That's Bucky Badger, sporting the permanent grin and silenting spreading goodwill, who ranks as Madison's most famous figure. Now a Chicago film company will present the tentatively titled "Being Bucky" in 2009 after editing 100 hours of footage for the independent documentary.

UW grad John Fromstein and the staff at Fulton Market Films spent 12 months with Bucky — or, more precisely, the seven students inside the costume.

"It's about Bucky, but it's more about being a mascot and the students who decide to do that," Fromstein said. "It's not like a reality show so we didn't park ourselves with a camera in their apartments."

Telling Bucky's tale also requires your help.

"We're looking for any archival footage of Bucky," Fromstein said. "It could be something from a couple of years ago or 10 years ago or much later. We've heard about Bucky at a wedding. We heard rumors that there was a wake Bucky went to. We're looking for something out of the ordinary."

Describe any taped materials you have in an e-mail to: info@fultonmarketfilms.com.

To view clips from "Bucky" filming, go to www.fultonmarketfilms.com and click on "directors" then "Scott Smith." Smith, a Madison native, is the film's director.

More Moore

It's been 14 years since Lorrie Moore's last novel and one decade since a collection of her short stories were published in the remarkable book "Bird of America." Now there's news — finally — of a new novel, a title and a plot.

Moore, a UW creative writing prof who couldn't be reached for comment, received a $20,000 award recently from the UW Arts Institute to help her research for her novel "A Gate at the Stairs." Set in Wisconsin in 2002, the novel a follows a young woman moving from a rural community to an urban one (Madison?! Milwaukee?) for college.

Farley raves

The biography "The Chris Farley Show," co-written by Madison's Tom Farley, Chris' older brother, keeps receiving a flood of positive reviews. The Washington Post gave it an "A"; People magazine chipped in with four stars; and Entertainment Weekly said the book "outshines any Farley highlight reel."

Tom Farley continues his book promotion tour with an appearance at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Verona Public Library, 500 Silent St.

It's what you do to me

Madison's Musicnotes, Inc., the downloadable sheet music king, named the impossibly catchy ballad "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's as Song of the Year for being its best-selling sheet music in 2007.

Don't lie. You've sung along with the tune on the radio, too. Probably humming it right now ...

Not-so-clean sweep

Broom Street Theater, bless its renegade stage hearts, wants original submissions for its next seven-play season. The theater, 1119 Williamson St., has "no limitations as to style, length or subject matter." It's only request: Know Broom Street's history. For that, go to www.broomstreet.org.

Its current show, "Multiple O," is about Carol and Chris, a married middle-class urban couple. The catch? They each have a girlfriend on the side.

In a rare move, Broom Street will admit no one under 18 for this show, which runs through June 8.

Return next Sunday to A&E for more news, opinion and mayhem by Tom Alesia, talesia@madison.com. Until then, go to www.madison.com/wsj/home/entertainment for the State Journal's other offerings and Madison's most complete guide to upcoming shows in Coming Attractions.