wordspoem #4
wordspoem #4 I’d like to write something usingchalcedony such a strange strong wordit’s a chert says daughter #3 who knowseverything worth knowing a chert likejasper semi precious stones tolkien usesit in his poem “errantry” with all its astonishing double inner and outerrhymings he pairs it with ebony butchalcedony doesn’t come into my dailylife and I…
Third Transformers surprisingly coherent, entertaining
I’ve come to expect manic action, ear-splitting sound effects and character development treated as collateral damage in Michael Bay’s movies. Imagine my surprise that his latest, Transformers: Dark of the Moon sports a streamlined narrative, is more coherent in both action and plot and winds up thrilling viewers rather than bludgeoning them into submission. While…
Judging from start to finish
There’s something to be said about finishing what you start. As of June 1, associate judges in the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court will keep cases from the beginning to the end of a trial. Juvenile court cases will be managed by four judges who will rotate in and out instead of one. Four associate judges…
Morsels and melodies
One-of-the-most savored festivals held in Springfield, Taste of Downtown on July 8 and 9 offers delectable morsels from more than 20 downtown restaurants. And Springfield has some great ones: Try a falafel sandwich from Holy Land Diner, homemade potato chips from Maldaner’s, cedar salmon with fennel chutney from Augie’s Front Burner, BBQ pork horseshoe with…
Adventures of an American luminary
A dynamic look at Mark Twain portrayed by Cincinnati-based actor Bill Hartnett and directed by Eleanor Shepherd. Samuel Clemens lived a remarkable life—as a printer, riverboat pilot, silver miner in Nevada, gold miner in California, reporter, editor, foreign correspondent, lecturer and author. Take a further look inside Twain’s trials and tribulations, pride and glory from…
Summer with the blind in Bolivia
Molly Clesen may be 4,200 miles from home, but she’s still in a familiar environment: the classroom. Clesen, a 26-year-old teacher of blind and visually impaired students in Springfield School District 186, is spending part of her summer teaching kids with vision impairments in Cochabamba (Co-cha-bomb-ba), Bolivia, a city of more than 608,000 people situated…
The unanswered question is, Why?
America’s long, long war in Afghanistan has drained more than 1,500 precious lives and a trillion dollars from our country. But, finally, this enormous outlay paid off this year with the capture and killing of that al-Qaida demon, Osama bin Laden, who attacked America and was the reason our military went into Afghanistan. Oh, wait…
Real patriots pay taxes
Some of our nation’s biggest corporations are planning a tax holiday and they want you to pick up the tab. Actually, you already pay for their routine tax avoidance through the use of tax havens in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and elsewhere. These accounting acrobatics cost the U.S. Treasury $100 billion a year. Now they…
Marina V on the move
Lots of events are happening this weekend including the Taste of Downtown with the American Music Show, plus plenty of regular rigmarole at area bars, but whenever Marina V comes to town we stop the presses and see what our favorite Russian-born singer/pianist/songwriter has been up to lately. As usual with Marina, as you are…
Summit restores hope
A statewide effort to help restore offenders on probation back to society has come to Springfield through efforts by the Fifth Street Renaissance, Springfield Urban League and Tower of Refuge, Inc. The first “Summit of Hope” in Springfield invited more than 600 individuals on probation at the state and county level, and from Department of…
Inside Humphrey’s Market
Innovative, intelligent women. Industrious men who went the distance. Commitment to community, customers, and family. The history of Springfield’s oldest surviving locally owned grocery store contains all those elements and more. Even though independent grocery stores nationwide have been declining in number for decades, Humphrey’s Market, which has been located at 1821 S. 15th St.…
Local character
A play about real people and true events that happened in Sangamon and Menard counties such as Springfield’s phrenologist Madame Levante who diagnosed folk’s troubles by feeling the bumps on their skull. Written by local author and playwright Tara McClellan McAndrew, who brought us the book, Stories of Springfield: Life in Lincoln’s Town. McAndrew and…
Historical scribe
Visiting the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum July 11 is world-renowned author Amanda Foreman. Award-winning historian and New York Times best-selling author of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and World on Fire: An Epic History of Two Nations Divided, Foreman signs copies of her book World on Fire about the American Civil War at 6:30…
Mr. Bureaucracy
The life of an opinion-monger is filled with idle moments that more diligent commentators spend in study and reflection. I prefer to wonder rather than ponder. And one of the things I wonder about is, Why aren’t there more songs about government? I wanted songs that are about the process of government, not the effects.…
Larry Crowne: An ode to the common man
Baseball manager Leo Durocher once said, “Nice guys finish last.” Well don’t tell that to Larry Crowne. He has his share of troubles but he never fails to approach each day with a smile and a positive attitude. Yet even his rose-colored glasses get a bit blurred when he’s fired from his job at a…
Mathien
A guitarist and songwriter since his youth, Chris Mathien began playing as a solo act during his college years at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He hooked up with bassist Mike Schiff and drummer Aaron Bouslog then released the CD Head, Heart and Hands which caught the attention of Chicago’s Midwest Music Group management organization. Another…
The counts they didn’t get Blago on
While Rod Blagojevich’s jury found him guilty on 17 felony counts last week, jurors found him not guilty on one count and deadlocked on two others. Not much has been written about those other counts, so let’s take a look. The paucity of electronic surveillance evidence related to those verdicts, the lack of credible witnesses…
Finely crafted verse
I first met Hugh Moore in Allen Ginsberg’s living room, which often served as an auxiliary classroom for Naropa Institute, home to The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. We spent a solid three hours discussing Ezra Pound’s poetics before going to the weekly poetry reading. At the time (1981), I was astounded (and very…
FREE YOUR FRIDGE
Is that old refrigerator in your kitchen, garage or basement sucking up gobs of electricity? If so, now is a good time to get rid of that inefficient appliance, save some money on your power bill, help the environment and get an extra little bonus for doing so. City Water, Light & Power is now…
GREAT FIRST DAYS
July and weather that feels like summer may only have just arrived, but school is just around the corner. In preparation, community members are organizing a supply drive for students in Springfield, Pawnee and Auburn school districts to ensure that every student is ready to learn on the first day back at school. Every year…
scampoem #1
NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUPblares the label of my hunt’s ketchupother brands are catching on though notthe hawaiian punch at an enos park bashthat was its first ingredient I read labels the high fruc folk are frantic they’relobbying to have h f corn syrup (socheap for them so bad for us) labeledcorn sugars “in the…
Letters to the Editor 07/07/11
FAIRGROUNDS GAMBLINGYear round gambling at the fairgrounds is a bad bet. Both racetrack casinos in Indiana have declared bankruptcy. Statistical analysis of racetrack casinos has shown that when slot machines are introduced at racetracks, betting on horses decreases 20 percent to 40 percent. Slot machines account for 90 percent or more of the revenue at…
