madison are bad, it's not the fault of the dedicated local folks who worked with the producers, directors and stars, meeting often outrageous demands. Mary Idso, former assistant director of the now-closed Wisconsin Film Office, tells hilarious and hair-raising stories about dealing with the big-budget productions that rolled into the area. Full Story »

Is there a Madison curse for Hollywood movies? Almost every big-budget project filmed on location here is an artistic failure, even if it stars foolproof actors like Julia Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer or Johnny Depp. Full Story »

Rock and classical music may seem like strange bedfellows, but if you examine the evidence, they've been having a love affair for quite some time. Full Story »

American road stories have held a mystique at least since Jack Kerouac penned his classic Beat Generation novel. This year, CunninLynguists made road stories the central theme of their rap verses. The Kentucky hip-hop duo released Strange Journey: Volume 1 in spring, followed by Volume 2 last month. Full Story »

Although Overture Center does its best to play safe, every now and then the performance palace's programmers go out on a limb and bring in an edgy, must-see show. Step Afrika! is one of those. Steeped in African American history, mashed up with South African roots and slicked with contemporary production values, this rhythm company serves up a supersize shot of soul. Full Story »

Madison should be well acquainted with the Found Footage Festival by now. A pair of Stoughton natives started the touring comedy show five years ago, and it's stopped here more than once. But Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett promise that when they bring their comedy show back for two performances at the Orpheum next Saturday, they'll have plenty of fresh material. Full Story »

The broadcast networks' fall series gave TV a bad name, but Men of a Certain Age makes you fall in love with the medium all over again. Ray Romano co-created this masterful drama about middle-aged friends who've lost their mojo. Full Story »

Just in time for holiday shopping, here are answers to four questions I hear most about video games. Full Story »

Everybody's Fine -- a movie about the lies grown children tell their parents -- is, ironically, one of the most disingenuous movies to come out of Hollywood in a while. Full Story »

A Christmas Tale : The wildly, sublimely dysfunctional Vuillard famille gather for Christmas. Full Story »

Madison doesn't have enough true culinary auteurs, but Shinji Muramoto helps make up for the gap. Eschewing limp imitations of passing trends, or generic menus, Muramoto is the kind of itchy, driven, tirelessly inventive chef who wants to goose our tastebuds and up the local gastronomic ante. Full Story »

This year's mainstream toy juggernauts sport a lot of hot pink plastic and are rife with movie and TV tie-ins. And, sometimes, lead and other toxic chemicals. Independent toy stores have kept their market by moving to wood and recycled materials and vetting the safety of the toys they do sell, many of which call for imagination instead of AA batteries. And most would please the child in almost ... Full Story »

One of the characteristics of this time of the year, besides the clustered holidays, is the plethora of new movie releases. The presumption is that the public has the time and motivation to see a movie, in large part, because of those clustered holidays. Full Story »

Whoever decided to allow the public derision of a curious child, who spells no worse than the advertising for "i-things" on the facing page ( Watchdog item, "Teech You're Childrin Wel," 11/6/09 ), is even smaller than the usual short stature of journalists. Full Story »

Contributing writer W.P. Norton's cover story appraises Madison Memorial High School's Class of 1990. Second only to Madison West for its share of the city's National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, Memorial is diversifying across economic, ethnic and social strata, in ways that appear to feed tensions. Full Story »

Josh Zytkiewicz says he wasn't expecting a confrontation, "but I knew it was a possibility." The 29-year-old Madison resident, a semiprofessional photogra-pher, was aware of photo snappers elsewhere being accosted. He just didn't think it would happen here: "I've been in other places in Madison and I've never had a problem." Full Story »

Take a look at the two staples along the spine of this newspaper. Imagine the kind of damage these could cause. Hard to imagine? Not for Mark Schomisch. Full Story »

It's an idea that's been brewing in David Wasserman's mind since the 2001-02 school year, when he did his student teaching at a green school in Portland, Ore. Now, he hopes the time is right to launch an environmental charter school in Madison. Full Story »

The State Veterans Affairs Board fires Secretary John Scocos two months after he returned from a tour in Iraq and replaces him with a man Scocos had demoted. The board faulted Scocos' handling of an inquiry over spending at a state veterans home, among other things. Full Story »

UP: "Impartial justice." Gov. Jim Doyle this week signs a bill to provide ramped-up levels of public financing to state Supreme Court candidates who agree to overall spending limits. Full Story »

Warren and Mark, both doctors in their early 50s, have been together for 32 years -- ever since their med-school days. A few years ago, they wanted something more: a child. To make that goal a reality, they decided to pursue surrogacy, and their search led the New Yorkers to Madison. Full Story »

While some people see surrogacy as just another option for having a family in a high-tech world, others see it as morally fraught or even objectionable. While there isn't an organized anti-surrogacy movement, certain religions oppose it because it separates procreation from marital sex. Full Story »

What an interesting state of affairs. The Republican Party has seemingly become a shell operation controlled by a vibrant and growing conservative movement. It views the GOP as a tool to put conservatives in power. Full Story »

Keith Stewart got the job as head coach of Madison West's boys basketball team about a month and a half ago. Taking over for Boyce Hodge (who resigned after an ineligible player forced a state tournament forfeit), Stewart coaches his first home game on Saturday. West will face Madison Memorial, the defending state champs and winner of the last six Big Eight Conference titles. Full Story »

For years, Isthmus has been estimating the profitability of Capital Newspapers by looking at the publicly available dividends to Capital Times Co. stockholders. But now, on the heels of our recent coverage, one stockholder has decided to share the privately held company's annual financial report. Full Story »