Squeeze play
Untitled Document Two seats have opened up in a Las Vegas poker tournament, and Mookie and I have locked in over the Internet. No time to drive; we have to fly. Mookie doesn’t fly well, and, of course, he’s nuts. The fat man between us won’t trade seats — he needs to overflow both ways.…
People’s poetry
Untitled Document maydaypoem #1 (perhaps by John Knoepfle) happy happyfirst of mayscrewing outsidebegins today © Jacqueline Jackson 2007 Naomi Shihab Nye is one of my favorite poets. She lives in San Antonio, Texas, and travels widely, an ambassador for poetry. Here she captures a lovely moment from her childhood. Supple Cord My brother, in his…
Soup to heal
Untitled Document The massacre at Virginia Tech has shaken the nerves of this country, and its chilling impact is being felt as far away as India, Israel, and Peru. The story itself has all the makings of a CSI episode that includes a law-enforcement probe into the creepy, mysterious twists and turns of a psychopathic…
Rising star
Untitled Document Every new generation has its rising star, and the newest is Ryan Gosling. Fresh from his first Oscar nomination, he can be seen in the murder thriller Fracture. Gosling plays a hotshot prosecutor who never loses a case, but he is frustrated trying to prove the guilt of Anthony Hopkins, who has confessed…
Earth dinner
Untitled Document What’s for dinner at your place? How about having an earth dinner? No, it’s not about eating dirt; instead it’s a gathering to celebrate the bounty of our good green earth. Most of us don’t realize that our dinner tells many stories, embodying our personal histories, family memories, music, art, and other connections…
Last word?
Untitled Document There may be one less lawsuit in the never-ending saga of Renatta Frazier, the former Springfield Police officer who was falsely accused of failure to prevent the rape of a fellow officer’s daughter in October 2001. Frazier was finally cleared by an Illinois Times investigation in 2002, but sued the city of Springfield…
Tomato-planting time
Untitled Document One of my favorite summer treats is a ripe, juicy, fresh-picked tomato from my garden. I think that we can all agree that the quality of produce picked from the garden surpasses anything available at the supermarket. Growing at least one tomato plant is a must for most home gardeners. Here are a…
Weird sisters
Untitled Document Are Bianca and Sierra Casady the geniuses that their admirers (John Darnielle, David Byrne, countless blognerds) say they are, or are they simply the newest naked emperors to hypnotize the hipster elite? Artless prodigies or practiced flimflammers? Idiots savants or plain old idiots? These questions are not rhetorical. I honestly can’t decide whether…
Radio daze
Untitled Document There’s change in the air, and we don’t just mean spring. The airwaves of the capital city are experiencing some turbulence, with an unusual number of on-air personalities coming and going and generally playing musical microphones. Behind the scenes, the biggest change will come in July, when four local stations now owned by…
The rap on rBGH
Untitled Document Why are some groups pressing to ban rBGH, the hormone given to cows that makes them produce more milk? Cows naturally produce bovine somatotropin in their pituitary glands, and traces are secreted by the animals when they are milked. More popularly known as BGH, or bovine growth hormone, BST interacts with other hormones…
Big Dam road show
Untitled Document The emergent Young Springfield Professionals Network takes a cue from the Young Professionals of Quincy: a short film festival highlighting 18 movies from around the country. The best entries from Quincy’s Big Dam Film Festival, each clocking in at less than 20 minutes, unspool this weekend in Springfield. A few YSPN members traveled…
Spend it like Beckom
Untitled Document A white cloud envelops Larry Beckom as he sits shirtless, his head bowed, in the sauna of a Springfield fitness club. It’s 7:30 a.m. on a Monday. One of the few quiet moments of his day, he says, are the 10 minutes or so he spends in the steam room. He devotes the…
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. WRONG DEMOCRAT CREDITED Dusty Rhodes writes in her interview with Irv Smith: “ ‘It used to be that to the victor…
Ethics questions
Untitled Document It’s rare for college students, who typically preserve their bright-eyed crusading for major state and federal elections, to get involved in local politics — but Springfield is far from typical. In a letter distributed last week to more than 70 reporters, elected officials, and others in Springfield and surrounding areas, Aakash Raut, chairman…
Park closed
Untitled Document Call it the end of an era, the beginning of the end, the start of something new, or whatever other cliché you want, but the native Springfield band Park is no more. The group, together for more than 10 years with relatively few personnel changes, made its mark in the national indie-rock, emo/pop/punk…
Now’s the time for a tax increase
Untitled Document The governor’s proposed gross-receipts tax isn’t as gross as you think. Ohio, Texas, Washington, and other states have each implemented a version of the tax successfully. In those places it provides needed revenues fairly, with no signs of businesses’ failing or fleeing, as the Illinois business lobby warns will happen here. Unfortunately, Gov.…
Spider bites
Untitled Document Spider-Man 3 Running time 2:19 Rated PG-13 ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East As the third installment of the Spider-Man franchise begins, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is sitting on top of the world. He and long-suffering girlfriend Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) are in love, he’s doing great in graduate school, and New Yorkers have accepted…
The reporter who roared
Untitled Document Neil Sheehan, who worked alongside David Halberstam in the early years of the Vietnam War, recalls what could happen if someone got between Halberstam and a story. Sheehan was writing for UPI and Halberstam for the New York Times, and the two were blocked from flying into the combat zone where a major…
Fake farmers
Untitled Document He’s back! Since mid-April the guy who’s been selling fruits and vegetables at our corner for several years has been at his post. I almost never buy there, because most of it’s not homegrown, let alone locally grown, though in late summer I might get a melon from him if I’m desperate. (He…
