Welcome to week number six of downtime, sheltering and stay-in-place doings as we pay attention to the experts and curb the curve on this COVID-19 pandemic that has sent our world and the world at large into a tailspin. I’d like to express a special thanks to those working in direct contact with this stuff […]
Newsletter – Event
Posted inMusic
On Prine and more
Here we go for week number five (I’m losing count) of downtime due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, as we stay in private and out of public places as much as possible. Since this column is based mainly on talking about live music performances, we’ve had to adjust to other subjects, including live streaming shows. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Films to watch at home
Now that movie watching has become a home-viewing option for the time being, this space will be devoted to small reviews of films that can be seen on various streaming services, cable channels and video-on-demand. Stay safe and happy viewing! Amazon Prime Brittany Runs a Marathon – 4 Stars (Rated R, 104 minutes) Promoted as […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Frederick Douglass in Springfield
On April 3 and 4, 1866 – 144 years ago this month — Springfield was visited by one of the greatest orators of the 19th century and the best-known, and most photographed, civil rights activist in the world. Born a slave in Maryland in 1818, Frederick Douglass learned to read and write, and emancipated himself […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Date night at home
When my husband and I first met I was living in Chicago in a minuscule apartment that was a mass of code violations. I loved the place in spite of its peeling linoleum and lack of ventilation, mainly because of the tiny patio in front. It was April when I moved in and before long […]
Posted inArts & Culture
What’s everybody reading?
During the weeks of staying home, hunkering down and keeping safe, people have binged on shows like “Tiger King,” created colorful paisley designs in adult coloring books, tried new recipes, exercised more and opened up a good book – or two or three. Reading is always the go-to activity no matter what is happening around […]
Posted inMusic
A really virtual reality
Greetings all, to week number four (I think) of our quarantined, social-distancing world of the present situation. First, before getting into any music talk, let’s send solace to the grieving who have lost loved ones and our respects to those lost souls taken by this virus and all others who’ve recently departed this plane for […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Movies to watch at home
Now that movie watching has become a home-viewing option for the time being, this space will be devoted to small reviews of films that can be seen on various streaming services, cable channels and video-on-demand. Stay safe and happy viewing! Amazon Prime The Other Lamb – (Rated PG-13, 97 minutes) A girl (Raffey Cassidy) born […]
Posted inArts & Culture
U of I protests of the 1960s
Radicals in the Heartland: the 1960s Student Protest Movement at the University of Illinois by Michael V. Metz gives an insightful, well-documented analysis of events that shaped each year of the 1960s at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana campus. The account is juxtaposed against what was occurring nationwide regarding the Vietnam War, civil rights, freedom […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Beans, for hard times
My year working as a chef in Oklahoma City is coming to a close. The restaurant that dominated my life for 60 hours a week had to shutter and furlough its staff three weeks ago, and my newly acquired free time is being spent downsizing my belongings and packing for a new life living in […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Homemade pan pizza
“I figured if we won’t eat it during a pandemic, we never will!,” remarked a friend during a recent Zoom chat happy hour. We’d been discussing the “interesting” meals we’d managed to come up with during this time of shifting shopping and cooking habits. The far recesses of cupboards everywhere are seeing light for the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Roadside Americans
“I have hitchhiked a couple times. But that’s not why I wrote the book,” said Springfield native Jack Reid of his new book, Roadside Americans: The Rise and Fall of Hitchhiking in a Changing Nation. The nonfiction history was just featured on a list by Smithsonian Magazine of newly released titles to “read while you’re […]
