All systems go
Do you remember the last time you used your phone to actually make or take a call? All kidding aside, the truth of the matter is that today we rely on our phones more and more for web browsing, e-mailing, GPS, shooting photos and video, tweeting or doing any number of things that there’s an…
Chocolate cockroaches, a 19th-century treat
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the houseNot a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…The children were nestled, all snug in their bedsWhile visions of cockroaches danced in their heads… Sound like the Addams Family version of Clement C. Moore’s famous poem? It’s easy to picture macabre little Wednesday Addams licking her…
A green beauty
Architect John Shafer’s new office building at 1230 S. Sixth St. in Springfield recently won an award for sustainable design from the Central Illinois Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Not only is it a “green” building, it is also lovely to behold. It may have caught your eye while under construction during the…
What video gambling did to me
Twenty-six years and eight months ago I walked into the Aloha to play my guitar and the songs that people liked. Everything was there that had been there the night before – the rice cooker, the Hawaiian figureheads, the piano bar, the jukebox, the cigarette machine. But at the end of the back bar there…
Romantic-era customs
See and learn about 19th century Christmas artifacts as the Springfield Art Association begins its new series of history talks beginning Dec. 9 with Dr. Marcia Young, site superintendent of David Davis Mansion. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience at the mansion, Young presents ways Victorians celebrated Christmas, from trimming the tree to…
Hipbone Sam Band
About two years ago Kevin Hawkins decided to make a living playing music and that’s exactly what he’s done. Now known all over central Illinois as the fun lovin’, music makin’, get-a-party-goin’ Hipbone Sam, the guy who yells “Let me hear you say yeah!” played nearly 200 shows in 2010. By offering venues the choice…
New east side center steers youth in the right direction
Leannette Black grew up in San Francisco, where she remembers her mother making and selling hot tamales and hamburgers out of their home to raise money for drum and bugle corps costumes. “I saw all these people moving around me and it was just community,” says Black, who after serving in the army until 1992…
Accessory revolution
It goes without saying that 2010 is the year of the iPad. Despite the recession-y conditions in which it was unveiled, Apple’s new tablet device has been the most successful product launch in the company’s history – even bigger than the iPhone launch just a few years ago. Tech-industry analyst iSuppli expects nearly 13 million…
Tracks on 10th
The bright red bricks of the boxy building at 427 S. 12th St. in Springfield stand out boldly against the drab colors of winter. A remnant of Springfield’s past, the building incorporates windows, doors and other materials from the house that eventually became the Dana-Thomas House. It had a 100-year-old time capsule in its cornerstone,…
Letters to the Editor 12/09/10
JUSTICE FOR JUVENILESWhen I was inducted in June as president of the Illinois State Bar Association, I made a commitment to work closely with our association members to reform our woefully inadequate juvenile justice system. Sadly, our state spends far more annually to incarcerate youth (a staggering $100 million) than it does on youth prevention…
Toward a farm-fresh food system
Readers of the brand new Illinois Times might not have learned learn much about who controlled the Illinois House, but we reported so diligently where they could buy farm-fresh eggs that it became a standing joke around the office. It was 1975. Anti-corporatism, pesticide paranoia and food faddism had come back into vogue. We joined…
A few of my favorite things
If you’re looking for gifts for the cooks on your holiday shopping list, here are a few suggestions. They range from inexpensive stocking stuffers to items a bit more substantial, but still moderately priced. All have become indispensible in my kitchen and are things I’ve given as gifts to my kids, relatives and friends. Kitchen…
Study urges caution on underground CO2 storage
Carbon dioxide leaks from deep underground wells could make otherwise good water undrinkable, a study by two scientists at the Duke University Center on Global Change found in a study released earlier this year. Opponents of a “clean” coal project in Taylorville say the study helps make their case against the project. But a scientist…
Warrior’s Way an entertaining, bloody hoot
It would be easy to pick apart Sngmoo Lee’s The Warrior’s Way. The plot is ridiculous, the acting runs the gamut form ham-fisted to comatose and the sheer number of nonsensical moments it contains would sink a film that takes itself too seriously. To be sure, this is not such a movie. Lee’s intent is…
Holiday hymn
The Springfield Handel Choir, a 56-member local choir, presents the Christmas portion of The Messiah: An Oratorio by Handel under the direction of conductor Janet Lea Cobb-Myers Dec. 12 at St. Agnes Church. The “Hallelujah Chorus” will be enhanced by Fred Greenwald on the trumpet, Jeremy Davidson on the timpani and Dr. See Tsai Chan…
FREEDOM OF AND FROM RELIGION
The Springfield American Civil Liberties Union erected its second annual display in the Capitol rotunda Tuesday, but is hoping to avoid the same backlash from right-wing critics who last year argued that the group was cleverly trying to stamp out God. Last year, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly stood by as his guest, author Ann…
Seasonal samplings
’Tis the season to be jolly and by the looks of upcoming events, being jolly includes listening to music. From the constant holiday songs on WQQL 101.9 FM (how many versions of “Let it Snow!, Let it Snow!, Let it Snow!” are there anyway?) to school concerts, classical performances, church choirs, off-the-cuff singalongs and regular bar…
Bitingly hilarious
New York-based actor Jay Randall (pictured) suits up as Crumpet the elf in the cult classic, The Santaland Diaries, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts Club Room. Written by NPR humorist David Sedaris, this adult production follows not just any merry elf, but Crumpet, an out-of-work actor trying to earn some bread, who tastes…
Musical classic
Springfield Theatre Centre presents a traditional holiday musical for the family. Based on the 1954 film and directed by Leigh Ann Smith, two evening performances and two matinees are planned with audience members having a chance to win gift certificates or a diamond necklace from Denney Jewelers. Additionally on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.,…
Some signs of courage in civil unions vote
Six Illinois House Republicans voted with 55 Democrats last week to approve a civil unions bill. But a few of the Democratic “Yes” votes were a bit more surprising. All but one of the six Republicans were suburbanites. Bill Black, who is retiring later this month, was the only Downstater. Reps. Suzi Bassi and Beth…
HOLIDAY SYMPHONY
Though Christmas music can be annoying when piped through the tinny speakers of every grocery store and shopping mall, it’s much more enjoyable when played in person by a talented group of local musicians. The Illinois Symphony Orchestra, led by maestra Karen Lynne Deal, is offering an elegant taste of the holidays with its upcoming…
lovepoem #
my brother-in-law listened toa life-weary friend of many years.“Have you learned to love yourself?”my brother-in-law asked.“I try,” said the friend, “but Idon’t succeed. How about you?”“I try too,” my brother-in-law said“but don’t succeed much either.”the friend nodded. “It would help,” he said, “if I didn’t know myself so well.”
‘The Hammer’ gets nailed with a new nickname
Tom DeLay, a once-upon-a-time Republican powerhouse, has accumulated an unusual assortment of nicknames in his professional life. As a Texas legislator in the 1980s, he was known as “Hot Tub Tommy,” a do-nothing member who preferred partying to lawmaking. When he went to Congress, however, he was a man on a mission. The former owner…
Beyond civil unions: What’s next?
As Republicans spoke out against a civil union bill approved by both the House and Senate last week, they argued that the measure would open the door to same-sex marriage, a prediction advocates for the gay and lesbian community say is precisely on target. “We’ve been very upfront from day one that we view the…
Chronicles only for the Lewis faithful
I’m not really sure what it is about The Chronicles of Narnia movies that I find so unengaging. The Lord of the Rings films suffered under the same onus of trying to get viewers unfamiliar with the source novels to care about Bilbo Baggins and his adventures and director Peter Jackson succeeded handsomely in doing…
