Obsession a brilliant metaphor for addiction I’m going to assume Bear, the protagonist in Curry Barker’s brilliant horror film Obsession was absent the day The Monkey’s Paw was read in his language arts class. W.W. Jacobs’ seminal cautionary tale drives home again and again that if you happen to have a wish-granting talisman, you must […]
Arts & Culture
Posted inPoetry
Omission
I have visited the Bronte homesteadin Haworth England many times, withclasses and with my daughters andhave seen the portrait on the landingof the famous Bronte sisters whosurround a painted-out blob in themiddle of the circular frame. DidBranwell Bronte paint himself out?Or a sister? Or someone later? Iwonder how many family histories,not so well known have […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Hospital Sister Mission Outreach ships $1 million of supplies to Bolivia
Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach has shipped a container of medical supplies and equipment valued at $1 million to Bolivia. The 40-foot shipping container of requested supplies left the Mission Outreach warehouse, 4930 Laverna Road in Springfield, on May 5. This is the most expensive shipment since the medical supply and equipment recovery organization was founded […]
Posted inCommunity & Lifestyle
Don’t let the summer slide take hold – reading resources exist right here in our community
Every summer, something quietly happens to young readers. School lets out, routines shift and before long, the books get pushed aside. What follows is well-documented. Research consistently shows that students can lose up to two to three months of reading progress over the summer months – a phenomenon known as the “summer slide” or summer […]
Posted inCommunity & Lifestyle
Composing a life
The first Mother’s Day sermon I preached following the birth of our son Paul was a momentous occasion for me. I remember sharing that as a woman pastor I sometimes used the metaphor of “giving birth” for writing or composing a sermon. After the experience of labor, I wanted to set the record straight. There […]
Posted inThe Mosaic Project
Brian Galecki interview
Brian Galecki is the co-owner of Dumb Records. This episode begins with some rapid-fire hot takes, explores how Dumb Records began, and discuss why community matters more than ever.
Posted inIT Picks
Meet artist Niki Johnson as exhibit opens and participate in activities
This powerful mixed-media portrait series of first-time women voters created by artist Niki Johnson will be on display weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the library’s atrium from May 15 to May 29. And get this: At 10 a.m. May 15, Johnson will be at the library’s atrium for a combined artist talk […]
Posted inArts & Culture
An immaculate conception
Jesus Christ Superstar is the 1971 Andrew Lloyd Webber Biblical rock-musical that narrates the last seven days of Jesus’s life in a flashy, pop-filled 90-minute package. There is no intermission, so audiences make it back home for their bedtime prayers, hallelujah! A talent-studded odyssey of love, power and protest, Springfield Theatre Centre’s gender-bending production, co-directed […]
Posted inFilm
The Sheep Detectives is captivating, Hokum examines guilt
Deft touch, amazing effects makes for captivating Sheep Deftly executed and suffused with a wry sense of humor, Kyle Balda’s The Sheep Detectives is likely to entertain the adults in the audience more than the children it’s seemingly aimed at. Adapted from the novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann, the film threads a very […]
Posted inIT Picks
Fat Ass 5K & Street Party for Charity
FUNDAISERS & GALAS | Wacky annual downtown race returns It’s time for the Fat Ass 5K & Street Party once again! The event begins Friday night not with the run but with a free party at Seventh and Washington streets featuring music by Deja Voodoo (5 p.m.) and Lick Creek (8 p.m.). The 5K race, […]
Posted inCommunity & Lifestyle
Antiracism and reimagining community
We are long past the denial stage in the face of increasingly open attempts to reassert white racial dominance. In just the past week: Race and white supremacy were socially constructed in Europe to justify the permanent enslavement of people based solely on skin color. That system became the economic engine of this country and […]
Posted inCommunity & Lifestyle
The truth about a lie
I greet you in the morning as your thoughts begin to form. I nestle in your feelings – subtle – as if I am the norm. You may not sense my presence, as morn to night goes by – I have that subtle power – after all, I’m just a lie. I fill your mind […]
