Page 1

A matter of degree
Baptists have had more success against sin in Illinois than merit-hiring advocates have had against patronage. As I noted the other day, political patronage has been a factor in hiring in State of Illinois agencies since they unloaded the wagons from Vandalia.

My memories of Musial
Stan Musial, 92, died Jan. 19. I first saw Musial play in person in 1951. I was 9 and he was 30, in his ninth full season with the St. Louis Cardinals. My mom got me interested in baseball and the Cardinals. She was a Musial fan. So was I. He had to be the favorite for most young fans then because he was the best Cardinal.

Editor’s note
Record-warm temperatures in January won’t last, but they’ve been enough to get Springfi eld’s gardeners and neighborhood activists together yearning for spring and planting time.

Inaugural address: progressive and presidential
In this year’s address, Obama showed some FDR, jut-jawed, presidential flair. Unabashedly rooting his address in America’s solid progressive values, he issued a call for the Great Majority of our people – the middle class and the poor – to join him...

LETTERS
GUN ISSUES I have been listening to respected responsible gun owners in recent weeks. They rightfully express strong opinions in the national debate regarding guns in society. I have no doubt about their sincere desire, with the rest of us, to have our neighborhoods be safer from mass killings.

Republicans want gay marriage passed
It’s not that they’re necessarily in favor of gay marriage, mind you. Many of them are publicly and privately opposed. Some of them do support it, even though they don’t feel they can vote for it because it might destroy their careers in the next GOP primary.

Trying to enhance the image of lawyers
His father, Richard Thies, was a former president of the Illinois State Bar Association. Now John Thies is following in his footsteps. He recently took over as ISBA president, and he’s hoping to improve the public’s perception of the judicial system during his year-long term.

GREENER PASTURES
Horses have a special place in American lore: Barbaro, Champion, Man o’ War, Seabiscuit, Silver, Secretariat and countless others have captured the nation’s attention and imagination. There’s something noble in their demeanor and intriguing in their power.

Still no jackpot
Now that video gambling has started, Houston is counting on revenue from gambling machines set up in bars, restaurants and truck stops to pay the infrastructure repair tab. Whether the city’s cut of the gambling pie will be enough to fix everything is far from certain.

The new American
“We the people declare today that the most evident of truth that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still,” Obama said during his inauguration, “… just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints...

They saw him standing here
But that February 1964 trip to the Big Apple and beyond was not the first visit by a Beatle to America. Five months earlier, in September 1963, before the Beatles were a blip on anybody’s radar in North America, the “Quiet Beatle,” George Harrison, was living up to his reputation by visiting his sister, Louise Harrison Caldwell, in Benton, Ill.

One hell of an awards show for Springfield hip-hop
Nobody can accuse the crowd at Torch Tuesday of not knowing how to party. Springfield’s most prominent showcase for regional hip-hop talent presented the second annual Torch Tuesday Awards on Jan. 22 at Bar None and it proved to be a marathon event, marked by the undeniable thrill of a creative community coming into its own.

Braising ’round the world
Americans think of braised dishes – those delectable concoctions of long-simmered ingredients surrounded by, but not submerged in, liquids – as quintessentially American or (primarily Western) European. True, there are many such, from American Southern smothered roasts and chicken fricassees to Irish stews and boeuf bourguignon.

A more mellow Arnold in Stand
Ray Owens (Schwarzenegger) is the sheriff of Sommerton Junction, Ariz., a quiet blip on the map not far from the Mexican border.

February already
To add onto last week’s Marina V update, Nick Baker and Marina just booked a central Illinois show at the Abraham Lincoln Universalist Unitarian Congregation on Woodside Road for April 19 to celebrate the release of her latest creative endeavor Inner Superhero.

PUB CRAWL
Luke Turasky, Mike Burnett, Blue Suns with Shalan Walker, Jennifer Hood, Neill Dresen.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Deadstring Brothers
Fronted by guitarist/vocalist and studio wizard Kurt Marschke, the rest of the Brothers include fellow Detroit native and longtime drummer Travis Harrett, and real life brothers Spencer (guitar, pedal steel, slide guitar) and Jeff Cullum (bass), who happen to call London home.

THE CALENDAR
Spoken Word Poetry Out Loud - Regional Contest.

MUSIC | Bluesmen bash
Both considered father of modern Chicago blues, the pair, who were also good friends, were key influences in the careers of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, John Mayall and Eric Clapton.

WINE | Illinois tastings
1-2. Friday admission includes five tasting tickets to sample Illinois wines, with specially paired culinary delights. Saturday starts with complimentary breakfast, and then proceeds to a wine lover’s workshop from 9 a.m. to noon. Topics include an introduction to regional grapes and wines, backyard grape growing and a wine and food pairing exercise.

THEATER | Applauding the playwright
Congratulate local award-winning playwright Kari Catton on her recent publishing success at a reception and reading at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Big Dog Plays and Norman Maine Plays have published three of her works, The Sparkle Miser, The Track Home.

PRESENTATIONS | Inspiring information
Another great lineup and evening is on tap, along with beer, at Capital City Bar and Grill, Feb. 7, for PechaKucha Night. Illinois Times.