Knoepfle 9-30-04
fall night stars in their dormitories they are like students even when they are awake they are asleep © John Knoepfle 2003, 2004
Statehouse murder
Up until last week the Capitol had been one of the safest places in Illinois. No one had ever been killed there in its entire history. And then some unbalanced kid stops taking his meds and all hell breaks loose. William Wozniak, security guard, who had a wife and two kids and a mortgage and…
music notes 9-30-04
• Got a craving for that crazy Dixieland sound, but finding a trip to New Orleans a bit difficult right now? Rest easy, my friend, and slip down to Robbie’s (4 Old State Capitol Plaza, 528-1901) on Friday evening as the Big Easy comes to you. Riverboat 5 +1 sports all the trappings of a…
A disaster waiting to happen
Fridays don’t get much busier than this. It’s the morning of Sept. 3, and Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C, is running at full clip, having mobilized a cadre of disaster-response specialists in its National Emergency Operations Center the day before. “This is our ‘war room,'” a FEMA employee explains. “Right now we’re…
Funding, finally
Back in May, Medical District Commission president Michael Boer tried to pacify a roomful of rowdy north endresidents concerned about an apparent land grab in their area. By July, he assured them, government funding would be secured to create a development plan for Springfield’s state-designated medical district. Homeowners would be consulted, he said; new development…
Common sense 9-30-04
I bring you tidings of great joy! At last our Congress critters have done something to lift people up from the economic doldrums we’re in. They’ve raised wages in America! You’re not silly enough to think for a moment that Congress would raise your wages, are you? No, no, Nanette — for the past several…
movie review
A rotten fish tale It’s inevitable that Shark Tale, the latest animated effort from DreamWorks Animation, will be compared to Finding Nemo. The biggest-grossing animated film to date, until DreamWorks’ own Shrek 2 came along, Nemo was fresh and funny, sporting a grand tale of adventure coupled with a heartwarming story of familial love and…
Grace about town 9-30-04
Cars have never been my thing. But last Friday night I got to ride in a Thing in the Route 66 Festival Cruise — a Volkswagen Thing, to be exact. So that brings things (such as they are) full circle. First, me and cars. I try not to hit things in my car. I’m generally…
sound patrol 9-30-04
Nelly Sweat (Fo Reel/Universal) Nelly is all things to all people — there are no multiplatinum weirdoes — and therein lies his charm. Beloved by all races, the photogenic St. Louis rapper is blasted from suburban softball fields and ghetto stoops alike. Strippers grind to him; preteens load him on their iPods; politicians praise him…
people’s poetry 9-30-04
Barn Cat I wanted my old cat. My old cat curled around my neck Like a black velvet collar. She purred in my ear. She talked all the time, And when she was irritated She talked very loud. She rode my shoulders Upstairs and downstairs And even into the basement. This mouse-fattened barn cat Is…
now playing 9-30-04
When a kid from New Jersey sings country music as if he had been born in the back of a pickup truck on brown-paper chicken-feed sacks as Mom waited for Dad to come out of the tavern, you know that times have changed. Moot Davis serves up honky-tonk music like someone who’s been spoonfed bad…
Bar hopping blues
You can’t tell me 3 o’clock bars are all bad. There’s one with a big fluorescent placard out front that offers a blunt lesson in democracy: “SAT NIGHT FREE WITH VOTER REGISTRATION CARD,” the sign reads. “VOTE OR GET SCREWED.” Don’t know if the sign has anything to do with it, but on this Saturday…
Fancy moves
Everybody knows that wrestling is fake. The rivalries are invented, and a mix of water and dye passes for spilled blood. Worse, the bout’s victor is predetermined, eliminating any actual competition. But in Springfield, competition exists outside the ring as two independent wrestling federations vie for the same audiences. For now, it seems, the fledgling…
quick takes 9-30-04
EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE DRUGS The contents of the landmark Bachmann-Keefner Drug Store, which closed in mid-August, will be auctioned off at noon Sunday, Oct. 3. Items for sale include the store’s vintage wall cabinets, phone booth, and soda fountain. Doors open at 530 E. Capitol Ave. at 10 a.m. IF THE ‘SHOE FITS . .…
letters 9-30-04
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 WE CAN’T AFFORD BUSH’S SPIN With more than 1,000 American soldiers dead…
