The Reader Nov. 11, 2011

nov. 10 - 16, 2011 VOL.18

38

dish12

Pleasantly the Same

theater17 Girl Power

style20

Bold and Beautiful Bows

on the move

music23

One Tough Choice

creighton and UNO teams are ready to bounce

cover story by jason krivanek and brandon vogel ~ page 9 cover photo by eric francis

OMAHA JOBS 2

Weird 34

MOjo 33

FUNNIES 5

Full-time Crete Carrier Corp.

Driver Recruiter, Diesel Mechanic & Tractor-Trailer Technician. Contact ecoker@cretecarrier.com. Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.

Full-time

Full-time

Full time evening Janitorial position available in Omaha, Bennington and Wayne Nebraska. Starting wage $8.75 per hour. Please call 1.888.868.5330 or 402.399.9233.

Position available for person knowledgeable in hard surface floor and carpet care. Must be able to operate extraction equipment, buffers and burnishers. Flexible hours, most work performed after 5:00pm. Valid driver‚s license required. Beginning wage $10.00/hour. Please call 1.888.868.5330 or 402.399.9233.

USA Parking System.

Valet Parking Attendents.

Contact jmeyer@parking. com. Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.

AAA. 30 openings for customer service reps in Omaha call center. Contact kajohnson@aaane.com. Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.

Maverick Marketing Route Sales.

Contact timt.maverick@gmail.com.

Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.

2

Schimberg Co. Warehouse Worker/Driver.

Contact dsanderson@schimberg.comGo to OmahaJobs.com for more information.

Convergys.

Sales Representative III. Apply online. www.convergys.com/careers. Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.

NOV. 10 - 16, 2011

Exclusive Repair.

Technician.

Contact 402.651.9934.

Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.

Boys Town.

Family Teaching Couples. (house parents) Contact april.brown@boystown.org.

Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.

WR Restaurants Mgt. Food & Beverage Manager.

Contact tvandewalle@ wrrestaurants.com. Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.

American Security & Investigations Security officers. Contact bwinburn@marsden.com.

Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.

Boys Town.

Crisis Counselor. Contact brown@boystown.org. Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.

| THE READER |

Software Architect IV: senior development position for applications used in healthcare/eye-care domain with considerable latitude in the engineering organization. Exhibits comprehensive knowledge in a variety of software development technologies and operating environments; Provides technical direction for future products in order to maintain competitive advantage in the industry; Responsible for designing and architecting features for the next generation of products. Requires Bachelor or equiv in CS or business; and 5 years experience leading the design and development of ntier Windows applications for healthcare setting, with extensive experience in specific skill sets related to the products. To receive details of duties and requirements, contact employer fax or email. Work location Omaha, NE; or anywhere in US with workfrom-home option.

Resumes to: First Insight Corp, 22845 NW Bennett St, Bldg B, #200, Hillsboro OR 97124; hr@first-insight.com; Fax: 503.707.8188 Refer to Job ID: SWA-Omaha.

omaha jobs

Novozymes Blair Inc. UGL Services Unicco Operations Carlson Hotels West Corporation The Reader Tip Top Tux Colonial Life BeautiControl

ExpEct Up to 40 EmployErs ICON Development Solutions National American University Metropolitan Community College-Student Recruitment Marriott Global Sales & Customer Care Creighton University-EOC New York Life Insurance Company Kaplan University Nebraska Department of Labor

Aim Institute/Careerlink.com Journal Broadcast Group Continuum Financial/Mass Mutual Custom Diesel Driver Training Prudential Allergy Relief Center of Nebraska AND MANY MORE STILL TO COME

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| THE READER |

NOV. 10BURST_3_Upper_A - 16, 2011

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NOV. 10 - 16, 2011

| THE READER |

topnews

Expanding Travel Options New transportation plan crystalizes: 14- year, $750 million priority list released

From the enormous scope of projects on this list, “37 are in the final phases of completion and moving to implementation,” said Miller. “The most important thing these priorities will do is help us identify percentages in the budget for maintenance,” said Miller.

“We need to make sure that streets are being built and

by Jessica Clem-McClaren maintained properly so that all modes of transportahe release of the Omaha Transportation tion will be accommodated.”

A major focus will be street maintenance. By Master Plan (TMP) priorities list is helping make the future of transportation planning focusing on street repair and safety, the Planning more visible for those anxious for new travel options. department hopes to avoid building new streets and The last year of forums and summits has informed instead fix existing areas. The road system in Omaha the public. These prioritized projects will make them requires resurfacing and repair every 10 years; howa reality. With a projected $750 million to be spent ever, the current traffic system has stressed streets to over the next 25 years, the plan encompasses over 300 damages normally seen with 56 years of neglect. Reprojects placed in five-year tiers that could broaden pairs will help fix an aching road system for all modes commuter options and make alternative transporta- of transportation. Sustainablity and management of transportation projects tion an easier option.

“This list is what the The road system in Omaha requires will be key priorities in the City will use as a resource resurfacing and repair every 10 years; updated TMP. There are critics of the for seeing what upcoming however, the current traffic system capital improvements will has stressed streets to damages nor- TMP revisions. “One thing we are hearing is since it need to be made,” said mally seen with 56 years of neglect snows, we can’t bike year Derek Miller, Omaha city planner. The complete funding for these changes are round,” Miller said. “So we were thrilled when Minstill being sought, but the city is optimistic that the neapolis was awarded the most bicycle-friendly city last year.” The winters in the Twin Cities are just as prioritized projects can be completed.

“This is why the priorities list is in 5-year tiers,” harsh, if not more so than in Nebraska. “We’ve also added Miller. “We’ve needed to constrain the list sim- heard concern over sewer development in West Omaply because we cannot afford to complete all of them, ha. Development is not going to stop, but we have got but this is a step to shifting our focus from capacity- to stop growing outward and making extensions. We adding projects to walkable ones.” The TMP priorities need to focus on the development and health of the list will be utilized as the City addresses new transpor- inner city core.”

While the improvements may take several years tation projects.

The City of Omaha Planning Department and to be implemented, the public is urged to take part in consultant AECOM recently released four goals that moving these proposals forward. The proposed projhelped shape the prioritized transportation projects. ect and priorites list, among other documents related These include providing balanced options for en- to the TMP, can be found on the Planning website: hanced mobility, attaining a safe and healthy environ- cityofomaha.org/tmplan/downloads.

In 2012 the plan will begin to materialize, first ment, creating livable and connected neighborhoods, and promote economic returns with fiscal sustain- with an open house forum in January, followed by a ability. “A completed TMP will build upon the trans- full report and final document for the Planning Board portation network we have today and direct all future in February. “City Council will receive the document transportation projects to provide … choices in mobil- by March,” Miller said.

The Planning Department urges critics to feel ity,” states the City of Omaha Planning website. “After thorough discussion these goals will become the foun- assured that their right to drive would not be taken away by the revisions. Instead, the priorities list will dation for Omaha’s transportation vision.”

The goals help set priorities for a transportation examine how to safely improve streets and areas for project list that specifies all projects identified in the all methods of transportation,. “Transportation has last 14 years, as well as all current plans. These projects a huge impact on health and the environment, but range from a North Omaha Economic Development people have to realize we currently have a system that plan to the enormous Midtown Crossing develop- we can no longer afford,” said Miller. “There are fedment and changes at intersections and transportation eral dollars that are matched with bond dollars that routes across the city. They encompass shared lanes we ask the public to approve on voting ballots. These for bicyclists, new priorities for buses and connecting projects may take years to complete, but in the end, it’s everyone’s investment.” , suburbs to commercial centers in West Omaha.

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5IVE

MINUTES INTO THE FUTURE bit.ly/mUdjj3 | NOV. 3, 2011

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Others will rely on public education

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medicine. However, with the end of

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through a unique carrier: the

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mosquito.

have, and instituting harsh punishments for those who disobey.

by: DR. QUENTIN MARK MYSTERIAN and BUNNY ULTRAMOD

news

| THE READER |

NOV. 10 - 16, 2011

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NOV. 10 - 16, 2011

| THE READER |

n e w

heartlandhealing

a g e

h e a l t h

a n d

w e l l n e s s

These iPhone Apps are Apropos

S

o you just spent four hundred bucks on a new iPhone. Sounds hard to swallow if all it that you got was a cell phone. But if you look at it as a multi-purpose point-and-shoot digital camera, video camera, videophone, music and video player, web browser and paperweight, it’s not a bad deal. Further, if you consider the potential of the 500,000 apps available at the App Store, you have a personal trainer, medical advisor and life coach as well as a spiritual mentor.

There is no dearth of high-priced medical and health apps surrounding the field of conventional medicine. And the same holds true in the field of holistic lifestyles and health and here is a list of some of them, concentrating on the free ones. After dropping a half-a-thou on a cell phone, who wants to pay for the fun stuff? iTherapy Free A thin and modest compilation describing only 32 alternative therapies. The info given is decent but the overall lack of more topics makes it barely worth the download. In addition, the support website for the app seems to be offline. Hardly worth the price: free.

I like it Organic! Free is another database compilation but far more dense than iTherapy. Focusing on healthful food choices, primarily organic, it’s a compendium of outsourced information culled from various other databases and sites. The links go beyond food into the area of eco-environmental issues and some toxin-related illnesses. Still, the information appears to be updated fairly regularly and provides a good read now and then.

Simply Organic Free Of course it’s free. It’s an app by the food brand Simply Organic. But it does serve as a nice recipe database and inspiration to eat more healthfully.

Medicinal Herbs Free A fairly decent database of information on medicinal herbs but once again, only a small number is listed, only 42. Still, it’s a start if you want to find out about aloe vera, valerian, yohimbe and the Thunder God Vine.

Music Healing Free Okay, music therapy is a valid and useful form of alternative healing but this app will drive you crazy. It’s that sappy New Age drone-sounding type of stuff that seems to go on and on. And with this app, it does. Though I did experience a moment of deep sighing relaxation when the first stock photo image of a water droplet came on the iPhone screen, it soon turned to angst when the only way I could get the app to shut off was to delete it from my iPhone. Arrgh!

Pocket Massage Massage therapy is one of the all-time best alternatives to conventional therapies. The uses and applications are vast. Back pain, stress, lymphatic flow, immune response and more are what make massage so valuable and highly recommended. However, this app is about as useless as one would think. Don’t waste the bandwidth. Call a massage therapist.

B y

m i c h a e l

b r a u n s t e i n

Chakra Vortex Free If you’re looking for a trendy, New Age diversion this free app will give you about 30 seconds of that. In the free version, you get only one color, red, so it relates only to one chakra: the base chakra. The phone screen becomes a vortex as a chiming sound pulses from the smartphone speaker. It’s kind of cute and clever. The biggest advantage is that it at least gets a user interested in finding out more about the body’s energy centers, the chakras. iCrystal This app is a new one to me and if you buy into the idea of crystals storing and amplifying energy, this app may be of interest to you. Crystals do, in fact, store energy and amplify it. That is the basis behind all computer chips, transistors and solid-state electronics. So if you have a crystal of any sort: amethyst, rose quartz, citrine, etc. you can use this app to “recharge” or energize it. A basic understanding of crystals is helpful to know how to do that. That’s what the next app is for.

Healing Crystals Unfortunately, this app is very little but an enticement to upgrade to the paid version ($4.99). However, the few crystals listed are a basic idea of the interpretation of crystal healing.

Prêt-à-Yoga Lite Once you get into the yoga apps you begin to find some very useful ones. Even this free one is great for beginners. There are 72 yoga poses presented with audio instruction and light background music for each one. Tap the screen once and you get a side view of the posing yogini. From the start screen you have three options: going through the full sequence, opening just the sun salutation segment or a pranayama sequence. There is a page for settings but as in so many apps, no “Home” button to take you back. This app is one of the better free apps I’ve run across in any category, despite the play on “ready-to-wear yoga” in the app name.

Yoga at Home This is another worthwhile free app. The down side is that it requires an internet connection to function because it really is just a link farm to various YouTube yoga videos. Once online though, it does give you a simplified way to select appropriate yoga viddies for your skill level. On an iPhone the app is a little small screen but it probably rocks on an iPad. Previously we reviewed some other apps and What’s on My Food? by Pesticide Action Network remains one of the best when wondering whether to spend money on organic produce or lower-priced conventional. Example app data: conventional strawberries have 54 total residues, eight known or probable carcinogens, 24 suspected hormone disruptors, 11 neurotoxins and 12 reproductive toxicants. Organic strawberries have zero neurotoxins and only one carcinogen suspect.

The app is free and can help you avoid the poisons that conventional producers put on your food. Two places that are extremely hazardous to your health are hospitals and the average supermarket.

Be well. ,

Heartland Healing by Michael Braunstein 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

heartland healing

| THE READER |

nov. 10 - 16, 2011

7

Great Plains Theatre Conference in partnership with KANEKO presents

R and D: An Evening of Physical Explorations with David Neumann and Local People with Bodies

A night to laugh, scratch your head, talk, eat, laugh some more and cavort with the ineffable.

NOV. 12, 2011 7:30 p.m.

KANEKO 1111 Jones St. Tickets General public • $10 MCC students, faculty and staff $5 Tickets available at (402) 457-2882 or www.mccneb.edu/theatreconference.

(402) 457-2400 | www.mccneb.edu 8

NOV. 10 - 16, 2011

| THE READER |

coverstory

high flyin’ Jays

High hopes accompany McDermott’s second season at the helm

by Jason Krivanek

here is a buzz surrounding Head Coach Greg McDermott’s second Bluejay basketball squad, and, no, the youngsters haven’t been over indulging over at the NoDo nightspots. In fact, these guys have been strictly business heading into the season, and word on the street says it could be a good one, maybe even one worthy of a toast when all is said and done.

It’s been five years since Creighton punched a ticket to the Big Dance and ten years since the Jays knocked off Florida for their last NCAA tournament win. But the players and coaches haven’t shied away from talking about the potential this year’s mix of experience, talent and fresh faces has to break that drought.

“I think about the NCAA tournament every day when I step on the court. I know Creighton hasn’t been there since ‘07, and I know the fans are hungry for it so we need to do whatever it takes to get there.

We know there are a lot of expectations on us, It’s going to take a lot of hard work. We can’t just go into the season knowing we’re the (Missouri Valley Conference) favorites, we’ve got to go into the season with a chip on our shoulder,” said sophomore forward Doug McDermott.

“I’m tired of sitting at home watching the (NCAA) tournament rather than being in it. I’m kind of done with that, and I think we have the pieces to do it if we just put it together,” said senior point guard Antoine Young. “This is the most talented group of guys I’ve played with, and I think we are all coming together as one…I’m just excited to get the season started.”

The conversation begins with the trio of Young, the team’s only scholarship senior, junior center Gregory Echenique and McDermott. These three aren’t just the best on the Jays’ roster, they might just be the best three players in the Missouri Valley Conference at their positions.

Young has led the league in assist-turnover ratio each of the past two seasons while starting the last 72 games for Creighton. He averaged 13.1 points per game last season while dishing out 195 assists, the third highest single season total in school history. His scoring average was good for seventh in the league, while his average of 5 assists per contest topped the conference and allowed him to become the first player in 18 years to lead the Valley in assists while finishing in the top 10 in scoring.

eric francis

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creighton’s antoine young

Without a reliable backup at the point last season, the Jays had to lean heavily on Young, resulting in the second most minutes played in the nation. Being continually counted on to make plays, and being constantly harassed while bringing the ball up court, put some wear and tear on Young as the season wore on.

The addition of freshman point guard Austin Chatman should give Young a few more breathers and help take some of the pressure off his shoulders.

He is one of four new scholarship freshmen and three other newcomers that will be key to allowing McDermott to implement a more uptempo style then his squad was able to play last season.

“Without question we are a deeper team than we were a year ago and because of that it is going to allow

us to push the ball more and do some things both offensively and defensively that we weren’t able to do last year,” said McDermott. “We have some guys who can get out and run, so we plan on taking advantage of that and play in a way that should be exciting for the fans to watch.”

Echenique gives the Jays a force to be reckoned with down low at 6‘9“ and 270 pounds. He led the conference in field goal percentage last year at 60.9% and also averaged a league best 1.9 blocks per game while earning a spot on the MVC All-Defensive and All-Newcomer teams. Look for Echenique to improve on his 10.5 scoring average and 5.8 rebounding average as his comfort level in the system continues to grow.

cover story

The big center from Caracas worked on his game over the summer, playing for the Venezuelan National Team at the FIBA Americas Championship in Argentina, gaining valuable experience going up against international competition including several big men from NBA rosters.

Doug McDermott caught the college basketball world by surprise last season when he went from being a candidate to redshirt to being the first freshman named first team all-MVC since 1951-52. The Valley Freshman and Newcomer of the Year was named as the league’s Newcomer of the Week an amazing seven times over the course of last season.

His basketball savvy and uncanny ability to finish around the rim resulted in some impressive numbers during his freshman campaign. His 581 points were the most by a freshman in both school and Valley history. He finished fourth in the league in scoring at 14.9 ppg. and second in rebounding with 7.2 rpg. He recorded a league best nine doubledoubles, grabbing a total of 280 boards -- the most by a Bluejay in 20 years. How he handles the attention of being more of a marked man on the court is another big key for the Jays.

“I feel a little extra pressure, but I can’t let that get to me,” said McDermott. “A lot of people don’t think I can meet those expectations, but the way I look at it is to just go out and work as hard as I can and perform the best I can and let those doubts serve as motivation.”

Instead of patting himself on the back, McDermott got to work in the off season adding 20 pounds of muscle to his frame and playing for the USA National team at the U19 FIBA World Championships in Latvia. He used the opportunity to improve his faceup skills toward the basket resulting in his leading the team in three-point shooting and recording the third best scoring and rebounding totals. The extra weight and strength should help him hold his ground better on the defensive end, one of the few weaknesses opponents were able to exploit last season.

“Doug has really embraced the role of a leader.

He has taken his work ethic up another notch, which has really helped us because any time your best player is also one of your hardest workers, I think it makes it easier for the guys to look up to,” said assistant coach Darian DeVries. “He has helped us as coaches a lot that way, because by turning up his commitment level in practice, he sets the tone for the whole team.”

The other two starting guards are junior Grant Gibbs and sophomore Jahenns Manigat. Gibbs practiced with the team last season after transferring from Gonzaga, and has emerged as a team leader. His passing ability and court awareness should help shore up one of Creighton’s biggest weaknesses. continued on page 10 y

| THE READER |

nov. 10 - 16, 2011

9

coverstory y continued from page 9

“Being able to pass from the wing is something that I’ve always been able to do well, and it’s one of the strengths of my game,” said Gibbs. “Something that the team I think lacked last year was having guys who could make plays and take some of the pressure off Antione having to make a play every time down court. We are going to need to feed our bigs down low, that’s the strength of our team, especially in the Valley, so we need to get those guys touches, and I think that is a role I can fill.”

Manigat was the Jays’ most improved player over the course of last season and he has continued to get better in the off season. His high energy both on and off the court, combined with a magnanimous personality, make him the team’s spark plug.

It’s no surprise that both Manigat and Gibbs were recently named team captains despite their relatively new status.

As a team the Jays were also able to get in some extra work in the off season by taking advantage of an NCAA rule that allows teams to travel once every four years and play international competition.

Creighton spent a week in the Bahamas in August notching a 4-0 record against mostly outmatched foes. The nine extra practice sessions were especially valuable with so many new players adjusting to the system and to each other.

“Sure it helped us getting some extra time on the court together adjusting to the new guys,” said Doug McDermott. “But mostly it was good just to get away and hang out together. We have a real good group guys and we all get along real well, so I think it just helped us to bond even more.”

Junior guard Josh Jones provides additional firepower as does the return of sophomore sharp shooter Ethan Wragge. Wragge, a 6’7” forward, was forced to sit out last season because of plantar fasciitis. When pain free, Wragge has a deadly stroke from behind the arc, as the 68 three-pointers he nailed two seasons ago to break Kyle Korver’s freshman record attest. His ability to spread the floor presents a matchup nightmare for Creighton’s opponents and should keep teams from effectively collapsing down on the post.

6’11” red shirt freshman Will Artino and 7’ freshman Geoff Groselle provide the Jays with size to back up Echenique down low. Artino took advantage of his redshirt season by refining his game and adding at least 20 pounds to his frame, and according to the coaches he is one of the most improved players on the team.

Other freshmen joining the mix besides Texans Groselle and Chatman are 6’6” guard Avery Dingman from Branson, Mo., and 6’5” guard/forward Nevin Johnson from Houston. Dingman averaged over 23 points in high school and is expected to give the Jays another perimeter threat. He knocked down 3 three pointers in Creighton’s 81-42 exhibition win over Rockhurst last Sunday, giving the fans a glimpse of his potential. Johnson is a versatile athlete who can jump right out of the gym. His ability to play more than one position gives McDermott another fresh body to throw in the mix and keep up the throttle down.

It’s the lightening quick Chatman who will have the biggest impact with his ability to break down defenses, distribute the ball and hound the opposing ball handlers. Sure to become a crowd favorite, Chatman has already showed a glimpse of his abilities by leading the team in assists on the Bahamas trip and

winning the slam dunk contest during Creighton’s BluejayMadness event to kick off the practice season.

His best dunk involved leaping over the 7’Groselle under the basket while catching an alley-oop pass and throwing the ball down one-handed with authority. There wasn’t a butt cheek still touching a chair in the D.J. Sokol arena after that one.

Keeping a talented team with great expectations grounded while getting them to believe they can accomplish big things is the kind of problem most coaches like to have. If the Jays get where they want this season, it will be because of coach McDermott’s steady approach and the ability of the coaching staff to keep their young players focused on one day at a time. Or as Gibbs put it, “It’s the little things that make the big things happen.”

“We want to embrace the enthusiasm and excitement around the team this year, but yet it is a tricky balance to keep them at a level where they still know that they have a lot of work to do,” said DeVries. “We want our guys to have a chip on their shoulder and that hunger to get back (to the NCAA tournament), without thinking they have already got there because somebody has told them they are supposed to be good.”

Nonconference highlights on the schedule include home games against Big 10 foes Nebraska and Northwestern and a neutral site game in Des Moines versus Iowa on Nov. 20. Tough road tests await the Jays as they travel to UAB, Saint Joseph’s, San Diego State and Tulsa. , Creighton opens the season with a pair of games this weekend at the CenturyLink Center. The Jays tip off against North Carolina A&T Friday, Nov. 11 at at 7:05 p.m., while the Chicago State Cougars come prowling in for a 2:05 game Sunday, Nov. 13.

UNO Makes the Move Toward Division I It will be a year before the University of Nebraska-Omaha men’s basketball team steps up to a full Division I schedule in the Summit League, and four years before the “transition period” is over and UNO is eligible for NCAA Tournament play, but it already feels like things are happening. The Mavs are moving, not just divisions or conferences, but locations as well.

UNO announced in late September that the team will leave Sapp Fieldhouse, the team’s home since 1949, following this season to play in the brand new Ralston Sports and Events Center, scheduled for completion in the Fall of 2012.

“The new Ralston arena will provide the team with a first-class, state-of-the-art venue in which to play and will offer our fans outstanding amenities and great convenience just south of our campus,” AD Trev Alberts said. “We’re looking forward to a mutually beneficial partnership with the city of Ralston.”

The move to Ralston will open new revenue streams for a team that’s suddenly competing with the big boys of college basketball, but

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| THE READER |

cover story

there’s still one season left to play in the heart of Omaha and the transitional schedule provides plenty of intrigue on its own. There will be games to say goodbye to some local rivals – Doane, Hastings College, Concordia and, of course, UNK – as well as a introductions to new conference foes South Dakota, North Dakota State, Western Illinois, University of Missouri-Kansas City and Indian University-Fort Wayne. The Mavs also have a Dec. 4 trip to East Lansing, Mich. to face perennial powerhouse Michigan State as well as notable games against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Colorado State.

Head coach Derrin Hansen enters his seventh season with a relatively young squad featuring six underclassmen. Full-time starters Torrian Harris and Tyler Bullock are gone from last year’s 19-9 squad, but the Mavs do have two 20-game starters to look to for leadership.

Sophomore C John Karhoff (Creighton Prep) had a solid freshmen season, starting 24 games and averaging 20.2 minutes per game. He’ll anchor UNO in the middle and is the team’s leading return-

ing rebounder at 5.0 per game. Karhoff also added 16 blocks last year to finish second on the team.

Offensively the Mavs will rely on senior G Mitch Albers (Papillion-La Vista). Albers played two seasons at UNO before transferring to Nebraska in 2009 where he sat out a year then returned to Omaha. Last year he was second on the team with a 17.3 points per game scoring average.

Albers enters the season ranked 10th on UNO’s all-time scoring list with 1,258 career points, 559 points behind Dean Thompson Jr. If he can average 20 points per game this season, Albers could end up as the leading scorer in school history.

Junior Alex Welhouse provides coach Hansen with a dangerous inside-out threat. The 6-7 forward led the Mavs with a .430 three-point percentage last year and also hit better than 84 percent of his free throws while averaging 3.8 rebounds per game.

—Brandon Vogel UNO first home game of the season is against Concordia on Monday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at Sapp Fieldhouse, 6001 Dodge St. Tickets are available at omavs.com.

Elizabethan Christmas Feast

Saturday, November 19, 6:00 p.m.

Featuring the Nebraska Wesleyan Choir Four-course gourmet meal, theatrical entertainment, & choral music.

Reservations Required Tickets $25 You’re invited to join us for worship on Sundays at 8:30 and 10:50 am.

sponsor:

orchestra sponsor:

special effects sponsor

media sponsor:

7020 Cass · fumcomaha.org

402.345.0606

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11

Pleasantly Staying the Same Steakhouse tradition going strong

E

by Steve Brewer

There is also a lengthy wine list dominated by traditional French and California labels.

Brother Sebastian’s may seem like a blast from the past, but prices are certainly up to date. Before tip, we paid about $78 for two dinners and glasses of wine.

General manager Scott Lurry describes his menu as “traditional Omaha steakhouse.” The majority of items have been offered since the beginning, with a few selections added in the ensuring years.

Prime rib is the most popular, according to Lurry,

ating at Brother Sebastian’s is like taking a trip back in time to Omaha’s past. I mean that in the nicest possible way.

If you are of a certain age, you might recall the restaurants that once dominated the local dining brother sebastian’s scene. Lengthy menus offered numerous versions of steak. Entrees came with multiple side dishes, and the dining rooms were dark and woody.

Brother Sebastian’s Steak House & Winery proudly upholds that heritage. It opened in 1977, and has been following a successful formula ever since.

I first visited Brother Sebastian’s for my high school senior prom in the ’80s, and was interested to return and see how the place was holding up in a changing world.

My wife and I visited on a busy Saturday night. Our meal began with a basket of extremely soft white bread and a trip to the salad bar, which gets its own room at Brother Sebastian’s.

My wife ordered the Filet Oscar ($31.75), topped followed by New York strip and several other variations with hollandaise sauce, crab, and asparagus, and ex- of steak. pertly cooked medium-rare. The large chunks of crab “We’re beef heavy,” Lurry said in a later interview. and crisp asparagus were strong accompaniments to the “We also offer a fairly standard selection of fish and thick cut of meat. chicken items with our own creative spin.”

I tried the Shrimp Sautee ($21.95), with sautéed That traditional approach extends to the décor. It’s shrimp and mushrooms atop white rice. Shrimp is a big restaurant, seating over 200 patrons, but is broken sometimes overcooked locally, but this was well pre- into multiple rooms holding about 30 diners each. For pared. This is a mildly flavored dish designed to appeal example, we sat in the Contemplation Room. to a broad audience, but it was still satisfying.

“We are quiet, cozy, romantic,” Lurry said. “WithBoth of our dinners came with a baked potato, tasty out all of the walls, it would be very loud. When the grilled zucchini, and still more bread. I am not sure how fireplaces get going in the winter, that really transforms anyone here is hungry for dessert. everything as well.”

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dish

The medieval monastery theme has been preserved, with wine racks and exposed wooden beams everywhere. Yes, the sounds of chanting monks can still be heard in the parking lot.

Despite the Saturday night crowd, our meals were delivered quickly. The employees who served us were experienced, efficient and knowledgeable about the menu.

The most experienced of those employees might be Lurry, who has worked at Brother Sebastian’s for 31 years and has been general manager for 28 of those years.

“It was supposed to be a summer bartending job,” he said. “I was in my 20’s when I started here, and ended up never leaving.”

Surprisingly, Lurry said that change may be coming to Brother Sebastian’s. He is in the early stages of planning possible menu and décor revisions, although he declined to offer any specifics.

“I know we are thought of as an old, unchanging place, and we don’t want to be that,” Lurry said.

“We will probably make some updates while still preserving what everyone likes here.”

Your opinion of Brother Sebastian’s will likely depend on your view of traditional Omaha dining.

If you love the steakhouse experience, you will have a good time here. If you seek newer trends or a lighter cuisine, you should probably go somewhere else.

Brother Sebastian’s has been drawing crowds for over 30 years by offering a consistent, high-quality product.

My life has changed dramatically since that longago prom night, but it’s nice to know that some things have remained the same. , Brother Sebastian’s Steak House & Winery, 1350 South 119th St. (402) 330-0300 www.brothersebastians.com Lunch hours: Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner hours: Monday-Saturday 5 p.m. to close, Sunday 4 p.m. to close.

crumbs

dish

Veterans Day Freebies for Active duty and Veteran military personnel: Hooters will honor all Veterans and active duty military personnel with 10 of Hooters nearly world famous chicken wings. All day on Veteran’s Day, personnel with proof of service or a Military ID will receive 10 free wings. The offer is for boneless, naked or traditional breaded wings and is only available for dine in orders.

Outback Steakhouse is aiming to honor veterans who have served in all branches of the military this year and will be hosting a five-day-long Veterans Day special.

Beginning Nov. 7, any active duty or honorably discharged military member is entitled to a free “Bloomin’ Onion” and their choice of beverage.

All restaurant locations will be participating in this free giveaway. The last day to receive a free appetizer and beverage comes Nov. 11.

First there were Energy Drinks, now Relaxation Drinks: BeBevCo, a developer, manufacturer and marketer of relaxation and energy drinks, announced today that their flagship product, Koma Unwind — in two-ounce shot form — will now be carried at all 54 Pump and Pantry locations throughout the state of Nebraska. Koma Unwind may have some stiff competition breaking into the relaxation category with my bourbon on the rocks in hand.

Alan Simon Named to Meat Industry Hall of Fame: Omaha Steaks announced that company chairman and fourth generation family owner, Alan Simon, was inducted into the Meat Industry Hall of Fame at an induction ceremony held in Chicago Nov. 1. As one of 12 members of class of 2011, Simon joins a list of industry executives, scientists, innovators and association leaders from all sectors of the livestock, meat and poultry processing industries who have received this prestigious honor.

— John Horvatinovich Crumbs is about indulging in food and celebrating its many forms. Send information about area food and drink businesses to crumbs@thereader.com

ARTIST PANEL

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13 @ 1 PM Hear photographers Martin Stupich, William Wylie, & Steve Fitch speak about their work.

Gallery tour with the artists following the panel.

www.joslyn.org

| THE READER |

NOV. 10 - 16, 2011

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8 days TOPTV “Boss”

Fridays, 9 p.m. (Starz)

I never thought I’d be scared of Kelsey Grammer. The genial sitcom comedian is cast against type in this wellwritten new series about hardball politics, set in Chicago.

Grammer plays the city’s mayor, Tom Kane, who works the levers of power with a wellpracticed smile. Behind the smile is a ruthless player who gets what he wants, even if he has to resort to physical violence. Grammer Kelsey grammer deftly switches from public to private mode, offering a creepy portrait of a manipulative modern politician. As if that weren’t enough of an acting challenge, his character also suffers from a degenerative disease that affects the brain and muscles. Yes, Grammer makes that a believable part of his portrayal, too. I’ll bet Grammer will now be able land any dramatic part he wants when this series concludes its run. The only thing he won’t be able to do is pursue political office. After watching “Boss,” no voters in their right mind would support him – and I mean that as high praise.

—Dean Robbins

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t h e r e a d e r ’ s e nt e rtainm e nt picks n o v . 1 0 - 1 6 , 2 0 1 1

FRIDAY11 Nov. 11

Wish List: Small art works exhibition Modern Arts Midtown, 3615 Dodge St. Reception 6-9p.m.

Exhibit runs through December Modernartsmidtown.com, 502.8737

Small work by artists from Modern Arts Midtown collection will be featured through the holidays at the recently opened gallery curated by artist and owner Larry Roots. Art on view includes: richly colored whimsical oil paintings by Wendy Jane Bantam; muted colored abstract oil studies of Judith Burton; mythical abstract sculpture and drawings of Catherine Ferguson; calligraphic abstract-expressionistic work on paper by John Himmelfarb; the linear, kaleidoscopic acrylic paintings by Jacqueline Kluver; Roots’ own textural abstract paintings; the socially narrative oil paintings and prints

by Waite White; the contemporary still-life oils of Clifford Bailey and many more.

—Sally Deskins

SATURDAY12 Nov. 12

Yonder Mountain String Band The Bourbon Theatre, Lincoln 9 p.m., $20/adv, $25/dos www.onepercentproductions.com

As if this week’s North Mississippi Allstars show at Slowdown isn’t enough, Colorado’s Yonder Mountain String Band makes a stop in Lincoln to further squash your thirst for jam bands. The progressive bluegrass quartet has generated a massive following of loyal fans since the group’s 1998 inception. Much like Phish or The Grateful Dead, Yonder Mountain relies heavily on touring to spread their music and share their love of all things strings. Banjos, mandolins, bass guitars and acoustic guitars are integral to the

| THE READER |

picks

PICKOFTHEWEEK

Nov. 15 Everlast w/ Red Light King The Waiting Room Lounge 6212 Maple St. $15/adv, $17/dos, 9 p.m. onepercentproductions.com

EVERLAST

H

ouse of Pain was rowdy. Anyone that grew up in the 90’s surely remembers that hiphop anthem, “Jump Around.” Everlast, one of the three members of that group, split from the other two in 1996 to pursue a solo career which, believe it or not, actually earned the Irish-American rapper a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance for his duo with Santana. His 1998 hit single, “What It’s Like,” showed a more serious side of the boisterous emcee and it looked as if he had settled down a bit. Now at the age of 42, he is still getting into a few shenanigans here and there, most recently, some allegations surfaced accusing him of street-racing with Justin Bieber. No charges were filed and Everlast seems to be back to focusing on his music. Currently on tour in support of his latest release, Songs of the Ungrateful Living, Everlast comes to Omaha this Tuesday.

— Kyle Eustice

formula, which lend the band their signature sound. Comprised of mandolinist Jeff Austin, banjoist Dave Johnston, bassist Ben Kaufmann and guitarist Adam Aijala, Yonder Mountain haven’t released an album since 2009’s The Show, but are still on the road. Catch their high-energy live show this Saturday.

—Kyle Eustice

MONDAY14 Nov. 14

Thrash and Burn 2011 w/ Winds of Plague, Chelsea Grin, As Blood Runs Black & more Sokol Underground, 2234 S. 13th St. 6 p.m. , $16/adv, $18/dos www.onepercentproductions.com

Had your fill of hip-hop, electronic music and indie-rock? Try deathcore band, Winds of

Plague, who are headlining this year’s Thrash and Burn Tour. What’s deathcore, you ask?

It’s a blend of death metal and hardcore punk defined by its excessive use of blast beats and breakdowns. The California-based group is one of the only deathcore bands to incorporate symphonic elements into their music. Their debut album, A Cold Day In Hell, was released after they had just ended their senior year in high school. Granted, they have a lot to learn in this business, they’re off to a decent start. Though they’ve had a revolving door of members over the years, they’ve shared the stage with substantial acts such as Danzig, As I Lay Dying and Hatebreed. Winds of Plague were also a featured act on the 2011 Vans Warped Tour. Their fourth studio release, Against The World, is as heavy-hitting and hateful as their previous efforts and, as they gain momentum, they continue to cement their deathcore reputation.

—Kyle Eustice

t h e

r eade r ’ s

TUESDAY15 Nov. 15

North Mississippi Allstars w/ Buffalo Killers

Slowdown, 729 N. 15th St. 9 p.m. Tickets are $18/adv, $20/DOS. www.onepercentproductions.com In an era where people are “playing” laptops and MPCs more often than ever, it’s refreshing to see some good ol’ fashioned stringed instruments hitting the stage.

The North Mississippi Allstars have a few other tricks up their sleeves. Drummer/ keyboardist Cody Dickinson plays the electric washboard while brother, guitarist/ vocalist Luther Dickinson plays a cigar box guitar called a lowebow. Throw in bassist Chris Chew and the Southern rock trio is as authentic as it gets. Mixing blues, rock and country, the boys have a unique sound that fits nicely into the jam band category.

Since 2000, the Grammy Award-nominated Allstars have been generating album after album culminating with this year’s Keys To The Kingdom. The record is a celebratory declaration of life in the face of death and is a welcome addition to any Americana/roots rock collection.

—Kyle Eustice

WEDNESDAY16 Nov. 16

Mates of State

The Waiting Room Lounge 6212 Maple St. 9 p.m., $13, onepercentproductions.com Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel have grown together as their long-running band Mates of State as grown up. The drums-and-organ duo started by cranking out highly-caffienated full-throated indie pop just as the two started dating. In about four years, the duo

entertainment were married and Mates of State started its steady rise. During the past decade the band has evolved from the shout-along organ-slathered early days, without trading in their shared harmonies and the pure joy that pumps out from their songs. On their latest album, Mountaintops, the duo crosses those fast-tempo romps from their earlier days with a more polished swing. “Total Serendipity” starts out running, but breaks for piano and horns. It’s that ability that allows the band to break from the upbeat to knock a few ballads out of the park too.

—Chris Aponick

picks

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NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS

Nov. 16

Octopuses Garden Art Alliance Annual Fundraiser The Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St. 7-11p.m., $12/$8 students octopusesgarden.org

The Octopuses Garden Art Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to “strengthening community interaction through visual, literary and performance arts” has been celebrating diversity by providing opportunities to foster self-expression since 2008. “We collaborate with other non-profits, schools, neighborhood associations and local businesses throughout Omaha in hosting events to facilitate positive growth for anyone interested in learning an art form, meeting new people and expressing themselves,” said Executive Director Matthew Clouse. This third annual fundraiser will feature live music by Blue Rosa, John Klemmensen and DJ Tom Barrett; a silent art auction featuring local artists including Miss Cake, Andrew Hershey, Rodney Rahl and more; and a live artist demonstration of clothes stenciling. Proceeds will benefit the Garden’s educational initiatives at the New Park Avenue Center, new office space, a new website and maintaining their ongoing programs.

—Sally Deskins

MATES OF STATE

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Two local productions celebrate strong women

Y

by Warren Francke

ou don’t have to be a mother or a daughter to fully enjoy a terrific little play called Girl’s Room. Whatever your age or gender, you can identify with the impact of each new revelation as three generations of women share secrets at the Belgirl’s room levue Little Theatre.

In a bedroom pink with ballet memories and shining with dance trophies, “Girl”— that’s the name on Kate Silver’s birth certificate due to her indecisive mother—can barely breathe when mom and grandma smother her with questions about the accident that kept her from opening as the leading ballerina in a New York company.

But let them share some champagne and soon all three are buried in baggage. Before long, you’re ready to sing the praises of playwright Joni Fritz and director Julia Hinson for an evening of dramedy that rolls so smoothly along that it’s over too soon.

Hinson’s cast of three who actually are three generations of the same real-life family click so superbly, never missing a beat, that any unrelated playgoer can share poppa Bernie Clark’s pride as he watches his wife Kay as Flo, the grandmother; his daughter Vanessa Larson as the mother Marilyn, and his grand-daughter Shelby Larson as the injured ballerina.

I can’t recall a finer performance from the veteran Kay Clark, the most flamboyant of the three in vivid costumes by Carole Zacek. Her real-life stepdaughter, Vanessa, faces the greatest challenge from a script that presents her as a rather unhappy woman who abruptly brightens her outlook now and then.

From the outset, our sympathies go to Kate, age 23, trapped in her childhood bedroom kept

by her mother like a shrine to her dancing. We soon learn that Kate feels she’s living her mother’s ballet dream, but discover much later that both of the older women have dance stories of their own.

The fun really begins when Kate takes a pain-killer, Flo pops a champagne cork and the three gather around a card table to play a version of blackjack that lets the winner select a loser to reveal a secret.

First it gets funny, then uncomfortable and

eventually a bit ugly with damning disclosures.

When daughter convinces mom that she hates that dance-dominated bedroom, mom gets rid of the ballet stuff and pounds nails to hang horse paintings.

And when angry mom won’t hear what grandma has to say about avoiding her own dance ambitions, Kate demands, “Put that hammer down and listen to your mother.”

In other words, there’s no shortage of drama, comedy and superb acting.

Creighton University ran Will Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor: a Wild West Romp only

last weekend but director Alan Klem and his cast deserve a few quick credits for an entertaining evening with that old favorite, Sir John Falstaff.

The overweight reprobate has transformed from soldier to outlaw and when Mistress Page and Mistress Ford have him dumped into the river, it’s the Platte, not the Thames. But Justin Edmonds gives him plenty of belly-proud heft and costume designer Lindsay Pape supplies him with wonderfully unsavory-looking compadres.

Among the supporting actors, Matt DeNoncour as the French doctor with flair, and Patrick Kilcoyne as Frank Ford, made the most of Klem’s farcical adaptation. Eddie McGonigal’s swishy bartender was even over-the-top for this broad style, but he managed some impressive pratfalls.

One wishes once again for better acoustics in Creighton’s theater.

You can hear the more straightforward diction clearly enough, but whatever accent Josh Allen was delivering as the parson (Welsh in the original, Swedish this time?) got lost in the rafters.

Designer Bill Van Deest created a Red Garter saloon with swinging doors that effectively pinched the entry of the portly Falstaff.

And let it be noted that Bellevue wasn’t the only theater featuring family ties. Klem’s wife Kelly coordinated music, which included some spaghetti western sounds, and their little daughter Katie made sure she could be heard when the romp ended in song.

If you missed this brief run, you might capture its boisterous spirit by singing, “Happy Trails,” with Katie’s loud enthusiasm. , Girl’s Room runs Nov. 4-20, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, at Bellevue Little Theatre on Mission Street in Olde Towne. Tickets are $15, $13 seniors, $9 students. Call 402.391.1554.

theater

n Most of us would need help from our evil twin to catch all the theater openings the next two weekends. I’ll start with the one that closes quickest, RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles, not only because it runs so briefly—8 p.m.

Friday and two shows Saturday—but to see how the touring company compares with our home-grown treatment by Billy McGuigan.

Maybe the most striking claim for the John, Paul, George and Ringo named Steve, Joey, Joe and Ralph coming to the Orpheum is that they have “been together longer than The Beatles.” So it borders on the believable when Omaha Performing Arts boasts that “RAIN has mastered every song, gesture and nuance of the legendary foursome.”

You’ll have your own good reasons for wanting to see if that’s true, but I’m going to seek a cure for my troubling case of adult onset Beatlemania. n Now that Chanticleer Community Theater has us worried about its future, how about everyone turning out to see Sex Please, We’re 60 while humming the Beatles’ “Will you still need me when I’m 64.”

Jonathan Wilhoft directs a cast of fems who don’t need to plead for pity sex but should make this an appealing farce about a Viagra-like pill to pump up the libido of menopausal women. Sherry Fletcher, D. Laureen Pickle, Terry DeBenedictis and Lorie Obradovich are joined by Ron Hines, Henry Mitchell and the return of the talented Jamie Lewis to the stage.

It runs through Nov. 27 on the east side of Council Bluffs. Call 712.323.9955 or visit manager@chanticleertheater.com. n It gets crazy the weekend of Nov. 17-20 with everything from Tartuffe starting the Brigit Saint Brigit season at Joslyn Castle to A Christmas Carol returning to the Omaha Community Playhouse while the outrageous Christmas with the Crawfords comes back for SNAP! Productions and 12 Ophelias hits the University of Nebraska at Omaha. That’s a play by Caridad Svich subtitled “a play with broken songs.”

And this weekend you can still catch The Creepy Creeps of Pilgrim Road in the Holy Cross School gym, where director Roxanne Wach has Todd Brooks manning the music before turning his talents to those awful Crawfords. The creepy ones run 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday.

One that got away: I didn’t get out to Red Oak, Iowa, to see CAUCUS! The Musical, but I’ll bet it was fine spoofing, even without Herman Cain to sing the title tune.

—Warren Francke

coldcream

Girl Power

culture

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

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culture

n Omaha-based editorial cartoonist Neal Obermeyer is showing at The Sydney in Benson opening Nov. 10. The original work comments on TransCanada’s plans to route the Keystone XL pipeline through Nebraska’s sandhills, with prints available for sale to benefit anti-pipeline efforts. “I’m hoping I can use some of my work to support the efforts of all of the people who are volunteering their time and energy to protect Nebraska’s natural resources,” said Obermeyer. Bold Nebraska Editor Jane Kleeb will speak at the reception; the show remains open through November. n Creighton University Lied Art Gallery presents the BFA Thesis Exhibition by painter Mary Ensz opening Nov. 11. In Turning Point, the Spanish double-major explores a spectrum of attitudes toward emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual development through human figures and nesting doll forms. “It is a privilege to visually share the journey through my fears, revelations, and unanswered questions,” said the Auburn, Neb., native. n November 13, Friends of Art supporting the Art and Art History Departments at UNO presents A Trio: Paint, Motion and Music in the UNO Art Gallery featuring a talk by digital videographer and painter Michael Burton and printmaker-painter Anne Burton. Musician Jay Kreimer will also talk along with a wine reception. $20 admission benefits Friends of Art Scholarship Fund.

n Opening Nov. 10 at Love’s Jazz and Art Center is an exhibit featuring Cecil Bernard.

Texas-native Bernard is known for his passionate abstract expressionist paintings and sketches representing the “struggles, pains and joys of life” in jazz music, nature and human spirit. The exhibit runs through Jan. 14. n Nebraska Women’s Caucus for Art presents 11-11-11 opening Nov. 11 at the SoMa Gallery just west of 11th and Leavenworth streets, featuring multi-media work on the theme of the number by over a dozen area female artists. n Nomination submissions for the Nebraska Governor’s Arts Awards are being sought through Nov. 15 at nebraskaartscouncil.org.

Award categories include Outstanding Artist, Emerging Leader, Excellence in Art Education, Heritage Award, Organizational Achievement Award and Thomas C. Woods III Partner in the Arts. Since 1979, the Nebraska Arts Council, in partnership with the Governor of Nebraska, has recognized Nebraska arts organizations, arts professionals, people and businesses that support the arts in Nebraska with this gala event which features an award created by a Nebraska artist.

— Sally Deskins

— Sarah Lorsung Tvrdik Sarah Lorsung Tvrdik is a stylist, costumier, wife and freelance writer based in Omaha, Neb. Her style blog can be found at fashflood.com.

mixedmedia

Hair and makeup by Seven Salon // three2three photography

clothing for Omaha’s families in need.

HOME: Tickets for Birdhouse Interior Design’s HOME exhibit are now on sale at home.birdhouseinteriors.com. The opening reception will take place from 6-10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, and will feature Erin Loechner of “Design for Mankind” and HGTV.com. HOME will include seven temporary rooms designed by Birdhouse, featuring the works of local artists, artisans and craftsmen. Tickets for the opening reception cost $30. Those unable to make it to the opening reception will be able to visit the exhibit from Dec. 3-11 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for a $5 admission fee. HOME will take place at the Bancroft Street Market, located at 2702 S. 10th St. Visit home.birdhouseinteriors.com to purchase tickets and for more information.

fashflood

netNebraska.org SEVEN AD 5 x 5

Create & Bitch: Are you a local designer or crafter looking for a break in your weekend routine? Create & Bitch is here for you. On the second Friday of every month, grab your supplies and head down to CAMP Coworking Space in the Mastercraft Building located at 1111 N. 13th St. in North Downtown Omaha. From 7-11 p.m., work alongside other creative locals on any project of your choosing, from your next clothing line to a painting you’ve been dying to finish. The cost for Create & Bitch is a mere $3 and the first session will take place Friday, Nov. 11. Visit inezgill.com (see story on page 20) for more information on upcoming Create & Bitch events.

Unity Clothing Drive: Clean out those closets! Sailor’s Grave tattoo shop and local music television show Midwest Music Meltdown are holding their Second Annual Unity Clothing Drive Saturday, Nov. 12, from 2-10 p.m. Drop off your good quality used clothing donation at Sailor’s Grave, located at 6208 Maple St., and receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win a $100 tattoo. All clothing donations will be given to an organization that provides

Mixed Media is a column about local art. Send ideas to mixedmedia@thereader.com.

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courtney gill zurcher

Bold and Beautiful Bows Designer enjoys emersing herself in her craft

C

by Jessica Stensrud

ourtney Gill Zurcher describes herself as an “all or nothing” type of person.

Case in point: she took up a hobby of knitting and turned it into a successful business all within a matter of months. A self-taught designer, Zurcher is most known for her creation of whimsical bows that she sells on her website, Inezgill.com.

“I don’t know why I love to make bows, but I always end up making them,” Zurcher explains, “I think it is because I love instant gratification and the bows don’t take long to make and I can use a lot of different materials.”

The bows Zurcher makes are often oversized and in bold colors and designs (think Lady GaGa). Some are hairpins (attention, gentlemen: they can double as bowties) and

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nov. 10 -16, 2011

others are headbands. Zurcher also creates other types of headpieces and clips that are guaranteed to make a statement. These unique headbands have a very hippie vibe to them, braided with multiple bands and various buttons. The pins range from the bows to minicrochet pieces.

Judging by the detail and beauty of the finished product, the process seems tedious. However Zurcher finds it soothing and she enjoys immersing herself in the creativity.

“I like to work early in the morning when it is quiet and I can hear the birds sing. I’ll make a big pot of tea or coffee and just create until my back starts to hurt,” Zurcher said, “I work crazy long hours when I’m in my element.”

When she’s not in her element, Zurcher is busy focusing on the business aspect of her products and website. Zurcher describes Inez-Gill as a “one woman show.” But Zurcher isn’t complaining in the slightest.

“I take all the pictures, edit photos, run the website, make the store displays, balance the

| THE READER |

style

books, and design all the advertising material. I do it all and I enjoy it that way.”

Zurcher also takes custom orders from fans all around the world (from New York to Australia). They request the material, yarn, and which piece they’d like, and Zurcher does the rest. She will also take someone’s favorite materials and turn them into something new, which is called Heirloom Apparel.

“I once made a cowl out of an old floral tablecloth that was passed down by the client’s grandmother. It turned out so beautiful and had such a rich history. I love getting the chance to breathe life into old buttons, fabric and jewelry.

The point is to let my client keep the things that were given to them by the people they love,” Zurcher explains.

In addition to her website, Zurcher sells her creations locally at Omaha favorites like Caffeine Dreams (45th and Farnam) and most recently Scout Dry Goods and Trade located in Dundee.

Her bow pins and hair pieces can be found at both stores.

main photo by anthony licari

style

Zurcher also began her new line, Single Sleeve Scarf (which is exactly what it sounds like, only more awesome). In these pieces, she takes scarves and gives them a sleeve for a dramatic effect, a perfect alternative to a shawl or jacket.

But rest assured, this is just the beginning for InezGill, and the future looks very bright for Zurcher.

“I want to live a lifestyle that is based on bringing out my god-given talents. I can’t tell you in five years InezGill will still be based primarily on knitting. I might design dresses! I just don’t see any limits with InezGill.”

Starting Nov. 11, Zurcher will be hosting a crafting and design group called Create and Bitch at the Camp Art Studio, located at 1111 N. 13th St. No. 119. The event will be held the second Friday of every month. Everyone is encouraged to bring any projects they are working on and reap the benefits of working in a creative environment with likeminded crafties. The cost is only $3 for use of the facilities. The first three guests get an InezGill bow. ,

| THE READER |

NOV. 10 - 16, 2011

21

art

OpeningS

ARTISTS’ COOPERATIVE GALLERY, 405 S. 11th St., (402) 3429617. HOT COLORS/COOL SHAPES: New work by Joan Fetter, Agenta Gaines and Marcia Joffe-Bouska, opens Nov. 4, 6 p.m., artist demonstration Nov. 9, 5 p.m. Show runs through Nov. 20.

CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY LIED CENTER, 2500 California Plaza, 402-280-2509. TURNING POINT: New work by Mary Ensz, opens Nov. 11-Dec. 9, reception Nov. 11, 5 p.m.

THE DESIGNERS, 12123 Emmet St., (402) 498-8777. AWARD WINNING ARTISTS: New work by Katrina Methot Swanson, Debra Joy Groesser, Judith Anthony Johnston and J K Thorsen, continues through Nov. 10, closing reception Nov. 10, 5 p.m., with demostrations by the artists.

HARVESTER ARTSPACE LOFTS, 1000 South Main St.. HARVESTER ARTSPACE LOFTS GRAND OPENING: An artful evening of festivities, opens Nov. 10, 5 p.m.

HOT SHOPS ART CENTER, 1301 Nicolas St., (402) 342-6452.

AT THE MOVIES: Group show of art depicting movies, opens Nov. 1-Nov. 27, reception Nov. 11, 5 p.m.

INTERNATIONAL QUILT STUDY CENTER AND MUSEUM, 1523 N. 33rd St., (402) 472-7232. STORYTELLING IN THE GALLERY: Storytelling with artist Yvonne Wells, opens Nov. 12, 11 a.m.

JOSLYN ART MUSEUM, 2200 Dodge St., (402) 342-3300. SATURDAY SURPRISE: WHAT’S YOUR CHARACTER?: Compile the strange, stranger and strangest parts of your life into one great work of art, opens Nov. 12 and Nov. 26, 10 a.m.

MODERN ARTS MIDTOWN, 3615 Dodge St. WISH LIST: A small art works exhibition featuring Wendy Bantam, Judith Burton, Catherine Ferguson, John Himmelfarb, Jacqueline Kluver, Larry Roots, Francisco Souto, Watie White and others, opens Nov. 11Dec. 31, reception Nov. 11, 6 p.m.

SHELDON MEMORIAL ART GALLERY, 12th & R St., (402) 4722461. MARGARET ROSE VENDRYES: Artist and author of Barté: A Life In Scuplture, presents a gallery talk and lecture in conjuction with the exhibition Richomond Barthé: Harlem Renaissance Sculptor, opens Nov. 15, 3:30 p.m.

SLOWDOWN, 729 N. 14th St., (402) 345-7569. THE OCTOPUSES GARDEN ANNUAL FUNDRAISER W/ BLUE ROSA, JOHN KLEMMENSEN, DJ TOM BARRETT: Annual funraiser for community arts organization, opens Nov. 16, 7 p.m.

THE SYDNEY, 5918 Maple St., (402) 932-9262. CARTOON ART SHOW: New work by Neal Obermeyer, opens Nov. 10, 6 p.m.

UNO ART GALLERY, 6001 Dodge St., (402) 554-2796. A TRIO: PAINT, MOTION AND MUSIC: Speaking will be Michael Burton Digital Videographer and painter, and Anne Burton, printmaker and painter, followed by Jay Kreimer, Musician, opens Nov. 13, 5 p.m

ONGOING

THE 815, 815 O St. Suite 1, (402) 261-4905. NEW WORK: New work by emerging artist Daniel Joseph May, through Nov. 9 MUSES STUDIO, 2713 N 48th St., 9musesstudio@gmail.com.

NEW WORK: New work by Arden Nixon, through Nov. ANDERSON O’BRIEN FINE ART OLD MARKET, 1108 Jackson St., (402) 884-0911. GENERATIONS SHARED: New work by Jim Krantz, through Nov. 27.

ARTISTS’ COOPERATIVE GALLERY, 405 S. 11th St., (402) 3429617. HOT COLORS/COOL SHAPES: New work by Joan Fetter, Agenta Gaines and Marcia Joffe-Bouska. Show runs through Nov. 20.

BANCROFT STREET MARKET, 2702 S. 10th St., (402) 6806737. DAY OF THE DEAD EXHIBIT: Group show exploring Day of the Dead, through Nov. 12.

BIRDHOUSE COLLECTIBLE, 1111 N. 13th St., Suite 123, biz@ birdhouseinteriors.com. AND HE LABORED TO REALIZE THE ENDLESSNESS OF THE SKIES: New work by Caolan O’Loughlin, through Nov. 5.

CRESCENT MOON COFFEE, 8th & P St., (402) 435-2828. NEW WORK: New work by Brian Everman, through Nov. CULTIVA COFFEE, 1501 S. St., (402) 802-1909. FIRST FRIDAY ARTIST: New work by Anne Dake, through Nov. EL MUSEO LATINO, 4701 S. 25th St., (402) 731-1137. GRAPHICS OF LATIN AMERICA: Group show exploring the graphics of Latin America, through Dec. 28. DAY OF THE DEAD INSTALLATION: On view through Nov. 19.

ELDER ART GALLERY, 5000 St. Paul Ave.. JURIED STUDENT EXHIBITION: New work by NWU students, through Dec. 11.

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nov. 10 - 16, 2011

GRAND MANSE GALLERY, 129 N. 10th St., (402) 476-4560.

OBJECTS OF FASHION: New work by Allison Holdsworth, through Nov. GREAT PLAINS ART MUSEUM, 1155 Q St., (402) 472-0599.

PASSING AMERICA: New work by V....Vaughan, through Dec. 11,.

HOT SHOPS ART CENTER, 1301 Nicolas St., (402) 342-6452.

AT THE MOVIES: Group show of art depicting movies, through Nov. 27.

INTERNATIONAL QUILT STUDY CENTER AND MUSEUM, 1523 N. 33rd St., Lincoln, 472.7232, quiltstudy.org. ELEGANT GEOMETRY: AMERICAN AND BRITISH MOSAIC PATCHWORK: Through Jan. 1, 2012. YVONNE WELLS: QUILTED MESSAGES: New work by Yvonne Wells, through Feb. 26.

JOSLYN ART MUSEUM, 2200 Dodge St., (402) 342-3300.

AMERICAN LANDSCAPE CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE WEST: Featuring the work of fourteen photographers, through Jan. 8. FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA: CURRIER & IVES PRINTS FROM THE CONAGRA FOODS COLLECTION: Nathaniel Currier and James merritt Ives offered affordable color prints that remain a vivid picture of nineteenth-century America, through Jan. 15.

KIECHEL FINE ART, 5733 S. 34th St, (402) 420-9553. DEFINING AMERICA: IMAGES OF THE 20TH CENTURY: A show that pairs heroic scenes of American history with intimate insights into artists’ private lives, through Nov. 25.

KIMMEL HARDING NELSON ARTS CENTER, 801 3rd Corso St., (402) 874-9600. AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE: New work by Jenni Brant, through Dec. 9, reception Dec. 1, 5 p.m.

LUX CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 48th and Baldwin, Lincoln, 434.2787, luxcenter.org. RECLAIMED: ART MADE OF RECYCLED MATERIALS: Group show that examines and questions the state of our throw-away culture/society, featuring new work by Jake Balcom, Elizabeth Frank, John Garrett, Daphnae Koop, Jennifer Maestre and Conrad Quijas, this show continues through October 29. THE SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL: Comic book art by nationally known artist Bob Hall, through Nov. 26.

MODERN ARTS MIDWEST, 800 P St., (402) 477-2828. ONE TRICK PONY: New work by Watie White, through Nov. 12.

MORRILL HALL, 307 Morrill Hall, Lincoln 472.3779, museum. unl.edu. AMPHIBIANS VIBRANT AND VANISHING: Photographs

by Joel Sartore, through Nov. 30. FIRST PEOPLES OF THE PLAINS: TRADITIONS SHAPED BY LAND AND SKY: This modern exhibit explores the enduring traditions of Native American cultures of the Great Plains.

MOVING GALLERY, Garden of the Zodiac, 1042 Howard St., (402) 341-1877. PORTRAITS: New work by Gerhard Kassner and Christian Rothmann, continues through Dec. 6.

MUSEUM OF NEBRASKA ART (MONA), 2401 Central Ave., (308) 865-8559. NEBRASKA NOW: CHAD FONFARA: New glass work by Chad Fonfara, continues through Jan. 8.

OLD MARKET ARTISTS GALLERY, 1034 Howard St., (402) 3466569. METALS: A SHINY ATTRACTION: New work by Meridith Merwald-Gofta, through Nov. OMAHA’S CHILDREN’S MUSEUM, 500 S. 20th St., 342.6163. ocm.org. DINOSAURS DAWN OF THE ICE AGE: Stomping and roaring robotic dinosaurs are invading the museum, through Jan. 8.

PARRISH STUDIOS, 14th & O St.. COLLABORATIONS IN JUNK AND OTHER ARTFULLY REPURPOSED STUFF: New work by Melanie Falk, through Nov. PASSAGEWAY GALLERY, 417 S. 11th St., (402) 341-1910.

THROUGH MY EYES: New work by Dan Waltz, through Nov. PERU STATE COLLEGE ART GALLERY, 600 Hoyt , (402) 8722271, kanderson@peru.edu. BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND A DAY JOB: New work by Andy Acker, through Nov. 5.

RNG GALLERY, 157 West Broadway, (402) 214-3061. OPENING RECEPTION: Opening reception for the new RNG Gallery, featuring new work by Stephen Azevedo and Christina Renfer Vogel.

Show continues through Dec. 4.

SHELDON ART GALLERY, 12th and R, UNL, Lincoln, sheldonartgallery.org. HISTORIES: Works from the Sheldon Permanent Collection, through Jul. 15, 2012. HARLEM RENAISSANCE SCULPTOR: Work by Richmond Barthe, continues through Jan. 15. THE ART AND SCIENCE OF CONSERVATION: WALT KUHN’S ‘APPLES IN WOODEN BOAT’: Presents findings of recent examination of the artwork including x-rays taken on Sep. 26 at BryanLGH Medical Center West, continues through Dec. 31.

| THE READER |

art/theater listings

poetry/comedy thursday 10

check event listings online!

TUGBOAT GALLERY, 1416 O St., (402) 477-6200. SILENT AUCTION FUNDRAISER: Group show/silent auction featuring new work by a large number of artists, through Nov. UNO ART GALLERY, 6001 Dodge St., (402) 554-2796. ALMUTANABBI STREET STARTS HERE: Exhibition features letterpress broadsides, artists’ books and a documentary film made to honor the book center of Baghdad, which was destroyed by a car bomb in 2007. SELECTED WORKS ON PAPER AND VIDO: PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY OF CRACOW: New work by faculty and students from the University of Cracow Fine Arts Department. Curator Rafal Solewski, chair of art theory and art education for the department, selected the works to highlight the schools range.

W. DALE CLARK LIBRARY, 215 S. 15th St., (402) 444-4800.

IN A NUTSHELL: THE WORLDS OF MAURICE SENDAK: Exhibit strives to reveal the push and pull of new and old worlds in Sendak’s work and shows how his artistic journey has led him deeper into his own family’s history and Jewish identity. Through Dec. 16.

WORKSPACE GALLERY, 440 N. 8th St., workspace.gallery.lincoln@gmail.com. THE COLOR OF HAY: New work by Kathleen McLaughlin, through Jan. 5.

theater oPENING

FLYIN’ WEST, Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St., (402) 553-4890. Opens Nov. 10, Nov. 11, Nov. 12, Nov. 13, 7:30 pm, $35; Students: $21 NWU THEATRE CABARET PERFORMANCE, Nebraska Wesleyan, 51st & Huntington St., (402) 465-2395. Opens Nov. 11, Nov. 12, 7:30 pm, $5 R AND D: AN EVENING OF PHYSICAL EXPLORATIONS WITH DAVID NEUMANN AND LOCAL PEOPLE WITH BODIES, Kaneko, 1111 Jones St., (402) 341-3800. Opens Nov. 12, 7:30 pm, $10 WORKSHOP: BRIGHT EYED AND LIMPING (A LAB FOR CREATING THEATRE BY MEANS OF DESTRUCTION AND ASSEMBLY), Kaneko, 1111 Jones St. Opens Nov. 12, 12:00 am, $25 MEDEA, McDonald Theatre, 53rd St. & Huntington Ave., (402) 465-2384, theatre@nebrwesleyan.edu. Opens Nov. 10, Nov. 11, Nov. 12, Nov. 13, 7:30 pm, $10; Seniors: $7.50; Students: $5 GIAN-CARLO MENOTTI’S THE MEDIUM, Creighton University Lied Center, 2500 California Plaza, 402-280-2509. Opens Nov. 16, 7:30 pm, N/A AUDITION: RUMORS, Bellevue Little Theater, 203 Mission Ave., (402) 291-1554. Opens Nov. 13, Nov. 14, 7:00 pm, FREE GIRL’S ROOM, Bellevue Little Theater, 203 Mission Ave., (402) 291-1554. Opens Nov. 11, Nov. 12, Nov. 13, 7:00 pm, $15; Seniors: $13; Students: $9 CABARET: SING YOUR LUNGS OUT FOR LARA!, Pizza Shoppe Collective, 6056 Maple St., (402) 932-9007. Opens Nov. 11, Nov. 12, 7:30 pm, $20 THE CREEPY CREEPS OF PILGRIM ROAD, Holy Cross School, 1502 S. 48th St.. Opens Nov. 11, Nov. 12, Nov. 13, 7:30 pm, $10 THE CRUCIBLE, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, 12th & R St., Opens Nov. 11, Nov. 12, Nov. 13, 7:30 pm, $15 ALL MY SONS, Nebraska Wesleyan, 51st & Huntington St., (402) 465-2395. Opens Nov. 16, 7:30 pm, $5 HANSEL & GRETEL, Rose Theater, 2001 Farnam St., (402) 3454849. Opens Nov. 11, Nov. 12, Nov. 12, Nov. 13, Nov. 13, 7:30 pm, $19 AWAY IN THE BASEMENT A CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES CHRISTMAS, Iowa Western Community College, 2700 College Rd. Opens Nov. 11, Nov. 12, Nov. 12, 8:00 pm, N/A AUDITION: RUMORS, Bellevue Little Theater, 203 Mission Ave., (402) 291-1554. Opens Nov. 13, Nov. 14, 7:00 pm, FREE LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN, Temple Building, 215 Temple Building, 402-472-2072 . Opens Nov. 10, Nov. 11, Nov. 12, Nov. 16, 7:30 pm, $16

CUAUHTÉMOC CÁRDENAS, University of Nebraska at Omaha 6001 Dodge St., (402) 554-2800. 2:00 pm, FREE. Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, a prominent Mexican politician, will discuss Mexico’s current political climate and relationship with the US, talk takes place in UNO’s W.H. Thompson Alumni Center Centennial Hall.

ANNUAL MARKOE-DEPORRES SOCIAL JUSTICE LECTURE, Creighton University Lied Center 2500 California Plaza, 402280-2509. 7:30 pm, FREE. Andrea Bartoli presents lecture “Catholics and International Peacemaking” in the auditorium of the Mike and Josie Harper Center.

BACKLINE IMPROV, Studio…Gallery 4965 Dodge St., (402) 660-0867. 8:00 pm, $5.

ANIS MOJGANI, Creighton University 2500 California Plaza, (402) 280-2700. 9:00 pm, N/A. National Poetry Slam champion performs at Skutt Student Center, Fireplace Lounge.

COMEDY SURPRISE NIGHT, Mojo Smokehouse & Ales 2110 South 67th St., (402) 504-3776. 10:00 pm, FREE.

FRIDAY 11

GARY THRASHER, The Bookworm 87th & Pacific St., (402) 392-2877. 6:00 pm, FREE. Author will sign Phantom Letters.

SATURDAY 12

STORYTELLING IN THE GALLERY, International Quilt Study Center and Museum 1523 N. 33rd St., (402) 472-7232. 11:00 am, FREE. Storytelling with artist Yvonne Wells.

CLEAN PART READING SERIES WITH ELISA GABBERT & LILLY BROWN, Drift Station Gallery 1746 N St., mail@driftstation.org.

7:00 pm, FREE.

Sunday 12

JOE SARTORE, The Bookworm 87th & Pacific St., (402) 3922877. 1:00 pm, FREE. Author will sign Let’s Be Reasonable.

SENDAK’S ANCESTRAL MEMORY: HIDDEN NARRATIVES OF JEWISH LIFE AND HISTORY, W. Clark Swanson Branch 9101 W. Dodge Road, (402) 444-4852. 2:30 pm, FREE. Lecture by Dr. Joan Latchaw.

monday 14

LEVEL 3 IMPROV CLASS, Studio…Gallery 4965 Dodge St., (402) 660-0867. 7:00 pm, $75.

POETRY AT THE MOON WITH SANDRA MATTHEWS-BENHAM, Crescent Moon Coffee 8th & P St., (402) 435-2828. 7:00 pm, FREE.

tuesday 15

TSUNEO AKAHA, Creighton University 2500 California Plaza, (402) 280-2700. 12:30 pm, FREE. Lecture entitled “Old and New Conflicts: Japan and the Great Powers.” Lecture takes place in room 105 of the Skutt Student Center.

OPEN MIC POETRY, Indigo Bridge Books 701 P St. Suite 102, (402) 477-7770. 7:00 pm, FREE. LEVEL 1 IMPROV CLASS, Studio…Gallery 4965 Dodge St., (402) 660-0867. 7:00 pm, $75.

FIVE DOLLAR COMEDY NIGHT TUESDAYS: SKULLPROV, Pizza Shoppe Collective 6056 Maple St., (402) 932-9007.

8:00 pm, $5.

SHOOT YOUR MOUTH OFF III, The Hideout Lounge 320 S. 72nd St., (402) 504-4434. 9:00 pm, FREE.

Wednesday 16

POET SHOW IT, 1122 D St. 1122 D St.. 3:40 pm, FREE. Hosted by Travis Davis, 1st and 3rd Wednesday.

PAUL A. OLSON SEMINAR IN GREAT PLAINS STUDY, Great Plains Art Museum 1155 Q St., (402) 472-0599. 4:15 pm, FREE. “Creating the ‘Atlas of the Great Plains’,” presented by J. Clark Archer, professor of geography, UNL, and Fred M. Shelly, professor of geography, University of Oklahoma.

PEOPLE’S FILM FESTIVAL: BEHIND THE BURLY Q, McFoster’s Natural Kind Cafe 302 S. 38th St., (402) 345-7477. 7:00 pm, FREE. MISSOURI VALLEY READING SERIES W/ DAVID PHILIP MULLINS, Milo Bail Student Center 6001 Dodge St., (402) 554-2383. 7:30 pm, FREE. ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC FOR MUSICIANS & POETS, Meadowlark Coffee 1624 South St., (402) 477-2077. 8:00 pm, FREE. THE MIDWEST POETRY VIBE, Arthur’s 222 N. 114th St., (402) 706-2491. 9:00 pm, Ladies: $5; Guys: $7.

music

Dallas Green embraces City & Colour by letting his other band go

T

by Chris Aponick

always be tied to Alexisonfire. There’s people that discovered City & Colour because of Alexisonfire and many of those who discover City & Colour first often listen to Alexisonfire later.

“City & Colour might not exist without Alexisonfire,” Green says.

“I don’t think there will ever be a time that people won’t know about the other band.”

Green says there will always be a part of himself that misses playing the style of music that Alexisonfire played and he still gets ideas for heavier-sounding songs.

“I’m always going to play my guitar in base-

he growing success of City & Colour became impossible to ignore for Dallas Green.

So did the trickiness of balancing the acoustic indie folk solo act with his status as a member of Canadian post-hardcore band Alexisonfire.

Green had spent a decade with Alexicity & colour sonfire, but as City & Colour took off on its own rapid rise, Green musical life started to become too much to handle. In essence, it was like having two full-time jobs, Green says.

So in 2010, Green left Alexisonfire to focus all of his energy on City & Colour.

“It was probably the hardest thing I ever had to do,” Green says.

Green says he felt like he was trying to appease both sides, while he was enjoying neither.

“City & Colour started becoming something I never imagine it would become,” he says.

The solo project first took root in Green’s native Canada, where the mainstream media picked up on his 2005 debut, Sometimes. In Canada, magazines regularly feature Green and his videos make it to regular music television rotation. The debut also garnered Green a Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year in the 2007 Canadian music industry’s equivalent to the Grammy Awards. ment, sometimes I’m going to turn it up and Green says the attention of media and in- sometimes I’m not,” Green says. dustry awards really hasn’t come into considerGreen’s first step after making City & ation when it came time to write the next two Colour his only project is his third solo album, albums though.

2011’s Little Hell. It’s also the first time Green “I don’t really give a shit about awards to be has worked with an outside producer, Alex honest,” Green says.

Newport. Previous records were basically selfIn fact, Green embraces his slightly under- produced, with Green working side-by-side the-radar status in the United States, saying that with an engineer. if he’s not being written about, then there’s less “I had never thought about using an actual chance that people will stop writing about him. producer before,” Green says.

Still Green is thankful for his success and he Green brought Newport up to Catherine says he knows that City & Colour’s success will North Studios in Hamilton, Ontario. The studio

is an open room, with no isolation booths, in a converted church.

Green and Newport worked together, recording everything to tape, as Newport as done during his 20 years of making records. The process flowed well, Green says.

“He seemed to be really in tune with what I was thinking,” Green says.

The record touches on the struggles of various personal relationships and how you have to find your way out of those problem periods, he says.

“Life is all about all those personal little hells you have to go through,” Green says.

Green says he was eager to return to Catherine North, where he also made 2008’s Bring Me Your Love. He had become friendly with the studio owner Dan Achen, who died in 2010. He wanted to record there again to recapture the magic of the previous sessions and as an homage to Achen.

“It made sense to go back there and record again,” Green says.

On Little Hell, the warm, analog recording style fits Green’s voice especially well, as his voice soars on top of balladheavy acoustic country rock.

Green says he’s never taken lessons or anything, but he’s sung since he was young. He says he’s only lost hiss voice momentarily on tour and only a lack of sleep really zaps his vocal power.

He says he’s been drawn to singing the way he does just by the fact that he’s surrounded by a musical world that has pulled away from from natural, unedited singing.

“I like to actually sing, it feels good,” Green says. , City & Colour w/ Hacienda and Daniel Romano play the Slowdown, 729 North 14th St., Sunday, November 13th at 8 p.m. Tickets are $22 in advance, $25 day-of-show. For more information, visit onepercentproductions.com.

music

backbeat

One Tough Choice

n For some reason, the first week of November brought on a glut of must-see clubs shows both in Omaha and Lincoln, While I missed Manchester Orchestra in Lincoln and A.A. Bondy in Omaha, headlining sets

by Real Estate, Conduits and David Bazan created a memorable week of music.

The week’s highlight was undoubtedly the David Bazan show at Waiting Room Lounge, 6212 Maple St. Ex-Pedro the Lion founder played plenty of selections from Pedro and his solo career with a drummer and bassist that gave a rich structure to Bazan’s rock-steady, hooky indie rock. The simple trio format still let ragged ends hang loose and made sure the stark lyrical content wasn’t buried in sonic layers. In between songs, Bazan bantered with audience members, allowing a humorous question-and-answer session to take place while the band tuned between songs.

The crowd hovered around 100 and most of the attendees devotedly crowded around the front of the stage. The Sunday night set boldly made it clear just how underappreciated Bazan is. He’s an indie rock treasure.

On Thursday night, Conduits packed cozy House of Loom, 1012 S. 10th St., for a night that swapped out Loom’s dance beats for slowburning indie rock. Conduits are obviously onto something and Thursday felt like the local band might just be approaching a tipping point onto greater and greater success. Singer Jenna Morrison captivates in a manner similiar to the shoegazey Beach House, while guitarist J.J. Idt and his band mates let melodies percolate down like a morphine drip before slightly fracturing those textures with noisier squalls. The vibe is there and the sound is right. The only ingredient that still seems to be taking form is the songs, which right now stand up effectively as mood pieces.

However, given all the intriguing ideas and topnotch musicianship coursing through Conduits veins, these songs should be packing more of an emotional wallop.

Real Estate brought their own rapidly-rising indie guitar pop to The Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St., Wednesday night, bringing a sprightly bounce to their post-Yo La Tengo guitar jams. The band has nailed down its sound over the course of two albums, which builds hope that they will begin to mess around with their form as they continue on. When all the songs travel at the same pace, 45 minutes is about the perfect set length. As it stands, the set succeeded on the strength of the band’s breezy songs and on the set’s brevity.

— Chris Aponick Backbeat takes you behind the scenes of the local music scene. Send tips, comments and questions to backbeat@thereader.com.

| THE READER |

nov. 10 - 16, 2011

23

music French Flavor The Omaha Symphony presents ‘Daphnis & Chloe’

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402.342.2885

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nov. 10 - 16, 2011

| THE READER |

music

by Cheril Lee

oh la la, c’est magnifique. The Omaha Symphony’s MasterWorks series continues with the flavors of France. The Symphony presents Maurice Ravel’s “Daphnis & Chloe” Nov. 1112 at 8 p.m. in the Holland Performing Arts Center.

Alastair Willis is guest conducting the concert.

He said “Daphnis & Chloe” is one of the greatest ballet scores ever. According to Willis, the final “danse generale” boasts four of the most exciting minutes in classical music.

“Orchestras love to play joshua roman this piece, and audiences love listening to it. There is so much to enjoy, to savor, to feel,” Willis said.

Willis has an affinity for the French. His best friend is French, Paris is his favorite city and he speaks French.

He said one of his favorite periods in musical history was the beginning of the 20th century when the Ballet Russes were resident in Paris.

It may come as no surprise then, that the second half of the program features two contrasting ballets.

“There is Poulenc’s witty and delightfully saucy score, “Les Biches: Suite” and Ravel’s large-scale orchestrational genius, “Daphnis & Chloe,” he said.

Audiences attending the program can expect a mixture of French music.

Willis said the first half includes Honegger’s industrial-sounding train ride in “Pacific 231,” and the Germanic-influenced “Cello Concerto” by Eduard Lalo featuring an exciting performance from guest soloist, cellist Joshua Roman.

Lalo’s “Cello Concerto” is the first concerto Roman started learning when he graduated from the Suzuki Method many years ago. He said it was the first piece he ever played with a professional orchestra. At that time though, he only performed the first movement. This will be his first performance of the complete concerto with an orchestra. And he’s excited about it.

“As I am revisiting the piece, I’m discovering all sorts of things I didn’t notice the first time in this concerto. One thing I am really starting to appreciate about it is this real contrast in the characters of

the piece, especially in the first movement. There is a contrast between an extremely macho character and then, maybe it’s the same character acting out in a different way, but there’s much more pleading and a sentimental quality to the contrasting theme. That is really interesting to explore because cello concertos are usually more heroic versus trying to be impressive,” Roman said.

For Roman, the sound and expressivity of the tone inherent in the cello has kept him interested in the instrument.

“When I was young I didn’t have many opportunities to see great artists in Oklahoma, but I did enjoy listening to music by Jascha Heifetz and Fritz Kreisler; Heifetz was like God when I was growing up. As I fell into listening to cello music, I began listening to Yo-Yo Ma and Janos Starker and Mstislav Rostropovich.

They all made big impressions when I was growing up,” Roman said.

Roman has been hailed in Seattle as a “classical rock star,” a term he finds amusing. He said he hopes it represents a free spirit in terms of the type of audiences that are expected to show up in places he plays. He said he definitely loves classical music as there is no more exciting music as a cellist to play.

“But I am always open to exploration, especially in terms of venue and collaboration. Maybe it’s those qualities that make people think of rock and roll,” he said.

Roman encourages those attending the concert to come with an open mind because then the musicians can deliver something that may connect with them on a personal level.

“The music I’m playing is quite old but that doesn’t mean it’s not relevant today. We go see art in museums and this is even more relevant because it’s being re-created. It’s an interpretation by people who are alive and breathing today. Music should have that same quality that allows for the real transformation of emotional states and offers a real experience and journey.”

Bon voyage. , Tickets for the Omaha Symphony’s MasterWorks performance of “Daphnis & Chloe,” featuring guest conductor Alastair Willis and guest soloist, cellist Joshua Roman, range from $15-$75. The Holland Center is located at 1200 Douglas St. Call 345.0606 or visit ticketomaha.com.

November 19th 2:00p.m.

Register your team online at http://bluejayolympics. eventbrite.com

| THE READER |

nov. 10 - 16, 2011

25

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Speed! Nebraska turns 15

W

hen the invitation went out via Facebook for this Friday night’s Speed! Nebraska 15th Anniversary rock show at The Brother’s Lounge, the first thing that went through my mind was: Has it really been five years since we did that Speed! Nebraska 10-year anniversary cover story in The Reader?

That story, published June 28, 2006, recapped the history of the vinyl-loving record label that’s home to a handful of the area’s best local bands, including Ideal Cleaners, The Filter Kings, Domestica, The Third Men, Students of Crime and label chief Gary Dean Davis’ band, The Wagon Blasters.

In that article, Wagon Blasters drummer (then Monroes drummer) Jesse Render declared that it was The Golden Age of Speed! Nebraska Records. Five years later and Davis says that Golden Age continues.

“Not much has changed,” Davis said over the phone, while one of his three precocious children made noise in the background. “At that time I was feeling good about the fact that there were a lot of bands on the label. The amazing thing is that in five years, that’s continued.”

In many ways Davis and his label cohorts have always been ahead of their time. Since its first release -- a 7-inch by long-defunct band Solid Jackson called “Fell” b/w “In a Car” -- the label has focused on releasing vinyl. Except for punk fans and audiophiles, vinyl was viewed as a novelty and a waste of money... back then. Today, almost every mid-major indie band -- along with a number of major-label superstars -- releases music on vinyl as CD sales continue to decline.

“Vinyl may be back, but it never left for us,” Davis said.

Regardless, he added that the so-called “vinyl renaissance” hasn’t had much of an impact on Speed! Nebraska’s sales. “If you can get a turntable into someone’s home, that’s in our best interest,” he said, “but I don’t know if it’s filtered down to what we do.”

But it’s never been about sales. Having music released on vinyl is “the musicians’ dream,” Davis said. “Talking to the guys in our bands and others who have not had vinyl releases, it’s the ultimate.

Elvis put out records. Johnny Cash put out records.

In a sense having a record puts you on the same level as those guys. The reason you got involved with music was from listening to records.”

He pointed out that today, fewer people are even releasing CDs thanks to the impact of digital downloading. “If you’re going to do a release and make it download-only, you could put out a new record every

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day, right?” Davis said. “It’s a watering down of what it means to be a musician. The time involved with putting out a record -- recording and mixing and mastering and sending it to the plant and waiting for them to come back and then doing the cover -- there’s a lot of stages to that finished project vs. the general immediacy of the times we live in.”

Davis equated it to the difference between getting a letter in the mail and receiving an e-mail -- or between receiving a birthday greeting on your Facebook wall and getting hand made birthday cards from his students at St. Stanislaus, where he’s the principal. “A Facebook happy birthday is nice, but a handmade card -- I mean, I keep those,” he said.

“Someone spent time and thought enough to do it.

There’s something more special about that.”

So don’t even bother asking Davis about Spotify. He doesn’t know what it is and doesn’t care enough to find out. It isn’t because he’s some sort of neo-luddite anti-technology snob; he just thinks making vinyl records is, as Wilford Brimley used to say, “The right thing to do.”

And keep doing it he shall. This past year, Speed! Nebraska released a new CD by Ideal Cleaners, Far As You Know, and the tasty 10-inch vinyl compilation Speed! Soapbox Riot 300, which included a song by every band currently on the label’s roster. Davis said future plans include a possible 7-inch

by The Filter Kings, more by Ideal Cleaners, and a full-length by Domestica, while Davis’ own band, The Wagon Blasters, is currently writing songs, though they’re in no hurry to put something out.

“Playing in a band is still fun and a nice thing to do, but if I have to do something with the kids...”

Davis said. “All the guys in the band understand.

We do this because it’s fun. There’s never any tension about it. Once we have enough songs, we’ll go into the studio.”

I ended that 2006 cover story by asking Davis where Speed! Nebraska will be in 2016. So it just made sense to ask him again if he thought the label would be around in five years.

“Oh yeah, definitely, whether I’m playing in a band or not,” he said. “I want to keep doing the label in some capacity, whatever it looks like. As long as we continue to have something to say in our records and music and the aesthetic and presentation, we’ll continue to do it.” , The Speed! 15th Anniversary Celebration is Friday, Nov. 11, at The Brothers Lounge, 38th & Farnam St., featuring performances by Ideal Cleaners, The Wagon Blasters, Domestica, Techlepathy and The Filter Kings. Show starts at 9 p.m., cover is $5. If you go, consider bringing Davis an anniversary card, preferably one that’s hand made.

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.

26

nov. 10 - 16, 2011

| THE READER |

lazy-i

b l u e s ,

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Live, Touring and Local

D

amon Fowler makes his 21st Saloon debut Thursday, Nov. 10, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Living Blues magazine calls Fowler “a roots guitar guru in the making.” The Chicago Sun-Times writes “Make way for the next big-time guitar slinger.” Critics compare his guitar riffs to Johnny Winter and Jeff Beck with slide playing influenced by Duane Allman. Fowler also has lap-steel and dobro playing in his arsenal. The Tampa, Fla., native’s new disc is Devil Got His Way (Blind Pig).

Marbin: From Chicago by way of Israel, Marbin plays Gator O’Malley’s for the 9 p.m. show Thursday, Nov. 10. Their music is centered around guitar and saxophone and has been called “a marvel of musicianship and imagination” merging “jazz, rock, ambient and world music.” See marbinmusic.com.

1200 Club: The Holland Performing Arts Center’s 1200 Club presents jazz-bluegrass ensemble Alison Brown Quartet Friday, Nov. 11, and the harmonicaguitar-driven blues of Miller Saturday, Nov. 12. See omahaperformingarts.org.

Zoo Bar Music: Lincoln’s Zoo Bar is rockin’ with The Bel Airs playing after 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11 and 12. Rockabilly from the Mezcal

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Brothers heats things up at 5 p.m. Friday. Acclaimed West Coast singer and harmonica player John Nemeth plays a special 6-9 p.m. show Saturday, Nov. 12.

Holiday Giving: The holiday season brings out lots of giving events. Mark your calendar now for the second annual Canned in Benson effort to benefit the Food Bank for the Hearland. The multi-artist show is at Barley Street Tavern Thursday, Nov. 23. It’s organized by Matt Cox. See details at mattcoxmusic.net.

Lash LaRue’s toy drive shows for the children on the Pine Ridge reservation are also on the horizon, including a show Friday, Dec. 2, at The Waiting Room and Sunday, Dec. 4, at the 21st Saloon.

Hot Notes: Travelling Mercies, Orion Walsh and Mint Wad Willy play Barley Street Tavern Thursday, Nov. 10, after 9 p.m. The OEAA Showcase takes place Friday, Nov. 11, in Benson. Check out more than 30 bands at The Waiting Room, Barley Street Tavern, PS Collective, Burke’s Pub and Benson Grind for one $10 cover charge. See the schedule at oea-awards.com. Also on Friday night, Nov. 11, there’s rockabilly from Devil Makes Three at Slowdown. Ragged Company has their CD release party at the Side Door Friday night. too.

The North Mississippi Allstars plug in at Slowdown Tuesday, Nov. 15. ,

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. Follow her blog at hoodoorootsblues.blogspot.com.

SATURDAY•NOV 19•8PM Holland Performing Arts Center • 402.345.0606 • Ticketomaha.com

produced by EXCEPTIONAL ARTISTS

hoodoo

| THE READER |

nov. 10 - 16, 2011

27

2234 South 13th Street Omaha, NE 68108 346 - 9802 www.sokolundground.com

livemusiccalendar

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 10

11/14/2011

fri 11/18/2011

tues 11/22/2011

Thrash and Burn Winds of Plague, Chelsea grin, as Blood runs BlaCk, for The fallen dreams, uPon a Burning Body, in The midsT of lions, and like moThs To flames shoW @ 6:00 afTon PresenTs: one headlighT high, don Ballue, miChael ray, Calling Cody, anesTaTiC, logan Vamosi, niCk mCgee, Van gogh on The run, fasT sCreaming Child shoW @ 6:30 audiTorium TeCh n9ne The losT CiTies Tour feaTuring: krizz kaliko, kuTT Calhoun, Jay roCk, and flaWless shoW @ 8:00

Saturday, Noon: Houston Grand Opera Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor WWW.KVNO.ORG

28

nov. 10 - 16, 2011

READER RECOMMENDS

THE LUPINES, GARDENS, (Rock) 9:30 pm, O’Leaver’s Pub,

$5.

ROCK & ROLL SUICIDE PRESENTS ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Side

Door Lounge.

KELSEY NORD, THE WHIPKEY THREE, EDGE OF ARBOR,

(Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 8 pm, Slowdown, $5.

mon

DAMON FOWLER, (Blues) 5:30 pm, 21st Saloon, $9.

TRAVELLING MERCIES, MINT WAD WILY, ORION WALSH,

(Rock) 9 pm, Barley Street Tavern, $5.

TALKING MOUNTAIN, ARRAH AND THE FERNS,

PHARMACY SPIRITS, (Rock) 9 pm, Bourbon Theater,

$5.

MARBIN, (Blues) 9 pm, Gator O’Malley’s, FREE. Y ST. COMBO, RUDE AWAEKENING, (Rock) 9 pm,

Knickerbockers.

READER RECOMMENDS

BLU, JNATURAL, OPEN MIKE EAGLE, DIRTY DIAMONDS, AZP, AN HOBBES & TRINIDAD, BROWN, MIDTOWN

MARAUDERS, (Hip-Hop/Rap) 8 pm, The Alley.

THE TEXAS HIPPIE COALITION, TENDEAD, BLACK ON HIGH, DEADECHOES, (Rock) 8 pm, The Hideout

Lounge, Advance: $13; DOS: $15.

KYLE PARK, (Country) 9 pm, Uncle Ron’s, $10.

BIG SEAN, CYHI THE PRYNCE, SHAWN CHRYSTOPHER,

(Hip-Hop/Rap) 9 pm, Waiting Room, $20.

CROSSFIRE, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Whiskey Roadhouse

(Horseshoe Casino), FREE. STONEBELLY, (Rock) 9 pm, Zoo Bar, $5.

FRIDAY 11

KANESVILLE BOYS, VIBENHAI, 112 NORTH DUCK, THE

BISHOPS, SNAKE ISLAND, BLUE BIRD, ROCK PAPER DYNAMITE, (Rock/Blues) 8 pm, Barley Street Tavern,

$10.

OEAA FALL SHOWCASE W/ ELI MARDOCK, GREAT AMERI

CAN DESERT, MITCH GETTMAN, AYGAMG, TARA

VAUGHAN, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 9 pm, Benson

Grind, $10.

TOUBAB KREWE, EUFORQUESTRA, (Rock) 9 pm, Bourbon

Theater, Advance: $13; DOS: $15.

LEMON FRESH DAY, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Brewsky’s Park

Drive, FREE. OEAA FALL SHOWCASE W/ JASOULO, SCRU FACE JEAN,

OMAHA GUITAR TRIO, JAYMIE JONES, GALVANIZED TRON, (Rock/Hip-Hop/Rap/Blues) 9 pm, Burke’s Pub,

$10.

JOHN DOE, (Cover Band) 9:30 pm, Chrome Lounge.

SWING 105, (Jazz) 8 pm, Crescent Moon Coffee, FREE. JAMES BURKE, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 9 pm, Cultiva

Coffee, FREE. 3D IN YOUR FACE, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Gator O’Malley’s,

$5.

ALISON BROWN QUARTET, (Jazz) 8 pm, Holland

Performing Arts Center, $25.

SWAMPBOY BLUES BAND, (Jazz) 9 pm, Jazz, A Louisiana

Kitchen.

THE RUNNING MATE, EVERYTHING GOES, ON APPROACH,

(Rock) 6 pm, Knickerbockers.

NEW RUINS, NORTH OF NEPTUNE, (Rock) 9 pm,

Knickerbockers.

RYAN MCLEAY, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Loose Moose, FREE. STEVIE STONE, MONTANA P. ICE 2 COLD, SOUTHSIDE, DIRTY BOYZ, (Hip-Hop/Rap) 9 pm, Louis Bar and Grill.

OCCUPY OMAHA FUNDRAISING CONCERT W/ PLATTE RIVER RAIN, TENDERNESS WILDERNESS, MICHAEL

MURPHY, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 7:30 pm,

| THE READER |

music listings

McFoster’s Natural Kind Cafe, $10.

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, 4 pm, 8 pm, MidAmerica

Center, $32-$59.

HI-FI HANGOVER, (Cover Band) 9 pm, OzoNE Lounge at

Anthony’s Steakhouse.

OEAA FALL SHOWCASE W/ SECOND CHANCE, MATT AMANDUS, VAGO, PURVEYORS OF A CONSCIOUS SOUND, PFLAMES,, (Rock) 8 pm, Pizza Shoppe

Collective, $10.

RAGGED COMPANY, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 9 pm, Side

Door Lounge, FREE. THE DAVIL MAKES THREE, BROWN BIRD, (Rock/Punk) 9

pm, Slowdown, Advance: $12.50; DOS: $15.

WITNESS TREE, TWO DRAG CLUB, BULLET PROOF HEARTS, (Rock) 9 pm, Stir Live & Loud, $5.

EL DOPA, THROUGH THE STONE, GALVANIZED TRON, SURREAL THE MC, THE BUFFONERY COMPANY,

WHISKEY PISTOLS, (Rock/Hip-Hop/Rap) 9 pm, T

Henry’s, $2.

SIC TRIK, BAD AQPLE, (Rock) 8:30 pm, The Grove, FREE.

READER RECOMMENDS

DOWN WITH THE SHIP, ARRAH AND THE FERNS,

BAZOOKA SHOOTOUT, (Rock) 9 pm, The Sydney, $5.

OEAA FALL SHOWCASE W/ ROBOT BAKLAVA, THE BIG DEEP, CONCHANCE, WE BE LIONS, THE END IN RED,

BASSTHOVEN, (Rock/DJ/Electronic) 8 pm, Waiting

Room, $10.

FEVER AND THE FUNKHOUSE, (Cover Band) 9 pm,

Whiskey Roadhouse (Horseshoe Casino), FREE. THE MEZCAL BROTHERS, (Rock) 5 pm, Zoo Bar, $5.

SATURDAY 12

ROUGH CUT, (Cover Band) 9:30 pm, Arena Bar & Grill,

FREE.

READER RECOMMENDS

JAKE BELLOWS, THE BETTIES, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 9

pm, Barley Street Tavern, $5.

YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND, (Rock) 9 pm, Bourbon

Theater, Advance: $20; DOS: $25.

TONY CHURCH, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 7 pm, Crescent

Moon Coffee, FREE. ANIMATO, (Rock/DJ/Electronic) 8 pm, Cultiva Coffee, FREE. BRAD CORDLE BAND, (Rock) 9 pm, Gator O’Malley’s, $5.

DAPHNIS & CHLOÉ, (Classical) 8 pm, Holland Performing

Arts Center, $15-$75.

MILLER, (Rock/Blues) 8 pm, Holland Performing Arts

Center, $25.

NIGHT SHAKERS TRIO, (Jazz) 9 pm, Jazz, A Louisiana

Kitchen.

KNOCKOUT, MY BROTHER, THE INSTAGATORS, (Rock) 9

pm, Knickerbockers.

HIDDEN AGENDA, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Loose Moose, FREE. DIGITAL LEATHER, NOAH’S ARK WAS A SPACESHIP,

(Rock) 9:30 pm, O’Leaver’s Pub, $5.

RAIN - A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES, (Cover Band) 2 pm,

Orpheum Theater, $20-$82.

ECKOPHONIC, (Cover Band) 9 pm, OzoNE Lounge at

Anthony’s Steakhouse.

OMNI BOX, (Rock) 9 pm, Side Door Lounge, FREE. CULTURED POP, (Rock) 9 pm, Stir Live & Loud, $5.

THE ST. LOUIS BRASS, (Jazz) 7 pm, Strauss Performing

Arts Center Recital Hall, $20.

MOON JUICE, (Cover Band) 8:30 pm, The Grove, FREE. MACHETE ARCHIVE, FETAL PIG, SUPER INVADER, CLASS

M PLANETS, 13TH YEAR, (Rock) 9 pm, The Sandbox,

$8.

LONELY ESTATES, BRAD HOSHAW, NEW LUNGS, BLUE

BIRD, (Rock) 9 pm, Waiting Room, $8.

AVARICIOUS, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Whiskey Roadhouse

(Horseshoe Casino), FREE.

BEL AIRS, (Blues) 9 pm, Zoo Bar, $8.

JOHN NEMETH, (Blues) 6 pm, Zoo Bar.

SUNDAY 13

AYGAMG, WHY MAKE CLOCKS, CLASS M PLANETS, THE

BOURBONITES, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 9 pm, Barley

Street Tavern, $5.

TEMPO, SHARP, MAJOR RIVER, (Rock) 9 pm, Duffy’s

Tavern.

READER RECOMMENDS

ROCKABILLY NIGHT W/ THE RECKLESS ONES, ADAM LEE

& THE DEAD HORSE SOUND COMPANY, THE HOT TAIL HONEYS, (Rock) 8 pm, Gator O’Malley’s, $5.

THE MAYHEM MAMAS, GOBBLE THE GORGEOUS, (Rock)

9:30 pm, Louis Bar and Grill, $5.

CITY AND COLOUR, HACIENDA, DANIEL ROMANO, (Rock)

8 pm, Slowdown, Advance: $22; DOS: $25.

STEPHEN MONROE, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 2 pm,

Soaring Wings Vineyard, FREE. AUDITION NIGHT, (Cover Band) 7 pm, Whiskey Roadhouse

(Horseshoe Casino), FREE. THINK, SPUTNIK KAPUTNIK, THE CHERRY MASHERS,

(Blues) 6 pm, Zoo Bar, FREE.

MONDAY 14

MONDAY NIGHT BIG BAND WITH BOB KRUEGER, (Jazz)

7:30 pm, Brewsky’s Haymarket, $6.

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

6:30 pm, OzoNE Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse,

FREE. THE GOURDS, (Rock) 7 pm, Pla Mor Ballroom.

TRHASH AND BURN 2011 W/ WINDS OF PLAGUE, AS

BLOOD RUNS BLACK, FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS,

(Rock/Metal) 6 pm, Sokol Hall & Auditorium, Advance:

$16; DOS: $18.

CROOKED FINGERS, STRANDS OF OAK, (Rock) 9 pm,

Waiting Room, $10.

THE ZOO BAR HOUSE BAND, (Blues) 7 pm, Zoo Bar, $3.

TUESDAY 15

EMILY WARD, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 7 pm, Crescent

Moon Coffee, FREE. TYLER BRYANT AND THE SHAKEDOWN, (Rock) 9 pm,

Knickerbockers.

OPERA SCENES, (Classical) 7:30 pm, O’Donnell

Auditorium, FREE. DOWN & DESPERATE, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 6:30 pm,

OzoNE Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse, FREE. PRIL JAM, (Rock) 6:30 pm, Rookies Bar & Grill, FREE. BR’ER, THE WEST VALLEY, BROTHERS FAMILY TEMPLE, DANIEL DORNER, BABY TEARS, (Rock) 9 pm, Side

Door Lounge, FREE. NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS, BUFFALO KILLERS,

(Country/Blues) 9 pm, Slowdown, Advance: $18; DOS:

$20.

EVERLAST, RED LIGHT KING, (Rock/Hip-Hop/Rap) 8 pm,

Waiting Room, Advance: $15; DOS: $17.

Wednesday 16

RA RA RIOT, YELLOW OSTRICH, DELICATE STEVE, (Rock)

9 pm, Bourbon Theater, Advance: $13; DOS: $15.

DIGGER, HIGHER EMPATHY MOVEMENT, STONEBELLY, Y ST COMBO, (Rock) 9 pm, Duffy’s Tavern.

READER RECOMMENDS

MIDTOWN MARAUDERS, DIRTY DIAMONDS, ARTILLERY

FUNK, (Hip-Hop/Rap) 8 pm, House Of Loom, $5.

GREEN TREES, WHOLE SHA-BANGS, CARROT CARROT, DADS, (Rock) 9 pm, Knickerbockers.

BILL CHRASTIL, (Cover Band) 6:30 pm, OzoNE Lounge at

Anthony’s Steakhouse, FREE. CHRIS SAUB, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 8 pm, Pizza Shoppe

Collective, $5.

THE OCTOPUSES GARDEN ANNUAL FUNDRAISER W/

BLUE ROSA, JOHN KLEMMENSEN, DJ TOM

BARRETT, (Rock/DJ/Electronic) 7 pm, Slowdown, $12.

MATES OF STATE, THE GENERATIONALS, (Rock) 9 pm,

Waiting Room, $13.

ELI MARDOCK, TIE THESE HANDS, SMITH’S CLOUD,

(Rock) 10 pm, Zoo Bar, $5.

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 Duffy’s Tavern, 1412 O St., Lincoln, 474.3453, myspace.com/ duffystavern The Hideout, 302 S. 72nd St. Knickerbocker’s, 901 O St., Lincoln, 476.6865, knickerbockers.net LIV Lounge, 2279 S. 67th St. livlounge.com Louis Bar and Grill, 5702 NW Radial Hwy., 551.5993 McKenna’s Blues, Booze & BBQ, 7425 Pacific St., 393.7427, mckennasbbq.com New Lift Lounge, 4737 S. 96th St., 339.7170 O’Leaver’s Pub, 1322 S. Saddle Creek Rd., 556.1238, myspace. com/oleaverspub

Ozone Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse, 72nd and F, 331.7575, ozoneclubomaha.com.

Pizza Shoppe Collective, 6056 Maple St., 556.9090, pscollective.com Qwest, 455 N. 10th St., qwestcenteromaha.com Side Door, 3530 Leavenworth St., 504.3444.

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 Your Mom’s Downtown Bar, 1512 Howard St., 345.0180 Zoo Bar, 136 N.14th St., Lincoln, zoobar.com

#3 – Omaha Reader (The Reader) – 11-03-2011

DAVID COOK NOVEMBER 26

Tickets available at whiskeyroadhouse.com, Ticketmaster.com or by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

I-29 South, Exit 1B | horseshoe.com

Must be 21 years or older to attend shows or to gamble. Know When To Stop Before You Start.® Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-BETS-OFF (Iowa) or 1-800-522-4700 (National). ©2011, Caesars License Company, LLC.

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music listings

| THE READER |

NOV. 10 - 16, 2011

29

YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE INVITED TO A SPECIAL SCREENING OF

For your chance to receive a family four-pack of passes, email MOVIEGUY @THEREADER.COM beginning Thursday, November 10.*

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. Four admit one passes per person.

100 passes available. All emails must be received no later than 11:59 PM (CT) Monday, November 14, 2011. Employees of participating sponsors are not eligible. This film has been rated PG for some mild rude humor.

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OMAHA READER THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10 5x5 LH

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30

NOV. 10 - 16, 2011

| THE READER |

E D I T E D

Anonymous: The Tragedy of Roland Emmerich

I

ANONYMOUS

by Justin Senkbile

REPORTCARD

In what can only be explained as an embarrassing oversight, Anonymous was not released anonymously. This maniacally boring period drama was directed by none other than Roland Emmerich, helmer of Independence Day and 1998’s Godzilla, and a member (alongside Michael Bay, Brett Ratner and others) of the “Fast Food Filmmakers Club.”

This means that his movies are (usually) harmless fun, but not the sort of thing you’d want to make a habit of. His preference for spectacle above all else goes a long way in explaining what’s wrong with this movie. One example: he actually found a way to put explosions in a film about Shakespeare.

Anonymous, a film about the widely dismissed theory that Shakespeare never actually wrote anything, revolves around three main characters. There’s Edward, the Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans). His fortune dwindles as he spends all his time writing stuff like “Hamlet” and “Macbeth”

but is unable to stage them for fear of further tarnishing the family name. There’s Ben Johnson (Sebastian Armesto), the playwright struggling to write a hit. The Earl wants his plays to be performed under Johnson’s name. Johnson is unsure about the idea. And then there’s Wild Bill Shakespeare (Rafe Spall).

Like some unholy marriage between Captain Jack Sparrow and Pauly Shore, the Bard as he’s presented here is a cheap, drunk actor who spends most of the time fidgeting around and whining.

God, how he whines. The problems with this char-

Cars 2 (ON DVD) C As crazy as it sounds, a C for Pixar is like an F for anyone else.

Crazy Stupid Love (ON DVD) BOld-fashioned laughs without slapstick puking? It can’t be!

Footloose As the song says, I recommending cutting Footloose.

D

Tabloid S&M, Mormonism and tabloid journalism. What more do you need?

B+

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

The Ides of March It may be a good movie, but you won’t feel good after.

B+

The Rum Diary Not totally intoxicating, but you’ll catch a strong buzz.

B-

READER RECOMMENDS

Weekend Gay or straight, love is a messy, awkward thing.

A-

acter have nothing to do with ideas of Shakespearian blasphemy and everything to do with a human being’s capacity to tolerate irritation. Eager for fame, Shakespeare jumps on the chance offered by the Earl, and the rest is pseudo history.

There are maybe a dozen more characters in this movie, all conceived with similar absentmindedness and executed to the best of their humble actor’s ability. But the worst part is the reckless time scrambling. We jump back and forth (then further back and further forth) so many times it’s impossible to keep events and characters straight until Robert Cecil (Edward Hogg) explains everything at the end. Here’s a tip: keep an eye on the beard of royal advisor William Cecil (David Thewlis). The greyness of it helps identify the time period. But then he dies, and you’re on your own again.

Out of everything that’s been packed into this agonizing 130 minutes, Ifans is the one good part.

His mourning eyes alone are able to inject the Earl with a depth of feeling found nowhere else in the picture. Something similar might be said for Vanessa Redgrave’s Queen Elizabeth I. She projects an appealing calmness when we see her, but Elizabeth is usually depicted in the film by Joely Richardson, as the frequently hysterical young Queen.

Emmerich is a poster-boy for commercially minded filmmaking. So who is the audience for Anonymous? People who do puzzles without all the pieces? If you’re into Shakespeare movies, stick with Laurence Olivier. If you’re into Emmerich’s apocalyptic filmography, prepare to be just as disappointed. ,

GRADE: D-

B Y

R Y A N

S Y R E K

■ From the “Because You Demanded It” File: Jennifer Lopez is producing a live-action version of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Originally a video game with the sick desire to actually educate players about geography, the elusive titular character had a game show in the 1990s and an animated cartoon before fading into an oblivion that made said title ironic. Although Lopez has not expressed a desire to play the aforementioned elusive globe-trotter, she’d be lousy for the part. Why? Well, because of relentless Fiat and “American Idol” advertising, not only can I find her, I can’t get away from her.

■ Because nobody wants to hear a movie guy opine about music, I’ll refrain from telling you exactly what I think about that weird Lou Reed/ Metallica album. Besides, my full opinion involves a drawing of a dumpster and the sound of cute bunny’s death rattle. The good news is that Darren Aronofsky is directing a video from the album, for a song called “Iced Honey,” which sounds delicious but isn’t. With perhaps the most talented filmmaker working today behind the camera, at least one of our four senses may enjoy something from this musical experiment gone wrong.

■ Should an ape win an Oscar? No, this isn’t a Russell Crowe joke. Andy Serkis, the man who played Gollum in the Lord of the Rings series and Cesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, is a master of motion capture, which is where an actor does all of the physical work on set wearing what looks like fancy headgear and is replaced in postproduction by computer animation. Because Apes went bananas at the box office (sorry, I had to do it), Serkis has netted a deal to return to the role, and the studio has agreed to push for an Oscar nod, which would mark the first time an animated character would be nominated…unless you count anything Robin Williams was nominated for in the ’80s or ’90s.

—Ryan Syrek

CUTTINGROOM

Beat on the Bard

film

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 Movieha!, a weekly half-hour movie podcast (movieha.libsyn.com/ rss), and also catch him on the radio on CD 105.9 (cd1059.com) Fridays at around 7:30 a.m. and follow him on Twitter (twitter.com/thereaderfilm).

This Week Take Shelter First-Run (R)

Weekend First-Run (NR)

Directed by Jeff Nichols.

Directed by Andrew Haigh.

Starts Friday, November 11

Through Tuesday, November 22

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich.

“Perfectly realized. A bracing, presenttense exploration of sex, intimacy and love.” —A.O. Scott, The New York Times

One Night Only: Tuesday, November 15, 7pm.

Post-show talk led by photographer Steve Fitch. Presented in collaboration with Joslyn Art Museum.

“A modern American epic.”

—indieWIRE “A remarkable new film. The amazing Michael Shannon’s taciturn, haunted performance manages to be both heartbreaking and terrifying. Jeff Nichols has made a perfect allegory for a panicky time.”

—A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Family & Children’s Series A Cat in Paris 2011 Directed by Jean-Loup Felicioli & Alain Gagnol.

Nov 5-17 (Saturdays, Sundays, Thursdays)

film

Prints in Landscape: The Last Picture Show 1971

Coming Soon!

The Descendants First-Run (R) Directed by Alexander Payne.

More info at filmstreams.org.

| THE READER |

NOV. 10 - 16, 2011

31

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nov. 10 - 16, 2011

| THE READER |

planetpower w ee k l y

Drawing, Drinks & dudes!

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appy 11/11/11! Maybe there are 11 steps to heaven. Happy Full Moon.

Change is coming soon. Time to regenerate, before it’s too late. Who you gonna winter with? Who is it you want to kiss? You win or you lose, depending on how you choose…

MOJOPO, the magique of the Blues.

—MOJOPOPlanetPower.com h SCORPIO (10.23-11.22) T Happy Full Moon!

Aren’t we having a good time? Money’s flowing ’cuz of your wit (Mercury) and good looks (Venus). Both planets are moving through your theoretical 2nd House of economy, finances and the root of both — morals. How much would it take for you to “sell out”?

You/we are constantly being tested. If you pass your tests, 2 more weeks of bliss will be followed by the money you so richly deserve by/on Thank$giving. ’Til then, happy birthday! i SAGITTARIUS (11.23-12.21) Keep talking (Mercury) and keep lookin’ good (Venus)! You’ve got ’em ’til Thanksgiving’s New Moon Solar Eclipse in your sign. Get it all done by then, and then be REBORN! j CAPRICORN (12.22-1.20) Karma is your middle name. You are a child of karma in this incarnation. Yoga is your salvation. Fasting is your road to joy and lightness; your cosmic vacation.

Time is your mentor. With your ruler Saturn currently ensconced in its sign of exaltation (Libra) ’til next October, you will/should seek to establish beauty of a lasting nature. Best of luck. During this coming year I shall help you in any way I can. Show us your lasting beauty. It’s your karma. k AQUARIUS (1.21-2.19) It’s rough starting over(?). Every breath you take is starting over. It’s the root of an answer to the/your question, “Why am I here?” You’re here to breathe in and thus live through your experiences. It’s acceptance of the requirements for existence in these mortal coils on this 3D plane. Knowing that thou art immortal (up ’til now), cherish each breath as though it were your last. l PISCES (2.20-3.20) Neptunians, mystics and healers make your move during these next 13 years of your power. I’ll give you the formula for success next week, when once again we speak.

We need you and your input, your art, your love and your enchantment. Your gentle, loving hands are sorely missed. Create the beauty that the immensity of your spirit requires. You are the oceans

b y

mo j opo

of emotions. You are the power of universal consciousness… a ARIES (3.21-4.20) Time to get back to work, Showboat. Your good-looking face is gonna have to get back in the race with the rest of us minions, morons and hard-workin’, paycheck-to-paycheck losers. Welcome back into the human space. Whoops!

You’d better get it done before we enter Aquarius.

That’s 2 1/2 months of hard workin’ from now.

Then, you’ll…? Then you’ll… We’ll talk then. b TAURUS (4.21-5.20) Well, how was the view — looking at yourself through the eyes of others?

Did they like what they saw? You know, when you look into a mirror all it shows you is one side; that part of you that’s scrutinizing. Who of us knows what we truly look like? Cute face?

Personality? IQ? (Sorry, I’m being mean again.) Nice bod? Good lover? Oh well, 1 out of 5 ain’t bad… From Dr. Jive. c GEMINI (5.21-6.21) Don’t you feeeeel gooood?!

Your hands! Your art. Your love? All in Scorpio. Looking into love’s eyes and finding your true self? What a surprise! You’ve got 2 weeks of bliss with the one you love to kiss, and then… Expectations, new directions, questions, reservations and separate vacations? d CANCER (6.22-7.22) The Full Moon in Taurus at 2:16 in the afternoon on Thursday, November 10, ain’t gonna end too soon for you ’n’ your folk. This ain’t no joke. It’s gonna last ’til next Wednesday afternoon, after the waning Moon leaves your sign — when you can begin to unwind. How do you think the MOJO knows “witch” way the wind blows? e LEO (7.23-8.22) You’re about to become your own worst enemy. There’s a conflict looming on your horizon — your current home situation versus your career. “Witch” one do you hold dear? Right now (the Full Moon in Taurus), it’s not too clear.

Maybe another beer? f VIRGO (8.23-9.22) You’re dreaming of a vacation with the one you love; at least in your mind.

Hand in hand we find you traipsing through exotic terrain, searching for erotic game. You’re on safari and you won’t be sorry for at least 2 weeks, when the turkey speaks. Gobble, gobble. g LIBRA (9.23-10.22) Please read Virgo, above.

Is that the one you love? How does the MOJO know?

With a Virgo, watch your P’s and Q’s, sing ’em the blues, and pick up on their emotional clues while paying your emotional dues. Virgos, the children of Mother Nature, love to play 2nd banana. Remind them, if you wanna… Happy Fulllllllll MOOn! ,

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| THE READER |

NOv. 10 - 16, 2011

33

newsoftheweird

T H E WO R L D G O N E F R E A K Y B Y C H U C K S H E P H E R D W I T H I L LU S T R AT I O N S B Y T O M B R I S C O E

Sexy Saddam

S

addam Hussein Back in the News: (1) Mohamed Bishr, an Egyptian man bearing a remarkable resemblance to the late Iraqi dictator, claimed in October that he had been briefly kidnapped after spurning an offer to portray Saddam in a porn video. Bishr’s adult sons told the al-Ahram newspaper in Alexandria that their father had been offered the equivalent of $330,000. (In 2002, according to a 2010 Washington Post report, the CIA briefly contemplated using a Saddam impersonator in a porn video as a tool to publicly embarrass Saddam into relinquishing power prior to the U.S. invasion.)

(2) In October, former British soldier Nigel Ely offered at auction in Derby, England, a two-foot-square piece of metal that he said came from the iconic Baghdad statue of Saddam toppled

by U.S. Marines in April 2003. Ely said he had grabbed the piece indiscriminately, but remembers that it was a portion of Saddam’s buttocks.

Can’t Possibly Be True Apparently, officials at the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport felt the need for professional guidance on rebranding their facility to (as one put it) “carry it into the modern era,” and so hired the creative talents of Big Communications of Birmingham, Ala., to help. Big’s suggested name for the airport, announced to great fanfare in September: “Chattanooga Airport.”

-- Justice! ... Now! (1) Elsie Pawlow, a senior citizen of Edmonton, Alberta, filed a $100,000 lawsuit in September against Kraft Canada Inc., parent company of the makers of Stride Gum, which brags that it is “ridiculously long-lasting.” Pawlow complained that she had to scrub down her dentures after using Stride, to “dig out” specks of gum -- a condition that caused her to experience “depression for approximately 10 minutes.” (2) Colleen O’Neal filed a lawsuit recently against United/Continental airlines over the “post traumatic stress disorder” she said she has suf-

34

NOV. 10 - 16, 2011

| THE READER |

weird news

fered since a 20-minute flight in October 2009 -- in which, during turbulent weather, the plane “banked” from side to side and lost altitude.

-- In August, a state court in Frankfurt, Germany, awarded 3,000 euros (about $4,200) to Magnus Gaefgen, 36, on his claim that during a 2002 police interrogation, officers “threat(ened) ... violence” against him if he did not disclose what he knew about a missing 11-yearold boy who was later found dead. In 2003, Gaefgen was convicted of the boy’s murder and is serving a life sentence, but the court nevertheless thought he should be compensated for his “pain and suffering.”

-- Names in the News: The man stabbed to death in Calgary, Alberta, in August: the 29-year-old Mr. Brent Stabbed Last.

Among the family members of Jared Loughner (the man charged with shooting U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in January) who were interviewed by authorities regarding mental illnesses in the Loughner family: Loughner’s distant cousin Judy Wackt. Passed away in May in Fredericksburg, Va.: retired Army Sgt. Harry Palm.

Charged with murder in Decatur, Ill., in September: a (predictably underrespected) 15-yearold boy named Shitavious Cook.

-- Hey, It Could’ve Happened: (1) The British recreation firm UK Paintball announced in August that a female customer had been injured after a paintball shot hit her in the chest, causing her silicone breast implant to “explode.” The company recommended that paintball facilities supply better chest protection for women with implants. (2) The Moscow, Russia, newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets reported in October that a local woman’s life had been saved by her “state-of-the-art” silicone breast implant. Her husband had stabbed her repeatedly in the chest during a domestic argument, but the implant’s gel supposedly deflected the blade.

Ultimate Catfighting (1) In Charlotte, N.C., in October, a female motorist was arrested for ramming another woman’s car after

COPYRIGHT 2011 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).

that woman said “Good morning” to the motorist’s boyfriend as the women dropped kids off at school.

(2) In Arbutus, Md., in October, a woman was arrested for throwing bleach and disinfectant at another woman in a Walmart (an incident in which at least 19 bystanders sought medical assistance). Police learned that the arrestee’s child’s father had become the boyfriend of the bleach-targeted woman. (3) In a hospital in Upland, Pa., in October, two pregnant women (ages 21 and 22) were arrested after injuring a woman, 36, and a girl, 15, in a brawl inside a patient’s room.

Unclear on the Concept The North Koreans called it a “cruise ship” and tried to establish a business model to attract wealthy tourists from China, but to the New York Times reporter on board in September, the 40-year-old boat was more like a “tramp steamer” on which “vacationers” paid the equivalent of $470 to “enjoy” five days and nights at sea. More than 200 people boarded the “dim” and “musty” vessel, “sometimes eight to a room with floor mattresses” and iffy bathrooms. The onboard “entertainment” consisted not of shuffleboard but of “decks of cards” and karaoke. Dinner “resembled a mess hall at an American Army base,” but with leftovers thrown overboard (even though some of it was blown back on deck). The trip was capped, wrote the Times, by the boat’s crashing into the pier as it docked, knocking a corner of the structure “into a pile of rubble.”

-- The thief who made off with the valuable lamp from St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Winson Green, England, in October might well return to the building soon, for confession. Clearly visible on the surveillance video inside was the man, as he was just about to snatch up the lamp, making the sign of the cross.

-- Sally Stricker was angry that the Nebraska troopers patrolling the state fair grounds in September had told her that she had an “illegal” message on her T-shirt and that if she wished to remain at the fair,

she would have to either change shirts or wear hers inside out. The “message” was a marijuana leaf with the slogan “Don’t panic, It’s organic.” Stricker was at the fair to attend the night’s live concert -- starring (marijuana-friendly) Willie Nelson.

-- Boise State University’s highly rated football team suspended three players for several games at the beginning of the season for violating eligibility rules by receiving impermissible financial benefits. According to an October news release by the school, the most prominent player sanctioned was Geraldo Boldewijn, the team’s fastest wide receiver, who had improperly received the use of a car. (However, it was a 1990 Toyota Camry with 177,000 miles on it.)

Mixed Evidence on Smoking (1) It’s Bad for You: A 44-year-old woman was hospitalized with a head injury and a broken clavicle in September after she inadvertently walked into a still-moving train at the Needham Center station near Boston. Her attention had been diverted because she was trying to light her cigarette as she walked. (2) Sometimes, It’s OK: A 51-year-old woman told police she fought off an attempted street robbery in Pennsville Township, N.J., in October by burning the age-20something assailant with her lit cigarette. She said the man yelled “Ouch” and ran away.

News of the Weird Classic (April 1993) In a 1992 issue of the journal Sexual and Marital Therapy, two therapists at the Institute of Psychiatry in London described “orgasmic reconditioning” they performed on their patient, “George,” age 20. They reported “partial” success in getting George to switch his masturbatory stimuli from the family car (an Austin Metro) to photographs of naked women. George had reported arousal previously only when sitting in the car or when squatting behind it while the engine was running.

(Before that, George was sexually preoccupied with urination by women, children and dogs.) ,

weird news

| THE READER |

Nov. 10 - 16, 2011

35

sports

Help Wanted Huskers no longer control their own destiny

by Mike Babcock

S It’s funny what can change in one week of college football. Just when Husker fans thought it was safe to trust their team again, Northwestern came to Lincoln and completely erased the good feelings from the win over Michigan State.

The defense had finally earned their Blackshirts…then Northwestern ran the ball 13 times for 66 yards in a game clinching touchdown drive.

The offense had finally developed a sense of identity in the power running game… then they ran a myriad of new formations resembling the first three weeks of nonidentity based offense on their way to 122 yards rushing for the day. This against one of the worst rushing defenses in the country.

The coaches had finally found a way to get their players to come out the locker room ready to assert their will on whoever was in front of them…then Northwestern took a 7-3 lead into the halftime lockeroom.

For a Cornhusker team that was the highest ranked member of the Big 10 in the BCS...a team that finally controlled its own route to the Big 10 championship game…a team that fans were starting to believe in, they looked like the same team that had let so many down so many times.

Now, there are no easy wins in college football. The same day Nebraska lost to Northwestern, Big 10 bottom feeders Minnesota and Indiana took Michigan State and Ohio State to the wire. BCS top 10 teams Stanford, Boise St. and Oklahoma were in dogfights against heavy underdogs. The difference is all of the above favored teams won. And in the case of Stanford, Boise St. and Oklahoma, they won comfortably.

That’s the glaring difference of where Nebraska is at and where they want to be. Nebraska gets in a dogfight and they can’t get out.

Whether it’s a lack of winning experience from the coaching staff to the players or just simply the fact everyone in college football has playmakers these days, Nebraska has shown over the last several years that something tough to put your finger on is missing.

Say what you want about the prestige of the red N on a white helmet, but teams still want to beat Nebraska. Especially in Lincoln. And being down to a Northwestern team that had lost five of six games at halftime is one thing. But playing from behind the entire game is a completely different subject.

Is it the head coach? Is it the play calling on offense? Is it a quarterback who struggles at times to handle outside influences as well as an 15 yard out pass? Or is it a young learning group from the top down who builds on belief, but maybe started believing a little too much.

All is not lost in a Big 10 conference that has already consumed itself of any national title contender. After a weekend when I observed and compared the other top 10 BCS teams as apples to apples, it’s clear this Nebraska team was not ready for harvest.

Here’s the curve ball…two tough, classic Big 10 road trips await a Husker team that still has something to play for in the conference. For anyone that watched Oklahoma State, Oklahoma or even Kansas State, Baylor and Texas A&M, would that be the case if the Huskers were still in the Big 12? l

36

NOV. 10 - 16, 2011

| THE READER |

sports

ome Huskers were pulling for Wisconsin when it played Michigan State the week before Michigan State came to Lincoln.

But Tyler Legate wasn’t among them.

“I was hoping for a good game,” the senior fullback said on the Monday after.

A Wisconsin victory would have helped Nebraska in its quest to win the Big Ten’s Legends Division and play in the conference championship game at Indianapolis on Dec. 3 because Michigan State and Nebraska are divisional rivals.

However, regardless of the outcome of the Wisconsin game, said Legate, the Huskers would still have to beat Michigan State, which, of course, they did in impressive fashion.

Usually, Legate doesn’t pick one team over another, but when he does, “I like to see the underdogs win, I guess. I’ve always been like that, ever since I was a kid,” he said.

It would stand to reason, then, that Legate might side with Iowa against Michigan State on Saturday. The Hawkeyes figure to be slight underdogs, even though the game is in Iowa City.

Legate was asked on Monday if he would be cheering for Iowa. “Yeah, I guess,” he said.

There’s more to his answer than Iowa’s being an underdog, however. In the wake of their 28-25 upset loss to Northwestern on Saturday, the Huskers no longer control their own destiny.

In order to get to Indianapolis, they need to win out and for Iowa, “or somebody, to beat Michigan State,” said Legate. “But we can’t worry about that. We just have to worry about ourselves. We just have to worry about Penn State and get ready for ‘Happy Valley.’ ” “Happy Valley,” home to Penn State, is far from happy these days, what with the ugly scandal allegedly involving former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Despite the distraction, however, Penn State is atop the Legends Division with an 8-1 record. So it figures to be a formidable foe.

What a difference a week makes. Now Michigan State is a game up on Nebraska in the division

race with an ostensibly weaker schedule than the Huskers face from here on out.

“Who knows what’s going to happen in the next couple of weeks,” Husker safety Austin Cassidy said. “We just have to focus on us. We have to win out just to be in position to get lucky, I guess.

That’s really all we can do. It’s unfortunate that we did control our own destiny and now even if we do win out, we’re looking to other people and hoping and praying that they do something for us, which is too bad.”

Still, Nebraska has the tie-breaker with Michigan State, so the Spartans would need to lose only once – if the Huskers were to win their final three regular-season games.

Nebraska, 3-2 in the Big Ten, is 7-2 overall.

“The rallying cry is we want to win 10 games,” said offensive tackle Jeremiah Sirles. “If we can win 10 games, that’s usually a pretty successful season.

“We want to go out there and win 10 games and hopefully, try and go to Indianapolis, win 11 tyler legate games, and hopefully, go to the bowl game and try to win 12 games. I mean, that’s the ultimate goal.

And that’s what we’ve got to keep pushing for. Our goal’s still out there. Yeah, we need some things to happen, but ultimately, if we don’t take care of us, there’s no way it can happen.”

The Huskers are in control of the first and third parts of the Sirles scenario, winning 10 games and winning a bowl game. But the Indianapolis part depends on someone else. And again, that someone could be Iowa, against whom Nebraska finishes in Lincoln on the day after Thanksgiving.

“It’s a three-game season, so just take it one game at a time and see what happens,” Legate said.

The Huskers play the other divisional contender, Michigan, in Ann Arbor next week. So by winning out, they could eliminate all of those competing for the divisional title except Michigan State.

If the Spartans don’t lose to Iowa, Nebraska would have to get help from either Indiana or Northwestern. Of course, there are other scenarios even if the Huskers lose again. But those are extreme longshots.

Quarterback Taylor Martinez was philosophical about the situation on Monday. Nebraska has to “take each game one at a time and everything else will fall in place,” he said.

“If it’s meant to be, we’ll go to the Big Ten Championship.” ,

Michael Gray

Michigan State Wisconsin Northwestern Michigan Ohio St +Penn St 17-13

Petey Mac

Michigan State Wisconsin Rice Illinois Ohio St +penn state 17-10

Michigan St Wisconsin Northwestern Michigan Ohio St +Nebraska 28-13

Iowa Wisconsin Northwestern Michigan Ohio St +Nebraska 21-14

Michigan State MIchigan Wisconsin Ohio State Northwestern +Nebraska 24-10

Michigan State MIchigan Wisconsin Ohio State Northwestern +Nebraska-35-28

Michigan State Michigan Wisconsin Ohio State Northwestern +Nebraska 28-21

Michigan State Wisconsin Northwestern Michigan Ohio St +Penn St 35-28

Michigan State MIchigan Wisconsin Ohio State Northwestern +Nebraska 20-17

Iowa Wisconsin Northwestern Michigan Ohio State +Nebraska 28-21

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