Avoiding jail
Last month, Diane Lopez Hughes was preparing for the possibility of a prison sentence for protesting at a Chicago-area military installation after she and fellow activists Ceylon Mooney and Jeff Leys were arrested for trespassing when they entered the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command in Evanston and began reading the names of soldiers killed in…
A vegan victory
Deciding to be a vegan is like signing up for the armed forces. You’ve enlisted for service mysterious and unknown to many, your life will be regimented (and at times arduous), and dessert is either nonexistent or absolutely wretched. Ever try one of those well-meaning dairy and egg-free cookies or cakes made with date paste,…
The plague of corn
Illinois farmers have a big problem on their hands: They’re about to harvest a huge crop. The U.S. Department of Agriculture started the bad news when it predicted a few weeks ago that total U.S. corn production will be 10.9 billion bushels, nearly a record. To make things worse, the weather has continued to be…
Squeegee it
Dear Gene: I have a relatively new glass shower door. I also have hard water. What is the best way to keep the door clean? After every shower, wipe the inside of the door dry with a squeegee, just as if you were cleaning a window or automobile windshield. I have used this system for…
Family ties
Sangamon County Sheriff Neil Williamson came under scrutiny last week when son-in-law Jerrad Pruitt pleaded guilty to cocaine-distribution charges in federal court. Pruitt, 27, had worked as a dispatcher in the Sangamon County Central Dispatch System 911 call center, despite his record showing a previous felony cocaine charge [see “Snow job,” Aug. 24]. But Pruitt…
Music for a holiday weekend
At 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, Real Time takes the Ethnic Village gazebo stage at the Illinois State Fairgrounds to entertain attendees of the umpteenth Ethnic Festival with fine jazz music. The weather should be curiously cool for this time of year, possibly increasing the sale of hot drinks and definitely adding to the comfort…
When kiwis take flight
New Zealand, a country that’s delivered more than its share of great guitar pop in the last 20-odd years — the Chills, the Clean, the Verlaines, the Bats, Split Enz, and Crowded House, to name a few — has done it again. The Phoenix Foundation, a six-piece from Wellington, deserves to be mentioned in the…
Vinyl Static
CD EXCHANGE: This fall you’ll find Vinyl Static holed up in a closet somewhere with headphones and a compact-disc player — is Vinyl Static the only one still using a CD player? — indulging in the musical glut that litters the calendar with releases from early September until the end of November. At the top…
Preserving the bounty of summer
Not so long ago, almost every family — rich and poor, country and city dwellers — preserved much of their own food. From late summer until first frost, kitchens were even more a beehive of activity than usual as cooks made jams, jellies, pickles, sauces and condiments and canned vegetables and fruits. That began to…
Sky-high pie
On this Labor Day, when working families all across America are struggling, it’s fitting for us to reflect on the profound insight of that prominent economic theorist George W. Bush. In 2000, explaining his approach to economic policy, W. declared: “We ought to make the pie higher.” What the professor was trying to express is…
He’s in control
One of Samuel L. Jackson’s directors told the screenwriter that he couldn’t kill Jackson’s character. His contention? Jackson is the most trusted man in America, and audiences would not accept his death. It’s true: Jackson does project an image of stature and integrity found in few actors. In a way he is a contemporary Gary…
Reviving the perennial garden
Fall provides a great opportunity to review garden performance and plan for next season. “After the long, hot days of summer, the cool crisp days of fall are always welcome. Many perennial gardens reach their glory in the summer and then slowly fade away,” says Barbara Bates, a horticulture educator with the University of Illinois…
People’s Poetry
udderpoem #23 a friend just sent me a gross greeting card, picture one: a cow snoozing on her couch udder up a hoof carelessly hung toward the floor a sly bovine dipping that hoof into a pan of presumably warm water picture two: reclining cow’s eyes startlingly awake and four fountains of milk spurting from…
Letters to the Editor
We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address, and daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length, and clarity. Send letters to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com. ENOUGH IDIOCY, ILLINOIS TIMES I’ve come to expect a lot of left-wing idiocy from Illinois Times.…
Topinka’s gamble
Why did Republican gubernatorial nominee Judy Baar Topinka go with a Chicago-casino idea to help fund her education, property-tax, and infrastructure proposals? Well, a general tax increase had all but been ruled out months ago. Polling and focus grouping showed high levels of opposition to a tax increase — and Topinka already has enough troubles…
A trick and a treat
Nothing is quite what it seems in Neil Burger’s The Illusionist, an adaptation of the short story by Steven Millhauser about a master magician who ruffles the feathers of the Austrian aristocracy at the turn of the 20th century. Not only one of the most entertaining films of the year, Burger’s work is also one…
So let’s be fair
One year ago this week, Hurricane Katrina nearly wiped out New Orleans, one of the oldest, most culturally rich, poorest, and, indeed, important cities in America. In the weeks leading up to the anniversary of Katrina’s onslaught, a glut of television specials have “looked back” at and “remembered” the storm that killed 1,800 people along…
Why the world’s children die
Dear “Earth Talk”: What are the leading causes of child mortality around the world, and what can be done about it? — Susan Hale, Oquawka, Ill. The statistics are staggering. In the world’s poorest countries, more than 30,000 children under the age of 5 die each day of preventable causes related to conditions of extreme…
