“What’s going to happen is going to happen. Just make sure it doesn’t happen to you.” – Max Detweiler in The Sound of Music. Two characters in The Sound of Music, Max and Elsa, choose to remain neutral for the sake of comfort and safety during the rise of Nazi Germany in 1938. Their attitudes […]
Arts & Culture
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Presentation to explore how nature influenced architect
Renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright once wrote, “I go to nature every day for inspiration in the day’s work.” It surely did influence his designs and motifs. Take, as one example, the sumac in the art glass windows at the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield. In this event, Dr. Rodney B. Dieser, a professor at University […]
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Explore your creative side with LLCC this summer
Last summer, I had the chance to visit Lincoln Land Community College’s first Media Makers Camp. As I arrived at our Medical District location in downtown Springfield, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew that participation was good, with all the seats having filled. I knew that the professor who was leading the camp […]
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Hurry Up Tomorrow a vanity project for The Weeknd, Summer of 69 a Risky Business redux, Swing Bout a gritty morality tale
Ego runs riot in Tomorrow The very definition of a vanity project, Trey Edward Shults’ Hurry Up Tomorrow is a pretentious, misguided-from-the-word-go dive into the psyche of its star Abel Tesfaye, A.K.A. The Weeknd. This extended therapy session is ego messaging of the highest order, a narcissistic, woe-is-me examination of the trials and tribulations that […]
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Nonnas a tribute to traditions, Clown in a Cornfield a witty slasher film, Fight or Flight gratuitously violent
Nonnas a tasty tribute to tradition You’d be well served to have a pot of spaghetti, a pan of lasagna or a tray of cannoli close at hand while watching Stephen Chbosky’s Nonnas, a tribute to Italian food, family and tradition. Likely, what you have won’t be nearly as tasty as what you see on […]
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Terrible Story
My cousin Hazel much older than me had a beau, he moved from town but wrote her love letters. My great aunt, her mother, intercepted his letters and destroyed them all. My own grandma told me this story when I was much older; I was appalled. Should I tell Hazel, forever unmarried? I decided it […]
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Annual madcap race raises money for charity
The place to be this weekend is downtown for Springfield’s popular, annual Fat Ass 5K & Street Party for Charity. This hilarious downtown spectacle, born in 2008, just keeps getting better, donating more than $2 million to area charities. The event begins Friday with the Craft Beer and Cigar Festival featuring food, drinks and music […]
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Heartland HOUSED expands community outreach efforts
We all benefit from support systems that help us navigate life’s challenges and difficulties. At times, that support may come from a family member, mentor or teacher who guides us and helps us grow. In other seasons, it might take the form of a loan, a public benefit or advice on how to handle a […]
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Missing indigenous women: An invitation to care
You might have anticipated that this month I’d be writing a eulogy for Pope Francis, who died April 20. True, I am sad at his passing – sometimes when my heart remembers he is gone I feel the void. But more than sad, I am grateful for the gift of his life and the witness […]
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Thunderbolts* a relatable Marvel Universe movie, Nicolas Cage captivates as The Surfer
Thunderbolts* strikes home Threats in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have come in all shapes and sizes but none have lacked in grandeur. There have been rogue gods, out of control robots, characters able to alter time and reality, mad sorcerers and eternal beings that wield unimaginable power. The threat in Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts* is seemingly much […]
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Love poem by my mother
Love poem by my mother My parents were married on May 3rd, 1924 Mother wrote this poem a few years later: “If I could give to you one only gift To hold forever, in remembrance of me, Twould be the peace that enters in the heart When love comes there to dwell, all silently. I’d […]
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APL Upscale Collectible Sale
This event is the Animal Protective League’s largest and longest-running fundraiser and offers a chance to find some upscale goods for a good price and also help animals in APL’s care at the same time. For sale will be donated items collected through April 26. The event includes a bake sale, silent auction and prizes […]
