James Garner: An Appreciation
Movie stars aren’t like you and I. That’s not to say they’re better than us morally and some, believe it or not, are quite normal looking once their make up is taken away and normal lighting is applied. However, they do have a magical quality about them that appears once they’re in front of a…
Monty Python to perform live on Wabash Avenue Today
The surviving members of Monty Python, beloved and venerable British comedy troupe (OK, Terry Gilliam originally hails from Wisconsin) recently reunited for a series of stage shows in the UK. Today marks the final show in that sold-out run. Local fans of the silly-walking, cheese-shopping, Spanish Inquisitioning, dead-parroting, cross-dressing satirists are being afforded a…
Black Flag are playing in town this weekend. Or are they?
What does Black Flag mean to you? Your answer may influence how excited you should get about the Black Flag concert happening this Saturday at Donnie’s Homespun. To characterize this band’s membership policy as a “revolving door” is to risk understatement. Black Flag released its incendiary debut, the Nervous Breakdown EP, in 1978, thereby launching…
Getting connected
It’s a start. The Springfield City Council on July 1 approved extending the existing cable television franchise agreement with Comcast, in spite of the many complaints aldermen receive about the company’s poor service and/or high prices. Under the circumstances – those being that no viable alternative to Comcast exists – it was the only choice.…
College of electoral knowledge
Curses, foiled again• Three Seattle teenagers tried to steal a woman’s car at gunpoint but failed because none of them could operate a manual transmission. “I got a five-speed in there,” victim Nancy Frederickson said, “and they couldn’t figure out how to get it going.” Surveillance cameras showed the suspects running away. (Seattle’s KOMO-TV) •…
Ice can be nice
CHARACTERS © DISNEY • GRAPHIC COURTESY THE LEGACY THEATER There aren’t many young’ns who aren’t crazy about the Disney film Frozen and haven’t watched it multiple times. Here’s a party and film viewing just for them. Four event times are available over two days. Activities include fun stuff such as making snow cones. A screening…
vermontpoem #36
I weep a littlethis first night heregiving this place upwhere I’ve been comingsummers for sixty yearsthe colorful poetry wallin the bathroom blaketolkien le guin tennysonmy own kids’ writingsthe lake quiet out frontclouds shield a half moonI’m surrounded by mydead daughter hercreativity her presencefills this place but eventhis place she so lovedcouldn’t save her and Iweep…
Edgy images
Fashion Afrique opens its doors for an art exhibit. Pieces features the edgy photography and art of well-regarded Springfield-area art photographer Laura Kay Coffey and multimedia artist Mark Schwartz. Approximately 24 pieces of art will be on display and for sale opening night July 18 and through Aug. 1. Music will be by Frank Trompeter…
Saving summer’s bounty
Summer’s harvest brings an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. Freezing and canning can preserve the bounty well into the winter months. PHOTO BY TODD SUMLIN/MCT Not so long ago, almost every family – rich and poor, country and city dwellers – preserved much of their own food. From late summer until first frost, kitchens…
Advice and dissent
Rendering from a 2007 project by U of I architecture students envisioned mixed-use development on the YWCA block. “Give it back to the Indians,” I thought when I read the State Journal-Register’s call for ideas about what to do with the YWCA block downtown. “Give it back to nature. Give it to anyone other than…
All Shook Up is fun
Featured dancers perform “Jailhouse Rock,” the show’s opening number. PHOTO BY DONNA LOUNSBERRY “I vote for ‘Fat-Bottomed Girls,’” I hear someone say as I walk backstage at the Springfield Muni Opera. I look up and see director Anna Bussing caught in a brief debate with a member of her cast. They compromise, and moments later…
HOBBY LOBBY PROTEST
The recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court (Burwell v. Hobby Lobby) allowing that chain of stores to opt out of providing birth control coverage for its employees on religious grounds has stirred up considerable controversy. One example of that may be seen this Saturday, July 19, when a protest is planned near the Springfield…
Summer weekend Milwaukee-style
Milwaukee Art Museum. PHOTO BY JOHN CAMPER For a summer getaway that combines art, culture and music, along with sunshine and cool lake breezes, head north to Milwaukee. On the shores of Lake Michigan, 280 miles from Springfield, this city of about 600,000 offers a fabulous lakefront, an art museum that’s a treasure, summer festivals…
Be corny
PHOTO COURTESY CHATHAM SWEET CORN FESTIVAL Local, fresh sweet corn – That’s the tasty draw to the Chatham Sweet Corn Festival held at Chatham Community Park, southeast of the square, this weekend, July 18-19. But there’s so much more going on and lots of other food for purchase, such as ribeye and barbecue sandwiches. New…
Loveable con man
Theatre in the Park at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic site opens with the Tony-award winning musical, The Music Man, directed by Bill Bauser Jr. “With a cast of 50, there’s plenty of action to see, and you’ll get to hear many song favorites like ‘76 Trombones,’ ‘Lida Rose,’ ‘Wells Fargo Wagon,’ ‘Till There Was…
Woman priest defies Catholic diocese
Mary Keldermans (left) of Springfield leads Holy Family Inclusive Catholic Community, while John Freml (right), also of Springfield, serves as the church’s spokesman. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE By most measures, Mary Keldermans of Springfield is a good Catholic. She was raised in the church, volunteered and for many years helped convert people to Catholicism. She…
Letters to the Editor 7/17/14
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and President Barack Obama exchange greetings at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. PHOTO BY ALEX GARCIA/MCT OBAMA, DURBIN DOING THEIR JOBA recent letter published in the State Journal-Register criticized President Obama and Senator Dick Durbin on immigration reform. The writer echoed the unrelenting chorus of politically charged complaints unleashed whenever the president and…
A baby step to improve chemical safety
In the aftermath of the explosion of a fertilizer storage facility in West, Texas, last year that killed 15 people and destroyed three schools and a nursing home, federal officials realized there are serious gaps in federal oversight authority of facilities that house dangerous chemicals. In response, President Obama tasked an interagency working group with…
Begin Again a cure for summertime movie blues
Mark Ruffalo in Begin Again. A tonic for the steady stream of vacuous movies Hollywood has foisted on us this summer, John Carney’s Begin Again is a grounded, delightful, human tale buoyed by infectious yet meaningful pop music and dynamic performances from its strong cast. Unabashedly romantic, the film manages to give us a story…
Walgreens ploy to tax dodge
How would you react if one of your neighbors announced that while he obviously benefits from having clean water, highways, Medicare, police protection, parks, schools, and other public services, he was no longer going to pay his part of the taxes that make them available? And what if this neighbor also said he was renouncing…
Cats on Holiday
Cats on Holiday No doubt one of the most popular hometown bands (if not the one) in Springfield rock history, Cats on Holiday continue to draw big time, some 30 years after conception. The core group of Ted (Andon) Davis (guitar, vocals), Perry Zubeck (keyboards, vocals), Joe “T” Phegley (bass) and Ric Snow (drums) gets together occasionally…
Editor’s Note 7/17/14
It would have been refreshing had Mayor Mike Houston proclaimed his single term a success and announced his willingness to step aside, as promised. Springfield has a number of young, talented public servants with ideas and energy, waiting for a chance. They will likely have to wait longer, as the pretty good mayor – with…
Survey says: Transparency hurts Rauner and Quinn
A new Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll found Republican Bruce Rauner leading Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn 51-39. That’s pretty much the same margin the pollster found for another client a month ago. The poll of 940 likely voters was taken July 8 and has a margin of error of ±3.2 percent. 30 percent of the…
Pierre pressure
I’m an 18-year-old woman, recently asked out by a handsome, charming 34-year-old guy from France. He took me out to a nice restaurant, and everything was wonderful until he admitted that he has a girlfriend, though he explained that they always fight and break up. He said he isn’t ready to leave or cheat on…
READERS ARE LEADERS
For kids, summer is a time for outdoor adventures, sleeping in and even part-time jobs. But when they get back to school, many kids exhibit what’s known in academic circles as the “summer slide,” a decline in classroom learning skills attributed to a prolonged lack of educational activities. The National Summer Learning Association estimates that…
State police spying on smartphones
Long before Edward Snowden revealed the existence of a massive cell phone spying program by the federal National Security Agency, law enforcement agencies around the country were using devices capable of extracting data from cell phones, including the user’s precise location. One of those agencies was the Illinois State Police, which acquired such equipment in…
For the love of the game
Defensive lineman Lawrence Dampeer, left with helmet up, has gone from the University of Oklahoma to the Springfield Foxes. PHOTO BY BRUCE RUSHTON Lawrence “Moe” Dampeer once was one of the nation’s most-coveted high school football recruits, receiving attention from the likes of UCLA, Florida State, Miami and Ohio State while starring on the defensive…
July jam gems
Legendary iconic punk band Black Flag plays Donnie’s Homespun on Sat., July 19. I’m glad I’m not in town this weekend (we’re playing the Belgium Beer and Mussels Festival at Schlafly’s Tap Room in St. Louis – personal plug!) only because the wide and wonderful music entertainment choices are too many and too good for…
