IT exclusive video preview! Musical event at The Pharmacy this weekend
Sound artist Ben S. Jacob of local arts collective The Pharmacy will be presenting his primal, highly percussive sonic vision this Saturday and Sunday evening Check out the video below for rehearsal footage and to hear Mr. Jacob expound on his musical ideas. The event will take place at 401 South Grand Avenue West March…
Barrett Deems
My column about drummer jokes in December made significant mention of Springfield native son and drummer, Barrett Deems. I am informed by UIS Auditorium Director Bob Vaughn that the jazz performance on March 30 by the SF Jazz Collective will be dedicated to Deems, who turned 100 the first of that month. The concert is Sunday…
Deputy’s discipline overturned
An arbitrator has found that the Sangamon County sheriff’s office metes out harsher discipline to female deputies than male employees. The finding comes in the case of Sherry Waldron, a former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy terminated in 2012 for allegedly stealing plants from a Sherman park while on duty. Shortly after she was acquitted of…
Miscontrusion
About a year ago, in a column titled, “What was that again?” I noted that people who learn words solely from books are prey to pronouncing them the way they look — which, unfortunately, is not always the way they sound. Some linguist coined a term for it: “eggcorn,” created when you substitute a word or…
Ready for duty
A former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy and acknowledged thief has won a case before an arbitrator who ruled that she should be suspended for 90 days instead of being fired. Sherry Waldron was acquitted of misdemeanor theft charges last year after being accused of stealing plants from a Sherman park. Evidence in the case included…
State poetry competition today
The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The tide rises, the tide falls, The twilight darkens, the curlew calls; Along the sea-sands damp and brown The traveller hastens toward the town, And the tide rises, the tide falls. Darkness settles on roofs and walls, But the sea, the sea in the…
storypoem #14
in the car the whole family drivingnorth I was eight I discovered a metalwhistle a slush pump by blowing andsliding the plunger up or down one couldmake swooping sounds I soon realizedby stopping on a note then moving theplunger spot to spot one could make tunesI was totally entranced it was one of thoserare moments…
LITIGATION BLUES
A federal judge has ruled that a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Springfield and several police officers filed by Calvin Christian III may proceed. But in ruling against the city last week, U.S. District Court Judge Colin S. Bruce opined that Christian may have a tough time convincing a jury that city police…
We back Jack
Jack Campbell There is no race on next Tuesday’s ballot more important than the Republican primary for Sangamon County sheriff. No other elective office in the county has the power of life or death, particularly in the jail. Inmates die when jails provide poor medical care, and lawsuits happen, with fiscal stakes running into the…
Shaking up Springfield
Illinois Governor Daniel Walker shakes hands at the Bud Billiken Parade, Chicago, 1973. PHOTO BY JOHN H. WHITE “To those who have grown rich on the public dollar, to those who have won secret grants and contracts, to those in government who put themselves first and the taxpayers second – to you I bring my…
Guinness goodness
A defining characteristic of stout beers, of which Guinness is arguably the best known, is a creamy head and extremely dark body caused by the addition of roasted barley. PHOTO BY BOB FILA/MCT Will ye be havin’ a pint or two of Guinness to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day come Monday? If so, you won’t be…
Don’t dictate language
The Ukrainian conflict has highlighted the instability of nations in which languages and cultures compete for dominance. Despite fundamental differences, parallels have been drawn with the situation in the U.S., where Spanish is now being seen as a challenge to English in some areas. Although there is no danger of a Ukrainian-style conflict in the…
A tax on high frequency traders
Have you heard about High Frequency Trading? HFT is sweeping, purely speculative financial transactions that have been made possible by huge leaps in technology. Done by super-fast computers, using mathematical algorithms, HFT searches millions of prices at lightning speeds and places bets automatically. Transaction times are measured in milliseconds, as the global network of “trading…
Grounded Speed outdistances Furious
Aaron Paul stars as Tobey Marshall in Need for Speed. PHOTO BY WALT DISNEY PICTURES Do we need another movie built around fast cars and reckless drivers? Or for that matter, one based on a video game? For me, the answer is a resounding “no” to both questions and that being the case, I went…
Laughter and love
Locals Johnny Molson and Mary Young star in the Lanford Wilson Pulitzer Prize-winning play Talley’s Folly at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, March 14-16 and 21-23. Set in Missouri during 1944, Matt Friedman is a Jewish accountant from St. Louis who has returned to a rural boathouse where he met Sally Talley to profuse…
Dems want 13th District seat in Congress
George Gollin, a physics professor, is running against former judge Ann Callis and social policy analyst David Green in the Congressional District 13 Democratic primary race. PHOTO COURTESY GEORGE GOLLIN CAMPAIGN It’s been more than 100 years since a Democrat represented congressional District 13, but that isn’t stopping three candidates from vying for the seat.…
Japanese drumming
This isn’t just drumming – this is an amazing combination of percussion instruments that look like beautiful sculptures, explosive and hypnotizing sounds of Taiko drumming and the perfectly in sync, choreographed movements of drummers with costumes and bodies that resemble fine art. You will marvel at the athletic energy, stamina and skill these Japanese musicians…
The Emerald Underground
From origins as one of the first groups in central Illinois to play Celtic music with a rock feel, The Emerald Underground has evolved for over a decade, continuing to be a steady and vibrant force in our area music scene. With alterations made in 2013, TEU approaches the “High Holy Days” of the St.…
Crossing boundaries
“Woman with a Monkey” was featured in the April 1909 issue of Harper’s Weekly. This painting, possibly a self-portrait of Mars, now hangs at the Springfield Art Association. Vachel Lindsay undoubtedly wins the distinction of Springfield’s Most Famous Resident, Arts and Letters Category, but he wasn’t the only Springfield native to make it big on…
Gov. speaks after anti-violence program audit
“There was no money allocated at all before the election of 2010,” Gov. Pat Quinn told Chicago TV reporter Charles Thomas about allegations that the governor had spent millions in state anti-violence grants to boost his flagging election campaign. Quinn used this to defend himself against growing criticism about a devastating state audit of the…
PANHANDLERS WON’T GO AWAY
The most famous panhandlers in Springfield will have their day in court, but they’ll have to go to Chicago to do it. Don Norton and Karen Otterson of Springfield sued the City of Springfield in September 2013 on behalf of all panhandlers in the city, saying the city’s ordinance banning panhandling by vocal appeal in…
Problems solved
Curses, foiled againGene Richins, 31, broke into a jewelry store in Sandy, Utah, by climbing down through the ceiling but then set off a motion-detector alarm. “The alarms were going off this whole time,” store owner Tim Branscomb said. “I don’t know why he didn’t just leave.” Instead, Richins continued filling his bag with jewelry.…
Wit and wisdom makes for memorable Peabody and Sherman
It was only a matter of time before Jay Ward’s beloved characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman would make it to the big screen. Having kicked around Hollywood for a while, certainly not helped by the disaster that was 2000’s The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, it finally found a home at DreamWorks Animation … in…
Two challenge rookie congressman
Erika Harold of Urbana is running against incumbent Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville and Michael Firsching of Moro in the Congressional District 13 Republican primary. PHOTO BY LAUREN P. DUNCAN Although it may not be easy for a Republican to win a congressional district drawn by Democrats, the 13th District GOP candidates all want that…
Bruce Rauner’s nursing home problem
Bruce Rauner may easily win the Republican primary in Illinois’ race for governor, but he faces a much tougher battle in federal court, where his investment company is accused of illegally trying to avoid paying up in a wrongful death lawsuit. Rauner, a wealthy businessman from Winnetka, has downplayed allegations that his company offered substandard…
Fool disclosure
On a business trip, I drank WAY too much with some work friends and ended up kissing a random girl I met at a bar, despite my having a girlfriend I love very much. I feel horrible. Until now, I’d never cheated on a woman. Is it crazy to want to tell my girlfriend? It…
Saint Pat’s party
Mulligan Munro joins in the St. Pat’s Party at McCormick’s Smokehouse 4 to 6 and at It’s All About Wine 7 to 10, on Sat., plus a Prairie Grapevine concert on Tues. at 7:30 p.m. at the Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation. PHOTO BY RACHEL OTWELL I imagine for many celebrating during Saturday’s Saint Patrick’s…
A beacon for ex-cons
Before he was even 12, Lorenzo Louden had shot a man and slept with two prostitutes. Growing up so early, it’s no wonder he preferred gang life to school and eventually wound up in prison. Now 57, Louden runs the Springfield-based nonprofit Tower of Refuge with his wife, Bevey. Using his life experience and her…
Straightforward God an effective Christ-tale
Recognizing that a golden opportunity had fallen in their laps when their The Bible miniseries scored huge ratings on The History Channel, producers Mark Burnett and his wife Roma Downey wisely decided to give their audience more of what they liked. The result is the feature film Son of God, an account of the life…
Letters to the Editor 3/13/14
According to the U.S. Postal Service 2013 Annual Report to Congress, the USPS had a net loss for the last three years and went from 557, 251 career employees in 2011 to 491,017 in 2013. ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS WARE/MCT WOE IS MAILPlaudits to Mr. Hightower! His article, (“Don’t close our post offices,” March 6), is…
