What do other folks do? Those that don’t attend the Illinois State Fair or mill about the pool. Well, this poet goes out into the world and welcomes in happy little moments. Unafraid to find a sweet rendezvous in unexpected little places or pleasures, fearlessly finding connections, sometimes between the natural world and the world […]
IT Overflow
Posted inArts & Culture
A View of the Fairgrounds (book excerpt)
Early in my Springfield-set novel Kennel Cough (Post-Traumatic Press, 1999), a fictional late-1980s rock band makes its first professional recording at a small studio located across the street from the Illinois State Fairgrounds in the dead of winter. In tribute to the opening weekend of the fair, below is an excerpt from that section of the […]
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The Cure for Blockbuster-itis
If you find yourself weary of all the go-to overhyped hits currently on local screens, cinematic alternatives are only as far away as a quick trip to Champaign. Through the coming weekend, the Art Theater Co-op (126 W. Church St. in Champaign) will be screening a variety of intriguing, non-standard fare, including documentaries about killer […]
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Life after football
In “Throwing in the towel,” I discussed recent proposals to reform big-money collegiate sports. Good sense reforms are unlikely to ever be adopted to the extent that are good sense reforms. So interwined are sports and the American college experience, most alums university leaders believe, that curtailing them in any way would cripple fund-raising and student recruitment, […]
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Podcasts are coming to git ya …
If you’re like me, you’re so busy that joining a book club is a thought you keep kicking out of your thoughts each time it’s thrown back at ya. Whack! (Though joining a book club is something you desperately want to do. But heck, there’s this little thing called writing you want to do more […]
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Between the Cracks: Nephrons tonight at Black Sheep
Once again, Faingold at Large proudly presents “Between the Cracks” – the recurring feature designed to shine a light onto Springfield-area bands, and all in their own words, to boot. Join us, won’t you? There’s gold between them thar cracks! Today’s BTC spotlight shines on regular-guy punk band Nephrons whose unassuming surface belies a ferocious live show. […]
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Tonight at Torch Tuesday: DJ Yatti Dny
Tonight at Torch Tuesday, all eyes will be on resident DJ Yatti Dny, who will be spinning all night, providing a master class in the art of DJ-ing. Yatti says he first started to DJ due to the simple process of elimination. “There was me and three other guys walking down the street. Two dudes […]
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Sounds of Jim Morrison
Brian Jackson reads from his new book today and Brian sounds like Jim Morrison! For those who have heard tapes of The Doors legend reading his poetry … his voice is mesmerizing and beautiful. So, Poets in the Parlor today is a 2 o’clock treat. Only an hour of your day. (Plus, Brian used to […]
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Condition 90 Celebration: Tonight at Brewhaus
Condition 90 ca. 1986, l-r Irwin, Walter, Berkman It is nothing out of the ordinary for Tom Irwin to be performing at Brewhaus (617 E Washington) on a Sunday night. Tonight, however, promises to be unusual indeed. In just over two hours, at 8 PM, Springfield music fans of a certain age will be treated […]
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Pharmacy Visiting Artist II: Sarah Nesbit
This is the second in a series of posts leading up to Saturday’s (July 13) group exhibit of work by members and guests of Springfield art collective The Pharmacy. “I have a general idea of where I want to start, and kind of where I’m headed,” says Peoria-based artist Sarah Nesbit of her experience painting, […]
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Pharmacy Visiting Artist: Joshua Cox
This is the first in a series of posts leading up to Saturday’s (July 13) group exhibit of work by members and guests of Springfield art collective The Pharmacy. Joshua Cox grew up in central Illinois, in small towns near Peoria. He eventually headed east, y earning his MFA from the Art Institute of Boston […]
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To boldly go … (geek alert)
“Yeah, shut up Spock!” But seriously folks — I own this movie, How Star Trek Changed the World, that Shatner hosted and I have read about the science experts who worked on the series (some of them here in the film). Visit StarTrek.com for more Star Trek or go here: How Star Trek has changed […]
