Some are books, and some are dogs. This is a dog in Wingra Park. If it were a book, it would be a Knopf book.

This beautiful creature, a Borzoi, or Russian wolfhound, was ambling along the lake in Wingra Park yesterday. Its namesake is familiar to book lovers around the world.

Afred A. Knopf brought branding to 20th century American book publishing with the "Borzoi Book" when he and his wife Blanche started their publishing company in 1915. The Borzoi colophon -- which appeared in many different versions by many different artists -- came to be known as synonymous with elegance, refinement and quality. The idea of using a Russian wolfhound as a colophon came from co-founder Blanche Knopf, although her affection for the dog breed didn't last nearly as long as the trademark.

It comes as no surprise that a Borzoi book published by the house of Knopf would resemble the personalities and preserve the canon of its founders, Alfred A. and Blanche Wolf Knopf. In fact, Blanche, fond of the Russian wolfhounds’ aesthetic look, chose the Borzoi as the publishing house’s legendary colophon. Ironically, Blanche later owned a pair of borzois and grew to despise them, wishing she had chosen another dog for the Knopf imprint.

The Borzoi was a shrewd choice for a young publishing company that first built it's reputation by publishing many Russian and European authors then not widely published in the U.S. Knopf was a real innovator in how he used design as a marketing tool.

From the very beginning we have frequently been asked the meaning of the word "Borzoi" and what it has to do with books. When I started in business the publisher I admired most was London's William Heinemann, and the sign of a Heinemann book was a windmill, drawn for him, I think, by William Nicholson. Since a windmill obviously had nothing to do with books, I saw no reason why we could not adopt the Borzoi as our mark. We had an alliterative trademark that was calculated to provoke curiosity. Knopf is a difficult name for many people to pronounce, and I felt there might be an advantage in having two strings, so to speak, to the bow of our imprint. Now everyone in the trade knows how few people ever remember the name of the publisher of any book. I think we have been more successful than any of our contemporaries in breaking down this ignorance.

Design can be a brilliant means of marketing a brand, but it's not easy. If it were, individuals like Alfred Knopf -- and Steve Jobs -- wouldn't be so rare.

Vilas Park bridge on a snowy night

When it snows at night in Madison, the glow of the city lights reflected in the clouds often make the sky seem as bright as the snow.

Afternoon flurries on a winding road

County Hwy. PB between Verona and Paoli.

Wisconsin's new voter ID law -- this is what it feels like

Sure, it's just a coincidental placement of a traffic sign at the back entrance of my polling place. But symbolically, this is exactly what the new photo ID law that went into effect today says to thousands of Wisconsin citizens who don't have photo ID -- "Stop Do Not Enter." And it's not too welcoming to the rest of us, either.

I used to love the "small D" democratic ritual of voting, the feeling it always gave me of being a free citizen of a free country exercising his rights as a citizen of a democracy. Now it's more like trying to persuade a suspicious salesclerk to cash your check in an out-of-town convenience store, or going through airport security. The poll workers were friendly and seemed to be coping well with the burdens of the new law (aided by the very light turnout of a spring primary, which made for a good test run of the new system). But there's something really demeaning about the process itself. After I handed over my driver's license, the poll worker held it so I couldn't see the address and asked me what my address was. Like I was going to use the license of somebody else who looked like me?

Voting used to be a joy. Now it's an adversary process. Thanks, GOP!

What's next in the Republican campaign of voter suppression and disenfranchisement? Who knows, maybe after they finish taking away women's reproductive rights, they can take their right to vote, too. And then, why not restrict the vote to white male property owners? That would take us back to America at the time of the Founders. Who could quarrel with that?

I think I found the button GOP candidates push when they want to stop making sense

Whenever an actual fact -- or even mere common sense -- threatens to derail their discourse, they push this panic button -- the DANGER: TOO MUCH KNOWLEDGE alarm. Then they can safely go back to babbling about the dangers of free contraception, building a giant electrified fence around Mexico or creating jobs by giving more tax breaks to the rich.

One year ago today at the Capitol: Do these look like whiners, thugs and losers to you? Me neither.

One year ago today was the first really huge mass rally against Walker. More than 70,000 people who the governor's supporters tried -- ineffectually -- to dismiss as whiners, thugs and losers showed up at the Capitol to rally against Walker's union-busting budget bill (in contrast to less than 2,00 Tea Party people who staged a lame counterprotest). Do they look like whiners, thugs and losers to you? Me neither. I still get tears in my eyes when I look back at the video I shot that day,

It had been an eventful week, starting with the TAA's Valentine's Day demonstration, with crowds growing throughout the week, and the Heroic 14 had not only left the building -- they had left the state. The Saturday rally dramatically illustrated what a powerful, spontaneous response Walker's actions triggered among the people of Wisconsin. And the momentum only continued to grow -- the following week was the even bigger "snow rally" where the iconic Blue Fist made its first weekend appearance -- culminating in the 1 million signatures on petitions for Walker's recall.

I took this photo at this year's Feb 11 rally marking the anniversary of Walker dropping his budget bomb. At the huge rally a year ago, the Blue fist -- which has gone viral and appeared at rallies around the world -- didn't even exist yet.

That happened the following week, when the blue Fist in its current form was designed by artist and activist Carrie Worthen at the request of her friend Stephanie Bloomingdale, Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO. It first showed up at the TAA rally with Rep. Tammy Baldwin on Feb. 25 -- and at the huge "snow rally" at the Capitol the next day. It has gone on to inspire millions around the world.

It's just one more thing we have to thank Scott Walker for -- and one more reason he'll be voted out of office as soon as legally possible, probably in late May. And it will be remembered long after Scott Walker is gone.