Hit and Miss
There’s an “almost, not quite” quality to Nicholas Stoller’s Neighbors, a ribald comedy that is at times uproariously effective but at others frustratingly tame. Though it sports an intriguing premise – young married couple versus the frat boys who move in next door – there’s still an air of the familiar to the film as…
And the rockets’ red…never mind
Put away your lawn blankets and picnic baskets: Springfield’s biggest and best fireworks show is in jeopardy. With just one month left until the 53rd incarnation of the annual International Carillon Festival at Washington Park, which has traditionally included the city’s biggest fireworks display, event organizers have secured no money for fireworks. Last year, fireworks…
Musical museums
My column deriding George Lucas’ hopes to house his personal collection of Americana in Chicago was probably ungenerous. Maybe it was because I was mistaken for Lucas in shopping center not long ago, and the slur still rankles. No collection should not be judged by its owner, and I fear I did just that.…
Dense voters
Emily Badger, who covers urban policies for the Washington Post’s Wonkblog, flagged for her readers a recent Wall Street Journal article about how once-Republican inner-ring suburbs of our big cities are turning Democratic. The results, she writes, suggest a larger relationship between population density and politics. In the 2012 election…Dems overwhelmingly have a lock on…
Video preview of tonight’s ISO concert
Tonight the Illinois Symphony Orchestra closes out its season with “Lincoln’s Legacy” a truly dynamic program featuring a photo montage of historical images choreographed by James Westwater to Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait.” Below, watch our exclusive video of this week’s rehearsal, with comments from ISO musical director Alastair Willis and executive director Trevor Orthmann. (Video…
Lasting faith
Kiddish Cup by Joy Stember, Abington, Pa. PhotoS courtesy SPRINGFIELD ART ASSOCIATION The Liturgical Arts Festival of Springfield is going strong after 20 years. That’s a feat for any nonprofit. That might be called a small miracle for a diverse group of people trying to arrange a week-long slew of events. But where there is…
Spiritual perspectives
Springfield Art Association’s part in the Liturgical Arts Festival of Springfield kicks off Saturday, May 3, 4:30-6:30 p.m., with an opening reception of its month-long exhibit titled, Come Creative Spirit. Thirty-five artists from 12 states had works chosen by a jury of artists to participate in the exhibit that explores spirituality and faith from diverse…
Capitalizing on disaster
Curses, foiled again• Police investigating the burglary of a restaurant in San Mateo, Calif., arrested Keveen Quintanilla, 31, after he stopped to flirt with bartender Ashleigh Cullen, 22, who was taking out the recycling. “He said he’d seen me around and wanted to hang out, which was strange since it was already 1 a.m. when…
Celebrating creativity
Thursday, May 8, Hoogland Center for the Arts opens its doors for the next installment of PechaKucha. The great thing about these dynamic get-togethers is that no two are alike, except for the format. That includes a lineup of interesting local folks talking about the stuff they do and know as they present PowerPoint slides…
The Republican battle for backing
Out of power for a dozen years and hobbled even before that by anti-patronage court rulings, the state’s Republican Party infrastructure has all but collapsed.So, part of GOP gubernatorial nominee Bruce Rauner’s task he’s set for himself from here on out is to try and somehow rebuild a grassroots infrastructure It won’t be an easy…
Letters to the Editor 5/1/14
The beds of homeless people are inches apart at one of the city’s homeless shelters. PHOTO BY ADAM SMITH ON THE STREETSIn the article “Telling their stories” (April 24), Patrick Yeagle did a marvelous job portraying the story and my documentary, Untold Stories: Conversations with the Homeless. In both photography and videography, it is our…
Pace and plotting nearly undo The Other Woman
Kate Upton, Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann in The Other Woman. Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox I understand the appeal of films like The Other Woman. They are to women what action flicks are to men – overwrought fantasies meant to provide a cathartic release for the audience. Then again they might exist as a…
Why Justice Stevens wants to amend the Constitution
SIX AMENDMENTS: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution, by John Paul Stevens. Little Brown Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has earned the right to weigh in on the Constitution and how the nation can improve the document that governs so much of American life. In 1975, President Gerald Ford nominated Stevens…
Latin-themed look-see
We’re excited about these new Friday night shindigs at the Illinois State Museum. This Friday, May 2, is another good time to explore the museum when they present a Latin-themed evening called First Friday Fiesta. Learn the salsa (5:30-6:30) from Apollo Shaw (pictured left with dancer), dance instructor and choreographer with The Shaw Dance Company…
‘Clerical error’ means headaches for SIU union
Employees at SIU School of Medicine protest the school’s assertion that they are no longer in the AFSCME Local 370 union. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE A group of unionized employees at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield claims the school is illegally trying to force them out of their union. With signs, chants…
Cultural arts major
George Lucas Photo BY TISH WELLS/MCT Toymaker George Lucas is thinking about buying Chicago a museum to house his personal collection of early 20th century soft-core and magazine cover art by the likes of Maxfield Parrish and Norman Rockwell, among exhibits devoted to cartooning and movie graphics. The Florentines had the Medici, we have the…
Foraging spring flowers
PHOTO BY METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION Every year of my life, violets have appeared on our dinner table. Occasionally they show up in a vase, but far more often we use them as a garnish for salads and spring vegetables, especially asparagus. “You can eat violets?” incredulous guests always ask. Yes, you can, and dandelions too,…
philanthropy poem #1
lately I have been writing a lot aboutjohn rockefeller prentice grandson ofjohn d my new book is full of him andhis tireless work in producing bettercattle I knew him he gave me a copy oftreasure island in latin a mount hope classichis father had arranged with scribnersso that his children would have booksinteresting to read…
From farm workers to cheerleaders
It doesn’t take an IQ much higher than room temperature to realize that it’s way past time to raise America’s sub-poverty minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. But let’s also pay attention to the millions of people trying to make ends meet on – believe it or not – America’s sub-minimum wage. Some of our…
All doc and no action
I’ve been going to the same primary care doctor for a few years. I’m very attracted to him, and I believe he’s attracted to me, too. There’s always been a dynamic between us. I thought it was his “bedside manner,” but when I asked others, they didn’t have the same experience with him. I know…
Music from the heart
The Springfield Choral Society has performed Handel’s “Messiah” in each of the last three years. Photo BY MARK SMITH Non-professional choirs and community choruses often write to world-famous venues hoping for a chance to sing inside. Cathedrals, castles, museums and other sites will appease amateur groups by allowing them to perform on the steps. Earlier…
No maybe for May music
James Armstrong and band plays Casey’s Pub on Thursday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. Wow, what a month of May music coming up. Yessiree, there’s no maybe about it; we are in for a blast of interesting and exciting music moments in the next several weeks. That then leads right into the summer season, including…
Pimpin Henry
Fresh from a refreshing outing at last weekend’s Crowe Fest, Brad Jamison (vocals, bass), Doug Shannon (drums), Dustin Strother (guitar, vocals) and newest member Mike Tash (keys) are on a roll. From origins in 2001 as an “avant garde psychedelic trio,” the band played for a while, took five years off and then revved up…
That was a park when I was your age, kids
Most people in central Illinois have not heard about it, but the FutureGen Alliance is planning to build their 48,000 square foot, $25 – $30 million visitor center in the heart of Community Park in Jacksonville. I first learned about the project—called the FutureGen Center—back in late July 2013. By the first week of August…
Medical marijuana rules developing
The rules for Illinois’ forthcoming medical marijuana industry are taking shape. A second draft of rules for the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program was released April 18. The proposed rules refine a previous draft that was released in January. On Jan. 1, medical marijuana became legal in Illinois after legislation passed in the…
Transcendence wastes its vast potential
Some films go out of their way to have their plots act as a metaphor for the action on screen. Case in point, the recent horror film Oculus, about an evil spirit that lives in a mirror, sports a story that puts together scenes from the past and present in such a way that they…
Will teach for food
Adjunct instructor Megan Rigoni-McCormic works with art students at UIS. Photo BY DAVID HINE The use of adjunct instructors – part-time, non-staff teachers in higher education, sometimes referred to as “contingent faculty” – has become increasingly common in colleges and universities dealing with financial hardships imposed by slashed budgets. It is not hard to understand…
Maintaining the momentum
As Lanphier High School faces the end of a major federal grant, the school’s leadership is working to prolong the improvement there even after the money dries up. Long stereotyped as Springfield’s worst high school, Lanphier has worked to transform itself over the past three years, enabled by a federal School Improvement Grant that expires…
Storied veterans take Honor Flight
World War II veteran and Springfield resident Maurice “Morrie” Pell greets Julie Wedding upon his return from the April 29 Land of Lincoln Honor Flight as his wife, Carolyn, right, and flight guardian, Larry Wedding, left, look on. PHOTO BY LAUREN P. DUNCAN Springfield resident Morrie Pell was only 17 years old when on March…
