cantankerous poem #11
can’t believe I’d ever admit jane austenhas written a dull book but just finishedmansfield park last read many years agoit’s incredibly poor why is edmund such adope who’d ever want to marry him nowfanny, she’s too perfect and inexorablydull wayward maria’s punishment is fartoo harsh but maybe not for a woman inher social class at…
PAY UP
The federal government is demanding more than $61,000 from the Village of Jerome, the village treasurer has resigned and more trouble could be coming. In an Oct. 25 letter to village officials, an administrator from the U.S. Department of Justice gave the village 60 days to repay monies spent from a drug-seizure fund for telephone…
Country gold
Country music superstar Alan Jackson takes the Prairie Capital Convention Center stage this Saturday, Nov. 10. Admired for decades for his classic country sound and hunk-of-burning-lovely looks, Jackson has more than two dozen albums and numerous Grammy, Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music awards. His latest album, Thirty Miles West, debuted at the…
Cook now, eat later. Skip the stress.
Getting Thanksgiving dinner – or any holiday feast – on the table can seem like a math word problem gone awry. Question: If it takes four hours to cook a 15-pound turkey, and three of the side dishes need something done to them “just before serving,” how many times will the cook wish there were…
Star Bucks
Driving his pickup up a gravel road toward a built-in-a-weekend cabin on a 160-acre piece of land he calls a farm, Jack Robertson spots a pair of does munching on wheat that, along with oats and clover, is the only crop this place produces. That’s by design. He has tried soybeans and corn, but neither…
The corporate mad dogs of Citizens United
As feared, our people’s democratic authority has been dogged nearly to death by the hounds of money in this election go ’round, thanks to the Supreme Court’s reckless decree in the now infamous Citizens United case. A little-reported consequence of the malevolent decision: It has unleashed mad-dog corporate bosses to tell employees how to vote.…
Washington soars in Flight
If you look back at the careers of the great screen actors and actresses, you’ll notice that after they’ve successfully established a recognizable persona, they begin to seek ways to break free from it. It must be a bore only playing slight variations of the same role all the time, and any performer worth their…
As easy as pie
Even folks who don’t normally bake pies do so for Thanksgiving. Many are intimidated by the prospect; some are even too scared to try. That’s a shame, because it’s not that difficult once you understand a few basic rules. And making a totally made-from-scratch pie is deeply satisfying for both experts and novices. I’m not…
Innocent, but still guilty
Although Anthony Murray walked out of prison on Oct. 31 a free man after 14 years, gaining his freedom required admitting to a murder he says he didn’t commit. “It’s been a long road,” the 41-year-old Chicago resident said in a Marion County courtroom in Salem during a hearing the day before his release. “I’m…
American-roots masters
If you hanker for bluegrass music, the Greater Downstate Indoor Bluegrass Festival is where you’ll want to be the weekend of Nov. 9-11. Award-winning artists from across the nation perform six concerts. They are Lonesome River Band, Rhonda Vincent and The Rage, The Boxcars, The Roys, Dry Branch Fire Squad, The Link Family, Nothin’ Fancy,…
Peanut pie
Peanut pie This pie is as American as pumpkin or pecan. Peanuts (which are actually legumes, not truly nuts) originated in South America over 7,600 years ago. African-American trail-blazing scientist George Washington Carver is credited with popularizing them in the U.S. Completely cool peanut pie before cutting and serving. • 3 beaten eggs• 1 1/2…
Lincoln’s Election Day in Springfield
Election Day, 1860, started with a boom for Republican presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln. According to Harold Holzer’s book, Lincoln: President-Elect, local Republicans (not including Lincoln) set off a cannon in Springfield that morning to get supporters to the polls. It was a noisy day: wagons carrying loud bands roved through town as well, according to…
The call of doodie
Loved your response to the bored-out-of-their-gourds parents of the 1-year-old. I’m three months pregnant and a little worried in the wake of a recent dinner party. There were four sets of new parents there, and all the wives seemed to resent the hell out of their husbands. The husbands, predictably, seemed defensive and angry in…
Guitar genius
Guitar guru Stanley Jordan performs Nov. 9 at the Studio Theatre as part of the Kitchen Sink Series at the University of Illinois Springfield. The Chicago native and jazz fusion guitarist began studying music early in his childhood and received a Bachelor of Arts in digital music composition from Princeton University. Nominated for multiple Grammy Awards and…
They’re b-a-a-a-c-k
Everybody read about it – a high-tech hunter got video evidence that confirmed the presence in a Morgan County woods of an adult cougar, only the fourth known to have been sighted in Illinois since the 1870s, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. The DNR staff are good scientists who don’t let their…
WATER-GATE ENDS AT SHG
Upon further review, Sacred Heart-Griffin High School administrators have apparently decided not to demand prosecution of nine former students who placed thousands of paper cups filled with water on the floor of a common area last spring as a senior prank. “No criminal charges will be filed, period,” said Sangamon County state’s attorney John Milhiser,…
Hospital Job
A self-described “melodic indie/punk band,” Hospital Job also says to, “think Superdrag meets The Ramones trying to play Jesus and Mary Chain covers” as a good way to understand where they’re coming from musically. The quirky quartet consists of Luke McNeill (singer, songwriter, guitarist), Tim Reynolds (guitar, vocals), Cory VanMeter (bass) and Fred Malcom (drums).…
Case dismissed
Charges against a physician accused of fraud and conspiracy have been dismissed after federal prosecutors admitted that an FBI agent violated the accused’s constitutional rights by gaining unfettered access to his email account, including communications between the doctor and his defense attorneys. Dr. Rakesh Wahi, who specialized in obesity treatment, had been accused of bilking…
Illinois preparing health insurance exchange
{image-14939}Illinois is preparing to roll out a crucial pillar of the federal health care reforms, but one puzzle piece remains out of place. The state plans to open a health insurance market at the start of 2014, offering coverage plans sold by private companies and vetted by state regulators. It’s part of the federal Affordable…
PIES FOR PEACE
You can’t pay a lawyer with pie…or can you? The Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association is holding a Thanksgiving pie sale, with proceeds funding their safety and security program in the neighborhood once called “The Jewel of Springfield.” EPNIA uses the money to pay for neighborhood patrols by off-duty cops, a 24/7 hotline to report…
Civil discourse and the clash of ideas
The election of 2012 has called attention to how difficult it is for Americans to talk reasonably with one another about public policy challenges. Our civic dialogue – how we sort through issues and reason with one another – is too often lamentable. We live in a politically divided country. Congress, which ought to serve…
Marvelously mischievous
Springfield Theatre Centre presents its rendition of M*A*S*H at the Hoogland Center for the Arts Nov. 9-11 and 16-18. Produced by Jim Leach and directed by Kelly E. Bassett, the crazy comedy brings you your favorite silly surgeons Hawkeye and Duke serving in South Korea. In this production, the pair wages a campaign to get…
The Roys arrive
When thinking of bluegrass festivals nature and outdoor settings generally come to my mind, but one of the finest bluegrass fests in the country happens right here in Springfield at the Crowne Plaza. Called the Greater Downstate Indoor Bluegrass Festival, this weekend marks the 26th year of the three-day event that hosts some of the…
Skyfall returns Bond to solid ground
In a recent interview, director Sam Mendes stated that Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight “gave me the confidence to take Skyfall in directions that might not have been possible before it had been released.” The second Batman movie was a wake-up call for the filmmaker and producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson as far…
Madigan machine moves heaven and earth
There’s nothing quite like the spectacle of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan when he’s out to get somebody. Just ask state Rep. Skip Saviano, R-Elmwood Park. The two men used to be allies, even friends. Saviano supported Madigan’s daughter when Lisa ran for state attorney general. But then Lisa turned against Saviano’s political mentor, the…
Letters to the Editor 11/08/12
SAVE ENOS SCHOOLDankor Development Company is pleased with Ty Rees’ idea, for the school district to build the new Enos School on nearby contiguous lots and to preserve the present Enos School for adaptive reuse for creation of new apartments or other facilities (see “Letters,” Oct. 25). New housing would allow families with school-age children…
Pate Brisee
Pate Brisee(aka pie pastry) For 2 crusts: • 2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour• 1 tsp. salt• 1 T. sugar• 1/2 c. EACH unsalted butter and unhydrogenated lard, preferred, or 1 c. unsalted butter• 1/3-1/2 c. ice water All ingredients and utensils MUST be cold or cool. To make pastry in a food processor: Cut…
