Pretty in pink (and red, and white. . .)
Dianthus is a flower-garden favorite. Easy to grow, dianthus plants produce beautiful, bright and generally fragrant blooms. There are more than 300 species of dianthus, ranging in size from six inches to three feet, including annuals, biennials and perennials. Common varieties include pinks, maiden pinks, carnations, Sweet William, cottage pinks, clove pinks and gillyflower. Because…
Movie Review
Hanks shines in Coens’ remake of The Ladykillers While it doesn’t reach the heights of inspired lunacy of their classic Raising Arizona, the Coen Brothers’ remake of The Ladykillers delivers plenty of chuckles, albeit of the darkest variety. The film takes some time to hit its stride, but ultimately delivers a wonderfully comic and morally…
Backstage Pass 3-25-04
Sacred Heart-Griffin High School this week reprises the musical Children of Eden, which was produced there a few years back and eventually was performed at Muni Opera. The show, which tells the Old Testament stories of Adam, Eve, Noah and the Flood, has a great score by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, and the current Wicked)…
The shape of things to come
When she was 9, Teri Zucksworth entered a papier mâché horse in an art competition at the Illinois State Fair. She still has the gold ribbon she won. That recognition fueled a lifelong passion for art, especially the depiction of animals. At age 16, she produced her first commissioned piece: a colored-pencil drawing of a…
Quick Takes 3-25-04
THE LIST Protesters in Springfield marked the one-year anniversary of the war on Saturday by reciting the names of Illinois soldiers who have died in Iraq. When the candlelight vigil at the Capitol was planned, there were 21 names. Last week, the name of Sgt. Ivory L. Phipps, 44, was added to the list. Phipps…
Now Playing 3-25-04
Yikes! Is it really the end of March 2004? I must be having fun ’cause the time surely does fly by. Speaking of flying time — anyone remember Rudolph’s Bean, a local coffeehouse of some 30 years ago? Our pal and IT contributor Job Conger fondly remembers the joint. He played music there when folk…
Grace about town 3-25-04
It’s been a while since all that speed dating, and I thought I’d keep you apprised of events. I went to another speed-dating session, a few weeks after the first one. A friend wanted to go and thought it would be fun if we went together. I said OK. But then she wasn’t able to…
Books, briefly noted
Admit it. When you think of the literary capitals of the world, Springfield doesn’t leap to the top of the list. But beginning on Saturday, Springfield shines like a literary luminary on the prairie. Two major events light the match: the Eighth Annual Illinois Authors Book Fair and the University of Illinois at Springfield’s Verbal…
Mad County
Twenty years ago, critics slammed Madison County, Ill., as a “cesspool,” but they weren’t referring to its heavy industry — the refineries, chemical plants and steel mills that spewed pollution into the air and the nearby Mississippi River. Instead, they pointed to Madison County’s other big business: its court system. Critics claimed that juries in…
The Mexican standout
Frankly, it’s hard to differentiate one Mexican restaurant from another. The basics — tortilla chips, tacos, and beans and rice — usually taste the same. Springfield boasts at least one notable exception, but it’s what La Mex doesn’t have that makes it special. First of all, there are no piñatas at La Mex. That’s right,…
In the black
It can be painful to hear Ivy League-bred Barack Obama talk jive. When the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate ‘gives a shout out’ to a supporter, calling him his ‘homeboy,’ or worse, his ‘peeps,’ the inflection in his voice betrays him as perhaps more vanilla than chocolate. In the months leading up to last…
Letters 3-25-04
Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com JUSTICE NEEDS HER BLINDFOLD The system of justice here in Springfield can…
Aldermania: Pending matters
Along one wall of the City Council chambers, a half-dozen Springfield firefighters stood poised to provide crowd control. Downstairs in the lobby a TV monitor and rows of folding chairs were set up, ready to accommodate overflow. Outside, a handful of protesters marched in the drizzle, their chants providing a buzz in the background of…
Pool solution
Say a student is pursuing a degree in health care at the local community college. But the school’s medical laboratory pales in comparison to the more technologically sophisticated facilities at the nearby state university. Why not share facilities? “It is utterly and completely logical that these institutions should be combined into one facility,” says Greater…
Knoepfle 3-25-04
sad young man singing crunchbirds and stormfoxes here I am and Im eighteen so what the hell if the light is green Ive got nowhere to go theres my father hes fifty-four theres my mother shes forty-two so tell me what am I to do Ive got nowhere to go what if the woman…
