Benefits in the can
For more than a century, home canning has been a popular way to preserve and enjoy homegrown fruits and vegetables, not to mention fresh-caught seafood and other delicacies. One of the key benefits of home canning is reduced exposure to the chemicals and pesticides used on most commercially available produce and seafood. Also, most commercially…
The night the moose killed innocence
According to Danny “Rags” Sullivan, 1959 was dragging its summer. In fact, July 28 lasted nine days. Rags’ birthday was July 29 — he’d be 12. The big 12! In our small Midwestern town, age 12 marked the second plateau on one’s climb from boy to man. The first step happened around age 8, when…
Halloween remakes
Hollywood is not currently in its golden age of horror, and to compensate it is remaking the horror films of better days. An unusually high number of horror films from the ’70s have been remade in recent years, further fueling the exaggerated claims that Hollywood has run out of ideas. I’ve waded through numerous films…
Thinking Green?
We had yet another strange polling surprise when Rasmussen, a national pollster, decided to take another poll on the governor’s race because its last one had been conducted just before Tony Rezko’s indictment. As expected, Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s support has dropped since his pal, confidant, and megafundraiser was indicted by the feds. Blagojevich went from…
Split at the seams
Montgomery County residents soon will get their say on a controversial form of mining, but whatever the outcome of the Nov. 7 vote, neither side is likely to give up the fight. Two companies, Hillsboro Energy LLC and Drummond Co. Inc., are hoping to tap more than 120,000 acres of coal reserves in the county…
People’s Poetry
aroundtownpoem #15 no matter what anyone says I’m glad I live on north fifth street the house is grand and in a cloudburst lincoln took shelter in the foyer and chatted with the builders too bad he didn’t carve his initials we’d be in no danger from the medical district as it is I’m surrounded…
State secrets
In repressive regimes, it’s common for the authorities to run closed governments — and it’s also common for them to crack down hard on people who dare to try shining a little light on the government’s actions. Take China. On May 28, it was reported that authorities there were prosecuting a newspaper researcher for revealing…
Bats are a gardener’s friend
Many symbols indicate that Halloween is on its way. Yards are decorated with pumpkins, ghosts, witches, spiders, and bats. Fake bats and spiders may be popular decorations, but the real deal makes people scream. Bats are a highly misunderstood mystery of the night. They are mammals, meaning that they are warm-blooded, have hair, bear live…
Lost Boys find themselves
Plenty of local groups learn cover songs straight off the records, content to get gigs and draw crowds on the basis of other people’s music. Once in a while a cover band writes some songs, then feels compelled to expose the listening public to this original music. Usually the audience, conditioned to enjoy those all-too-familiar…
Drive away crickets
Dear Gene: Our basement is infested with crickets, and for years they have resisted our efforts to control them with sprays. We are considering trying an ultrasonic device because we do not like to use strong chemicals in the house. Do ultrasonic devices really work? Are there better ways to deal with this problem? I…
The Green Giant
Dressed in a gray suit, green shirt, and navy-blue paisley tie, holding an umbrella on a windy, rainy day at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Rich Whitney preached — and the choir said amen. Higher education should be made affordable through the reduction of tuition and fees, and K-12 education should be funded better,…
Capturing lost stories
I once had a political-science professor who believed that air conditioning had destroyed the fabric of our society. Before air conditioning, he said, people spent summer nights sitting outdoors on stoops and porches and park benches — and they told stories. They shared common beliefs. We don’t have those stories anymore. Our stories come from…
The storm before the calm
On its second full-length, Akron/Family delivers more of the transcendentalist free folk that’s made the band famous, or at least famous among all of the right people. Ex-Swan Michael Gira loved these hirsute young Brooklynites so much that he not only signed them to his label but also hired them as his backing band, the…
A do-it yourself sunroom
Dear Jim: My family needs additional living space. I want a sunroom, but I cannot afford to have one built. Are there any do-it-yourself kits available? Can I build one from scratch? What design is best? Adding a sunroom to a home is an excellent investment and will often increase the resale value of your…
Star Ledgers
A checkbook is a fairly uninteresting document, a record of expenditures that offers, at best, a narrow glimpse into its owner’s activities. But when the checkbook was the property of a friend and political appointee of Abraham Lincoln’s, the information it may yield could be of considerable value. At least that’s the thinking of Phillip…
In theaters this week
Saw III [R] The brutal puppet master, Jigsaw, and his latest assistant play twisted games with their new victim, a doctor. ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East The Grudge 2 [PG-13] The supernatural curse that troubled elder Davis sister, Aubrey, is still alive in a burned home in Tokyo, and younger sister Karen travels across the world…
Hostile intent
I’ve never thought of myself as particularly courageous. I don’t do bungee jumping or downhill skiing or drag racing or recreational drugs. I have to psych myself up to visit the dentist, and I don’t pick fights unless I’m pretty sure I can win. Lately, though, I’ve discovered that I’m a lot braver than I…
Letters to the Editor
We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address, and daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length, and clarity. Send letters to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com. CARTOON CROSSED THE LINE Among my favorite parts of Illinois Times are the cartoons. They usually…
Not in their front yards
Ed Fedor worries each time he takes in the scenery at his picturesque century-old Waverly farmhouse. How much longer, Fedor wonders, will he be able to enjoy the quiet rural lifestyle he’s lived for the past 16 years? He watches his two sons play with the family dogs, feeds his cattle, walks his land, and…
Final Notice
After more than a year of controversy, media scrutiny, and speculation, the Springfield Police Department has apparently moved to terminate the employment of two officers who were once stars of the detective bureau. On Tuesday, officers Paul Carpenter and Jim Graham were fired, police sources say. There are signs that Graham anticipated a shift in…
The real old spice
Autumn is tricky; although beautiful (golden harvest colors, crimson leaves), delicious (apples, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes), and eventful (Halloween, Thanksgiving), it’s our cue to bundle up and hunker down. Every year at this time I go through a major mood adjustment, ever searching for ways to help brace myself for the darkest parts of the…
Apples of gold
Remember Johnny Appleseed? Most of us learned about this American legend in grade school: the eccentric kindly loner who roamed the wilderness frontier in ragged clothes and a tin-pot hat with which he cooked his meals. Johnny planted seeds wherever he went so that pioneers moving west would have fresh apples — and cider, apple…
