Make a difference for Darfur Day of Action

By Ashley Rook - General Assignment Reporter

If I hear one more person say there is nothing to do in Springfield , I am going to pitch a lil' arts and entertainment hissyfit, which (as I am sure you have already guessed) is much worse then your typical hissyfit. So if you are unsure what to do on a Saturday night, I am going to break it down and tell you exactly what is going on, around town.

Even if you have never been there, just about everyone has heard of Chatham , that exotic locale just down Route 4. Well, this weekend just might be the time to take that first trek to Chatham to attend the Fine Arts Fair on the Square. On Saturday, over 40 juried artists will be on the town square from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. along with performing artists and food concessions.

There will be a variety of art for sale including sculptures, fabric, glass, jewelry, paintings (acrylics, oil, pastels, & watercolor) photography and mixed media. Admission is free, which makes this an inexpensive way to spend a Saturday afternoon. For more information call 483-4471.

After the Fine Arts Fair (or instead of) there is nothing nicer then a free outdoor concert on a brisk fall evening. At 7 p.m. Saturday the Illinois Symphony Orchestra will perform their second annual “Pops in the Park” concert at Douglas Park ( 400 N. MacArthur Blvd ).

Starting at 6 p.m. there will be a “Symphony Sweet Treats Bake Sale” because nothing goes along with live music like pie! The concert will be held at the bandshell of the park, so grab your lawn chairs and your nonalcoholic beverages (park rules) and come on down. For more information visit www.ilsymphony.org or call 522-2838.

Another occasion to leave campus and actually go downtown (gasp) is to visit the Springfield Art Association free opening reception of “The Modern Landscape” at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. “The Modern Landscape” is a juried exhibition of 36 Illinois artists on display through Nov. 5 whose work explores the impact of man (man in the general sense, they care about women, too) on the American terrain.

If you are worried that there will be too many snooty art people at the opening, you can peruse the Springfield Art Association Gallery ( 700 N. 4 th St. ) at your leisure Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Call 523-2631 for more information.

Few people realize all the free outdoor concerts there are in Springfield . Every summer, AmerenCILCO sponsors Summer Serenades on Washington Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets. The last concert of the season will be held at 7 p.m. next Thursday, when American English, the world's best Beatles tribute band (or so they say), will celebrate the 40 th anniversary of the Beatles' first American tour.

So bring your lawn chairs and join John, Paul, George and Ringo “Lite” for an evening of music. For more information, visit www.ameren.com or call 535-5111.

Okay, so you are not wild about art and you would rather sit through a three-and-a-half hour lecture on political philosophy rather then go to a free concert (what is wrong with you!?). But, I bet you are WILD about people in tights and tutus! You are in luck -- next Saturday, Sept. 10 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 11 at 2 p.m. the Springfield Ballet Company is performing their annual “Rockballet.”

As you would expect, “Rockballet” mixes traditional ballet with more modern rock music. Because Dave Matthews definitely knows what he is doing better then that Tchaikovsky guy. For more information call 206-6160.

My final recommendation to you this week is to take advantage of Knight's Action Park/Caribbean Water Adventure/Route 66 Drive In while the weather is still nice. Located on Chatham Road and Recreation Drive , the Water Park will only be open through Labor Day Weekend. It offers “The Devil Ray” thrill ride, as well as a wave pool, waterslides, and action river ride.

The dry area of the park is open March through October and has such fun offerings as a golf practice range, miniature golf courses, batting cages, go karts, and their newest attraction, “The Big Wheel” (Ferris wheel). For more information call 546-8881 or visit www.knightsactionpark.com .

He said, she said

By Jason Satek - Columnist

It is probably fair to say that recent history has not been a banner period for Illinois Republicans. Former Governor George Ryan has an impending racketeering trial. Alan Keyes was imported to supplant Jack Ryan after disclosure of his sealed marital discord, and proceeded to lose the Senate election by over 2 million votes. Former Senator Fitzgerald left the state in a huff. George W. Bush may have won, but there is only one Republican elected to a statewide office.

That being said, prospects seem to be bright, at least in the short term, because of a blast from the past. Former two-term Governor Jim Edgar could not be drafted to oppose Barack Obama in 2004, but has not ended speculation he will challenge the current Governor Blagojevich in 2006.

Edgar stepped away from the governorship in 1999, in part due to health concerns, and made a successful career away from office, including lecturing at University of Illinois-Champaign and corporate board membership. He does not need to come back.

Indeed, that so much interest revolves around the possibility of his return is a statement regarding the grassroots strength of the state party. Other candidates have declared or soon could, yet by remaining the focus of attention up to this point, less qualified candidates will have difficulty escaping his shadow.

If forced to guess weeks ago which side Edgar would fall on, I would have guessed no, but he has not departed the scene and Sept. 20, the start date for circulating nominating petitions will have elapsed by the time this goes into print. At a certain point, his non-decision will have negative effects for the potential nominee if it is not Edgar. The fight-or-flight date must be rapidly approaching, if not eclipsed.

Today, I think he will take up the challenge and provide what would certainly be a notable heavyweight gubernatorial clash.

Recent polls have Edgar winning a race with Blagojevich, though as an as-yet undeclared candidate, that should be taken with a grain of salt. What is not illusory is that Edgar faced a gigantic budget deficit upon entering office and departed after eight years with a surplus. The economic conditions of the ‘90s are not likely to repeat, but the man at the center is the same, if not wiser.

He could enter office without seeking a legacy, intent upon improving what has been an uneven period. Even Edgar's most fervent supporters cannot presume he would serve more than one term if elected, and therein lies the power to do what is needed without fear.

It is not a well-known fact that Governor Ronald Reagan presided over large tax increases in the late ‘60s in California in an attempt to bring down a large deficit. Despite his campaign promises, the voters understood the situation and returned him to office. Richard Ogilvie, republican governor of Illinois around the same time, introduced the first income tax to the state because of his perception of the need for funds and paid the price, losing reelection in 1972.

Edgar has been a bottom-line, solvency-minded governor in the past and would likely resume that thinking but he is not, as of this writing, a candidate. Officially, neither is Blagojevich, but he maintains an estimated $15 million war chest and does a poor imitation of being coy.

Edgar would not be a panacea, but reflected against the current “reform” minded, fee/tax misdirecting, family feuding, chest-thumping administration, I'll take a shot. I just hope Edgar gives us the chance.

To burn out or to fart around

By Ron Felten - Columnist

I still remember the exact day I first read a Kurt Vonnegut story. I was in the tenth grade and, quite frankly, it was the absolute last place I wanted to be.

My English class was reading a series of American short stories at the time. It was the usual stuff, really: Hemingway, Twain, a little Hawthorne and even some Poe.

But, as we sat in class, taking turns reading paragraphs from these stories aloud, my mind began to wander. Not to issues such as who would be the first to reject my invitation to the dance or even to what I might have for lunch that day (the pizza and chicken patties were both so good); instead, I was consumed by curiosity and began flipping maniacally through our text, knowing there just had to be that proverbial nugget of gold (or, at least, silver) buried somewhere in those musty pages.

Before long, I came across “Harrison Bergeron,” Vonnegut's tale of uniformity and deformity set in the year 2081.

I read the story right there in class and, as the saying goes, was hooked. Vonnegut's mad-scientist hair (as pictured in the “Author's Biography” at the end of the story) hinted that something curious was going on inside that large, shapely skull of his. Something devious, something fun.

Anyway, while “Harrison Bergeron” didn't necessarily blow me away, so to speak, it definitely opened me up to an entirely different literary world than any I had previously known, one of challenge and defiance (ideas that, for obvious reasons, appealed to me as a young high school student).

When I got home from school that day, I asked my mother to drive me to the bookstore so I might further investigate this Vonnegut character, the man who threatened to shake up my entire world view. That night, I read the novel “Breakfast of Champions” in its entirety. And, ever since, I've been on a virtual crusade to spread the gospel of Bokonon (read “Cat's Cradle” for further explanation).

I obviously hold special places in my heart and mind for Vonnegut, so it was with great pleasure and excitement that I learned he was releasing a new book of essays and reflections this month.

I dutifully watched Vonnegut's promotional appearance on HBO's “Real Time with Bill Maher” last weekend and saw his interview on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” It was during the latter program that I began to wonder why Vonnegut was doing this, bothering himself with new material, interviews and so on.

On Stewart's show, the 82-year-old Vonnegut spent nearly half a minute trying to figure out how to sit in the guest chair. That image broke my dry little heart, as it pained me to see my hero struggling simply to walk and sit. This, after all, was the man who had taken on the government, organized religion and gross ignorance in his scathing, daring novels and short stories. And now he needs help sitting down.

For a man who has accomplished so much and, really, only has it all to lose (figuratively speaking), I wondered why Vonnegut would keep going. Why would he put out relatively weak material? Why would he bother with interviews and the media circus?

Song-smith Neil Young tells us that “it's better to burn out than to fade away.” Since he's arguably fading, I'm forced to wonder: what's Vonnegut's alternative? One of his literary peers, Hunter S. Thompson, recently blew out his own brains while talking on the phone with his wife. After that, he went out with another bang, quite literally, as his ashes were ceremonially shot from a cannon amidst an incredible fireworks display. Now that's a show! A burn out, if you will.

Of course, I'm not suggesting Vonnegut should attempt to top Thompson's antics; instead, we might benefit from revisiting one of the aging author's most famous quotes: “We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different.”

Vonnegut, who has already enriched our lives and, in turn, our society so much clearly doesn't owe us anything more. The least we can do is realize that anything he does give us at this point, even if it's dribble by Vonnegut standards, is dribble from a master (which is still better than what most of us can hope to produce).

And, really, it's quite possible that I'm being too harsh. Take this quote from Vonnegut's new book, for example: “Do you think Arabs are dumb? They gave us our numbers. Try doing long division with Roman numerals.”

Even at 82, I think the man may be doing a bit more than just farting around.

Make a difference for Darfur Day of Action

Waiting for Edgar