Jacqueline Jackson 1-27-05
sciencepoem #1 I heard him say it, the noted cosmologist: nothing is nothing © Jacqueline Jackson 2005
sound patrol 1-27-05
Various ArtistsSunday Nights: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough (Fat Possum) Few album concepts are as unappealing as a bunch of irony-fortified, eccentrically coifed white rockers “paying tribute” to a rural bluesman. No matter how well-intentioned, such endeavors usually come off as condescending. (“Hey, kids! You probably think all music sucked before the Pixies, but we’re…
prairie notes 1-27-05
Harry was my close neighbor. “Close” in rural lingo generally refers to an adjacent landowner, as opposed to folks living several miles away who are still considered neighbors. The distinction is purely geographical. Harry occupied a tiny one-room cabin, situated precariously at the edge of a bluff, whose most notable feature was a front porch…
letters 1-27-05
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 LINCOLN AND THE HOLY GRAIL Todd Spivak’s recent article on Michael Scully’s…
people’s poetry 1-27-05
Green (For Sterling, age five) He colors the Hulk in bold and muscled green, determined to stay within the lines. He writes his name in struggled letters across the page. He reads now too — Triceratops roar and pythons slither off the page into imagination. He conquers monsters, armies, ninjas With the bravado of a…
When will Obama find his voice on Iraq?
When U.S. Sen. Barack Obama was in Springfield last weekend for a town meeting with military veterans about the sorry state of veterans’ benefits, he missed a good chance to talk to the vets about the war in Iraq. He had passed up an earlier chance to address the issue when Newsweek interviewed him for…
Feats of clay
Call it destiny: Small-town girl or boy seeks fame and fortune in the big city and falls for an uptown opposite number, and the couple lives happily ever after. Lady Luck dealt a different hand to Gloria and Jerry Josserand, and they’ve parlayed that hand into considerable success as one of the most prolific partnerships…
common sense 1-27-05
At President George W. Bush’s recent “National Economic Conference,” an entire session was devoted to bashing trial lawyers — and what a rollicking good time it was! A panel of corporate interests wowed the handpicked audience of Bush partisans with jabs at the lawyers who try to hold wrongdoing corporations accountable. Bush nodded and chuckled…
Hacked off
Politics is a numbers game — and the numbers of votes, dollars, and favors are the only numbers that matter. The boys who play politics at the street level never forget their numbers. They can tell you how many votes they pulled out of precinct 22 three elections ago, or how much money they raised…
Penalizing homeowners
Look, up in the sky! It’s Airship Liberty, one of two blimps in Ameriquest Mortgage Co.’s inflatable fleet. And wasn’t that Ameriquest’s logo on the All-Star Game ballots during the 2004 baseball season, and on the walls when the highlight reels took us to Ameriquest Field in Arlington, where the Texas Rangers play? Sure was.…
Crime story
One of central Illinois’ most notorious murders will be the subject of an hour-long television show this weekend. Guilty or Innocent?, a new program on the Discovery Channel, will examine the murder of Karyn Hearn Slover, the 23-year-old Decatur Herald & Review sales representative whose remains washed up on the shore of Lake Shelbyville in 1996.…
Persian diversion offers healthy fare
When Habib Hosseinali moved to the United States from his native Iran a year ago, he gained weight and quickly tired of the culprit — fast food. He was surprised at the abundance of fried food and high-calorie meals offered here, so he decided to do something about it. The result is one of Springfield’s…
Jackpot
Springfield developer and political power broker Bill Cellini may have to pay for his shrimp cocktail next time he boards the Alton Belle riverboat casino. Last week, stockholders in his Argosy Gaming Co. — owner of the Belle and five other casinos — approved the sale of Argosy to Penn National Gaming Inc. Cellini, chairman…
Earth talk 1-27-05
Dear “Earth Talk: What is the modern meat industry’s impact on the environment? — Jeremy Smith, Bellefonte, Pa. In a recent E/The Environmental Magazine cover story, author Jim Motavalli wrote: “Just about every aspect of meat production — from grazing-related loss of cropland and open space to the inefficiencies of feeding vast quantities of water and…
now playing 1-27-05
As beer-based bands float in and out of bars and touring groups ride luxury buses into town, a group of local melody-makers ride a wave of their own excitement, unfettered by the trappings of your average music-business philosophy. Leading the Springfield pack of these nonchalant go-getters is the band Resident Genius. This group of indie…
movie review
It’s Baby, by a knockout! Since its quiet release in four cities on Dec. 17, Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby has been slowly but surely generating praise, garnering nearly unanimous rave reviews. Rarely does a film live up to its advance hype, but Baby is a notable exception, delivering an emotionally powerful tale told with subtlety…
Tying the knot
Last February, after losing Curt Sills, his partner of 10 years, to cancer, Springfield resident Randy Walden sent an angry missive to St. John’s Hospital in which, he says, he complained of “appalling, inexcusable treatment.” It was more than just the cold stares and raised eyebrows Walden says he received from nurses and doctors at…
music notes 1-27-05
Prepare yourself for the funkifying return of the funktastic, neofunkadelic Freekbass, playing 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 29, at the Underground City Tavern (700 E. Adams St., 217-789-1530) in the Hilton Springfield. The band’s frontman, from whom Freekbass takes its name, is a protégé of the emperor of funk bass, Bootsy Collins, who manages and…
