There's a Springfield twitterer, whom I don't follow and doesn't follow me, but is a mutual follower with some twits I follow and who follow me, that I've come to figure out is two degrees of separation from me. This would be by virtue of her job and my cousin' [...]
Everybody's talking about the new 49 page report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Tora Bora Revisited: How we failed to get Bin Laden and Why It Matters Today) on the eve of President Obama's decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan.
Bin Laden was within US reach [...]The man who killed 13 and wounded 30 others at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009, Maj. Nidal Hasan, would have been on his way to Afghanistan tomorrow morning.
He was born and raised and educated on American soil. He served in the U.S. Army for what... over 20 years? [...]
1. As someone whose daytime reality doesn't include daytime TV, Oprah Winfrey is barely a blip on my radar screen; I loved her in The Color Purple; I hope she is happy.
2. If anyone reading this does not yet have Google Voice, and wants it, let me know. I' [...]
Will someone explain why one sitting president bowing to the Emperor of Japan on Japanese soil is so terrible when another sitting president holding hands with the Prince of Saudi Arabia on American soil wasn't?
When President Bush held hands with Prince Abdullah, we learned that it was a sign of' [...]
* People who mock the way Michelle Obama dresses are petty, small-minded people. She is a fabulous dresser and a wonderful woman.
*Barack Obama is doing just what we elected him to do. I am glad he is our president and I fully support him.
* I'm sick of people from the' [...]
They made it to their 50s in spite of their own best efforts to self-destruct before doing so, these men. They lived lives of drugs and alcohol and oftentimes homelessness. Sometimes they'd have a girlfriend or a wife. However, they couldn't possibly abide by these women who seemed to work [...]
Boo from someone who loves to stick her arm out of a closed closet door when someone is walking by.
Last year: "The first time Zuul made himself known to me was the only time I ever "saw" him...." from Me and Zuul (a retelling).
[...]Boo from someone who loves to stick her arm out of a closed closet door when someone is walking by.
Last year: "The first time Zuul made himself known to me was the only time I ever "saw" him...." from Me and Zuul (a retelling).
[...]* New York Times journalist, David Rohde, tells the short version of his almost eight months long ordeal when he was captured and held prisoner by the Taliban:
Prisoner of the Taliban | As a captive in the worst place on earth to be an American, David Rohde pinned his [...]* New York Times journalist, David Rohde, tells the short version of his almost eight months long ordeal when he was captured and held prisoner by the Taliban:
Prisoner of the Taliban | As a captive in the worst place on earth to be an American, David Rohde pinned his [...]From today's Stars and Stripes: U.S. forces struggle with Washington’s perceptions and reality in Afghanistan:
“The rules of engagement here have been very frustrating,” said Capt. Tammy Lanning. As the intelligence officer for the 4th Battalion, 25th Artillery Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade operating in Wardak, she' [...]From today's Stars and Stripes: U.S. forces struggle with Washington’s perceptions and reality in Afghanistan:
“The rules of engagement here have been very frustrating,” said Capt. Tammy Lanning. As the intelligence officer for the 4th Battalion, 25th Artillery Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade operating in Wardak, she [...]Again, if people are talking about something, they're talking about it on Twitter in 140 characters or less.
corinacorona: One last thing: does anyone else get creeped/grossed out by that halls refresh commercial with the mom & the son's roommate? Ew. dicegrrl: Trying new halls refresh losenges and cant keep' [...]Again, if people are talking about something, they're talking about it on Twitter in 140 characters or less.
corinacorona: One last thing: does anyone else get creeped/grossed out by that halls refresh commercial with the mom & the son's roommate? Ew. dicegrrl: Trying new halls refresh losenges and cant keep' [...]Update October 18, 2009: SJ-R A la carte:
The front door of LINCOLN-DOUGLAS CAFE, 312 E. Monroe St., has been locked for several weeks. The A la carte column isn’t sure yet what is going on there. The cafe opened one year ago.I just sent an email to the owner [...]
Update October 18, 2009: SJ-R A la carte:
The front door of LINCOLN-DOUGLAS CAFE, 312 E. Monroe St., has been locked for several weeks. The A la carte column isn’t sure yet what is going on there. The cafe opened one year ago.I just sent an email to the owner [...]
When I first saw that silver hot air balloon floating over the fields of Colorado, I had two immediate thoughts. One, that the little boy had become so scared and not knowing what to do, had jumped out and his little body was suspended in the top of a tree [...]
When I first saw that silver hot air balloon floating over the fields of Colorado, I had two immediate thoughts. One, that the little boy had become so scared and not knowing what to do, had jumped out and his little body was suspended in the top of a tree [...]
We don't have bears in Illinois anymore. But, we used to...
It was a Friday night in the late summer of 1962 (or maybe early summer of '63). We were camping next to the shore of Little Grassy Lake in Southern Illinois. My brother and I were already in for [...]
We don't have bears in Illinois anymore. But, we used to...
It was a Friday night in the late summer of 1962 (or maybe early summer of '63). We were camping next to the shore of Little Grassy Lake in Southern Illinois. My brother and I were already in for [...]
Except for a vague notion that mountaintop coal mining does exist, I have to admit I was aware of none of this. From an article in The Nation by Jeff Biggers:
The Coalfield Uprising When the Environmental Protection Agency declared this year on September 11 that all pending mountaintop removal mining [...]Except for a vague notion that mountaintop coal mining does exist, I have to admit I was aware of none of this. From an article in The Nation by Jeff Biggers:
The Coalfield Uprising When the Environmental Protection Agency declared this year on September 11 that all pending mountaintop removal mining [...]You know how people used to say that if we pulled out of Iraq, the entire region would collapse? Or words to that effect. Well, I never believed that. But as to Afghanistan? I'm not so sure.
An editorial in the New York Times by Robert D. Kaplan in surprisingly plain' [...]
You know how people used to say that if we pulled out of Iraq, the entire region would collapse? Or words to that effect. Well, I never believed that. But as to Afghanistan? I'm not so sure.
An editorial in the New York Times by Robert D. Kaplan in surprisingly plain' [...]
Someone, possibly the Mount Washington Cog Railway people, is selling a "Working Cog Railway Steam Locomotive" on eBay. The opening bid starts at $100,000.00:
This is locomotive #3 of the Mt Washington Cog Railway Steam Locomotives. It is in good working order, but is being retired in favor of diesel [...]Someone, possibly the Mount Washington Cog Railway people, is selling a "Working Cog Railway Steam Locomotive" on eBay. The opening bid starts at $100,000.00:
This is locomotive #3 of the Mt Washington Cog Railway Steam Locomotives. It is in good working order, but is being retired in favor of diesel [...]During this past weekend, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, current Secretary General of NATO, former Prime Minister of Denmark, was in Springfield, Illinois. He then went to Washington, D.C., for a speech and question and answer session with the Atlantic Council and some press about the NATO mission and Afghanistan.
In [...]
During this past weekend, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, current Secretary General of NATO, former Prime Minister of Denmark, was in Springfield, Illinois. He then went to Washington, D.C., for a speech and question and answer session with the Atlantic Council and some press about the NATO mission and Afghanistan.
In [...]
About 24 years before the Herrin Massacre, we had the Virden Riots of 1898, sometimes referred to as the Virden Massacre. An easy hop straight down Route 4 from here, Virden sits partially in Sangamon County, but mostly in Macoupin County, Illinois.
About 24 years before the Herrin Massacre, we had the Virden Riots of 1898, sometimes referred to as the Virden Massacre. An easy hop straight down Route 4 from here, Virden sits partially in Sangamon County, but mostly in Macoupin County, Illinois.
I'm hesitant to put this first part here because of recent unrest exhibited in our country. But, it provides some insight into madness carried out in the misbegotten name of duty. Plus, it leads up to the thing I really wanted to blog about.
After John Wilkes Booth was shot at' [...]I'm hesitant to put this first part here because of recent unrest exhibited in our country. But, it provides some insight into madness carried out in the misbegotten name of duty. Plus, it leads up to the thing I really wanted to blog about.
After John Wilkes Booth was shot at' [...]That would be Cairo, Illinois (fixed link). The times have not been good to Cairo, and they're getting harder:
The Alexander County Sheriff's department at the Southern tip of Illinois is trying to round up some vehicles, as most of the department's patrol cars were repossessed earlier this week. Sheriff David' [...]Page 41:
[...] As they were getting ready to begin operations, one of their vehicles, a Humvee mounted with a .50-caliber machine gun, wouldn't start. The unit mechanic determined that the vehicle needed a new fuel pump, and one was flown in by a supply helicopter. But the pump didn't solve [...]Eavesdropping on random twitterers to see what they don't know:
ShaayFernando: damn, i never knew i could be this depressed in my life. i seriously need a monster or rockstar .. MyOnlySecret: A man from Togo, Africa came in, he's a regular. I never knew he spoke french! He moved' [...]This entry was originally posted on Sunday, September 6, 2009. Begin update.
The State Journal-Register has a report in today's paper on the new Joliet railroad facility, Joliet center part of statewide rail push.
“Right now, there’s probably about 2,000 tradespeople out there working. There’s probably more earth-moving machines on that [...]The Informant is a movie about the true story of price fixing at Archer Daniels Midland and the employee who brought it to justice by spying for the FBI. A lot of the show was filmed in Decatur, Illinois, home of ADM, with a few parts filmed in Springfield [...]
On June 15, 2009, I wrote the following email to U.S. Senator Roland Burris regarding the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act:
I am writing to you as one of your constituents in regard to Senate Bill 482, the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act. As you know, this bill would ensure [...]Over and over and over and over:
Dirty Dancing Road House Ghost Father Hood To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie NewmarRest in peace, Patrick Swayze.
[...]Today's SJ-R headlines:
Local agencies didn't take stand on high-speed rail in 2003 Train vibration could be problem in Chatham, Sherman [Illinois Historic Preservation Agency] hopes to review rail plan County board to discuss rail litigation in meeting Wednesday Not a headline, but worth listening to: Raw audio of IDOT' [...]They had a big meeting today. State to seek federal money for high-speed rail project (for Third Street), and this:
“The most important thing that came out today was the decision by Secretary Gary Hannig and Governor (Pat) Quinn (who is Hannig’s boss) to agree to a study of the [...]The sky was bright blue. My daughter, Laura, who was a junior in high school, and I stood together in front of the TV in silence. I handed the remote to her and went back to my room to finish getting ready for work. A few seconds later she yelled [...]
Just the latest. City, UP duel over what railroad knew, when it knew it:
Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin and a top official with the Union Pacific Railroad clashed Wednesday over what the railroad knew about a plan to consolidate rail traffic along 10th Street and when it knew it. The Union [...]First, 3rd St. fight imperils high-speed rail in Illinois, rail official warns:
Springfield officials’ public fight against additional train traffic along the Third Street corridor could derail the entire plan to provide high-speed rail service between Springfield and Chicago, a vice president of the Union Pacific Railroad says. Alternatively, railroad vice [...]
Construction crews continue to grade the site of Union Pacific Railroad's new Joliet Intermodal Terminal in Joliet, Ill., while other crews begin laying track in this July 29, 2009, aerial photograph taken looking south at the 785-acres facility. The intermodal terminal is scheduled to open June [...]
Officials: 3rd St. only option for fast trains:
There are alternatives to overpasses and street closings for high-speed rail and additional freight traffic in Springfield but not to putting that traffic on the Third Street corridor, Illinois Secretary of Transportation Gary Hannig said Friday. “This is the only alternative (Third Street) [...]
When you're drunk in the alley, with your clothes all torn
And your late night friends leave you in the cold gray dawn.
Just seen too many flies on you, I just can't brush them off.
May the good Lord shine a light on you....
First of all, OMG, people, listen to yourselves! Can you really be as ignorant as you're acting? Or, do you just like sounding ignorant?
From the Cognitive Science Laboratory at Princeton University, WordNet, what it is:
Indoctrination: The noun has one meaning: Meaning #1: teaching someone to accept doctrines uncriticallyThe only' [...]
First of all, OMG, people, listen to yourselves! Can you really be as ignorant as you're acting? Or, do you just like sounding ignorant?
From the Cognitive Science Laboratory at Princeton University, WordNet, what it is:
Indoctrination: The noun has one meaning: Meaning #1: teaching someone to accept doctrines uncriticallyThe only' [...]
This photo should not in any way be construed as an anti-train commercial. Consider it a use your brain commercial.
July 21, 1933, Springfield, Illinois. Possibly a Model T or Model A. Or an Oldsmobile. Or a Dodge. Hard to tell. Anyway, this is where the car was [...]
Photo circa January 1946, at the now defunct Norb Andy's Tabarin in Springfield, Illinois (I think). That's my mom and dad on the left. I think I know who the couple on the right is, but I'm not quite sure. So, maybe my sister will come along' [...]
Skipping the lengthy set-up and story. Instead, going with selected tweets from unknown twitterers:
kkaaali: @JayceeTX I know right, idk what happened, I woke up one morning looked down and I had tits. MelanieMattsson: I woke up one morning all alone... I realized, because of different reasons people will always [...]
You know that pop a light bulb makes when it breaks? This sounded like that, except about 100 times louder. And more intense. I was inside, about 50 or 60 (edited from 40) feet away, and I think it restarted my heart. A couple hours later, and [...]
I can't believe the level of craziness some people are going over this "high speed" rail business.
SJ-R: Third Street rail plan to be protested On Wednesday, the Enos Park Neighborhood Association will conduct the first of four weekly demonstrations protesting Union Pacific Railroad’s plans to use its Third Street corridor' [...]Not the Mary you think.
Friend Mary. You will, no doubt, think it rather strange, that I should write you a letter on the same day on which we parted; and I can only account for it by supposing, that seeing you lately makes me think of you more than usual, while [...]Is everyone sick of hearing about high speed rail yet? Good, because that's not going to happen. At least not in Springfield for a very, very long time. Instead, if we don't mess it up, we may be getting something called "faster trains." That would be trains traveling at speeds' [...]
First:
Chicago's murdered children | Over the last year, 42 young people have been killed in Chicago, all within a short drive of Barack Obama's home [via @ruthmunson] [...] Fourteen children have died violently in the last year within walking distance of the Obamas' home. In all of Chicago, 42' [...]Since last we inquired, we've learned of many pardons granted by Abraham Lincoln. One such pardon was on behalf of Attorney Prince L. Hudgins of Missouri. Attorney Hudgins was charged with seditious conspiracy.
Quoting the Missouri Historical Review as reported by 21st Century Abe, in part:
“The President didn’t' [...]You could do these all at the same time:
Eating a crunchy taco Drinking hot coffee Putting on mascara Leaning over to pick up cigarette lighter from passenger floor Turning around to yell at kids to sit down and be quietIf the law against driving while distracted covers all those things, doesn't it seem excessive' [...]
This is part of an editorial that appeared in today's Watertown, New York, Daily News:
Fire all of the guns at once and explode into space. AUG. 5, 2009: A Fort Drum soldier was killed in battle the other day. Or was it the week before? Maybe I have him confused with [...]My State Representative, Ray Poe (R-99), defends himself against last Sunday's editorial with a letter to the editor today:
Your recent Sunday editorial, “Illinois sadly lacking in statesmanship” (July 19) expresses the view that I chose to overlook “the not-so-tough choice of voting for borrowing money to keep the state [...]
Takin' my time
Choosin' my lines
Tryin' to decide what to do
Looks like my stop
Don't wanna get off
Got myself hung up on you
Seems to me
You don't wanna talk about it
Seems to me
You just turn your pretty head and walk away
[...]
In part:
The moon will never lie to anyone. Be like the moon. No one hates the moon or wants to kill it. The moon doesn’t take anti-depresants and never gets sent to prison. The moon never shot a guy in the face and ran away. The moon’s been around a long [...]Through the window of the Texas Eagle in downtown Springfield: Capitol Building.
Through the windshield of a car on I-55 around Springfield: Power Plant.
Well, I guess they did meet. Here.
[...]Before I get to the topic of this blog post, I just want to say that I was reading the letters to the editor in The News International in Rawalpindi (near Islamabad), Pakistan, and I was thrilled to discover their letters to the editor are so much like ours [...]
Timothy J. Smith
SPRINGFIELD - Timothy J. Smith, 53, of Springfield, died Sunday June 14, 2009, at his residence.
He was born in Herrin, IL, January 17, 1956, the son of Clarence and Annabelle Frisinger Smith.
Tim graduated from Springfield Southeast High School and attended Illinois College in Jacksonville. [...]
From OpenSecrets:
If you're trying to understand all of the reasons why your representatives may support or oppose certain health care reform measures, we can add the money-in-politics puzzle pieces. Here's a cool tool that brings together data from various parts of OpenSecrets.org to show how much money each current' [...]
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day.
And Kodachrome is no more.
That's me in the photo, pondering the meaning of life. Or maybe just grape hyacinths.
Shot with Kodachrome on a Kodak Pony, which is still in service.
' [...]From the Lincolns:
Robert Todd Lincoln, the eldest son, was the only one of the four to reach manhood. He was also the only one of the four to be outside the family circle, almost a stranger in his own family. Many explanations have been given for this distance, ranging from [...]
This jacket in this picture has nothing to do with this story.
It was the middle of winter, and very cold, with snow on the ground. I was in kindergarten and being sent home because I was sick. The school must have called the house, and getting [...]
Way down in the town of Tamms in the southern most part of Illinois, there's a supermax prison. It's sort of a mystery to most of us, as we rarely hear anything about it. Until now. The Illinois Times has a very interesting article this week entitled, "Tougher than" [...]
We've all seen it. A corporation discovers something it perceives to be unfavorable written about it on the Internet. Then, it tries to eradicate the offending words by whatever means are at its disposal. Often, these means include having a lawyer make contact with whoever is in charge of the' [...]
This pretty much sums up where we're at in Illinois:
A former Illinois first lady downs a dead tarantula during her reality television debut. The state’s junior senator blames the questioners for his deceptive answers under oath. Lawmakers enhance incumbency, label it historic reform and flee Springfield having ducked the tough' [...]Earlier today: A lady. About 60. Walking down the sidewalk. Carrying an open black umbrella. But, not in the rain. Speaking into a cell phone. In Polish.
[Even though it's been over 25 years since I've been around people who speak Polish, I can still recognize it.]
' [...]Young Mr. Lincoln, that is. On May 30, 1939, Springfield, Illinois, played host to the world premier of the John Ford film, Young Mr. Lincoln, starring Henry Fonda. Although, I don't think Mr. Fonda came to Springfield for the show. However, lots of other Hollywood types did:
The festivities began when' [...]It's taken seven years, but we're finally seeing country labels right on certain foods at the grocery store (Kathryn Rem: A COOL move for food):
You may have noticed tags on supermarket grapes that let you know they were imported from Chile, or stickers on lamb indicating it came from [...]
Dear Mom: I just left Needles, California and will arrive in San Diego about 9:30. I'll write as soon as I can after I get to San Diego. Hughie.
Postmark: BARSTOW CAL - 1931 DEC 19 - 4:30 PM
I believe Hughie (an older brother of my dad) had' [...]
Until the revelations of Rod Blagojevich allegedly selling jobs and contracts for campaign contributions, I never really cared about this topic. And even then, I wasn't really on board with the concept of limiting how much people or businesses or unions could give to a political campaign. But, I'm beginning [...]
Did you know that on the night the Great Chicago Fire started, October 8, 1871, there were many more fires across the Upper Midwest?
There were fires that night in Grand Rapids, South Haven, Port Huron, Muskegon, Wayland, Big Rapids, Lansing, Saginaw, Sturgeon Bay, and Menominee. A steamship in the lake [...]At one time, the Pullman porters were considered the "consummate invisible man." Here's an interesting report from last week about the history of Pullman Porters (Rising from the Rails: How A. Philip Randolph and the Pullman Porters Helped Pave the Way for the Civil Rights Movement):
The first porters George [...]The Illinois State Senate Democratic Caucus held a blogger conference call tonight in which I participated. The purpose was to specifically address reform legislation to be enacted in response to the Illinois Reform Commission's report (95 page PDF). The participants were invited to submit up to three questions in [...]
As Chicago waits to find out if the International Olympic Committee will pick it for the 2016 Olympics, the White House lends a hand:
A senior adviser to President Barack Obama says a White House waiver allows her to lead the federal government's efforts to bring the 2016 Olympics to' [...]More on the plight of Illinois clothing manufacturer, Hart Schaffner & Marx:
Sun-Times: Workers fear what suits bank will hurt them:
These are decent jobs, nothing that's going to make anybody rich at wages averaging $12 an hour, but still good work if you can get it....The jobs could be lost:
Liquidation [...]More on the plight of Illinois clothing manufacturer, Hart Schaffner & Marx:
Sun-Times: Workers fear what suits bank will hurt them:
These are decent jobs, nothing that's going to make anybody rich at wages averaging $12 an hour, but still good work if you can get it....The jobs could be lost:
Liquidation [...]
Happy Birthday, sister.
