Erin Schmidtke

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Glen Hansard croons through intimate night at Orpheum

I believe it might have been Bruce Springsteen who, in some lost interview, narrowed folk rock songwriting down to a basic formula: Use the verse to tell the story and use the chorus as a prayer. I probably have the canon wrong somewhere in there, but it’s a formula that didn’t fail Glen Hansard last Thursday at the Orpheum Theater. Between the balladeer sighs and the explosive choruses, I thought I stumbled into a bedside prayer-turned-rockist awakening.

UW battles offensive juggernaut Nebraska in weekend series

The Wisconsin softball team will host a three-game series this weekend against a sizzling-hot Nebraska club that has earned wins in 6 of its last 7 outings while outscoring opponents by 34 runs in the process.

UPDATE: Man commits sexual assault in UW-Madison residence hall

University of Wisconsin-Madison police are searching for a man who sexually assaulted a victim in a campus residence hall early Sunday morning, according to a Timely Warning released by University of Wisconsin Police Department.

Alcohol License Review Committee approves festival licenses, discusses overlay district

The Alcohol License Review Committee discussed the Alcohol Overlay District and approved several temporary alcohol licenses for street events in a meeting Wednesday.

On this day in history...

1789—George Washington is unanimously elected as the first president of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College. He immediately turns the country back over to Britain.

‘Almost Human’ treads a frustratingly predictable path

I’ve been a fan of J.J. Abrams for a long time. He’s made one of my favorite TV shows—“Lost”—and some damn good movies to boot. However, judging by the previews for his new show, “Almost Human,” it seems like the show is going to go down some well-traveled TV drama paths.

New bill would limit public access to proposed northern Wisconsin iron mining site

A state Senate committee passed a bill Thursday that would restrict public access to parts of a proposed iron mining site in northern Wisconsin, while allowing landowners to retain most of their property tax break.

Investigative journalism center to remain on UW-Madison campus

Gov. Scott Walker vetoed a clause in the 2013-'15 state budget Sunday that would have forced the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism out of its space on the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s campus and prohibited faculty from collaborating with it.

Scribbles n' Bits - 12/10/2011

Discussion continues on new diversity plan

Members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus met Wednesday to begin discussing the university’s next strategic diversity plan to improve campus climate, which must be drafted by April 1, 2013.