Target-ing customers
Writing two days before Christmas about the theft from Target’s data system of as many as 40 million customer names, card numbers, expiration dates and card security codes, the Chicago Tribune editors wrote, “Companies and government prosecutors will do what they can, but consumers will have to become more vigilant about watching for the handiwork…
Nebraska now in Springfield
Bruce Dern and Will Forte star as father and son in Nebraska Those heading to the movies this holiday weekend who have tastes more earthbound than Middle Earth, or who perhaps appreciate comedy anchored in believable characters and situations rather than franchised absurdist bombast, might want to note that one of the most acclaimed independent…
Tracked classes
Over the years I’ve ridden trains of one kind or another as often as I ride horses, and like all passengers have had my share of ideas about how to improve service. Until Illinois gets a genuinely high-speed service between Springfield and St. Louis and Chicago, the biggest problem facing the rail passenger is how…
Four new holiday films
Epic vision of The Hobbit hobbled by tepid paceDirector Peter Jackson returns to take care of unfinished business with his adaptation of The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien’s prequel to the filmmaker’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. It’s a gorgeous exercise containing gloriously rendered mystical lands, horrific creatures and magical sights. The film is an immersive experience…
Sunny daze
Curses, foiled again• Police investigating a burglary in Lake Worth, Fla., identified Derek Codd, 19, as their suspect because he left his cellphone at the scene, and his mother called. Investigators answered and asked the woman whose phone it was. They then arrested Codd and Kristen Rynearson, 19, with the stolen goods. (South Florida Sun…
Wimp daddy
A woman wrote you about flirting relentlessly with a male classmate who seemed interested in her but may have been too timid to ask her out. You asked her, “If a man can’t endure a possible 10 seconds of rejection, is he the man you want with you when danger rears its head?” Absent a…
Four new holiday films
Tintin, a magical adventure to savor After inking his first contract to make movies, Orson Welles referred to RKO Studios and its resources as “the biggest toy-train set a boy could ever have.” Watching The Adventures of Tintin, you get the impression that director Steven Spielberg had a similar reaction when he got his hands…
Coogan seeks professional redemption with Philomena
Judi Dench as Philomena Lee and Steve Coogan as Martin Sixsmith in Philomena. PHOTO COURTESY THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY Like most performers who are labeled as “comics,” Steve Coogan eventually grew tired of being pigeonholed and longed to prove that he could do more than make people laugh. He got the opportunity when he came across…
Night lights
PHOTO COURTESY THE DANA-THOMAS HOME A favorite during the holidays in Springfield, the Dana-Thomas House opens its doors for evening candlelight and luminaria tours on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 21, 22, from 5 to 8 p.m. Workers tell us there are new decorations. Volunteers from the Springfield Civic Garden Club designed vase arrangements for the…
Big business and Madigan business
House Speaker Michael Madigan’s spokesman said last week that his boss’ statement opposing further corporate “handouts” basically “speaks for itself.” But does it? Madigan invoked the populist gods last week as he called for an end to the “case-by-case system of introducing and debating legislation whenever a corporation is looking for free money from Illinois…
Four new holiday films
Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence in Columbia Pictures’ American Hustle. PHOTO BY FRANCOIS DUHAMEL Grand performances move Hustle Deception, denial and blind ambition are at the core of David O. Russell’s American Hustle, a wildly ambitious, relentlessly engaging and darkly humorous tale that features not only some of the…
Minimum wage workers need a raise for Christmas
Let’s bring the spirit of Christmas to Congress. The last time the minimum wage went up was in 2009, and, as the owner of a Christmas tree farm and other businesses, I think it’s time for another raise. Today’s $7.25 an hour minimum wage befits Scrooge – before he saw the error of his ways.…
Fracking opponents give regulators an earful
Hundreds of people turned out Tuesday evening for a public hearing in Decatur to point out holes in proposed regulations for a controversial oil and gas extraction technique. The meeting was one of several held around the state at which environmentalists, landowners and others spoke up to oppose the rules and the extraction technique itself.…
Coke’s conspiracy against tap water
Coca-Cola is running a stealth advertising campaign. Stealth? Yes, it’s a nationwide product promotion that’s being run below the public radar! Why would a corporation as ad-dependent as Coke spend big bucks on advertising that it doesn’t want consumers to notice? Shhhh – because the campaign is a surreptitious ploy to enlist restaurants in a…
Skunked before Christmas
PHOTO BY TOM FRIEDEL VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG We lived in a frame house in Hickory Hollow during our younger years. We had many interesting experiences there, especially in the wintertime. Brother Jack and I woke up early on a dark and cold December morning. Mom usually called us twice. Once to wake us and once to…
State slow to approve pathologist with a past
The Sangamon County coroner’s office remains without a forensic pathologist more than two months after the county announced that it had retained a doctor to perform autopsies. Dr. Nathaniel Patterson’s physician’s license application is stalled at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which averages 26 business days to process license applications. Coroner Cinda…
Seasonal songs
A Very Hoogland Christmas is a Christmas revue featuring classic holiday tunes and contemporary Christmas music, as well as beautiful sacred music. Hosted by Gus Gordon, the show will feature Meghan Birch, Nathan Carls, Vanessa Ferguson, Kevin Ford, Amanda Reynolds, Debbie Ross, Mary Kate Smith and Matthew Vala and will showcase the Hoogland Kids, Teens…
Letters to the Editor 12/19/13
BARNEY FIFEReading the article by Phil Bradley (“The cop was right to ticket me,” Dec. 5) about the Illinois State Police captain he called “straight arrow” because he would “ticket his own mother,” I was reminded of TV Deputy Barney Fife throwing the whole town of Mayberry in jail for chronic jaywalking while Sheriff Andy…
My gift
This poem was written by my mother,Vera Wardner Dougan, to my father,for their first Christmas together, 1924. I’m repeating it here, for it is so simple, appropriate and tender. JDJ If I could give to you one only gift To hold forever, in remembrance of meT’would be the peace that enters in the heartWhen love comes there…
Driving while black
Samuel Johnson knew something was up before he even left the highway. Just before midnight on Nov. 4, Johnson was returning from Bloomington in his Mitsubishi Diamante when he spotted a Springfield police vehicle parked at a U-turn on I-55. He noticed that the police pulled out behind him and followed from a distance as…
Tim Easton
Tim Easton PHOTO BY TYLER MCCAY Nashville-based singer-songwriter, guitarist Tim Easton gets around. His 2013 itinerary included Europe, Japan, Alaska, Texas, the East Coast and now a nine day run through the Midwest. The acclaimed performer, writer, rocker and all around, talented musician calls east Nashville home, but as you can see, doesn’t get to…
Cookie traditions
Linzer cookies are easy to make and delicious. PHOTO BY RICARDO DEARATANHA//MCT Cookies and Christmas. Is there any more universally traditional food of the holiday season? Sure, there’s fruitcake, though many people regard it as something best avoided rather than embraced – but everybody loves cookies. Even folks like my dentist husband, Peter, who doesn’t…
Ice outing
The Springfield Park District offers Skate with Santa at the Nelson Center during designated public skate times on Dec. 21 and Dec. 22. On Saturday, Dec. 2, public skate time lasts from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Santa will skate from approximately noon to 1 p.m. On Sunday, Dec. 22, public skate time is 2-4…
Wintertime wonder
The Legacy Theatre will show one of the most popular Christmas films of all time It’s a Wonderful Life on Dec. 20. See Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed in this heartwarming tale of a man down on his luck who through the help of an angel realizes the value of life and friends. Bring a…
Come together over something
Park plays with Looming and The Sun and the Sea, Sat., Dec. 20, at Marly’s Pub. PHOTO COURTESY PARK VIA FACEBOOK.COM Just as families reunite during the holiday season, it appears that bands do, too. Among many other exciting events this weekend, we have a few get back-togethers to report. I guess this one is…
Choo choo blues
Community activists say that minorities aren’t getting enough out of high-speed rail and railroad consolidation work in Springfield. “This is not a game we play – this is real, folks,” Leroy Jordan, chairman of the Rail Task Force for the Faith Coalition for the Common Good, told reporters at a press conference last week. “We…
Comic timing
What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians? A drummer. I don’t know why I have always enjoyed drummer jokes. My father is a professional drummer, and a fine one, so one should not read anything Oedipal into this odd taste. I have yet to recognize any aspect of his playing or his…
