Feed your brain
Several years ago, Frances Moore Lappé and her daughter Anna Blythe Lappé set off on a journey spanning five continents. What they found, in their words, was “an invisible revolution of courageous movements helping us to see solutions to environmental crises and social inequality.” The result of their journey is Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet…
My humble opinion
Sometimes it seems I spend half my time fixing toilet paper. Nobody around here hangs it properly, with the paper rolling away from the wall. Instead, everybody hangs it with the paper rolling toward the wall, which makes no sense whatsoever — at least that’s my opinion. Another problem is double doors. There must be…
Back to the future
Downtown Springfield is about to resurrect a piece of its history as Union Station, the former rail depot that spans an entire block of Madison Street, undergoes a nearly $10 million makeover. The project includes a dramatic reconstruction of Union Station’s original 110-foot clock tower, crowned by a 40-foot flagpole, both of which were removed…
When the drugstore served the best drinks in town
At the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Edwards Street is a two-story building with a “For Lease” sign in the front window of the vacant first story. Until recently, the location served as a religious meeting house and, for many years before that, as an antique shop where a languorous cat spent her days blissfully,…
What setup?
Gov. Rod Blagojevich tends to bring out the worst in people. There is such a strong feeling of ill will against him among all stripes of political insiders and observers in this state that they’ll believe almost anything. Two solid years of the governor deliberately attacking people who didn’t deserve it, attacking people who deserved…
Striking a balance between liberty and security
In the 1960 movie version of the H.G. Wells novella The Time Machine, the Time Traveler returns from 19th-century England to the futuristic society he has rescued from evil. Before leaving, he retrieves several books from his library with which he hopes to rebuild a shattered society. A modern-day time traveler, believing in the essential…
Poskin joins SHA board
Mayor Tim Davlin has handpicked a veteran community activist and social worker to join the five-member Springfield Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. Polly Poskin, 58, will complete the remaining two-year term left by outgoing SHA board chairman Robert Schaaf, who tendered his resignation last month. “It’s hard to live in Springfield and not know Polly…
Hedging his bets
After years of asking for the establishment of a citizen panel to review complaints against the Springfield Police Department, Ward 2 Alderman Frank McNeil believes he finally sees light at the end of the tunnel. He’s just not sure whether it’s the floodlight he hoped for, the fragile glow of a single candle, or a…
Springfield favorites for soup and chili
Nothing warms the soul — and stomach — like a hot bowl of soup on a cold winter day. Many local restaurants serve at least one kind of soup, in addition to chili, year-round. Here are a few good choices: n Two Olives and a Pepper — In addition to an impressive list of sandwiches…
common sense 1-20-05
Gosh, it’s sad that the Bush administration hasn’t been able to provide protective armor for all of our troops in Iraq, but it has other priorities — such as playing with its Star Wars toys. There was recently another test of this boondoggle missile-defense system. The scheme, first hatched under President Ronald Reagan, calls for…
Jacqueline Jackson 1-20-05
travelpoem #1 we went all the way to ireland and spent a dublin sunday morning at the unitarian church how crazy can that be the sermon was called cowboys and indians we sang a hymn about rootworms in the afternoon we saw the book of kells and had carrot soup with ginger © Jacqueline Jackson…
letters 1-20-05
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 NO ON ABORTION — AND THE WAR Anne Logue, in her response…
Milo learns a lesson
The theater department at Parkland College in Champaign invites community members to participate in campus productions. By combining the talents of student and community actors, Parkland has been able to give us such outstanding recent productions as Assassins and The Laramie Project. This week, the college stages a play for young people, The Phantom Tollbooth,…
music notes 1-20-05
n If you’ve got the winter blues and you can’t beat ’em, here’s a chance at least to join them. The River City Blues Club of Peoria, Bloomington’s Blues Blowtorch Society, and our very own Illinois Central Blues Club have combined to present the Winter Blues Fest at the Opera House in Exposition Gardens near…
sound patrol 1-20-05
Styrofoam Nothing’s Lost (Morr Music) Guitars and computers have been cohabitating peacefully and profitably for years now. First there was New Order, then there was Radiohead, then there were a whole slew of Volkswagen ads: Like peanut butter and chocolate, Les Pauls and laptops are two great tastes that taste great together. If you’re looking…
now playing 1-20-05
You know the best thing about the blues? Whatever mood you’re in, there’s a song to match it. It’s like surfing the tube to see the right TV show or finding those perfect shoes to go with an outfit. You can find blues to give you happy feet; blues to make you cry or laugh;…
movie review
Ninety-one minutes of torture Some things — having your wisdom teeth removed or sitting through a job interview — end up being not nearly as bad as you thought they’d be. Then there are other things that turn out to be so god-awful atrocious that no amount of cautious preparation can do them justice. Case…
