Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - The Daily Cardinal

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

City, county officials prepare for primary High turnout expected for Feb. 19 race

By Elizabeth Michaels THE DAILY CARDINAL

CHRISTOPHER GUESS/THE DAILY CARDINAL

KYLE BURSAW/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Barack Obama Obama will be at a rally in the Kohl Center on Tuesday, with doors opening at 6:15 p.m.

Chelsea Clinton answers questions Monday at Memorial Union’s Great Hall to support her mother’s presidential campaign.

Students pack Union to hear Chelsea Clinton Former first daughter stumps for Hillary

By Shira Nanus THE DAILY CARDINAL

Chelsea Clinton answered questions about her mother, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and her campaign in front of a crowded room of students and community members at Memorial Union on Monday.

In answering questions, Clinton praised her mother’s past actions as a leading politician and senator, and her continuous dedication to an array of issues.

Many attendees questioned Clinton on major concerns such as global warming and health care, while others asked about more specific topics, such as LGBT rights and the future of college affordability for students.

David Fields, a UW-Madison senior and member of UW-Madison

Students for Hillary Clinton, said it was evident that many of the attendees were undecided voters who asked questions regarding specific issues as to why Sen. Clinton is the best candidate.

“It was great for voters to come and hear about the different issues people are concerned about,” Fields said.

Clinton spoke about her mother’s commitment to fiscal responsibility, her support of the cap-and-trade system and her dedication to a future of clean, renewable energy. She also addressed how Sen. Clinton plans to help the United States recover from the trillions of dollars of debt it is facing.

“It’s important to know not only how she’ll pay for everything and save money over time, but that she will

“There is a very exciting, interesting race on the Democrat side ... come November, Wisconsin will be a swing state.”

BEN PIERSON/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Hillary Clinton Clinton will appear at a Democratic Party of Wisconsin event in Milwaukee Feb. 16.

THE DAILY CARDINAL

Awais Khaleel is a UW-Madison senior, and he is also one of a few Wisconsin “superdelegates” who could determine the Democratic nominee for President.

Superdelegates, unlike the majority of the 92 Democrat delegates in the Wisconsin primary, can vote any way they want.

The 16 superdelegates include Gov. Jim Doyle, U.S. Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., members of Congress from Wisconsin and several Democratic National Committee members.

Khaleel, like Marquette University

Officials said polling locations would have enough ballots and workers to prevent any voters from waiting in long lines.

Ohlsen said a 50-55 percent voter turnout is expected, but the county is

Mike Huckabee Huckabee is set to appear at a rally Wednesday in Waukesha and in Madison and Green Bay Thursday.

JACOB ELA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announce plans for the upcoming primary election.

chelsea page 3

student Jason Rae, are DNC members. Khaleel said he had been in contact with the Democratic campaigns for months, but said he had not been heavily pressured to endorse a specific candidate.

He said when he talked Monday KHALEEL with Chelsea Clinton, daughter of candidate U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., the issue of endorsing someone was never mentioned.

Khaleel said he is more interested in helping to increase youth voter turnout

Dave Cieslewicz mayor Madison

PHOTO COURTESY MIKEHUCKABEE.COM

UW-Madison student also a ‘superdelegate’

By Charles Brace

Madison and Dane County officials told residents at a news conference Monday polling locations would be prepared for a high voter turnout in Wisconsin’s Feb. 19 primary.

“Mayor Cieslewicz and I and our County Clerk Bob Ohlsen want to assure citizens that we will be ready, that there will be ample ballots when they go to vote, that we have mechanisms in place for making sure ballots get where they [are] needed,” Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said.

preparing for an even higher number of voters. He said with Democratic candidate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaking at the Kohl Center on Tuesday, turnout could be as high as 60 percent.

The county has ordered ballots for a 62 percent voter turnout, a total of nearly 260,000 ballots for all of Dane County. “If people run out they can get to a local municipality and back to their polling places without a whole lot of hassle,” Ohlsen said of the county’s plan to have back-up ballots located throughout the region.

According to Cieslewicz, a high voter turnout is expected for numerous reasons.

“One, of course, is that there is a very exciting, interesting race on the Democratic side and also because, come November, Wisconsin will be a swing state,” he said.

“I would expect that we’ll get regional attention over the course of the next week that, in turn, will help drive voter turnout, which we expect to be high in any case,” Cieslewicz said.

Municipal, town and village clerks in Dane County are preparing for the upcoming primary by holding training sessions for poll workers, according to Ohlsen.

than endorsing anyone yet. He said the two Democratic campaigns were both doing an impressive job trying to increase young voter participation.

“What we’re seeing with both the Clinton and the Obama campaigns is an unprecedented amount of effort reaching out to young people,” Khaleel said.

Speculation that superdelegates would decide the election, according to Khaleel, is a little premature.

He said the large state primaries in Ohio and Texas would likely determine a nominee.

“I’m not a betting man, but if I super delegate page 3

Wisconsin primary update McCain garners support U.S. Sen. John McCain, RAriz., won the support of 10 southeastern Wis. lawmakers Monday. They called him “a true American hero.”

Clinton, McCain ahead in poll An American Research Group poll showed Clinton with 50 percent of likely Dem voters.

McCain received 51 percent, although the poll was taken before Romney exited.

“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

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Roommate inspires crustacean adventure

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News and Editorial edit@dailycardinal.com Editor in Chief Jill Klosterman Managing Editor Jamie McMahon News Editor Jillian Levy Campus Editor Amanda Hoffstrom Abby Sears City Editor State Editor Charles Brace Opinion Editors Rachel Sherman Mark Thompson Arts Editors Emma Condon Ryan Hebel Sports Editors Nate Carey Ryan Reszel Features Editor Sarah Nance Food Editor Marly Schuman Science Editor Jennifer Evans Photo Editors Jacob Ela Amanda Salm Graphics Editors Meg Anderson Matt Riley Copy Chiefs Andrew Dambeck Al Morrell Gabe Ubatuba Copy Editors Ben Breiner Megan Dwyer, Kerry Jessup Shea Furey-King, Alex Kuskowski Soly Moustafa, Megan Orear Levi Prombaum, Justin Stephani

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KEATON MILLER miller’s genuine drafts

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was dreaming. Not a particularly pleasant or bad dream, but the sort of dream you wouldn’t mind staying in for a while because at least the act of dreaming implies that you are asleep and don’t have to deal with the endless stream of misfortunes that is life. The point is, I was taking a nap. And then there was a loud crash. My door flew open and in came a hulking figure with ominous shadows crowding the door behind him. He roughly shook me awake, saying, “Keaton!

We have to go right now!”

“But Aragorn,” I whispered, groggy and slightly out of touch with reality. “We tricked the Naz’gul into attacking stuffed pillows. We’re safe, aren’t we?”

Another shake of my midsection brought me back to the real world.

The hulking figure was my room-

mate, Chuck. The shadows were a couple of his friends. And the look on his face was one of excitement.

“What do you want, Chuck?”

“We’re going to buy some lobsters.

Right now. And you’re driving.”

I tried to muster the fortitude to issue forth a denial of his request, but what came out of my mouth would more appropriately be considered a concerned mumble. Sure enough, five minutes later I found myself putting on my coat and trundling to my car, Chuck and friends in tow.

You see, the thing about Chuck is that he’s very highly motivated.

Usually that term means one of two things: Either the person in question will do anything to get ahead (obligatory Monica Lewinsky reference here), or the person sits in the library all day and generally acts as a reminder to ourselves of all of our academic failures.

Chuck is different. Chuck isn’t motivated to study for exams or pay attention in lecture, but instead he is motivated to do whatever it happens to be that he wants RIGHT

CUA

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Pregnant or know someone who is?

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NOW. When I first met Chuck, he told me he was going as the Jolly Green Giant for Halloween.

The next time I saw him, he was wearing a costume of green felt and discarded pajamas. It was July.

Moral of the story here is that Chuck is a very immediate kind of guy. And what he wanted at that moment was lobster. Who am I to deny my roommate the joys of torturing and consuming crustaceans of unknown quality?

So we went to the grocery store.

After several weird looks from the employees (come on, it’s totally normal for four guys to buy some lobsters and wine on a Tuesday night), we picked out a couple of lobsters via criteria including claw size, suitability for an alien invasion movie and forehead space for laser attachment.

On the way back, however, Chuck had an attack of ethics. At least, that’s what he called it when he decided that since the lobsters were still alive, they should be allowed to roam free before we boiled and ate them. And by “roam free,” I mean

“all over my backseat.”

A bout of screaming and dangerous swerves later and Chuck realized that terrorizing the driver with live lobsters may lead to harmful side effects such as hearing loss and death.

We made it home, relatively safe and sound. Chuck cooked up his lobsters, singing “Be Our Guest” and sprinkling pinches of this and that. And in the end, we learned an important lesson from our lobster adventure: Despite being ridiculously expensive, lobster really isn’t that much fun to eat.

The next afternoon, when I took a nap, I locked my door.

Keaton has been woken up in a startling manner before. As a freshman, his roommate told him of his plans to get drunk a particular evening. Keaton went to bed, expecting his roommate would perhaps stay out all night. However, Keaton was awoken at 3 A.M. by what he thought was a freight train but was actually his roommate opening the dorm room door and falling over, promptly passing out for the rest of the night. E-mail him at keatonmiller@wisc.edu.

news

POSTAL PRICE INCREASE. The U.S. Postal Service announced Monday the price of first-class stamps will increase by a penny to 42 cents beginning May 12.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

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Overnight snowfall expected to break seasonal city record

By Abby Sears THE DAILY CARDINAL

GABRIEL SEHR/THE DAILY CARDINAL

The UW-Madison College Democrats Chair Oliver Keifer debates College Republicans Chair Sara Mikolajczak Monday at the Memorial Union on issues facing students in the 2008 presidential election.

UW College Democrats, Republicans face off to win votes for Wis. primary

By Jen McMahon THE DAILY CARDINAL

Students packed into Memorial Union’s Great Hall Monday evening to see the first ever UW-Madison debate between the College Republicans and College Democrats.

College Republicans Chair Sara Mikolajczak and College Democrats Chair Oliver Keifer faced off on Wisconsin topics such as state funding for UW-Madison, the state’s economic predicament and the Wisconsin Energy Protection Amendment.

Debate topics included health care, the Iraq War, the national energy policy, campaign finance reform, immigration and abortion.

The goal of the debate was to inform students about the two parties’ beliefs as well as stir excitement for the upcoming Wisconsin primary taking

place Feb. 19.

“We’ve got one week where Wisconsin is front and center in the national spotlight,” Keifer said in his opening statement. “I hope that during this week, you have an opportunity to take part and participate in some of the events on campus.”

During the debate, Keifer endorsed national health care, increased funding for education, equal rights for same sex couples and caps on campaign funding.

Keifer also promised a timetable to withdraw troops in Iraq with a Democratic president. Mikolajczak said U.S. troops should stay in Iraq until the situation is stable, and that success would come with time.

She also said she supported cutting taxes, a reversal of Roe v. Wade

and unrestricted campaign contributions.

UW-Madison political science professor Donald Downs, Badger Herald Editorial Page Editor Andrew Granias and Editorial Page Content Editor Jason Smathers moderated the debate.

Both parties were asked a series of questions in which they were given two minutes to respond. Downs then asked the other debater for a rebuttal and added any related questions he deemed necessary. Three audience questions were also selected for Keifer and Mikolajczak to answer.

In their 90-second closing statements both Keifer and Mikolajczak encouraged future political involvement among students, most importantly participation in the Wisconsin primary.

Lobbyist group airs online videos over Supreme Court race

By Charles Brace THE DAILY CARDINAL

A business lobbyist group uploaded videos Saturday to YouTube, in opposition to incumbent candidate Louis Butler in the race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The first of the two videos aired

by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce is titled “Justice Louis Butler: A WI Judicial Activist.”

“The Wisconsin Constitution envisioned a limited and modest role for the Supreme Court,” the video states. “Experts agree that Butler’s appointment tipped the ideological balance on the court from 4-3 traditionalists to 4-3 activists.”

The second video features Marquette University law professor

Rick Esenberg, who said the election of the next state Supreme Court Justice is as important as a race for governor.

Both videos said Butler issued rulings that make it easier to sue businesses.

Butler is running for re-election against Burnett County Judge Michael Gableman. In a WMC pamphlet titled “Wisconsin Supreme Court Unbound: An Activist Majority in the Balance,” Gableman is called a “traditionalist.”

The pamphlet also said Gableman would defer to the Legislature in regard to public policy.

Erin Celello, spokesperson for the Butler campaign, said in an email that the videos are misleading and false.

Celello said Butler is neutral and treats everyone before the court fairly.

“When a party loses a case at the Wisconsin Supreme Court, they call those justices who didn’t side with them ‘activists,’” Celello said. “It’s a meaningless term, and the voters of Wisconsin are seeing through these silly attacks.”

Darrin Schmitz, spokesperson for the Gableman campaign, said he cannot comment on the exact wording of the videos, but agreed with the overall message.

Schmitz said a “reasonable case” could be made that Butler has ruled to expand the ability to sue businesses in the state.

Celello said Butler stands behind the court’s decisions.

UW Concert Choir to deliver singing Valentines throughout city UW-Madison students and community members can send singing Valentines to friends, family or significant others performed by the UW-Madison Concert Choir on Valentine’s Day. Beverly Taylor, a UW-Madison music professor and the Concert Choir conductor, said in an e-mail the choir has sung Valentines around Madison for about five or six years.

The 55-person choir will split into quartets with soprano, alto, tenor and bass singers to sing one of four songs.

The choir will perform renditions of the Beatles’ “When I’m 64,”

Gershwin’s “‘S Wonderful,” “My True Love Hath My Heart” and “Annie Laurie.”

Taylor said the songs offer a mixture of friendship and sentiment and are about two to three minutes long.

The choir will perform songs door-to-door and via telephone.

In-person Valentines are $19 for students and $25 for non-students, and Phone Valentines are $10 for students and $12 for non-students.

Profits will be used to help pay for local, national and international performance tours.

Singing requests should be ordered

by 6 p.m. on Feb. 13. Anyone interested should e-mail the recipient’s name, address, telephone number and directions to their house from campus to UWvalentine@gmail.com.

The buyer’s name, phone number, song choice and a delivery time between 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. should also be included.

“It’s a great idea for not only friendship and love, but as thank yous or I’m-thinking-of-yous to relatives, neighbors, etc. What nicer way to make your grandmother cry?”

Taylor said.

—Amanda Hoffstrom

The National Weather Service predicted a three to five-inch snowfall to blanket the Madison area Tuesday, enough to make this winter a historic one by setting the record for measurable snowfall.

According to WISC-TV Channel 3 Chief Meteorologist Gary Cannalte, the snow is expected to begin late Monday night and last until about noon Tuesday.

“The biggest question is whether or not it will go down in the books as being broken [Monday night] or [Tuesday],” Cannalte said, noting that the record will be broken with the next snowfall.

Prior to the latest snowfall, Madison’s recorded snowfall this winter was 75.5 inches, less than one inch shy of breaking the record.

The previous record was set in the winter of 1978-’79, when 76.1 inches of snow fell throughout the season.

Based on weather trends, Cannalte estimated another 15 inches of snow could fall before spring officially starts March 20, which would bring the seasonal total to around 90 inches.

“The way this winter has gone, you get one or two big snows and that could be thrown off as well,” Cannalte said.

The last winter storm on Feb. 6 dumped nearly 13 inches of snow on Madison, prompting the city

to declare a snow emergency and enforce winter parking regulations downtown.

“The biggest question is whether or not it will go down in the books as being broken [Monday night] or [Tuesday].”

Gary Cannalte chief meteorologist WISC-TV Channel 3

City Council President Mike Verveer said increased resident compliance and fewer parking citations helped make the most recent snow emergency one of the most successful of the season.

Verveer said he favors more public education of winter parking rules to boost compliance, instead of the increase in fines Mayor Dave Cieslewicz proposed at a recent City Council meeting.

The current fine for improper parking during a snow emergency is $30, which would be doubled to $60 under Cieslewicz’s proposed ordinance change, according to Verveer.

“We need to do a better job getting the word out at the beginning of the winter season to notify downtown residents when a snow emergency is declared and what that means to them,” Verveer said.

Record-breaking winter for Madison Previous record set 29 years ago The winter of 1978-’79 broke records with 76.1 inches of measurable snowfall.

High snowfall result of unique weather pattern According to WISC-TV Channel 3 Chief Meteorologist Gary Cannalte, the snowfall in southern Wisconsin is the result of being stuck in a weather pattern between the bitterly cold air in the north and the mild weather in the south.

chelsea from page 1 begin paying it down immediately because that then helps us use our dollars more efficiently every year thereafter,” Clinton said.

Many attendees were concerned with the Iraq War, such as how Sen. Clinton plans to bring American troops home and what she will do for veteran rights.

Clinton responded by acknowledging her mother’s initiative in writing to the Pentagon asking how they were planning on ending the war. She discussed Sen. Clinton’s commitment to the safety of Iraqi translators and security guards who have protected

super delegate from page 1 were, I wouldn’t bet on superdelegates being a deciding factor [in the nomination],” Khaleel said.

Several superdelegates have already endorsed candidates. Doyle, along with U.S. Reps. Dave Obey and Gwen Moore, D-Wis., have endorsed U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, DWis., has endorsed Clinton, as has

Americans overseas and her push for electronic medical records for U.S. troops.

“It’s important that we nominate someone that is electable, but also that we elect someone who we really think can work on day one,” Clinton said. “I think that what my Mom has proposed across the board … exhibits all the lessons that she has learned from her work over the years.”

Fields said he was “enthralled” both by the amount of people who attended and those who had questions.

“I think it’s important to have someone young and more at a peer level here thanking students for being involved,” Chair of Students for Clinton Erica Buthmann said.

DNC member Tim Sullivan, according to the Associated Press.

In total, there are 796 superdelegates who will vote at the national convention in Denver.

According to the AP and CNN, along with other news outlets that differ in the delegate totals for each candidate, Clinton and Obama are currently within 10-100 delegates of one another.

To earn the nomination, 2,025 delegates are needed.

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

view Cardinal View editorials represent The Daily Cardinal’s organizational opinion. Each editorial is crafted independent of news coverage.

second transcript not beneficial

A

t Thursday’s UW System Board of Regents meeting, the Board of Regents approved the creation of a second transcript for all UW System students.

This second transcript will provide information on a student’s extracurricular activities, which, in theory, would supply a more wellrounded view of the student.

It is difficult to see how this transcript exemplifies the UW System’s goal of committing to student success.

The approval of the transcript shows the university’s support for extracurriculars, but in practice, the dual transcript fails at many levels.

On the surface, the second transcript seems to replace the need for students to create resumés, but resumés provide more detailed information than the transcript could. The student will still be responsible for providing the information that will appear on this transcript.

The biggest caveat, though, is that all information provided for the second document has to be authorized by the university. It is possible, then, that an activity a student pursues outside of academics could be deemed inadequate by the university to appear on a second transcript.

If certain activities are denied from appearing on a second transcript, how would the university or potential employers truly understand a student’s development outside of the classroom?

This authentication process will prove only to be an inconvenience to students, who will not

receive many benefits for having the document. If the process is not personalized, the second transcript will become a mass-produced, rubber-stamped piece of paper.

Assuming the new transcript will cost money, applying to numerous jobs may become a financial burden on students, who already have to pay $8 for each standard transcript. It seems this second transcript could be another way for the university to get money from students.

If the university really wants to help students get jobs, the first place to start is with advising.

An improvement to the advising services at UW-Madison would prove to be more beneficial than a resumé substitute.

UW-Madison is not known for hand-holding students through their college years. If the university wants to improve the relationship between its students and its administration, a second transcript is not the way to achieve that goal.

If the university really wants to help students get jobs, the first place to start is with advising.

It is difficult to see how this transcript exemplifies the UW System’s goal of committing to student success.

This “precedent-setting” dual transcript will not provide any benefit greater than what a resumé or cover letter has to offer. The second transcript is just another piece of paper stamped with a University of Wisconsin logo.

Make Valentine’s Day special: Personalize it

AMANDA BASICH/THE DAILY CARDINAL

EMILY HOUTLER opinion columnist

I

t is time to complete the triumvirate of commercialized winter holidays. Three months ago, it began with Thanksgiving (slogan: “Force feed your loved ones name-brand food”). Then came Christmas (slogan: “Buy your loved ones lots of expensive crap”).

The final commercialized holiday of winter is, of course, Valentine’s Day (slogan: “Force feed your loved ones name-brand chocolate and buy them lots of lots of expensive crap”).

Like so many other holidays, Valentine’s Day began with the best of intentions. Medieval legend tells of St. Valentine, a persecuted Christian. On the eve of his execution, he wrote the first

valentine addressed to the jailor’s daughter, his beloved. Think what shame St. Valentine would feel if he knew his name-sake day had been conquered by ridiculously pricey chocolates and stuffed critters that sing “Wild Thing.”

A simple ‘I love you’ in handwriting is more personal than anything in Times New Roman.

Whatever happened to the real spirit of Valentine’s Day? When did the card companies start declaring, in sappy poems no less, how you felt about your lover? Since when does a bar of cocoa butter say “You’re special?” Moreover, who would ever give someone a plush lobster?

It is time to reclaim this lovefest of

a holiday. Show your significant other that you truly love him or her by giving major corporations the finger.

Let’s start with those over-priced, over-abundant Valentine cards. After all, nothing is more heartfelt than a mass-produced piece of cardstock colored crimson. The card becomes even more special when shown to a group of friends who awkwardly mention that they too received the same heartfelt card. How sweet!

Instead, why not revert back to those days of kindergarten creativity and make your own card? Dust off those colored pencils and grab a sheet of printer paper. Even a simple “I love you” in your own handwriting is far more personal than anything printed in Times New Roman.

If you are required to purchase a gift for your better half, do not waste time or cash on superstore Valentine crap. It may involve a bit of thinking, but there must be something much more personal that would make an excellent gift.

If still stumped, just stumble down State Street. I am sure you will find something unique. Here’s a hint: Almost everyone loves food.

However, it is certainly not necessary to blow a week’s paycheck on dinner or one of those boxes of chocolate that only has four pieces in it anyway.

The cheaper, healthier and more environmentally friendly option is to stay home and cook. After all, since when does it make sense to spend romantic “alone time” in a room full of strangers and waiters?

Think of the alone time together at home. If anything should happen after the meal, well... at least you are home.

In a world where the media and popular perception rule, it is nice to know we can still have some control over our holidays.

Enjoy your love day responsibly and imaginatively.

Emily Houtler is a sophomore majoring in environmental studies and math. We welcome your feedback. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

arts Sinatra & Grammys: strangers in the night dailycardinal.com/arts

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

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PHOTOS COURTESY CBS

Sinatra’s posthumous intro and the Foo Fighters’ isolated performance supplied perfect metaphors to this year’s Grammys, where individuality and rock ’n’ roll seemed a thing of the past.

BEN PETERSON ben caught stealing

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o mark Sunday night’s 50th Annual Grammy Awards—and perhaps to stimulate enough nostalgia to get older folks through all the modern flotsam that would follow—the ceremony began with a clip of Frank Sinatra from the very first Grammys back in 1958. In introducing the world to the then-new award show, Sinatra spoke proudly about how it was designed not to recognize record sales or popularity, but rather to honor merit in the recording arts.

Shortly after, his virtual video self was joined by Alicia Keys on the piano as the unlikely pair launched into his “Learnin’ the Blues,” with five decades of musical change standing in the way of the duo and striking an agreeable coherence.

Admittedly, it’s silly to be discussing the well-understood agenda of the Grammys—already the laughing stock of all award shows—but I still can’t help but wonder what the 1950s Sinatra would think of the music his image was used to condone this year.

Maybe he would sit with a bemused, culturally removed expression on his face, like Ringo Starr watching Carrie Underwood and wishing he had just opted out of the night like Paul. Or maybe Sinatra would have lamented the fact that the Grammys have largely turned into a celebration of hit-makers, has-beens and pointless nods to dusty old legends, falling way short of painting a full picture of those making the best material right now, as was originally intended.

Nowadays the Grammys are most fun to watch because of the grand, pop-culture spectacle, as long as viewers can suspend their disbelief for the greater good of humor and amusement.

It becomes difficult to do this, however, when the spectacle pats itself on the back for being something it’s clearly not, as Recording Academy President Neil Portnow did quite extraordinarily by calling the Grammys “the pre-eminent organization for the entire creative community.”

Certainly there were cool moments in the night’s program, like Amy Winehouse’s impassioned performance via satellite, and the visually stunning Kanye West/Daft Punk pairing. It was also pretty sweet that Winehouse took home the most awards, and that Herbie Hancock’s Joni Mitchell tribute was the first jazz album in 43 years to win Album of the Year.

But elsewhere, this year more than ever, performances at the Grammys stripped away any lingering artistic individuality, mish-mashing practically everyone into stilted duets, awkward song medleys and shots at novelty rather than substance. Nowhere

was this more evident than in Kid Rock’s absurd duet with older Jazz vocalist Keely Smith. You could tell the writer’s strike was hitting hard, as the show’s producers attempted to keep people entertained by talking about how good the Beatles were.

This year more than ever, performances at the Grammys stripped away any lingering artistic individuality.

Which brings me to another point: Where has the rock ’n’ roll gone? When the show was well into its second hour, I realized that no musicians or bands had yet played, but rather it had just been vocal performers, one after another, wielding dance moves in lieu of instruments. Sure, there were armies of background

musicians—those million-piece orchestras turning everything into a toothpaste of manufactured class—but they were hardly at the forefront of attention. As if in a physical manifestation of rock music being the odd one out, the only bona fide rock band to perform the entire night, the Foo Fighters, played on a stage outside of the Staples Center to a separate audience.

There was a lot of talk during the Grammys about how much promise lies ahead in the next 50 years of music. I hope that promise eventually leads the popular consciousness back full circle to the ideals Sinatra espoused before that era’s “next 50 years” led to the juncture we stand at today.

Has pop music gotten ‘under your skin’ yet? Want to ‘start spreading the news’ and leave pop music today?

Or do you think the ‘best is yet to come’ for the industry? Whatever your opinion of contemporary music or Sinatra puns, e-mail them to Ben at bpeterson1@wisc.edu.

Lucky’s sappy lyrics ‘Nada’ so great

By Kyle Sparks THE DAILY CARDINAL

Nobody can fault Nada Surf for not trying. They write decent music with friendly vocals. They do everything that makes people listen except one thing: They’re too reserved. Unlike contemporaries vying for an audience, they don’t steal another band’s riffs (Jet, Louis XIV) or create an image that’s harder than their music (Good Charlotte, or whoever).

They just play really conservative rock ’n’ roll. What’s most frustrating, though, is that when they let go of their inhibitions, they write some pretty good music.

Their newest album, Lucky, starts off with the band’s most impressive measured effort, “See These Bones.” Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard’s appearance isn’t all that notable, but his presence probably doesn’t hurt because the swaying melody sticks. Nada Surf lose it, though, as soon as they try to turn it up a notch. When singer Matthew Caws jumps an octave after the third chorus, it

sounds unnatural, like they’re trying to fit too many things into a song to make it better than it is.

CD REVIEW

Lucky Nada Surf The next track, “Whose Authority,” does a good job telling the band’s story. They admit their problem of “having all the answers, still failing the test.”

They’ve listened to records, heard what works and know what’s good, but they still struggle to put it all together on their own.

They even sound frustrated with themselves, asking in one lyric: “Where did you get the patience, did it come easily?”

The rest of the album plays

out similarly. “Beautiful Beat” sounds like the Doves, as though it was written for a hip, e-friendly Dot-com commercial. Meanwhile, “Here Goes Something” is ideal for some feel-good, coming-of-age film soundtrack, and “Weightless” has a nice guitar-driven melody but never really takes off like the beginning suggests it might.

Most of Lucky’s songs, meanwhile, rely on lyrics to carry the dull, repetitive melodies, and the sappy vocals often have a hard time hitting home.

“Emo” is a difficult term in music, mostly because of its connotations, and there’s a fine line between the emo that makes middle school girls cry and the heart-wrenching poetry that actually portrays emotions.

Nada Surf is somewhere in between, straddling the line.

The band’s liner notes read like a LiveJournal blog, and their lyrics are even more happy-go-lucky.

If their last album, The Weight is a Gift, was all about pain, then Lucky is all about not worrying about the pain and focusing on

PHOTO COURTESY CITY SLANG RECORDS

Despite aligning itself with Death Cab for Cutie, Nada Surf’s new album, Lucky, falls short because of dull melodies and vocals. everything that’s good.

At times it’s hard to tell whether Nada Surf is trying to imitate Barsuk labelmates Death Cab for Cutie or Rogue Wave because they do not possess half of the

poetic skills of Ben Gibbard.

They’d be better off not trying to imitate anyone, because the more they try to be somebody else, the more boring their albums will be in the future.

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PICK THE BEST OF BADGERLAND. Reader’s choice is now in session.

Vote for your favorites at www.dailycardinal.com/readerschoice. dailycardinal.com/comics

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

A one-night stand on V-day

Today’s Sudoku

Beeramid

By Ryan Matthes beeramid_comic@yahoo.com

© Puzzles by Pappocom

Mega Dude Squad

By Stephen Guzetta and Ryan Lynch rplynch@wisc.edu

Solution, tips and computer program available at www.sudoku.com.

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

Just don’t give her mushrooms.

Dwarfhead and Narwhal

By James Dietrich jbdietrich@wisc.edu

In Medieval times, girls ate bizarre foods on St. Valentine’s Day to make them dream of their future spouse.

Today’s Crossword Puzzle

The Crackles

Answer key available at www.dailycardinal.com CANINE CAPER ACROSS

1 2000 U.S. Open champion Marat 6 Requests divine help 11 “Greetings, Caesar’’ 14 “Sweet Child ___’’ (Guns N’ Roses hit) 15 Tear into shreds 16 Barnyard bleat 17 Lupine come-on?

19 Some railways 20 At any hour 21 Cosmetician Lauder 23 Tug-of-war need 24 Followers of the Marquis 26 Squirrel’s cache 29 Type of boom 30 Kemp ran with him 31 A la ___ (menu phrase) 32 Everyday article 35 Al Pacino flick of ’75 39 Where fat cats get less fat 40 Finishes a close second 41 Peas, to a prankster 42 Writer Horatio 43 Sees it the same way 45 Carrot top 48 Active person 49 Group attractively 50 Wildly insane

54 Feathered neckpiece 55 South Dakota’s nickname 58 Cairo cobra 59 Domicile 60 Stepfather to Salome 61 Ball peg 62 Dinner fork quartet 63 First one-term U.S. president DOWN

1 Female hogs 2 “Here ___, there ...” (kids’ song refrain) 3 Movie location?

4 Concluded from evidence 5 Law of gravity formulator 6 Kind of minister or suspect 7 Upswing 8 Suitable to the occasion 9 Actor Brynner 10 More likely to finish first 11 Helps in illegal acts 12 Parking pro 13 Facilitates 18 Words before “hurray!’’

22 “Not my error’’ notation 24 Places in order 25 Poker stake

26 Sums up 27 Place for some hen pecking 28 Gymnast Korbut 29 Not so precarious 31 Inspected the joint 32 Huge volume 33 There’s no place like it 34 Certain Genesis grandchild 36 Urban creature 37 It may put you in an awkward position 38 Told a story 42 Sound of discovery 43 Top-of-the-line 44 Japanese hostess 45 Capital of Morocco 46 Notched, as leaves 47 Window covering 48 Historical information 50 Statistics calculation 51 “Fame’’ actress Irene 52 Smashable thing 53 Digital displays 56 44-Down may tie one on 57 Hither partner

Anthro-apology

By Simon Dick srdick@wisc.edu

By Eric Wigdahl wigdahl@wisc.edu

sports

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

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Women’s, men’s tennis teams struggle in ITA Invite

By Chris Lindeke THE DAILY CARDINAL

Facing a trio of teams nationally ranked in the top 15, the No. 75 UW women’s tennis team dropped three consecutive matches at Nielsen Tennis Stadium this past weekend in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Team Indoor Championship.

On Thursday, the tournament’s opening night, the Badgers (2-4) dropped a 4-0 decision to No. 4 Georgia Tech. With three singles players ranked in the national top 40, the Yellow Jackets (6-1) overwhelmed UW, taking the doubles point and the first three singles matches in straight sets to seal the victory.

Georgia Tech would go on to win the tournament championship, taking down three top-10 teams in its path, including No. 1 Stanford in the semifinals.

With the opening setback, the

race from page 8 Purdue put on an impressive offensive show Saturday, hitting 53 percent of its field goal attempts. Yet this will not happen every time the young Boilers step on the floor. In fact, Saturday marked the first time Purdue shot above 50 percent in Big Ten play.

The Boilermakers must play both Michigan State and Indiana in the next week. The Spartans defeated Purdue already this year and even former Boilermaker head coach Gene Keady probably can’t remember the last time PU won in Bloomington, Ind.

The winner of the Big Ten is going to have three, possibly even four losses.

And although this may seem like stating the obvious, many of the Boilermaker freshmen are probably not accustomed to playing so many games in a season. Look for the Boilers to run out of steam down the stretch.

After dropping consecutive contests to the UConn Huskies and the Badgers, Indiana has rebounded with three straight victories. Yet the Hoosiers’ remaining schedule is tougher than the roast beef sitting in the back of your fridge since winter break.

Indiana must face Wisconsin, Purdue, Ohio State and Michigan State twice. Four of those five games will be in the friendly confines of Assembly Hall, but they will be far from easy W’s for Eric Gordon and the Hoosiers.

Michigan State has shown they

ryan from page 8 Jumbo Game on Jumbotron While the team is in Bloomington, Ind., looking to score an upset over the Hoosiers, fans have the opportunity to watch the game free at the Kohl Center.

Ryan was asked Monday where the idea came from.

“We were asked months ago by some fans and some people that said it would be great. The problem is trying to make sure [the Kohl Center] is available on a consistent basis,” he said.

Badgers moved into the consolation bracket for the remainder of tournament play.

On Friday, UW suffered a 7-0 defeat at the hands of No. 11 Baylor.

The Bears (4-1) dropped just one set to the Badgers on their way to a sweep. UW junior Erin Jobe made things tough at No. 6 singles against the Bears’ Zuzana Chmelarova, taking the first set 6-3. Jobe was unable to hold on, however, dropping the final two sets 1-6 and 2-6.

The Badgers wrapped up tournament play on Saturday with a 5-1 loss to No. 13 William & Mary.

UW’s lone victory came at No. 6 singles. Senior Chelsea Nusslock— a Lake Forest, Ill., native—captured a 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Barbara Zidek of the Tribe (5-3).

In doubles, Nusslock, paired with senior Morgan Tuttle at the No. 2 spot, took down the Tribe’s Klaudyna Kasztelaniec and Zidek 85. However, William & Mary took can play with any team in the country. Yet they have also shown they can be beaten by any team in the country. A 43-36 loss to Iowa and an 85-76 loss to Penn State prove this point loud and clear.

The Spartans play five of their final eight games on the road. MSU is only 2-2 in conference away from the Breslin Center.

The Badgers may not have a star player like the Hoosiers. They may not have the Cinderella story like the Boilermakers or the athleticism of the Spartans. But they do possess two valuable weapons: experience and mental toughness.

Will these get them to the Final Four? Maybe not, but they are enough to make a run for the Big Ten championship.

Every player in Wisconsin’s rotation, with the exception of freshman Jon Leuer, has handled the pressure of a full Big Ten season. Brian Butch and Michael Flowers have been through it three times. Joe Krabbenhoft and Marcus Landry have been through it twice.

The point is the Badgers and Ryan have been here before. They know how to improve after victories and how to bounce back from tough losses like the one they suffered Saturday against Purdue.

With the top teams in the conference playing each other several times in the upcoming weeks, the winner of the Big Ten is going to have at least three, possibly even four losses.

So if Wisconsin loses to Indiana Wednesday night, don’t count them out for a share of the title.

And don’t expect Ryan to start pushing any panic buttons. He’ll be cool (even if he does get a technical foul from time to time.)

Feel free to send Valentines and assorted hate mail to reszel@dailycardinal.com.

Wednesday’s game is the fourth of a six-game stretch of games on the Big Ten Network, which the majority of fans cannot access. Ryan did not want to get into a discussion about the battle between cable companies and the conference, but he did make the obvious hint that bars and restaurants are not minding the feud.

“There’s establishments that have been very happy to have the number of customers that they have had,” Ryan said. “It’s America. It’s capitalism. There are things going on that being an econ major I understand, but I gotta coach.”

the remaining two doubles matches to lock up the doubles point.

The Badgers will play two matches this week. On Wednesday, UW heads to Milwaukee to take on in-state rival Marquette. The Badgers will then play at Notre Dame Friday afternoon in South Bend, Ind. Men The No. 30 UW men’s tennis team nearly pulled an upset last Saturday, but fell in a close 4-3 match to No. 9 Notre Dame

at Eck Tennis Pavilion in South Bend, Ind. After dropping the opening doubles point, the Badgers (4-3) took down three of the six singles matches from the Fighting Irish (6-1). Senior Jeremy Sonkin, sophomore Michael Dierberger and freshman Marek Michalicka each captured a singles match to put the Badgers in position to win the contest. However, in the final match, senior Nolan Polley was narrowly defeated at No. 2 by Sheeva Parbhu in a third-set tiebreak, 6-7(1), 6-2, 7-6(4).

Sophomore Moritz Baumann was also defeated in three sets after taking the first set. Baumann, the nation’s No. 39 player, lost to No. 11 Brett Helgeson 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 at No. 1 singles.

The schedule does not get any easier for the Badgers as they wrap up their five-match road trip this weekend. UW will head to No. 59 Louisville this Saturday, followed by a match at No. 35 Vanderbilt the following day.

—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report

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dailycardinal.com/sports

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Physical play taking its toll on guards’ bodies

By Adam Hoge THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW men’s basketball head coach Bo Ryan addressed the media Monday and admitted that his two starting guards slowed down in practice last week before Saturday’s loss at Purdue.

With sophomore Trevon Hughes and senior Michael Flowers in the back court, Wisconsin boasts one of the better defenses in the country. In fact, the Badgers rank No. 2 in the country in scoring defense, allowing only 54.9 points per game. Saturday, however, was not one of their better defensive performances, as Purdue torched Wisconsin by shooting 53 percent in a 72-67 win at the Kohl Center.

“Both [Flowers] and Trevon handle a lot of screens and get physical when they are guarding or when they are penetrating because they drive into big guys a lot—not just in games but in practices,” Ryan said.

The head coach added that their recent transportation issues have not helped any bumps and bruises the two might have. Last Tuesday on its way to Iowa, the team van was slowed by a snow storm.

“They actually did the other

day in practice look a little slow,” Ryan added. “That’s the first time I’ve seen Michael look that way, but he seemed to recover Saturday. He was playing hard.

He was moving, he was diving on the floor. He was doing his normal stuff. But even though these guys don’t have pads on, if you look at the contact that these guys go through it’s a lot more than people realize—especially in our conference.”

The defensive assignments will not be any easier for Flowers this week either as he will once again face the Big Ten’s leading scorer Eric Gordon in Indiana Wednesday. In Wisconsin’s 62-49 win over the Hoosiers last month, Flowers held Gordon to 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting.

Gordon’s numbers actually did not give an accurate portrayal of Flowers’ effort. Of the freshman’s points, 10 came in a three-minute stretch where Gordon went on a 10-0 run by himself. The other 37 minutes, the Hoosiers’ top scorer looked frustrated by UW’s top defender. “[Flowers] didn’t make All-Big Ten defensive team last year by accident. You have to do something,” Ryan said. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t make it this year, but he has had some really tough assignments to work with his teammates as far as funneling guys and chasing guys, trying to take away their strengths. But he answers the bell and gives

RYAN RESZEL reszel-dazzle

Badgers down but not out of Big Ten race

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in their last meeting.

“We don’t have Eric Gordon and D.J. White but we got some guys that are trying to be like them.

To be like Mike,” Ryan said.

adger fans: As the great Samuel L. Jackson said several times during the final scene of Pulp Fiction, “Be cool!”

Although Wisconsin’s 72-67 loss to Purdue stings more than the sub-zero temperatures outside, don’t reach for the Old Thompson or start thinking about how the great Brewers are going to be this year just yet.

Bo Ryan’s Badgers still have an excellent chance of taking at least a share of the Big Ten title.

With road games against Indiana, Illinois and Ohio State and a home contest against Michigan State looming on the horizon, the outlook might look bleak at best.

Yet, no team in the conference’s top four will have an easy road to the regular season crown.

Purdue is certainly this season’s Big Ten Cinderella. Six of the Boilermakers’ top-seven scorers are underclassmen, and four of the seven are freshmen. Purdue has only one senior on its roster and yet the Boilermakers sit alone at the top of the conference ... but not for long.

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BRAD FEDIE/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Bo Ryan said senior guard Michael Flowers is playing through the aches and pains that come from guarding the best scorers in the Big Ten. the effort. Results vary, but the effort’s there.”

Meanwhile, Wisconsin will be trying to find their own offensive answer for Gordon and senior forward D.J. White who scored a game-high 22 points against UW