Holy warrior
The office of Bishop Thomas John Paprocki is a veritable shrine to hockey. On a table sits a miniature Stanley Cup, next to a photo of him posing on the ice with members of his beloved Chicago Blackhawks. In the office foyer hangs a photograph of Paprocki posing with the cup itself, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with…
Glorious oratorio
A performance you won’t want to miss, The Springfield Choral Society conducted by Marion van der Loo, performs Part I of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah with an effort to do so as Handel envisioned it. The Society’s goal is to bring to Springfield the insight and style of the work discovered by musical scholars in…
Michael Ruhlman’s apple-cinnamon doughnuts
I’d call these fritters rather than doughnuts, but whatever they’re called, they’re absolutely scrumptious. There’s more apple than dough in them, the dough acting primarily as a binder. The resulting fritters/doughnuts are unusually light with a crispy sugared exterior and an almost custardy interior bursting with apple flavor. Ruhlman says of this recipe: “This is…
Frank rocks out of town
Whenever area guitar players get mentioned, Frank Huston’s name is sure to come up early in the conversation. Huston, now into his fourth decade of playing music on the local scene, is moving to Portland, Ore., in a few weeks. This Friday, Dec. 9, “Frank Rock” plays a fan appreciation and farewell show with the…
New Year’s Eve a celebration to miss
In 2003, director Richard Curtis pulled together an all-star cast of English actors, handed them a heartfelt script he labored over for two years and created a modern romantic classic with Love Actually. Employing multiple storylines that initially seem to have no relation to one another but eventually connect, an example of what has become…
Illinois mulls public financing of elections
Illinois needs a system to publicly fund election campaigns, reform advocates told a state committee examining potential campaign finance reforms last week. But one expert says lawmakers probably won’t go for it. The Illinois Campaign Finance Reform Task Force heard testimony Nov. 28 regarding the proposed creation of a statewide system to fund election campaigns…
Letters to the Editor 12/8/11
JOY IN BEAUTY In his 1912 tract, “The Gospel of Beauty,” Vachel Lindsay wrote, “The things most worthwhile are one’s own hearth and neighborhood.” Lindsay specifically highlighted children in this neighborhood, wishing them artistic inspiration and industry. As such, I was so pleased to see your recent article about a visit by Lindsay’s granddaughter, Louisa…
The Gingerbread Queen
Johanna Rosson’s decorating skills are sweet. Rosson designs and builds gingerbread houses – and she’s been head architect for some of the best. In 2005, she appeared on Food Network’s “Paula’s Home Cooking.” After that, she was commissioned to make a special replica of a Springfield, IL., train depot to be displayed at the Abraham…
Seditious holiday humor
Jolly good seditious holiday fun fills up the Hoogland Center for the Arts Club Room as New York actor Jay Randall stars in The Santaland Diaries for three performances. Written by the renowned humorist David Sedaris, the dramatic piece reveals the frosty thoughts of an out-of-work actor who had to take a job as a…
Amateur photogs, pro cameras
There’s an old saying among photographers that the best camera is the one you have with you. For many of us, that’s increasingly a smartphone. But if someone on your list relies only on a mobile phone for photography, they’re missing out. From blazing-fast shooting speeds to exquisite detail and creative options, nothing can top…
Her best friend’s waiting
My girlfriend’s best friend is her ex. They broke up six years ago (upon mutual agreement). She swears she’s much happier being his friend and says they both feel they weren’t meant to be romantic partners. Well, she clearly adores the hell out of him, and he’s her go-to guy for her problems (family, career,…
Books for cooks
Books always constitute a significant proportion of the gifts under our Christmas tree. And since most of my family members are enthusiastic cooks, it’s a safe bet that some of those books will be cookbooks. Here are two cookbooks on my Christmas shopping list this year. I’ve found both valuable – even invaluable – much…
War without the killing
Certain Republicans have given way to fits of partisan bloodlust lately and tried to beat the current president with the bones of one of his long-dead Democratic predecessors. Franklin Roosevelt, they insist, deserves no credit for ending the Great Depression, since it was not FDR’s recovery policies that put Americans back to work but spending…
The grass roots are catching fire
In the Nov. 8 elections, the national media gave extensive coverage to a proposed “personhood amendment” to Mississippi’s state constitution. This was an extremist anti-abortion ballot initiative to declare that a person’s life begins not at birth, but at the very instant that a sperm meets the egg. However, extending full personhood to two-cell zygotes…
The Oohs
From the extraordinary and challenging cover song choices to the brilliant, self-penned power pop pieces, no other rock band in Springfield has ever come close to achieving the sonic reality of the Oohs. Founding members Brian Curtis (keyboards, vocals) and Frank Huston (guitars, vocals) with longtime member Brian Cutright (bass, vocals), plus current drummer Tom…
The Forgotten War
During the cold December of 1951, 12 Illinois military service members lost their lives in the Korean War. Those Marines and Army troops from Illinois were among 1,754 Illinoisans and the 54,246 Americans killed 60 years ago in “The Forgotten War” that ran from June 1950 to July 1953. To remember the 60th anniversary of…
Coal gasification plant approved by Senate
The Illinois Senate recently approved a controversial proposal to build a cutting-edge coal power plant in Taylorville, paving the way for what proponents say should be an easy victory in the Illinois House. But critics say the project is unnecessary and puts the cost and risk on taxpayers. The proposed Taylorville Energy Center would create…
swanpoem #1
swanpoem #1 a lone swan patrolled this little stretch of the ohio for five years until he disappeared some say they saw him flying south in the company of two whistling swans so my friends’ small home right on the bank comes rightfully by its name swan cottage no name is needed though for its…
Handheld hubbub
The Vita, PlayStation’s next-generation portable gaming device, took the top Hardware honors from the gaming press at E3 2011, but unfortunately, it won’t be available in North America till 2012. However, on-the-go gamers need fear not. There’s the Nintendo 3DS ($249.99), the world’s first portable 3D gaming system. The 3DS packs two screens –%u202Fa 3.5-inch,…
Why the business tax cut failed
It’s a fairly common Statehouse phenomenon that bills will zoom out of the Senate or the House and then flame out in the other chamber. People in the other chamber just don’t always care as much as the people who first sponsor the bills. Often, they also don’t want to be pushed around by the…
I (sort of) love taxes
For fiction lovers, the upcoming presidential campaign, which might match Newt Gingrich against Barack Obama, promises to deliver a cornucopia of entertaining untruths. Gingrich published a book last year that accused Obama, a devout Christian with many wealthy friends, of conspiring to impose a “secular-socialist machine” upon America. Last month, Gingrich defended the large payments…
Festive footwork
Springfield Ballet Company performs the holiday classic, The Nutcracker, at Sangamon Auditorium, UIS on Dec. 10 and Dec. 11 with two performances on Saturday. The production features a cast of 130, including children and adults from the Springfield area, SBC members and guest artists. These include: SBC member Caragan Phillips, Clara; Carolina Ballet Theatre members…
Keeping tabs
Before the iPad debuted in early 2010, no one really knew they needed a tablet. But, gosh, how did we ever live without them? Lighter than a laptop with more real estate than a smartphone, tablets have quickly become the go-to device for browsing the web, playing games or simply reading a book –%u202Fwhether on…
Excavating the past
Local authors Kenneth Farnsworth, Dr. John Walthall and Robert Mazrim sign copies of their recently published books in The Museum Store. Farnsworth and Walthall’s book, Bottled in Illinois: Embossed Bottles and Bottled Products of Early Illinois Merchants from 1840-1880, describes and illustrates nearly 1,100 different Illinois embossed-bottle varieties produced before, during or after the Civil…
