Illinois

When I was filming my dinky little bit in “The Informant” (the bit about which I still have no idea whether it will end up in the film), there were a number on on-set highlights.

But the one that I treasured most was getting a chance to briefly chat with director Steven Soderbergh in Mark Whitacre’s house. (Having also had the opportunity to speak with Whitacre – at even more length – it was interesting to look around the place he lived while the story was developing.)

I’ve told several people that I managed to not wet my pants while talking to Soderbergh, or go all fanboy and drool, “I think you’re SOOOOO cooooool,” so I thought I came out ahead on the deal.

What amazes me about Soderbergh is his work pace.

(Read the full post about ‘The hardest-working man in film’…)

It will be an additional six months before we get a chance to see any of Decatur on the big screen.

“The Informant” release date has been backed up again, this time to Sept. 11, 2009.

When the filming was being done here earlier this year, the announced release date was March 9, and that was backed up to March 23. The September date change is relatively recent - within the past week, it appears. (It’s not like they’re calling me up and telling me this stuff. I’m trolling the Web just like everybody else.)

There is extensive speculation about the reasoning for the further delay, and most of the speculation points toward good news for the film.

(Read the full post about ‘‘Informant’ backed up further’…)

I suppose it’s a compliment to Led Zeppelin’s stature and how much I truly continue to enjoy them as a performing unit that discussion about them keeps popping up here.

There’s been discussion about:

whether Led Zeppelin OWES its fans a reunion;

whether Robert Plant’s hand could be “forced” into a Zeppelin reunion (in an entry that I think was one of the most misinterpreted things I’ve ever written);

and an At My Desk entry about Robert Plant’s integrity.

My co-worker and buddy Ralf Pansch may be more passionate about Zeppelin than even I am.

(Read the full post about ‘Reversing field on Led Zeppelin’…)

CHAMPAIGN – Central Illinois Manufacturing in Bement won a 2009 Saturn Sky on Friday night as part of a raffle by the Parkland College Foundation. The event raised $45,900 to help pay for a new digital video system at the William M. Staerkel Planetarium. The 21-year-old planetarium is currently using 57 computer-controlled slide projectors to display pictures of the skies. The new video equipment cost $1.2 million and will project across the entire dome. “Instead of putting pictures of Saturn up there, we can look like we’re flying to it,” said planetarium coordinator David Leake. The new equipment will also allow the planetarium to branch out into other sciences, such as biology, he said. (Read the full post about ‘Area business wins new car in planetarium raffle benefit’…)

PAXTON – Ken Walker lives in a two-story house on Paxton’s east side and keeps two cats and a dog as pets. But his online business offers a pair of white rhinos or tiger cubs, and about 30 kinds of other unusual animals. Walker is an exotic animal broker, a middleman between the people who want to sell exotic animals and those who want to buy them. Almost none of the animals come through Paxton. Walker’s business, Ken’s Exotics, sells animals you never knew existed – and the sales are largely unregulated by a governmental body. States and municipalities have their own regulations about exotic animals, but no federal agency sets laws intended for all animals, said Mike Carpenter, senior biologist with the U.S. (Read the full post about ‘Paxton resident hears, answers call for wild animals’…)

When it comes to the sale of exotic animals, opinions abound. Some people will tell you keeping exotic animals in captivity is just plain wrong. Others will say people have the right to choose whichever pets they please. Debbie Carrie, who once had as many as 90 exotic animals on ground she used to own near Tuscola, believes they have a purpose. Her animals included a zebra, a camel and several coatimundis, a raccoon relative from South America. “They actually ended up teaching me to give back to the world in more ways than one,” Carrie said. She was so moved by the animals’ ability that she opened Carrie Pouch, her exotic animal farm, to the public so the animals could teach others. (Read the full post about ‘Be forewarned: Exotic animals need special care, owners’…)

QUINCY – Niemann Foods, the owner of local County Market stores, is giving a whole new meaning to the term greengrocer. The lettuce and the cucumbers are still green, of course. And now, so are the stores. Niemann Foods says it is investing $1.1 million to make its stores in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa more energy-efficient. “It’s getting increasingly important to us and the consumer to get green,” said Jeremy Dyer, director of operations for Niemann Foods’ convenience store division. Rising energy costs contribute to higher food costs, and that’s something customers can ill afford with the economy in a decline, he said. Every dime that can be saved on energy can help Niemann Foods keep its prices competitive. (Read the full post about ‘Local County Markets are going green’…)

URBANA – Megan Repking is a graduate student in veterinary medicine at the University of Illinois. She spends a lot of time studying and she needs her sleep. But Repking and other neighbors in the 1700 block of Lydia Court in southeast Urbana, part of the Ridge at Stone Creek subdivision, say they are having a hard time getting that sleep since the new Meijer store opened nearby earlier this month. “I get woken up at least three times a week at 4 in the morning by the thudding noises of trucks docking,” Repking said. “They fly down the road behind the building right by my house and then hit their brakes.” Repking and her neighbors, including Kathleen Nagle and Glenna Bailey, live immediately behind the Meijer loading dock. (Read the full post about ‘Neighbors of new Meijer in Urbana complain about noise’…)

by Eric Wallace

by Andy Haaf Will Democrats apply their Iraq policy to that of the current financial crisis? Think about it for a moment. Democrats have been steadfast on insisting American troops must leave so the Iraq people can decide for themselves how to form their government and conduct their lives. They believe we had no business going in (except for the tons of Democrats who voted to give authorization but I digress) and certainly it is none of OUR business how the Iraq people proceed as a country, right? Is this starting to sound familiar? Like or not the intelligence which led us into Iraq was flawed. How is that any different than the so-called "intelligence" for the bail-out? (Read the full post about ‘Timetable For Withdrawal From Wall Street’…)