Guilty as charged
Christopher Harris couldn’t have asked for better breaks. Not even a ninja could expect to slay five people with a tire iron and walk away without a scratch, especially not in a cracker-box house the size of the Gee home in Beason. Mortal combat in a three-foot-wide hallway? You’d expect at least a scraped knuckle.…
News Quirks 6/6/13
Curses, foiled again• Looking to steal copper wiring to sell as scrap, Dalton Newhouse and Charles Raymond Norris, both 22, used rifles to shoot down high-tension power lines in West Virginia’s Beury Mountain Wildlife Management Area. Newhouse was electrocuted when he touched a live cable on the ground, according to Fayette County deputies and National…
Epic Fails to Live Up to its Title
Anymore, it’s hard not to be impressed with most of the animation that comes from major studios. Since Pixar raised the bar, others have been playing catch up just to keep pace with the ever-expanding technology in computer animation. The minute details that are painstakingly included, the natural movements of the characters and the spectacular…
Civil War reenactment
There is so much to learn about Springfield’s rich history. Whether it’s in the Old Capitol or New Capitol, so much has taken place here. The Old State Capitol will morph into a Civil War field hospital as the annual Civil War Medical Encampment returns Friday, June 7, through Sunday, June 9. During the Civil…
So goes SOHO so far
Here it is the first of June already and time for another SOHO music fest and, for some reason or another, time for more controversy surrounding the charity-driven event. Regardless of the obstacles, from the early days of getting permits and establishing credentials, to last year’s misbegotten and seemingly random decision by the mayor, disclosed…
Sealed in freshness
Herb lovers and enthusiasts can rejoice in the smell of fresh herbs at The Illinois Herb Association 2013 HerbFest. The fest will take place on Saturday, June 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. at Washington Park Botanical Garden in Springfield. The event will feature sessions hosted by a variety of speakers and will include…
Now not so magical
One of the things that’s mentioned often in Louis Leterrier’s heist movie Now You See Me, which focuses on a quartet of Robin Hood-like illusionists, is that the secret to a good magic trick is mastering the art of misdirection. Any trickster worth her salt would agree that the linchpin of most any trick is…
Mr. Opporknockity
The origins of Mr. Opporknockity’s peculiar moniker remains a conundrum, but the Springfield-based, five-piece rock band continues to attract fans and gain attention some 15 years after hitting the local scene. First configured as a two-guitar, singing duo with Troy Roark and Doug Gholson, they scored an actual hit on WDBR-FM with the bouncy “Lisa’s…
Get your art fix
This year’s MacARTFest brings together some of Illinois’ most talented artists. The festival will be held on June 7 from 6-9 p.m. and June 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at South Grand Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard. Art fans can enjoy live demonstrations of basket weaving, papermaking, ceramics, glass blowing, jewelry craft, woodworking, oil…
remember poem #8
in sunday schoolwas I five or sixone sundayI wanted togo back tothe sand tablebut they saidyou’re too biga girl for that
Letters to the Editor 6/6/13
TO REST IN PEACECongratulations on your Opinion article, “Happier Endings,” (James Krohe Jr., May 23). Nationally, awareness is growing that when a condition is terminal – the best treatment is no treatment or comfort care. We should accept living out our days at home with friends and family rather than in the ICU with tubes,…
Ennui go!
My girlfriend and I love each other, but we feel we’re becoming numb to hearing it from each other. We’ve been together three years, so I assume that time is what’s put a damper on the “three little words.” I suggested that when we are about to say “I love you,” we come up with…
In defense of the politician
For years now, Illinoisans dismayed by their elected officials’ failure to clean up the messes they made on the voters’ behalf could console themselves with the thought, “Well, it could be worse.” And it was, in California. Its state government confirms the truth of the old saying that California is just like the rest of…
Convicted by a jury of his peers
Springfield’s most notorious traffic scofflaw or victim of police persecution – take your pick – had his day in court Monday and came away guilty as charged. But Calvin Christian III was smiling after a jury found him guilty of running a red light, failing to secure a child in a child seat and driving…
Sundial marks a century of Rotary
Springfield’s Rotary Clubs are bringing a human sundial to Southwind Park. Located between Erin’s Pavilion and the Great Lawn, the Rotary Sundial Garden will feature a solar module shaped like a giant sunflower. A sculpted bee, perched atop the flower, will cast a shadow that marks the date of the year each day at noon.…
GUNS ON HOLD
While the Illinois General Assembly passed a bill last week allowing concealed carry of firearms, don’t break out your holsters just yet. The bill still requires approval by Gov. Pat Quinn, who may veto it. Quinn currently has to act on the bill before a court-imposed deadline on June 9, but Illinois Attorney General Lisa…
FEEDING THE MASSES
The Central Illinois Foodbank used to have to turn away volunteers – not because they weren’t needed, but because the Foodbank’s old facility on Moffat Avenue couldn’t accommodate all the helpers they needed. Now, the Foodbank is moved into the old Pepsi warehouse at 1937 E. Cook Street in Springfield, and they have a lot…
Who’s not helping pass pension reform?
I told my newsletter subscribers several weeks ago that, without a doubt, if Senate President John Cullerton caved in to House Speaker Michael Madigan on pension reform, Cullerton’s legacy as Madigan’s junior partner would be forever sealed. The two men have battled for months over the proper way to proceed. Cullerton has said that the…
Kleptocrats eager to stop disclosure
Perhaps I’ve been too harsh on congressional Republicans. I had assumed that their vitriolic attacks on even the meekest of proposals to restrict the tsunami of secret corporate cash slamming into our elections stemmed from a hallucinogenic mix of partisan self-interest and Koch-induced plutocratic ideology. But I’ve since learned that they might simply need medical…
The case against metro government
Local governmental efficiency and city-county consolidation, also known as metro government, are not regular topics of conversation for most Sangamon County residents. Not so for the 23 members of the Citizens Efficiency Commission of Sangamon County (CEC), constituted by the Sangamon County Board in 2010. They are deeply immersed in their charge: “To improve local…
Spanish summer supper
Spaniards love picnics. When weather warms up, they’ll head for the countryside with baskets of food, tablecloths and cooking apparatus. Picnics aren’t just simple sandwiches and a few deli containers; even the complex rice preparation, paella, is considered best prepared outdoors, the huge shallow round pan of ingredients simmered over a wood fire. But Spanish…
