The Informers is muddled; 17 Again is nothing new
Gertrude Stein once said of Oakland, Calif., “There’s no there there.” I had a similar feeling about Gregor Jordan’s The Informers, a multi-stranded, muddled narrative that takes place during the ’80s in Los Angeles. This modern-day Gomorrah, as realized in the Bret Easton Ellis novel the film is based on, is one where drug use…
Native prairie grasses make for a carefree garden
Native grasses can be welcome additions in the landscape, adding beauty, movement and sound. Let’s define “native” plant. The only truly native plants are ones that still grow where they originated. Most literature refers to native plants in the United States as plants that existed in an area prior to the arrival of European settlers.…
How to lure insect beauties to your butterfly garden
Butterflies add surprise, beauty, color and motion to a garden. Why not invite them to your backyard? Butterflies are nature’s decoration. Planting a butterfly garden is a great way for children to learn about the life cycle of butterflies and learn to share an interest in nature. Luring and maintaining butterflies requires full-sun gardens with…
Virginia Woolf still sounds new after all these years
Okay, so for those of you who are looking for a night of fun and games, big acting and an American theater classic at the same time, get your tickets to spend an evening with George and Martha. This weekend is the first production of Edward Albee’sWho’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to be seen in…
Shimkus faces tough choice on carbon
U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, stopped in Springfield last week, and as expected, carbon was his hot topic. Shimkus, a 12-year member of the House energy and commerce committee, told the Citizens Club of Springfield that while he opposes both cap-and-trade legislation and a carbon tax, he favors the latter over the former. A cap-and-trade…
Roland Burris returns to his roots
After about an hour of drinking, making small talk about local political races, and prognosticating on the outcome of the following day’s election, the crowd in the banquet room of the Centralia House Restaurant abruptly bursts into applause when tonight’s guest of honor, Roland Burris, arrives just past 6 o’clock. Burris, sporting a dark blue…
Plant a rain garden
A lot of rain falls on impervious surfaces that can’t soak up water. Instead of allowing all of this water to uselessly drain away, home gardeners can create an aesthetically pleasing area that will allow the water to drain back into the ground, away from the house. This is the idea behind a rain garden.…
2009 spring garden events
Ongoing: Join Project BudBurst Apr 13-Sep 30, Register to become a Citizen Scientist from Project BudBurst. Collect important climate change data on the timing of leafing and flowering in your area, targeting native tree and flower species. For info, visit www.windows.ucar.edu/citizen_science/budburst. The Great Sunflower Project Apr 13-May 31, Watch and record bees at sunflowers in…
People’s Poetry
newspaperspoem #3 now that illinois times has gone to staples which nobody likes it’s lost its easy usefulness as birdcage bottomer I don’t have a bird but I hear complaints however those with serious birdcages or big litters of puppies might consider subscribing to the macoupin county-carlinville enquirer-democrat (the best of two great newspapers) it’s…
The long road
Ask Deidre Lockhart how tall she is, and she will tell you she’s just under 5-foot-10. You don’t even have to verbalize the follow-up question. With a tone that says “I get this all the time,” Lockhart will answer your look of disbelief: “I know — I’m not as tall as I appear,” she says.…
Obama sees green
Illinois environmental advocates say that as President Barack Obama goes green, so will the state’s bank account. In a report released last week, Environment Illinois, a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization, announced that new initiatives in Obama’s proposed fiscal year 2010 budget could inject at least $29 billion into the state over the next 10 years.…
There’s garden help waiting on the Web
Growing interest in home vegetable gardens from the White House to the house next door is likely to send many folks digging in the ground this spring. Chances are that when they do, sooner or later questions will come up. “University of Illinois Extension has four excellent Web sites that can help vegetable gardeners get…
April shows into May flows
I hope you’re keeping up with the long list of festivals, concerts, gigs, dates, shindigs, and whatever else you care to call them, happening all around us. I’m not sure what dam burst upstream in Event River, but the shows are a-flowing in April and rushing headlong into May and I, for one, have not…
Channel 8 goes blank for some WSEC viewers
As of April 22, basic and standard Comcast cable subscribers found nothing but a blank screen on channel 8 — the former analog home of WSEC/PBS Springfield. The local station went digital, requiring patrons to sign up for digital cable service or install compatible equipment in order to view its programs. Dr. Jerold Gruebel, the…
IT Picks
ART | Library with vision Saturday afternoon plan a two-hour visit to the Chatham library to meet and hear local artists Chris Britt, Louisa Boshardy (Hybiscus pictured above), George Atkisson, Bob Dixon, Jeff Garland and Michael Dunbar speak about their artwork showcased at the opening of the library’s new civic art collection, Promise in Vision.…
Modulation at Illinois Symphony Orchestra
After almost a year with no one officially at the helm of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the board of directors has hired a new interim executive director, Elizabeth Hare. She joins the organization at a particularly tumultuous time, as the musicians are taking steps to unionize, and have conducted an official no-confidence vote expressing their…
Boys will learn better with boys
In a quaint neighborhood on Springfield’s southeast side sits Springfield School District 186’s best-kept secret — Jefferson Middle School. On the surface, Jefferson resembles the city’s other middle schools; however, a peek inside quickly reveals clear differences that make Jefferson stand out. As schools across the country struggle to improve students’ academic performance, and decrease…
Victory of the vegetable garden
While Washington, D.C. talks about “shovel-ready” projects, few projects are more “shovel ready” than that of vegetable gardening, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture specialist. “It is now fashionable to vegetable garden and it seems more home gardeners are once again becoming very interested in growing produce at home,” said Greg Stack. The National…
Look out for the blimp that doesn’t blink
I’ve always wondered: What was the guy who invented bagpipes really trying to make? Well, at least that wheezing, whining invention turned out to be merely irritating, not actually dangerous. Leave it to the Dr. Strangelovian schemers at the Pentagon, however, to come up with an invention that is both irritating and truly dangerous, as…
Saucy rice from northern Italy
Mention starch in Italian food, and most people’s thoughts will turn towards pizza, and pasta. But in northern Italy, rice is as much a staple as pasta; pizza’s an import. Food anthropologists believe that rice came to Italy in a roundabout way, having been brought to Spain by Arab merchants who imported it from India.…
Let%uFFFDs plant the town red%uFFFD
Springfield in Bloom — the community-wide beautification program that challenges homeowners, businesses and nonprofit groups to bring beautiful new color and life to their street-side yards — is now in its fifth year. Since 2004, hundreds of projects have been completed in this friendly competition, creating lush new landscapes in neighborhoods and central city boulevards,…
Former cop sues Vermilion County prosecutor
David Lewis, the former law enforcement officer who spent more than a year in the Vermilion County jail charged with 49 felonies, has hired a Springfield attorney to file suit against his accusers. Lewis had been indicted on charges ranging from official misconduct to criminal sexual assault and armed violence, but was released from jail…
Worming into good soil
We have all heard of the three “r”s: reduce, reuse and recycle. There is a fourth “r” of integrated waste management: rot. This “r” also eliminates waste from entering landfills. Rot refers to recycling food waste and other organic material through composting or vermicomposting. By allowing these products to rot into compost, materials are cycled…
Container gardening with flavor
A container garden on your patio, balcony or roof top, a hanging basket or window box, all can be converted from flowers to edibles, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator. “Don’t have the space to put in a vegetable garden? Is your large garden too much work but you still want handy fresh…
Pat Quinn is popular so far, but that could change
Pat Quinn is the most popular Illinois governor in more than a decade. A new statewide poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports found that Gov. Quinn has a 61 percent job approval rating. The poll of 500 likely Illinois voters conducted April 14 claims that Quinn’s job approval rating is five points higher than U.S. Sen.…
Letters to the editor
Factory farming Thank goodness many farmers do not buy into factory farming. Case in point: Karen Hudson in the recent article by Dusty Rhodes [see “Bigger isn’t always better,” IT, April 16]. Unfortunately, some pork producers and a very large industry got to the Illinois General Assembly and the state bureaucracy in time to rule…
