Voting Early, Stand in Line

Yesterday I decided to “beat the rush” at the polls on November 4 and head over to the City/County building and vote absentee.  When I walked into the lobby of the building I saw a line that snaked from the city clerks office around 2 sets of staircases to a back hall.  There must have been 60 people ahead of me.

Assuming the line would move fairly fast, I found the end and got in line.  I stood there for about 5 minutes and realized the line hadn’t moved at all.  I decided to leave and find a better time to do this.

I see in today’s Wisconsin State Journal that the average wait time has been 1 hour.  In an attempt to ease that wait the city clerk’s office is extended it’s hours for the remainder of the week.  New hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. today through Thursday; 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. 

If you want to verify that you have been registered to vote visit http://vpa.wi.gov .  Once you give your name and full birthdate you can verify that your registration status is “active” and where you’re polling place will be come next Tuesday.

Think I’ll head to the CCB to be first in line this morning.

Overture Center in Full Swing

This week at Overture…

Dixie’s Tupperware Party

Nightly Through November 2

Promenade Hall 

Playbill magazine called Dixie’s Tupperware Party “a unique hybrid of improv, drag show, social satire and Tupperware Party—complete with lids that burp.” Dixie Longate, the fast-talking Tupperware Lady, packed up her catalogues, left her children in an Alabama trailer park and took Off-Broadway by storm! Now, join Dixie as she travels the country throwing good old fashioned Tupperware parties filled with outrageously funny tales, heartfelt accounts, free giveaways, audience participation and the most fabulous assortment of Tupperware ever sold on a theater stage. See for yourself how Ms. Longate became the #1 Tupperware seller in the U.S. and Canada as she educates her guests on the many alternative uses she has discovered for her plastic products! “Not your grandmother’s Tupperware Party!”–NBC Today Show

More info: http://www.overturecenter.com/0809/1021dixie.htm

Madison Symphony Orchestra          

Samuel Hutchinson & The Rhapsodie Quartet

Tuesday, October 28, 7:30 p.m. • $15

Overture Hall

More info: http://www.madisonsymphony.org/organperformances#recital 

Capitol Steps

Wednesday, October 29, 7:30 p.m. • $12 – $35

Overture Hall

Composed of current and former Congressional staffers, The Capitol Steps puts a hilarious musical spin on current events, proving once again that you can’t make up stuff that’s as funny as what takes place in our halls of government. See for yourself when The Capitol Steps mine the national headlines for comedy gold just in time for the presidential election.

More info: http://www.overturecenter.com/0809/1029capitol.htm 

Song & Dance Ensemble of West Africa

Thursday, October 30, 7:30 p.m. • $20 – $35

Overture Hall

The diverse cultures of West Africa have contributed some of the most colorful and beautiful oral and musical traditions the world has ever seen. The two dozen singers, dancers and instrumentalists who make up the Song and Dance Ensemble of West Africa create a rhythmic feast drawing on a variety of influences.

More info: http://www.overturecenter.com/0809/1030westafrica.htm  

Wisconsin School Music Association Honors Concerts

Thursday, October 30

More info: http://www.wsmamusic.org/HSStateHonorsConcerts08.htm    

Kids in the Rotunda – The Madgadders – Rock ‘n Roll Costume Party

Saturday, November 1, 9:30 and 11 a.m., 1 p.m. • FREE

Rotunda Stage

Every Saturday during the school year, Overture Center offers free arts programs designed for children and families at 9:30 AM, 11 AM and 1 PM. Our popular performing arts series for children and families offers a relaxed, kid-friendly environment in which to enjoy a diverse lineup of local and regional musicians, storytellers, jugglers, theater troupes, magicians and dancers. The 1 PM performances are sign language interpreted. This week features a Rock ‘n Roll Costume Party with The Madgadders. This event is FREE.

More info: http://www.overturecenter.com/kir.htm  

Jason and the Argonauts

Sunday, November 2, 1 p.m. • $10 – $19

Overture Hall

Jason’s uncle is not a nice guy. He’s murdered his brother, the king, and stolen the kingdom, and now nobody dares stand up to him. But look out: Jason is back, and he wants the throne that’s rightfully his! Climb aboard the Argo and sail back to ancient Greece in search of the famous Golden Fleece. Scotland’s Visible Fictions, one of the UK’s finest children’s theater companies, brings mythology to life with their version of Jason and the Argonauts, complete with dragons, monsters and an angry sea. It’s a rollicking adventure from a time when heroes were heroes and monsters were monsters.

More info: http://www.overturecenter.com/0809/1102jason.htm

Devil’s Lake State Park-Trips on a Tank

This past Saturday we took advantage of the beautiful fall Wisconsin weather and traveled 40 minutes north to Devil’s Lake State Park.  I must admit that after 42+ years living in the area, I’d never been there.  What a beautiful park and what a shame I’ve missed out on it all these years.

We entered the park at the south end and proceeded to poruse the hiking trail map to find a hike for the day.  We decided to be adventurous and climb the steep bluff of the Balanced Rock trail.  WOW, it was only .4 of a mile but it was straight up the face of the bluff.  Still, as winded as I was, the view from the top was astounding!

We decided to find and easier way down than the trail we climbed up.  My legs were already shakey from the nearly half mile stair climb.  We wandered along the top of the ridge on the East Bluff trail, cut down into the Devil’s Doorway (awesome views) and found our way down the shorter cliff walk of the Potholes trail. 

The park is beautiful.  It was very busy on Saturday as many folks had the same idea we did but everyone was very friendly and courteous as we climbed up and down the rock faces.  There were even kids swimming in Devil’s Lake, on October 11!

Park admission was $7 for the day for Wisconsin residents.  I admit I need to be more proactive in taking advantage of all the great day trips southern Wisconsin has to offer.

Absentee Ballots Now Available/Madison Voter Registration

Absentee ballots are now available in the Madison City Clerk’s Office.

Eligible voters may register and vote absentee in the Clerk’s Office from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. this week. The Clerk’s Office will extend its hours for absentee voting beginning Monday, October 13, and will be open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Absentee voting in the Clerk’s Office ends at 5 p.m. on Monday, November 3.

Absentee voters who would like to participate in the Election Day Food Drive for Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin may bring their non-perishable food items to the Clerk’s Office.

Absentee ballots will be mailed to registered voters who have submitted a request that contains their name, Madison address, address to which the ballot should be mailed, and signature. The deadline for requesting that an absentee ballot be sent to you by mail is Thursday, October 30. Requests can be sent to City Clerk, City-County Building Room 103, 210 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., Madison, WI 53703.

Madison residents who have not registered to vote at their current address may pre-register in person at the City Clerk’s Office, any Madison Fire Station, or any Madison Public Library.

Pre-registration for the November 4 General Election closes on Wednesday, October 15, at 5 p.m. The only place you can register to vote from October 16 through November 3 is in the City Clerk’s Office. The only place you can register to vote on Election Day is at your polling place.

Overture Center Has Big Week

The entertainment/arts season in in full swing in Central Madison.  Here’s what’s happening this week alone at our wonderful Overture Center for the Arts:

David Sedaris

Tuesday, October 7, 7:30 pm

Since first gaining national attention reading his original pieces on NPR’s This American Life, David Sedaris has established himself as one of America’s preeminent humor writers. Along the way, he has penned best-selling collections of stories and essays, including the wildly popular Me Talk Pretty One Day. His work appears regularly in such magazines as Esquire and The New Yorker. By turns prickly, bruisingly honest, and poignant, the one constant is that Sedaris is always, well, hilarious.

Check out our events page http://www.overturecenter.com/0809/1007sedaris.htm to link to video of Sedaris’ interview on Letterman and The Daily Show, audio clips from NPR and his answers to 10 questions from TIME magazine (he’s never seen the internet!? – wow). 

Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby

Thursday, October 9, 7:30 pm

Ricky Skaggs is a legend in bluegrass and country music, and Bruce Hornsby has sold more than 10 million albums and teamed up with top artists ranging from Chaka Khan to the Grateful Dead. In 2007, the pair worked together on the self-titled album Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby, drawing rave reviews from critics and enthusiastic response from fans everywhere. The duo, backed by Skaggs’ top-notch band Kentucky Thunder, presents bluegrass classics, Hornsby tunes reworked as bluegrass, and other gems from this unexpected collaboration.

For links to the artists’ website and video on YouTube, check out our events page http://www.overturecenter.com/0809/1009skaggshornsby.htm

The Magnetic Fields

Saturday, October 11, 8 p.m.

More info: http://www.overturecenter.com/0809/1011magneticfields.htm

Children’s Theater of Madison

Looking Glass Land

October 11-26

More info: http://www.ctmtheater.org/onstage/08-09/lookingglassland.html

Nathaniel Bartlett: Marimba + Computer

Saturday, October 11

More info: http://www.nathanielbartlett.com/

Kids in the Rotunda – Children of the Sun – Deaf and Hard of Hearing Drum Troupe

Saturday, October 11, 9:30 and 11 a.m., 1 p.m. • FREE

1 pm shows are sign language interpreted

Every Saturday during the school year, Overture Center offers free arts programs designed for children and families at 9:30 AM, 11 AM and 1 PM. Our popular performing arts series for children and families offers a relaxed, kid-friendly environment in which to enjoy a diverse lineup of local and regional musicians, storytellers, jugglers, theater troupes, magicians and dancers. The 1 PM performances are sign language interpreted. This week features Children of the Sun – a deaf and hard of hearing drum troupe. This event is FREE.

More info: http://www.overturecenter.com/kir.htm

U.S. Senate Bill-Measure and Mainstreet

The Senate version of what is actually an $810 billion plan ($700 billion plus another $110 billion in tax breaks) designed to rescue the ailing financial sector from potential collapse is virtually identical to large parts of the legislation rejected Monday in the House of Representatives. So how did this one pass?

It’s all in the details.

Click here for the full breakdown as reported by RISMedia

World Dairy Expo-A Treat for “City Slickers” As Well

Now through Saturday is one of the most interesting events to hit Madison each year, The World Dairy Expo.  This annual event is expected to bring in over 67,000 visitors from around the world. 

Many don’t know this, but I spent my college years helping run the milking parlor at World Dairy Expo as a volunteer with the UW Badger Dairy Club.  I grew up on a dairy farm and actually studied dairy science at the UW.  I competed on the UW Dairy Judging Team my junior year of college and actually won a judging contest in Louiseville, KY way back then.  I love Expo as it’s a chance for me to catch up with old friends from college who have been scattered around the world in the dairy industry.

Check out all the cool things to see at World Dairy Expo by hitting their website.

World Dairy Expo is at the Alliant Energy Center and runs through Saturday, October 4.  Daily admission is $7.00 per person and includes parking.

Madison Open Art Studios-A Chance to Visit Madison Artists this Weekend

I received this today from one of our great Keller Williams Madison Crossroads Agents.  Thought it would be great to get the word out.  Weather look great for this!

“Have you heard that Madison Open Art Studios is this weekend!

Saturday, October 4th and Sunday, October 5th from 11:00AM-5:00PM

What is it?

Madison Area Open Art Studios is an annual event celebrating the diversity and vitality of the visual arts in the Madison-area. Over 150 artists open their studios to the public for the weekend. Visitors can look at art, talk with artists, and learn about technique and craft, all in an open-house, informal environment.

Slideshow:

http://www.maoas.com/Slideshow2008My husband, Dan Schuknecht, is participating. Please feel free to stop by:

305 Powers Avenue

There is an online map available if you want to see other participating

artists:

 

http://www.maoas.com/map/index.phpLaura also has a paper map and catalog at the front desk.

We hope to see you this weekend!

Cheers,

Carmela Diosana”

 

Federal Housing Tax Credit Explained

There’s seems to be a lot of confusion around the “$7500 tax credit” that was passed into law this summer.  I’ve found a website that does the best job, I think, of explaining the program, how one qualifies and what this credit really is.

For aspiring home owners who find their goal stubbornly elusive, newly enacted legislation providing a tax credit of as much as $7,500 for first-time home buyers might just be the opportunity of a lifetime.

But like so many of the good things in life, time is of the essence for buyers who want to take advantage of this outstanding opportunity. Only homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009 are eligible. Use the links below to learn more about the tax credit.

You can check it out by clicking here.