Book signing/talk on local historic homes
This is probably the most interesting and handsome book to come out of central Illinois recently. The author will talk about and read from the book on Sat., Sept. 7, 2 p.m,. at the Vachel Lindsay Home. You’ll want to own this collection about historic homes and the folks who lived in them. From Springfield…
More about learning-by-doing
In “Do by learning” (Aug. 15, 2013), I examined the case for providing alternatives to college prep as a path to a high school diploma. Among the pieces I drew upon for that column was Alex Tabarrok’s “Tuning In to Dropping Out “ in a recent issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. I described,…
Art Association class cuts straight to the reason you make art
Registration begins today for a unique class at the Springfield Art Association. “Most classes in small art communities focus on media and techniques,” explains Robert Mazrim, co-instructor of Studies in Observation and Representation along with Erin Svendsen. “You expect to be taught, within a certain medium, a series of techniques – how to hold a…
This afternoon: Poet in the Parlor with Anita Stienstra
In just about two hours, Springfield poet Anita Stienstra will take on the role of “Poet in the Parlor” at the Vachel Lindsay Home (603 S. 5th St). Stienstra will be presenting a 45 minute program, which will include readings from her own work as well as Vachel Lindsay’s poetry. “I think I’m going to…
Laborless weekend starts with End Times Trio and friends
If you read my last blog post, we are on a laborless journey through the weekend to Labor Day. We opened the weekend with free jazz at The Pharmacy, Thursday night. It was energizing. There were fireworks going off in my brain. The first person I met was an Illinois Times reader who saw the…
Having substance
The Springfield Art Association’s latest exhibit, up through Oct. 5, explores the architecture, archaeology, fine arts and decorative arts of Springfield from the 1820s-1850s. Highlights include photos of local antebellum houses, daguerreotypes, 1830 Edwards Place privy ewer and door, 1830s sofa and piano from Lincoln’s wedding ceremony and more. An opening reception is Aug. 31…
Rauner’s race for governor
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner has focused like a laser on his absolute disgust with public employee unions like AFSCME, the Illinois Education Association and the Illinois Federation of Teachers. The wealthy former business executive claims the unions are the root of most of Illinois’ problems and has decried the “corrupting” influence of their campaign…
Militarizing America’s police forces
Attention citizens: I have received inside information revealing that global terrorists are targeting us again. Their target is not Washington, New York City or even Disneyland. Rather, it is: Concord. You know, in New Hampshire. The state capital. Even though only about 43,000 people live there, Concord apparently has some sort of secret significance that…
The Alley Tones
Cultivating a deep and biding respect for the legacy of the blues, The Alley Tones hail from St. Louis, a heritage blues city along with Chicago, Memphis and New Orleans. Eric A. Gavillet (vocals), Nathan Byrd (guitar), Joe Phillips (bass) and Justin Schmitt (drums) joined forces in March of 2012 with a vision and purpose…
The Nightingale of Andover
Though her name is more associated with nursery furniture today, Jenny Lind was without a doubt the most remarkable singer of her day, a celebrity of celebrities whose admirers included Queen Victoria of England, Harvard’s Edward Everett, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, orators Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, and German composer Felix Mendelssohn, who called Jenny…
vermont poem #22
forty-five—maybe more—biggiesgliding swiftly on the water beforeour shore black gold identical statelyas swans a long trail of geese a bitbunched here and there I’d heardthem recently across the lake gabblingfighting maybe just conversing nowprofiles that look unwaveringly aheada silent egyptian mural going whereI later found their pit stop a grassyknoll on shore coils of snake-blackpoop…
What you need to know about Congress now
Deeply unpopular and flagrantly unproductive, Congress is on its August recess right now. It won’t return until Sept. 9, after a five-week recess, leaving itself just a few days to settle issues like raising the debt ceiling and passing a federal budget. Here are some things you should know about where it stands at this…
For the love of Indian food
It wasn’t love at first bite. It wasn’t even love at second bite. But, when I finally fell in love with Indian food, I fell hard. I’ve always been an adventurous eater, eager to try new things, so it’s strange that I didn’t initially appreciate Indian food, but it was really circumstantial. My first experience…
Looking for jobs
A local activist group is putting pressure on the City of Springfield to hire more minorities and to only work with contractors who also hire minorities. Larry Beckom of Springfield leads Bridging the Gap, a group dedicated to ensuring minority job opportunities. He calls the city’s record of minority hiring “dismal,” and is pushing for…
When hurry met Sally
I planned a cross-country trip to introduce my girlfriend of five months to my family. She just sprang on me that she wants my family to meet “all of” her, which includes her 9-year-old daughter. My family knows she has a child, and I really enjoy her daughter, but I’m really not ready to introduce…
A magical ride
It happens every year on one of the first crisp days that hint of autumn: bicycle riders from near and far converge on Springfield only to disburse into the corn-filled countryside pedaling and eating their way around a 100-mile course or, in most cases, a smaller portion of the course. On Sunday, Sept. 8, the…
Zip through the Shawnee National Forest
As the temperatures come down, the energy level goes up, making a trek to Shawnee Bluffs Canopy Tour just right. My friend Rose and I headed south in late July and want to come back in the cool of fall. Marc and Candy Miles worked on the Shawnee Bluffs Canopy Tour (SBCT) zip line for…
Letters to the Editor 8/29/13
ONE LEFT TURN DESERVES ANOTHERA letter writer recently (“Lawrence Road Blocks,” Tyre W. Rees, Aug. 22) noted the need for left turn lanes on Lawrence at its intersections with both Walnut and MacArthur. I agree and would like to nominate another location where left turn lanes are needed, for virtually the same reason. Most of the signalized…
Hard Knox
Fixer upper is an understatement. “I buy the nastiest, crummiest, most dilapidated building in the neighborhood,” explains John Eglaston, who owns four historic properties in Springfield. “By the time I’m done, it will be the nicest one in the neighborhood.” But some folks are losing patience, particularly when it comes to the Knox Flats apartments…
Down by the river
Skip the freeway and take a drive. The trip from Springfield to Quincy via Interstate 72 takes a couple hours, but spend an extra 20 minutes and head out Jefferson Avenue to the hinterland, then take U.S. 24 through Beardstown, across the Illinois River and into some of the most scenic country in the region.…
One Direction impresses in Us
Not sure if I should admit this, but the earworm that is One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful” is among 2,000 songs on my iPod. Occasionally, that snappy pop ditty starts rattling around in my head and my thumb is furiously working the selection wheel, flying down the list of songs until I find it…
Jasmine finds Blanchett in full bloom
I always look forward to Woody Allen’s annual movie if for no other reason than to hear his witty dialogue performed by whatever top-notch cast he’s happened to assemble. Very few writers are able to capture the sound of true conversation as he does and the performers in his films seem to rise to the…
News Quirks 8/29/13
Curses, foiled again• Police accused Troy Ridling, 29, of stealing a computer from his former church in Owasso, Okla., after the software tracking company Covenant Eyes alerted a church staffer that the computer was being used to look up pornography. Upon being told that the company had received a call about removing the laptop’s Internet…
LINED UP
He’s no bird whisperer, but Mikel Ollech, a local angler, has proven himself a friend of the feathered by building repositories for fishing line that have recently been installed around Lake Springfield. Fishing line is fine for many things, but there can be too darn much of it, especially around the water, and when birds…
THE FIRST BEATLE IN AMERICA
On Saturday, Sept. 21, The Illinois State Historical Society will unveil and dedicate “The First Beatle in America – George Harrison” historical marker at Capitol Park in Benton in southern Illinois. The marker, which commemorates the “Quiet Beatle” and his visit to the United States in September 1963 – six months before The Beatles came…
Variety is key in a season of exciting music
Autumn is traditionally a big season for live music, as touring artists make a last major push out onto the open road before winter’s icy finger makes it more or less impassable. The upcoming season is no exception, as a wide variety of renowned musicians – big names as well as up-and-comers in a variety…
Fall curtain call
Although summer is drawing to a close, the theater season is still going strong. Springfield and the surrounding region boast some truly impressive talent and mesmerizing productions that can hold their own against theater in bigger cities. There’s no need to travel far and wide for great theater – you can be transported to another…
The benefits of doing business locally
In the smallest towns, bustling cities and everything in between, more citizens lament losing a sense of community and local character. Meanwhile, national chains and online megastores continue gaining market and pushing independent businesses to the margins in many sectors. This trend is considered symptomatic of our loss of community orientation, but could it also…
Tasteful teachings
“E Pluribus unum” is the 2013 theme of this year’s Prairieland Chautauqua to be held four evenings over Labor Day weekend. Modeled after traditional Chautauquas, which were educational gatherings named after the first, held on Lake Chautauqua, the Jacksonville get-togethers include musical shows, storytellers, communal suppers and re-enactors representing famous Americans. On the lineup: Brian…
Labor Day doings
Well, it’s time for the annual bemoaning of the passing of another summer, one that seemed to fly by like a hungry mosquito heading for dinner on my left elbow. Now I suppose fall will just do the same. The years pile up with annoying regularity and increasing rapidity, but all in good time. First…
Three-way traffic
“A place for everything and everything in its place, I say, and a park is not the place for cars.” That was me, ranting in this paper in 1978. I promised then that it would be my last word on the subject, and it was for 35 years. That’s a long time for me to…
A boxer gives back
On a muggy summer day in Springfield’s Lincoln Park, about 10 young kids jog a slow lap around the park’s perimeter, making their way to a raised concrete platform near the Nelson Center. Every hand is wrapped in thin cloth to protect the knuckles, the sure sign of a boxer. They begin to jump rope…
Between The Cracks: End Times Trio tonight at The Pharmacy
Once again, Faingold at Large proudly presents “Between the Cracks” – the recurring feature designed to shine a light onto Springfield-area bands, and all in their own words, to boot. Join us, won’t you? There’s gold between them thar cracks! Today’s BTC flashlight shines on Springfield’s only apparent working free jazz ensemble, End Times Trio.…
Laborless stroll into the holiday
OK. If you’re so busy or brain dead you forgot you get a three-day weekend this weekend (like I did), you need to read this stuff below: Tonight, 7 p.m., at The Pharmacy a jazz show with Lucas Collins from N.Y. on percussion and Albert Wildeman from Chicago on the upright bass and End Times…
