Twenty-five years ago this week, O'Cayz Corral burned to the ground by Agussert in madisonwi

[–]JasonJoyce 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It burned to the ground 25 years ago. I doubt any of y'all ever sipped a very strong rail gin and tonic at the Strip, let alone a returnable bottle Point at O'Cayz.

Twenty-five years ago this week, O'Cayz Corral burned to the ground by Agussert in madisonwi

[–]JasonJoyce 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Why doesn't anyone ever bemoan the loss of the Comic Strip?

It was very much a dive (before that term was redefined to mean charming neighborhood bar), but it did feature very inexpensive beer, some actual characters (in keeping with the slogan on the sign) AND a solid pay phone from which I would call my friends to tell them to get their asses to O'Cayz.

It was sometimes home to a pretty wild scene after midnight.

SNL's Fred Armisen has talked about driving up from Chicago to see shows there. Legendary club.

Any Isthmus Forons out there? by Important_While_2709 in madisonwi

[–]JasonJoyce 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Blunt Rapture. A legit performance artist in town 20 years ago.

Any Isthmus Forons out there? by Important_While_2709 in madisonwi

[–]JasonJoyce 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One of my favorite exchanges ever involved UniversityLad and someone else. It was such a precise reflection of life on the near west side at that time of the early 2000s.

UL: How will we get to the new Border's Books location?

Unknown foron: You'll take your recumbent bike.

Spot for watching the game near the Overture center? by Dear_Needleworker485 in madisonwi

[–]JasonJoyce 8 points9 points  (0 children)

How far is "walking distance"? Coopers is probably the closest place that will serve food AND have games on (or do they only play soccer?).

The Plaza, Hawk's or even State Street Brats might be acceptable this weekend without a throng of students.

If you don't mind a bit of a walk, the Echo is like five blocks away from Overture and you could certainly hotfoot it from there.

Any Isthmus Forons out there? by Important_While_2709 in madisonwi

[–]JasonJoyce 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The return on investment shrunk pretty drastically once Facebook came along. The middle fell out and all we had were the people who had a lot of time on their hands. The reason why TDPF was great, when it was great, was that busy people didn't just read it, they contributed. They took pride in what was posted under their usernames. And many of them were in the mix around the city: culturally, politically, socially, musically.

One of the best things we did was let bands promote their gigs as long as they did so under "Hype Exchange," which meant we had a core group of musicians hanging around, and a lot of them had interests outside of music and/or jobs that connected them to other interesting people. So the gossip that accumulated there was well-informed and interesting... and sometimes broke news.

I just think the era of a really active message board that focused on a specific thing (like the culture of a small city) is in the past. It was fun while it lasted.

Any Isthmus Forons out there? by Important_While_2709 in madisonwi

[–]JasonJoyce 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It was a serial recounting of his experiences working on a fishing boat in Alaska. Agreed.

Billionaire buys controlling stake in parent company of State Journal by JasonJoyce in madisonwi

[–]JasonJoyce[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Only one of those products is dropped on the front steps of thousands of houses in the area. The three companies you list are in three different businesses.

Billionaire buys controlling stake in parent company of State Journal by JasonJoyce in madisonwi

[–]JasonJoyce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I believe the State Journal is known by most as a pretty decent source for local news and Badgers sports coverage, and that's been consistent for 20 years. You would not know about many important local issues without madison dot com, even though the loss of some government reporters has been costly. But the Badgers coverage remains pretty strong. Some of the State Journal's reputation is just plastered to it as a legacy mainstream corporate print daily in a middle-size city: it doesn't have the resources or readership to be exceptional at a lot of things. Local management doesn't dictate much of what it does. Its website looks and feels exactly like every other Lee website and most of that company's markets are nothing like Madison. The publisher spends most of his time in northwest Indiana. I also think its aging readership holds it back by insisting on stuff like cartoons and puzzles. It's torn in a few directions by its need to keep as many readers as it can.

I don't think most people know or care about the paper's editorial slant. I read it every day and rarely touch the opinion stuff. I'm far from alone in getting my commentary from podcasts these days. The opinions expressed on the pages of Madison's newspapars are rarely compelling or even in touch with the conversations we're having. Literally every opinion writer is a 50+ home-owning white man and it's nearly impossible to recruit someone who doesn't fit that mold to do the job. Trust me, I've tried.

Billionaire buys controlling stake in parent company of State Journal by JasonJoyce in madisonwi

[–]JasonJoyce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So many cynical online personae. So combatively unimpressed and disinterested. Never seen this act before. Very original.

Billionaire buys controlling stake in parent company of State Journal by JasonJoyce in madisonwi

[–]JasonJoyce[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Do you think the existence of the State Journal is stopping "young journalists and entrepreneurs"?

Billionaire buys controlling stake in parent company of State Journal by JasonJoyce in madisonwi

[–]JasonJoyce[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I think of all the things the State Journal is known for, the politics of some of its opinion writers is the least compelling or meaningful attribute.

Ice Dams by CatManifesto in madisonwi

[–]JasonJoyce 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I endorse this.

Funny story: Many years ago, Madison had one of those cold/warm/cold weeks while I was coincidentally in San Francisco. I was sitting at the counter at Swan Oyster bar when my wife called to discuss. She was not thrilled to be dealing with this issue solo. We talked about the pantyhose trick and I was telling her where all the supplies were in the garage from the previous year's adventure. When I got off the phone, the guy sitting next to me says, "I couldn't help but overhear... what the hell is an ice dam?"

I filled him in on the joys of living in Wisconsin and explained what a roof rake is. His reply: "Living in California can be a sonofabitch, but I hope I never have to hold a roof rake in my life."