“Simple Simon is my turtle / That’s all he’ll ever be. / But even though he’s just a turtle, / He means much more to me.” Dennis Knick first got the idea to write songs for animals when he saw Jaws. “Remember that music for the shark?” he asks. “it was sinister, and I didn’t […]
Tag: Vol. 16 No. 38
Issue of Jul. 9 – 15, 1987
Posted inArts & Culture
The Great Chicago Playwrights Exposition
Those Lincoln Avenue roommates, the Body Politic and Victory Gardens theaters, have lent their two-level performance complex as well as their energies to the task of bringing off this six-week-long 13-playwright showcase for homegrown talents. Productions include two full-length works, three programs of short plays, and a couple of pieces-in-progress (see below for details). Body […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Sports Section
Breakfast at Wimbledon is one of the few television marketing ploys that succeeds on all levels. Wimbledon, of course, is the oldest and most prestigious of tennis’s grand-slam events; its appeal is obvious. Its grass courts reward the most exciting and powerful form of tennis–the serve-and-volley game–while contributing an element of luck the British seem […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Big Mouth
To the editors: The Saint Lawrence Seaway does indeed have a big mouth, stretching northeastward from Quebec City. But if Fred Thompson (“The Little Red Book House,” October 17) lived in Saint John, New Brunswick, “at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence Seaway,” the river had a much bigger “mouth” in 1913 than it has […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Your Tax Dollars at Work
The Springfield Follies of 1987: This Is the Way a Legislative Session Ends
Posted inNews & Politics
Crazy Priorities
To the editors: I read with extreme interest Robert McClory’s article about militant mental patients [Our Town, May 29]. I am in agreement with his conclusion that there are no easy answers to mentally ill people who need medication to stabilize their lives, and the problems of an uncaring and uninformed society. Let’s consider for […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Afraid of AIDS? Think Before You Test
To the editors: As the AIDS epidemic continues to spread from high risk groups into the general public, a wide range of medical, legal, and ethical questions regarding AIDS antibody testing remain to be answered. Most important are three critical issues: who is to be tested, what manner of counseling, if any, should be offered, […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Union blues: What will become of the Musicians Building?
At first glance, 5320-26 S. Drexel looks like any other courtyard building on the western edge of Hyde Park. Windows of a first-floor apartment are boarded up, the result of a recent fire. Some of the doorways show need of a paint job, others display peeling plaster. Hastily scribbled names adorn some mailboxes, one sign […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Reading: The First Throb of Lolita
The Enchanter, Nabokov’s early sketch for Lolita, proves above all how perfectly the master later developed his theme.
Posted inArts & Culture
Pedants’ Progress
THE NON-SPIRITUAL IN ART Abstract Painting 1985-???? at 341 W. Superior THE SPIRITUAL IN ART Abstract Painting 1890-1985 at the Museum of Contemporary Art The only way to grasp the significance of a lot of contemporary art is to envision a kind of negative space. The sole purpose that this new work has is to […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Restaurant Tours: St. Tropez’ around-the-world bargain fare
St. Tropez is located in the Hotel Belmont on North Sheridan, in the space occupied for so many years by Tango, one of the city’s flagship restaurants a decade ago. The restaurant has been completely redecorated, with an eclectic but effective mixture of styles. The decor borrows from lots of sources — a little deco, […]
Posted inFilm
Two English Guys
WITHNAIL AND I ** (Worth seeing) Directed and written by Bruce Robinson With Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths, and. Ralph Brown. Bruce Robinson, the British screenwriter of The Killing Fields and writer-director of the new comedy Withnail and I, strikes me as an artistic tease. He comes up with fresh, invigorating ideas for […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Straight Dope
Is there any truth to the claim that if you hold your eyelids open while sneezing, your eyes will pop out? I have never mustered the courage to try this, but I’m curious to know. –Trevor Rigler, San Antonio If you want to know something about courage, Trevor, try asking this question of your typical […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The City File
What do vinegar, chocolate-covered cherries, cough syrup, toothpaste, and mouthwash have in common? According to the CareUnit of Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital, they’re all consumer products that can contain enough alcohol to knock a recovering alcoholic off the wagon. “We don’t believe the liberal education idea that all opinions are equal,” says Ferd Eggan, director of […]