Taking note
Chris Vallillo at the Dana-Thomas House in front of the statue Flower in a Crannied Wall. Central Illinois roots musician and songwriter Chris Vallillo found inspiration at the Dana-Thomas house this summer. While performing a series of shows at the Springfield state historic site as part of a new music program called Made for Music…
Euphemistically speaking
Curses, foiled again• British police released surveillance video of a hooded man who entered a Manchester store armed with a machete and demanded cash. As the robber emptied the register, his pants kept slipping down so that when he began his escape, he tripped, dropping the money. While stuffing it back in his pockets, his…
Two kinds of people
ILLUSTRATION BY Theresa Schiffer There are two kinds of people in this world, those who have worked in food service and those who haven’t. It’s not the first time I’ve heard that sentence. In fact, it’s axiomatic to anyone who has ever worked in food service. I heard it again recently when my son, Robb,…
Costumed crusaders
Star Wars Reads Day will return to Barnes & Noble on Saturday, Oct. 11. This family friendly event will offer Star Wars readings, light saber demonstrations, a treasure hunt, giveaways, crafts and treats all day. Noon will mark the arrival of the 501 Midwest Garrison and your opportunity to meet Boba Fett, a biker scout,…
The shape of Illinois leadership to come
OK, so what we’re gonna do today is discuss some congressional races that you may or may not care about in order to talk about the governor’s race, which you probably do care about since you’re reading this column. First up, let’s look at freshman Democratic Congressman Brad Schneider, who is leading former one-term Republican…
Fasten your Bible Belt
My boyfriend and I are spending Christmas with his family. I like them and get along well with them. However, they’re very religious, and he wants me to join them in going to holiday church services. I grew up secular in a conservative town, and because of all I went through, I developed a deep…
Civil war
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum PHOTO BY DAVID HINE Dysfunction and acrimony were on full display last week as state lawmakers in Chicago discussed the future of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Officials charged with running the museum threw brickbats at each other during the hearing of the House State Government Administration…
Cage warrior
p Tamikka Brents gets her hands wrapped before the Sept. 13 fight at the Prairie Capital Convention Center. PHOTO BY BRENDA PROTZ The outcome wasn’t what she had hoped for. Tamikka Brents doesn’t take losing lightly. “I hate losing. But I will just train harder. This just didn’t turn out like I had planned,” said…
Horrifying hearse
Along the river and through the woods, on a haunted hayride pulled by hearse you’ll go! The spookiest ride in town has returned to Riverside Park for its 15th year. The hayrides occur every Friday and Saturday nights through Oct. 25, weather permitting. This is an extremely popular attraction each year, so be sure to…
GOP nightmare reveals secret corporate donors
Some people have a myriad of recurring nightmares about being publicly embarrassed, such as rising to give a speech and realizing you know nothing about the topic – then realizing you’re naked. You might be surprised to learn though, that corporations also have such nightmares. OK, corporations aren’t really people, no matter what the Supreme…
Police sued for racial bias
Samuel Johnson of Springfield is suing the city and two police officers for alleged racial profiling during a traffic stop that was later dismissed pHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE A Springfield man is suing two city police officers in federal court for alleged racial profiling following a traffic stop in 2013. Samuel Johnson, who is black,…
Editor’s note 10/9/14
Mddle East peace could begin in the Midwest, at Illinois College in Jacksonville. Why not? The historic progressive institution is thinking big and reaching wide by inviting Jimmy Carter, the former president and indefatigable peace campaigner, to speak there on Tuesday, Oct. 14, initiating the college’s Pathways to Peace proposal for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.…
Letters to the Editor 10/9/14
Artist George Colin, top, illustrated The Little Turtle, published in 2012 by the Vachel Lindsay Association. One of his illustrations is pictured left. George Colin owned and operated the Colin Folk Art Gallery in Salisbury, on Route 97 between Springfie Artist George Colin, top, illustrated The Little Turtle, published in 2012 by the Vachel Lindsay…
Autumnal artisans aplenty
Indian Summer Festival from Lincoln Memorial Garden returns Oct. 11-12. This fun two-day event consists of family friendly activities with a seasonal flair. Kids will love the whimsical Fairy Garden, pumpkin painting, face painting, games and more. Adults will enjoy live music from six local bands and shopping from 40 craft vendors. Food offerings include…
Experience the power of power pop
Power pop progenitor Paul Collins plays Bar None Sunday night. PHOTO BY EMMY ETIÉ Paul Collins, who will be performing at Bar None Sunday, Oct. 12, is responsible for some of the catchiest, punchiest songs to never crack the top 20. In 1970s Los Angeles, his first band, The Nerves, were pop-punk long before the…
Girl-A-Thon and more
The Girl-A-Thon band rocks the house at Boondocks on Sunday starting at 2 p.m. Many wonderful shows are happening this weekend on the music front from bar gigs to outdoor festivals. If we can visit a few here now, then you can go in person later. Before we go another word, let’s pause for the…
Questions of identity propel Gone Girl
Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne and Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne in Gone Girl. PHOTO COURTESY 20TH CENTURY FOX Having purposely kept myself in the dark regarding the central conceit at the core of Gillian Flynn’s best-selling novel Gone Girl, I approached David Fincher’s adaptation of it ready to be knocked back on my heels.…
Motivated sellers
Lions and an iron gate guard the entrance to Jeffrey Parsons’ home on the outskirts of Athens. pHOTO BY BRUCE RUSHTON Batman had the Batcave. William Randolph Hearst had San Simeon. The Wicked Witch of the West had an honest-to-goodness castle. And embattled entrepreneur Jeffrey Parsons once had a getaway on the outskirts of Athens…
ebola poem #1
the thin child perhaps nineleaning against the slim treeweeping her mother just deadthe mother who helped acollapsed pregnant friend intoa taxi to get her to a hospitalthe trip was in vain the womandied so did all the others whohelped the woman now no onewill go near this crying childno one will touch her for shehad…
Downtown had it all
When my Grandmother Platt put on her white linen dress and the hat that made her look like a duchess and announced that we were going shopping, it only meant one thing – a day of adventure “downtown.” As we were getting ready, we could hear occasional whistles blowing in the distance, steam whistles announcing…
BAD BEETLES
The invasive and destructive Emerald Ash Borer beetle is moving to Springfield, prompting the Illinois Department of Agriculture to add Sangamon County to a quarantine zone meant to stop the beetle’s spread. The beetle comes from Russia and parts of Asia, and it devastates ash tree populations – as many as 250 million trees in…
Indian percussion + Beethoven’s Third = ISO season premier
ISO guest soloist Sandeep Das performs with Yo-Yo Ma (right). COURTESY ILLINOIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA This Saturday, Oct. 11, marks the premier of the 2014-2015 season of the Illinois Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, the third under the auspices of music director Alastair Willis. The enthusiastic and charismatic maestro has spent the past two years forging a…
SCHEDULING CONFLICTS
How busy could a retired cop be? Apparently pretty busy, if you are Wes Barr, the Republican candidate for Sangamon County sheriff. Barr, the odds-on favorite to win in November who retired from the department last year, says that he won’t debate Democratic challenger Jeff Regan at an Oct. 19 town hall meeting sponsored by…
Ad nauseam
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, a Republican representing Illinois’ 13th Congressional District is running for re-election against Democratic challenger Ann Callis. pHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Part 1 – 13th Congressional District: Rodney Davis vs. Ann Callis William Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It is famous for the line “All the world’s a stage, and all the…
Jarekus Singleton Band
PHOTO BY MARILYN STRINGER Brand new is not a term often associated with the blues, a genre steeped in tradition and rooted in form, but the talent and energy of Jarekus Singleton is challenging that conception. Combining the triple threat of guitar playing, songwriting and singing, Jarekus brings it all to the table as a…
Waste not. Why not?
Yard and food waste account for 26 percent of the municipal solid waste stream in the U.S. Composting reduces trash and yields a soil amendment that can be used for gardening. PHOTO BY DON KELSEN/MCT As much as 40 percent of the food that Americans buys in the supermarket is tossed uneaten into the trash,…
