In the early 90s documentary filmmaker Stephanie Black had been vacationing in Jamaica for several years, but every time she stepped off the plane she felt mired in a deepening quandary. She was an American, but the presence of Americans–and their dollars–seemed to be changing the very character of the country. With every return trip, […]
Arts & Culture
Posted inArts & Culture
Movie Reviews – Phone Booth, Basic, The Core and A Man Apart
Phone Booth Who would have guessed that Joel Schumacher–the director of bloated, empty movies such as Batman and Robin and the Anthony Hopkins-Chris Rock spy turkey Bad Company–would be capable of delivering a riveting film that depends on economic, narrative filmmaking. He does just that with the taut thriller Phone Booth, a tight 81-minute claustrophobic […]
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Quiet American irony
Long before it opened nationwide in the United States, The Quiet American premiered in Vietnam to great fanfare. I saw it in Saigon last December, when the Vietnamese government literally rolled out the red carpet for director Phillip Noyce, actor Brendan Fraser, and the press. The reason? As one of the Vietnamese representatives put it […]
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Bards of the Sangamo 4-10-03
“Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight” is Vachel Lindsay’s most famous poem. Written at the beginning of World War I, it portrays Lincoln walking the streets of Springfield sharing Lindsay’s concern at the coming of war. Here is a poem with a less elevated tone that celebrates a Springfield landmark only slightly less well known than […]
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Backstage Pass
Springfield Theatre Centre is presenting Tennessee Williams’ drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof this weekend, March 14 through 16, in a production directed by Ed Smith. If you’re wondering why STC seems determined to revive old Williams plays (it produced A Streetcar Named Desire in 2001), perhaps these 50-year-old war horses are back in […]
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A beautiful day in the neighborhood
Last Saturday was a good day. In the morning I shopped it up at a neighborhood yard sale. I came home with a chinchilla stole ($4) to wear on Halloween, a vintage handmade felt Christmas stocking decorated profusely with sequins ($2), a yellow twig dogwood shrub ($5), and a handful of trinkets. I even found […]
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Bards of the Sangamo
Snow Geese on Lake Springfield Thousands of wings in flight Hover, flutter, clutter Witness to an unprecedented sight Going north for summer —Linda S. Anderson Local poets were writing about contemporary events in the Sangamo Journal as early as the 1830s. People’s Poetry wants you to share your thoughts on what’s happening in Springfield todayÑin […]
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Still making the case for ethanol
For years ethanol has been touted as a homegrown solution to satisfy America’s unquenchable thirst for oil. It’s made from renewable sources–any substance with sufficient amounts of sugar, or material that can be converted into sugar, like the starch in corn. When burned, ethanol creates less pollution than gas. Every year nearly 2 billion gallons […]
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Backstage Pass
If you’re planning to take in Charlotte’s Web at the Springfield Theatre Centre over the next two weekends (May 9 to 11, and 16 to 18) you might consider going twice. Director Nancy Miller has cast the leading role of “Charlotte” with two of Springfield’s strongest young performers, Talor Lutz and Molly Mathewson. It might […]
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Bards of the Sangamo 5-8-03
Collected Stones And so it’s the end; it was all Or nothing and now It’s the end. Every good thing Dies, so it may live again and Now it’s the end of my Passionate friend—collected stones From the ancient river hold Secrets of time forgotten On their journey to the sea. Time to move—to stay […]
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Movie Reviews – X2: X-Men United, The Lizzie McGuire Movie
X2: X-Men United Director Bryan Singer delivers the first subtle superhero movie. Yes, there are great stunts and flexing muscles. Heroes slice and dice their foes, shoot fire and ice, transport across time and space, and perform many other tricks. But it’s obvious Singer and screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris are far less interested […]
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Bards of the Sangamo 3-20-03
Choices abound in American daily life As a matter of not only our legacy But as a sacrament of our freedom worship Ill winds are swirling in the country Because such worship liturgy Lacks sufficient humility There is wreckage in the country Strewn from the ill winds of hubris Surely our gods must often rue […]
