The Reader 10/21/10

Oct. 21 - 27, 2010 VOL.17

News 5

Moving In

dish 18

Monkeys and Mojitos

culture 25

Unpopular Opinion

project censored Music 31

Firebird Is The Word

OMAHA JOBS PG. 2

The Top Censored Stories of 2009-2010 COVEr story by Rebecca Bowe - Page 13

Weird PG. 42

MOjo PG. 45

FUNNIES PG. 46

35

FULL-TIME

FULL-TIME

USA PARKING SYSTEM Valet Attendants jmeyer@ parking.com See OmahaJobs.com for more details.

ACADEMIC POSITIONS Pulmonary/Critical Care Specialists. These are fulltime academic positions with rank dependent upon qualifications.

Board certification/eligibility in critical care medicine is required; dual boarding in pulmonary and critical care medicine is preferred.

See OmahaJobs.com for more details.

TMP WORLDWIDE Retail Sales Consultants chris.citero@tmp.com See OmahaJobs.com for more details.

GTM SPORTSWEAR Account Manager recruiting@ igtm.com See OmahaJobs.com for more details.

JOHNSON CONTROLS HVAC Service Project Manager Jannet.nguyen@jci.com See Omahajobs.com for more details.

ANESTHESIOLOGIST Responsibilities include clinical anesthesia as well as resident and medical student education and supervision. Faculty rank will be dependent on qualifications, with competitive salary commensurate with experience. Excellent fringe benefit package available.

See OmahaJobs.com for more details.

AREA REPRESENTATIVE Our teams help biopharma get their medicines to the people who need them. We help customers gain insight and access to their markets and ultimately demonstrate their product's value to payers, physicians and patients. For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

TRAVELING CODING SPECIALIST We offer an excellent salary, benefits and paid time off. Reimbursement for continuing education and AHIMA dues. Laptop with encoder and coding references. Retirement plan with company contribution.

For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

2

ACCOUNT MANAGER Responsibilities include but are not limited to: working with the local community, helping walk-in customers and dealing with corporate accounts; building relationships with existing clientele by servicing incoming calls regarding existing orders, artwork approval, facilitating payment, product recommendations and/or order status.

See OmahaJobs.com for more details.

ANALYTICAL SERVICES DIRECTOR FOOD LABORATORY TESTING Lead the development of the Food testing laboratory for strategic placement in food safety and quality assurance measures. Design and implement high end solutions for the food industry. For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

ASSEMBLY TECHNICIAN A local manufacturer of combine harvesters, has immediate job openings for ASSEMBLY TECHNICIAN positions at its facility located in Southwest Omaha.

The job involves the skillful use of a wide range of tools, machinery and equipment necessary for assembly work. For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

OCT. 21 - 27 , 2010

FULL-TIME

FULL-TIME

FULL-TIME

FULL-TIME

FULL-TIME

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADVANCEMENT The Associate Vice President for Advancement, in consultation with the Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Marketing, leads and supervises the implementation and evaluation of the College’s development strategy for major gifts, annual solicitations, research on prospective donors, alumni relations and advancement operations. For more information visit OmahaJobs.com

COFFEE SHOP MANAGER You will make connections with the customers you see every day. You'll lead your store's operations, staffing, customer satisfaction, product quality, financial performance and team development. Best of all, you'll help your team create a welcoming environment. For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

FREELANCE SALES REPRESENTATIVE Pioneer Publishing is a fast growing leading local media company with print publications, websites and the leader in hosting the largest job fairs in the area seeking part time Freelance Commissioned Sales Representatives for the Omaha market. For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

PHARMACEUTICAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE Seeking passionate and experienced Business to Business and/or Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives to join this new and exciting opportunity. The successful Sales Representative will be responsible for effectively managing a sales territory comprised of designated health-care professionals and health-related organizations to achieve sales potential of the territory. For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

SR. COPYWRITER Develops message and concept for various Marketing and Public Relations initiatives. Writes and edits multiple internal and external pieces designed for our end consumers, including the Field Force, Fraternal Division, Human Resources Division, members, prospective members and Home Office associates. For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

ASSOCIATE/FULL PROFESSOR Successful candidates must have a Ph.D. in mathematics or a related field. The ideal candidate will have a record of scholarly achievement, outstanding teaching, and demonstrated potential for leading an externally funded, interdisciplinary research team with expertise in the mathematical education of teachers.

For more information visit OmahaJobs.com CLINICAL SERVICE SPECIALIST If you love patient-centered health care with real relationships inside a company that encourages fun on and off the clock, then DaVita is the place for you. $2,000 Sign-On Bonus available to experienced candidates!

For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKERS Must hold a Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) degree from an accredited graduate school of social work.

Maintain a current, unrestricted license to practice social work in any one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

CREDIT/COLLECTIONS ANALYST II Manages and collects on an accounts receivable portfolio, ensuring timely payment of company receivables and resolution of customer issues preventing payment.

For more information visit OmahaJobs.com

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HVAC SERVICE PROJECT MANAGER Responsible for following consistent and repeatable project management standardized procedures and processes, and achieving financial results on assigned projects. For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

INSIDE SALES REPWORK AT HOME Collaborate with the Marketing, Information Technology, and Operations departments to develop and create sales plans for specific regions and territories. Maintain and exceed company objectives through sales goals. For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

MEDICAL RECORDS CLERK This position requires that the candidate have basic computer skills. Preferred HIM or healthcare experience is preferred, but not required. Must have excellent customer service skills, ability to meet deadlines and multi-task with minimum support.

See OmahaJobs.com for more details.

LEAD CODER This position will require the to code as well as ocassional audit the coders work. We offer benefits and health insurance as well as great pay. See OmahaJobs.com for more details.

GIFT PLANNING MANAGER The Gift Planning Manager will respond to inquiries related to bequests, charitable annuities, and major gifts by members of the Foundation and work to cultivate relationships with such members.

For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

classifieds

ORTHOPEDIC HAND SURGEON We offer an outstanding opportunity for full-time faculty member(s). Academic rank is contingent upon experience. Excellent facilities for basic and clinical research are available.

The practice plan provides financial, as well as academic incentives. For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

PHARMACEUTICAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE Representatives are responsible for all sales activity within their individual territories. This includes sales calls to physicians, pharmacies, wholesales and any medical professional , which may influence FPI promoted product sales.

For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

PHARMACEUTICAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE The purpose of the Pharmaceutical Respiratory Sales Representative is to generate product sales by successfully interacting with physicians and other healthcare professionals.

For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

VALET ATTENDANTS Do you have what it takes to deliver 5 Star/Diamond Service CONSISTENTLY? Do you have a positive winning attitude that isn't being recognized? Then come and shine with us! BRAND NEW OPENING!! We are currently hiring IMMEDIATELY for Full Time and Part Time positions. ALL SHIFTS! See OmahaJobs.com for more details.

ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION Web Designer/Gift Planning Manager chorner@arbordayfarm. org See Omahajobs.com for more details.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR Provides leadership, administration, and management of the day-to-day operations of the programs and courses offered. Responsibilities include course supervision and programming, quality assurance and program staffing. For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

CRANE HOSPITALITY Lori@ cranecoffeeomaha.com

See Omahajobs.com more details.

for

FULL-TIME SR. DIR. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES If you are looking for leadership role within a software professional services organization and fulfill the requirements listed below, we'd love to hear from you.

The hire can live anywhere in the US and compensation is very competitive.

For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT The Executive Assistant will support the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) by providing administrative support and handle a variety of situations involving the administrative function of the office. For more information visit OmahaJobs.com

RETAIL SALES OPPORTUNITES We now have the following opportunities available at our Omaha and Papillion Retail Stores. Bilingual Retail Sales Consultants Retail Store Manager Full-Time Sales Support Representative PartTime Retail Sales Consultant For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

After years of smoking, does walking up a flight of stairs leave you breathless?

RN CASE MANAGER A minimum of 5 years acute healthcare clinical experience is preferred.

One year of case management experience is preferred. Candidates must have at least moderate computer skills, and the ability to utilize verbal and written communication effectively.

For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

• Are 40 years of age or older • Have a diagnosis of COPD • Have a smoking history or are a current smoker .

SALES TRAINEE Position will evolve into outside District Sales Representative with considerable earning potential. Relocation likely. Must possess excellent communication skills including the ability to interface with employees, management and customers. Degree preferred.

For more information visit OmahaJobs.com.

We are conducting a clinical research study for men and women who have been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

You may be eligible to participate in this study if you:

Study staff will review additional criteria with you to find out if you are eligible.

In addition to receiving study-related physical exams at no charge, participants will receive study medication and will be monitored by a medical team, including the study physician.

Ask your doctor if this study is right for you.

For more information, please contact:

Pulmonary Research Coordinator 402-449-4533 Or 402-449-4526 pulmresearch@creighton.edu

THISWEEK Letters to the Editor: letters@thereader.com

EDITORIAL

Publisher/Editor: John Heaston Content Director: Eric Stoakes, erics@threader.com Managing Editor: Sarah Wengert, sarahw@thereader.com Contributing News Editor: Andrew Norman, andrewn@thereader.com Copy Editor: Ed Howard Contributing Editors: Ryan Syrek, Tim McMahan, Lainey Seyler Senior Editorial Contributors: Leo Biga, Michael Braunstein, Warren Francke, B.J. Huchtemann, Michael Pryor, Jesse D. Stanek, Kyle Tonniges Editorial Contributors: Brian S. Allen, Chris Aponick, Avishay Artsy, Mike Babcock, Sarah Baker Hansen, Nicole Blauw, Wayne Brekke, Steve Brewer, Chalis Bristol, Jill Bruckner, Jeremy Buckley, Jesse Claeys, Paul Clark, Ben Coffman, Brent Crampton, Sally Deskins, Kyle Eustice, Jarrett Fontaine, Adam Froemming, Layne Gabriel, Phil Jarrett, Tessa Jeffers, Camille Kelly, Michael J. Krainak, Jason Krivanek, Casey Logan, Sarah Lorsung Tvrdik, Jasmine Maharisi, Sean McCarthy, Rob McLean, Neal Obermeyer, Adam Payson, Hal Senal, Justin Senkbile, Patricia Sindelar, Darian Stout, Carson Vaughan, Brandon Vogel, Brady Vredenburg, John Wenz, David Williams Photography Contributors: Neal Duffy, Bryce Bridges, Adam Brubaker, Justin Barnes, Fletch, Eric Francis, Dale Heise, Bill Sitzmann, Paparazzi by Appointment, Sean Welch, Marlon A. Wright

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NEWS etc.

5 Top News 6-7 News Hound ———————————————— HEARTLAND HEALING 10 News You Can’t Lose ———————————————— dish 18 Monkeys and Mojitos 18 Crumbs: Food News ———————————————— EIGHT DAYS 20-21 This Week’s Top Events ———————————————— books 23 Make Me Laugh 23 Booked: Literary News ———————————————— culture 25 Unpopular Opinion ———————————————— style 26 Moving Tribute ———————————————— theater 27 Send In The Clowns 27 Cold Cream: Theater News ————————————————

COVER STORY

Project Censored:

The Top Censored Stories of 2009-2010 ~ Page 13

cover graphic by Mirissa Neff

P.O. Box 7360 Omaha, NE 68107 Phone 402.341.7323 Fax 402.341.6967 www.thereader.com OUR STAFF

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LAZY-I 34 Where To Now? ———————————————— HOODOO BLUES 35 Magnificent Magness ———————————————— FILM 39 Gray-Haired Black Ops 39 Cutting Room: Film News 40 Reader Report Card: Film Grades 40 Naval Gazing ———————————————— sports 41 Fixing Fundamentals 41 The Jump: Sporting News ———————————————— NEWS OF THE WEIRD 42 Surgical Solutions ———————————————— MOJO 45 Planet Power Horoscopes ———————————————— FUNNIES 46 Modern World, Red Meat, Dr. Mysterian ————————————————

MUSIC 31 Firebird Is The Word 31 Backbeat: Music News ————————————————

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contents

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Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

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Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

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t h e

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t o p

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topnews

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Moving In

by Brandon Vogel

W

UPFRONT Johnny was sitting outside the Sienna Francis house, 1702 Nicholas St., when we found him. He recognized Methaney immediately from her work at the shelter and agreed to be interviewed.

Through the interview, volunteers hope to identify the most vulnerable people by learning how long they’ve been on the streets and if they’re facing serious health, mental or substance-abuse issues.

They’re not easy questions, but MACCH Execu-

e parked outside what used to be Mac’s Tavern, a forgotten space just north of Cuming on a stretch of 16th Street mac’s tavern that’s full of shuttered buildings. The doors were still locked behind iron grates, but Anne Smolsky heard laughter around back.

Behind Mac’s, we found a group of eight people seated on a blanket sharing a plastic bottle of vodka. Rob, the group’s de facto leader, was surprised we found them. He’d set up twigs at the two entrances so the group would hear anyone coming. He recognized Smolsky and Robyn Methaney, so we were invited in.

Searching the Streets It was the first day — the first 6 a.m. shift — of Omaha Registry Week, a local effort to find and interview the city’s homeless population. Organizers and volunteers hoped to find housing for the most vulnerable folks. I was riding with Methaney and Smolsky, two of almost 75 volunteers helping with the weeklong search.

The Metro Area Continuum of Care for the Homeless (MACCH) hosted the event in collaboration with the national 100,000 Homes campaign. Spearheaded by the New York non-profit Common Ground, the goal is to house 100,000 homeless people nationwide by July 2013.

Omaha is home to more than 1,400 homeless people as of January, according to MACCH, which hoped to interview 300 of the people last week. Through one hour of searching, we’d interviewed one.

tive Director Erin Porterfield says that’s the point.

“Picture going to the emergency room. They’re going to ask you about why you’re there and what you specifically need when you’re hurting,” she says.

“Sometimes our community doesn’t do that when it comes to the homeless.”

We were ready to talk, we just needed more subjects. We looked most of the morning — checking beneath the bridges in the Gene Leahy Mall, in the brush lining the riverfront, along the railroad tracks behind the old Storz Brewery — but all the regular spots were empty.

Smolsky, a veteran of homeless outreach through her work at the Nebraska Aids Project, says locating homeless people in Omaha can be difficult, because many find shelter in abandoned buildings.

Entering those buildings can be dangerous, but af-

ter another hour of fruitless search, Methaney decided to take a chance.

Moving Day Under a faded sign reading “The Friendliest Place in Town,” the group behind Mac’s was holding a mournful celebration. Carla, a 54-year-old woman who has been homeless for more than 15 years, recently found out she has lung cancer. They were there to support her, despite their own problems.

Matt has hepatitis. Linda has trouble walking. Bruce’s diabetes is so bad that Methaney quickly arranged to get him to a shelter after our shift. As we started interviews, more members of the homeless community came forward, curious about what was going on.

Nothing beyond a $5 McDonalds food card was promised, but the group was eager to share their stories, and nobody seemed to hold back information. At 8 a.m. on a cool Tuesday morning, it really may have been the friendliest place in town.

Porterfield wasn’t surprised.

“People are generally open with their situations,” she says. “When they have people coming up to them who are friendly, who look them in the eye, they kind of feel cared for.”

Over the week, volunteers interviewed 471 people, identifying 176 individuals as vulnerable under the 100,000 Homes index. Five of the most vulnerable candidates have already received housing, including Carla.

After 15 years on the streets, she moved into her own apartment last Thursday. , brandon vogel

Homeless not hard to find, if you know where to look

Names of the subjects in this story were changed to protect their privacy. For more information on Omaha’s Homeless Registry Week, visit 100khomes.org or macchomeless.org.

harper’sindex Living Large:

n o r m a n

Percentage of Americans who say they would have cosmetic surgery if they could afford it: 69. Percentage increase in the number of U.S. buttock-augmentation surgeries performed since 2008: 37. Inches by which the average width of a seat in a U.S. performing-arts theater has increased since 1990: 1. Percentage change since 2008 in the number of Americans who say they exercise regularly: +6. Percentage change in the number who are obese: 0.

Rhetoric heats up in Terry, White debate

C

ompetitors for the 2nd District Congressional seat, Rep. Lee Terry and challenger Tom White focused on spending and taxes, but turned up the heat in their second televised debate Oct. 14. White, a Democrat and state senator, has tried to paint Terry, a Republican running for his seventh term in Congress, as a cheerleader for Wall Street. White said Terry supports big tax breaks for the wealthy, while shortchanging the middle class. Terry countered White is trying to “villainize” job creators and strangle economic growth. Terry hit White on his support of two large spending bills, the healthcare overhaul and the federal stimulus package.

“I think it’s time that instead of creating government jobs in gray buildings in Washington DC,” Terry said, “that we start focusing on policies that are going to create jobs on Main Street.”

White responded, “Well, first of all, Congressman, the stimulus spending … one third was tax cuts for the middle class. Now why is it that when it’s tax cuts for Wall Street, that’s a tax break, but when it’s tax cuts for the middle class, that’s deficit spending?”

The two also battled over the war in Afghanistan, taking different stands on whether fighting terrorism abroad should include nation-building. White said while he supports pursuing anyone who kills Americans, fighting a war in every terrorist base is unrealistic.

“We cannot afford to keep doing, quote, ‘the right thing by the people of Afghanistan’ when we’re not doing the right thing for the people here at home.” He added, “We can’t rebuild other countries as our country’s infrastructure comes apart. We cannot seriously say we’re going to go after Al Qaeda and rebuild every country that they go to and have a base of operations.”

Terry said White’s position straddles both sides of the argument, saying you can’t go after terrorists without dealing with their country of operation.

“If you say you’re going to go after terrorists, then that’s what we’re doing now, Tom,” he said, adding that if the Afghanistan war “doesn’t qualify as going after terrorist … when do you go after them? And I’ll tell you what, if there’s terrorists setting up camps to attack American citizens in Yemen or Somalia, yeah, let’s go get ‘em.”

The debate got heated, at times. White called on Terry to listen to him, though he’s “not a lobbyist.” Terry implied White is in the pocket of teachers’ unions.

— Robyn Wisch

theysaidit “They could be 100 homeless doctors who have helped save hundreds of lives as well, but the word here is ‘homeless.’” — Marie Lo Sole, co-owner of Lo Sole Mio, to KPTM on the proposal to house 75 homeless veterans at a new $20 million facility near 40th and Pacific.

news

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Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

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news

Heineman and Bruning could face federal investigation

People could decide whether gays, lesbians deserve protection

Political activist group BOLD Nebraska is filing a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission over campaign contributions Gov. Dave Heineman and state Attorney General John Bruning received from the Canadian company hoping to build an oil pipeline that would transport a half-million barrels of oil a day across Nebraska, including over the ecologically delicate Ogallala Aquifer.

Two weeks ago, Bruning and Heineman each returned $2,500 contributions to TransCanada after saying they were unaware foreign contributions were illegal under the Federal Election Campaign Act. BOLD Nebraska spokeswoman Jane Kleeb isn’t convinced, saying the laws have been in place for more than 40 years. An outspoken critic of the Keystone XL Pipeline, the group operates a tip line and website for landowners to report questionable TransCanada tactics.

If the Nebraska Republicans are found to have knowingly accepted the contributions, they could face fines of up to $11,000.

The FEC says investigations typically take a few months.

While Heineman has been unwilling to enter the debate over the controversial pipeline, Sen. Mike Johanns took a stand last Thursday, asking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to examine why no alternative routes have been considered. Heineman has frequently refused to weigh in on the pipeline, saying it is a federal rather than state issue.

The project is currently awaiting approval from the U.S. State Department.

The Omaha City Council will consider a motion on Oct. 26 to allow the public to vote on whether gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual people will benefit from anti-discrimination protection, under a new proposal from Councilman Franklin Thompson.

In September, Councilman Ben Gray introduced an amendment to the city charter adding sexual identity and gender expression to an ordinance already protecting against discrimination based on race, religion, sex, marital status or age.

The Council was schedule to adopt or deny the change next Tuesday, but a vote for Thompson’s public election proposal would push the decision to the next regular city election scheduled for May of 2013.

No Nebraska cities protect members of the GLBT community from discrimination.

Civil rights organization director says Latinos increasingly targeted The number of hate groups and anti-government militias in the U.S. has skyrocketed over the last few years, says Heidi Beirich, director of research for the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1971 in Montgomery, Ala. The fight Martin Luther King, Jr. and his contemporaries waged in Montgomery is the same battle being fought today in Fremont, Neb., she says, referring to controversy over a city ordinance that bans renting homes to or hiring undocumented immigrants.

Beirich spoke to a crowd of about 100 people Saturday at the Nebraskans for Peace 2010 An-

numberscruncher WHO DID IT?: Percentage of 2010 criminal homicides solved in Omaha so far this year: 32 Percentage of criminal homicides solved in Omaha at this time last year: 47 National average of criminal homicides solved: 66.6 percent

Source: Omaha Police Department

nual Peace Conference at First United Methodist Church, N. 69th and Cass, about the status of hate groups and hate crimes nationally.

While the four hate groups SPLC has recorded currently active in Nebraska is a relatively low number — only seven other states have fewer groups — nationally, the number has jumped 55 percent since 2000, from 602 to 932. Texas came in first, with a recorded 66 hate groups.

A “perfect storm” of conditions have led to the increase nationally, Beirich says: changing demographics, high unemployment and President Obama’s election.

In 1970, the U.S. population was 17 percent non-white, 83 percent white. In 2010, those numbers are 34 percent and 66 percent.

“This demographic trend is, of course, terrifying to someone who believes the country should be run by white people,” she says.

More and more, the focus of that hate and fear is being transferred from African-Americans to Latinos.

“We have seen almost every hate group in the United States shift from anti-black messaging back in the late ’90s to anti-immigrant messaging,” Beirich says.

And militias have also dramatically increased — in 2008, SPLC recorded 149 militia movements. In 2009, that number exploded by 240 percent to 512 movements. The peak for militias was in 1996, with 858; the Oklahoma City bombing happened in 1995.

State presses on with child welfare reform The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services received a one-time, emergency payment of $9.8 million in federal funds Friday

for its ailing child welfare system. Earlier this month, the state canceled its contract with the Boys and Girls Home to provide care for more than 3,000 foster children — the third of five providers to succumb to budget shortfalls since state officials moved to privatize child welfare services in April.

Nebraska DHHS CEO Kerry Winterer says the funds will be used to continue placing children under privatized care while evaluating potential replacements for the Boys and Girls Home.

Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, a nonprofit organization specializing in social injustices, says Nebraska needs to rethink the reform before moving forward.

“We had hoped that the state would take some time to fully reevaluate the structure of this reform and whether it makes sense for Nebraska,” says executive director Rebecca Gould, adding that the organization has seen little evidence that the reform plan is sustainable.

Suttle supporters emerge as recall effort hits the streets A month-long effort to recall Mayor Jim Suttle begins Thursday when the Mayor Suttle Recall Committee begins distributing petitions in hopes of forcing the mayor out of office. The Committee will have 30 days to collect the nearly 27,000 signatures necessary to force a recall election early next year.

Two anti-recall groups came out last week in support of Suttle. The Committee to Keep Omaha Moving Forward, led by philanthropist Dick Holland, and Forward Omaha both said they continued on page 8 y

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newshound y continued from page 7

were filing paperwork with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. Campaign groups are required to register with the NADC if they plan to raise more than $5,000.

Suttle began accepting donations to fight the recall two weeks ago.

The MSRC says it has more than 200 volunteers signed up to help collect the signatures. The group will kick-off the campaign Friday at 5:30 p.m. with a rally at its headquarters at 720 N. 129th St.

Dress to impress this Halloween season!

Shooting Rounds Edward Wilson and Anthony Swindle, both 39, were expected to survive after being shot at Wil-

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Standard Hours: Mon, Wed, Fri...1-5 pm Halloween Hours (Starting Oct. 23): Sat-Sun ........1-4 pm Mon-Fri...1-8 pm Halloween ...1-4 pm

son’s home at 4320 N. 40th St. on Oct. 14. Police have made no arrests.

Police found Otis Holford, 29, suffering from numerous gun shot wounds early Friday morning outside the Seville Bar near 30th and Pratt. He is expected to survive. Police have made no arrests.

Davonta Williams and Lawandell Hernandez, both 19, were expected to survive after being shot near 25th and Spaulding Monday afternoon. Police recovered a shotgun at the scene but have made no arrests.

—Brandon Vogel Hilary Stohs-Krause covered Heidi Beirich’s talk

metrov te.com Terry and White on fiscal responsibility

MetroVote.com and the League of Women Voters of Omaha hosted an online question and answer session with congressional candidates Lee Terry and Tom White on Sept. 15. Each week leading up to the Nov. 2 election, we will excerpt a question and the candidates’ answers here.

2001 Farnam Street

Located inside The Rose Theater.

Please enter through the main lobby.

Question: How do you balance fiscal responsibility with service levels expected by citizens? How will you bring Federal spending in line?

White: “We need to force members of Congress to have a personal stake by cutting and freezing their salaries until they do their jobs and balance the budget. In the Legislature, I’ve only supported balanced budgets that do not contain tax increases … Both parties have failed to reign in reckless federal spending. Congress must stick to pay-as-you-go rules, eliminate waste and duplication, and reduce spending.”

Terry: “I believe in empowering people, not government. Over the past two years, non-security related discretionary spending has increased by 85 percent. This excessive government spending is crowding out the private economy and a simple freeze in non-security related spending at [2008] levels would save us $100 billion this year, alone. I have voted over 84 times during this 111th Congress alone to cut over $7.5 trillion in spending.” ,

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Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

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Heartland Healing examines various alternative

forms of healing. It is provided as a source of information, not as medical advice. It is not an endorsement of any particular therapy, either by the writer or The Reader.

Access past columns at HeartlandHealing.com

heartlandhealing n e w

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News You Can’t Lose Recent revelations relating to health

by Michael Braunstein Food shortages and rationing The recent report from the United States Department of Agriculture detailing Nebraska’s farming output as of September 2010 notes corn harvest is down and prices are up significantly. The price of corn jumped from $3.18 per bushel in 2009 to $4.40 per bushel in 2010, a gain of nearly 40 percent.

Shoppers may have noticed corn they bought for the table didn’t cost more, however. That’s correct, because we’re not talking about corn fit for human consumption. The only corn that really matters to agribusiness is commodity corn — the kind fed to livestock, turned into ethanol or chemically treated to become junk food. Boil an ear of that variety of corn and you’ll have the worst tasting meal of the month.

Demand for meat is driving the cost of corn higher. That means the cost of producing meat is rising.

Americans are addicted to cheap energy and cheap meat. Both may be disappearing soon enough.

Meat prices are rising at record pace, now with the highest increases since the 1980s. Meat prices are up 14 percent and still rising.

Add to that the news that the federal government wants to increase the subsidy to industrialized corn production by increasing the percentage of ethanol allowed in gasoline at the pump and there is a spiral of cost increases affecting food at the core of the standard American diet.

1976

The real price to you and me is the continued ravaging of topsoil and farmland by industrial farming methods to produce crops to feed our unnatural consumption of energy and meat.

Related sources: Meat prices, http://bit.ly/ c2jgTv; Corn prices, http://bit.ly/aObfiy

Even the mainstream Centers for Disease Control admits most Americans (over 62 percent) are immune to the H1N1 virus. And the majority of those are immune because of natural immunity.

Related source: http://bit.ly/cK7G64

Americans avoiding flu shots

In 1950, the United States ranked fifth in the world for life expectancy. By 2010 the ranking plummeted to 49. What happened?

Scientific analysis finds it isn’t because we are obese, though we are the fattest nation on earth.

It’s not because we smoke or eat junk food. It’s not because we are the most violent and murderous nation and it’s not because we kill 40,000 yearly on the road. No, the culprit in our low life expectancy is our healthcare system, according to a study by Peter Muennig and Sherry Glied of Columbia University.

Our American healthcare system is badly broken. It may not be fixable. The quality of care has fallen so drastically that study authors “speculate that the nature of our health care system — specifically, its reliance on unregulated fee-for-service and specialty care — may explain both the increased spending and the relative deterioration in survival.”

The industry seems bent on selling us everything possible regardless of whether it is useful (see, “Futile Screening of Terminally Ill Cancer Patients” at http://bit.ly/cKV3gy) or even if it’s bad for us.

Related news source: http://bit.ly/92Dssq

You can tell it’s a full-on sell job: There are signs in front of Walgreens, Wal-Marts and grocery stores everywhere. Retailers want to cash in on the 25 bucks they can get for poking you with a needle.

Strip clubs in Florida want a piece of the action and some locations even offer drive-through jabs.

Forget all the studies reporting flu shots have little to no impact on keeping us safe from influenza.

If the shot is so good, why do they work so hard to sell us on it?

Apparently the high-pressure sales job isn’t working so well. A recent survey by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases found that half of Americans surveyed say they won’t get a flu shot this year.

In a subset of the poll, only 45 percent of those surveyed who are high risk for flu say they’ll get poked. That means over half of the high risk group won’t get the shot. One in three healthcare workers say they’ll not get the vaccine.

And what about workplace pressures? At some companies, human resources and supervisory personnel along with management are pushing employees to get the shot, even offering the shot onsite. How is a recommendation to get a flu shot that comes from a lay management person not “practicing medicine without a license?”

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heartland healing

American system causes earlier death rate

Osteoporosis medicine causes bone breaks I was surprised that a very intelligent, financially welloff and aware female friend did not know about this.

She has osteoporosis and was considering a popular medication on her doctor’s recommendation. If you know someone who is following Sally Field’s advice and taking the medication Boniva, tell them about this news: The FDA has ordered makers of the drugs Boniva, Fosamax, Reclast, Actonel to include a stern warning on labels, advising that use of the drug may cause an unusual kind of thighbone fracture.

Field, the former “Flying Nun,” is the high-profile shill for the Boniva version of a class of drugs called bisphosphonates. Let your friends know before they’re in a body cast. There are better ways to strengthen bones and it’s not drugs or milk.

Related source: http://bit.ly/dvIjx4

Get a massage to fight the flu?

No one denies a healthy and strong immune system is a great way to enter the so-called “flu season.” So do yourself a favor and get a massage. That’s right. It’s well documented that therapeutic massage has a host of healthful benefits — too numerous and redundant to list here — and now comes specific scientific proof that even one massage produces enough immune system benefit to show up on simple blood tests.

Cedars Sinai researchers Mark Rapaport, MD, Pamela Schettler, PhD, and Catherine Bresee, MS conducted studies on massage and drew blood samples at regular intervals. They found significant markers that indicated even one massage improved immune system function. I’d say it’s time to book that rubdown.

Related source: http://bit.ly/95bsVR So don’t lose this news and pass it on to a friend.

Be well. ,

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cantinalaredo.com

coverstory Censored in a brave new world

by Rebecca Bowe (rebeccab@sfbg.com)

T

Mirissa Neff

he world was a different place in 1976 when Carl Jensen, professor of communications at Sonoma State University, founded Project Censored to highlight important national news stories that were underreported or outright ignored by the mainstream press.

Then, there were few good alternatives to television networks or major newspapers and magazines, and stories omitted from those channels usually escaped public notice. There was no such thing as Google News, no one had ever heard of a blog and the word “twitter” was associated with birds or gossip. It was up to Project Censored to provide an annual rundown of the top 25 most significant articles that hadn’t been widely distributed.

But if the corporate monolith media was censoring important information back then, today’s highly fragmented media world has opened the floodgates to endless news and propaganda of every possible variety, leaving citizens awash in more information than they can process. The shared American narrative and agenda disappeared as the Internet boomed and newspapers shrank, major media outlets were consolidated

It’s not the blacking out of a story, it’s the framing of a story. It’s the angle. It’s what views are being left out. In old school ‘objective journalism’ (air quotes) you’re supposed to get both sides of the story. Yeah, well, sometimes there are six sides.”

The preface to Censored 2011 offers a harsh critique of mainstream news. “In America, unsubstantiated opinions, rumors, and gossip surrounding important issues masquerade as real news,” it states. “We live in a propaganda culture where factual information is routinely censored by degree.”

To be sure, public relations outfits and staged press events routinely influence the content of the daily news, and media watchdog groups often spotlight the fiction or egregious bias that finds its way onto the airwaves. Yet in a culture where truth is often mangled and information so scattered — and the state of politics and the economy so frightening — both sides of the political spectrum have moved toward the fringes.

And thumbing through Censored 2011, one wonders if Project Censored has itself has wandered into uncharted territory.

But in the end, “The bias of Project Censored seems to be quite simple,” as it notes.

“We promote protection of First Amendment rights in support of a truly free press, one that holds those in power, elected by the people or appointed, accountable.”

project censored into the hands of fewer corporations and the once stable media industry is in flux. Meanwhile, the general public has splintered into factions that reside in disparate realities. Extremism and the promotion of narrow corporate interests gained footholds. Even on national television networks, personalities such as Glenn Beck gain traction by painting President Barack Obama as a dangerous radical, a Big Brother figure or worse. Once-accepted imperatives like addressing global warming are undermined by seemingly legitimate news stories.

Yet the public plays a bigger role than ever.

Blogs abound and anyone can spark a public outcry by capturing egregious behavior on film with his or her cell phone. Thanks to a team of hackers who know a thing or two about encryp-

tion technology, WikiLeaks emerged as a wild card of the new media landscape by cutting loose thousands of classified government documents and airing military footage never intended for a mass audience.

It’s a brave new world of media consumption, but Project Censored’s mission hasn’t changed. More than ever, people need help sifting through the cacophony to find what they truly need to know.

For 35 years, the project distributed its list nationwide to shed light on the top stories not brought to you by the mainstream press. These days, stories are submitted, researched by students, filtered through LexisNexis to determine which outlets covered them and then voted on by a team of judges. An international network of 30 colleges and universities contribute to the

project. Volunteers worldwide submit stories for consideration. At the end of each project cycle, the work is released in a compendium.

Past judges include luminaries such as Noam Chomsky and the late Howard Zinn, to whom Censored 2011 (Seven Stories Press, 2010) is dedicated. Even late journalist Walter Cronkite publicly stated, “Project Censored is one of the organizations that we should listen to, to be assured that our newspapers and our broadcasting outlets are practicing thorough and ethical journalism.”

How does Project Censored Director Mickey Huff define censorship?

“There are many factors afoot that prevent stories from getting reported,” he says. “What we’re saying is that anything that interferes with a free flow of information is censorship.

cover story

The Top 10 Censored Stories of 2009-2010 1. Buh-bye U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency?

Since the 2008 financial meltdown sent a jarring ripple effect throughout the global economy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev talked up the idea of an international market that doesn’t use the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency. The dollar now holds the status of the predominant anchor currency held in foreign exchange reserves, securing the U.S.’ strategic economic position.

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cover story y continued from page 13

In July 2009 at the Group of Eight Summit in Italy, Medvedev underscored his call for a newly conceived “united future world currency” pulling a sample coin from his pocket to show heads of state, the Bloomberg news service reported.

At a conference in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in June 2009, world leaders from Brazil, India, and China listened as Medvedev made his case for a new global currency system anchored on something other than the dollar, according to an article in the Christian Science Monitor.

Additionally, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) suggested in a report that the present system of using the dollar as the world’s reserve currency should be subject to a wholesale reconsideration, according to an article in the British newspaper Telegraph.

Michael Hudson, author/professor of economics at the University of Missouri, links discussions of an alternative global reserve currency with U.S. military spending. Referencing Medvedev’s calls for a “multipolar world order,” Hudson offers this translation: “What this means in plain English is, we have reached our limit in subsidizing the United States’ military encirclement of Eurasia while also allowing the U.S. to appropriate our exports, companies, stocks, and real estate in exchange for paper money of questionable worth.”

2. Environmental enemy No. 1: U.S. Department of Defense The U.S. military burns through 320,000 barrels of oil a day, Sara Flounders of the International Action Center reports, but that tally doesn’t factor in fuel consumed by contractors, or the energy and resources used to produce bombs, grenades, missiles, or other weapons employed by the Department of Defense.

By every measure, the Pentagon is the largest institutional user of petroleum products — yet it has a blanket exemption in commitments made by the U.S. to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Despite its status as top polluter, the Department of Defense received little attention in December of 2009 during talks at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Meanwhile, human health is threatened by the long-term environmental impacts of global military operations throughout the globe. Depleted uranium contamination from the Iraq conflict has been linked to widespread health problems, Jalal Ghazi reports for New America Media. The Chamoru people of Guam, meanwhile, experience an alarmingly high rate of can-

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cover story

cer, which is suspected to be linked to a nearby 1950s U.S. nuclear weapons testing site that left a legacy of radioactive contamination.

“The greatest single assault on the environment comes from one [place]: The Armed Forces of the United States,” author Barry Sanders writes in The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of Militarism.

3. Internet privacy and personal access at risk Project Censored cites 13 sources, including articles published in Wired and Mother Jones, for this story. A Google search for the phrase “Internet kill switch” yields 539,000 results generated by more recent reporting.

The Cybersecurity Act was proposed in June 2009, giving the president the power to “declare a cybersecurity emergency” and do whatever is necessary to diffuse a cyber attack. The Senate Homeland Security Committee approved a comprehensive cybersecurity bill this past June, which has drawn sharp criticism because it authorizes for including a provision that would allow the president to shut down networks in the event of an emergency.

Reporting in Wired, Noah Schachtman broke the story that the CIA was investing in Visible Technologies, a software firm that can collect, rank and analyze millions of posts on blogs, online forums, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter and other social media sites.

4. ICE’s secret detention centers The federal office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is confining people in 186 unlisted and unmarked subfield offices, many in suburban office parks or commercial spaces that reveal no information about their ICE tenants. Reporting in The Nation, Jaqueline Stevens describes ICE’s jail network and the agency’s penchant for secrecy when it comes to withholding public information about the facilities. “The absence of a real-time database tracking people in ICE custody means ICE has created a network of secret jails,” Stevens writes. “Subfield offices enter the time and date of custody after the fact, a situation ripe for errors … as well as cover-ups.”

As a result, detainees can literally be “lost” by attorneys or family members for days or weeks at a time after being transferred.

5. Blackwater in Pakistan The notorious private military contractor Blackwater changed its name to Xe Services, but it hasn’t escaped scrutiny. According to a story that ran in The Nation reported in December

2009, the contractor is at the center of a covert program in Pakistan run by the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in Karachi. Xe is involved in planning targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, and helps direct a U.S. military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the U.S. military intelligence apparatus who spoke with The Nation. The Pentagon disputed the claim, stating: “There are no U.S. military strike operations being conducted in Pakistan.” More recently, The New York Times reported Xe created a web of more than 30 shell companies to win defense contracts, and specifically mentioned that the company employees had loaded bombs and missiles onto predator drones in Pakistan.

6. Cause of death: lack of health care As the health care debate raged on and Americans heard over and over again about “death panels,” “Obamacare” and the government’s infringement on personal freedom, at least one important study was largely drowned out. Research led by the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center revealed that lack of health insurance may have figured into 17,000 childhood deaths among hospitalized children in the United States in the span of less than two decades.

The results of a study published in the Journal of Public Health compared more than 23 million hospital records from 37 states between 1988 and 2005, and found that uninsured children in the study were 60 percent more likely to die in the hospital than those with insurance.

“Can we say with absolute certainty that 17,000 children would have been saved if they had health insurance? Of course not,” notes a co-investigator. “From a scientific perspective, we are confident in our finding that thousands of children likely died because they lacked insurance or because of factors directly related to a lack of insurance.”

7. The African land grab A “land grab” is the purchase of vast tracts of land by wealthier nations from mostly poor, developing countries in order to produce crops for export. Throughout the African continent in the past several years, an estimated 50 million hectares of land was acquired or is the subject of sales negotiations in the process of being negotiated for purchase over the last several years, with international agribusinesses, investment banks, continued on page 16 y

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cover story hedge funds, and commodity traders leading the rush for cheap, undeveloped, arable land.

Ethiopia approved at least 815 foreign-financed agriculture projects since 2007, but the food produced there will be exported rather than used to feed the 13 million people in need of food aid in that country. “Rich countries are eyeing Africa not just for a healthy return on capital, but also as an insurance policy,” notes researcher Devlin Kuyek. “Food shortages and riots in 28 countries in 2008, declining water supplies, climate change, and huge population growth together have made land attractive.

Africa has the most land and, compared with other continents, is cheap.”

8. Massacre in Peruvian Amazon over Free Trade Agreement

of indigenous groups, celebrated the triumph: “Today is a historic day. We are thankful because the will of the indigenous peoples has been taken into account, and we just hope that in the future, the governments attend and listen to the people, that they don’t legislate behind our backs.”

tion touches on the topic: “Rare mainstream media glimpses of Israel’s apartheid system, like the CBS “60 Minutes” segment ‘Is Peace Out of Reach?’ in January 2009, air and then fade away after drawing vitriolic, selectively focused criticism.”

9. Human rights abuses continue in Palestine

10. U.S. funds and supports the Taliban

While there is a great deal of news coverage on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Project Censored highlights human rights abuses as a little-discussed aspect. After a 15-month study conducted by an international team of scholars, the Human

While this story appeared on the front pages of The New York Times and Washington Post, Project Censored claims they omitted some key facts. The Nation broke the story, and at the time Project Censored was researching it, there was nary a mention in the mainstream media of how American tax dol-

The Rest of the List:

11. The H1N1 Swine Flu Pandemic: Manipulating Data to Enrich Drug Companies 12. Cuba Provided the Greatest Medical Aid to Haiti after the Earthquake 13. Obama Cuts Domestic Spending and Increases Military Corporate Welfare 14. Increased Tensions with Unresolved 9/11 Issues 15. Bhopal Water Still Toxic Twenty-five Years After Deadly Gas Leak 16. U.S. Presidents Charged with Crimes Against Humanity as Universal Jurisdiction Dies in Spain 17. Nanotech Particles Pose Serious DNA Risks to Humans and the Environment 18. The True Cost of Chevron 19. Obama Administration Assures World Bank and International Monetary Fund a Free Reign of Abuse 20. Obama’s Charter School Policies Spread Segregation and Undermine Unions 21. Western Lifestyle Continues Environmental Footprint 22. 1.2 Billion People in India to be Given Biometric ID Cards 23. Afghan War: Largest Military Coalition in History 24. War Crimes of General Stanley McChrystal 25. Prisoners Still Brutalized at Gitmo

While the story highlighted by Project Censored is titled, “Massacre in the Amazon,” a later installment by Laura Carlsen, the translator, appeared in the Huffington Post titled “Victory in the Amazon.” The story centers on a movement standing its ground even with tragic loss of life as the consequence: On June 5, 2009, 50 or more Peruvian Amazon Indians were massacred after a 57-day protest against the implementation of decrees under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States. Decrees that would have opened vast swaths of indigenous land in the Peruvian Amazon to private investment by gas, mining, and oil companies prompted Amazon peoples to block highways and gas and oil pipelines. But the conflict escalated when armed Peruvian government agents attacked the protesters and, according to eyewitnesses, burned bodies and threw them into a river. According to Carlsen’s account, Peru’s Congress voted 82 to 12 in the aftermath to repeal two of the decrees that the indigenous groups had been standing against. Daysi Zapata, a representative of the association

Sciences Research Council of South Africa concluded that Israel is, from the perspective of international law, an occupying power in Palestinian territories and that it has become a colonial enterprise that implements a system of apartheid. An Amnesty International report charges that Israel is denying Palestinians the right to access adequate water by maintaining total control over the shared water resources and pursuing discriminatory policies. Articles appearing in Electronic Intifada detailed how Israel began barring movement between Israel and the West Bank for those holding a foreign passport, including humanitarian aid workers and thousands of Palestinian residents. Project Censored’s introduc-

lars wind up in the hands of the Taliban. In some cases, money goes to Afghan companies run by former Taliban members like President Hamid Karzai’s cousin, Ahmad Rate Popal, who was charged in the 1980s with conspiring to import heroin into the United States. U.S. military contractors in Afghanistan also pay suspected insurgents to protect supply routes. “It is an accepted fact of the military logistics operation in Afghanistan that the U.S. government funds the very forces American troops are fighting,” according to The Nation story, written by Aram Roston. That article also highlighted a link omitted by the other publications: NCL holdings, a licensed security company in Afghanistan, is run by the son of the Afghan defense minister and has an influential former CIA officer, Milton Bearden, on its advisory board. NCL secured a highly lucrative trucking contract — despite having no apparent trucking experience.

Mirissa Neff

To learn more, visit projectcensored.org. ,

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| THE READER |

cover story

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Anthony’s Steakhouse/The Ozone Club For more than 38 years, Anthony’s has been known for its steaks, using premium black angus beef aged on premises.

Anthony’s is dedicated to bringing customers a truly special dining event every visit.

7220 F St. • 331.7575 anthonyssteakhouse.com Bailey’s Best breakfast in town. “King of Eggs Benedict.”

1 block south of 120th & Pacific • 932-5577 absolutelyfresh.com

Blue Planet Natural Grill Healthy People. Healthy Planet.

6307 Center St. • 218.4555 blueplanetnaturalgrill.com Cascio’s Steakhouse Established 1946, 63 years of selling great steaks.

1620 S. 10th St. • 345-8313 casciossteakhouse.com Dundee Dell Omaha’s Finest Neighborhood Restaurant & Pub 5007 Underwood Ave. • 553.9501 dundeedell.com Hector’s Boasting the only Baja-style Mexican cuisine in the city, Hector’s serves fresh food with panache from Baja California and northwest Mexico.

Two Locations: 1201 S. 157th St. • 884.2272 3007 S. 83rd Plz. • 391.2923 hectorsomaha.com La Casa Pizzeria Fine Italian Dining Since 1953. Located on historic Leavenworth street in midtown Omaha, La Casa has the freshest pizza in town.

4432 Leavenworth St. • 556.6464 lacasapizzaria.net La Mesa An authentic Mexican experience, from mouthwatering enchiladas to fabulous fajitas. Top it off with one of La Mesa’s famous margaritas. Voted # 1 Mexican Restaurant seven years in a row.

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Ted & Wally’s Premium Ice Cream Voted best ice cream in Omaha!

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18

Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

A conversation with Zane Lamprey

by Kyle Tonniges

C

Attic Bar & Grill Great food and great drinks with live music.

3231 Harney St. • 932.5387 atticbarandgrill.com

Shucks Fish House & Oyster Bar Great Seafood. Great Prices.

Southwest corner of 168th & Center 1218 S 119 St. • 827.4376 absolutelyfresh.com

r e v i e w s ,

c h e f

p r. o f i — l eKyle s Tonniges , c u l i n a r y

Monkeys and Mojitos

84th Street Café Serving delicious cost-conscious food.

8013 S. 83rd Ave. • 597-5003 www.facebook.com/84thstcafe

Matsu Sushi Downtown’s Original Sushi Restaurant 1009 Farnam St. • 346-3988 matsusushi.wordpress.com

r e s ta u r a n t s ,

grubmatters Ever opened the fridge and had no clue what to make for dinner? The new Foodmatic 1.0 app from Limit Point Software can help. Just tell Foodmatic what ingredients you have and it’ll start making suggestions of complementary ingredients. Select the ones you like and and/or have on hand and you’re on your way to creating a new recipe. Go to limit-point.com for more info or to download the app.

— Kyle Tonniges

omedian Zane Lamprey has what many would call a dream job: for years he’s traveled to far-flung locations to throw back a few (or more than a few) drinks with the locals for his television show “Three Sheets.” His enthusiasm and good humor earned him the nickname “The Indiana Jones of Alcohol,” a term he’s still not quite used to.

“I don’t know where that came from,” he says, calling from his home in Los Angeles.

“I don’t know who said that. It used to be ‘World Drinking Ambassador’ and then the Indiana Jones … it’s pretty accurate, I guess. I’ve come face to face with a cobra, except mine was dead and floating in alcohol.”

Fans of the show (as well as his new show, “Drinking Made Easy,” which premiered on HDNet a couple weeks ago; a book of the same name was released earlier this spring with folklore, recipes and road tales) can expect plenty of road and drinking stories when Lamprey’s Sing the Booze tour rolls into Council Bluffs’ Horseshoe Casino this Wednesday, Oct. 27. The evening will be a mix of storytelling, stand-up comedy and songs about alcohol. “I was trying to figure out if it’s music with stories in-between, or stories with music in-between, and I think it’ll be both,” he says.

He’d contemplated releasing a CD of drinking songs but when it was completed felt it was overproduced: “After recording four songs I thought we should just stop and play them live.

I’m a comedian who’s singing some songs. I’m not a singer who’s doing comedy.” Fans can download the songs, including ditties like “Tits

| THE READER |

dish

McGee,” “Mojito” and the soulful, heartfelt “Beer, I Love You” for free at zanelamprey.com.

“People can go get them and put them on their iPod and listen to them on the way to the show so they’re familiar with them. I think that’d be the most fun,” he says.

While the music’s free, those expecting to have Lamprey and his cohort Steve McKenna doling out cocktails are likely to leave disappointed.

“I thought about that,” he says, “but I don’t think it’s fitting for such a large venue. I even went out and bought a three-foot martini glass and experimented with that. But if I can’t share it with people — I mean, I can’t really pass around a three foot martini glass — what’s the point?” zane lamprey

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crumbs n In last issue’s cover story, “Home Grown,” about the Stored Potential installation, written by myself and art writer Sarah Baker Hansen, we failed to mention the hard work Lori Tatreau put into putting the installation and dinner together. Tatreau worked endlessly to connect chefs, farmers, artists and a great staff of volunteers. Feeding 500 people four courses was no small task, and Tatreau worked with Anne Tremble for months on the project. n Colleen Cleek, owner of the Classy Gourmet, is closing the doors of her home-chef cooking school.

The one-time contestant on “Hell’s Kitchen” is managing the Patriot Club at Offutt Air Force Base and will host her final classes at her shop near Westroads Mall through October. Cleek had been renting the facility to private events and caterers, but wasn’t able to offset the cost of the facility and the drop in class attendance. She hopes to eventually reopen the business.

— Lainey Seyler n Author Katherine Leiner will be at the Novel Idea Bookstore, 118 N. 14th St. in Lincoln, this Wednesday, Oct. 27, to promote her new book GROWING ROOTS: The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks and Food Activists. The book is a collection of interviews, color photographs and recipes from young people nationwide who are committed to edible sustainability. The free event starts at 7 p.m.

— Kyle Tonniges Comments? Questions? Want more? Check out our Booked blog online at thereader.com. Or email us at booked@thereader.com.

Fans of the show can plan on seeing Pleepleus, Lamprey’s stuffed monkey that’s become a staple of his television shows and mascot.

“Pleepleus is my drinking buddy,” he says, simply. “I brought him on ‘Three Sheets’ as a joke and hid him in the show as part of a drinking game. I didn’t think the network was going to say, ‘Yes, you can make the show a drinking game.’ I thought I had to be more stealthy about it and hide all these things.”

Lamprey was surprised when the network got back to him and said they loved the audience participation. “As far as I know, it’s the first show to ever be conceived as a drinking game as opposed to the audience finding a way to make it a drinking game after the fact,” he says.

It’s impossible to talk about drinking games without mentioning hangovers. Surprisingly, Lamprey says he doesn’t have as many as you’d think. “I learned to pace myself pretty early on.”

It helps that the shows are taped during the day.

“You don’t want to walk into a club and shut the music off or have us turn on all our lights.

Ninety-five percent of what we shoot is during the day, which means I get my hangover at 11 p.m.,” he says. “It still sucks, but it means I get to wake up the next morning feeling fine. There’s no cure for the hangover. Trust me, if I found something, everyone would have it in their medicine cabinet.” , Zane Lamprey’s Sing the Booze Tour comes to Council Bluffs’ Whiskey Roadhouse in Horseshoe Casino, Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. Visit whiskeyroadhouse.com.

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Masters and Music: String Theory UNO Art Gallery, 6001 Dodge St. 5 p.m., $15, 554.2402

Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

Oct. 22

Of Montreal w/ Janelle Monae

Sokol Auditorium, 2234 S. 13th St. 8 p.m., $25, onepercentproductions.com There is nothing boring about this band. Everchanging in sound and scope, Georgia hipsters Of Montreal play spacey jams that swing from indie lo-fi to baroque pop to glitchy kraut-rock. Creator Kevin Barnes even sang half a show’s worth of material while naked in Las Vegas recently. Add to that some trippy Salvador Dali meets Sesame Street album artwork, as well as a genuine refusal to be anything normal and you end up with a pretty unique group. They are currently touring in support of their tenth album False Priest.

— Jarrett Fontaine

Oct. 22

College Night w/ Voodoo Method

Local artist Leslie Iwai captivated the audience during her 2008 MONA performance piece, “Fee! Fie! Fo! Fum!” after spending four months baking chalk-laced bread to present an “exploration of hunger, myth and hope.” More recently, Iwai meticulously hung 900 clay horses in the Florence Mill ArtLoft, a testament to her commitment to the artistic process. Titled, Holding My Horses, the piece addressed issues of reservations and anticipation. In response to the popularity of the well-respected artist, The University of Omaha’s Friends of Art is hosting “Masters and Music: String Theory,” the first in its three part series.

Featuring Iwai and musician/composer Dr. Barry Ford, “String Theory” will discuss topics ranging from collaborative composition practices to translating physical activities into metaphors.

— Kyle Eustice

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Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge St. 7-9 p.m., FREE for students w/ valid university ID 342.3300, joslyn.org

Joslyn Art Museum’s annual college night is going virtual this year with SCVNGR, a social media tool. SCVNGR lets users do an online scavenger hunt, win points and get prizes. Joslyn’s college night trek will be object-based and will lead players through the museum to play challenges and earn virtual and real-life prizes. All that’s needed to play is a smart phone (works with iPhone and Droid; sorry Blackberry) enabled with Internet access. Power reggae-funk group Voodoo Method will perform and students can take a look at the special exhibition Beyond Realism: The Works of Kent Bellows 1970-2005. Joslyn’s permanent collection exhibitions will be open and students can browse in the Hitchcock Museum Shop. The night will include free pizza from Godfather’s and other refreshments. To get started before the event, visit joslyn.org/SCVNGR. — Sarah Baker Hansen

| THE READER |

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SATURDAY23 Avi Buffalo w/ Mother Culture Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St. 9 p.m., $8, theslowdown.com

It’s easier to tone down our personal disappointments when we are able to relate them to others’ failures. Conversely, through their sudden triumphs we can be led to inspiration. Like a Long Beach kid named Avi who drops his dream of pro skateboarding — fear causing him to pick up a guitar — and eventually opens for Modest Mouse and is signed to Sub Pop. Not bad for a pick-meup, especially when you consider he and all but one of his band mates just graduated high school.

Drop your regrets and live in the fuzzy-wuzzy, pre-college sing-a-long blend of Avi and Co. You could probably even dance to it.

— Darian Stout

Oct. 23

LaVista Taste & Tailgate Chili Cook-off Quality Brands, 13255 Centech Road 2 p.m., $30, 339.2078, lavistachamber.org

Few comfort foods conjure warm memories of frost-covered windows and football on the television like a hearty bowl of chili. For those who don’t want to slave over a hot pot, trying to come up with the perfect blend of spices, veggies and meat, the LaVista Chamber of Commerce has a handful of area chili-istas doing the heavy lifting for you. Your ticket (which doubles as a fundraiser for the chamber) includes all the chili sampling you can stomach, plus beer tasting, snacks, games and prizes … plus, they’ll also have the Nebraska vs. Oklahoma State game on, as well as an appearance from the Omaha Nighthawks. Guests will be able to vote for their favorite chili, which means that one lucky winner will be crowned champion, while the rest will have all winter to stew over their loss and tinker with their recipe.

— Adam Froemming

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Benson Zombie Walk

Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. and throughout downtown Benson 6 p.m., FREE, zombiewalkomaha.com The last few years zombies have assaulted America. It began in small pockets dotting the country — at inconspicuous locations such as Bill Murray’s house (see Zombieland), most video game consoles owned by 14year-olds with shoot-first-ask-questions-later mentalities, and any place Joan Rivers is haunting. Resistance appears futile, as their advance into the heartland engulfs Benson this Saturday. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em because these zombies know how to get down.

Come as you are, or you can be costumed into a brainmuncher at The Waiting Room from 4 p.m.-5:45 p.m. for $3. Although true zombies prefer to mutate into a flesh-eater by means of a good ol’ fashioned zombie scrum. The scrums are free and can be achieved by prominently marking yourself with a large duct tape X; just prepare to be mobbed during the official Zombie Walk throughout downtown Benson. After gorging themselves on human flesh the zombies attack The Waiting Room for an all-ages zombie hop at 7 p.m. There will be a zombie costume contest, including a best ’50s-themed zombie category, live music and a MDA fundraiser Zombikini Contest, proving that zombies do have hearts, just a lack of brains. If you can’t wait to get your zombie on, attend the Zombie Walk Pre-Party, Friday, Oct. 22, at The Hideout, 320 S. 72nd St., at 9 p.m. … Mmmmm, brains!

— James “Brain-Muncher” Schott

MONDAY25 Oct. 25

Dr. Dog w/ Here We Go Magic Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. 9 p.m., $14 ADV/$16 DOS onepercentproductions.com

The throwback sounds of Dr. Dog — dusty as a thrift store vinyl; a melodic marriage of The Band and The Beach Boys whose offspring grew up loving Modest Mouse and Built to Spill — surely rank

e n t e rta i n m e n t high among the classic rock-loving masses. The group self-produced and recorded their first few records at their Philadelphia home studio, grasping tightly to analog, i.e. anti-digital aesthetics (hence all that “dust”). But for their latest release, Shame, Shame, they’ve loosened their grip on the past, at least a little, and embraced the direction that an outside producer and a modern day studio provide. I see it as a natural progression for the band: when they left behind upstart label Park the Van for much more reputable ANTI- Records, a cut-and-dry studio album produced by an outsider was sure to follow. These recent moves allowed both the music and career path of Dr. Dog to spiral outwardly into the bigger clubs and gaudy theaters across America, and into more and more iPods and laptops of their growing fan base.

— Will Simons

TUESDAY26 Oct. 26

An Inaugural Ride to Freedom

Film Streams’ Ruth Sokolof Theater 1340 Mike Fahey St. Screening and post-show Q & A w/ director Akintunde $9, $7 seniors/students/teachers/military 7 p.m., 933.0259, filmstreams.org Get on the bus! By the hundreds of thousands, people did just that in January 2009 to see the inauguration of Barack Obama. Answering the call to witness history was a busload of Nebraskans who traveled courtesy of a University of Nebraska at Omaha Department of Black Studies-sponsored trip. Leading the way was UNO Black Studies chair Omowale Akintunde, who is also a filmmaker (Wigger). He and a small crew documented the emotional journey; the resulting film won a regional Emmy for Best Cultural Documentary. The film tells some of the stories within the larger story, thereby personalizing what the event meant to individual passengers. It’s a vicarious glimpse at the crush of people who came together, united in one moment in time.

— Leo Adam Biga

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Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. 9 p.m., $15, onepercentproductions.com

New BLK, 1213 Jones St. 8 p.m., $10 suggested donation aetherplough.com, 319.5990

The Wood Brothers w/ Patrick Sweany

Armed with two voices, a bass and acoustic guitar, The Wood Brothers specialize in delivering raw, unapologetic bluesy folk-rock, oozing with emotive lyrics. Chris Wood is one of the founding members of Medeski, Martin and Wood, a jazz trio formed in 1991. After reveling in moderate success with them, Wood reunited with brother Oliver to explore their love of shared childhood influences — everything from blues to rock. Their 2008 album, Loaded (produced by John Medeski), was released on Blue Note and is subtle enough to make you want to hear it again. It glides in with ease and bursts with organic sounds. Delivering nothing but the best in modern folk, The Wood Brothers are headlining their current U.S. tour.

Kicking off in North Carolina, the boys trek to their home state of Colorado before landing in Omaha. If slow, well-constructed folk songs are in order, The Wood Brothers are doing it.

— Kyle Eustice

com(e).passion

by The Epicene Furies

If you remember Alexander Payne’s superb debut Citizen Ruth, you’ll recall the scene with the circus of pro-life and pro-choice protesters outside the abortion clinic, all in a dither over the fate of Ruth Stoops’ unborn child. While the divided horde hollers at one another, Ruth drops a toilet tank lid on a guard’s head, exits through a window and quietly flees the scene unnoticed.

Although fiction, the episode brutally outs the uncomfortable truth that movements often come to care more about the rhetoric and politics of a hot-button issue than each directly affected individual. Saturday’s com(e).passion contributes to the cultural conversation as did Payne’s film.

Culled from first-person abortion narratives, the performance is billed as an invitation “to transcend typical politicking and embrace instead empathy and communion,” and will be followed with a talkback session. The Epicene Furies are led by whip-smart wordsmith Katie F-S, and Oct. 26 rounded out by Shukura Huggins, Zedeka PoinDr. Condoleezza Rice book signing dexter, Shannon Jaxies, Dulcie Mueller, Felicia The Bookworm, 8702 Pacific St. Webster (AKA Withlove, Felicia) and Marissa 2-2:45 p.m., FREE, bookwormomaha.com Gill. “Can we enter a creative space from so many separate paths and emerge with a sense of deeper Whether you agree with Condi’s political views, you humanity rather than rage?” asks Katie F-S. “We should admit she has accomplished quite a bit in this say yes. We say watch us.” world. Not only did she serve as our nation’s 66th — Sarah Wengert Secretary of State under George W. Bush, prior to that she was Bush’s Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and has been heavily involved with Stanford University as a provost and political science professor. Her new book Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family touches lightly on her political career, but centers on her upbringing in the segregated south. She will sign copies at The Bookworm and later in the evening the bookstore will sell copies at The Qwest Center as part of a talk Rice is giving sponsored by Eppley Cancer Research Center.

— Jesse D. Stanek

CONDOLEEZZA RICE

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Make Me Laugh

Author David Sedaris turns the page

by Kyle Tonniges

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pauses for a moment as the awfulness of the joke sinks in. “I sort of admire people who are full of confidence and completely wrongheaded at the same time. He was thinking ‘Stand back, everybody, while I get the biggest laugh of the evening.’ And nobody laughed,” Sedaris says with a chuckle. “So I thought I’d help him out and tell another Jewish joke to take the pressure off of him, so I said ‘What’s the goal of Jewish football? To get the quarter back.’

But that didn’t work too well.”

Sedaris regularly receives gifts from fans at his appearances.

avid Sedaris might well be the most patient man on earth. The bestselling author whose frequently hilarious and often insightful stories, about everything from an ex-patriot living in France to watching the housekeeping habits of a spider, have entertained millions in print and on NPR. His appearances frequently sell out and his signings are packed. Yet Sedaris is exceedingly generous with his time, spending hours talking to fans and signing books — his record is 10 and 1/2 hours at the signing table.

Monday he’ll be at the Holland reading selections old and new.

His readings can be interactive.

He has sometimes asked audience members for input on quirky surveys or polls, such as whether President Barack Obama is circumcised.

This time he’ll be asking for jokes.

Whether they’re keepers depends on how well they stand up to what Sedaris calls “The Willie Nelson Test,” a gauge of whether the new joke stands up to his current favorite: “What’s the last thing you want to hear when you’re giving Willie Nelson a blowjob? ‘I’m not Willie Nelson.’”

They’re not always funny. Calling from a hotel in Cleveland, where he’d perform later that night, Sedaris recounted a very awkward moment when an audience member misunderstood his call for jokes a few nights prior. “This guy raised his hand and his girlfriend was trying to stop him, but he pushed her hand away. He said, ‘If telling everybody you’re gay is coming out of the closet, then telling everybody you’re Jewish should be called coming out of the oven,’” Sedaris reports, then david sedaris

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booked They’ve ranged from the thoughtful — postcards are a favorite, as were the tongue depressors that said ‘I was born on a pirate ship’ (hold your tongue and say it if you’re unfamiliar with the joke) — to the odd, such as an entire filet of smoked salmon. If you’re considering bringing him a book of jokes, leave it at home.

“Somebody gave me a joke book early on this tour and I gave it right away,” he says. “I don’t believe in finding jokes in books or on websites.

I like to get them organically. Whenever I get a joke I write it down in my diary.

But sometimes it gets buried. I go through an old diary and I’ll find a joke and I’ll revive it for a couple days. Every morning I write down the best jokes that I heard the night before.”

Sedaris is touring in part to support Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary, his latest book of short stories. Unlike previous essay collections that have focused on Sedaris’ family and other events, this one is a collection of stories about the animal world — a mouse that makes the poor choice of having a snake for a pet, Irish setters who commiserate on the awfulness of scented candles and lab rats comparing notes.

Some of his choices for animals that populate his stories arose from assignments. Ira Glass’ “This American Life” on National Public Radio, to which Sedaris is a frequent contributor, had themed shows called “Cat and Mouse,” and “The Parrot and the Potbellied Pig” which were the genesis for Sedaris’ stories of the

n The big book news this week is former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice’s appearance at The Bookworm at 87th and Pacific in Countryside Village Tuesday, Oct. 26. She’ll be there to sign her new book, Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family before speaking at the Ambassador of Hope gala that evening. The book is light on her time in the Bush administration; focusing on her upbringing in the segregated south. Her father, John Wesley Rice Jr., came from a family of well-educated itinerant preachers in Louisiana. Her mother, Angelena Ray’s family, were Birmingham, Ala., landowners. Ironically, it was folks in those same areas that she so carelessly blew off to go shoe shopping and catch Spamalot in New York City during the height of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.

The free event is open to the public and runs 22:45 p.m.

n If you’re a comic book fan, you probably have Saturday, Oct. 23, circled on your calendar. If not, plan to swing by the Omaha Executive Inn & Suites (AKA the old Howard Johnson’s) at 3650 S. 72nd St. for the Omaha Comic Book Convention. The free event is open to the public and runs from 10 a.m-4 p.m. You’ll see local vendors and those from other states, and be able to check out action figures and other collectibles and comics. For more information call 309.657.1599 or visit epguides.com/comics.

n As the market for e-readers becomes more crowded (not to mention cheaper), Amazon recently announced a new eBook format, Kindle Singles.

The program will offer short books or long articles, categorized as between 10,000 and 30,000 words, or 30-90 pages, which will have their own section in Amazon’s Kindle store. The online bookseller said these will be cheaper than full novels, but they have yet to name a price.

n As if horror mash-ups weren’t enough (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, et al), it has come to this: tabloid fiction. Ben Greenman, editor of the New Yorker, of all things, just published Celebrity Chekhov, a literary mashup that incorporates celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Jesse James into the Russian writer’s works.

“Aren’t celebrities fictional characters anyway?”

Greenman asked the New York Daily News.

— Kyle Tonniges Comments? Questions? Want more? Check out our Booked blog online at thereader.com. Or email us at booked@thereader.com.

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same name. “Other ones, like ‘The Cat and the Baboon’ — baboons groom each other, so if you wanted to get yourself groomed, I guess that’s who you’d go to. So sometimes our expectations of the animal’s behavior had something to do with it,” he says.

In other cases inspiration came from the strangest places, such as an article Sedaris read in the New York Times about a certain kind of leech that only lives in the anus of a hippopotamus. “So I knew I wanted to write about that,” he says of what became “The Grieving Owl.” As for “The Crow and the Lamb,” Sedaris’ neighbor in France told him that it was important to make sure lambs were born in the lambing shed because lambs born in the pasture would routinely have their eyes gouged out and eaten by crows.

“So, you know, a lamb made sense there.”

Some are based on real people. “I stood behind the toad, the turtle and the duck in Denver when a flight got canceled one time,” he says. “‘The Vigilant Rabbit’ is a grandmother that works at the security scanner in Wausau, Wisconsin. She was just horrible to me. So I pulled my notebook out then and there. And it’s not against the law to pull your notebook out of your pocket and stare at somebody. And write. Just stand there and write. Not against the law,” he says, clearly still irritated at the thought of the woman. “But I’m such a coward that I waited until I’d gone through security,” he quickly admits with a laugh.

He gets a lot of young writers coming up to him at readings and book signings asking how they can get their stories published. “I always tell them they shouldn’t even be thinking about that.

I say ‘This is your time to suck,’” he says plainly.

“It’s your time to learn and make mistakes and imitate other people. You need to just get that

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out of your system before you start thinking about publishing.”

He’s the first to admit he got lucky, and for him, fame happened at just the right time. “I was 35 when I had a piece published in Harper’s. That seemed to be a good age [to get published]. If it had happened a lot later it’s very likely I’d be bitter, thinking ‘Why does that person have a book? I don’t have a book.’ But I never felt that way. I was fortunate that I never looked at the world that way. Because when you do I don’t know how you get that enthusiasm back,” he says.

Sedaris grew a little wistful. “My last book debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list and stayed there for eight weeks,” he says. “So what do you do after that?” He’s not boasting or gloating about his success; merely commenting on it. The thing about the New York Times Bestseller list, he explains, is that the paper decides how your book is classified. That’s pretty cut and dried when it comes to fiction, thrillers and chick lit, all of which are clearly fiction. But humor books are classified as nonfiction by the Times.

“So the Zombie Survival Guide is considered a nonfiction book,” he says. “Which, to me, suggests that zombies really exist.”

That might not seem like a big deal until you learn that it’s much easier for a nonfiction book to get onto the Times’ bestseller lists. If you sell 30,000 books in a week there’s a good chance you’ll be number one on the nonfiction list, but that’ll only get you so far — midway at best — on the fiction list. Fiction books simply sell in greater numbers, so the competition’s more intense.

“I think that Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk has its moments, but I don’t think it’s that funny,” he says matter-of-factly. “I didn’t mean for it to be.

Plus, because I pulled it out of my ass, goddamit,

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I want it to be listed as fiction.” Sedaris got his publisher to call the Times and demand that the book be listed as fiction. It was and Sedaris was number five on the fiction list during its first week of release. “I don’t feel let down, because this was a different category for me. I’ve never released a book in the fall before. James Patterson always puts out a new book in the fall and there are lots of thrillers and mysteries, so it’s a whole different crowd for me. I’m thrilled.”

As for his next book, well, he’s not sure. He’s still writing the occasional essays for which he’s known — five have appeared in the New Yorker since When You Are Engulfed in Flames came out — but can’t say what the future holds.

“It feels really good to try something new,” he says thoughtfully. “I don’t read interviews, I don’t read reviews. I don’t read anything about myself. For all I know, people don’t like [the new book]. I don’t know. But it feels good to have tried something else. It feels good to know that I don’t have to worry about a squirrel calling me on the phone saying ‘Thanks a LOT, asshole! I told you not to repeat the thing about chipmunks and you had to go tell everybody.’”

Our conversation grew a little more contemplative as we wrapped up. “One more joke. One more joke,” he pleads, brightening. “My publicist told me this one this morning: What’s the difference between an erection and a Camaro?” he asks, before answering in a stage whisper, “I don’t have a Camaro.” We both laugh hard at that one.

“I think I’m gonna try that one out tonight.” , An Evening with David Sedaris is Monday, Oct. 25, at 7:30 p.m. at the Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St. Visit omahaperformingarts.org.

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Unpopular Opinion Bill Maher gets real

by Leo Adam Biga

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“I’m proudest that I’ve somehow managed to remain on television for 18 years,” he says. “I mean, from the end of ‘Politically Incorrect’ to the start of this show there was only a six-month break. You would think someone who espouses as many unpopular opinions as I do, I mean just religion alone, would have been shown the door a long time ago instead of getting a star on the (Hollywood) Walk of Fame.

“So it’s pretty amazing to me, but that shows something good about America. When I started on ‘Politically Incorrect’ in 1993 all the critics said this show is never going to last because you can’t have a host who tells an opinion. Hosts were all playing out of the old Johnny Carson or Bob Hope playbook, where you just never let the audience really know your politics. You didn’t know if Johnny Carson voted for Nixon or Humphrey. You still don’t know who Jay Leno or David Letterman vote for.”

cerbic television host and political comic Bill Maher views the 60-70 stand-up gigs he does each year as opportunities to connect with the American gestalt. His Oct. 24 Omaha Music Hall show will be among them.

“When I go out into America I can really get a feel for what this country is all about. I especially love going to places I’ve never been before, and I don’t think I’ve ever played Omaha,” he said by phone from his CBS Television City studio office in L.A. “Then when I go back to Hollywood and do my show here I feel like, ‘Yeah, I’m not just sitting in a place that’s not really America.’ I do the work, I go out there and I see America, and I enjoy it more than anything.”

His topical late night HBO show “Real Time with Bill Maher” is in its bill maher eighth season. It’s among the few programs that neither talks down to its audience nor apologizes for its signature unabashed sarcasm. Before this show he enjoyed a decade-long run with “Politically Incorrect,” which began on Comedy Central and ended on ABC. Executives at ABC cancelled it after Maher and a guest made controversial remarks in the wake of 9/11. Unlike the network wonks that freaked, he says HBO’s suits take his incendiary humor and viewer reaction to it in stride.

“They’re like a Jewish mother.

They will let me know after the fact if I’ve caused them some consternation or pain. They’ll be like, ‘Aw, don’t worry about us, we had to handle 50,000 emails yesterday, it’s OK, we’ll be alright.’ Yeah, that sometimes happens, but to their great credit they don’t ever stop me.”

Considering his barbed comments on sensitive subjects, just staying on the air may be the greatest accomplishment of this self-described Libertarian who considers organized religion a neurological disorder.

Maher, who regards America as a declining empire with a dumb body politic, lets viewers know exactly where he and his guests stand.

“People, even if they don’t agree with you, as long as you entertain them and you’re honest about it and you’re not down-the-line doctrinaire, they respect that,” he says. “They can take it if they don’t agree with you.”

The edge “Real Time” maintains, he says, is the unfiltered, unapologetic way things get said.

“I think people feel like it’s more honest than anything else on TV. That we will give a very raw and different point of view. Admittedly, it’s my opinion and they may not agree with it, but I think they respect the fact it’s real.”

“Real Time” also fills an information niche, albeit a highly interpretive one.

“Part of it is we’re a live, news wrap-up show on Friday night,” Maher says. “I think the purpose we serve for a lot of people is they have busy lives, they don’t have a chance to be newshounds all week like we do. What I try to do is to make sure that anyone who hasn’t really gotten a chance to look at the paper that week will be caught up on most of the important things that happened if they watch the show. We will touch upon them in one way or the other, either in the monologue, in an interview, in the panel, in New Rules, or in the editorial at the end.”

At the end of the day then, what is Maher — comic, humorist, critic, commentator, pundit or talking head?

“Well, I guess we live in an age of hybrids, so there are times when I am any one of those things, but I always think of myself first as a comedian. That’s why I still go on the road, because that’s what I love, that’s what I know best, and that’s what I do best.” , For tickets to An Evening with Bill Maher, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m. at the Music Hall, 1804 Capitol Ave., call 1.800.745.3000 or visit ticketmaster.com.

theater cutture

fashion slave advertorial by niamh murphy

That Time of Year!

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nyone remember the Saturday Night Live sketch where Dana Carvey was playing Johnny Carson and he kept punctuating the conversation with “now that’s some weird, wild stuff.” Well that catch phrase lives on in Omaha, Nebraska.

Weird Wild Stuff is a great place to find clothing and costumes for Halloween or year-round for themed parties, ranging from the ’50s to Steve is wearing a vintage disco polyester the ’80s. The unique store, shirt and plaid polyester pants. Both located at 4905 Leavenworth, available for rental with a nominal deposit. has been family-owned Afro available for purchase for $20. Male symbol Amazing platform shoes available and operated since 1997. for purchase ($60) or rental ($30). Ashley is Current owner Leah Roberts wearing a vintage dress available for rental. purchased Weird Wild Pink go-go boots can either be rented or Stuff from her mother purchased (most styles $20 to rent and Ellie Hollister’s estate $38.99 to buy.) Accessories include $4.99 over year ago and earring, bracelet and headband combo. she’s been having a good time helping customers find just the right party apparel ever since.

Weird Wild Stuff carries a great vintage section for both men and women ranging from super cute dresses to suits. Since you can rent them, there is always a large selection in just the right size. Set yourself apart and have some fun wearing pearl snap shirts, vintage tees (the perfect way to pay homage to long-ago eras is to get yourself one of these!), new tye-dyes, skirts, legwarmers, coats and so much more.

Weird Wild Stuff has got you covered from your head to your toe! And you can bet your feet won’t be ignored when you have platform shoes with fish in them! Or maybe the sparkly, leopard, or zebra prints are more your style? Ladies feet are fabulous in a rainbow of colors. Go-go boots in most sizes are available for rental or purchase between $15 and $40.

Get your classic accessories and jewelry to show off your vintage threads. It’s time to use your imagination and have some fun! There are sweet deals on headbands, peace earrings and necklaces. Girls love guys that wear the Austin Powers’ style male symbol in gold, or a pimpin’ dollar sign necklace! Their huge selection of sterling silver rings at great prices has been a big seller, too. Check out their new unique scarves, gloves, hats, belts and new backpacks and sling backs for your complete, groovy look. You can even embellish your own creations with iron-on patches.

Weird Wild Stuff also sells vintage records, tapestries and posters of classic rock bands. There is a section of items for those 18 and older, including a large selection of tobacco pipes and parts, spice grinders, detox solutions, pokers, jars, glass cleaners, and a variety of herbal incenses, bead and hemp twine. Set the right “go-go” mood by loading up on incense sticks and cones.

For the young or young at heart, Weird Wild Stuff will make you feel groovy again!

Monday - Saturday 11-7pm Sunday 1-5pm (seasonal) 4905 Leavenworth • Omaha, NE 68106 (402) 551-7893

| THE READER |

Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

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Moving Tribute Fundraiser Fashion Show: A Benefit for Avery Latham

by Sarah Lorsung Tvrdik

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his Sunday, fashion lovers of all stripes are called to attend a benefit fashion show to raise money for the daughter of recently deceased Omahan, Jessica Latham. A longtime fashion supporter, Latham owned Bellwether Boutique, an Old Market shop that carried everything from vintage jessica latham clothing to couture gowns by hometown designers.

With Latham in mind, designer and event organizer Buf Reynolds felt it fitting that a benefit for the educational fund of Latham’s daughter would revolve around what seemed to bring her the most joy: fashion.

“Jessica pushed a lot of designers to get out there,” says Reynolds. “She was a driving force and there were not a lot of options for local designers to showcase their work before she came around.”

And Reynolds wasn’t the only designer who felt Latham’s impact, “[Jessica] had a big hand in developing Omaha’s fashion scene,” Autopilot Art designer Alexia Thiele says. “She was hands-on with the shows, carried goods in the store and also made sure to mention designers not only to her customers but to local media when she was interviewed.”

Fundraiser Fashion Show: A Benefit for Avery Latham will take place at Omaha’s Nomad Lounge, which is contributing to and helping coordinate the event. Beginning at 7 p.m., at-

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| THE READER |

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tendees can sip cocktails while participating in a silent auction of original clothing, photography and art, among other goods donated to the cause by individuals whose lives Latham touched.

Many of the donated photographs were taken

by Minorwhite Studios’ Chris Machian during past Omaha Fashion Weeks and were on display in Bellwether Boutique. Shoppers could purchase the locally designed clothing displayed in the photos and the photos themselves.

At 8 p.m. the fashion show will begin, which will showcase the works of 12 local designers.

They include Fella, Dale Heise, Itchy

by Claire Landolt, Spano Lang, Radioactive Heart by Jennie Mason, Ellene McClay, Jennifer Pool, Buf Reynolds, Dan Richters, Jane Round, Autopilot Art by Alexia Thiele and Just Because by Kate Walz. Many of the designers and models worked with Jessica, participating in everything from photo shoots to the fashion shows she often organized in her shop.

With the enormous impact she made on fashion lovers young and old, Latham’s legacy will live in Omaha for a long time. “What [Jessica] did was help build a fashion community in Omaha,” says Thiele.

“She was able to bring designers together like no one else. That was her greatest impact.” , Fundraiser Fashion Show: A Benefit for Avery Latham is Sunday, Oct. 24, 7-10 p.m. at Nomad Lounge, 1013 Jones St. Suggested donation of $5 at the door with all proceeds going directly to the Avery Latham College Fund. Contributions may also be sent to American National Bank, 1314 Galvin Rd., Bellevue, NE 68005.

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a thousand clowns

by Warren Francke

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en Adams, 12, shows Nick Zadina, who is 12 at heart but plays Ben’s uncle in A Thousand Clowns, the proper placement of his fingers on a ukulele. And it’s quite in character for the youngster to seem more serious than the elder.

As director Amy Lane puts it, the nephew is the list-maker, his uncle the laugh-maker. After all, he quit work and looks at life as a comedy populated by the title’s clowns.

On the sidelines during rehearsal in the Howard Drew Theatre at the Omaha Community Playhouse, with opening night a week and a few days away, Tim Abou-Nasr, often a lead player, helps Zadina and Adams master the little uke so they can play, “Yes sir, that’s my baby.”

If that’s a blast from the past, it’s intentional.

“We’re embracing the ’60s,” Lane says, the decade when Herb Gardner’s comedy became a Broadway and film favorite. The play opens with the recorded voice of Chuckles the Chipmunk imploring the kiddies to be good little chipmunkies.

“I hate that recording,” Ben mutters in offstage conversation. “Really?” Nick wonders.

“No,” Ben replies. “I’m just trying to stay in character.”

Although supported by such seasoned talents as Rob Baker, as born-to-be-a-kid show host named Chuckles, and Randy Vest in his first time back at the Playhouse in years, the heart and soul of the story centers on Zadina as Murray and Adams as his nephew named Nick.

Lane sees Murray as a Don Quixote, not trying to save the world so much as his nephew from the tragedy of workaday life. He calls his quitting work “running away to the circus,” and has great fun shouting out the window and laughing it up.

Trouble begins when his nephew begins sharing unk’s ideas in school, raising the eyebrows of a social worker (Trish Lilyhorn) and psychologist (David Weisser) who soon snoop on the lad’s upbringing by the fun-loving uncle.

Thus Uncle Murray is confronted with a choice: curb his carefree enthusiasm, get a job and rejoin “the nice dead people” or risk losing custody of his nephew.

Lane has directed at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO colleague Steve Williams designed her current set), Creighton University and the Playhouse, among other venues, but her primary experience with youngsters has involved raising her own 6-year-old. She worked at the Emmy Gifford, doing shows for kids, but not with them in the cast. So it looked like a new challenge working with 12-year-old Ben. But Ben turned out to be “fantastic,” with a presence that belies his pre-teen years.

That may be because he stepped on the Playhouse stage at age 6 as the “boy in the street” in A Christmas Carol.

He appeared at that happy moment when a redeemed Scrooge discovers that it’s not too late to make amends, and gives the boy coins to buy the biggest turkey for the Cratchit family.

“What,” Ben’s character says to the delight of a giddy Ebenezer, “the one as big as me?”

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Send In The Clowns A Thousand Clowns opens at the Playhouse

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Now a seventh grader, he’s one of several Adams siblings who’ve appeared on stage. His older brother Zach followed him to the Playhouse and brother Eric has a role in a Los Angeles play dealing with the anti-gay marriage action in California.

He seems at ease advising the adult Zadina on where to finger the frets. Zadina says, “I dabbled in guitar,” but Adams says he “plays” guitar.

Playing the ukulele “is a little different, but I’m catching on.”

Abou-Nasr, their coach better known for his lead roles in Playhouse musicals, encouraged Zadina observing, “It might be easier for you. You have longer fingers.”

So he strummed a few chords and sang, “Yes sir, that’s my baby, no sir, don’t mean maybe … that’s my baby now-ow.” , A Thousand Clowns runs Oct. 22-Nov. 21 in the Howard Drew Theatre at the Omaha Community Playhouse, Thurs.-Sat. 7:30 p.m. and Sun. 2 p.m.

Tickets are $35, $21 for students. Call 553.0800 or visit omahaplayhouse.org.

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n In a season with such unprovocative titles as The Odd Couple, Nunsense and Steel Magnolias running consecutively at the Omaha Community Playhouse, here comes a striking contrast: Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the OCP’s Howard Drew Theatre, its new “21 and Over” program offers a free reading of Peter Nachtrieb’s Boom, involving a global catastrophe that occurs after a graduate student’s online personal ad lures a mysterious journalism student to a research lab.

And that’s just the first of a series of “21st century plays for a 21st century audience,” as conceptualized by the theater’s new resident director, Amy Lane. It continues with works by Theresa Rebeck, Sarah Ruhl (yes, her The Vibrator Play) and concludes next June with Tracy Letts’ award-winning August: Osage County. Some of the plays will be partly staged with blocking, etc.

It’s the latest effort to meet the Playhouse challenge of striking a balance between the conventional requests of longtime season members who call for the old chestnuts and the bolder desires of playgoers whose tastes are more likely to be met by Blue Barn or SkullDuggery. That’s the little outfit, now seeking a new location while holding auditions for such titles as Working and F***ing … the one identified with “Expletive” replacing the effing in the Sunday daily. We settle for ellipsis but prefer Shakespeare’s “the beast with two backs.”

Meanwhile, you can read about Amy Lane’s direction of the more traditionally delightful A Thousand Clowns at left. n The teaser last week about Manya Nogg’s hope of paying actors to perform her Theater to Go “EduTainment” gigs promised more details. For starters, you can contact her at writeitrightmn@juno.com or call 397.8887. I won’t mention her London office number since the work is more likely to be local.

They do interactive mystery theater shows at Ricks Café Boatyard, a game show and what-have-you, but the “Edu” pieces are intended to be humorous and informative talks for meetings and the like. n If you find Monday too far off for something 21st century, try Saturday’s one-night only offering, Aetherplough presents The Epicene Furies, led

by Katie F-S, in com(e.)passion. We’re told it’s a “poetic performance” and that Katie F-S “pushes all the right buttons” in dealing with the hot one of abortion. It’s at 8 p.m., Oct. 23, at The New BLK, 1213 Jones St. A $10 donation is suggested.

That’s more suggestive than the Playhouse series reported earlier. They only mention that donations are “acceptable” for the free readings.

— Warren Francke Cold Cream looks at theater in the metro area. Email information to coldcream@thereader.com.

| THE READER |

Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

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OpeningS

CHADRON STATE COLLEGE, 1000 Main St., Chadron, NE, csc. edu. ALUMNI GROUP SHOW: Opens Oct. 22-Nov. 19.

GOVERNOR’S RESIDENCE EXHIBITION, 1425 H St., Lincoln, nebraskaartscouncil.org. NEW WORK: Trish Place, opens Oct. 27-Nov. 29.

JOSLYN ART MUSEUM, 2200 Dodge St., 342.3300, joslyn.org.

COLLEGE NIGHT: A free evening of art and music, opens Oct. 22, 7 p.m.

KIMMEL HARDING NELSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 801 3rd Corso, Nebraska City, 874.9600, khncenterforthearts.org. INTO THE ASHES: Marlene Mueller, opens Oct. 25-Dec. 16, reception Nov. 4, 4:30 p.m.

W. DALE CLARK LIBRARY, 215 S. 15th St.. NEW WORK: Connie Christian, through Oct. 30, reception Oct. 22, 4 p.m.

ONGOING

9 MUSES STUDIO, 2713 N 48th St., Lincoln. NEW WORK Comic book artist Justin Lewis, through Oct. 31.

A TO Z PRINTING, 8320 Cody Dr., Lincoln, 477.0815, atozprint. com. TIS THE GIFT TO BE SIMPLE, TIS THE GIFT TO BE FREE: Colleen Eubanks, through Oct. 31.

ARTISTS’ COOPERATIVE GALLERY, 405 S. 11th St., artistscoopgallery.com. NEW WORK: Group show, through Oct. 31.

BEMIS CENTER, 724 S. 12th St., 341.7130, bemiscenter.org.

12TH ANNUAL ART AUCTION & EXHIBITIONS: Through Nov. 8.

BENSON GRIND, 6107 Maple St., octopusesgarden.org. HALLOWEEN II: Group show, through Oct. 31.

BLUE POMEGRANATE GALLERY, 6570 Maple St., 502.9901, bluepom.com. ARTISTS HELPING ARTISTS PRESENTS BALANCE: Group show, through Oct. 31.

CAFEINO’S BAKERY CAFE, 3424 W Broadway, Council Bluffs, 712.256.9888. NEW WORK: Virginia Ocken, through Oct. 31.

CATHEDRAL CULTURAL CENTER, 3900 Webster St., 551.4888, cathedralartsproject.org. FISHES AND MEN: New work by Leslie Bruning, through Nov. 19.

THE CENTER, 714 S. Main St., Council Bluffs, 712.309.0085., thecbcenter.org. NEW WORK: Bluffs Arts Council Photo Contest, through Oct. 31.

DURHAM WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM, 801 S. 10th St., 444.5071, durhammuseum.org. 100 YARDS OF GLORY: Omaha’s football history, through Jan. 2, 2011. DIG IT! THE SECRETS OF SOIL: Through Dec. 26.

EISENTRAGER-HOWARD GALLERY, Richards Hall, Stadium Drive and T, Lincoln, 472.5025, unl.edu/art/facilities_eisentrager-howard.shtml. BINARY FICTION: Digital weaving in 2010, through Oct. 29.

ELDER GALLERY, 51st and Huntington, Nebraska Wesleyan University, nebrwesleyan.edu. AMERICAN TAPESTRY BIENNIAL: Through Nov. 15.

FLORENCE MILL ARTLOFT, 9102 N. 30th St., 551.1233, historicflorence.org/home.php. WATER WORKS: New work by Matthew Farley, Through Oct. 31.

FRED SIMON GALLERY, Burlington Building, 1004 Farnam St., nebraskaartscouncil.org. NEW WORK: Christina Narwicz, through Nov. 5.

GALLERY 9, 124 S 9th St., Lincoln, 477.2822, gallerynine.com.

UNRAVELING: New work by Rachel Smith. NEW WORK: Stephen Beal. Both shows through Oct. 31.

GALLERY 616, 616 S. 11th St., 214.3061. FALL REFLECTIONS: Shelly Bartek. Through Nov. 6.

GREAT PLAINS ART MUSEUM, 1155 Q St., Hewit Plc., Lincoln, 472.0599, unl.edu/plains/gallery/gallery.shtml. PLAINS ARTISTS JURIED EXHIBIT: Through Nov. 28.

HAYDON CENTER, 335 N. 8th St., Lincoln, 475.5421, haydonartcenter.org. STITCH: Curated by Jennifer Graham and Tina Koeppe, through Nov. 13, reception Nov. 5, 6 p.m.

HOT SHOPS ARTS CENTER, 1301 Nicholas St., 342.6452, hotshopsartcenter.com. TEXTILES, GLASS, CLAY, WOOD AND METAL: THE INTERFACE: Curated by Jay Rich. DR. KELLEY’S CABINET OF CURIOSITIES: Group Show. FOOT AND BEVERAGE: Sara Sumnick-Wamsat and Kalle Wamsat. All shows through Oct. 30.

INTERNATIONAL QUILT STUDY CENTER AND MUSEUM, 1523 N. 33rd St., Lincoln, 472.7232, quiltstudy.org. SOUTH ASIAN SEAMS: Quilts from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, through Nov. 7. CHILDHOOD TREASURES: Doll quilts from the Ghormley Collection, through Dec. 12.

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Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER, 333 S. 132nd St., 572.8486, jccomaha.org. GROUP SHOW: Yachad group, through Oct. 31, reception Oct. 31, 11 a.m.

JOSLYN ART MUSEUM, 2200 Dodge St., 342.3300, joslyn.org.

BEYOND REALISM: THE WORKS OF KENT BELLOWS 19702005: Through Jan. 16. SEASONS OF JOY: Currier and Ives Holiday Prints from the ConAgra Collection, through Jan. 23.

GOLDEN KITE, GOLDEN DREAMS: The SCBWI Awards, through Jan. 16.

KENT BELLOWS STUDIO, 3303 Leavenworth St., 505.7161, kentbellows.org. MENTOR EXHIBITION: Through Dec. 4.

KIECHEL FINE ART, 5733 S. 34th St., Lincoln, 420.9553, kiechelart.com. SCENES FROM AN AMERICAN LIFE: John Steuart Curry, through Nov. 15.

LAURITZEN GARDENS, 100 Bancroft St., 346.4002, omahabotanicalgardens.org. FALL CHRYSANTEMUM SHOW: Through Nov. 21.

THE LICHEN, 2810 N. 48th St., Lincoln, thelichen.com. FORCED PORGRESS: New work by Samuel B. Rapien, through Oct. 31.

LUX CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 48th and Baldwin, Lincoln, 434.2787, luxcenter.org. A PRESSING NEED TO CREATE: An exhibition of women’s prints, through Nov. 2. UNSETTLED: New work by Xia Gao, through Oct. 30. SECRETS FROM THE STOCKYARD: Pottery by Bernadette Curran, through Nov. 27.

METRO COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Elkhorn Valley Campus, 204th and Dodge, Gallery of Art and Design. MOTHERS, MERCHANTS AND MAMBOS: Hatian art, through Nov. 9, gallery talk Oct. 28.

MODERN ARTS MIDWEST, 800 P St., Lincoln, modernartsmidwest.com. TRANSFORMED TRADITIONS IN IKAT: Group show.

NEW WORK: Michael James. Both through Oct. 30.

MUSEUM OF NEBRASKA ART (MONA), 2401 Central Ave., Kearney, monet.unk.edu/mona. POSTMASTER INTERACTIVE GALLERY: Group show, through Jan. 10, 2011. NEBRASKA’S HERITAGE: Group show, through Nov. 14. THE ANIMAL KINGDOM: Through Jun. 5, 2011. MCKENNEY AND HALL’S HISTORY OF THE INDIAN TRIBES OF NORTH AMERICA: Lithographs, through Dec. 5. SATURDAY EVENING POST: Holiday images, through Jan. 10. SOUTHERN ICE: Experiencing Antarctica through Photography, Narration and Music, opens Oct. 13. NEBRASKA NOW: Renee A. Ledesma, oepns Through Jan. 2.

THE NEW BLK, 1213 Jones St., 403.5619, thenewblk.com. RESPECTACLE: Group show, through Oct. 31.

NOYES GALLERY, 119 S. 9th St., Lincoln, 486.3866, noyesartgallery.com. NEW WORK: Group show. NEW WORK: Giv Neal, Julia Noyes, Tina Mileriel. Both shows through Oct. 31.

OLD MARKET ARTISTS, 1034 Howard St., Lower Level of Old Market Passageway, oldmarketartists.com. ROCK & ROLL: New work by Frank Costanzo, through Oct. 31.

PASSAGEWAY GALLERY, 417 South 11th St, passagewaygallery.com. NEW WORK: Dan Waltz, through Oct. 31.

POLYESTER GALLERY, 1618 Harney St., 345.0231, polyestergallery.com. IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK: Jeremy Parker.

ARCHITECTURE IN GENERAL IS PRETENTIOUS: New work

by Jeremy Parker. STATIC RESOLUTION: BETWEEN THE ACTUAL: Video installation by Matt Orand & Matt Walker. All shows through May 31.

PROJECT ROOM, 1410 and 1416 O St., Suite #8, Lincoln, 617.8365, projectroom.us. DAWN TO DUSK: Ann Von Mertens, through Oct. 31.

RNG GALLERY, 1915 Leavenworth St., 214.3061. THE TATOOIST’S ART: Dominic Helms. Through Nov. 14.

SCREEN INK, 416 S. 16th St., Lincoln, screenink.com. THE RABBIT HEARTED GIRL: Meghan Stratman, through Oct. 31.

SHELDON ART GALLERY, 12th and R, UNL, Lincoln, sheldonartgallery.org. BETTER HALF, BETTER TWELFTH: Women artists in the collection, through Apr. 1, 2011. ORLAN & MIND OVER MATTER: Through Jan. 30, lecture and demonstration by ORLAN Nov. 2, 5:30 p.m. NEW MATERIAL WORD: RETHREADING TECHNOLOGY: Through Jan. 2.

SILVER OF OZ, 6115 Maple St., 558.1307, silverofoz.com. BENEFIT ART SHOW: Featuring the work of gallery manager Azeret to benefit the Leukemia & Kymphoma Society, through Oct. 31.

TAZZA DI CAFFE, 928 Valley View Drive, Council Bluffs, 712.256.9005. NEW WORK: Canteen Slim, through Oct. 31.

TISH’S, 1207 35th Ave., Council Bluffs, 712.323.5456. NEW WORK: Linda Herman, through Oct. 31.

TUGBOAT GALLERY, Parish Prjoect, 1416 O St., Lincoln, tugboatgallery.com. LILLIAN ELLIOTT AWARD WINNERS: Frances Dorsey, Marcie Miller Gross, Soonran Youn, through Oct. 31.

| THE READER | art/theater listings

ROBERT WRIGLEY, Callen Conference Center, Nebraska Wesleyan, 50th & Huntington Ave., Lincoln, nebrwesleyan.edu, 6 p.m. Part of Nebraska Wesleyan’s Visiting Writers Series.

JOHN MORGAN, Funny Bone, Village Pointe, 17305 Davenport St., funnnyboneomaha.com, 493.8036, 7:30 p.m.

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check event listings online!

UNL COOPER GALLERY, 14th & U, Lincoln. A TURNING POINT; NAVAJO WEAVING IN THE LATE 20TH CENTURY: Explores changing artistic perceptions held by weavers, collectors and others, through Nov. 30.

UNL HILLESTAD TEXTILES GALLERY, 35th and Holdrege, 2nd Floor, Home Economics Bldg., Lincoln. textilegallery.unl.edu.

CELEBRATION OF YOUTH XVII: ON THE MOVE: Through Oct. 29, reception Oct. 30, 5:30 p.m.

UNO ART GALLERY, Weber Fine Arts Bldg., 6001 Dodge St., 554.2796. CARVED BOARD CLAMP RESIST: Curated by Jay Rich. SEQUENCED FIBERS: Curated by Bonnie O’Connell. Both through Oct. 28.

WORKSPACE GALLERY, Sawmill Building, 440 N. 8th St., Lincoln, sites.google.com/site/workspacegallery. STILL FLIGHT: New work by Christa Kreeger Bowden, through Nov. 4.

theater opening

21 & OVER: BOOM, Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St., 553.0800, omahaplayhouse.com. Opens Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m., FREE. A THOUSAND CLOWNS, Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St., 553.0800, omahaplayhouse.com. Opens Oct. 22-Nov. 21, Thu.-Sat., 7:30 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m., $35, $21/students.

COM(E).PASSION, aetherplough, The New BLK, 1213 Jones St., thenewblk.com, aetherplough.com. Opens Oct. 23, 8 p.m., $10.

GO, DOG. GO!, Rose Theater, 2001 Farnam St., 345.4849, rosetheater.org. Opens Oct. 22-Nov. 7, various showtimes, $16.

MURDER MYSTERY, Florentine Players, Florentine City Hall Building, 29th & State St., florentineplayers.com.

Opens. Oct. 22-23, 7:30 p.m., $15/dinner and show, $10/show.

OKLAHOMA!, Nebraska Wesleyan, McDonald Theatre, 51st and Huntington, 465.2384, nebraskawesleyan.edu.

Opens Oct. 21-23, 28-30, 7:30 p.m., Oct. 24, 31, 2 p.m., $15, $10/seniors, $7.50/students.

ongoing

SHELTERSKELTER XV, Shelterbelt Theatre, 3225 California St, 341.2757, shelterbelt.org. Through Oct. 31, Thu.Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 6 p.m., $15, $12/students & seniors.

UNNECESSARY FARCE, Lofte Community Theatre, 15841 Manley Road, Manley, 402.234.2553, lofte.com. Through Oct. 31, Thurs.-Sat., 7:30 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m., $16.

UNWRAP YOUR CANDY, Skullduggery Productions, 222 S. 19th St., 317.7893. Through Oct. 24, Thu.-Sat., 7:30 p.m., Sun., 6 p.m., $15.

WEST SIDE STORY, Orpheum Theater, 409 S. 16th St., 345.0606, omahaperformingarts.org. Through Oct. 24, Tue.-Wed., 7:30 p.m., Thu., 11 a.m. & 7:30 p.m., Fri., 8 p.m., Sat., 2 p.m. & 8 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m., $30-$80.

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AS THE WORM TURNS, The Bookworm, 87th and Pacific, 6:30 p.m., 392.2877, bookwormomaha.com. Space is limited, so call to reserve your place. (3rd Thursday.)

CAPITOL STEPS, Lied Center, 301 N 12th St., Lincoln, liedcenter.org, 7:30 p.m., $30-$40/adults, $15-$20/students.

POETRY IN MOTION, Love’s Jazz & Art Center, 2510 N. 24th St., 6:30-8 p.m., $4, for membership info call 502.5315. Hosted by Michelle Troxclair. (3rd Thurs.)

REYNOLDS SERIES, University of Nebraska at Kearney, FA Choral Room, unk.edu, 8 p.m. Featuring Lannan Fellow Jon Davis.

HAUNTED VICTORIAN GHOST WALK, Plattsmouth Conservancy, 437 Main St., Plattsmouth, plattsmouthconservancy.org, 7:30 p.m., $20.

NO NAME READING SERIES, SUR tango bar et cafe, 1228 P St., Lincoln, 4 p.m., 472.0666, FREE. Featuring Sarah Chavez and Liz McClurg.

JOHN MORGAN, Funny Bone, Village Pointe, 17305 Davenport St., funnnyboneomaha.com, 493.8036, 7:30 p.m., 9:45 p.m.

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HAUNTED VICTORIAN GHOST WALK, Plattsmouth Conservancy, 437 Main St., Plattsmouth, plattsmouthconservancy.org, 7:30 p.m., $20.

SANDRA BRANNAN, The Bookworm, 87th and Pacific, 392.2877, bookwormomaha.com, 1 p.m.

X POETRY COMMUNITY OPEN MIC, Washington Library, 2868 Ames Ave., 659.8353, 4 p.m., FREE, ywright08@yahoo.com, productoftha88@yahoo.com, . (2nd and 4th Sat.) JOHN MORGAN, Funny Bone, Village Pointe, 17305 Davenport St., funnnyboneomaha.com, 493.8036, 7 p.m, 9:30 p.m.

sunday 24

ARCAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA LECTURE SERIES, Room 15, Richards Hall, Stadium Drive, University of NebraskaLincoln, unl.edu, 2 p.m. Kevin Crisman.

MICHAEL TAN CRETI, The Bookworm, 87th and Pacific, 392.2877, bookwormomaha.com, 1 p.m.

POETRY NIGHT, 357 Club, 2404 Ames Ave., 6 p.m., poetry, prose. (Every Sun.) BILL MAHER, Omaha Music Hall, 1804 Capitol Ave., 444.3353, 8 p.m., $42-$62.

JOHN MORGAN, Funny Bone, Village Pointe, 17305 Davenport St., funnnyboneomaha.com, 493.8036, 7 p.m.

monday 25

DAVID SEDARIS, Holland Center, 1200 Douglas St., omahaperformingarts.org, 7:30 p.m., $39-$49.

DUFFY’S COMEDY WORKSHOP, 1412 O St., Lincoln, 474.3543, myspace.com/duffystavern, 9 p.m.

POETRY AT THE MOON, Crescent Moon Coffee, SE Corner of 8th & P St., Lower Level, Lincoln, crescentmoon@inebraska. com, 7 p.m. Open mic (every Mon.) THE WORLD WAR II HISTORY BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP, The Bookworm, 87th and Pacific, 22 p.m., 392.2877, bookwormomaha.com. Discussing WWII History. (4th Monday.)

tuesday 26

CONDOLEEZA RICE, The Bookworm, 87th and Pacific, 392.2877, bookwormomaha.com, 2 p.m.

SHOOT YOUR MOUTH OFF, The Hideout, 320 S. 72nd St., 9 p.m. sign-up, 9:30 start, 504.4434, myspace.com/shootyourmouthoff, spoken word, comedy, (every Tues.)

Wednesday 27

ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC FOR MUSICIANS & POETS, Meadowlark Coffee & Espresso, 1624 S. St., Lincoln, 8 p.m., 477.2007. Hosted by Spencer. (every Wed.) CREATIVITY: AN OPEN INTERVIEW WITH JOAN ACOCELLA, KANEKO, 1111 Jones St., 341.3800, thekaneko.org, 7:30 p.m., $25, $18/seniors, $10/students.

MIDWEST POETRY VIBE, KENO Kings/Royal Crown Lounge, 6553 Ames Ave., 9 p.m., poetry, (Every Wed.) THE NEBRASKA AUTHORS READING CLUB, The Bookworm, 87th and Pacific, 6:30 p.m., 392.2877, bookwormomaha.com. (4th Wednesday.)

NECC VISITING WRITERS SERIES, Hawk’s Landing, Northeast Community College Campus, Norfolk, 7 p.m., FREE. Daryl Farmer, Jim Reese.

PEOPLE’S FILM FESTIVAL: THE BEAUTIFUL TRUTH, McFoster’s Natural Kind Cafe, 38th and Farnam, 7 p.m., FREE. A cross-country road trip to investigate The Gerson Therapy. (every Wed.) ZANE LAMPREY SINGS THE BOOZE, Horseshoe Casino, 2701 23rd Ave., Council Bluffs, horseshoecouncilbluffs. com, 712.323.2500, 8 p.m., $20.

bellows BEYOND REALISM: The Works of Kent Bellows 1970-2005 THROUGH JANUARY 16

IMAGE: Kent Bellows, Untitled Woman, 1999, pencil and charcoal on paper, Lent by Kathleen and Ross Bellinghiere Photographic image of work courtesy Pat Drickey/Stonehouse Publishing.

MAJOR SPONSOR:

CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS: Kathy and Ross Bellinghiere, Douglas County, Gilbert M. and Martha H. Hitchcock Foundation, and Jane and Hugh Hunt

SUPPORTING SPONSORS: Robert Geisler, Jane Potter and Dan Schafer, and Eve and Fred Simon

MEDIA SPONSOR:

www.joslyn.org | (402) 342-3300 | 2200 Dodge St. | Omaha, NE

| THE READER |

OCT. 21 - 27 , 2010

29

30

OCT. 21 - 27 , 2010

| THE READER |

p r o f i l e s ,

m u s i c

n e w s ,

l a z y - i ,

music h o o d o o

Firebird is the Word Spicy clarinet joins Omaha Symphony for ‘The Firebird’

by Patricia Sindelar

R

also had us sing these old romantic Latin songs, about lost love and things like that. When I was singing, everyone would say, ‘Oh, isn’t that cute!’

But I was mortified. No little boy wants to sing about lost love. I was completely embarrassed.

So I picked up an instrument. I needed something to play so I wouldn’t have to sing. I knew I needed a wind instrument.”

At 11 Morales entered Escuela Libre de Musica, a San Juan public school with heavy music curriculum, which all of his siblings attended.

Morales speaks highly of his school, crediting a

icardo Morales grew up in Puerto Rico, in what can only be described as a musical family. Morales is now a world-renowned clarinet player, and his five siblings are accomplished musicians, but the feisty, ricardo morales bubbly Morales didn’t always know things would turn out this way.

“I thought I would play bongos in a salsa band or something,” Morales says in a telephone interview from New York. Morales, now the principal clarinetist for the Philadelphia Orchestra, was in New York City to play a concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, and to visit one of his brothers. At press time he’d just been offered a position as principal clarinet position with the New York Philharmonic It was one of Morales’s older brothers who turned a young Ricardo on to chamber music.

“He kept me prisoner in his room and played Brahams and Mozart, and he would whack me in the head if I tried to escape,” Morales says, laughing at the memory. “I would cry when he hit me and our mother would come running like, ‘What are you doing to him?’ And my brother would say, ‘We have a little music fan on our hands.

He’s crying because he’s so moved by the music.’”

Eventually, Morales had to choose an instrument. His decision wasn’t based on anything technical, but rather a desire to get out of singing.

“It’s so childish, the way I went about it. My father always had our family sing Christmas carols, and he

&

m o r e

backbeat large part of his success to his education and the teachers who gave him chances to audition.

“Sometimes dreams come true,” he says.

“But there’s a great deal behind it. It’s never just an isolated incident. I always say success is part family upbringing and support, part faculty, part practice and part access to people who can give you a chance. Those things always work in concert, and luck comes to the prepared. Being surrounded by people who knew where to get you access made all the difference.”

Not only did Morales come from a musical family, he married into one.

His wife and her sister both play with the Philadelphia Orchestra. When a guest cellist of the orchestra was one of Morales’s brothers, it seemed the family dominated the scene.

“At one point in Philadelphia, there were four Moraleses on stage,” he says with a chuckle, counting his sister-inlaw as a Morales.

One of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s guest conductors has been Omaha Symphony’s Maestro Thomas Wilkins.

Wilkins and Morales began talking and eventually arranged for Morales to join the Omaha Symphony. Wilkins could not be more pleased about his guest clarinetist.

“I’ve known Ricardo for four or five years,” he says. “He is, in my opinion, the best orchestral clarinetist in the country, if not the world. And I say that without any reservation whatsoever. He’s a phenomenal talent, and he’s extremely versatile. Depending on the style of the music that we’re doing, he adapts on the spot.”

Wilkins, with Morales’ input, worked on a lineup that continued on page 32 y

music

n Omaha Performing Arts’ 1200 Club at the Holland Center returns Nov. 3 with singer-songwriter/storyteller Jeff Daniels.

In 2007 Daniels was the first performer to grace the stage at the cozy, intimate series, where he played to a sold-out crowd in the Suzanne and Walter Scott Recital Hall. I interviewed Daniels ahead of that performance and he remains among the most sincere, genuine artists I’ve spoken with.

Many know Daniels best for his eclectic acting career: he’s done everything from the tense and touching — The Squid and the Whale, Terms of Endearment — to the absurd — Space Chimps, Dumb and Dumber (And who could forget Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael? Actually, I think everyone but me.) But don’t confuse him with the Paris Hiltons of the iTunes catalogue, or any misplaced music career wannabes. Daniels has been playing and singing since the ’70s, and his musical talent is as genuine as he is. He uses the musical compartment of his career to help fund The Purple Rose Theatre, an equity theater he started in his tiny hometown of Chelsea, Mich.

“It’s all me. I write it, I perform it, I direct it, I cut it and I edit it. I change it on the fly,” Daniels says of his music. “There’s a wonderful freedom that comes with being creative on your own and I like that a lot.”

Look for an all-new interview with Daniels in next week’s Reader.

Just after he kick-starts the series, the 1200 Club will host the Chicago Blues Reunion Nov. 4, and Cherry Poppin’ Daddies Nov. 5. For the full lineup visit omahaperformingarts.org. n Lincoln’s live electronica quartet, Somasphere, released a full-length album this month. Sine Language is available for free download at somasphere.bandcamp.com. n Wednesday, Oct. 13, many of us were glued to the news as the notorious 33 Chilean miners who’d been trapped 2,000 feet below the surface for 69 days were rescued, one by one. The Pixies were performing that night in Santiago. As spellbound and inspired by the story as the rest of the globe, the band played its longest set ever in support of the miraculous liberation: 33 songs for 33 miners. “We found out five minutes before we went on stage that all of the miners had safely reached the surface,” says Black Francis, in a press release.

“This was definitely one of the most meaningful shows we’ve ever played.” Muy bueno.

— Sarah Wengert Backbeat takes you behind the scenes of the local music scene.

Send tips, comments and questions to backbeat@thereader.com

| THE READER |

Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

31

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style music p r o f i l e s ,

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m u s i c

| THE READER |

music

will not only take the audience on a complete roller coaster, but also flaunt Moralesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to play fast and flexibly. The Omaha Symphony will open with Graeme Koehneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Unchained Melody,â&#x20AC;? a piece roughly based on the old Righteous Brotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tune. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think this is music that ought to be heard,â&#x20AC;?

Wilkins says simply. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also sort of in your face, but in front of your face, too. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s short enough that it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wear you out. If you have listened to rock â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; roll all your life and someone drags you to the symphony, it will blow your mind.â&#x20AC;?

Morales will then join the Omaha Symphony for Aaron Coplandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Clarinet Concerto,â&#x20AC;? which was originally written for Benny Goodman. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At the very beginning, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Unchained Melody,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; very high-powered and energetic,â&#x20AC;? Wilkins says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It makes Copland seems like itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a reaction to the first piece.â&#x20AC;?

Morales will stick around for Claude Debussyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Première Rhapsodie.â&#x20AC;?

n e w s

a n d

m o r e

â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have to have something to go with Copland,â&#x20AC;? Wilkins says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love the contrast with the Debussy. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s serendipity that it happens to show off his (Moralesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;) versatility. It reveals his immaculate sense of control. Some of the stuff is very sensitive playing and very high. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just about being able to play fast.â&#x20AC;?

The Omaha Symphony opens the second half with Debussyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,â&#x20AC;? and closes the show with Igor Stravinskyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s classic ballet piece, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Firebird Suite.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The whole program is really closer to dance to anything else,â&#x20AC;? Wilkins says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a common denominator, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rhythm and dance, with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Firebirdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; being the famous ballet music of Stravinsky, as well as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Afternoon of a Faun,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and even including the opening piece.â&#x20AC;? , The Omaha Symphony Presents The Firebird, Oct. 22 and 23, at 8 p.m. at the Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St. Tickets are $15-$75, available by calling 345.0606 or visiting omahasymphony.org.

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| THE READER |

OCT. 21 - 27 , 2010

33

music lazy-i

Lazy-i is a weekly column by long-time Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on the Omaha music scene. Check out Tim’s daily music news updates at his website, lazy-i.com, or email him at lazy-i@ thereader.com.

profiles, music news, lazy-i, hoodoo & more ... profiles, music news, lazy-i, hoodoo & more

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34

Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

| THE READER |

music - lazy i

by Tim McMahan

s 2010 starts to wind down a new crop of bands begins to rise up to carry on Omaha’s reputation as one of the country’s best music scenes.

There are some of you who, upon reading the above statement, quietly, cynically, laughed and thought (with a wry smile in your subconscious minds), “Best music scenes in the country? Tim, really. We haven’t heard that kind of talk in eight or nine years, and even then Omaha was only known by the tiny handful of music aficionados who give two shits about indie music.”

True, true. But even now, eight or nine or how many years later, when I interview a nationally known band that’s traipsing through Omaha on tour and ask (as I ask all of them) what they know about Omaha or Nebraska, they all say the same thing: “I’ve heard Nebraska has something special going on music-wise. Saddle Creek Records, right?” And so on. People remember. And the ones who knew, who were influenced by the city’s crown jewel bands, still hold a flame for Omaha, regardless of whether that candle blew out years ago.

Will we ever relive those golden years when The New York Times, SPIN and the BBC were fumbling over each other trying to figure out what was in the water that made Nebraska songwriters so special? I am here to say, yes, it could happen again. In fact, it probably will. And when it does, it will start (again) with those same legacy acts — Cursive and Bright Eyes (look for new albums by both in the near future) and maybe even The Faint (even though they seem to have given up making new music, a pity) — who will reinvent themselves in this new decade as bands that still have something important and catchy to say.

But it can’t stop there; it has to continue with a new crop of Omaha and Lincoln bands. It was just a few years ago that hope came in the form of what I idiotically called Omaha’s “Next Wave,” most of which recorded for Slumber Party Records — Capgun Coup (now with Team Love); the amazing Bear Country; the brash, bratty Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship; cartoon kids Talking Mountain; Thunder Power; ultra-cute Honeybee and hip-hop artist Conchance — each doing their own thing, creating their own sound but very much in the fashion of the Saddle Creek oeuvre.

Unfortunately, while those bands produced some fine recordings, they remained anonymous. Don’t blame their music; blame their schedules. What everyone forgets about the Creek bands was (and is) their bare-knuckle work ethic and willingness to get out of town and tour, even if they were only playing house parties and empty lounges. Sure, a few Slumber Party acts toured out of Omaha, but their roadwork was miniscule

compared to, say, The Faint’s road marathons of yesteryear. A disappointment? Kind of, sure, when you consider what could have been, and what could still be.

So who are the next Next Wave bands? Two played last Friday night at The Waiting Room. First (and the one with the most promise) is Conduits.

While so many local bands (including all those slumming for gigs in Benson) are enamored with dusty, countrified Americana, Conduits is trying to reinvent shoe-gaze. Consisting of J.J. Idt, guitar; Nate Mickish, guitar; Mike Overfield, bass, keys; Roger Lewis, drums, and frontwoman Jenna Morrison, their set was a slow-burn, droning methadone drip, a glowing haze cleanly cut by Morrison, who stands on the edge of the stage like a proud hood ornament in black-and-white striped sweater dress and heels.

Morrison has come a long way since her days in Son Ambulance where she was barely noticed standing in the background adding the occasional chirp. With Conduits, she has nowhere to hide; she’s a goldenhaired chanteuse or a modern-day Nico, bending her notes through warm layers of guitar. Their music is mesmerizing, and when it goes on and on, ever building, it feels improvised and daring.

A lot of Saddle Creek people were in the audience, there to support Old Canes on the launch date of their latest tour. Playing as a five-piece, Chris Crisci’s runaway chuckwagon music was filled out by trumpets, glockenspiel, melodica and plenty of acoustic guitar. With Old Canes, Saddle Creek has looked toward Lawrence, Kansas, for hope; but maybe it’s time they look again toward their hometown.

Appropriately, the lights came down for Dim Light, a band that’s evolved for years, but at its core has always been frontman/guitarist/caricature Cooper Moon, one of the most recognizable members of the Omaha music scene.

Dim Light’s music is the soundtrack to a David Lynch Blue Velvet nightmare. Not midnight, more like 3 a.m. music … a time when nothing good ever happens. Cooper can sound like bluesy Jim Morrison if he wants to, but his voice feels more like an angrydrunk strut over his rockabilly spy guitar, staggering forward but held up in that drunken sailor-Jesus pose by Tom Barrett’s slutty bass lines and Boz Hicks’ subtle stick work. It’s pure theatre that leaves nothing to the imagination when Cooper belts out weird lines about things burning in your veins.

Conduits and Dim Light — that’s just two. There are more. I’ll be bringing them to your attention over the coming weeks and months. I want the scoop before the Times or SPIN or BBC comes in and steals my thunder … again. ,

music hoodoo

Hoodoo is a weekly column focusing on blues, roots, Americana and occasional other music styles with an emphasis on live music performances. Hoodoo columnist B.J. Huchtemann is a Reader senior contributing writer and veteran music journalist who has covered the local music scene for nearly 20 years.

Magnificent Magness

by B.J. Huchtemann

S

izzling West Coast vocalist Janiva Magness takes Lincoln’s Zoo Bar stage for the early show next Wednesday, Oct. 27, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

Magness is only the second woman to receive the Blues Foundation’s prestigious B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award. The first was the late Koko Taylor.

Magness is also a three-time winner of the Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year. Her beautiful, soulful vocals are distinctive and heartfelt. Her energetic stage show underlines a message to love and “celebrate yourself, no matter what.” The Zoo gig is Magness’ only Nebraska stop on this tour in support of her new release The Devil Is An Angel Too (Alligator). Label advance press calls the disc “a hard-hitting collection of material that explores the depths of good and evil, with Magness’ glorious, soul-baring vocals burning their way through twelve powerful songs.”

The Chicago Sun-Times wrote, “Her songs run the gamut of emotions from sorrow to joy. A master of the lowdown blues who is equally at ease surrounded by funk or soul sounds, Magness invigorates every song with a brutal honesty.”

Magness has risen to the top of the American blues scene despite a rocky start. She is a true survivor who lost both parents to suicide while she was a teen. At 17 she was an unwed mother who gave her daughter up for adoption. She found her musical calling when she snuck into a club in Minneapolis and heard Otis Rush. She counts among her inspirations Johnny Copeland, Albert Collins, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Etta James and other R&B greats.

Magness is serving her fourth consecutive year as a National Spokesperson for Casey Family Programs and she is an Ambassador for Foster Care Alumni of America, promoting National Foster Care Month.

“Our fate doesn’t have to be our destiny,” Magness says, in her press release. “I’m living proof of that.

And I’m so very grateful.”

Scorching Guitar Star Michael Burks Arkansas guitarist Michael Burks brings his blazing guitar and soulful performance skills to The Lift Thursday, Oct. 21, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Burks plays The Lift after a Wednesday, Oct. 20, show at Lincoln’s Zoo, 6-9 p.m. Billboard wrote, “Burks is a powerhouse blues guitar slinger … he blasts through licks like Clapton used to play just because he can. He is a great guitarist.”

Burks is a multiple Blues Music Award nominee.

His debut disc for Alligator, Make it Rain, was named

one of the Top 200 greatest guitar recordings by Guitar One magazine. His most recent disc is Iron Man (Alligator). The Chicago Sun-Times recently wrote Burks is “poised on the brink of major stardom.”

Honky-Tonk Horse Opera The Lift changes things up with honky-tonk Thursday, Oct. 28, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Since country is basically blues with a drawl, this shouldn’t keep fans from checking out this up and coming Austin roots band. Lincoln listeners can catch Horse Opera at the Zoo Bar Sunday, Oct. 24, 9 p.m. Austin Chronicle says Horse Opera’s music “belongs more in [a] neon honky-tonk than under a coyote moon … all wrapped around [lead singer] Jimmy Deveney’s workingman delivery, the guy looking for fun and dance on a Saturday night.”

Bottomline Louisiana Style Josh Garrett & The Bottomline makes its Lincoln debut at the Zoo Bar Wednesday, Nov. 3, 6-9 p.m.

The band returns to The Lift where it’s becoming a popular favorite Thursday, Nov. 4, 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Garrett is a triple-threat artist with rich vocals and searing guitar skills that complement great originals songs and some creative covers. Garrett is a native of Tab Benoit’s hometown of Houma, La. Fronting a hot, high-energy band with horns that can bring the funk and the fun, Garrett & the Bottomline throw in tantalizing riffs on Zydeco and funk.

Halloween at The Lift Kris Lager Band is scheduled to celebrate Halloween at The New Lift Lounge Sunday, Oct. 31, at 9 p.m. Also playing is KC band The Nace Brothers at 5:30 p.m.

Coda I seldom venture outside of the music scene in this column, but I want to acknowledge the tragic passing of Bellwether Boutique founder Jessica Latham who took her life earlier this month. This is doubly tragic as she leaves behind a 4-year-old daughter, Avery. Fellow fashion scene member Buf Reynolds and other friends are hosting a benefit to set up a fund for Avery at Nomad Sunday, Oct. 24, 7-10 p.m. If you would like to help please look up their Facebook page: Fundraiser Show to Benefit Avery Latham.

There will be photographic prints, fashion videos and other items for sale and a silent auction as well as a fashion show remembering “Bellwether Jessica.”

My thoughts and prayers are with Avery and the other loved ones Jessica leaves behind. ,

music

| THE READER |

Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

35

live music calendar

SEND CALENDAR INFORMATION — including addresses, dates, times, costs and phone numbers — to The Reader’s calendar editor. Mail to or drop off information at P.O. Box 7360 Omaha, NE 68107; email to listings@thereader.com; fax to (402) 341.6967.

Deadline is 5 p.m. the Thursday prior to issue date.

thursday 21

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FRIDAY 22

MATT COX TRIO, (blues/rock) 9 p.m., 1020, FREE. GARRICK, COMRADE, (DJ) 9 p.m., 415, $5.

1SBOYUFS

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Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

PORTUGAL. THE MAN, WHITE DENIM, (rock) 9 p.m.,

Waiting Room, $13/adv, $15/dos.

RHYTHM JACKS, (cover) 8 p.m., Whiskey Roadhouse,

FREE. ACADEMY OF ROCK, (rock) 6 p.m., Zoo Bar, $5.

2 BLACK CATS, BAD SPELER, THE RENFIELDS, (rock/

experimental) 10 p.m., Zoo Bar, $4.

READER RECOMMENDS

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36

UDM, (DJ) 9 p.m., 415, FREE. HOLY F***, INDIAN JEWELRY, NOAH’S ARK WAS A

SPACESHIP, (rock) 8 p.m., Bourbon, $13/adv, $15/dos.

OPEN JAM, 9 p.m., Chrome.

SHITHOOK, (karaoke) 9 p.m., Duffy’s, FREE. SOMA W/ SERKA & DORION, (DJ) 9 p.m., Elite.

GARY DARLING, (rock) 8 p.m., Firewater Grille.

SPIKE NELSON DUO, (jazz) 6 p.m., Jazz Louisiana Kitchen.

UNKNOWN COMPONENT, (singer-songwriter) 9 p.m., LIV

Lounge.

HERCULES, AGRESS, DISCOURSE, VANDAL EYES, (punk/

rock) 7:30 p.m., Mad Ave, $5.

SUSIE THORNE GROUP, (jazz) 9 p.m., Myth.

MICHAEL BURKS, (blues) 5:30 p.m., New Lift Lounge.

SECRET WEAPON, (cover) 9 p.m., New Lift Lounge, $5.

WINE ’TIL NINE FUNDRAISER W/ CHRIS SAUB TRIO,

(rock) 6:30 p.m., Omaha Marriott, $50.

WGO ORCHESTRA REVUE, (jazz) 6:30 p.m., Ozone.

SWAMPJAM, (blues) 8 p.m., Pour House, FREE. JR HOSS, (acoustic) 9 p.m., Two Fine Irishmen, FREE. DAMON DOTSON, DAVE HUDSON, (singer-songwriter) 8:30

p.m., Slowdown, $7.

OAR, (jam/rock) 8 p.m., Sokol Auditorium, $43.70.

36 CRAZYFISTS, STRAIGHT LINE STITCH, TAKING DAWN,

CLINCHER, CURSED BY MOONLIGHT, ILLUSION OF

GAIA, (metal) 6:30 p.m., Sokol Underground, $15.

CONSPIRACY THEORY, (cover) 9 p.m., Tropics.

AARON WATSON, (country) Uncle Ron’s, $12/adv, $15/dos.

BAD LUCK CHARM, THIRD MEN, (rock) 9 p.m., 49’r, $5.

DESPERATE BAND WIVES, (cover) 9 p.m., Arena, $5.

WESTERN ELECTRIC, CHANTILLY REIGN, (folk/rock) SURFA ROSA, MY RAGING MIND, A2Z, (cover/tribute) 9 p.m., Bones, FREE. TONY DESARE, (jazz) 7:30 p.m., Brownville Concert Hall,

$20.

HI-FI HANGOVER, (cover) 9 p.m., Chrome.

VIBENHAI, (rock/reggae) 9 p.m., Duffy’s.

JITTERBUGS’ NIGHT OUT, (jazz/dixieland) 9 p.m., Eagles

Lodge, $10.

2 PAIR, (rock) 9 p.m., Firewater Grille.

LEGACY, (cover) 9:30 p.m., Gator O’malley’s, FREE. DEREK VENTURA, (cover) 7:30 p.m., Gorat’s.

THE FIREBIRD, (symphony) 8 p.m., Holland Ctr, $15-$75.

R&B ZONE TRIO, (jazz) 7 p.m., Jazz Louisiana Kitchen.

NO BUENO!, GIANT RUBBER SHARK, (pop/punk) 6 p.m.,

Knickerbockers.

PURE VINYL, 9 p.m., LiT Lounge.

ACOUSTIC GROOVE, (cover) Loose Moose.

WASTOID, VIOLATOR X, ACID MOUTH, MOUSTACHE,

(punk/metal) 7:30 p.m., Mad Ave, $5.

FOURTH OF JULY, CAPGUN COUP, MCCARTHY

TRENCHING, (rock) 9:30 p.m., O’Leaver’s, $5.

| THE READER |

music listings

TAXI DRIVER, (cover) 9:30 p.m., Old Mattress Factory.

BOZAK AND MORRISSEY, (jazz) 6 p.m., Ozone.

THE PERSONICS, (cover) 9 p.m., Ozone.

LITTLE PINK ANDERSON, (blues) 9 p.m., Pizza Shoppe

Collective, $4.

LEMON FRESH DAY, (cover) 9 p.m., red9, $5.

GRAND THEFT GIRLFRIEND, (cover) 9:30 p.m., The Reef,

FREE. QWEL & MAKER, CONCHANCE, DOUBLE O AND THE ROW

BITS, (hip-hop) 9 p.m., Slowdown, $8/adv, $10/dos.

STRINGS & CHORDS, (acoustic) 7-9:20 p.m., Soaring

Wings, FREE.

READER RECOMMENDS OF MONTREAL, JANELLE MONAE, (indie/pop) 8 p.m.,

Sokol Auditorium, $25.

A CONCERT TO BENEFIT THE FAMILY OF DAN KIRKMAN

W/ PLECOSTOMUS, HOOKSHOT, DISPOSABLE

HEROES, PAUZED, ARMY OF 2600, (rock) 8 p.m.,

Sokol Underground, $10.

LUCAS HITCH BAND, (rock) 9 p.m., Stir Live, $5.

CHESHIRE GRIN, (cover) 9 p.m., Two Fine Irishmen, FREE. JIM RICE, (country) Uncle Ron’s.

THE MATADOR, AFTER THE FALL, MOIRE, ILLUSION OF

GAIA, THE END IN RED, (hardcore) 9 p.m., Waiting

Room, $7.

DOWN TO HERE, (cover) Whiskey Roadhouse, FREE. HEARTMURMURS, (blues) 5 p.m., Zoo Bar, $4.

JERRY PRANKSTERS, (cover) 9 p.m., Zoo Bar, $6.

SATURDAY 23

CHE GARCIA, (DJ) 9 p.m., 415, $5.

DESPERATE BAND WIVES, (cover) 9 p.m., Arena, $5.

DOOMSDAY OVERDRIVE, RICHARD SCHULTZ, (rock) 9

p.m., Barley St. Tavern, $5.

MOOSEKNUCKLE, TEMPO, (rock) 8 p.m., Bourbon.

TONY DESARE, (jazz) 7:30 p.m., Brownville Concert Hall,

$20.

LEMON FRESH DAY, (cover) 10 p.m., Chrome, $5.

READER RECOMMENDS THE FIREBIRD, (symphony) 8 p.m., Holland Ctr, $15-$75.

QUARTUS, (cover) 9 p.m., Kennedy’s.

ACOUSTIC GROOVE, (cover) Loose Moose.

DOC THROTTLE, (cover) 9 p.m., Louis, FREE. DISNEY LIVE!, (family) 12 p.m., 3 p.m., Omaha Civic

Auditorium, $16.50-$47.

SOUL DAWG, (cover) 9 p.m., Ozone.

THE JAZZ EXPLOSION, (jazz) Pizza Shoppe Collective, $5.

DREW6, (cover) 9 p.m., red9.

GRAND THEFT GIRLFRIEND, (cover) 9:30 p.m., The Reef,

FREE.

READER RECOMMENDS AVI BUFFALO, MOTHER CULTURE, (singer-songwriter) 9

p.m., Slowdown, $8.

COLD STEEL, COLD SWEAT, (rock) 9 p.m., Stir Live, $5.

THE PAT O SHOW, (cover) 9 p.m., Two Fine Irishmen, FREE. JIM RICE, (country) Uncle Ron’s.

READER RECOMMENDS ZOMBIE HOP, (DJ) 7 p.m., Waiting Room, $7.

DOWN TO HERE, (cover) 9 p.m., Whiskey Roadhouse,

FREE.

SUNDAY 24

SUNDAY GOLD W/ GREG K, (DJ) 9 p.m., 415, FREE.

READER RECOMMENDS THE LEPERS, ACTORS AND ACTRESSES, INAEONE, (rock)

9 p.m., Barley St. Tavern, $5.

TONY DESARE, (jazz) 2 p.m., Brownville Concert Hall, $15.

OH MY GOD, CLIMATES, RON WAX, DUDE WON’T DIE,

(rock/garage/psychedelic) 9 p.m., Duffy’s.

JAY NOVOTNY, (Czech piano) 2 p.m., First Unitarian

Church, $10.

OMAHA AREA YOUTH ORCHESTRA, (classical) 6:30 p.m.,

Holland Center, $13.

HARMONICA WORKSHOP W/ DAVID SEAY, (folk) 1:30

p.m., Joslyn, FREE. SWAMPBOY BLUES BAND, (blues) 3 p.m., Millard VFW. SYMPHONIC BAND POPS CONCERT, (classical/pop) 5 p.m.,

O’Donnell Auditorium, FREE. MERCYME, DAVE BARNES, (rock/pop) 6 p.m., Pershing

Center, $21.50-$51.50.

CASSATT QUARTET, (chamber) 3 p.m., Ethel S. Abbott

Auditorium, $32, $8/students.

JEFF TOMES, (acoustic) 2-5 p.m., Soaring Wings Vineyard,

FREE. MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK, SAY ANYTHING, SAVES THE

DAY, VALENCIA, (pop/rock) 7 p.m., Sokol Auditorium,

$22/adv, $25/dos.

CATTLE DECAPITATION, DEVOURMENT, KNIGHTS OF THE

ABYSS, BURNING THE MASSES, SON OF AURELIUS,

(metal) 7:30 p.m., Sokol Underground, $12, $15/dos.

DR. DOG, HERE WE GO MAGIC, (rock) 9 p.m., Waiting

Room, $14/adv, $16/dos.

CHROME UNION, (cover) 7 p.m., Whiskey Roadhouse,

FREE. HORSE OPERA, (country/rock) 9 p.m., Zoo Bar, $5.

MONDAY 25

SOUP AND SONG W/ KYLE & ANDY, (singer-songwriter) 8

p.m., Barley St. Tavern, FREE. MONDAY NIGHT BIG BAND DIRECTED BY MARC LA

CHANCE, (jazz) 7:30 p.m., Brewsky’s Jazz Under ground, $5, $4/students.

MIKE GURCIULLO AND HIS LAS VEGAS LAB BAND, (jazz)

6:30 p.m., Ozone.

READER RECOMMENDS DR. DOG, HERE WE GO MAGIC, (indie/rock) 9 p.m.,

Waiting Room, $14/adv, $16/dos.

PIANO HAPPY HOUR, 5 p.m., Zoo Bar, FREE. Z-JAM OPEN STAGE, (blues/rock) 9 p.m., Zoo Bar, $3.

TUESDAY 26

VIC NASTY, (DJ) 9 p.m., 415, FREE. BOB WAYNE, SAINT CHRISTOPHER, (country/punk) 8

p.m., Bourbon, $5, $7/under 21. $PENCELOVE, (DJ) 10 p.m., Duffy’s.

TONY DESARE, (jazz) 7:30 p.m., Flatiron Cafe.

ONE, (rock) 9 p.m., Knickerbockers.

TIM KOEHN, (acoustic/blues) 7 p.m., Louis, FREE. DOWN TO 2, (acoustic) 6:30 p.m., Ozone.

CHRIS SAUB, (acoustic) 8 p.m., The Phoenix, FREE. ROGER WATERS, (rock) 8 p.m., Qwest Center, $55.

MARK “SHARKY” SANFORD, (piano) 6:30 p.m., The Reef,

FREE. UNL CHAMBER CHOIR PERFORMANCE, 7:30 p.m.,

Sheldon Art Gallery, FREE. WYE OAK, HONEYBEE, (indie/rock) 9 p.m., Slowdown, $8.

GOOD OLD WAR, (rock) 8 p.m., Sokol Underground, $10.

READER RECOMMENDS THE WOOD BROTHERS, PATRICK SWEANY, (blues/rock) 9

p.m., Waiting Room, $15.

JAZZOCRACY, (jazz) 6 p.m., Zoo Bar, FREE. TROUBADOUR TUESDAY W/ DAVE STEEN, EVAN TODD,

MATT COX, HEATHER STICKA, (singer-songwriter) 10

p.m., Zoo Bar, $4.

Wednesday 27

MOM, E BROWN, (DJ) 9 p.m., 415, FREE.

READER RECOMMENDS THE STAY AWAKE, TECHLEPATHY, (rock) 9 p.m., Barley St.

Tavern, $5.

BIG GIGANTIC, ALEX B., $PENCELOVE, (electronic/DJ) 9

p.m., Bourbon, $15.

THE TURFMEN, (celtic) 7 p.m., Brazen Head.

DIRTY TALKER, MASSES, IDEAL CLEANERS, (rock/

instrumental) 9 p.m., Duffy’s.

TIM KOEHN, (acoustic) 6 p.m., Jazz Louisiana Kitchen.

UPCOMING SHOWS

AN EVENING WITH GAELIC STORM, (celtic) 8:30 p.m.,

Slowdown, $22/adv, $25/dos.

CONRAD AND NELLOR, (acoustic) 9 p.m., Two Fine

Irishmen, FREE. ALLIEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S AWESOME HALLOWEEN PARTY W/ DJ M BOWEN,

(DJ) 9 p.m., Waiting Room, FREE. JANIVA MAGNESS, (blues) 6 p.m., Zoo Bar, $12/adv,

$15/dos PASTEL PISTOL, MICHAEL PARTINGTON, CRUSH THE

CLOWN, (rock) 10 p.m., Zoo Bar, $4.

10/22 ,UCAS (ITCH "AND

Friday, 10/22/10 8:00PM @ Sokol auditoriuM

VENUES Ameristar Casino, 2200 River Rd., Council Bluffs, ameristar.com Arena Bar & Grill, 3809 N. 90th St., 571.2310, arenaomaha.com BarFly, 707 N. 114th St., 504.4811 Barley Street Tavern, 2735 N. 62nd St., 554.5834, barleystreet.com Bourbon Theatre, 1415 O St., Lincoln, 730.5695 Downtown Blues, 1512 Howard St., 345.0180 Duffyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tavern, 1412 O St., Lincoln, 474.3453, myspace.com/duffystavern The Hideout, 302 S. 72nd St. The Hole, 712 S. 16th St., 342.4457 Knickerbockerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 901 O St., Lincoln, 476.6865, knickerbockers.net LIV Lounge, 2279 S. 67th St., 884.5410, livlounge.com Louis Bar and Grill, 5702 NW Radial Hwy., 551.5993 McKennaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Blues, Booze & BBQ, 7425 Pacific St., 393.7427, mckennasbbq.com New Lift Lounge, 4737 S. 96th St., 339.7170 Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Leaverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pub, 1322 S. Saddle Creek Rd., 556.1238, myspace.com/oleaverspub Ozone Lounge at Anthonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Steakhouse, 72nd and F, 331.7575, ozoneclubomaha.com.

Pizza Shoppe Collective, 6056 Maple St., 556.9090, pscollective.com Qwest Center, 455 N. 10th St., qwestcenteromaha.com Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St., 345.7569, theslowdown.com Sokol Hall, 2234 S. 13th St., 346.9802, sokolundergound.com The Sydney, 5918 Maple St., 932.9262, thesydneybenson.com Stir, 1 Harrahs Blvd., Council Bluffs, harrahs. com Venue 162, 162 W. Broadway, Council Bluffs, 712.256.7768, myspace.com/venue162 Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St., 884.5353, waitingroomlounge.com Whiskey Roadhouse, Horseshoe Casino, 2701 32nd Ave., Council Bluffs, whiskeyroadhouse.com Zoo Bar, 136 N.14th St., Lincoln, zoobar.com

of Montreal is one of the stalwarts of the Athens, Georgia, pop scene and one of the many bands still in operation with a tie to the loose Elephant Six collective of the late â&#x20AC;&#x2122;90s, a group of like-minded bands centered around that incredibly fertile Southern college town.

10/23

#OLD 3TEEL !.$

#OLD 3WEAT

OF MONTREAL

SPOtlIGHt SHOW

w/ Janelle Monae

10/29 2OCK 0APER $YNAMITE 3ON OF AND 10/30 THE 7ATCHMEN

thurSday, 10/21/10 9:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

Friday, 10/22/10 9:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

w/ White Denim

w/ After The Fall, Moire, Illusion of Gaia & The End In Red

Saturday, 10/23/10 9:00PM @ SloWdoWn

Sunday, 10/24/10 7:00PM @ Sokol auditoriuM

PORTUGAL. THE MAN

THE MATADOR

Saturday, 10/23/10 4:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

ZOMBIE WALK & ZOMBIE HOP!

3TIR #OVE 11/5 &ACEBOOK 0ARTY 'UNSHOT )TCH !.$

11/6 0ORKBELLY !.$ 6ULSAFIRE

Sunday, 10/24/10 7:30PM @ Sokol underground

AVI BUFFALO

MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK

CATTLE DECAPITATION

Monday, 10/25/10 9:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

tueSday, 10/26/10 9:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

tueSday, 10/26/10 9:00PM @ SloWdoWn

w/ Patrick Sweany

w/ Honeybee

w/ Mother Culture

w/ Say Anything, Saves The Day & Valencia

w/ Devourment, Knights Of The Abyss, Burning The Masses & Son Of Aurelius

4HOUSAND (OUSES

!.$ 11/12 ,ONELY %STATES

11/13 4HE gS DR. DOG

#!3( #/6%2 /. !,, 3(/73

\

$//23 !4 0- 3(/73 !4 0-

FOLLOW US -UST BE YEARS OR OLDER TO GAMBLE +NOW 7HEN TO 3TOP "EFORE 9OU 3TARTÂ&#x161; 'AMBLING 0ROBLEM #ALL "%43 /&& )OWA OR .ATIONAL ÂĽ (ARRAHgS ,ICENSE #OMPANY ,,#

w/ Here We Go Magic

THE WOOD BROTHERS

10/26/10 good old war 10/27/10 allIEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HallowEEN ParTY 10/27/10 aN EvENINg wITH gaElIc STorm 10/28/10 SENSES faIl 10/28/10 black vEIl brIdES 10/28/10 dEEr TIck 10/29/10 SaTcHEl graNdE 10/30/10 SEcrET wEaPoN 10/30/10 joaN of arc 10/31/10 maE 11/01/10 daNIEllE aTE THE SaNdwIcH

WYE OAK

11/02/10 doomTrEE 11/02/10 all TImE low 11/03/10 azurE raY 11/04/10 gHoSTfacE kIllaH 11/05/10 dark STar orcHESTra 11/05/10 maYdaY ParadE 11/06/10 SuPErIor 11/07/10 40 oz To frEEdom 11/07/10 vErSa EmErgE 11/08/10 EISlEY 11/09/10 kINa graNNIS

More Information and Tickets Available at

WWW.ONEPERCENTPRODUCTIONS.COM music listings

| THE READER |

Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

37

“★★★★!”

–Keith Uhlich, TIME OUT NEW YORK

“★★★H!”

–Michael Phillips,CHICAGO TRIBUNE

“★★★H!”

–Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN TIMES

“FASCINATING! MESMERIZING! STUNNINGLY INTELLIGENT.” –David Denby, NEW YORKER MAGAZINE

“A FANTASTIC TRUE STORY.” –Stephen Holden, THE NEW YORK TIMES ®

FROM THE ACADEMY AWARD -NOMINATED FILMMAKER OF “JOYEUX NOËL”

Secrets have the power to change the course of history.

www.farewellthemovie.com

STARTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22!

FILM STREAMS AT THE RUTH SOKOLOF THEATER 1340 Webster Street, Omaha (402) 933-0259

“THE BEST CAST FOR AN ACTION COMEDY…EVER.” – Roger Moore, ORLANDO SENTINEL

“EXPLOSIVE, FUNNY AND LOADED WITH ACTION!!”

–Mosé Persico, CTV MONTREAL

© 2010 SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

MOBILE USERS: For Showtimes, Text Message RED and Your ZIP CODE to 43KIX (43549)

NOW PLAYING 38

AMC THEATRES

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COUNCIL BLUFFS 17

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Council Bluffs 888-AMC-4FUN Omaha 402-445-0617

OCT. 21 - 27 , 2010

Bellevue 402-827-3456

NO PASSES OR DISCOUNT COUPONS ACCEPTED

| THE READER |

Omaha 402-393-9200

film

Deanlovestv “Indecision 2010” Monday, 9 p.m., Comedy Central. It’s been a vicious, dishonest, depressing

election season. But here’s a bright spot: Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show” and Stephen Colbert of “The Colbert Report” move their shows to D.C. for a weeklong series called “When Grizzlies Attack: The Daily Show Midterm Teapartyganza.” I envision satire so precise and powerful that its targets — sleazy media figures and politicians — abruptly retire from public life. A guy can dream.

— Dean Robbins

r e v i e w s ,

p r e v i e w s ,

s c o r e c a r d ,

f i l m

n e w s

Gray-Haired Black Ops Red shows the AARP can kiss kiss, bang bang

by Ryan Syrek

W

ry sense of humor, sly sexuality, potent and visually stimulating red violence? Oh, Ernest Borgnine, is there anything you can’t do?

Okay, fine, although the 93-year-old gap-toothed thespian pops up infrequently in Red, a film for which all those previous descriptors do actually apply, his inclusion is a metaphor for the inexplicably kinda-awesome ha-ha/bangbang extravaganza as a whole. Populated with a cast familiar with a time when ensemble was king, oozing charisma from their aged pores, Red is the anti-Social Network: The script is meh, the concept is as haggard as the lead actor. This proves once more that although words are king, actors can be gods.

Let’s start at the top. Bruce Willis, fresh off not appearing to have aged in more than a decade, is Frank Moses, a retired C.I.A. black ops agent currently bored out of his gourd and obsessing over Sarah (Mary Louise Parker), the lady who answers his phone calls regarding his pension. Just as Frank is about to launch “Operation Get Me Some,” he is ambushed by a squad of assassins. Frank nabs Sarah both for her own

Film Streams at the Ruth Sokolof Theater 14th & Mike Fahey Street (formerly Webster Street) More info & showtimes 402.933.0259 · filmstreams.org

protection and because he never abandons an operation and begins searching for answers.

Frank’s first stop is at a nursing home to talk with 84-year-old former-spy-turned-stage-4-livercancer-patient Joe (Morgan Freeman), who can still kill you with a Bic pen. Joe gives Frank a list

of names that leads him to Marvin (John Malkovich), a retired operative whose drug-addled brain should be a wake-up call to current real-life starlets. Constantly pursued by good-guy-connedinto-doing-bad-things, Agent William Cooper (Karl Urban), Frank also enlists the aid of a wily Russian (Brian Cox) and a slinky silver-haired sniper (Helen Mirren) before embarking on a

m o r e

cuttingroom

rather ambitious final gambit filed under “only in implausible movies.”

That implausibility is actually the best thing that screenwriters Jon and Erich Hoeber culled from the source material, a graphic novel (the politically correct term these days for a comic book)

by Warren Ellis. Although we are all willing to believe Willis will be a physical marvel capable of death dealing throughout his Depends era, Red is one of those stupidly awesome flicks that also sees no need to capitulate to the laws of physics or reasonable decision making. It’s a “domino movie,” where each tiny plot point limply falls into the next one: it’s only fun when viewed as a whole.

Thankfully, Robert Schwentke was thinking big picture with his treatment of his uber-cast, with loosey-goosey directing that acknowledged the biggest weapon in the film was the collective nuclear bomb of charm. Try not to have fun while Willis and Malkovich are hamming it up, or when Mirren and Cox are gettin’ their dirty flirty on. Even Urban, by far the spring chicken in this out-to-pasture collective, delivers the goods, notably in a wicked fight scene with his elder, Willis.

With a dose of uninventive but still giddy-goofyfun visual shoot-’em-up and a heaping helping of old-school actor elbow grease, Red is a surprising nugget of entertainment. It will be quickly forgotten, but as the cast knows, memory isn’t everything … they just can’t remember what is. ,

GRADE: B

n In addition to being wholly unnecessary, director Sam Raimi’s upcoming The Wizard of Oz prequel is also apparently wholly inappropriate. Although this information comes through a shady Internet source more suspect than a “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” character played by a former Oscar winner, the supposed synopsis of The Great and Powerful Oz includes the following note regarding the witches: “Both Evanora and Theodora are described as incredibly attractive, seductive women, and Theodora likes to wear black, thigh-high boots.” Ah, yes, somewhere over the rainbow, there is S&M. n After more discussion than is contained in an Aaron Sorkin movie, The Hobbit has finally reached a point where we can declare the following: It’s probably, most likely going to happen. Various media outlets are reporting that despite the loss of the original director, an unseemly labor dispute and a budget north of $500 million, the two-part adaptation will finally shoot starting in February under the guidance of returning director Peter Jackson. This comes as great news to fans of an insanely popular trilogy of movies loaded with special effects, because prequels to such things are always awesome. n When tending to the next Superman movie, fans have had only three requests: (1) give us an older Superman, not his origin; (2) don’t deal with the whole “should I be Superman” storyline and (3) give us action, action, action. In one statement, new director Zack Snyder pooped kryptonite, stating the new flick will focus on his early days, dealing with whether he should be a hero and will be more character based.

Snyder then revealed there was no Santa Claus. Jerk.

— Ryan Syrek Cutting Room provides breaking local and national movie news … complete with added sarcasm. Send any relevant information to film@thereader.com. Check out Ryan on the radio on CD 105.9 (Fridays at around 7:30 a.m.), on his blog at Cuttingroomfloor.thereader.com and on Twitter (twitter.com/thereaderfilm).

This Week Farewell First-Run

Howl First-Run

Directed by Christian Carion.

Featuring James Franco as Allen Ginsberg.

Friday, October 22 - Thursday, October 28

Held over through Thursday, October 28

“An extraordinary but little-known episode in international espionage...

Like any good thriller, this is the story of deceptions within deceptions. It’s juicy, fascinating stuff.” —Variety

Jack Goes Boating First-Run (R) Directed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

Facebook & Twitter: /filmstreams

a n d

Through Thursday, October 28

Director Screening

An Inaugural Ride to Freedom One time only! Tuesday, October 26, 7pm Join us for this Q&A screening with director Omowale Akintunde, Chair of the Black Studies Department at UNO. The film chronicles the trip made by Omaha community members to the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January 2009.

film

Forever Young

The Adventures of Prince Achmed 1926 Oct 16 - 28 (Saturdays, Sundays, Thursdays)

The Met: Live in HD

Boris Godunov Mussorgsky

Live: Saturday, October 23, 11am* Encore: Wednesday, October 27, 6pm *A Prelude Talk by Opera Omaha, led by Stage Director Jim de Blasis, will begin at 10am on the day of the live broadcast (Saturday, October 23).

| THE READER |

Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

39

film

MONEY MAKERS

COURTESY BOXOFFICEMOJO.COM

TOP FIVE HIGHEST-GROSSING MOVIES OF THE WEEKEND (Oct. 15-17) 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Jackass 3-D

Red The Social Network Secretariat Life As We Know It

$50,000,000

$22,500,000 $11,000,000 $ 9,503,000 $ 9,200,000

reportcard

Jack goes boating

FILM

READER RATING

Easy A

A-

Emma Stone more than makes the grade … she makes me swoon.

READER RECOMMENDS

Human Centipede

B-

Just the plot makes me queasy. Look it up for yourself…but don’t do it at work.

Legend of the Guardians

C+

Hey kids, want to fear death by bird?

Secretariat

F

If the dialogue doesn’t kill you, you’ll kill yourself.

Worst of the year.

The Social Network

B+

No one can deny the brilliance of Sorkin’s script … well, maybe Mark Zuckerberg can.

The Town

A

Ben Affleck proves he’s got directorial game to go with that butt chin.

Naval Gazing Hoffman gets his directorial feet wet in Jack Goes Boating

by Ben Coffman

I

t’s a little known non-fact that Philip Seymour Hoffman has had a role, big or small, in every movie ever made. If you don’t believe me, just look for his cameo as “cherubic South Carolina racist” in Birth of a Nation. We all knew it was just a matter of time before he applied his considerable talents behind the camera as well, as he did in his directorial debut Jack Goes Boating, an introspective little flick about two couples — one falling into and the other falling out of love.

In Jack Goes Boating, Hoffman plays the unlovable Jack, an underemployed reggae enthusiast who’s barely scraping by — financially and socially — in New York City. His best friends are Clyde (John Ortiz) and Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega), who are experiencing marital turmoil. In an effort to hook up Jack,

40

Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

| THE READER |

film

Clyde and Lucy arrange for him to meet Lucy’s co-worker, Connie, played by Amy Ryan (who may be best known for her role as Michael’s love interest Holly Flax on “The Office”).

Despite an awkward first date at Clyde and Lucy’s house (which foreshadows the “smoke pot then cry then lock yourself in the bathroom” cycle that appears later in the film), it’s practically love at first sight for this unlikely couple — he a mouth breather who’s often at a loss for words, and she a physically attractive woman who’s carrying some heavy baggage in the way of intimacy issues. In a way, they’re perfect for one another: Connie is put off by aggressive advances and Jack seems so mired that the word “advance” isn’t in his vocabulary.

As Jack walks her home in the snow, Connie mentions that she would love to go boating someday. Being the sweetheart he is, Jack agrees to take her, despite being unable to swim. The rest of the movie is mostly occupied by Jack’s swimming lessons, facilitated by Clyde, and Jack’s preparation for a dinner he’s planning to cook for Connie.

As actors, Hoffman and company are as perfect as their characters are flawed, likely

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

C+

Greed is good, but apparently not great. .

owing to Hoffman, and with Ortiz and Rubin-Vega playing the same roles in the stage version of Jack Goes Boating, written by Robert Glaudini. At its heart, the movie isn’t far removed from the play. This is great from a dialogue and character standpoint — the biggest (and only) drawback is that with its glacier pace and cramped New York City apartment settings, the film often doesn’t feel very cinematic.

For this, Hoffman is likely unapologetic. The film seems to prize its subtlety and delight in its ability to make the viewer uncomfortable, the camera unflinchingly lingering on a character’s reaction far longer than is normally acceptable. Despite its maritime title, Jack Goes Boating is a dry, naval-gazing romance that really hits its stride in its manic final act, when clichés and expectations are tossed out the window and everything comes unglued. The result is sincere and strangely uplifting, an impressive directorial debut from an actor with an impressive body of work. ,

GRADE: B+

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by Mike Babcock

M

aybe Nebraska was simply too keyed up.

Or maybe not. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think emotion was a problem,â&#x20AC;? Niles Paul says.

The Cornhusker wide receiver was trying to explain a 20-13 loss to Texas. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been saying it all year; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to come down to us making big plays on the perimeter,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it today. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t show up.â&#x20AC;?

Failure to make plays on the perimeter was a factor. Three dropped passes, for example, including one from Zac Lee to Paul on third-down-and-four from the Texas 11-yard line with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter. Had Paul held on, it would have been a touchdown.

Instead, Nebraska settled for a field goal to make the score 20-6.

Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drop was sandwiched between two others â&#x20AC;&#x201D; equally frustrating to Husker fans expecting payback in what could be the last time Nebraska and Texas play in the immediate future.

On the first play of the second quarter, Rex Burkhead dropped what would have been a 30-yard touchdown pass from Taylor Martinez. And midway through the fourth quarter, Brandon Kinnie dropped what would have been a 38-yard touchdown pass from Lee.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We just didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t show up today,â&#x20AC;? says Paul, who held on to six passes for 66 yards, and 17 passes for the season, second on the team to Kinnieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 18. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a prideful group. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not used to that, and it happened.â&#x20AC;?

The Huskersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ninth loss in 10 games against Texas since the creation of the Big 12 in 1996 couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be laid entirely on the shoulders of those who dropped the passes, however. Consider: n Nebraska fumbled five times, a problem of continuity even though only one was lost. n The Huskers were penalized 10 times for 94 yards, a problem of discipline and focus. n And Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who went into the game with a net of 14 rushing yards, finished with 71 yards rushing on 11 carries, a problem of defensive adjustment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some of the things that have been hurting us hurt us today, worse,â&#x20AC;? Husker Coach Bo Pelini says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve gotta get â&#x20AC;&#x2122;em fixed. Football comes down to execution. It comes down to fundamentals.

It comes down to technique. It comes down to playing the right way. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t play the right way today, and we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get it done. I give credit to Texas. But we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take care of ourselves. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t play with good fundamentals. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t play up to our capability. So thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what happens to you.â&#x20AC;?

Beforehand, Nebraska seemed capable of contending nationally. The Cornhuskers were ranked fourth and fifth in the major polls. Now theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re 13th and 14th.

Nebraskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s struggles were reflected by its pulling Martinez with 6:14 remaining in the third quarter and replacing him with Lee, who hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t played since

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Fixing Fundamentals Huskers fail to execute against Texas

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the fourth quarter of the season-opener against Western Kentucky. Martinez struggled against the athletic Texas defense.

The coaches â&#x20AC;&#x153;wanted to find a spark, wanted to settle Taylor down,â&#x20AC;? Pelini says of the decision to change quarterbacks. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Taylor, trust me. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just Taylor â&#x20AC;Ś â&#x20AC;?

The switch didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have implications beyond the Texas game, according to Pelini. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I mean, Taylorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s our starting quarterback right now,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But, you know â&#x20AC;Ś nothingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really changed.â&#x20AC;?

Well, the perception of Nebraskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next two opponents has changed. Oklahoma State and Missouri are undefeated and ranked higher than the Huskers in the first BCS standings.

The next two Saturdays, Nebraska plays at Oklahoma State then plays host to Missouri. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I told our football team we still have everything out in front of us we want to do,â&#x20AC;? says Pelini. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our first goal is to win the Big 12. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still out there for us to do.

But weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not going to do that unless we look in the mirror like men and take responsibility for what happened out on that field today and get better because of it. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll let the fans, everybody else, feel sorry for themselves and feel sorry for what happened. But youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to take an experience like this and make you stronger.â&#x20AC;?

Paul took responsibility for what happened.

The dropped passes were the difference. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I definitely think so,â&#x20AC;? Paul says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take anything away from anybody else, but I think if we make those catches, we win that game. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a mental thing at all. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something we work on all week. And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something we should do.â&#x20AC;? ,

n My favorite team news headline of the year goes to the Omaha Vipers who Oct. 8 announced its latest signing with a story called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Forward Shaun David Does Backflips.â&#x20AC;?

Intrigued? Well, guess what the forward from Texas does when he scores a goal? Right. Backflips.

David brings the Vipers one player closer to a full squad as they prep for their season opener at the Civic Auditorium, Nov. 21, at 3 p.m. against the Missouri Comets.

The team hosts a soccer clinic for kids age 8-14 this Saturday with head coach Marcelo Fontana and current players at the Indoor Soccer Center, 4718 N. 120th St. For more information visit omahavipers.com or call 932-3335. n Here in the heart of football season, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easier not to imagine those lonely January nights where the only company you keep is one of the approximately 452 college basketball games televised nightly, but theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re coming. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a Creighton fan, however, at least youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have ample opportunities to watch the Jays.

NET announced last week that they have picked up three Creighton games for broadcast, bringing the total of televised games this season to 18. The Jays will also play twice on ESPNU, once on ESPN2 and the Big Ten Network, three times on Fox Sports Net and eight games on local station KMTV. It was also announced that Creighton is 12-0 in NET games at the Qwest Center, which suggests to me that ESPN needs to stop hogging all the Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois games and let our own state-run network have a shot.

Greg McDermott thanks you in advance. n Can I interest you in some Danish gymnasts?

The National Danish Performance Team is visiting the University of Nebraska at Omaha Sunday for a performance of rhythmic show gymnastics. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m told itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Danish specialty. Tickets are $10, $5 for students. Children 12 and younger are admitted free. The event starts at 2 p.m. at the Sapp Field House. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Brandon Vogel The Jump takes you behind the local headlines. Email jump@thereader.com and look for daily updates at twitter.com/brandonlvogel.

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| THE READER |

Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

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Surgical Solutions M ore Creative Alternate-Site Surgery: Doctors from the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Washington announced in September that they could just as well handle certain brain surgeries by access not in the traditional way through the top of the skull but by drilling holes in the nose and, more recently, the eye socket. Since classic brain surgery requires that the top of the skull be temporarily removed, the breakthroughs mean fewer complications. These innovations follow on the inroads in recent years in performing kidney-removal and gallbladder surgery not by traditional abdominal incisions but through, respectively, the vagina and the anus.

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news of the weird

In a heartwarming climax to an adopted son’s emotional search for his birth-mother (who gave him up 33 years ago), Richard Lorenc of Kansas managed to track down mom Vivian Wheeler, 62, living in Bakersfield, Calif., where she is retired, as a circus-sideshow “bearded lady” (the result of hypertrichosis, also known as “werewolf syndrome”). Lorenc says he sees their similarities right through Wheeler’s beard, which she now keeps at a length of 11 inches. The relationship was to be confirmed by a DNA test paid for by the Maury Povich TV show, but at press time, the result had not been announced.

— Sports Fans Over the Line: (1) Marie Murphy, a fifth-grade teacher in Stratford, N.J., and her husband lost almost everything in a house fire in April, but when she arrived at the burning home, she defied firefighters and dashed inside to retrieve a single prized possession: her Philadelphia Phillies season tickets.

“My husband was so mad at me.” A Phillies rep later gently informed her that the team would have reprinted her tickets for free. (2) Justin Witcombe, 31, showed a reporter in Geelong, Australia, in September his full body of tattoos of his three idols in life: boxer Mike Tyson, the rock group KISS, and his local Collingwood soccer team, whose mascot is inked prominently on Witcombe’s penis.

Bright Ideas

The older the religion, the seemingly more likely its practitioners are to adopt clever workarounds to theological obligations modern society has rendered inconvenient. Orthodox Jews are among the most creative, reporting their imaginative treatments of divorce rituals and expanding the concept of the “home” in which practitioners must remain during the Sabbath. In September, in preparation for the Yom Kippur holy day, caffeine addicts, tradicontinued on page 44 y

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15475 Ruggles St., Suite 108 Omaha, NE 68116 (402) 504-4644 Established: 2006 Signature Drink: Green Monkey with Malibu Seasonal Highlight: New Year’s Eve and Fat Tuesday

T

here is a bar in Omaha that holds the Jager Bomb world record, and is home to the nation’s first permanently installed water screen. Vegalou Ultra Bar, at approximately 156th and Maple, is ultra cool.

The bar’s name comes from a synthesis of the owner’s names, Vegas and Lou. The two opened the bar with many combined years of working in the industry under their belts.

They had a vision for what they wanted the bar to be like, and spent a great deal of time researching other bars and clubs across the nation in order to find the perfect combination of elements that make-up Vegalou.

Vegalou has the looks and quality of an

upscale club, with the comfort and easy-going fun of a neighborhood pub. The permanently installed water screen is certainly the centerpiece of the bar. The screen is actually a ceiling to floor, perpetual flow waterfall that creates a backdrop for projection. It is a sight to behold. The rest of the interior is elegantly decorated with modern light fixtures, cozy private booths, and a deep blue color. Vegas and Lou considered every detail in the creation of the bar, right down to the purse hooks installed under the bar.

There is never a shortage of fun at Vegalou.

These guys know how to throw a party! From uni-brow parties to an adult Easter egg hunt,

theme parties are ever-popular at Vegalou.

The regular crowd is a mix of everyone, and the bar always presents a welcoming atmosphere. Vegas and Lou are hands-on owners who like to make sure that everyone at their bar has a good time. There are nightly drink specials at Vegalou, including 1,2,3 Tuesdays with $1 draws, $2 wells and $3 Jager Bombs. Thursdays offer $5 martinis and wine, along with $1.25 draws. Saturday nights feature $7.50 Vegas Red Deaths, and Sundays bring $4 bombs and just about anything else for $3. You can find Vegalou on Facebook for a full listing of events and parties to come.

| THE READER |

Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

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news of the weird

c o n t i n u e d

y continued from page 42

Least Competent Criminals

tionally hard-hit by the day’s fasting requirement that prohibits ingesting anything “by mouth,” reportedly made a run on drug stores in Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn, N.Y., to buy caffeine suppositories.

— A Breakthrough in Political Campaign Technology: New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, waging a particularly contentious battle, mailed out a flier in September suggesting that Democratic state politicians are corrupt, with photos of seven of that party’s current and recent office-holders and accompanied by a special odor-triggering paper that releases a “garbage-scented” smell when exposed to air and which supposedly grows even fouler over time.

— Sherin Brown, 23, happened to be walking through a Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood in August at the exact moment that a tractor-trailer accidentally clipped a light pole, sending it crashing to the sidewalk. First responders found Brown pinned under the pole, screaming for help, and had her taken to a hospital. Afterward, investigators discovered a nearby surveillance camera, which revealed that Brown had stepped out of the way of the falling pole but then, with no one else around, had crawled underneath and began wailing in “pain,” perhaps in anticipation of a future lawsuit.

— Outsmarted Himself: Gene Cranick, who lives outside the city of South Fulton, Tenn., was offered firefighter service by the city for an annual $75 fee but declined to pay.

In September, firefighters stood by watching as Cranick’s home burned to the ground. They were called to the scene by Cranick’s neighbor, who had paid the fee and feared Cranick’s fire might spread to his property.

Donald Denney and his father (also named Donald Denney) concocted a plan on the telephone for Dad to smuggle the son a ball of black-tar heroin into his Colorado prison (for eventual resale) during visiting hours, to be passed through the mouth by a deep kiss from a female visitor. However, Dad could not find a woman with a clean-enough record to be admitted as a visitor. Still enamored of the plan, however, the father decided to be the drug mule, himself, and inserted the packaged heroin into his rectum for later transferral to his mouth (even though the eventual deep kiss would be awkward). The Denneys were apparently unaware, despite audio warnings, that the son’s phone calls were being monitored, and in September, prison officials were waiting for the father, with a body-cavity search warrant, as he entered the prison.

Undignified Deaths

Mean Streets: (1) A 23-year-old man on Chicago’s South Side is still alive after he reported being shot twice Sept. 17 by different people in different neighborhoods. He was shot above the armpit just after midnight, was treated and released at a hospital, and then was shot again in the leg about 10 hours later. (2) During a shootout in New York City Aug. 8, Angel Alvarez, 23, was brought down in a hail of gunfire and taken to Harlem Hospital, where doctors saved his life, though they found 21 bullet wounds (Alvarez’s lawyer said 23). Alvarez’s sister called her brother’s miraculous survival “ridiculous.” , COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK SHEPHERD. Visit Chuck Shepherd daily at NewsoftheWeird.blogspot.com or NewsoftheWeird.com. Send Weird News to WeirdNewsTips@yahoo.com or P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, FL 33679. Illustrations by Tom Briscoe (smallworldcomics.com).

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Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

| THE READER |

news of the weird

planetpower w ee k l y

W

h oroscopes

ell, I guess I came onto Scorpio prematurely? Couldn’t wait! By the time you read this article we’ll emerge into Scorpio, Saturday morning at dawn after the Full Moon in Aries Friday night at Sunset. Should be quite a weekend! In Scorpio it’s time to regenerate or die. Think warm thoughts. Key phrase for Scorpio is “I Desire.” What is it you desire?

— MojoPoPlanetPower.com h SCORPIO (10.23-11.22) Now starts your plan.

Mercury just entered Scorpio until Nov. 8, at Sunset. Venus retrogrades in early Scorpio, back into Libra and then direct into Scorpio by December.

Don’t commit until then. Mars finishes its transit of Scorpio in a week. Work NOW! i SAGITTARIUS (11.23-12.21) This week meditate upon any recent history of your loss of temper and how it worked against you. Clear your karmic decks and initiate the pure spark into the creative fire you’ll soon require to survive this coming season.

Find the reason to make your move in mid November. Remember, now is the time to fuel your composition.

How about a sexy romance novel with you playing the lead? How does the MOJO know? j CAPRICORN (12.22-1.20) All set and ready to go. Three moons until you’re in power. Thus, now begins your finest hour. You’ll have two more years to make it beautiful.

Balance (Saturn in Libra) will be the key. You’ve got until November 2012. Study the Maya and get ready to build your own temple/pyramid. k AQUARIUS (1.21-2.19) You can taste the desire to see, seek and maybe be BIGGER than your little everyday self. Something beyond you is calling … infinity squared? A Sagittarius and/or Pisces may hold the key. You’ve got until December to dream the lock you need to open. Make it for the good of humanity and maybe by the time you get there we’ll deserve it?

Keep “opti-mystic.” l PISCES (2.20-3.20) Please read Aquarius above. Here comes more power than even you can imagine — from (a) Scorpio! How can those lowered chakra idiot/louts have anything to appeal to your “higher” aesthetic? You are an unconscious medium, true; but they know how to manipulate karma into a nice little ball that we can play with.

Learn from them now so you can worship their memory later. Welcome their love. It makes the info more real while giving it feeling. a ARIES (3.21-4.20) Continue studying the depths — the enigma of life and Death, the joys of love and desire fulfilled, your position as the only architect in your mansion of fate, the secret of Magique and the Magique of those things held secret — for one more week, until Mars enters Sagittarius and it’s time to

b y

mo j opo

give it all away at the swap-meet of your mind. Your lunar high/low is the Full Moon in Aries, this Friday at Sunset, Oct. 22. You’re about to get lucky, but first you must be reborn. b TAURUS (4.21-5.20) You have to re-foundate Saturday at dawn. I feel/hear/see the blues all around you. Turn it around! Listen to B.B., John Lee and Muddy, J.B. Lenoir, Albert Collins, et al. Listen to the wind in the trees, the crickets at night, the love calls of birds, the sweet Vou Dou in the night. Use what you hear and lyricise with your own words and experiences. Taurus rules the throat. You’re here to sing!

Time to study your roots and learn to sing (with) the blues — a great foundation. c GEMINI (5.21-6.21) “Art is a lie through which you tell the truth.” — Scorpio Pablo Picasso. You must be quite an artist? In the manipulation of the wording of the truth that works for you — and all of us — anybody can manipulate the words to verify any “truth.” Thanks for the lesson.

That’s your art. It’ll work on paper, in books and on the movie screen, but in this 3D world we share … ? You tell me. And this time, tell the truth. d CANCER (6.22-7.22) Happy Full Moon in Aries the Ram, Friday, Oct. 22, at Sunset. Time to start the Night of the Year. You are the lunar luminary of the Night, the Moon. Put your head down and charge LARGE! Let impulse run wild ……… and then pick up the pieces when you’re done. Have fun! It’s your weekend! e LEO (7.23-8.22) Time for you to take it home. The Sun now moves into your theoretical 4th House of Home and centering. Regenerate your relationship with your Mother, living or departed. Get humble and you will receive her loving words along with her example of unconditional love — or at least as close as your actions will allow.

Clean up your pad, your shopping cart, trailer, hut, cave, penthouse, suite and/or castle as I imagine we (your loyal subjects) could be dropping by this weekend. Show us the good life and it looks like you get lucky this weekend(?)! f VIRGO (8.23-9.22) Please read Gemini just for background. Now read Scorpio, please. The Full Moon Friday in Aries is in your theoretical 8th House of sex and other people’s money … Hmmm … Well, that’s one way to get you through this recession? How does the MOJO know? g LIBRA (9.23-10.22) Happy Full Moon in Aries this last day of Libra, Friday Oct. 22. The seeds have just recently been planted for your next two years’ growth projects. Music, as always with you, will be the key. Please read Taurus for clues to resolve your blues. “The Blues had a Baby and they called it Rock ‘n’ Roll.” — Muddy Waters. But why do they call it Rock ‘n’ Roll? I’ll tell you next week when once again we speak. ,

planet power

| THE READER |

Oct. 21 - 27 , 2010

45

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| THE READER |

OCT. 21 - 27 , 2010

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