foodpoem #5
foodpoem #5 the peanut butter jar is emptyhow can anyone living alonesurvive without peanut butterpeanut butter and milk the writersof the pentateuch (plural becausemoses must have had help with thespelling) anyway they write of theland of milk and honey they neverdefine what manna is I thinkthe lord was feeding the childrenof israel peanut butter incognito…
Moneyball, a fascinating look at baseball economics
Coming off a successful season in 2001, Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane was faced with a daunting task. Having made it to the playoffs but losing his best players to free agency soon after, he was charged with replacing their production with far less cash than his competitors. The New York Yankees had a…
A supermarket may be coming to MacArthur Boulevard
Amid hints of a bombshell announcement for the blighted Kmart property on MacArthur Boulevard, the Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission last week rejected a proposed rezone to allow a used car lot. The bombshell came Tuesday, when Hy-Vee, an Iowa-based supermarket chain, filed plans for a grocery store with the Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission.…
These Perry Tales may keep you awake all night
It’s bedtime, children, so put on your jammies, scootch under the covers and I’ll tell you another “Perry Tale.” Once again, the Texas-governor-who-wants-to-be-your-president is flitting hither, thither and yon – spreading little “Perry Tales” about his record. The bonny prince is trying to make it to the big White House in Washington. It’s a bit…
Letters to the Editor 9/29/11
NONPROFITS STAND TO LOSE Every nonprofit in our area that uses the bulk mail service in Springfield will suffer if the post office closes the mail sorting operations in Springfield. The great service provided by our local postal workers means that mail presented today is delivered the next day or the day after. Our organization…
A journey in genders
Tall and thin with long blonde hair, trim eyebrows and manicured fingernails, Shayla Thomas feels feminine. Given a passing glance, the Springfield resident, engineer, parent, two-time divorcee and friend, might look it too. But give her a closer look, and her face and body give away the fact that Shayla, according to genetics, is a…
Helping horses and Kickstarter
Our topics this week discuss giving money to causes. What could be better than that? You don’t necessarily need to answer, just please continue. Steve Alexander began caring for abandoned horses in 2003 with 31 horses fostered and 27 off to good homes to his credit since. In 2009 he formed the Central Illinois Horse…
Reform legislative scholarships, or end them
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times: “Legislators don’t lose elections over what happens at the Statehouse, they lose because they don’t take care of business back home.” There’s a lot of truth to that. Visible, accessible legislators with topnotch constituent services usually don’t lose elections. If you look at the…
Pull the plug on Hunter Dam
In December 2008, federal and state regulators told city officials (for the third time) that Hunter Dam was a turkey. They demanded yet more information about the supposed need and the claimed insufficiency of alternatives. Advocates for the dam claim that do-nothing, unreasonable bureaucrats have this wonderful project tied up in red tape. The truth,…
The college game
I know only two lawyer jokes. One is Rod Blagojevich. The other one is this: In a nation that already has more lawyers per capita than any other nation on earth, U.S. law schools are churning out many more lawyers than the economy needs. A consulting company that specializes in such things recently compared the…
Inventive instrumentals
Five-piece Canadian ensemble ScrapArtsMusic brings reused items and industrial waste fashioned into instruments and innovative percussion and drumming music to Sangamon Auditorium, UIS. An energetic mix of metal and movement powered by muscle is sure to get your adrenaline pumping or interest piqued. Founder and musician Gregory Kozak is joined on stage by musicians Spencer…
FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Slavery still exists, and Brent Messimer wants to stop it. The 2010 Lincoln Christian University seminary graduate is headed to Belgium in January until May for an internship with Oasis Belgium, a Christian organization that tries to prevent and raise awareness about human trafficking. Messimer’s mission in Belgium will be to help prevent the trafficking…
Warm fuzzy good time
What a warm fuzzy good, fall-time activity to take the family to. The Henson Robinson Zoo offers free admission during its popular autumn event, Fur, Feather, Fin Fall Fling. The day is filled with animal programs, turtle races, kid carnival games, special animal treats and organizers promise even more. The zoo is home to 90…
Caramelized-onion marmalade
Nothing is more dramatically transformed by browning than onions. Sharply pungent raw onions become richly mellow, savory and sweet. This caramelized-onion marmalade has many uses: as a sandwich spread, or on a grilled cheese sandwich. I often use it as a base for salad dressing (mix 1 tablespoon of olive oil with every quarter-cup of…
Brown is beautiful
One of the main reasons restaurant food tastes so much better in America than home cooking,” renowned chef Mario Batali often said on his Food Network show, “Molto Mario,” “is that chefs aren’t afraid to really brown things.” It’s a mantra he repeated on any show in which he browned anything. Batali knows what he’s…
Tom and Gretchen Show
Wow, what a chance to see two modern legends of country and Americana songwriting under one roof. Ed Becker, Mount Olive resident and longtime program host on KDHX, the community radio station in St. Louis, befriended Tom Russell many years ago and whenever possible brings this amazing songwriter to town. Russell just released Mesabi, his…
FLASHBACK TO 1993
Where median income is concerned, Illinois in 2010 hit its lowest point in nearly two decades. The median income is the income level above which half of the population falls and below which the other half of the population falls. The U.S. Census Bureau released the 2010 state-level numbers earlier this month, listing Illinois’ median…
SJ-R gets a sour Apple from GateHouse
While employees at the State Journal-Register fear for their jobs, brass at GateHouse Media, the daily newspaper’s parent company, has announced a turnaround plan for a corporation that has shown precious little profitability. In a Sept. 12 email to all employees, GateHouse CEO Michael Reed unveiled Project Apple, an initiative named for the Silicon Valley…
Dealing with behavior problems of youngest pupils
As of this year, District 186 is formally prepared to deal with students with extreme behavioral problems in even the youngest grades. In past years, the district has housed an alternative education program for students in third through fifth grade, but it wasn’t defined in teachers’ contracts. The change ensures both teachers and students are…
Hip-hop in the Heartland
[SOUND EFFECTS: needle drops onto vinyl; surface static; reporter clears throat] I’ll never forget the day I stumbled onto Springfield’s underground hip-hop scene. It all started with Raekwon the Chef. Or perhaps it was Fast Orange. I found myself at Bar None one evening in the spring of this year watching local hybrid punk-metal cover…
Melting-pot musical
Joshua Ratz, Mary Kate Smith, Doug Hahn (standing), Gerrah Caldwell and Joel Tinsley-Hall (seated) are just a few of the dazzling local talent in a cast of more than 50 performing the Tony-award winning musical Ragtime at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Go on a journey with three families as they confront wealth and…
