“Adaline” Enchants Despite Lack of Chemistry
When Casablanca comes to mind, you think of Rick and Ilsa. When Wuthering Heights is mentioned, you immediately think of Heathcliff and Cathy. When The Notebook is on, you’re immediately sucked into the trials and tribulations that surround Noah and Allie. Great screen couples all, the success of these films and the reason they’ve all…
A Ghost in the Machine Haunts “Unfriended”
While I certainly wouldn’t want to watch many movies like Levan Gabriadze’s Unfriended, a film that consists of one long take of a computer screen that constantly reconfigures itself depending on the number of people participating in what becomes the video chat from hell, it does prove to be an intriguing visualization of the dangers…
Ending April acts
Singer-songwriter Ian McFeron, accompanied by Alisa Milner on fiddle and harmonies, plays Engrained Brewing Company, Thursday, 8 to 10 p.m. As we wind down the last weekend in April 2015, Springfield offers a fine and wide assortment of entertainment options in the music department. Let us delve into a few items of interest. Engrained Beer…
Corporate thieves steal workers’ comp
They say there’s honor among thieves, but I say: That depends on the thieves. Your common street thief, yes – but not those princely CEO’s of corporate larceny. America’s working families have learned the elites in the top suites are rewarded for being pickpockets, swindlers, thugs and scoundrels, routinely committing mass economic violence against the…
Questions of identity abound in Young
Adam Driver as Jamie and Ben Stiller as Josh in While We’re Young. PHOTO COURTESY A24 As I’ve told my sons, “If you can avoid it, don’t get old.” Obviously, this good advice is impossible to heed and while there’s that notion that with age comes wisdom, I’d gladly be a bit dumber if I…
Petapalooza
Pet owners and their animal friends are invited to the annual Ani-Mall Pet Exposition on Saturday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Exposition Building. This is your opportunity to shop vendor booths, seek advice from local vets, view pet demonstrations and participate in activities and games with your…
Tapped out
Nehemiah Dawson is five years old, he is third in his kindergarten class for spelling and he has Autism Spectrum disorder. But the program that his parents credit with most of his success might not have a future. The Autism Program (TAP) is one of several state programs that lost all funding as part of…
Making dead hyenas come alive
How much would you give so a dead hyena could have a new home? The Field Museum of Natural History is hoping you’ll give something. The museum – a world institution that, happily, happens to be in Chicago – is raising $170,000 via crowdfunding to build a classic animal diorama featuring striped hyenas in the…
State employees could get back pay after four years
ILLUSTRATION BY HECTOR CASANOVA State employees may receive back pay for raises they should have received almost four years ago, thanks to legislation which passed the Illinois House last week. The bill stems from a 2010 dispute between unions and former governor Pat Quinn over contractual pay raises. Despite a court opinion ordering the state…
A plea to save the historic preservation agency
We write today with deep concern over the future of historic preservation in Illinois and all the educational and economic benefits it provides. We’re hoping you’ll lend your voices to saving the state’s preservation programs. Undoubtedly you have seen news stories about significant budget cuts being proposed for state government next year. You may not…
The first big Springfield funeral
Governor William H. Bissell’s funeral on March 21, 1860 was the largest and most elaborate to ever have been staged in Springfield until it was eclipsed five years later by Lincoln’s. Blasts of cannon woke the citizens of Springfield at dawn on the day of the melancholy event. They fired every half hour until 11…
DAY OF SERVICE
Looking for a way to give back but afraid of commitment? If you can handle volunteering for one day, you can join more than 7,000 Comcast employees, from Illinois, northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan in a day of service called Comcast Cares Day. The annual event gathers Comcast employees and their families, friends and community…
If music be the food of love…
Illinos mud chicken. PHOTO BY PETER GLATZ Choral music and churches are, if not inseparable, at least closely related. Student glee clubs and show choirs have widened the gap somewhat. Even the big orchestral choral works more often than not have religious subjects. The Springfield Choral Society rehearses at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral and sometimes…
A van followed by a bus
CARTOON BY CHRIS BRITT
Shake it till you make it
I’m new to online dating. I’m a nice, good-looking guy with a good job, but I have a muscular condition that causes me to shake a lot. I’m not looking to fool anyone, but I don’t want to advertise my condition on my profile because it’s so personal. My last date was several months ago,…
Mauled girl faces long recovery
Illyania Rocha was nearly killed by a dog on April 11. Her father credits the girl’s half-sister for saving her life. A girl mauled by a Great Dane on April 11 is a lot like other 10-year-old girls. She likes to draw. Keeps a journal. Plays Xbox and basketball. She has a boxer at her…
Editor’s note 4/23/15
As Gov. Bruce Rauner finishes his 100th day of wreaking havoc on the Illinois budget, Illinoisans are beginning to realize they got what they voted for. Rauner has used the authority given him by the Illinois General Assembly to slash spending in the current fiscal year, while proposing cuts for the next fiscal year. The…
Treatment instead of jail
There is a court reporter in the courtroom of Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge John Madonia on this Friday afternoon. That’s a bad sign. If everyone here in Sangamon County’s fledgling mental health recovery court was going to therapy sessions, testing clean for drugs, not getting arrested and otherwise behaving themselves, there would be no…
Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers
Son of the legendary accordion player and Zydeco master Rockin’ Dopsie Sr., Dwayne “Dopsie” Rubin comes by his heritage honestly. He knows how to make a party happen whether on his European tours, his many visits to Springfield for the Meatsmack Mardi Gras Party or kickin’ it up at home on his Louisiana turf. Well-known…
Belly dancing beauties
This Saturday, see some of the Midwest’s most talented belly dancers shimmy, shuffle and shake during the Tribal X-Change belly dance show at the Hilton Springfield. Performers include Dawn “Nandana” Ruckerty, Elizabeth “Super Beth” Fish and Terri Allred, of the recently released ATS with Props: Veil, Fan & Basket DVD. Tribal X-Change is hosted by…
Shooting case settled
ILLUSTRATION BY MIKE MINER The city of Springfield will pay $50,000 to a man shot by police more than seven years ago under a settlement approved Tuesday by the city council. The case started when James Wells stepped onto his back porch to ring in the new year in 2008 with gunfire. He didn’t know…
Public money could pay for abortions
ILLUSTRATION BY HECTOR CASANOVA Illinois lawmakers are considering legislation that would reverse a 30-year-old ban on public money being used to pay for abortions. The bill raises one of the most controversial issues in American society, with religious groups objecting on moral grounds and women’s rights groups saying it’s a matter of fairness. House Bill…
culinary poem #4
my greek friend sonja(she grew up in crete)was making me a greekomelet I asked “what makesa greek omelet greek?” sheresponded “a greek cook”
Show me the pension
Two prominent Democratic lawmakers are calling on Gov. Bruce Rauner to release the long-awaited details his pension proposal so they can figure out what it means for the state’s budget. State Senator Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, and Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D–Northbrook, said on Tuesday they have some concerns over the changes to the pension system at…
Cahnman faces ethics inquiry
It’s been a tough month for Sam Cahnman. The Ward 5 alderman and attorney lost his re-election bid on April 7, and on April 16, he faced an extended hearing by the state panel that disciplines lawyers. The allegations against Cahnman stem in part from his representation of Springfield blogger Calvin Christian in a handful…
A new way to punish and reward
Gov. Bruce Rauner devised a new way to reward his friends and punish his enemies on April 16 when he created a campaign committee called “Illinois Turnaround.” Illinois Turnaround is an independent expenditure committee, meaning contributions to it and by it are not capped by law. The committee’s officially stated purpose is to “support state…
Take a step for autism
This Saturday, April 25, take a step for autism at the 2015 Autism Awareness Walk and Family Fun Day, hosted by the Autism Society of Central Illinois. All activities, which will be held at Southwind Park’s Hope Pavilion, are free and open to the public, though the Autism Society of Central Illinois will have their…
Firebuggery
Curses, foiled again• Tyler Lankford, 21, entered a bakery with a loaded and cocked revolver, pointed it at the 58-year-old clerk and demanded money, according to police in McKeesport, Pa. The clerk emptied the register, but when the robber picked up the money, he put the gun on the counter. The clerk grabbed it and…
Letters to the editor 4/23/15
U.S. police departments are using devices that photograph a license plate, stamped with the location, time and date, and send the image to a database. These devices are wholly unregulated in Illinois, but two competing House bills are trying to change tha PHOTO BY RICK LOOMIS/TNS WATCHING THE WATCHERSI am even more concerned about license-plate…
Young reenactors learn history and life
Back row, left to right: Makari Robinson-McNeese, Vincent Hill, Rhinodda Webb, Patricia James-Davis, Betty White, and Betty Waters. Front row, left to right: Cydney Williams, Clinton Horton, Jr., Danielle Gibson, Miracle Drake-Smith and Amir Upshaw. Not pictured are: Cheynnne Banks, Denise Gibson, Caleb Crawford, Jonathan Davis, Zakiya Hill and Cameron Smith. Photo by DAVID HINE…
