backstage pass
So much theater is being performed in the region right now, it’s impossible to see it all. Fortunately, I was able to enjoy three excellent productions last week that prove central Illinois a great theater center: Beauty & the Beast in Sullivan, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in Bloomington, and Broadway, a delightful relic of the Roaring…
movie review
At first blush, Wedding Crashers looks like a surefire winner, featuring two immensely popular actors, Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, in a shameless premise that allows them to tackle roles they excel at. However, all of the pieces don’t fall neatly into place in this ribald comedy. As divorce mediators, John and Jeremy (Wilson and Vaughn)…
common sense
U.S. officials have stumbled down a meandering trail of denials regarding this deadly meat-borne disease. When mad-cow disease was first detected in British cattle, the official line was that the brain-destroying disease could not be transferred from cows to humans, so not to worry — eat your burgers. Then, when Brits began to die after…
The best of the rest
Last week I handicapped four of the possible Republican contenders for governor — state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, U.S. Rep Ray LaHood, milk magnate Jim Oberweis, and former state schools superintendent Ron Gidwitz. Here’s a look at other Republicans who want to defeat Gov. Rod Blagojevich: • State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger — Running a strong third in the…
Duty to disclose
The long-overdue review of the Springfield City Council’s private meetings has prompted one alderman to spill the beans on what his colleagues have been doing behind closed doors. At the council’s July 5 meeting, Ward 3 Ald. Frank Kunz bolted from an executive session, fuming about his fellow council members’ reluctance to release minutes of…
Jacqueline Jackson 7-14-05
jamaicanpoem # 4 (an emily dickinson wannabe) I met a landcrab on the road — its hole was not in sight — it waved its saffron claw in front — protection? or in fright? I plain could see around its girth its chitin band of blue — and underneath a patch of red to let…
capital voices
This week, I’m asked to say what I have to say in 725 words — 800 words are too many, 700 too few. Today’s topic is women. No 700-word problem here, for I’ve been observing women now for 65 years, and, in my teens and twenties, my observation was nearly a full-time occupation. Here, then,…
sound patrol
The first new Son Volt full-length in seven years, Okemah and the Melody of Riot boasts exactly one original member: Jay Farrar, the band’s founder, frontman, and songwriter. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. After contributing a track to an Alejandro Escovedo tribute compilation, Farrar, Mike Heidorn, and Jim and Dave Boquist planned to…
You can’t “nuke” global warming
Last month President George W. Bush visited a nuclear power plant in Maryland to proclaim, “It is time for this country to start building nuclear power plants again.” Bush has joined the nuclear industry’s public-relations campaign for what it calls a “nuclear renaissance,” putting construction of new nuclear plants on a fast track. One of…
flicks
Clint Eastwood is the only actor to win the Oscar for directing twice, and his most recent victory, Million Dollar Baby, is just out on DVD. Eastwood stars as an old boxing trainer who reluctantly takes on a female boxer (Hilary Swank) and puts her on the road to a championship. Baby is one of…
For the birds
Far from its fledgling beginnings in the garage of a caring wildlife rehabilitator, the Illinois Raptor Center has spread its wings wide. Some 15 years later, the center reaches thousands every year with its message of wildlife conservation. Run by the dedicated duo of Jane Seitz, founder and executive director; and Jacques Nuzzo, program director,…
earth talk
Dear “Earth Talk”: Why is it bad for the environment to release balloons into the air? — George Young, New York Given that what goes up must come down, balloons released into the air — whether by accident or in large quantities at events — eventually end up as trash on the ground or in…
letters
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 SENSITIVITY TRAINING ISN’T ENOUGH Thanks for the report, but I really didn’t…
art seen
Native American artist Arloa Wheeler of Springfield works exclusively in pen and ink. “I like the contrast,” she says. “It’s total opposites: black ink on white paper. You take something that’s total opposites and you create a piece of art that looks harmonized, and, for me, that’s almost spiritual.” Born in Illinois and a resident…
music
What makes for a great death-metal band? The vocals — guttural roars and growls — are savage. The lyrics are painfully dark. The tempo is abrupt, the guitar-play fast and complex. And the guy on the drums is a human battering ram. Springfield gets a rare opportunity to sample some of the region’s best death-metal…
appetite
For the past five years, Brandy Kelty has enjoyed the Taste of Downtown by sampling a variety of foods and discovering new restaurants. This year, she’ll be hoping that many new customers find her as she serves thousands of beer-battered bratwurst bites and chicken wings at the tent operated by Sammy’s Sports Bar. Sammy’s — owned…
now playing
Don Smith began playing the trumpet in 1954 as a high-school sophomore. He soon joined the musicians’ union in Lincoln, Ill., and two years later became leader of his own band. During the ensuing half-century, Smith has mostly stayed true to his big-band beginnings, with a few forays into rock & roll and jazz. “We…
gardening
Plant a Row for the Hungry, a national program promoted locally by the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners, encourages all vegetable gardeners and commercial growers to donate extra produce for the poor. Clean, fresh produce — especially melons and other fruits, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn, carrots, and beans — is sought. In…
quick takes
DISABILITY-RIGHTS HEARING Equip for Equality, an independent advocacy group for the disabled, holds a public hearing on disability-rights issues in Springfield, 10 a.m.-noon Tuesday, July 19, at the Springfield Hilton, 700 E. Adams St. To attend (or to comment by way of fax, mail, or the Internet), call E.G. Enbar at 800-537-2632, ext. 7312 (TTY…
“The right temperament”
As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin plays a role in deciding who will succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. But, as a combative leader of the minority party in the U.S. Senate, how big a role that will be is unclear. That’s why Durbin says he was surprised…
