I went to the Taste of Madison today and I'm just stuffed!

But not as stuffed as this guy.

Just another good reason to be a fireman

You get to be a card-carrying, sticker-sporting FOOL.

Lunchtime on State Street

YWCA Cafeteria

On Carroll Street between Mifflin and Dayton.

Ivy-Covered Halls

Madison Area Technical College on Carroll Street, downtown Madison.

A Little Bit Of Heaven at the End of State Street

The front window of Paul's Book Store, just one block short of Library Mall.

Say It Ain't So!

"Is that tree turning already?" I asked My Darling B as we sipped our java on the sofa this morning. "That can't be right."

B's been telling me over and over again how Fall is coming early this year. "It's the cool nights," she says. If that's so, this tree's in for one hell of a shock when the Dog Days of August bring ninety-degree weather this week.

I snapped a photo of this same tree when it began turning last year -- on September 9th, three weeks from today.

My Darling B is a huge fan of garlic, so I knew she'd like to see a photo of this shirt.

She liked it so much that now I'll have to find a shirt like this.

Hellooo Monona!

This old Willys was in the parking lot at the Monona farmer's market last weekend.

I've never seen one like it before, but knew as soon as I caught sight of it that it was my kind of car.

Great Taste of the Midwest '08

You know how you can tell when you're at the best beer festival anywhere? When they have a bubbler (that's a water fountain for you non-Wisconsin residents, poor saps) that's plumbed to dispense beer! I'll bet this was the most-photographed beer tap at the festival.

Attendance, as always, was impressive:

Eye-catching t-shirts from year's Great Taste of the Midwest beer festival:

Why?

Zooey Deschanel and Matt Ward put on a great show at the Barrymore last night, but this is the second show I've been to at this venue where a singer with a phenomenal voice was lost in the instrumentals because the sound man couldn't find the right balance. I'm sure the rest of the band's talented, but why even bother to give Zooey a microphone if you're not going to let us hear her?

The same thing happened when Suzanne Vega came to town. When she sang a capella or accompanied herself on acoustic guitar the show was magical, but when the rest of the band came out the sound man cranked up the volume until Suzanne's voice was so distant she might as well have been in Chicago.

And I'm not necessarily blaming the Barrymore. For all I know, the bands bring their own sound engineers. The Leo Kottke / Leon Redbone show was possibly the most enjoyable concert experience I've ever had, so I know it can be done. To the other guys: Louder is not better.

The Book in the Window

at the corner of Baldwin and Willy Street.

Seen at the farmer's market ...

Seen At The Hardware Store

There truly is a product for everything, and this one was on sale at the local Ace Hardware store, right in front of the checkout counter where God and everybody could see it.

Sunday Morning On The Yahara

Boats on the river between Upper Mud Lake and Squaw Bay, as seen from Bridge Street in Monona.

Spot the Chicken

Can't see it?

Wait, I'll get a little closer ...













See it now?
















How about now?

The thick cables fastening its legs to the ground suggest that perhaps the owner has had some trouble with vandals in the recent past.

Dane County Farmer's Market!

The view north up Mifflin Street as we did our weekly shopping this morning.

Most of the buskers at the Dane County Farmer's Market play guitars. A few of them bring violins (or fiddles, depending on how they're played) and every so often a flautist shows up.

I think this is the first time I've seen a guy playing a vibraphone for tips, though.

We threw a couple bucks in his case (yes, he brought it in a case) partly because he was good and we enjoyed listening, and partly because it takes a lot of moxie to get up early and lug your vibraphone all the way to cap square.

[Later: It's been pointed out to me that this is a marimba, which prompted me to look up the difference. According to Wikipedia - and what could be more definitive than Wikipedia? - a vibraphone has aluminum bars and a pedal. A marimba has rosewood bars, and the far row of keys are above and overlap the near row. Now I know.]