DEMO Project Closing Reception This Friday: Dominic Paul Moore
As detailed in the recent Illinois Times cover story on the state of the arts, Springfield is increasingly becoming a destination for artists from around the region and the world. Nowhere is this the case more than at the DEMO Project, located on the campus of the Springfield Art Association. Tonight is the opening reception of a new…
Tied up at the moment
The pastor of St. Aloysius church on Springfield’s north end has been granted a leave of absence after he called 911 from the rectory and told a dispatcher that he needed help getting out of handcuffs. “I’m going to need help getting out before this becomes a medical emergency,” Father Tom Donovan told a dispatcher…
Ballot-measure democracy a notable success in 2012
This being the season of giving, it’s worth looking back at some special gifts from November’s election that received little acknowledgement at the time. These victories came in campaigns that had no candidates – no Democrats, Republicans or other party designations. Rather, they were ballot initiatives – policy ideas put to a vote of people…
The Stories Behind the Faces
The Springfield Art Association has an interesting new exhibit planned to open Friday, Jan. 4, that includes images and stories of local people. The Stories Behind the Faces, features a combination of local and international guest artists with some of the SAA permanent collection portraits, all with accompanying stories about the person and the artist.…
The best movie scenes of 2012
Movies are about moments. There are big moments that erase our cynicism about the art form and remind us of its capacity to dazzle. There are quiet moments that succeed in touching our hearts in a way only possible with the medium. There are moments that prompt us to consider things in a different light…
The 10 best films of 2012
The year 2012 was much like many others in recent memory on the United States film scene. The summer was dominated by superhero extravaganzas. (The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises were the year’s two top-grossing movies.) Independent films became even harder to find in movie theaters as most distributers decided to forgo the standard…
People portraits
The Springfield Art Association has an interesting new exhibit planned to open Friday, Jan. 4 that includes images and stories of local people. “The Stories Behind the Faces,” features a combination of guest artists and SAA permanent collection portraits, all with accompanying stories about the person. Some of the local work includes Wendy Allen and…
One thing we can agree on about government
We are locked in a seemingly permanent debate over the proper size and scope of government. It was a centerpiece of the recent presidential campaign. It featured heavily in the maneuvering over the “fiscal cliff” and the upcoming vote on raising the debt ceiling. And it surfaces regularly in the speeches and comments of politicians…
Climate change
The next Paul Mickey Science Series lecture will to be held in the Illinois State Museum Thorne Deuel Auditorium on Jan. 9. Dr. Eric Grimm, ISM curator and chair of botany, will present, “The Science of Climate Change.” The presentation will focus on how scientists reconstruct past climate, how they understand the major natural and…
New kid on the bloc
I spent the last two years in the Peace Corps in Eastern Europe and just committed to another year. Before my assignment, I was dating a decent guy, but I told him it was temporary. When I was home on leave this summer, it was evident he hadn’t let the relationship go. I reiterated that…
skylark poem # 1
skylark poem # 1 I am thankful to those who made usmemorize as kids useful stuff yes likemultiplication tables but I’m thinkingof poetry miss lala dixon my eighth gradeenglish teacher she of the shapeless dressdrooping boobs she talked a kind of babytalk her name was pronounced layla butwe called her la-la behind her back shemade…
2012 was the best and worst of years
2012: It’s been the best of years; it’s been the worst of years. At my life’s end, I doubt I’ll be able to look at another year that contained so many highs and lows. There was the accident in central rural Pennsylvania on Memorial Day, which I’ve written about before. All accidents are awful, but…
High flying
Don’t miss the world-famous basketball team, the Harlem Globetrotters, when they come to the Prairie Capital Convention Center on Wednesday, Jan. 9, at 7 p.m. High-flying dunks … eye-popping tricks … hilarious jokes … the Globetrotters will have you smiling from tipoff to final buzzer. “You Write the Rules” World Tour is the Globetrotters’ 87th…
Arts of the patron
Mary Lee Leahy died Dec. 12, after a busy life working for good causes as an attorney and public servant. Perhaps unfairly, she is remembered mainly as a Holy Warrior against patronage in public employment. This alone made her passing notable in Springfield, where patronage has been a way of life since they unloaded the…
Letters to the Editor 1/3/13
ONLY NEED IS SINGLE-SHOT RIFLE The second amendment of the United States Constitution states: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Obviously the need for a state militia has been replaced by the National Guard…
Land doesn’t fulfill promise
While there’s never any doubt that Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land was made with the best of intentions, something goes slightly awry in the execution of this environmental awareness movie. Working from a screenplay by Matt Damon and John Krasinski (The Office), which was based on a story by Dave Eggers, the film sets out…
Bossa Azul
Combining jazz guitar with Brazilian leanings, percussion beats of a universal nature and American blues harmonica with vocals in the original Portuguese of classic samba and bossa music, Bossa Azul invents a sound both “playful and sophisticated,” creating an acoustic/electric blend of inter-hemispheric influences that comes across as simultaneously familiar and distinctive. Translated from Brazilian,…
Another year passed
Me, oh my how the time does fly! Looks like we are into another year of life on Earth for those of us fortunate to be participating. As far as milestones for 2012, I think the best for me was seeing my Mom turn 80 years old. We asked her to celebrate with a community…
Royally rockin’
Celebrate the King of Rock ’n’ Roll’s 78th birthday with two nationally known performers Elvis Himselvis, aka Rick Dunham, and Steve Brandes and The Elvis Himselvis Band at the Hoogland Center for the Arts on Jan. 5. The tribute concert is a fundraising show for the Mary Bryant Home for the Blind and Visually Impaired, located in Springfield. Tickets…
