Nonsensical “Paradox” a “Cloverfield” Reject
A funny thing happened amidst the hoopla that was Super Bowl LII. Netflix ran the first trailer for The Cloverfield Paradox, the next entry in J.J. Abrams unorthodox sci-fi franchise…and then they announced it would premiere immediately after the game. Whether this sort of surprise release strategy results in a large number of initial viewers…
Runner Goes Nowhere Fast with Cure
While the film adaptations of The Hunger Games took full advantage of the dystopian adventure craze that swept through the youth literature sector, the similarly-plotted Divergent movies petered out, the final segment currently in production limbo, likely never to see the light of day. The Maze Runner series falls somewhere in the middle, in regards…
IT ROAD TRIP PICK: Destroyer in St. Louis
Dan Bejar, the enigmatic and distinctive Canadian songwriter who has been touring and recording under the name Destroyer since the mid-1990s, will appear at Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room in St. Louis this Friday in support of his twelfth album, ken (2107), one of the most sonically and lyrically rewarding albums of last year. Bejar’s recent…
Alternative weeklies, 40 years later
In the fall of 1977, not long after Elvis Presley died, I took a call on one of the two phones in our Illinois Times office on Eighth Street, a few doors from Lincoln’s home. Both phones had long floor cords so they could be moved from desk to desk, but if someone walking by…
Fed up with corporate-rigged politics?
Last June, after Democratic candidates had lost four straight special Congressional elections, America’s purveyors of conventional political wisdom simultaneously jumped to the conclusion that the policies and message of Democrats were just too progressive for our nation of moderate-right voters. The Washington cognoscenti expressed dismay that, despite Trump’s dismal public approval ratings and the nationwide…
Chris Kennedy isn’t ready for prime time
For a while now, the book on Chris Kennedy has been that he may not be cut out for a career in politics, despite his famous last name and pedigree as the son of Bobby Kennedy and nephew of John F. Kennedy. That thinking goes all the way back to Kennedy’s disastrous performance after a…
Letters to the Editor 2/1/18
DEAD PUNCHES President Trump’s State of the Union speech was filled with dead punches for President Obama. It is clear that he fears President Obama, but when will he learn that all of his punches are dead? Trump says President Obama wasn’t born in the United States. Trump lives just to boast about how many…
Editor’s note 2/1/18
Trump was pretty good – for Trump – in his State of the Union speech, but did you see the Democratic response from Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III? Could we bring that Kennedy to Illinois in exchange for his Uncle Chris? The 37-year-old grandson of Bobby sounds more like Bobby: “This administration isn’t just targeting…
What’s next for Iraq Christians?
Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the Islamic State, or Daesh, in early December. Shortly after that, two western Dominican Friars arrived in the country to visit the Iraqi Dominican sisters, brothers and priests with whom the Dominicans of Springfield have built relationships since 2001. Springfield Dominican Sisters Beth Murphy and Marcelline Koch,…
ECCE Speaker Series
On Thursday, Feb. 1, from 7-9 p.m., hear former white supremacist Joseph Pearce chronicle his life from racist revolutionary to his rejection of that ideology. Pearce, a former leader of the National Front, a British-nationalist, white supremacist group, is now a well-known college literature professor, currently serving as the Tolkien and Lewis chair in literary…
A humorous hypnotist
On Saturday, Feb. 3, at 7:30 p.m., catch a hilarious performance by professional stage hypnotist Jeff Harpring. Jeff’s comedy hypnosis shows offer an interactive brand of humor where volunteers from the audience join Jeff onstage to experience hypnosis and become the stars of the show. This is a clean, family-friendly show, suitable for all ages,…
The power of puppies
On Feb. 6 and 7, join Ryder and the Paw Patrol pups for an unforgettable live-action adventure during Paw Patrol: Race to the Rescue at Sangamon Auditorium. The show is set on the day of the Great Adventure Bay Race, where Adventure Bay’s Mayor Goodway and Foggy Bottom’s Mayor Humdinger are scheduled to face off.…
Comeback kid
I first met Pat Quinn when I was a radio news reporter nearly 38 years ago, and interviewed him in person regarding his drive to reduce the size of the Illinois House of Representatives by one-third. At that time I thought the intense, 30-something Quinn was well-informed but a bit crazy. I never had…
What lies beneath…is expensive
While the city struggles to close an $11.5 million budget gap, Springfield may soon have a sewer-repair bill to consider. A study of aging sewers in the downtown area should be complete this week, said Gregg Humphrey, executive director of the Sangamon County Water Reclamation District. Based on that study, the city will be expected…
Green in a fight over gold
The Gold Center might be moving to Florida from Springfield, and that isn’t the least of it, according to a federal lawsuit filed last week. In the lawsuit, James Hausman, a stockholder and former owner of the business that buys and sells precious metals, accuses his business partners, including Gold Center majority owner Todd Green,…
The battle over legalization continues
Lawmakers plan to introduce a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in early February, following a series of public hearings in Chicago over the legislative break. On Jan. 22, lawmakers in Chicago held their fourth and last public hearing concerning legalization. The meeting focused on the public health aspect of legalization, weighing the potential harm legalization…
Unwelcoming U.S. tone may add to UIS enrollment woes
A recent decline in enrollment at University of Illinois Springfield may in part be a symptom of dramatic drop in graduate and international enrollment throughout the country. “One of the factors causing those numbers to go down is a perception that the U.S. has recently become less welcoming to international students coming in the country…
Paddington 2: A balm for our troubled times
From where I sit, nothing much makes any sense in the world anymore. I understand that I am getting older and find myself committing the sin of doing and thinking all of those things that I said I would never do or think. I understand that I am not changing with the times and am…
Fabulous February music
2018 rolls along its merry way on this roller coaster ride of time, but rest assured that no matter what, the live music offered in town is consistently good and plentiful. On Friday, Austin, Texas, bar-band breakouts Mike and the Moonpies conjure up a rockin’ country sound at Boondocks as part of a cross-country tour…
Porter Union
This wife-and-husband music duo of Cole Michael Porter and Kendra Porter hails from Springfield, Missouri, with a startup history that reads like a country music fairy tale. The two met a decade ago at a bar and struck up a match made in heaven while touring as the Cole Porter Band. Since the Porters became…
Cold weather comfort
I love cooking outdoors, even in winter. The aromas of roasting meat and wood smoke intermingling in the crisp, cold air call out to me and awaken my appetite. Recently, however, the prolonged cold spell we’ve been having has taken away much of the appeal of cooking outdoors. When the cold winds of winter have…
manzanar poem # 3
manzanar poem # 3 when springfield-born kazuko golden recently showed her film on americanconcentration camp manzanar theaudience discussion that followedmoved into racial stereotyping kazukotold us growing up she’d often beenasked – or informed – that she wasoriental – chinese, japanese – “in truth,”she said, “I’m half japanese ancestry half european; my dad’s mom and grandparentscame…
