Tsunami Relief at Bar None: Right Now!
Midafternoon on a Sunday at Bar None isn’t exactly the time and place you expect to encounter a rock show, but that’s just what Tom Irwin has decided to pull out of his back pocket today. A makeshift “power trio” (Irwin on bass, local percussion legend Timothy M. “Grumpy” Harte on drums, and Tom’s guitar-slinging…
Marathon time
Once again, I must apologize for being so lackadaisical about posting here. I’m happy to report, however, that I haven’t stopped blogging because I’ve fallen off the wagon. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I’ve been training intensely for my first marathon, and the big day is this Sunday! I’ve put in my double-digit miles…
Honor Flight sends WW II vets to Washington, D.C., for a day
Springfield resident Bernard Carver, 89, remembers loading ammunition, refueling four-engine B-24 bombers and flying along with pilots in the Eighth Air Force, to pick up equipment during World War II. Early Tuesday morning, April 5, Carver, along with his son, Bernie Carver, boarded a plane, this time chartered by Land of Lincoln Honor Flight. The…
‘Passionate about teaching’
What’s your vision for District 186? Milton: “Short-term is that we have a laser focus on student achievement, that we increase student achievement all around… in a more robust manner. Secondly, what’s more important is that we produce young people who participate and compete on a global scale – that they’re prepared to effectively operate…
State’s power buyer under fire
The state agency responsible for buying Illinois’ electricity is under fire after an annual audit showed numerous problems with accounting and transparency. A March 24 report by Illinois Auditor General William Holland says the Illinois Power Agency (IPA) needs to correct 35 “weaknesses” in financial transparency, rulemaking and more. The report admonishes IPA for storing…
The Aspect
The Aspect, conceived as a fluctuating group of musicians chosen for a purposeful project, has concentrated on those legendary lads from Liverpool, The Beatles, for the last few performances. With Jeff Helton (guitar, vocals), Brian Curtis (keyboards, vocals), Bill McKenzie (bass, vocals), Bob Wagner (drums) and Lori McKenzie (vocals, percussion), plus Nat Radwine (percussion) filling…
It’s OK in my book
A friend laughed when I said I was reading a book about OK. “I can see a paragraph,” he said, “but a whole book?” Well, yes, that is exactly what Allan Metcalf, professor of English at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, has done – written a 200-page book called OK: The Improbable Story of America’s Greatest…
A ravioli by any other name
I love ravioli. I’ve always loved them. As a child, they were my inevitably requested birthday dinner. The recipe with a chicken spinach filling came from Italian friends of my grandparents they met when the men worked together in a WWII Joliet defense plant. Nowadays, I don’t have one favorite dish, but ravioli are still…
Poetry
aging poem #1 when tradespeoplewaiters ushers and such startcalling you“young lady”then you knowyou’re reallygetting old 2011 Jacqueline Jackson
Chicken and spinach ravioli filling
1 c. finely chopped cooked chicken 1 c. finely chopped spinach (about 1 10 oz. package, squeezed dry) 1/2 c. bread crumbs 1/2 c. freshly grated parmegiano reggiano, or aged asiago 1/4 c. minced Italian flat-leafed parsley 4 cloves minced garlic, or to taste 2 eggs kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper to…
THIS LITTLE PIGGY PASTE WENT TO MARKET
Dr. Paul Kinsinger, a family doctor in Washington, near Peoria, knew that he needed to find another income stream to be able to continue his independent medical practice without affiliating with a hospital. That’s important because Kinsinger and his partner-brother regard their practice as a ministry, and refer some patients to Christian counselors. He also…
Eat out for a good cause
Would you rather attend a stuffy fundraising dinner with a group of people you don’t know, or enjoy a delicious meal with family and friends at a great restaurant of your choice and still support very important causes? With Share-A-Meal, you not only will have a wonderful meal with people you enjoy but also support…
Japan’s earthquake jolts America
The corporate chieftains who’ve relentlessly pushed American factories and our middle-class jobs offshore rationalize their globalization of production by declaring that it’s all about efficiency, as though that’s the highest value to which a civilization can aspire. Values aside, however, the problem with corporate efficiencies is that too often they are not. Not efficient, that…
Letters to the Editor 4/7/11
GUNS VS. SCHOOLS I mourn the passing of the good old days when political and military leaders spoke wisely and bluntly about the issues facing the country. Possibly some leaders still are speaking wisely and bluntly. Possibly citizens simply are not hearing them because, as contemporary writer Chris Hedges asserted, “We are awash in electronic…
Relying on Senator Santa
The prospect of free money leaves even a Republican Chamber of Commerce stalwart like Mike Houston sounding like a spoils-oriented ward alderman. “Sen. [Dick] Durbin is a very powerful senator,” said former mayor Houston to the State Journal-Register the other day. “I think that he will eventually be able to provide the federal funds to…
When culture meets fashion at Fashion Afrique
When I met Roosevelt Pratt, the owner of Fashion Afrique, a Springfield ethnic fashion boutique, this Liberian-born entrepreneur had high energy and a beaming smile on his face. Greeting his customers at the door in his dashiki, he makes them feel good about the day. Fashion Afrique, 318 E. Monroe St. in downtown Springfield, opened…
Choice schools
District 186 Superintendent Dr. Walter Milton dreams of a Springfield public school system full of “choice,” with a series of magnet schools, which accept students regardless of where they live within the district, that teach the three R’s with unique approaches and focused missions. To that end, the district opened in August the new Capital…
Chestnut or potato wonton ravioli
My neighbor, Gordon Longhta, generously gives us chestnuts from his trees each year; this is my favorite way to use them. If you can’t get chestnuts, baking potato makes a good substitute. For the filling: 2 oz. pancetta or lightly smoked bacon, finely chopped 1/4 c. finely chopped onion 1 tsp. minced garlic 1 c.…
Pride and prejudices
Six performances are slated for UIS Theatre Program’s rendition of Rebecca Gilman’s play, Spinning Into Butter. Directed by UIS Associate Professor of Theatre Eric Thibodeaux-Thompson, the play looks at racism and political correctness on a college campus. The cast consists of actors from the community and UIS, including: Roger Boyd, Tommy Caldwell, Tom Hutchison, Lindsey…
Make-up game
ComedySportz, a Chicago improv company, takes on two shows April 9 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Set up as a sports competition, complete with referee and halftime, two teams of ComedySportz players vie for the win. You, the audience, will shout out plays from the stands (seats) and select the game winner based…
Gun groups duel with polls on concealed carry
It appears that the Illinois State Rifle Association released some highly questionable poll results last week because top officials learned that a gun control group was doing its own polling. The Rifle Association decided it wanted to get ahead of the curve, I’m told. The Rifle Association claimed its poll results showed broad support in…
UI tuition hike follows raises for selected faculty
Certain University of Illinois employees together received $9.7 million in raises this fiscal year, according to an Illinois Times analysis of UI salary data. Meanwhile, the state’s largest public university system instituted a 6.9 percent tuition hike for the next academic year due to $477 million in late state funds. Constituting about one percent of…
Assorted April outings
No April Fooling this week. We’re back to the business of selling you, the avid reader and intrepid music listener, on the notion of getting out and experiencing live music with heartfelt passion and genuine gusto. Soon outdoor events will dominate our calendar and a few are happening now, giving proper respect to the vagaries…
A good old-fashioned frightfest called Insidious
One thing needs to be said about James Wan’s Insidious before anything else – there’s not one original idea in this horror retread. Seemingly working off a “Haunted House Movie” checklist, the director and his partner, Leigh Whannell, the duo behind the first Saw film, dutifully include a young couple (Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne)…
Seafood wonton ravioli
1 – 1 1/2 c. cooked crabmeat, or cooked, coarsely chopped lobster (the meat from about 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 lb. lobster) or shrimp, or a combination. 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature 1/4 c. minced scallions 1 T. Asian fish sauce Approximately 48 wonton skins For serving: Light tomato sauce or vodka…
Canvassing the area
For a good cause, you can purchase one of 27 paintings depicting an Illinois landmark painted by local leaders and business people not trained in the arts, but talented just the same. Springfield Art Association hosts its lively public auction led by M.T. Vann on the evening of April 9. You can see the paintings…
Distinctive heroine separates Hanna from the pack
Joe Wright’s Hanna owes a debt not only to Grimm’s Fairy Tales, allusions to which permeate the film, but also to the recent spate of superhero movies. Thankfully, it’s far better than last year’s Kick-Ass and the recent disaster Sucker Punch, both of which featured butt-kicking teen heroines that made the mistake of thinking that…
