"In the exhilarating case of Madison, it’s important to pursue the frenzy, merge with the frenzy, ingest the frenzy."

"The frenzy beckons along State Street, the central nervous system of the city and the 50,000-strong university, with main quadrangle Bascom Hill at the end opposite the state Capitol. The frenzy churns up and down the streets and boulevards leading up to kickoffs, the multistory bars packed with people and red. It’s present in bits in the breakfast line at the famed Mickie’s Dairy Bar, or the doughnut line at Greenbush, or at State Street Brats, or the Memorial Union Terrace of the main student union. It’s bubbling at the Dane County Farmers’ Market, and it’s roaring at the frat houses near Camp Randall Stadium, where the inspiring sights might include a beer bong on the second floor delivering the nectar to a drinker on the ground. It reaches its peak, though, at the end of the third quarter.... If one seeks bouts of quiet, as unfitting as they can seem, there’s a daydream of a lake (Mendota), the Lakeshore Path, the city’s welcoming capacity for cyclists or the privilege of a lakefront room at the Edgewater Hotel...."

The Washington Post puts Madison first, in "The 10 best college football towns in America" (gift link).

Here's the daydream this morning, video'd by Meade:

 

"Madison’s independent police monitor told News 3 Now that she stands by her words after she was seen on video Tuesday saying she 'will burn this city down.'"

Channel 3000 reports. 

“That comment is a metaphor,” [Aeiramique] Glass told News 3 Now during an interview Wednesday evening. “So many people have used that comment when they're talking about whether it be fighting against injustice when something is wrong, or when something happens.” Glass went on to say that she made the comment while speaking to people who she trusted, who understood her words. “I don't care that they were recording me,” she said. “I was in pain and had just gotten jumped by a lot of officers.”

The crash of CRAZ.

Police have removed protestors pic.twitter.com/1UCL8law7e

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

ADDED: The protesters are ousted, but they have their photo op:

State police are now on scene too. Protestors are alleging that the streets division nearly hit a tent housing people with heavy equipment pic.twitter.com/J2vMshJ20g

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

Live look from about 5:20 this morning when I arrived at the encampment pic.twitter.com/v6fXE1keYG

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) August 4, 2026

"Seattle went though this years back. A whole block, lots of people. The city just gave it a little time and then one morning at about 4am..."

"... came in and announced the street will be cleaned in 10 minutes and everyone had to get out. They just rolled trucks down and tossed everything away and that was that. I think Madison will just need to do the same here. Let people do their thing for a bit, then wipe it clean and everyone moves on."

Says a commenter at the Reddit post, "A stroll through the autonomous zone. Who is responsible for bringing out all these porta-potties?"

"Three stages keep the dancers moving and the listeners happy all day with a diverse mix of sounds including Latin soul by Orquesta SalSoul del Mad, roots rock veterans The Rousers, bluegrass..."

"... from Bigtooth, and of course fest favorites like VO5 and Steely Dane…and that’s only a small sample of the local bands; the fest also features tour stops by The Band Feel, Toronzo Cannon, Kelli Baker Band and others. Food and artisan vendors are also on offer, as well as kids' activities hosted by Canopy Center. Find the full schedule below and updates at atwoodfest.com...."

I'm quoting from the middle of the page at "CANCELED: AtwoodFest" (Isthmus).

At the top of the page: "Our community and our Marquette neighbors witnessed another horrific officer-involved shooting just blocks from our festival grounds, leaving us in deep pain and justified anger. In acknowledgment of what has happened far too often in our community and our country as a whole, this year's AtwoodFest, themed 'The Heartbeat of the Neighborhood,' is canceled...."

"The Dane County Farmers’ Market will still take place Saturday morning on the Capitol Square, though organizers say the market 'will look different.'"

"'It is not a celebration of local food, but a space where everyone can find food grown in their community to sustain themselves and be together,' the market said in a social media post."

In case you're thinking of going down to the Farmers' Market.

That's from "'My family needs justice': Relatives of Corey Ruiz speak out for first time since police shooting/Family members spoke at press event with civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who previously represented George Floyd's family" (WPR).

The Farmers' Market is a huge weekly event for ordinary Madisonians who are going about living their normal lives. Free speech is, of course, part of the much-loved tradition.

Here's the Market's Instagram message:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dane County Farmers' Market (@danecofm)

Why Madison police don't have body cameras.

Former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin’s perspective on why Madison police don’t have body cameras (Soglin was mayor until 2019): pic.twitter.com/IOg8IzpblU

— Molly Beck (@MollyBeck) July 24, 2026

Looks like the protesters want body cams:

"This is a corrupt city. That's right. Have no fear, the anti-Zionist is here. You understand me?"

Emotions boiled over during today’s Madison Police Department press conference as community members interrupted Police Chief John Patterson following the fatal police shooting of Corey Ruiz.

The room reflected the grief, anger, and frustration many are feeling. One man took the… pic.twitter.com/F8uUmaL5O8

— Andrew Mercado (@AndrewMercado) July 23, 2026

That was yesterday, in Madison. Last night:

This looks and sounds all too familiar--I had a front row seat in Kenosha when it burned to the ground. Something about the cacophonous sounds of horns, whistles and the usual antifa noise makers has the memories rushing back from 6 years ago. Imagine this for 3 days straight,…

— The Corridor News (@CorridorScanner) July 24, 2026

This is Francesca Hong, a Democratic Socialist who is ahead in the polls for the Democratic Party nomination for Wisconsin governor, speaking in the streets of Madison yesterday after a fatal shooting by the police.

pic.twitter.com/YXlgytpDrc

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) July 23, 2026

For background on the polling: "Democratic socialist leads Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial field: Poll" (The Hill).

For background on the shooting: "Wisconsin officer kills man armed with knife, police say, as shooting sparks protests/Madison police said that after a chase and a struggle, a man who was being sought pulled out a knife and injured an officer, which led to the deadly shooting" (NBC News)("Videos of the shooting were captured by bystanders and were circulated online. One of them, verified by NBC News, appears to show officers holding on to the man as someone yells, 'Let go!' Multiple shouts of 'He’s got a knife!' can be heard....The shooting was not captured on body camera video, which the Madison Police Department does not widely use").

ADDED: Interrupting the Concerts on the Square can't be the best way to win over moderates. It was a beautiful day and this is an extremely well-established and much-loved Madison tradition:

Protesters have taken the stage at Concerts on the Square pic.twitter.com/PPXQo6Jgm9

— Madison365 (@madison_365) July 23, 2026

AND: Here's bystander video of the incident.

Madison at 4:45 a.m.

The city looked like it was sinking into the lake this morning.

7 minutes later:

 

Those are my pictures. Here's Meade's point of view at the same time:

Madison, better than those other cities.

I'm reading "See ChatGPT’s hidden bias about your state or city/The states with the laziest people according to ChatGPT" (WaPo).

That's a gift link, so you can check out your city the way I checked out Madison.

The "No Kings" rally in Madison was very mellow. Lots of homemade signs and costumes. People milling and lolling about in the sunshine and shade.

This afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin, we've got the Wisconsin/Ohio State football game and the big "No Kings" rally.

Am I worried about the chaos? Here's a helpful chart:

In short, it's a big Saturday, but a normal Saturday. A protest at the Capitol and a big football game at Camp Randall. The crowds should flow in and back out as crowds have ebbed and flowed from the isthmus from the beginning of football.

UPDATE, the next day: I'm seeing estimates that 10,000 to 15,000 attended, so that was much more than the "expected crowd" Grok put on the chart I asked it to make. The crowd was very peaceful. Reminding me of the Tea Party gatherings of yore. No one got arrested. I didn't see any hecklers or counter-protesters. There also weren't traffic problems. We easily drove downtown and parked in a parking structure a couple blocks from the Capitol. 

"The brilliant 1791 plan for the city... was the creation of the French-born, classically trained architect chosen for the task by George Washington himself..."

"... Pierre Charles L’Enfant. The L’Enfant Plan generated many urban nodes calling for the erection of monuments. Yet Washington is the only major Western capital that lacks a triumphal arch.... The triumphal arch originally appeared in Rome in the second century B.C., well before the fall of the Republic. The Romans... modified the monumental gateways of their Etruscan neighbors as free-standing structures and articulated them with the classical architectural forms—columns, friezes, cornices—developed by the Greeks.... It’s worth noting that, contrary to widespread belief, there is no record of a Roman arch being built for its honoree’s triumphal procession...  To be sure, numerous victory arches were erected along the processional via triumphalis that led up to the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline in Rome. But hundreds of arches were also erected in many other venues.... They could celebrate the construction of new roads, bridges, ports, aqueducts, or city walls—sometimes being atavistically embedded in the latter, sometimes standing slightly in front of them. They marked entrances to forums (civic centers), sacred precincts, and important public venues such as the Circus Maximus in Rome...."

From an article by Catesby Leigh in City Journal, published last December, "Trump Should Erect an Arch for America’s 250th/His plans to mark the semiquincentennial in 2026 offer an appropriate opportunity to do so in Washington" (City Journal).

This NY Post piece from yesterday — "Trump shares rendering of massive stone monument for DC to mark America’s 250th birthday" — says the idea came from the Catesby Leigh article.

Catesby Leigh brought up the arch in Washington Square in New York City. That arch is well-loved, and you don't have to be a Trumpster to feel glad it's there. And that made me remember that we have an arch in Madison, Wisconsin: 

Rectangular sunrise.

How Coldplay wielded its kisscam in Madison, Wisconsin — Saturday night at Camp Randall.

TikTok:

"Morgan Wallen, baby!"/"From tailgates to patio parties the streets around Camp Randall were buzzing. Downtown Madison transformed into a party well before the gates opened."

"Bars were shoulder-to-shoulder, lines snaked outside of Jimmy John's, and parking spots went for as high as $100...."

Yes, the Morgan Wallen people were out in abundance yesterday, and there's a second concert tonight. This is my neighborhood, where I remember, long ago, listening to Pink Floyd wafting over from Camp Randall.

I hadn't realized it's been 28 years since there's been a concert in the football stadium. Nice. The crowd seems to have included lots of people from out of town. So many women in short shorts and cowboy boots. We talked to a couple who'd come in from Iowa for the big concert. Me, I'd never heard of Morgan Wallen, but what do I know? I found out he's the biggest star. I hope he and everyone else enjoy Madison.

If you watch the video, keep an eye out for the children selling lemonade. The reporter asks each of them what they'll do with the money, and you may be surprised at what they say.

"New information revealed in court sheds light on the connection between three hazmat scenes in the Madison area this week."

"According to Dane County Assistant District Attorney William Brown, the suspect, Paul Van Duyne, attempted to poison two former love interests with cyanide.... During a bail hearing for Van Duyne's co-defendant, [Andrea] Whitaker, Brown described an elaborate scheme.... Brown accused Van Duyne of breaking into a woman's car while she was in the parking lot of Costco in Middleton and putting cyanide in her water bottle.... Brown said Van Duyne attempted a similar cyanide poisoning with a separate woman in Rock County. He said in this case, the woman's gym water bottle was poisoned with cyanide, and a powdery substance was located in her car.... When Van Duyne was arrested, Brown said he called Whitaker and instructed her to remove a variety of items from his home that Brown said would implicate him in the crime.... He also said Whitaker's search history included phrases such as 'cyanide lethal dose' and 'Does potassium cyanide powder go bad?'... 'It does appear that this defendant [Whitaker] and Van Duyne have started dating and apparently created this plot to kill his ex-girlfriends by poisoning them,' Brown said...."

From "Prosecutor: Multiple hazmat scenes linked to elaborate scheme to poison man's former love interests with cyanide" (WKOW).

Now, we understand why some streets around here were blocked off as hazmat scenes.

I'm trying to picture how a plot to kill a man's ex-girlfriends gets created. These are real people so I won't publish my musings. 

Madison at 5:09 a.m.