The top three winners of the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award in the ninth annual Illinois Emerging Writers Competition were just announced by Jesse White, secretary of state and state librarian. Jonathan G. Travelstead of Murphysboro took first place with his poem “DuPont Paint Factory” Pablo Otavalo of Chicago, second. Richard Holinger of Geneva, third. The […]
IT Overflow
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Torch Tuesday Concert Series Tonight at Bar None
GrantFlows from Champaign Tonight marks the return of the Torch Tuesday Concert Series with heigh-level hip-hop talent gathered from across the region. Featured performers will include Champaign artist GrantFlows; Woods G and Yung World (both from Decatur) and Springfield favorites Xtortion and Scoobie Da Lyricist. Beats will be provided by the incomparable DJ Yatti DNY with hosting duties handled by Blacksteel. Click […]
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Route 66 Film Fest 2013
The Route 66 Film Fest wrapped up its 12th year at the Capital City Bar and Grill City Lights Theater. Mark your calendars for next year’s festival on Nov. 7-8, 2014. People’s Choice awards for this year went to the top four vote getters. The number one choice was “The Interviewer” (Genevieve Clay – Australia). Second was […]
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Free Halloween Film Screening (and costume party) Tonight
Get into the Halloween spirit tonight at 7 with a free screening of the horror comedy They Will Outlive Us All tonight at ZBistro (220 S. Sixth St.). The film takes place in New York City in the year 2016 and concerns a pair of horror film-loving roommates forced to deal with the fallout from a series of […]
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If you’re headed to Chicago
You didn’t ask for it; but here it is. Chicago Haunted Handbook: 99 Ghostly Places You Can Visit in the Around the Windy City by Jeff Morris and Vince Sheilds. Buy yours today if you’re headed to Chicagoland this Halloween weekend and looking for some hauntingly awesome places to explore. Or purchase one for your next trip. It’s […]
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Listen to the music
A recently posted article by Austen Rosenfeld, “Why Billy Collins is America’s Most Popular Poet,” points out pertinent thoughts about poetry today. Mainly, has academia hijacked the art of poetry or is it alive and well but mutilated in the public sector? But we’re missing the point. The poetry world has never provided much direction […]
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Stay safe online
Oct. 1 marked the kick-off of the 10th Anniversary of National Cyber Security Awareness Month! This month the U.S Department of Homeland Security and National Cyber Security Alliance collaborate to help everyone be safer online. Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. Get involved and learn to stay safe online and educate others at www.staysafeonline.org/ncsam. From http://www.staysafeonline.org/ Be a Good Online Citizen It […]
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Steve Grand performs at marriage equality rally
Singer-songwriter Steve Grand of Lemont, Ill. sang his hit single “All American Boy” at the March on Springfield for Marriage Equality today. The march brought several state officials, labor leaders and religious organizations together to support a bill lifting the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
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Faingold at Large Presents: Rocktober Part 5 – Built To Spill and friends in Bloomington
My perhaps foolhardy “Rocktober” tour of regional music and comedy shows came to a weird (and weirdly exultant) conclusion last night at Bloomington’s Castle Theatre for a concert by long-running Boise, Idaho guitar band Built To Spill. In contrast to most show reviews, I will start by focusing on the opening acts and then pretty […]
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People’s Poetry
Here’s a seasonal poem from Springfield, Ill. poet Lola Lucas. Her comments about the poem: “Seems like America has gone mad for zombies. My theory is that they represent a chance to relax and not worry about appearance, time, success or any of the responsibilities that life entails. As for the local angle, it’s the […]
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Faingold at Large Presents: Rocktober Part 4: Neko Case in St. Louis
“Migraine or not, we will now shred.” Like the steadfast musical soldier she so clearly is, singer Neko Case led her band through a searing, satisfying set at last night at The Pageant in St. Louis. Early in the show, Case matter-of-factly informed the audience that she was experiencing a migraine behind her right eye, […]
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Faingold at Large Presents: Rocktober Part 3: John Hodgman, Kristen Schaal and Eugene Mirman
My continuing Rocktober travels around the region in search of extra-Springfieldian entertainment brought me to Chicago’s Vic Theatre this past Saturday for the “Sandwich to Go” tour featuring comedians Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal and John Hodgman. The three comics are all known for combining the cerebral with the silly. Hodgman and Schaal have both […]
