Money-gobbling war machine
How much is a billion dollars? Most of us are unable to comprehend such a stash. But to get your mind around a billion, think of it like this: Suppose you had a billion dollars and you spent $3,000 of it every day. Wow, you’d be living high on the hog! So, spending at that…
Lost in translation
If ever a film had “sure-fire hit” written all over it, it would be Susan Stroman’s big-screen adaptation of her Broadway smash The Producers. After all, the musical itself was based on the Mel Brooks comedy classic, released in 1968, and stars Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in the roles that made them the toast…
Party crashers
It still ain’t easy being green. But with moderate Republican candidate Judy Baar Topinka within striking distance of well-financed incumbent Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois Green Party must feel pretty good about its chances of getting at least one of its members elected to statewide office. In the 2006 general election, the state Greens will…
E-mails from the perimeter of good taste
I write stories? Stuff? Sometimes kind folks read the stories and e-mail me. The e-mail is almost always of this nature: “I enjoyed your story. Interesting. Different. Made me laugh [or think, or smile] — but I’m not quite sure what it’s about. What does it mean?” My almost-always reply is: “Thank you. Glad you…
Out of the woods
This year, Illinois Times covered everything that mattered in Springfield, Illinois, the United States, Earth, and the Milky Way. OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration — we missed some stories on the far side of the galaxy — but, at the very least, we had something interesting to say. Here, we revisit the year 2005…
Redefining “Springfield Sucks”
Last year at this time, I compiled a short wish list of items that, if delivered, would allow our hometown to not suck, or at least to continue sucking with much more excitement and fulfillment. A few of my dreams came to pass, but most ended up in the wastebasket of hopeless wishes, soon to…
Naming names
On Jan. 1, Illinois will abandon its practice of reporting HIV cases by code and instead adopt a name-based system like that used by many other states. Illinois Department of Public Health director Dr. Eric Whitaker announced the change in October, saying that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly urged states to…
Long-distance relationship
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan Ramblin’ Man (V2) Who says long-distance relationships never work? Despite being separated by some 8,000 miles, Isobel Campbell, of Glasgow, and Mark Lanegan, of Los Angeles, have brought us Ramblin’ Man, a four-song collaboration that wouldn’t have been possible without the Internet (tsk, tsk — and you thought it was all…
Labor force
Remember the day your cursor froze at work and the computer guy hired just a few days earlier promised that everything would be fine? Just a few more minutes, he promised, as he sat at your desk typing madly while you got a cup of coffee. Then another cup. And another. An hour later, you…
Time for a little tenderness
At a recent party, a friend was way down. George W. Bush had ruined his Christmas. He was so upset about the state of the world that he could hardly function. There is so much wrong — how can people celebrate? The war in Iraq is wrong. The trade deficit is wrong. The government can’t…
Jacqueline Jackson
christmaspoem #2 can’t write about new years still in xmas mode those louvre paintings uffizi the babe never has a stitch on I bet mary’s nice robe doesn’t stay nice very long and no laundromat around the corner the middle panel when I paint my triptych will have a diapered babe mama’s expression will…
American Life in Poetry
Painful separations, through divorce, through death, through alienation, sometimes cause us to focus on the objects around us, often invested with sentiment. Here’s Shirley Buettner, having packed up what’s left of a relationship. The Wind Chimes Two wind chimes, one brass and prone to anger, one with the throat of an angel, swing from my…
Letters to the editor
Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com GLAD HE TOOK A STAND Fletcher Farrar’s recent commentary is an example…
Retail hell
Christmas may the most eagerly awaited time of year for retailers, but generally it is hated by their employees. I spent nine years of my life in that quagmire, and I certainly don’t miss it now. Retail sales is one of the most misunderstood occupations. Witness the current furor over wages paid to Wal-Mart employees:…
