The Cure for Blockbuster-itis
If you find yourself weary of all the go-to overhyped hits currently on local screens, cinematic alternatives are only as far away as a quick trip to Champaign. Through the coming weekend, the Art Theater Co-op (126 W. Church St. in Champaign) will be screening a variety of intriguing, non-standard fare, including documentaries about killer…
Life after football
In “Throwing in the towel,” I discussed recent proposals to reform big-money collegiate sports. Good sense reforms are unlikely to ever be adopted to the extent that are good sense reforms. So interwined are sports and the American college experience, most alums university leaders believe, that curtailing them in any way would cripple fund-raising and student recruitment,…
GOLF FOR GOOD
Anyone who has driven a motorcycle knows how dangerous it can be to take a corner too fast. That danger is compounded when you’re slowing down from 130 mph with a dozen other riders just feet away. Cornering is just one hazard of flat track motorcycle racing, and it’s not uncommon for riders to get…
WHO’S IN CHARGE?
Mayor Mike Houston’s administration is having trouble keeping stories straight lately, particularly when it comes to the police department. With the mayor AWOL last week, we asked who was in charge of the police department. “The deputy chiefs are managing their divisions as usual,” mayoral spokesman Nathan Mihelich wrote in an email. “Any out of…
Insurance regulator slams companies for ‘manipulation’ to charge more
Calling their scheme “manipulation,” Illinois’ head insurance regulator in April blasted a plan by health insurance companies to circumvent federal health insurance reforms and continue to charge discriminatory rates for an extra year. While the Illinois Department of Insurance says it won’t approve such plans, which it politely says are “contrary to law,” a statewide…
Why Rauner won’t get my vote
If you like Bruce Rauner, you won’t like this column. If you don’t like Bruce Rauner, you don’t need this column. But if you still haven’t heard of him, this piece is for you. Rauner is a rich guy from the North Shore. Or the Gold Coast in Chicago. Actually he owns expensive digs in…
Throwing in the towel
It’s mid-summer, but the thoughts of every red-blooded Illinoisan are already turned to autumn. The fields resound with the satisfying crunch of pads against pads, helmet against helmet, brain against skull as college football squads go through their two-a-days. College football, like basketball, is a tribal thing, and I’m not of that tribe. It isn’t…
Restrained Wolverine engaging and character-driven
After the misfire that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it could be argued that the last thing we need is yet another film featuring the most famous of the Marvel mutants. However, Hugh Jackman, who came to fame playing the Adamantium-laden hero, knew there was more life left in the character and was the driving force…
greenpoem #4
a friend tells of her sister whowhen very small recited acatechism with the line “god isthe supreme being who rulesheaven and earth”– for years shethought “supreme being” was a“string bean” entrusted with thisformidable job it seems to mewe could do worse a string beanis upright reliable you can counton a string bean it is humbleunpretentius…
Get out of jail clean
It is Friday, and drug court is back in session on the seventh floor of the Sangamon County courthouse. As on every Friday at 11 a.m., two dozen or so participants in the county’s fledgling drug court wait for the judge, discussing results of tests that determine whether they’ve been drinking or doping. Pass and…
Sweet corn sweets
It’s a natural for desserts, especially these days. Sweet corn used to be at its best when harvested young then cooked as quickly as possible. In my early years, my grandmother would put a pot of water on to boil as soon as my grandfather went to pick sweet corn for dinner, so that there…
The Giving Tree Band
When the talk starts about up-and-coming bands in the Americana music field, The Giving Tree Band gets a mention in a big way. Paste Magazine included them as one of the “13 Emerging Bands for 2013” and they’ve charted well on radio, gotten rave reviews in major papers and generally make news wherever they play.…
News Quirks 8/1/13
Curses, foiled again• Police charged four people with theft after they used a stolen credit card to buy tickets at a movie theater in Crofton, Md. Anne Arundel County police identified the three teenagers and a 20-year-old as suspects after they posed for pictures in the theater’s souvenir-photo booth. After police posted the photos, community…
Too mush too soon
I’ve been dating an amazing guy for a month. Our first amazing date turned into an amazing night, which turned into an amazing month. We completely adore each other. Every time we hang out feels like the greatest day with a best friend. The problem is, I work and go to college full time, and I really wasn’t…
Davis could face Latino heat
The national debate on immigration reform could determine the results of the 2014 U.S. House elections, according to two national Latino groups. One of Springfield’s representatives in Washington, D.C., could be among the lawmakers affected.A poll and election analysis released jointly last week by polling firm Latino Decisions and advocacy group America’s Voice shows 24…
Blessed are the rich
One thing I’ve come to value in the last couple of years is the altruism and keen economic insights of the fourth-richest man in America: Charles Koch. Even though Koch was raised rich and has now amassed a personal fortune of about $34 billion, he recently gave us a deeper sense of his true worth,…
Letters to the Editor 8/1/13
GET THE PICTUREAlthough I found your article to be “enlightening” (“Building bigger, better hospitals,” Patrick Yeagle, July 18), I am compelled to propose a counterpoint. While you have had discussions with hospital staff about the current reconstruction of the hospitals, I would like to point out what some Springfield people fear most from the coming…
The check’s in the mail, veto out of mind – not!
House Speaker Michael Madigan has always strongly guarded the powers of the General Assembly as a coequal branch of government, so it was a little surprising when he appeared to support Gov. Pat Quinn’s line-item veto of legislative salaries back in mid July. The governor vetoed the salaries in retaliation for the GA’s failure to…
The Way Way Back familiar but fun
I have a feeling that if you were to press Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, the writers and directors of The Way Way Back, they’d freely admit that there’s nothing remotely original in their film. Yet another coming-of-age movie that hits all the familiar tropes, it focuses on an alienated teen who ultimately finds his…
Make ’n’ models
Can you say cars! The Aug. 3 Powerlight Abe Lincoln Car Show Spectacular deserves that “spectacular” at the end of its title – the number and diversity of vehicles at this show is amazing. Metal includes the Brandt consolidated Justin Allgaier #31 Nationwide series show car; Hoosier tire drag racing car; Sangamon County sheriff land…
Mixed intentions mute Fruitvale’s power
Fueled by a sense of anger and with the resolve to activate, Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station is an accomplished debut feature that, despite its good intentions, left this viewer with an uneasy feeling. Depicting the last day in the life of Oscar Grant, a young African-American who was senselessly killed by a transit officer in…
Magical musical
The Muni will present the classic tale of Peter Pan Aug. 2-4 and 7-11 complete with amazing special effects in its outdoor theater. Anna Bussing tackles the role of Peter Pan, the boy who refuses to grow up. Along with his fairy sidekick, they fly away with youngsters Wendy, John and Michael (Lindsey Leach, Jakob Hankins…
Coogler and Jordan honor memory of Oscar Grant in Fruitvale Station
When he heard the news of the tragic death of Oscar Grant, aspiring filmmaker Ryan Coogler knew he had to act but was unsure how to go about it. “I’m from the Bay Area and things like that just don’t happen there. He was a young man, he was one of us and I couldn’t…
Downhome, BassBerg and UgStock
After sweltering and suffering through one of the hottest summers ever recorded a mere year ago, the lovely mountain-like weather of this past week seems like a dream world. And just right for a downtown music festival, wouldn’t you agree? On track for year number three to be the biggest and the best ever, the…
Good vibrations
One of the largest family street festivals in Illinois takes place this weekend, Aug. 2-4, in Decatur. The marvelously fun Decatur Celebration has block after block to offer with free live music (10 show stages!), art, kids’ activities, carnival rides, a film fest, karaoke contest, competitions, arts and crafts (three blocks), wine garden, parade (Aug.…
Between the Cracks: Nephrons tonight at Black Sheep
Once again, Faingold at Large proudly presents “Between the Cracks” – the recurring feature designed to shine a light onto Springfield-area bands, and all in their own words, to boot. Join us, won’t you? There’s gold between them thar cracks! Today’s BTC spotlight shines on regular-guy punk band Nephrons whose unassuming surface belies a ferocious live show.…
Podcasts are coming to git ya …
If you’re like me, you’re so busy that joining a book club is a thought you keep kicking out of your thoughts each time it’s thrown back at ya. Whack! (Though joining a book club is something you desperately want to do. But heck, there’s this little thing called writing you want to do more…
