Not a mourning person
My girlfriend died in a car accident four months ago, and I fear I’m not grieving the way I should. I was really broken up at first, crying hysterically, and I miss her terribly. I often think of things I wish I could tell her or we could do together, but I’m comforted by remembering…
Reunion at the core of Monsters University
With Cars 2 and Brave, Pixar Studios showed that they too could deliver mediocre animated films much like their competition. The problem with those two films was that they lacked the heart and pathos that made nearly all of the company’s previous efforts so distinctive. Some have claimed that increased input by the corporate bigwigs…
Visit Santa Claus in July
Holiday World is located in Santa Claus, Ind., in the southern part of the state east of Evansville, about four hours from Springfield. In Santa Claus it’s all about Christmas. Oh and about Halloween and Fourth of July, but mostly Christmas. The park was the first themed park in the United States, created by Louis…
News Quirks 7/4/13
Curses, foiled again• When long-distance runner Sarah Tatterson, 37, saw a man ride off after stealing her husband’s bicycle from her garage in West Seattle, Wash., she gave chase on foot. The thief saw her gaining on him, so he jumped off the bike and fled while she continued running alongside him, yelling for neighbors…
China censorship makes U.S. press freedom shine
Back in the late 1980s a purchaser of the English version of the China Daily, an approved Chinese newspaper, eventually would become baffled. It had a status among some foreigners as a glimpse of daily life among 1.5 billion Chinese citizens. What was amazing about it was the absence of any mention of bad news…
Bringing the big screen to life
Don your favorite 50s character attire from the movie Grease for Sing-a-long-a Grease in Theatre 3 at Hoogland Center for the Arts. Whether in your nerdy sweater best or bad boy leather, Friday and Saturday evening promise to be lots of fun watching, singing and dancing to the classic film starring John Travolta and Olivia…
word poem #6
this babble game on the netsorta like boggle isn’t a completewaste of time yesterday I learned“isohyets” are lines on a map thatconnect areas of equal rainfall Isee that useful in conversation Ialready knew “oriel” a window butit pleasantly recalled st chapelleanother “feces” familiar enoughyet a reminder of our commonhumanity broader though for allcreatures defecate even…
Down acceptable
Check your brain at the door and be prepared to file Roland Emmerich’s White House Down firmly in the “guilty pleasure” file. The latest from the master of disaster is a gloriously realized piece of popcorn entertainment that revels – and at times wallows in – the ridiculousness of its premise. Sure, we’ve seen the…
Letters to the Editor 7/4/13
CLIMATE PLAN VICTORYOn June 25, President Obama announced a comprehensive climate plan to address global warming – a welcome first step, and a big one. His plan includes setting limits on carbon pollution from power plants, the largest source of carbon emissions in the country, advancing energy efficiency and increasing the nation’s commitment to renewable…
Congress reinterprets Jesus
Thank God for Congress, right? When things get out of balance in America, we can always count on our legislative stalwarts to recalibrate the scales of justice. Take greed, for example. Wall Street barons, whose raw greed and casino scams wrecked our real economy five years ago, are back to shoving great gobs of bonus…
Literature ladies
Saturday Afternoons at 603, a series of programs at the Vachel Lindsay Home, continues Saturday, July 6, with a 45-minute presentation by Nancy Chapin of Chatham on early literary clubs in Springfield. Chapin, a member of one of the oldest of these organizations, has done extensive research on the topic. Such clubs, some still in…
Period get-together
Clara Irwin’s Strawberry Party at the Elijah Iles House is set for the Fourth of July and you’re invited. No reservations and no admittance fees are required to join the party. The Lincoln Troubadours singing ensemble and storyteller Cathy Mosley will entertain guests. There will be yard games for all ages and food such as…
Subsidizing coal costs Illinois budget $20 million
Coal companies have extracted about $3 billion worth of coal from Illinois so far this year. So why is the state of Illinois giving them subsidies? That’s the question asked by an alliance of environmental groups in a report released June 27. Titled “The Impact of Coal on the Illinois State Budget,” the report says…
Summer movie guide 2013
Like a gambling addict who continues to lay large wagers against the house despite mixed results, Hollywood studios keep spending insane amounts of money in the hopes of delivering a film that not only appeals to American audiences but to those overseas as well. If it’s a property that will spawn sequels, all the better.…
Living the American Dream in Springfield
Although he came into the world in 1964, Bassam “Sam” Al-Khayyat (pronounced Alkite) refers to July 3, 1989, as the day he was born. “I remember it like it was yesterday,” he says. “My plane landed, and as I stepped through the door the wind brought the smell of fresh cut grass. The sky was…
Supreme Court decisions bolster same-sex marriage fight in Illinois
Two decisions handed down last week from the U.S. Supreme Court gave momentum to advocates of same-sex marriage in Illinois. But the broadness of the rulings means same-sex couples in Illinois won’t actually get any new rights immediately. And while an Illinois court considers a class-action lawsuit suing for same-sex marriage rights, proponents are pushing…
Qestions about Jefferson Crossing
The slogan of the Qik-n-EZ gas station chain is, “The two things you cherish most in your life, make it QIK and make it EZ!” The company’s owners have found that redeveloping the old Jefferson Mall property is neither qik nor easy. That property is part of a 44-acre parcel on Winch Lane just off…
New City Road
Truly a representation of the interplay of generations in the Springfield music scene, New City Road, a new band in town, combines family members with longtime local players to create a special blend of musical magic. Featuring three members of the Mundstock family, dad Scott (former Post War Fords drummer) on vocals and rhythm guitar,…
Independence daze
There’s something about the Fourth holiday being near the end of the work week that makes it all the more fun and exciting. Lots of folks I know are out of town this week and many others plan on leaving work early on Wednesday, taking off Friday and making this Independence Day thing a real…
Rauner moves some numbers in gov bid
Back in early February, not a single person picked Bruce Rauner’s name in a Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll of likely Republican primary voters. Other polls taken since then have shown the retired financier Rauner in the low single digits in his bid for governor. But Rauner has been dumping money into downstate TV,…
Shredgate: The plot thickens
The Illinois Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s office is now in charge of the investigation into whether Springfield police broke the law when the department shredded internal affairs files. But the legislature may have decriminalized the destruction of public records in 2010. The change to the law that forbids tampering with public records took a typically byzantine…
A salute to red, white and blue desserts
You can pretty much count on at least one version showing up in at least one cooking periodical every July: a white dessert decorated with blueberries and red raspberries or strawberries, or both. It’s not hard to figure out why. Blueberries are one of the few ways to have blue food that don’t involve food…
Friday at Donnie’s: Springfield Renaissance
This Friday July 5th marks the first of several events under the Springfield Renaissance umbrella. Presented by the not-for-profit Illinois Independent Arts Association, the shows have been created with an eye toward “supporting the young music community through arts and entertainment,” according to IIAA board member Eric Heyen, who hopes that this will be the…
The case for a new open door policy
In “Three strikes and you’re in,” I endorsed the idea that what Springfield needs to make its economy perk is the entrepreneurial energy and enterprise that immigrants supply. Catherine Rampell of the new York Times has more from a 2012 report commissioned by the Small Business Administration. According to Robert W. Fairlie, an economics professor at the University of California,…
Tonight at Bar None: The Evolution of CornBread
Cornfucius himself Springfield was deprived of one of its most clever, charismatic and confrontational musicians when long-time hip-hop producer-rapper-instrumentalist CornBread (real name Andre Middleton) recently relocated to California, where he is pursuing a degree from the Los Angeles Recording School. Cornbread is back in town this week for vacation and will be headlining his own…
A little knowledge….No 3 in a series
Bill Gardner, posting on The Incidental Economist, Aaron Carroll’s invaluable health care blog, reported the other day on trends in the prescription of Prilosec, Prevacid and other proton pump inhibitors. These drugs are used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD, and their prescription for use by infants has exploded. The patients are babies who…
Area Hip-Hop Showcase Tonight at Frankie’s 49er
Tonight starting at 8:30, the cream of the Springfield-area hip-hop scene will take the stage at Frankies 49er (518 Bruns Lane). The show will be hosted by JC, with music by DJ Classy B and performances by Agent Orange, JunioR, Scoobie Da Lyricist, Sheezy, Decatur’s Tebe Zalango and Uncanny along with other guests. It will…
People skills
Back on Sept 29, 2011, I asked in The college game whether college was always the only or the best way to prepare for a career. In Education Isn’t the Same as Skills, Slate columnist Matt Ygesias warns that we shouldn’t be so blithe about identifying formal education with skills, since it is possible for…
Local Indie Movie Alert: The Bling Ring
Continuing an apparent tradition of sneaking quirky and / or acclaimed and / or independent movies onto and off of Springfield screens so stealthily that local cinephiles may never realize they were here at all, AMC Showplace 12 is currently showing The Bling Ring, Sofia Coppola’s (Lost in Translation, The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette) latest…
Anni Piper
Australia’s First Lady of the Blues rolls into town, rocking the house with her raw and raucous, right on, down and dirty, down under playing of the blues. Anni started on guitar at age 12, but switched to bass at 14 and started singing the blues. In 2004, she released Jailbait, her first recording of…
What to expect with fracking
Illinois will soon be open range for hydraulic fracturing, the controversial technique for freeing oil and natural gas trapped in underground shale rock. But even as the state prepares its rules governing the technique, some environmental activists are vowing a continued fight in cities and counties across southern Illinois. On June 17, Illinois Gov. Pat…
Video gambling takes off
When it comes to pouring money into video gambling machines, Sangamon County is a leader. “Sangamon County is the best video gaming county in the state,” says Christopher Stone, a would-be proprietor of a half-dozen proposed Springfield gambling parlors that are awaiting licenses from the Illinois Gaming Board. Gaming board records for May support Stone’s…
Epic scope, intelligence save Z
Beset with an ending that had to be reshot over seven weeks at great expense, causing the release date to be pushed back, which only contributed to its already skyrocketing cost, World War Z has been plagued with no shortage of problems. Burdened with a budget somewhere between $170-200 million, the film has quickly gone…
No place like home
A small town with a big festival, Assumption Fest, held June 27-29 in the town of Assumption, has activities to rival larger venues. Only 40-45 minutes from Springfield, highlights are Thursday’s many pageant contests for all ages and a multi-category pet contest; ongoing chainsaw demos; Macon Speedway show car; Solution Action Sports BMX stunt show…
The cantaloupe and I
The French are happy to explain, whether you want to know or not, about terroir, the peculiarities of geography, geology and climate of a certain place that impart to plants such as wine grapes their particular character. The way we spell “terroir” in the Illinois River melon country is s-a-n-d. You can’t grow anything worth…
Fewer kids in Illinois prisons
During the late 1980s and 1990s, Illinois’ youth prisons began filling up rapidly. The tough-on-crime approach that began in the 1960s was at the peak of popularity, and state law reflected it in mandatory minimum sentences and other provisions. From 1985 to 2000, the state’s population of incarcerated youth more than doubled, from 1,534 to…
News Quirks 6/27/13
Curses, foiled againAuthorities charged Scott Simon, 24, with first-degree murder after he “pocket dialed” 911 and was overheard telling someone he was going to follow a 33-year-old man home from a Waffle House in Broward County, Fla., and kill him. Minutes later, the victim was shot and killed while driving on Interstate 95. “He had…
Historical tragedy
June 28, 29, 30, July 4, 5, 6 are the dates of Theatre in the Parks’ next production The Crucible at Kelso Hollow outdoor amphitheatre, New Salem. Directed by Carly Shank, this Arthur Miller classic drama features the 1692 Salem witch trails under the allegory of the 1950s McCarthy trials. John O’Connor of Springfield takes…
The upgradest love of all
I’m a single dad of three children, and it was a battle to get custody of them. For three years, I’ve dated a woman with grown children, and on our shared birthday, I proposed and she accepted. Two days later, she ended everything via text and hasn’t spoken to me since. She claimed she wants…
Letters to the Editor 6/27/13
NO ISSUE WITH THIS ISSUE How wonderful to see the cast of Les Miserables on your June 20 cover! Muni’s production is a true achievement in local theater and well deserves your reviewer’s high praise (“Les Mis local,” Zach Baliva). The lack of theater reviews in the State Journal-Register is disappointing to say the least,…
MORE POWER TO YA
With the summer heat building, electricity bills can get out of hand. Luckily, Springfield residents have a new way to track their energy usage. The spiffy new website of City Water, Light and Power brings the utility into the modern age with the ability to monitor power and water usage, check a current bill, manage…
Bursting forth
Springfield Jaycees have planned another Fourth of July party, Capital City Celebration, for Springfield to celebrate the birth of our nation. Wednesday’s free party features the band Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters at 8 p.m. Food, beer and drinks will be available for purchase starting at 7 p.m. Beginning Thursday at 4 p.m.…
Historic commissions are faltering
Neither Springfield nor Sangamon County is served as well as they might be by the two government bodies entrusted with preserving our historic heritage. The Springfield Historic Sites Commission, founded in 1966, has a history of accomplishments. It has landmarked some 64 properties of historic and/or architectural significance and created a list of some 240…
Getting some crispy chewy
“What I really miss are crispy things, chewy things,” sighs my sister-in-law. “Things like pizza or pancakes. Kris is a former model. Now in her 50s, she’s still drop-dead gorgeous. She lives in a warehouse-turned-studio/event venue/home with her (also drop-dead gorgeous) children and photographer husband. It’s directly across from Oprah’s studio, on a strip of…
End an effective, comedic look at the rapture
I would be willing to bet that movie studios dread it when a major star, whose films have generated big box office, approaches them with a vanity project. These are movies that are personal in nature and tend to have no superheroes, car chases or explosions in them, meaning they’re going to bomb at the…
SMALL BIZ SPRINGFIELD
We’ve all heard it on the political campaign trail: small businesses are the backbone of the economy. Springfield is no exception. We have a strong core of small, locally-owned businesses that reinvest in the community they serve. A handful of those businesses were recognized at the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce’s 28th Annual Small Business…
Repeal the Patriot Act
It’s back. The Patriot Act – that grotesque, ever-mutating, hydra-headed monstrosity from the Bush-Cheney Little Shop of Horrors – has risen again, this time with an added twist of Orwellian intrusiveness from the Obamacans. Since 2006, Team Bush, and then Team Obama, have allowed the little-known, hugely powerful National Security Agency to run a daily…
Daley takes his gloves off
I think a lot of people believed that if Bill Daley ran for governor his campaign would be as bland and vanilla as his public persona has been over the decades. Instead, he’s turned into the fieriest candidate in the race so far. Daley is even “out-angering” wealthy Republican financier Bruce Rauner, who has tried…
Putting on the glitz
Roxy Theatricals presents nine performances of the Sunset Boulevard: The Musical on June 28-30, July 5-7 and July 11-13 at The Legacy Theatre. Rights to the show, usually only given out to professional companies, were finally granted to Roxy. Set and costumes are as glamorous as the main character, Norma Desmond, an old silent film…
Phasing into the future at the PCCC
Things had gotten pretty bad for the Prairie Capital Convention Center. “The building had 30-year-old galvanized plumbing,” recounts PCCC general manager Brian Oaks. “It was to the point where we would come into a room – or get a security report – and there would just be water dumping out of the ceiling, because a…
There’s still pork in corn and beans
Billionaire Paul Allen, New Yorkers and other folks who live many miles from farms will no longer get farm subsidies under the latest version of the federal farm bill now being bickered about in Congress. But critics of farm subsidies say there is still plenty of welfare in federal farm policy. The farm bill easily…
Catch the June music bug
We sure are on a roll weather wise lately, either sweating up a storm or sweating out a storm, with not much in between. Regardless, the music keeps pouring all the time and that’s just fine. Speaking of weather and live music, have you been to the Old Capitol Plaza on the south side of…
