gardening 5-12-05
The International Herb Association has declared oregano the 2005 Herb of the Year. Most of us can’t imagine what a pizza would taste like without the warm, spicy flavor of oregano, one of the most familiar herbs used in cooking. Oregano loves heat and thrives in a full-sun garden location with a light to medium-rich…
Jacqueline Jackson 5-12-05
aroundtownpoem #3 six behemoth pink and baby blue trucks lead mrs tuxhorn to her grave © Jacqueline Jackson 2005
GOP targets Lisa Madigan
Illinois Republican leaders who attended a recent Will County retreat with Karl Rove were a little taken aback when the White House political guru talked excitedly about bringing Vice President Dick Cheney into Illinois to campaign on behalf of the Republican candidate for Illinois attorney general. The race just hasn’t registered on anyone’s political radar…
Happy ending
Hansel and Gretel munched on a house made of gingerbread, and the outcome wasn’t so good for the occupant. This Friday, like the fairy-tale siblings, Springfieldians get the opportunity to eat sweets, but the result should make a few future homeowners quite happy. Habitat for Humanity-Sangamon County’s third “Desserts & Dreams” fundraiser gives guests a…
music 5-12-05
The last time Marita Brake played Springfield was in 1967, and the location was the Something Else Coffeehouse, located in an old brownstone on the northeast corner of Fourth and Capitol. That time was a golden age for a generation of Beat-ish poets who trekked cross-country between Greenwich Village and Haight-Ashbury. Bob Dylan and Joan…
Sister soldiers
Talking to Jennifer Buffington and Andrea Bryan, it’s easy to see them as two college coeds who like to hang out with friends, go to the gym, shop, and sleep late. If you ask them about the year they just spent in Iraq, they’ll give you pat answers. Buffington’s goes like this: “It was Iraq.…
people’s poetry
The Busy Part of 127 He stopped traffic on the busy part of 127, and then just slowed it down. Sometimes when it’s quiet, I wonder why the whole world hinges on that wet, bedraggled dog, limping, weaving forward and back across the double-yellow line, getting smaller and smaller in my rearview mirror. — Rodd…
Conduct unbecoming
Louis Russo was not quite 20 when he was interrogated by Illinois State Police in March 2003. It was the day after his infant daughter’s funeral, and investigators had reason to believe that Russo might have caused the baby’s death. Special Agent Cynthia Robbins and Sgt. Rebecca Dewitt-Early gave Russo his Miranda warning and then…
backstage pass 5-12-05
Springfield gets its first look next week at Rounding Third, a new comedy by Richard Dresser that played off-Broadway and has been a hit in theaters around the country. Jason Goodreau and Mac Warren, two local actors, are responsible for the Springfield production, and they play the lead roles. Rounding Third follows Don, a tough, blue-collar,…
appetite 5-12-05
When August Jones moved back to Springfield from California three years ago, he immediately went to work farming his grandparents’ land. During that first summer, he was selling organic tomatoes and other fresh produce at the Old Capitol Farmers’ Market. The market not only provided an outlet to sell his crops but also introduced him…
quick takes 5-12-05
EXPLORE THE ALTERNATIVES Those who missed Anna Lappé’s recent appearance in Springfield have another opportunity to hear the author of the best-selling Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet at an upcoming conference in Godfrey. The Sierra Club, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, and La Vista Community Supported Garden are hosting a “sustainability conference” titled “Health:…
letters 5-12-05
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 TREATMENT INSTEAD OF PRISON According to the last figures I have seen,…
sound patrol 5-12-05
Will Johnson is the indie-rock equivalent of Joyce Carol Oates, cranking out a seemingly endless supply of songs for his various musical personae: cerebral head-bangers for Centro-matic, rawboned alt-folk for his solo ventures, and delirious countrified pop for South San Gabriel, a band that comprises all four members of Centro-matic plus a rotating cast of…
Taking it to the street
People from all over Springfield plan to meet this Saturday morning at Laurel United Methodist Church, at the corner of Walnut Street and South Grand Avenue. They won’t be there to pray; instead, after a breakfast of coffee, juice, and doughnuts, they’ll get their marching orders and spend the rest of the day hard at…
music notes 5-12-05
The Forty-Niner Bye-Bye (518 Bruns Lane, 787-4937) has a long and storied past in Springfield bar history. Now new owners are celebrating the next chapter in the colorful tale of the historic libation dispenser. Groove Daddies, a local band with quite a storied past of their own, have been chosen to herald in the new…
now playing 5-12-05
Micah Walk, a native of Girard, plays acoustic guitar, and writes and sings songs. He recently graduated from the University of Illinois in Springfield, as a communications major (“I’m just trying to get a degree, make my dad happy, and get the heck out”). The 23-year-old musician answered some questions via e-mail last week. Influences:…
flicks 5-12-05
Science fiction suffers too much from George Lucas syndrome, and the primary symptom is an endless barrage of silly names assigned to alien creatures and worlds. The cure is simple: Add a dose of humor, because it’s too difficult to swallow as serious. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is about as goofy as they…
commentary 5-12-05
The recent appointment of Paul Wolfowitz as head of the World Bank was viewed around the world as a scandalous example of the Bush administration’s arrogance. Perhaps more than any other member of the clique that has taken control of the White House, it was Wolfowitz who masterminded the illegal war in Iraq. This, together…
common sense 5-12-05
President George W. Bush’s handlers keep him in a happy little bubble, comfortably isolated from something kind of important for a president: reality. Bush says that he doesn’t read newspapers, instead trusting his aides to give him any “news” he needs to know. And when he goes on the road for one of his “town…
earth talk 5-12-05
Dear “Earth Talk”: Nuclear power seems like such a clean and cost-effective alternative to burning fossil fuels. Why are so many environmentalists against it? — Paul Franklin, Missoula, Montana Unlike fossil fuels, nuclear power spares us the carbon dioxide that promotes global warming and the airborne pollutants that cause respiratory harm. But the technology does…
movie review
If you’re smart, get online, punch up the trailer to Monster-in-Law, watch it a few times, skip the movie, and save yourself a couple of bucks. The clip shows Viola Fields (Jane Fonda), a journalist in the Barbara Walters mold, gnashing her teeth and throwing fit after fit over the prospect of her precious son,…
Green connections
Soon after Tim Davlin took office as mayor, his administration created a new organization, Springfield Green, to promote city beautification. The private-public partnership started as a coalition with Downtown Springfield Inc. but has since expanded its reach beyond to the corporate limits of Springfield and into neighboring Chatham and Leland Grove, says Davlin’s spokesman, Ernie…
