Next time you’re out of town . . . .
As I noted in my previous post – yes, this is a blog, not a column, in spite of what our menu says – I considered the demise of the American diner in my column to be published on September 10. Springfield might have lost most of its diners and coffee shops, but they are…
The diner’s demise
This week I take up the subject of the demise of the American diner. There are lots of reasons why this is happening, which I didn’t have space to examine in my column. In the big cities the problem is rents. from big-city rents — Chicago’s fondly remembered Cambridge Inn at Ohio and St. Clair…
“Mr. Robot” a thought-provoking, harrowing ride
Rami Malek is Elliot Anderson in “Mr. Robot.” Photo courtesy USA Network Who hasn’t dreamed of exacting revenge against an evil so obtrusive and dominating that it seems untouchable? That’s the driving force behind “Mr. Robot,” a new show that premiered on USA Network in May. The season finale is scheduled for tonight, after…
Colorful dots in the sky
There’s something for everyone at the Lincoln Balloon Festival. Float up, up and away in a hot air balloon, slide down an inflatable waterslide, scamper up a rock wall or simply take in the action from the ground. Balloons launch at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and return for evening glows at dusk.…
REEL BIG FISHES
Jacob Branham (left) and John Bowling Jr. (right) There are monsters in Lake Springfield. Just ask John Bowling Jr. of Springfield and Jacob Branham of Chatham. On April 22, they pulled a 21.3-pound catfish out of the lake to win the 6th Annual John Montgomery Memorial Catfish Tournament held by the Downtown Rotary Club of…
Skaters roll into Springfield for roller derby extravaganza
On Aug. 29 and 30 the Prairie Capital Convention Center hosts Springfield’s first-ever roller derby convention, The Great Midwest Mashup. Hosted by G.H. None Productions, the two-day convention is open to the public and offers an exciting glimpse into the fast-paced world of flat-track roller derby. The convention provides skaters from many different teams the…
Compton showcases NWA’s vibrant, angry voice
Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr., Aldis Hodge, O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Corey Hawkins in Straight Outta Compton. PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES If F. Gary Gray’s Straight Outta Compton does anything right – and, for the record, it only errs in soft-peddling the private lives of its dynamic characters – it’s that it accurately depicts the…
Savory pancakes
Savory sweet corn pancake. PHOTO BY PETER GLATZ Savory: (sā’væ-rē)(In the world of cuisine) food belonging to the category that is salty and spicy rather than sweet. [i.e. not sweet] From the Oxford English Dictionary Both of these recipes can be a delicious main course or a part of a larger meal. The sweet corn…
Clayville music and more
Michael “Supe” Granda of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils performs a solo show during the Clayville Folk Music Festival, Sat., Aug. 29 at Clayville Historic Site near Pleasant Plains. Now that the 2015 Illinois State Fair is in the books we travel on to other exciting events around the town. Look out world, here we come!…
GirlBilly
GirlBilly When two attractive, talented, ambitious and nice girls meet up in Nashville by coincidence and hit it off immediately, what should they do? Start a duo and take the entertainment world by storm, of course! Tori Allen from Round Rock, Texas, and Megan Gertken from St. Cloud, Minn., are both accomplished fiddlers, singers and…
Aggressive behavior
Karen Otterson (left) and Don Norton (right) hold signs used by panhandlers at a July 2 Springfield City Council meeting. The pair successfully sued the city in a federal class action lawsuit over the citys anti-panhandling ordinance. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Nobody likes being bullied. Nobody likes being called names. Nobody likes being asked for…
It’s time to free students from debt
Butch Hancock, one of Austin’s finest singer-songwriters, grew up in the Texas Panhandle, out among dry-land farmers and strict fundamentalist Christians. Butch once told me that he felt he’d been permanently scarred in his vulnerable teen years by the local culture’s puritanical preaching on sexual propriety: “They told us that sex is filthy, obscene, wicked,…
A window of opportunity
I think on Aug. 19 a new and brief window of opportunity opened which could finally help wrap up this long and drawn out state legislative overtime session. But that window will only be open for 15 calendar days – the time the state Constitution gives each legislative chamber to vote on a veto override.…
Letters to the Editor 8/27/15
AN EASIER EXISTENCETax incentives to the ultra wealthy Chicago Board of Trade so they won’t leave? (“Cap City,” Aug. 20) Where will they go with a name like that? Toledo? The museum slowly and quietly being shut down after major grass roots condemnation of this action as ridiculous and unacceptable? Of course it is. One…
Editor’s note 8/27/15
Readers, be sure to take a listen to WUIS radio’s Dusty Rhodes’ reporting series “Black and White” on the racially uneven discipline practices in District 186 Springfield Public Schools. The series, which has been airing all this week, is archived at wuis.org. Rhodes, the education desk reporter, has analyzed mountains of data and interviewed experts…
Women’s equality 95 years later
On Aug. 26, 1920, the amendment guaranteeing the right to vote for women officially became part of the U.S. Constitution. The anniversary of this historic achievement deserves recognition, celebration, and a huge “thank you” to those brave women who faced beatings, starvation, torture and false imprisonment so that women today might have the privilege of…
A macabre musical
The Addams Family The kookiest, spookiest family around takes residency at the Hoogland Center for the Arts Aug. 28-30 and Sept. 4-6. The Addams Family, written by Jersey Boys authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, features an original story based on the 1964 television series and the 1991 movie, both of which were spawned by…
The art of the ISM
Spectrum Exhibition According to Illinois State Museum Director of Art and History Jim Zimmer, the Spectrum exhibition provides a “satisfying glimpse into a unique, Illinois-focused collection to which artists and patrons have donated and entrusted their prized objects for 87 years.” The exhibition showcases art and artifacts spanning variety of mediums and subject matters and…
2015 fall calendar
August Let the Words Fall OutAug 24-Sep 27, 11am-6pm Mon-Thu. Interactive installation by Brytton Bjorngaard, UIS assistant professor of digital media and Springfield graphic designer and artist. On display through Sep 17. uis.edu/visualarts/gallery. UIS Visual Arts Gallery, HSB 201, One University Plaza, 206-6506. Route 66 Barbershop QuartetAug 27, 12-1pm Thu. Part of the Springfield…
Get ready for a power play in central Iowa
A working windmill and farm buildings from the 1900s greet visitors to the Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines. PHOTOS BY BRENT BOHLEN If you are into power trips, you won’t find a better place than central Iowa. While presidential candidates lust for political power as they stomp across the…
Time travel to historic Nauvoo
The exterior of the Nauvoo Temple is a replica of the original temple that was burned and destroyed. Nearby is a sculpture depicting Joseph and Hyrum Smith’s last ride to Carthage. PHOTOS BY JOHN CAMPER A covered wagon pulled by a yoke of oxen appeared on the path in front of us. Nearby several young…
The stages of fall
ELF The Musical comes to Sangamon Auditorium Nov. 6-7. PHOTO COURTESY SANGAMON AUDITORIUM In an era where we are increasingly isolated by our technology, the ancient tradition of watching live theater still can unite hundreds of people in a shared visceral experience. And fall in Illinois is a great time to throw down a few…
Fall rocks
Sangamon Auditorium is the place to be this fall for those who like to jam. And for those who like to sit quietly too. On Sept. 19, Springfield audiences will be privy to the journey of up and coming opera singers in The Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars. The artists will perform classical arias, duets and…
Stamping out the old
Flooding, not bricks, was the biggest issue on State Street. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOE MCMENAMIN Folks love brick streets in Springfield. “There’s a keen interest in preserving the brick streets in the neighborhoods,” says Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin. “The brick work is so highly unique and rare that there’s an interest in preserving the…
Deputies cleared
A federal magistrate judge has sided with the Sangamon County sheriff’s office in a lawsuit filed by the brother of a man who died after an altercation with deputies who deployed Tasers more than 20 times. In his ruling last month, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Schanzle-Haskins rejected claims that deputies used excessive force on Patrick…
New rail ombudsman to oversee land acquisition
The Carpenter Street underpass is the first piece of the rail consolidation project, with construction on two additional underpasses slated to begin in summer 2016. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Landowners along the 10th Street rail corridor have a new ally when it comes to sacrificing their property for the rail relocation project. Eve Blackwell-Lewis of…
Rauner wants to cut home services for 34,000
Gov. Bruce Rauner PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE A proposal to save the state money on independent living services could mean dire consequences for as many as 34,000 people. Gov. Bruce Rauner wants to decrease the number of people in Illinois who receive in-home care, a move disability advocates say could put people on the street.…
vermont poem 2015 #3
now that we have a composting toilet atthe lake we’ve put its handsome bluetraditional predecessor with walnut seatand closed cover at the end of the picnictable the hole at the very back where theplumbing came in is just the size for yourown drinking cup the adjacent bolt holescan hold straws or maybe those little flagsfrom…
You luddite up my life
My boyfriend will text if he’s running late but says texting “isn’t real communication.” He says that if I need to talk, I should call him. I get that anything serious should be discussed via phone. However, we live separately, and sometimes I just want to reach out in a small way with a funny…
Cheech, Chong and Rauner
CARTOON BY CHRIS BRITT
