Support your local musician
Untitled Document Our society enjoys the arts but often fails to support its artists. I don’t mean to dismiss lovers and backers of the arts — bless you, each and every one — it’s just that we forget that most artists and entertainers do what they do for very little monetary reward. They don’t enjoy…
The brain of Bird
Untitled Document Was there ever a man more aptly named than Andrew Bird? Fine-boned and gracile, with a long, elegant nose and alert dark eyes, he has a distinctly avian beauty. Despite his fragile appearance, he’s a tireless performer, migrating from tour stop to tour stop with the freakish vigor of his feathered brethren. He’s…
Lamb chop
Untitled Document Fracture Running time 1:51 Rated PG-13 Parkway Pointe There’s nothing wrong with jerking viewers in one direction, then another — it’s what good mysteries do — but Gregory Hoblit’s Fracture takes audiences to the breaking point of patience. The film moves at a glacial pace; worse still, it shamelessly apes The Silence of…
Tell FDA what you think
Untitled Document Would you like your eggs poached, fried, boiled, or irradiated? If the Bush administration gets its way, producers of some eggs, fruits, veggies, and spices will be allowed to zap their products with high doses of ionizing radiation — without bothering to tell us about it. The Food and Drug Administration has proposed…
People’s poetry
Untitled Document earthdaypoem #1 we’re messing up the food chain, la-de-dahwe’re messing up the food chain, la-de-dahof course we never stop to thinkthat if the food chain pops a linkwe’ll all of us be in the drink oh la-de-dah-de-dah we’re messing up the food chain, la-de-dahwe’re messing up the food chain, la-de-dahthe fish we…
Promise or peril?
Untitled Document When Matt Hawkinson started growing corn in the rich farmland of western Illinois, nearly a decade ago, he sold the grain for $2 a bushel, 50 cents less than it cost him to produce it. Recently, buyers have been paying him $4.35 a bushel. It’s a welcome profit — even if it increases…
A better glass of milk
Untitled Document Whatever you may think of Jim Oberweis’ politics, one thing is for sure: In any taste contest against ordinary store-bought milk, Oberweis Dairy milk wins in a landslide. In 1915 Peter Oberweis began selling extra milk from his farm’s cows in Aurora. By 1927 he was in the dairy business full-time. Back then,…
For the birds
Untitled Document Wind power turbines, some people say, pose a threat to birds, including migrating flocks. If this is true, what is being done about this? It is ironic that nonpolluting, renewable wind energy, long touted as a potential savior in the fight to stop global warming, is getting a bad rap for killing wildlife.…
Gluten-free pizza for all!
Untitled Document Imagine waking up one day to learn that your small intestine can’t take it anymore; that wheat, barley, and rye are the enemy; and that you’ve got to go cold turkey on the stuff if you want to stay alive. Specifically, it’s the gluten causing the gastrointestinal uproar, the very same protein network…
Party animal
Untitled Document Irv Smith wanted to be a Democrat. It was 1956, and Smith, then a young schoolteacher, was considering a run for precinct committeeman. He had grown up across the street from Norman Schultz, an Air Force pilot who had returned from World War II with two rows of ribbons Smith can still list…
Some annuals still at risk
Untitled Document Seesawing temperatures fool plants and gardeners and remind us that March and April weather is unpredictable. As temperatures get warmer, many gardeners want to start planting, but they need to understand their plants’ ability to withstand the cold. The average date of the last frost in central Illinois (Zone 5B) is April 15.…
The good Earth
Untitled Document Winona LaDuke, an American Indian activist and former Green Party vice presidential nominee, attended Harvard, drives a luxury automobile, runs a business, and was recently involved in a major land-acquisition deal. But it’s not what you think. LaDuke, who spoke this week at the University of Illinois at Springfield, is the…
Grindhouse classics
Untitled Document Quentin Tarantino continues his role as the cinema’s greatest cheerleader of B-movies. His latest foray into cheese is a celebration of grindhouse movies — or, as they are better known, exploitation cinema. The relaxing of restrictions in the 1960s allowed filmmakers to up the quotient of sex and violence, elements necessary in all…
Money talks
Untitled Document Although experts contend that no single governor or General Assembly is to blame for Illinois’ ongoing fiscal crisis, it wasn’t until Gov. Rod Blagojevich laid out his plan this year for a gross-receipts tax that the problem came into sharp focus. The controversy — and PR battle — continued this week. On Wednesday,…
Letters to the Editor
Untitled Document We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com. SPEAKUPFORHEALTHCARE A group, the Health Care Justice Campaign, is working to create a quality health-care system for the state of Illinois.…
Mayor, get greener
Untitled Document Mayor Tim Davlin has sailed into his second term without distinguishing himself on any single issue. The mayor campaigned as a hardworking administrator with a nice big Springfield-rooted family who cleans up well after tornadoes, and that, coupled with Davlin’s good looks and winning smile, was enough to win him re-election. It is…
“Right” on
Untitled Document Republican predictions that their party would take control of the officially nonpartisan Springfield City Council came to fruition in Tuesday’s municipal election. Sangamon County Republican Party chairman Tony Libri predicted the outcome based on pre-election polling that showed Republican candidates leading in several contested wards [R.L. Nave, “Elephants in the room?” April 12].…
Baby steps
Untitled Document Measured by the number of agencies involved, the effort scheduled for Saturday, April 21, to beautify one neighborhood on Springfield’s east side is massive. The cleanup, involving an area bounded by South Grand, South Pope, and McCreery avenues and East Laurel Street, is a collaborative effort by several city agencies and local organizations,…
Legal eagles
Untitled Document Springfield taxpayers will pay for top-flight private attorneys to defend three former police officers — two who were fired and one who has multiple lawsuits pending against the city — in a federal civil-rights lawsuit, if the next City Council approves. Several of the attorneys have already entered their appearances with the court…
Stepping up
Untitled Document Maybe you remember Michael Newman. For a few months, in the summer of 2005, he made news as the guy who wanted to be a Springfield firefighter but was disqualified by something hinkey in his background check. What set him apart from the scores of other would-be hosers who fell into that same…
Avoid catastrophe
Untitled Document What kinds of cat litters are kinder to the environment: traditional clay litters (so-called clumping litters) or other varieties? What about some of the new alternatives, such as those made out of wheat and corn? Traditional clay-based clumping cat litters are the most common and widely sold in supermarkets and pet supply stores.…
The new environmentalists
Untitled Document Springfield activist Will Reynolds was part of a Sierra Club team that negotiated cleaner air from the city utility’s new coal-fired power plant, but his environmental concerns don’t involve birds and fish, nor is he well versed in the causes and effects of global warming. Instead, Reynolds is fighting for his health. Suffering…
Letters to the Editor
Untitled Document We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com. GOVERNOR HAS THE RIGHT IDEA Yes, the governor has it right: Those big businesses he is talking about are most likely…
Elephants in the room?
Untitled Document Local Republicans are optimistic about their party’s chances in Tuesday city’s election, hoping to even wrest a majority on the officially nonpartisan Springfield City Council. GOP-backed candidates could garner four to six seats of the 10 seats in next week’s municipal election, and even score “a couple of upsets,” predicts Tony Libri, chairman…
DIY English muffins
Untitled Document I will go out on a limb and assume that those who bother to read this here column understand and acknowledge the following statement: In the world of doughs and batters, homemade is a route less traveled but infinitely more satisfying. I apologize if I’m preaching to the choir, but I bet some…
Inescapable TV ads
Untitled Document I yearn for the good ol’ days when a TV was a device under my control. It sat quietly in my home, doing nothing until I beckoned it to perform. And if it blared an annoying ad at me, I had the power of the remote to switch channels or hit the mute…
A “there” there
Untitled Document I was probably more surprised than anyone when I was invited to tag along on Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s road trip last week. The governor toured the state to push his universal health insurance plan and his gross-receipts tax on business. I was on the bus with him for three days, and we talked…
The surprising Will Ferrell
Untitled Document Comedy depends on the unexpected, and perhaps no one illustrates this better than Will Ferrell. After ignoring his work on Saturday Night Live and barely noticing his switch to film, I was surprised by the number of movies he stole in minor roles. Ferrell can easily match the buffoonery of Jim Carrey and Adam…
A sandwich by any other name
Untitled Document What’s a nice guy from Venezuela doing in Springfield? Well, among other things, he’s making arepas. Félix Cabrera moved to Springfield from Venezuela five years ago with his wife, Ana, and two sons, Santiago and Bernardo. Cabrera came here in conjunction with his family’s business, a commodity-brokerage firm. They also have offices in…
Seven days to live
Untitled Document Here are my suggestions for a weeklong binge of live music. Start at 6 p.m. tonight, Thursday, with a visit to the lovely Inn at 835, on South Second Street, and listen to the delightful sounds of the Angel Brown Band. At 9 p.m., head to the Underground City Tavern for a show…
Shake your badonkadonk
Untitled Document Afrobeat, the percolating, polyrhythmic, politically minded big-band dance music most closely associated with the late Nigerian maestro Fela Anikulapo Kuti, has always been a fusion form. Rooted in traditional Yoruba music, it incorporated a host of styles from the African diaspora, including American jazz, soul, and funk. Think of it as the silver…
The last word on ethics
Untitled Document The Tillerman is gone, but more on that subject later. I write stories. Some are published. One reward of publication is meeting new people. Strange people. E-mail people. They tell me information I’d otherwise not know. For example, after I wrote that God would come to Earth in June and declare ballroom dancing…
Rear Window with gadgets
Untitled Document Disturbia Running time 1:44 Rated PG-13 ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East Kale Brecht (Shia LaBeouf) has a bit of a problem. Under house arrest and electronically tethered to his yard, he’s taken to wiling away his 90 days of court-ordered purgatory by spying on the neighbors. Fortunately for Kale, the view isn’t bad as…
People’s Poetry
Untitled Document jabberwockpoem #1 karl rove karl rovetell me folks what rhymes with rovelove don’t rhyme dove don’t rhymeshove don’t rhyme but it might doloathe is close but it’s askewlibby’s easy rhymes with fibbyscooter well there’s always looterstole the name of agent plame(bore the shame bore the blame)but karl rove karl roveperchance he be…
