overheard #4: I don't wanna retake the MCAT!

UW student #1: I am such a loser! What am I going to do with my life? Run away to India for med school? I feel like a refugee... Ok do you see this?

UW student #2: [looks at laptop] ...

UWS1: Test dates or locations?

UWS2: Take it in Alabama.


^{For semi-permanent admission of wrongdoing, see footer of eckodropped post#2}

Capital Times' commenter fields?

Hastings should've poked around his home site a little more before typing:

Maybe if readers weren't ghettoized in forums, and responses appeared below the column itself (see: Badger Herald, modern half of Isthmus), I wouldn't be reaching offsite to highlight reader reaction. Or maybe I just went glib as Lampert Smith's one-line grafs. But this is a woefully editor-free blog, so that's to be expected, right?

Actually, that still applies to WSJ stories, but what have we here?



The TCT stays true to its progressive roots by revamping ahead of the WSJ? Maybe the WSJ's just going to better integrate forums w/ articles--a la Post, and the auto-linkage isn't fully complete?

Love and Theft

We did not notice commenter inquiries and exhortations posted Monday. We were worshipping the porcelain goddess--for psychosomatic reasons, we think [could've been dietary--ed.].

Today, we activated comment-email-notification--and wracked Dane101 for new concepts to appropriate. We will unveil the resulting column this weekend. Don't expect much until then.

overheard #3: marketing blunts for school credit

MTM braintrust discussing leafletting strategies in Helen C. White (College) Library, 5/10...

MTM propagandist: The Union called again.

Imaginary Memorial Union Employee: How did you hear about Madtown Munchies?

MTMP: I ripped down your flyer...

====

Bonus, 5/12

Passenger in Yukon, at State and Lake: Ooohh! A DeLorean!!!

real job surfaces on madison.craigslist.org/wri

Swimming alongside the sploggerific SEO B.S. is the first semi-legit thing we've seen since Dane101's covert food writer solicitations:

International Crane Foundation---Foundation Relations Manager

---

Reply to: job-328937284@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-05-11, 1:11PM CDT


The International Crane Foundation (ICF) is a global conservation organization working to safeguard all 15 species of cranes and the vast natural systems on which they depend. With cranes as our flagship, ICF unites diverse people to achieve lasting outcomes to global conservation opportunities.

ICF seeks a dynamic individual with high integrity and excellent writing and interpersonal skills to serve as Foundation Relations Manager. This individual is responsible for securing annual and capital funds from foundations, corporations and government sources and assists in other important capacities to serve and engage donors with the work of ICF. The Foundation Relations Manager works in close coordination with the development team to achieve the annual and capital fundraising goals of ICF. This position is based in Baraboo, WI and is full-time with benefits.

Essential functions:
• Manages portfolio of existing donors and develops new relationships with foundation, corporation, and government funding entities;
• Writes well-crafted proposals including compelling project descriptions, detailed budgets, letters of inquiry, progress/stewardship reports, grant agreements, and other materials for donors and prospective supporters with essential input from executive and program staff;
• Collaborates with senior staff and volunteers to develop and advance donor and prospect strategy;
• Employs fundraising database (Raiser’s Edge 7) to track and record donor and program activity, maintain lists, perform information queries, generate reports, and maintain foundation deadline and stewardship schedules;
• Conducts targeted research to build information on existing donors and identify new donor prospects;
• Serves as point person for periodic events;
• Assists with special team and donor projects as needed.

Knowledge/skills:
• Bachelor’s degree and 3+ years relevant work experience;
• Superior writing and editing abilities;
• Strong interpersonal and listening skills and proven ability to develop strong internal and external relationships;
• Experience with or demonstrated aptitude for database management.

To apply, please email or mail your letter and resume by May 18, 2007 to:

Linda Foster, Director of Administration
International Crane Foundation
E11376 Shady Lane Road
P.O. Box 447
Baraboo, WI 53913
Lfoster@savingcranes.org

For more information about ICF visit: www.savingcranes.org. AA/EOE.
====

You'd be a fundraising flack... a fundraising flack with health insurance. Also, we once knew someone who spoke highly of the employer in question, so there's that.

====
We're too lazy to see if the "environment and culture magazine distributed in the Southwest" is for real.

Sundance Cinemas 608 reflux

We had planned a full-blown post [beyond eavesdropping on the concessionaires] WRT to the wall-to-wall coverage building up to Sundance Cinemas 608's public opening this past weekend.

David Bordwell beat us to it:

The company played the local press like a violin, slowly building the news and letting local bigwigs get the VIP tour before opening.

Also, Dane101, Isthmus subsidiary:

In the Isthmus blog, The Daily Page, Sean provides a vivid and detailed account of going to Sundance 608, including the “convenience fee,” which I’ve never encountered but which makes great sense. One more reason to get homesick for Mad City.

====

BONUS: @ Free Republic, "Diana in Wisconsin" took advantage of TCT's recent embrace of Creative Commons licensing to syndicate Rob Thomas' interview with Robert Redford, retitling it "Star-Struck Gush Fest." (Diana may not subscribe to The Progressive.)

overheard #2: University Book Store

Student on cell phone: "You're such a hooker. It's so like you to take a random flight to L.A. at 2 in the morning."

====

eckodroppings UPDATE: We're doing away with this interpolation, originally intended as a nod to "echodropping," which was coined by Dane101 and rolled out in a Cut and Paste Review of Man Man and Girl Talk @ Club 770.

• Hastings at "Stumbling Out of the Dairy Bar" snapped a number of pictures and echodropped some bathroom conversation.

Russell noted this in the comments to eckodrop overheard #1: "great minds I guess." Steal and steal alike. Dane101 has already "dropped" a logo. More later.

job listing for treehugging madison bloggers

Are you a degreed-but-underemployed writer, dripping sap for the environment? Maybe you just work for the Star Tribune? Take heart!

Freelance Writer/Editor needed for EarthLove, a startup online blog and discussion site (hoping to launch ASAP) that will focus on environmental issues, and families who are adopting ecofriendly lifestyles.

Candidate ought to have an interest in environmental issues, particularly how they pertain to children and families. This job is part-time and very flexible. Will also involve research and telephone interviews. Candidate must work remotely. Approximately 5 hours a week Please send resume and writing samples to Robin Friedman at robin@earthlove.com

Money likely involved. [via Franc's clairvoyant j-school pal]

Do the trade winds blow?

Steve S. reads between advertorial lines.

Interesting, perhaps unanswerable, questions. One seems easy enough:

However, I still don't see, with the possible exception of a couple of blogs, the use of the Post blogs - most of them certainly have nothing to do with news content, at least.

Seems self-evident that two blood hounds would get territorial right-quick--if madison.com's pro-am division started simmering wire stories [in-state even!] in A1 sauce were geared more directly toward the "news."

Sundance Cinemas 608 proletariat rises up in face of finals' week stress (overheard #1)

UW Student 1: Yeah--I have to work for all these people this week. And I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO's a student.

UW Student 2: I stood up to my manager--I feel really good about that...

He's like this big guy and totally tries to bully people--especially the assistant managers.

[He said] "So what you're saying is that you can't work at all this weekend?"
[I said] "Yup"

[Nodding smugly]

UWS1: Where is it?

UWS2: It's at Hilldale. It's probably gonna fail--who's going to pay twelve dollars to see a movie?

It's like an art-house. They're trying to make like this whole new experience. With like a café. They're gonna have Peet's

UWS1: There's going to be Peet's in Madison?!!

UWS2: They're trying to make this real upscale, hip thing. I feel like they're kind of misjudging the Madison market: sure, it's more cultured than wisconsin as a whole [something about appreciating film, food] but that doesn't mean you're bourgeois.

UWS1: What's going to be playing?

UWS2: Black Book--directed by Paul Verhoeven. [Actually,] the first one is Paris, j'taime, this movie by 18 different directors... They've got Waitress.

[more movie talk]

UWS2: ...Robert Redford isn't going to be at the opening.

• ...but at least he wished WSJ's Conklin joyeux anniversaire!
• Laskin, in the Isthmus: Sundance 608 swell(-s within West Side's cultural vacuum).
• Russell has opined on Peet's Pennyroyal Tea @ Dane101.
• Tonya ran down next weekend's full opening lineup @ Screen Siren.
  

Shakily hand-recorded @ Memorial Library 5/6/07. Do share your own eavesdropping, voyeurism.

1670 AM's Glen Gardner, on madison.com porn bot-hacking

^{submitted by madison.com correspondent Hastings Cameron...}

Monday, Lee Rayburn posted re: the appearance of porn on madison.com--and the lack of acknowledgement or reportage.

• "A couple of weeks ago, Melanie Conklin from the Wisconsin State Journal was on 1670AM The Pulse with Glen Gardner. She made mention of hackers accessing the Madison.com website and embedding links to hardcore pornography. As far as I can find, the story never made it to the State Journal/Capital Times website. It seemed like a story to me, but I don't work for Madison.com."

Obvious site-specific porn-quests turn up the following:

• A piece from '98 about an art-zine called art-zine
• A thread re: sitemod atlas' December quest to ban an abusive forums' user
• And--who could forget?--an article on the '03 police scanner porn audio jamming case

The podcast excerpts of Gardner's morning show didn't seem to have the pertinent audio available, so I followed up with Gardner--who has plugged his show on aginghipsters.com, but more regularly blogs on MySpace. Presumably, he also communes with listeners via the wonders of social networking.

We communed yesterday, I asked about the broadcast in question, and he fleshed out the story:

• "As Tim and I were getting ready for the show about a month ago, we brought up the State Journal's web site and noticed some strange links right on the home page. These two links were in the forum section and it was something like 'click here to see XXXXX.' When we clicked, you got a mass of pictures and video that was not just porn, it was uber porn. We went on-air with it at six and took bets as to how long it would take them to get it down. It took an hour and 15 minutes and 29 seconds...LOL. As it turns out, Ms. Conklin was scheduled to join us in the 8 am hour that morning anyway."

Glen also conducted a listener survey, similar to the online readership surveys madison.com has been displaying of late.

• "So we asked her about the new porn feature on the site and thought they should leave it up. Judging from the folks who were calling us it was quite popular.... They did the same thing again about a week later! Our news department did a story on it and a spokesperson for the Wisconsin State Pornal said it was due to hackers and bot attacks on the site. We had some fun with it."

NOTE: LIB's Steve S. did not indicate if his madison.com survey asked whether or not he'd be interested in additional helpings of porn. We can not conclusively determine whether or not the Morning Pulse's listenership shares the tastes of the average madison.com reader.

====

^{Gardner is 1670 AM's station manager. He hosts The Morning Pulse, weekdays from 6-9 AM. Excerpts of past shows are available via podcast. As established above, the broadcast in which Melanie Conklin discusses madison.com's porn division is not yet available for download.}

personal agenda

Provide conflicted and biased, but not particularly pseudonymous, "commentary" re: Madison media.

Furnish random factoids, restaurant reviews.

Ecko-drop racist bar-room utterings not originally uttered by writer.*

Disclosure: revenue generated by ad-impressions will be split (inequitably) with the marketing arm of a plucky local startup.

*editor not actually of African descent.