Poem and painting
AS HIGH AS THE GROUND IS LOW She loved a man who had never climbed trees, never been pulled by longing up lanky limbs of aged oaks, nor crowned the neighborhood, nor as wind waved maple hands, nor as sun watched all things pass below unaware. She loved a man who feared tall spires, monuments,…
Bankrupt GateHouse still bullish
Last week’s announcement that GateHouse Media, parent company of the State Journal-Register, will declare bankruptcy sounded a bit like déjà vu all over again. GateHouse put the best face it could on a festering financial disaster of epic proportion, entirely avoiding the word “bankruptcy” in an SJ-R story that carried a GateHouse Media byline. The…
Riddick: A bit of B-movie heaven
While some may say that Will Smith and Tom Cruise are the biggest movie stars in the world, I’d make a case that Vin Diesel is right on their heels. As proof, I submit his latest action epic Riddick, a sequel that only a star with major clout could get made. After all, the previous…
Risky business
When Mac Warren submitted Rent to the Muni’s play reading committee, he knew the edgy show would be a tough sell. The Tony and Pulitzer winning musical, based loosely on La Boheme, depicts New York artists struggling with HIV/AIDS, addictions and death. Although school editions and other versions omit some offensive language and the sexually…
ARMENIA CONNECTION
Illinois Times helped to sponsor a week-long workshop for 14 early-career reporters in Armenia, an emerging democracy and former Soviet state that is nestled between Turkey, Iran, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The intensive workshop, held last week, aims to develop political and economic reporting skills and contains ethics components focusing on fairness and accuracy. Armenia’s independent…
DELUXE DOCS
As if we need another reason to be proud of Springfield, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield was just ranked 13th out of 161 medical schools in the U.S. for training primary care doctors. That’s especially important given the shortage of primary care doctors nationwide, especially in rural areas. (The American Association of…
Fighting DCFS on how it takes children
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services still uses a rule that was struck down by the state’s highest court to take children, according to a lawsuit filed last week. Filed in Cook County Circuit Court, the class action lawsuit aims to stop DCFS from using the invalidated rule to “indicate” parents for neglect…
Mike Bell of Edinburg wants Scherer’s House seat
Mike Bell of Edinburg has a lot on his plate. He’s on the boards of both the Edinburg and Christian County economic development groups, co-chairman of a highway expansion project on Illinois Route 29, and vice president of the Edinburg school board, among many other roles. Now, Bell wants to fulfill a dream that began…
Where Labor Day came from, and where it’s going
Webster’s dictionary tells us that Labor Day was “set aside for special recognition of working people.” That’s nice, but “set aside” by whom? It certainly wasn’t the Wall Street corporate and political powers that be. They nearly swallowed their cigars when the idea of honoring labor’s importance to America’s economy and social well-being was first…
Back on the payroll
What do you get if you are accused of bullying an underling so badly that he sues and your employer pays a $300,000 settlement? If you are Sylvia Riperton-Lewis and your employer is the state of Illinois, you get rehired after a stint in the private sector. Riperton-Lewis’ conduct more than a decade ago was…
Crushed
Angela McGonigle tried to do everything right. Born and raised in Springfield, she had saved $5,000 to attend Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville but used the money to study abroad instead. Despite the slight indulgence, she still had a plan. McGonigle worked as a resident assistant to pay for her housing. Starting in 1994, she…
hearing poem #1
I have a friend with tinnitus hehas sound in his head all the timesometimes it’s a buzzing he sayssometimes a hissing but it’s constantalways there sometimes he tells meI stand out on the back step in theearly morning feel the breeze seethe leaves moving and I wonderwhat does silence sound like
Picture perfect
Art Spectacular at the Carillon takes place this weekend, Sept. 14-15, on the grounds around the carillon. The two day, juried art show features 50 regional artists, a number of participants that co-chair Barbara Walker calls a “full house.” (Walker’s co-chair is Sheila Albright.) Other highlights include carillon music for 10 minutes at the top of…
Why Democrats will rule Illinois for the next 40 years
James Carville’s book, 40 More Years: How the Democrats will Rule the Next Generation, was probably written with Illinois in mind. After Gov. Dan Walker left office in 1977 Republicans would dominate Illinois politics for the next 26 years. It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that Democrats started to make a comeback in Illinois, taking control…
Fascinating physics
Dynamic Patterns Theatre is presenting QED: A Play, written by Peter Parnell, over three weekends in three communities, with the opening on Sept. 13 at Hoogland Center for the Arts. The show, which played on Broadway, covers a day in the life of Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman (Al Scheider of Decatur) who played a role…
Obsolete, expensive, at risk
Mark Cooper says he’s not a soothsayer, but his dire predictions about the future of nuclear energy haven’t proven inaccurate. For years, the senior research fellow at the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School has warned that nuclear energy doesn’t pencil out. In 2010, for example, he called nuclear energy a…
Amazed all over town
I can’t help but be amazed at the incredible variety and substance of shows this week in a host of various venues. Along with the entertainment values acknowledged, many of the upcoming events contain a good deal of educational and even, spiritual, overtones and underpinnings. The Celtic influence reigns supreme this weekend with the World…
Letters to the Editor 9/12/13
REMEMBER THE ALAMO I have written letters to the editor on a variety of issues but have never written one appreciating food served by a local eatery. I am doing it the first time here. I just could not resist. Being a good cook myself, I always appreciate good, tasty food and always try to make…
It ain’t over till it’s over
It happens every year. Every vendor at every farmers market will tell you the same thing: business drops off after Labor Day. Maybe it’s because parents are preoccupied with getting their kids back in school. Maybe it’s because even adults who don’t have school-aged children participate in organizations and activities that start their year’s calendar…
Buy meets girl
My previous relationship was passionate but was with an emotionally abusive man. I’ve been dating a new man for five months. I wasn’t initially attracted to him, but he ended up sweeping me off my feet because he’s the most generous man I’ve ever met. He’s all about me. He goes out of his way…
Last Chance
A local private space since 1991, the Last Chance Bar and Lab hosted several outstanding musicians and concerts through the years, while also being a band practice place. The Last Chance Blues Band, a popular, area blues combo and another group, Touch of Grey, originated from the celebrated club/rehearsal spot to play on the town.…
Must-go for gusto
St. Andrew Society of Central Illinois puts on the best parties. You are invited to its first ever World Tour Celtic Festival, Sat., Sept. 14, from noon until midnight held downtown outside Celtic Mist, the festival sponsor. Almost every area Celtic band and musician will play throughout the day including Celtic Cross Pipe and Drum Band,…
The people’s art museum
Soon, the West Wing of the Illinois Capitol will emerge after two years inside a cocoon of plywood and tarps. The structure was closed off, paradoxically, to make that part of the building both newer – by upgrading the building’s mechanical systems and making access and safety improvements – and older, by restoring it to…
Opening new doors
Springfield’s newest contemporary and experimental art gallery, DEMO Project, debuts with an exhibit by Chicago sculptor Betsy Odom. The opening reception is Friday, Sept. 13. Odom’s exhibit, Bulldog, consists of three-dimensional objects made from leather, fabric, paint, wood and silver using a vast array of techniques such as tooling, sewing, airbrushing, woodworking and metalworking. The…
News Quirks 9/12/13
Curses, foiled again• Instead of pulling over when a police officer caught him running a stop sign in Palm Beach County, Fla., Alexander Webster, 29, led the officer on a high-speed chase. He lost control and crashed into a hedgerow, then fled on foot until the officer drew his pistol and ordered him to stop.…
The Baffler
The University of Illinois tells us that enrollment for the fall term at its Urbana campus is nearly 43,400 students, the most in the school’s history, thanks in part to the second-largest number ever of incoming freshmen. That’s progress for the university. Whether it will mean progress for all those freshmen is another question, writes…
DEMO Project Gallery hosts contemporary sculpture opening Friday
There certainly seems to be noDEMO Project, a new artist-run gallery emphasizing current and experimental trends in art, will debut with Betsy Odom: Bulldog, an exhibition of contemporary sculpture. An opening reception for the exhibit will take place on Friday, September 13, from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Betsy Odom is a Chicago-based sculptor. She earned…
