IT Picks
FAIR | Top tunes Southern rock legend Lynyrd Skynyrd opens the Grandstand on Friday night with special guest Bo Bice, who isn’t the only American Idol to shake the stage. Pop sensation Kelly Clarkson hits the arena with her huge pipes on Saturday night with guest Eric Hutchinson. Country acts Josh Turner, Jamey Johnson and…
Fair market value
I had mixed feelings when I learned that another farmers’ market was opening on the state fairgrounds across from the grandstand. On one hand, I’m always excited to see increasing availability of local food. On the other, the Old Capitol Farmers’ Market has been expanding since its rebirth in 1999. (The original OCFM in the…
Peoples Poetry
wednesday july 29 poem things can change so fastat nine this morning I pickedsweet corn in a sunny fieldat eleven in the ICU I laidmy hand and lips on thecooling forehead of mydearest friend may you find peace carol you whobrought so much laughterwit wisdom and yes tears toso many in your fifty-five hardtriumphant years…
Glide on the moon’s reflection
Join the Sangamon Paddlers of Central Illinois, and become a canoe-sseur. This group promotes conservation of local water resources, recreation and education. On Friday they sponsor a potluck at 7:30 p.m. before a paddle around 9 p.m. Night air, insect song, moonlight and water. You won’t want to miss the magical combination. If you are…
A show of haunting beauty
Being sedated in a darkness that is so disturbing and beautiful that it makes the viewer comatose is a unique experience. Welcome to the complex mind of Felicia Olin. Her creations will be showing at the Robert Morris Gallery until Sept. 4. Hours of operation for the gallery are Tues-Fri 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.…
BOOKS OF A FEATHER
Rod Blagojevich’s book, titled The Governor, comes out in September. We haven’t seen an advance copy, nor is there a “peek inside” option on Amazon.com, where the memoir is available for pre-ordering. So we have no idea whether the book for which Blago reportedly received $100,000 from Phoenix Books & Audio to “write” is worth…
Julie and Julia cooks up a tasty dual biography
In what may be a Hollywood first, the film Julie and Julia is “based on two true stories” as it tackles the life of Julia Child, the self-made chef who brought European cuisine into American households via television, and a young woman who finds the confidence to pursue her dreams through emulating her style. Fact-based…
Rush of the native flutter
This is your opportunity to see the hummingbird up close during capture and banding by Vernon Kleen, Master Permit Bander. New Salem hosts this Illinois Audubon Society family festival on Saturday, celebrating one of the smallest and unique birds whose ability to hover in mid-air captures the hearts of bird lovers and others alike. Enthusiasts…
The growing U.S. goat market
The South African Boer goat quietly invaded the United States via Texas about 15 years ago – and has been nibbling its way north ever since. Developed by Dutch farmers in South Africa in the early 1900s, the hardy Boer goats were bred for their rapid growth, ability to produce large amounts of meat and…
Vegetarianism pays
There are all kinds of scholarships just for having an interest in an obscure field or merely being something unusual — tall, a little person, left-handed, or being named Gatling, Van Valkenburg, or Zolp. Ryne Poelker of Petersburg actually did something to earn his unique scholarship. The Vegetarian Resource Group, a Baltimore-based nonprofit that promotes…
Goat invasion
Like an art critic judging a sculpture, Mike Earles leans back and places the end of his goateed chin between the raised thumb and forefinger of his left hand. His eyes narrow as he leans forward. Meanwhile, his brother, Drew, pauses and steps back, too. He grips in one hand an electric hair clipper that…
Letters to the Editor 8/6/09
NEW URBANISM HERE If you want to see what a new urbanist philosophy can do for a city similar in size to Springfield, it’s worth a trip to Madison, Wis., or closer to home, Normal, Ill. [See “New urbanism the Springfield way,” by R.L. Nave, July 30]. Older neighborhoods within walking and biking distance of…
Springfield is no good at gateways
The now-stalled beautification project to transform Capitol Avenue into a ceremonial gateway to the Statehouse and Lincoln sites confirms what longtime residents already know, which is that Springfield is not especially good at gateways. Several disgraced governors ago, the gateway to the city from the airport, Walnut Street north of North Grand, was dressed up…
State hikes ‘sin’ tax
When MacArthur Frazier, the owner of Mac’s Lounge, 1231 E. Cook St., first heard last week about the state’s new tax increase on beer, wine and hard alcohol — included as a funding source for the $31 billion capital construction plan signed by Gov. Pat Quinn on July 13 — he wasn’t surprised. “Politicians always…
(Swiss) chard rolls with chicken and mushrooms
Swiss chard is a close relative of the beet — so close that their botanical name is the same, Beta vulgaris. Swiss chard has other names, including silver beet and spinach beet. Those are more logical monikers than calling chard “Swiss,” according to Elizabeth Schneider, author of Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini. “After 25 years…
Home methods and techniques
Learn from the past Saturday at this family-friendly gathering about how things used to be done at the time of Abraham Lincoln. Some of the demonstrations include: gardening, food dehydration, Civil War food ways, canning, corn shelling and grinding, corn cob pipe, broom and barrel making. Enjoy period music while the kids can learn about…
Shadows of the Motherland
T he trained eye rarely misses them: three-barred crosses and primitive, colorful icons, occasionally spotted in roadside cemeteries and out-of-the-way chapels from Chicago to Carbondale. Onion-shaped domes, curious spires and cupolas — the international symbols of Eastern Orthodoxy — still adorn churches in small, former mining communities where Baptists, Methodists and Evangelicals now abound. The…
The Proposal
When high-powered book editor Margaret (Sandra Bullock) faces deportation to her native Canada, the quick-thinking exec declares that she’s actually engaged to her unsuspecting put-upon assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds), who she’s tormented for years. He agrees to participate in the charade, but with a few conditions of his own. The unlikely couple heads to Alaska…
Laurie Morvan Band
Let’s just dispense with all the female blues guitar player business and forget the tall California blonde girl stuff and get to the heart of the matter right now. Laurie Morvan can play the blues. Go check out some YouTube cuts of her singing and playing and listen to the killer tone she gets on…
Hodgepodge of hot August entertainment
The weather may be slightly sluggish in participating in the average August heat and humidity we’re familiar with, but the hot music happenings are typical for the approaching end-of-summer season. Please allow me to enumerate a few for you. This Friday, Aug. 7, from 6 to 8, visit the Three Legged Dog on the south…
Pickle juice
It should be easy to write about Carol Manley, there’s so much material; instead it’s incredibly difficult. Were she at my shoulder (as she is?) she’d be saying, “You guys are Carol’d out, let it go!” except her remark would be witty and make me laugh. Carol’s sudden death last week, at 55, has left…
Look out! The circus has come to town
Who doesn’t love a parade? And here comes a big one! You can feel the beat of the drums, hear the trumpeting of elephants and the melodious call of the calliope — all of which announce that the circus is back in town. But wait, why aren’t the people happy about the arrival of the…
The Taking of Pelham 123
A New York City subway dispatcher draws on his extensive knowledge of the subway system in order to outsmart a dangerous criminal mastermind who’s hijacked a subway train in this remake of the 1974 thriller inspired by John Godey’s best-selling book. Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) was drifting through his daily routine when he received word…
The Hangover
Two days before his wedding, Doug and his three friends drive to Las Vegas for a blow-out bachelor party they’ll never forget. But, in fact, when the three groomsmen wake up the next morning, they can’t remember a thing. For some reason, they find a tiger in the bathroom and a six-month-old baby in the…
TOP DOGS
Man’s best friend doesn’t always equal school superintendent’s best friend, as we’ve discovered in the Kaleb Drew case in Villa Grove, a tiny town outside of Champaign [see “School bars autistic child and his service dog,” by Amanda Robert, July 23]. Last week a Douglas County circuit judge extended a temporary restraining order, first granted…
Street party
Get together with another 299,999 ready-for-fun people at this free family street festival recognized as one of the top 100 events in North America. Decatur blocks off 22 city blocks and this year celebrates the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln with cool events such as the National Lincoln look-alike contest, Midwest rail splitting competition, Chris…
My hope for downtown
For too many aspiring downtown revitalizers, the path to its resurrection and consequent vibrancy is to follow the mantra of car preservation as opposed to building preservation. The illusory necessity for users of downtown services to park their car at the restaurant’s dining table or their office desk or next to their apartment’s bed has,…
Clayborne would be a different sort of candidate for governor
While fellow Democrats Gov. Pat Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes were hurling insults about the state budget at each other several days ago, I picked up the phone and called Illinois Senate Majority Leader James Clayborne of Belleville. Were the rumors true? I asked. Was he really thinking about running for governor in the Democratic…
