Isn’t it Room-antic?
In the market for a movie date this coming Valentine’s Day but want to avoid the usual RomCom clichés? Affairs of the heart have rarely been so absurdly and ineptly dramatized as they are in The Room, a notorious and unintentionally hilarious cult film oft -reputed to be the Citizen Kane of bad movies, which…
Obama, Inc.
Exciting news, folks. Obama and team say they’re recalibrating, recasting, retooling and rebranding his presidency! And they’ve come up with a dandy new slogan to sum it all up and get America moving again. Ready? “Win the future.” Takes your breath away, doesn’t it? If you’re old enough to remember Gerald Ford’s hapless presidency, Obama’s…
The Lincoln Museum at Lincoln
Not all Lincoln museums are alike. Compare, for example, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) in Springfield and the Lincoln Heritage Museum in Lincoln.While the ALPLM uses state-of-the-art technology and recreated, life-size scenes from Lincoln’s life to tell his story, the much smaller Lincoln Heritage Museum at Lincoln College relies on artifacts to…
Tougher sentence sought for Ponzi schemer
A Springfield man who cheated dozens of people out of millions of dollars could face six and a half years in prison, if a federal judge grants prosecutors’ latest request. James U. Dodge pleaded guilty in September of running a Ponzi scheme which targeted several Springfield residents, including Dodge’s friends, fellow retirees and a parapalegic…
Cheap house on the prairie
Each year for nearly 20 years now, the National Association of Home Builders and the Wells Fargo Bank have boiled down national real estate data into an easy-to-digest housing affordability index. Local housing markets are judged “affordable” according to how many families earning the national median income of $64,400 can buy an average-priced house. By…
New restrictions possible for public food aid
Krystal Taylor of Springfield doesn’t worry about not having enough to eat. She knows everything will be OK. Taylor, 35, has received Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through the Illinois Link card on and off for the past 18 years. Taylor has seen many changes with the program over the years, and now more…
Free to play at WQNA
The phone chirps incessantly. Loud and fast heavy metal music blares from the speakers. Amid the cacophony a red light flashes on, and up to the DJ microphone steps Chris Hupp, transforming into Metal Chris as he takes a slug of Mountain Dew. “Good evening and welcome to another edition of Monday Night Metal on…
Letters to the Editor 2/3/11
BUY OR BORROW Mr. Krohe speaks of ambience; I say status. Barnes & Noble offers its customers that almost subliminal feeling that they are buying a book at a place where many others cannot, that same feeling one gets paying $4.99 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks. We need to keep in mind that…
‘Lawbbyists’
From shady money transfers by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the return of a missing baseball signed by Babe Ruth, attorney Herman Bodewes has seen it all throughout more than 40 years with a Springfield law firm. Giffin, Winning, Cohen & Bodewes, located on Fifth Street in the Myer’s building, celebrated their centennial year serving…
Illinois health reform continues
Illinois is moving ahead with health care reform, despite a Republican-led movement in Congress to repeal the federal law. The state continues to implement provisions of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including a new high-risk insurance pool and consumer protection against unreasonable rate increases. Every Republican and three Democrats in the U.S.…
The Big Read answers a big need
“But all the time — no matter what she did — there was music.” So writes Carson McCullers in her breakthrough novel, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, which is being celebrated by The Big Read in Central Illinois. From the end of January through March 30, central Illinois communities will jointly read, discuss and…
Iron Orchard
Hailing from somewhere between the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers not far from Macomb, singer-songwriter-guitarist Bill Harroun leads his group of heartland rockers through a terrain of proudly alt-country, no-nonsense tunes as honest and true as the day is long and the night is too. Featuring lead guitar and pedal steel wiz John Gorlewski, bassist Larry…
The Rite examines faith under fire
While Mikael Hafstrom’s The Rite is being promoted as a traditional horror film, its intentions are loftier than just getting its audience to jump out of its seats. Granted, it is effective in doing that on a few occasions, but the screenplay by Michael Petroni and the film itself is far more intriguing when it…
Feminist harmony
Saturday, Feb. 5, the University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience Speakers Series shows the one-hour acclaimed documentary by Director/Producer Jay Rosenstein about Champaign-Urbana’s award-winning lesbian/feminist choir. In their eighteenth year, the group sings folkloric, women-oriented and classical music. Chorus Founder Cristina Boerger speaks following the film. Sunday, February 13, at 4 p.m., don’t…
127 Hours: a testament to life and the will to survive
When the news of Aron Ralston’s experience hit the airwaves, everyone who heard it had the same thought: Would I be able to do what he did to survive? For those who don’t remember, Ralston was the climber who, back in 2003, found himself literally between a rock and hard place, when a boulder dislodged…
The Challenge of the Blues
Here comes February and all groundhog sightings aside, those involved in live music know this month as the occasion of the world famous International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn., hosted by the Blues Foundation. For those unaware of this monumental gathering of blues bands and musicians from the world over (at least the world familiar…
Cooking for my veg-heads
I am not a vegetarian and have no plans to become one. But I often make vegetarian meals just because I like the preparations. Even more often, I prepare meals in which the meat acts as a condiment. Thanks to local farmers such as Matt and Debbie Daniels of Bear Creek Farm and Stan Schutte…
Mayor candidates
A pre-primary mayoral candidate forum is on the agenda of the Citizens Club of Springfield’s Policy Breakfast at the Hoogland Center for the Arts Friday morning. A coffee reception precedes the 8 a.m. meeting that will include the seven candidates who have filed for the February 22 primary and one write-in candidate. The purpose of…
African-American annals
Throughout the month of February many events are planned to celebrate Black History Month throughout central Illinois. Feb. 7-10, check out The Human Race Machine at Lincoln land Community College from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The computer console allows participants to see themselves with the facial characteristics of six different races mapped onto their…
Good times
You’ll be wowed by the sounds of Get the Led Out band as they rock Sangamon Auditorium, UIS. This Led Zeppelin band, hailing from Philadelphia, is composed of six musicians who are all accomplished crafters of sound. They’ll bring the rock and roll classics of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones…
Bluegrass quartet
Don’t miss this four-piece bluegrass band from Raleigh, North Carolina who have played for sold-out crowds internationally and here in the U.S. and were featured on the World Café Live as well as many other radio and television venues. Lead singer/songwriter Dave Wilson’s smooth voice blends with the band’s instrumental and harmonizing sounds like wind…
