The Reader November 2015 by PioneerMedia.Me

Develop Your Neighborhood’s Sense of Place

n 2011, Omaha’s Dundee-Memorial Park neighborhood was named one of the nation’s 10 best neighborhoods by the American Planning Association. The neighborhood, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was cited for its varied residential architecture, strong sense of community, and the ongoing commitment of its residents to maintenance and beautification. This combination of factors, perhaps best illustrated in the neighborhood’s iconic hanging basket program, has resulted in the development of Dundee’s well-defined sense of place. The Project for Public Spaces in New York City, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public spaces that build stronger communities, agrees with Dundee’s placemaking formula: “When people of all ages, abilities and socio-economic backgrounds can not only access and enjoy a place but also play a key role in its identity, creation and maintenance, that is when we see genuine placemaking in action.” “Every Omaha neighborhood has the potential to be a great place,” said Julie Smith,

One Omaha program manager. “We encourage you to make your neighborhood as tremendous as the people who live in it. As Jane Jacobs said in The Death and Life of Great American Cities, ‘Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.’” Below are five ideas from One Omaha to help jumpstart the process locally. n Host a Place Game workshop in your neighborhood. The Place Game workshop, a free service of Omaha by Design, helps neighborhood and civic groups brainstorm potential improvements to the public spaces in their corner of the city. This tool was created by the Project for Public Spaces. Omaha by Design offers Place Game workshops from March through October. For more information, call 402.554.4010 or email info@omahabydesign.org. n Participate in One Omaha’s Neighborhood Mentor Program. There’s a lot to be said for learning by example. If you live or volunteer in a neighborhood with a well-developed sense of place, consider becoming a mentor to a new or struggling neighborhood group. Conversely, if your neighborhood is in need of a mentor, sign up for One Omaha’s Neighborhood Mentor Program. The scope of the mentoring provided through the program – set to begin in 2016 - will be determined by those neighborhood leaders willing to volunteer their services. It could as simple as answering questions via email when they come up periodically or as formal as an experienced group adopting a new one. n Research the history of your neighborhood, then celebrate it. When was your neighborhood created? Is it home to any historic sites or famous residents or has it hosted any historic events? Restoration Exchange Omaha - a local nonprofit dedicated to educating and motivating the public to restore and preserve older homes, buildings and neighborhoods – may be able to help you research the history of your neighborhood. Another source to consider – the Douglas County Historical Society at www.omahahistory.org. n Host events that bring people together and help brand your neighborhood – the more unique they are, the better.

An event can be as simple as planning an annual picnic in a neighborhood park or as complicated as organizing a summer farmers market. For example: In North Omaha, Apostle Vanessa Ward organizes an annual block party in her neighborhood. In her book “Somebody Do Something,” Ward talks about how creating place starts with talking to neighbors. Out west, the Escalante Hills Homeowners Association plays volleyball on Friday nights during the summer at a court and neighboring pavilion built with association fees. “The resident-led investment in their common space has added value for the entire neighborhood and serves as a place for neighbors to get to know one another and be a part of their community,” Smith said.

Don’t ignore problem properties.

The broken windows theory, introduced by a pair of social scientists in 1982, asserts that neglect accelerates deterioration faster than any other factor. Are there problem properties in your neighborhood? Do they tend to be clustered together? In some cases, these properties may be owned by an elderly individual who lives alone and is physically unable to mow a lawn or fix a sagging gutter or paint an exterior. “Reach out and see if this is the issue,” Smith said. “If it is, consider

One Omaha, founded in 2015, is dedicated to actively facilitating the development of neighborhoods in the City of Omaha through communication, education and advocacy. For more information, contact Julie Smith, One Omaha program manager, at 402.547.7473 or Julie.smith@oneomaha.org.

approaching a neighborhood church or youth organization to help out or connect the elderly owner with some of the services provided by the City of Omaha.” The One Omaha web site lists a number of city programs that homeowners can access if they meet certain criteria. For more information, visit www.oneomaha.org/city-services. In other cases, problem properties are the result of landlord and absentee owner issues – the subject of a proposed ordinance that will be considered by the Omaha City Council at its Nov. 17 meeting. “The best thing to do is report nuisance properties to the mayor’s hotline at 402.444.5555 and make note of your reports,” Smith said. “Citizens are the eyes and heart of the city. It’s up to us to make the call and take the initiative.” For more information about helping your neighborhood create its own sense of place, contact Smith at 402.547.7473 or julie.smith@ oneomaha.org.

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NOVEMBER 2015

Millenial positions harder to fill

You must accommodate disabled Disability discrimination occurs when you, as an employer, mistreat or harass a qualified applicant or employee who’s disabled, per the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It’s also illegal if they were disabled in the past, such as cancer in remission, or have a temporary disability. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires you to provide reasonable accommodation, unless it causes undue hardship. A reasonable accommodation is any change to help a disabled person apply for, perform and benefit from a job. This could include, for example, changes to make the workplace wheelchair accessible. Undue hardship means the accommodation is too difficult or too expensive to provide, based on your size, financial resources and business needs. But you can’t refuse to provide an accommodation just because it involves some cost.

Consider risks before you blog There are many reasons you might blog about your job – to spotlight achievements, vent about policies or even detail an office romance. But if you do, CUSTOMER SOLUTIONS TEAMMATE If you’re ready to take your career to the next level, here are just a few examples of what we can offer you in return: Newly revised compensation packages, Benefits starting Day 1 of your employment, Limitless career opportunities and training programs, Community involvement in our local markets, Outstanding corporate culture and environment. As a front line representative, you will be the primary point of contact for our customers- it is critical that you help provide them with predictable, compassionate and timely resolutions to their questions and inquiries while maintaining a positive and friendly attitude. A teammate within Customer Solutions exhibits creativity and skill in delivering practical solutions and thrives in a collaborative team environment. For more information, visit OmahaJobs.com. SERVERS NEEDED Part time servers and hosts, serving and providing exceptional customer service for customers looking for and expecting to create “forever memories” for themselves and their families while providing a great dining experience. For more information, visit OmahaJobs.com. TEACH ENGLISH ABROAD! 4-week TEFL training course in Prague, Czech Republic. We have over 2000 teachers in 60 countries. No experience or second language required. Teach & Travel with TEFL Worldwide! www.teflworldwideprague.com

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you assume the liability and employment security risks that come when you publish to a potential worldwide readership, per Monster’s career advice blog. How is a blog different from a personal Web site? “The easy-to-use tools available for blogging take away the barriers to getting online,” said Rebecca Jeschke of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The danger comes when no-brainer publishing technology – together with a mistaken sense of anonymity –embolden you to record observations inappropriate for a global electronic network. EFF publishes a safe-blogging guide that covers how to blog anonymously as well as defenses against a retaliating employer.

Your blog can help you attract potential employers Employers like to hire people who are well-informed and keen. That’s why you should add a Blog to your social media presence. Blogs let you display your knowledge of your occupation, sector or industry. You can share insights and update people on trends and events. In essence, you set yourself up as a Sub-

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ject Matter Expert (SME). Among the most popular free Blogging platforms are Blogger, WordPress and TypePad. If you find it painfully difficult to write, or if employers in your field don’t care whether you Blog or not, then you may get away without one. If you do create your own Blog, link it to your other social media pages.

As unemployment rates continue to slide, entry-level positions for Millenials are “very hard to fill with qualified candidates,” said Diane Steele, owner and president of Steele Recruiting, a direct hire recruiting and executive placement firm. Steele told Ziprecruiter.com it’s important to learn where candidates may look for a job and to find those passive candidates who may make a jump even if not actively looking. “You need to put yourself in the minds of your target candidate to catch them where they are,” Steele said. “Today, Millenials start looking for their next job the first day they start a job.” Work-life balance, autonomy, wellness, learning and development, and why your company is outstanding need to be used when you recruit and retain Millenials, Steele said.

ProKarma Jobs Quality Assurance Analyst #QA1015 ProKarma, Inc. has multiple openings for the position of Quality Assurance Analyst based out of its U.S. headquarters in Omaha, NE. The employee may also work at various unanticipated locations. This is a roving position whereby the employee’s worksite and place of residence may regularly change based upon client and business demands; however, this position does not involve a travel requirement as performing the daily job duties does not require the employee to travel. S/he will do development and modification of test plans and scripts, both manual and automated, to ensure the quality, reliability, scalability, and monitoring of both existing and new software applications. The position of Quality Assurance Analyst requires a master’s degree, or its foreign equivalent, in Computer Information Systems, IT, Computer Science, Engineering (any), or in a technical/analytical field that is closely related to the specialty, plus at least one year of experience in the job offered or in an IT/Computer-related position. Alternatively, the employer will accept a bachelor’s degree, or its foreign equivalent, in Computer Information Systems, IT, Computer Science, Engineering (any), or in a technical/analytical field that is closely related to the specialty, plus at least 5 years of progressively-responsible, post-baccalaureate experience in the job offered or in an IT/Computer-related position. The applicant must have professional experience with: HP Quality Center, Quick Test Pro, Clear Quest, Clear Case, Excel Reporting. The employer deems that any suitable combination of education, training, or experience is acceptable.

TO APPLY, SEND RESUMES TO: ProKarma, Inc. Attn: Jobs 222 S. 15th St., Ste 505N, Omaha, NE 68102 or email: postings@prokarma.com with Job Ref# in the subject line of the email

ProKarma Jobs

ProKarma, Inc. has multiple openings for the below-listed Senior Software Engineer position based out of its U.S. headquarters in Omaha, NE. The employees may also work at various unanticipated locations. These are roving positions whereby the employee’s worksite and place of residence may regularly change based upon client and business demands; however, these positions do not involve a travel requirement as performing the daily job duties does not require the employee to travel. These positions requires a Master’s degree, or its foreign equivalent, in Computer Information Systems, IT, Computer Science, Engineering (any), or in a technical/analytical field that is closely related to the specialty, plus at least one year of experience in the job offered or in an IT/Computer-related position. Alternatively, the employer will accept a bachelor’s degree, or its foreign equivalent, in Computer Information Systems, IT, Computer Science, Engineering (any), or in a technical/analytical field that is closely related to the specialty, plus at least 5 years of progressively-responsible, post-baccalaureate experience in the job offered or in an IT/Computer-related position. The employer deems that any suitable combination of education, training, or experience is acceptable.

SEND RESUMES TO:

ProKarma, Inc. Attn: Jobs 222 S 15th St. #505N Omaha, NE 68102 or email: postings@prokarma.com with Job Ref# in the subject line of the email Senior Software Engineer #SRJAVA1015

Applicant must have professional experience with: Java, J2EE, JMS, SOA, Web Services, Weblogic/WebSphere/App server/JBoss, Oracle/SQL Server, Maven, HTML. S/he will analyze user needs and modify and develop existing software by using various computer skill sets. S/he will modify existing software to correct errors and improve performance and will develop and direct software system testing and validation procedures, programming, and documentation.

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NOVEMBER 2015

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NOVEMBER2015VOLUME22NUMBER8 08 COVER STORY WASP EDUCATION 14 PICKS COOL STUFF TO DO IN NOVEMBER 20 HEARTLAND HEALING HERBAL VIAGRA 22 CULTURE DOWN AND OUT IN OMAHA 33 THEATER DICKENS AT THE JOSLYN 35 ART BEMIS AUCTION REBOOT 38 ART GLASS ACT AT 72 39 EAT WORLD CULINARY TOUR 43 MUSIC MCCARTHY TRENCHING 45 BACKBEAT NEW DOWNTOWN VENUE 46 FILM CRITICS CHOICES AT FILMSTREAMS 50 HOODOO NEW AND BIG 54 MYSTERIAN DOCTOR IS IN

Publisher John Heaston john@thereader.com Creative Director Eric Stoakes eric@thereader.com Assistant Editor Mara Wilson mara@thereader.com Assistant Editor Tara Spencer tara@thereader.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS heartland healing: Michael Braunstein info@heartlandhealing.com arts/visual: Mike Krainak mixedmedia@thereader.com dish: Sarah Locke crumbs@thereader.com film: Ryan Syrek cuttingroom@thereader.com hoodoo: B.J. Huchtemann bjhuchtemann@gmail.com music: Wayne Brekke backbeat@thereader.com over the edge: Tim McMahan tim.mcmahan@gmail.com theater: William Grennan coldcream@thereader.com SALES & MARKETING Dinah Gomez dinah@thereader.com Kati Falk kati@thereader.com

PAGE 39: Chef Angie Anaya (left) and Reader food editor Sara Locke take you on a 12-hour culinary tour of the world (in Omaha) with photography by Debra S. Kaplan.

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contents

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NOVEMBER 2015

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid Of people whose eyes are oddly made, And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade, You’ve got to be carefully taught.

hen a liberal, white middle-class couple with young kids moved to Omaha from Chicago in the late 1950s they entered this city’s weirdly segregated reality, not uncommon in almost every American city. It was not as public or overtly violent as the segregation in the former Confederate states of the South, but it was no less impactful on the African-American communities in Northern states. Homemaker Lois Mark Stalvey was a former advertising copywriter who once owned her own agency. Her husband Bennett Stalvey was a Fairmont Foods Mad Man. The Omaha they settled into abided by a de facto segregation that saw blacks confined to two delineated areas. The largest sector, the Near North Side, was bounded by Cuming on the south and Ames on the north and 16th on the east and 40th on the west. Large public housing projects were home to thousands of families. In South Omaha blacks were concentrated in and around projects near the packing plants. Blacks here could generally enter any public place – a glaring exception being the outdoor pool at Peony Park until protestors forced ownership’s hand – but were sometimes required to sit in separate sections or limited to drive-thru service and they most definitely faced closed housing opportunities and discriminatory hiring practices. This now deceased couple encountered a country club racist culture that upheld a system designed to keep whites and blacks apart. Neither was good at taking things lying down or letting injustices pass unnoticed. But she was the more assertive and opinionated of the two. Indeed, son Ben Stalvey recalls her as “a force of nature” who “rarely takes no for an answer.” “She was stubborn to accept the accepted norm in those days and that piqued her curiosity and she took it from there,” he says. “She had grown up in her own little bubble (in Milwaukee) and I think when she discovered racial prejudice and injustice her attitude was more like, What do you mean I

NOVEMBER 2015

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can’t do that or what do you mean I have to think that way? It was more just a matter of, “Hell, no.” Though only in Omaha a few years, Stalvey made her mark on the struggle for equality then raging in the civil rights movement. The well-intentioned wife and mother entered the fray naive about her own white privilege and prejudice and the lengths to which the establishment would go to oppose desegregation and parity. Her headstrong efforts to do the right thing led to rude awakenings and harsh consequences. Intolerance, she learned here and in Philadelphia, where the Stalveys moved after her husband lost his job due to her activism, is insidious. All of which she wrote about in her much discussed 1970 book, The Education of a WASP. The title refers to the self-discovery journey she made going from ignorance to enlightenment. Blacks who befriended her in Omaha and in Philadelphia schooled her on the discrimination they faced and on what was realistic for changing the status quo. Among her primary instructors was the late black civic leader and noted physician Dr. Claude Organ and his wife Elizabeth “Betty” Organ and a young Ernie Chambers before his state senator career. In WASP Stalvey only sparingly used actual names. The Organs became the Bensons and Chambers became Marcus Garvey Moses. A Marshall, Texas native and graduate of Xavier University in New Orleans, Claude Organ was accepted by the University of Texas Medical School but refused admittance when officials discovered he was black. The state of Texas paid the tuition difference between UT and any school a denied black attended. Organ ended up at Creighton University and the state of Texas paid the extra $2,000 to $3,000 a year the private Jesuit school cost, recalls Betty Organ. His civil rights work here began with the interracial social action group the De Porres Club led by Father John Markoe. Organ became Urban League of Nebraska president and later advised the Citizens Coordinating Committee for Civil Liberties (4CL). He was on the Catholic Interracial Council board and Mayor’s Biracial Committee. “He built a lot of bridges,” son Paul Organ says.

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Betty Organ got involved, too, supporting “any group that had something to do with making Omaha a better place to live,” she says. So when Stalvey was introduced to the Organs by a black friend and determined to made them her guides in navigating the troubled racial waters, she couldn’t have found a better pair. Stalvey met Chambers through Claude Organ. Chambers says “This woman detected I was somebody who might have some things to offer that would help give her what she called her education. And when I became convinced she was genuine I was very open with her in terms of what I would talk to her about.” Though it may not seem so now, Chambers says the book’s title was provocative for the time. WASP stands for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, which defined Stalvey’s background, but racism was rampant across ethnic and religious lines in White America. “WASP was a term that not everybody to whom it applied embraced. So by using that title she caught people’s attention.” But he admired the “substance” behind the sensation. He admired, too, that the vitally curious Stalvey asked lots of questions. “I never got the impression as used to happen when I was interviewed by white people that she was ‘studying’ me like a scientist in a lab would study insects. She genuinely was trying to make herself a better person and I think she succeeded.” This ever apt pupil threw herself into The Cause. Her son Noah Stalvey says, “I can remember meetings at the house. She had a lot of the movers and shakers of the day meeting there. Her goal was to raise us in an environment of tolerance.” “At times it was lively,” says Ben Stalvey. “There wasn’t much disagreement. We knew what was going on, we heard about things. We met a lot of people and we’d play with their kids.” All par for the course at the family home in Omaha’s Rockbrook neighborhood. “It wasn’t until well into my teen years I realized my parents were fighting the battle,” Noah says. “I just thought that’s what all parents do.” His mother headed the progressive Omaha Panel for American Women that advocated racial-religious understanding. The diverse panelists were all moms and the Organ and Stalvey kids sometimes

Only the change happened either more gradually than Stalvey wanted or in ways she didn’t expect. Despite her liberal leanings Claude Organ remained wary of Stalvey. “He felt she was as committed as she could be,” his widow says, “but he just didn’t think she knew what the implications of her involvement would be. He wasn’t exactly sure about how sincere Lois was. He thought she was trying to find her way and I think she more or less did find her way. It was a very difficult time for all of us, that’s all I can say.” Ernie Chambers says Stalvey’s willingness to examine and question things most white Americans accepted or avoided was rare.

DEBRA S. KAPLAN

accompanied their mothers to these community forums. Paul Organ believes the panelists wielded their greatest influence at home. “On the surface all the men in the business community were against it. Behind the scenes women were having these luncheons and meetings and I think in many homes around Omaha attitudes were changed over dinner after women came back from these events and shared the issues with their husbands. To me it was very interesting the women and the moms kind of bonded together because they all realized how it was affecting their children.” Betty Organ agrees. “I don’t think the men were really impressed with what we were doing until they found out its repercussions concerning their children and the attitudes their children developed as they grew.” Stalvey’s efforts were not only public but private. She personally tried opening doors for the aspirational Organs and their seven children to integrate her white bread suburban neighborhood. She felt the northeast Omaha bungalow the Organs occupied inadequate for a family of nine and certainly not befitting the family of a surgeon. Racial segregation denied the successful professional and Creighton University instructor the opportunity for living anywhere outside what was widely accepted as Black Omaha – the area in North Omaha defined by realtors and other interests as the Near North Side ghetto. “She had seen us when we lived in that small house on Paxton Boulevard,” Betty Organ says. “She had thought that was appalling that we should be living that many people in a small house like that.” Despite the initial reluctance of the Organs, Stalvey’s efforts to find them a home in her neighborhood put her self-educating journey on a collision course with Omaha’s segregation and is central to the books’s storyline. Organ appreciated Stalvey going out on a limb. Stalvey and others were also behind efforts to open doors for black educators at white schools, for employers to practice fair hiring and for realtors to abide by open housing laws. Stalvey found likeminded advocates in social worker-early childhood development champion Evie Zysman and the late social cause maven Susie Buffett. They were intent on getting the Organs accepted into mainstream circles. “We were entertained by Lois’ friends and the Zysmans and these others that were around. We went to a lot of places that we would not have ordinarily gone because these people were determined they were going to get us into something,” Betty Organ says. “It was very revealing and heartwarming that she wanted to do something. She wanted to change things and it did happen.”

“At the time she wrote this book it was not a popular thing. There were not a lot of white people willing to step forward, identify themselves and not come with the traditional either very paternalistic my-best-friend-is-a-Negro type of thing or out-andout racist attitude.” The two forged a deep connection borne of mutual respect. “She was surprised I knew what I knew, had read as widely as I had, and as we talked she realized it was not just a book kind of knowledge. In Omaha for a black man to stand up was considered remarkable. “We exchanged a large number of letters about all kinds of issues.” Chambers still fights the good fight here. Though he and Claude Organ had different approaches, they became close allies. Betty Organ says “nobody else was like” Chambers back then. “He was really a moving power to

get people to do things they didn’t want to do. My husband used to go to him as a barber and then they got to be very good friends. Ernie really worked with my husband and anything he wanted to accomplish he was ready to be there at bat for him. He was wonderful to us.” Stalvey’s attempts to infiltrate the Organs into Rockbrook were rebuffed by realtors and residents – exactly what Claude Organ warned would happen. He also warned her family might face reprisals. Betty Organ says, “My husband told her, ‘You know this can have great repercussions because they don’t want us and you can be sure that because they don’t want us they’re going to red line us wherever we go in Omaha trying to get a place that they know of.’” Bennett Stalvey was demoted by Fairmont, who disliked his wife’s activities, and sent to a dead-end job in Philadelphia. The Organs regretted it came to that. “It was not exactly the thing we wanted to happen with Ben,” Betty Organ says. “That was just the most ugly, un-Godly, un-Christian thing anybody could have done.” While that drama played out, Claude Organ secretly bought property and secured a loan through white doctor friends so he could build a home where he wanted without interference. The family broke ground on their home on Good Friday in 1964. The kids started school that fall at St. Philip Neri and the brick house was completed that same fall. “We had the house built before they (opponents) knew it,” Betty Organ says. Their spacious new home was in Florence, where blacks were scarce. Sure enough, they encountered push-back. A hate crime occurred one evening when Betty was home alone with the kids. “Somebody came knocking on my door. This man was frantically saying, ‘Lady, lady, you know your house is one fire?’ and I opened the door and I said, ‘What?’ and he went, ‘Look,’ and pointed to something burning near the house. I looked out there, and it was a cross burning right in front of the house next to the garage. When the man saw what it was, too, he said, ‘Oh, lady, I’m so sorry.’ It later turned out somebody had too much to drink at a bar called the Alpine Inn about a mile down the road from us and did this thing. “I just couldn’t believe it. It left a scorch there on the front of the house.” Paul Organ was 9 or 10 then. “I have memories of a fire and the fire truck coming up,” he says. “I remember something burning on the yard and my mom being upset. I remember when my dad got home from the hospital he was very upset but it wasn’t until years later I came to

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NOVEMBER 2015

y continued from page 9 appreciate how serious it was. That was probably the most dramatic, powerful incident.” But not the last. As the only black family in St. Philip Neri Catholic parish the Organs seriously tested boundaries. “Some of the kids there were very ugly at first,” Betty Organ recalls. “They bullied our kids. It was a real tough time for all of us because they just didn’t want to accept the fact we were doing this Catholic thing.”

You’ve got to be taught To hate and fear, You’ve got to be taught From year to year, It’s got to be drummed In your dear little ear You’ve got to be carefully taught. Daughter Sandra Organ says, “There were some tensions there. Dad would talk about how to handle these kind of things and to take the high road. But if they used the ‘n’ word we had an opportunity to retaliate because you defend your honor as a black person. “An older neighbor man didn’t particularly like black people. But his grandson was thrilled to have these five boys to play with, so he became like an extra person in the family. The boy’s family was very kind to us and they kind of brought the grandfather around.” Betty Organ says things improved with parishioners, too. “It got to the point where they got to know the family and they got to know us and they kind of came around after a few years.” Sandra says when her brother David suffered severe burns in an accident and sat-out school “the neighborhood really rallied around my mom and provided help for her and tutoring for David.” Stalvey came from Philadelphia to visit the Organs at their new home. “When she saw the house we built she was just thrilled to death to see it,” Betty Organ says. In Philadelphia the Stalveys lived in the racially mixed West Mount Airy neighborhood and enrolled their kids in predominantly African-American inner city public schools. Ben Stalvey says, “I think it was a conscious effort on my parents part to expose us to multiple ways of living.” His mother began writing pieces for the Philadelphia Bulletin that she expanded into WASP. “Mom always had her writing time,” Ben Stalvey notes. “She had her library and that was her writing room and when she in the writing room we were not to disturb her and so yes I remember her spending hours and hours in there. She’d always come out at

NOVEMBER 2015

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the end of the school day to greet us and often times she’d go back in there until dinner.” In the wake of WASP she became a prominent face and voice of white guilt – interviewed by national news outlets, appearing on national talk shows and doing signings and readings. Meanwhile, her husband played a key role developing and implementing affirmative action plans. Noah Stalvey says any negative feedback he felt from his parents’ activism was confined to namecalling. “I can remember vaguely being called an ‘n’ lover and that was mostly in grade school. My mother would be on TV or something and one of the kids who didn’t feel the way we did – their parents probably used the word – used it on us at school.” He says the work his parents did came into focus after reading WASP. “I first read it when I was in early high school. It kind of put together pieces for me. I began to understand what they were doing and why they were doing it and it made total sense to me. You know, why wouldn’t you fight for people who were being mistreated. Why wouldn’t you go out of your way to try and rectify a wrong? It just made sense they were doing what they could to fix problems prevalent in society.” Betty Organ thought WASP did a “pretty good” job laying out “what it was all about” and was relieved their real identities were not used. “That was probably a good thing at the time because my husband didn’t want our names involved as the persons who educated the WASP.” After all, she says, he had a career and family to think about. Dr. Claude Organ went on to chair Creighton’s surgery department by 1971, becoming the first African-American to do so at a predominately white medical school. He developed the school’s surgical residency program and later took positions at the University of Oklahoma and University of California–Davis, where he also served as the first African-American editor of Archives of Surgery, the largest surgical journal in the English-speaking world. Sandra Organ says there was some queasiness about how Stalvey “tried to stand in our shoes because you can never really know what that’s like.” However, she adds, “At least she was pricking people’s awareness and that was a wise thing.” Paul Organ appreciates how “brutally honest” Stalvey was about her own naivety and how embarrassed she was in numerous situations.” He says, “I think at the time that’s probably why the book had such an effect because Lois was very self-revealing.” Stalvey followed WASP with the book Getting Ready, which chronicled her family’s experiences with urban black education inequities. At the end of WASP she expresses both hope that progress is possible – she saw landmark civil rights

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legislation enacted – and despair over the slow pace of change. She implied the only real change happens in people’s hearts and minds, one person at a time. She equated the racial divide in America to walls whose millions of stones must be removed one by one. And she stated unequivocally that America would never realize its potential or promise until there was racial harmony. Forty-five years since WASP came out Omaha no longer has an apparatus to restrict minorities in housing, education, employment and recreation – just hardened hearts and minds. Today, blacks live, work, attend school and play where they desire. Yet geographic-economic segregation persists and there are disproportionate numbers living in poverty. lacking upwardly mobile job skills, not finishing school, heading single-parent homes and having criminal histories in a justice system that effectively mass incarcerates black males. Many blacks have been denied the real estate boom that’s come to define wealth for most of white America. Thus, some of the same conditions Stalvey described still exist and similar efforts to promote equality continue. Stalvey went on to teach writing and diversity before passing away in 2004. She remained a staunch advocate of multiculturalism. When WASP was reissued in 1989 her new foreword expressed regret that racism was still prevalent. And just as she concluded her book the first time, she repeated the need for our individual and collective education to continue and her indebtedness to those who educated her. Noah Stalvey says her enduring legacy may not be so much what she wrote but what she taught her children and how its been passed down. “It does have a ripple effect and we now carry this message to our kids and our kids are raised to believe there is no difference regardless of sexual preference or heritage or skin color.” Ben Stalvey says his mother firmly believed children are not born with prejudice and intolerance but learn these things. “There’s a song my mother used to quote which I still like that’s about intolerance – ‘You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught’ – from the musical South Pacific. “The way we were raised we were purposely not taught,” Ben Stalvey says. “I wish my mother was still around to see my own grandchildren. My daughter has two kids and her partner is half African-American and half Filipino. I think back to the very end of WASP where she talks about her hopes and dreams for America of everyone being a blended heritage and that has actually come to pass in my grandchildren.”, You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late, Before you are six or seven or eight, To hate all the people your relatives hate, You’ve got to be carefully taught!

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Omaha Weekly Reader 11-01-15.indd 1

| THE READER |

9/28/15 NOVEMBER 2015

9:58 AM

NOVEMBER 2015

| THE READER |

DEBRA S. KAPLAN

ith America in the throes of the 1960s civil rights movement, few whites publicly conceded their own prejudice, much less tried seeing things from a black point of view. Lois Mark Stalvey was that exception as she shared her journey from naivety to social consciousness in her 1970 book The Education of a WASP. Her intensely personal chronicle of becoming a socially aware being and engaged citizen has lived on as a resource in ethnic studies programs. Stalvey’s odyssey was fueled by curiosity that turned to indignation and then activism as she discovered the extent to which blacks faced discrimination. Her education and evolution occurred in Omaha and Philadelphia. She got herself up to speed on the issues and conditions impacting blacks by joining organizations focused on equal rights and enlisting the insights of local black leaders. Her Omaha educators included Dr. Claude Organ and his wife Elizabeth “Betty” Organ (Paul and Joan Benson in the book) and Ernie Chambers (Marcus Garvey Moses). She joined the local Urban League and led the Omaha chapter of the Panel of American Women. She didn’t stop at rhetoric either. She took unpopular stands in support of open housing and hiring practices. She attempted and failed to get the Organs integrated into her Rockbrook neighborhood. Pushing for diversity and inclusion got her blackballed and cost her husband Bennett Stalvey his job. After leaving Omaha for Philly she and her husband could have sat out the fight for diversity and equality on the sidelines but they elected to be active participants. Instead of living in suburbia as they did here they moved into a mixed race neighborhood and sent their kids to predominantly black urban inner city schools. Stalvey surrounded herself with more black guides who opened her eyes to inequities in the public schools and to real estate maneuvers like block busting designed to keep certain neighborhoods white. Behind the scenes, her husband helped implement some of the nation’s first affirmative action plans. Trained as a writer, Stalvey used her gifts to chart her awakening amid the civil rights movement. Since WASP’s publication the book’s been a standard se-

lection among works that about whites grappling with their own racism and with the challenges black Americans confront. It’s been used as reading material in multicultural, ethnic studies and history courses at many colleges and universities. University of Nebraska-Lincoln associate professor of History and Ethnic Studies Patrick Jones has utilized it in two courses. “In both courses students had a very positive response to the book,” he says. “The book’s local connections to Omaha literally bring the topic of racial identity formation and race relations ‘home’ to students. This local dynamic often means a more forceful impact on Neb. students, regardless of their own identity or background. “In addition, the book effectively underscores the ways that white racial identity is socially constructed. Students come away with a much stronger understanding of what many call ‘whiteness’ and ‘white privilege” This is particularly important for white students, who often view race as something outside of themselves and only relating to black and brown

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people. Instead, this book challenges them to reckon with the various ways their own history, experience, socialization, acculturation and identity are racially constructed.” Jones says the book’s account of “white racial identity formation” offers a useful perspective. “As Dr. King, James Baldwin and others have long asserted, the real problem of race in America is not a problem with black people or other people of color, but rather a problem rooted in the reality of white supremacy, which is primarily a fiction of the white mind. If we are to combat and overcome the legacy and ongoing reality of white supremacy, then we need to better understand the creation and perpetuation of white supremacy, white racial identity and white privilege, and this book helps do that. “What makes whiteness and white racial identity such an elusive subject for many to grasp is its invisibility – the way it is rendered normative in American society. Critical to a deeper understanding of how race works in the U.S. is rendering whiteness and white supremacy visible.” Stalvey laid it all right out in the open through the prism of her experience. She continued delineating her ongoing education in subsequent books and articles she wrote and in courses she taught. Interestingly, WASP was among several popular media examinations of Omaha’s race problem then. A 1963 Look magazine piece discussed racial divisions and remedies here. A 1964 Ebony profile focused on Don Benning breaking the faculty-coaching color barrier at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The 1966 film A Time for Burning featured Ernie Chambers serving a similar role as he did with Stalvey, only this time educating a white pastor and members of Augustana Lutheran Church struggling to do interracial fellowship. The documentary prompted a CBS News special. Those reports were far from the only local race issues to make national news. Most recently, Omaha’s disproportionately high black poverty and gun violence rates have received wide attention. , Read more of Leo Adam Biga’s work at leoadambiga.com.

2015 ART AUCTION More than 200 global artists have generously contributed work to this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s silent and live auctions. Proceeds support the Bemis Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s artist-in-residence and public engagement programs.

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A full list of available Auction artworks can be viewed online at bemiscenter.org/auction starting November 6. Advance bidding will be available starting November 6 at paddle8.com/auction/bemiscenter.

| THE READER |

NOVEMBER 2015

PLEIADES & THE BEAR

Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7 DVORÁK’S STABAT MATER Kiewit Hall, Holland Center, 1200 Douglas Street 7:30 p.m., $19-$70 www.omahasymphony.org Antonin Dvorák’s Stabat Mater is considered world-wide to be one of his major achievements and a beautiful and stirring evocation of centuries- old rites of mourning along a path to peaceful acceptance. Relative to other masterpieces of the same inspiration, the Czech composer’s is often called the most symphonic. We have a rare chance to become immersed in its flowing lyricism and expressiveness when four soloists and four vocal ensembles merge with the Omaha Symphony and music director Thomas Wilkins for two performances. During the secular and sacred works- inspired 90 minutes of Dvorák’s exploration, he incorporates the words of a hymn most often attributed to thirteenth-century Franciscan monk Jacopone da Todi. The title comes from the first line, Stabat mater dolorosa (“The sorrowful mother stood”) a meditation on Mary’s suffering during Christ’s crucifixion. The composer completed this compelling work when he was in his early 40s, deeply moved following the death of his two-day old child. Paul Schiavo’s excellent program notes for the Symphony say that what Dvorák wrote was born of both religious conviction and of personal affliction. And that it established him as an artist of serious and spiritual expression. — Gordon Spencer

NOVEMBER 2015

Thursday, November 12 GARY DAY AND LARRY BRADSHAW UNO, Weber Fine Arts Building, 6001 Dodge Street 4:30-6:30 p.m., Free Gallery Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. www.unomaha.edu Two recently retired UNO artists/professors, Gary Day and Larry Bradshaw, are featured in a closing reception Nov. 12, for their current two-person, retro exhibition in the Art Gallery of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Day will also talk that day at noon in the Gallery as part of the Wilson Lecture Series, sponsored by UNO’s Friends of Art. The talk is open to the public. Both Bradshaw and Day retired last May, Bradshaw after 42 years of teaching and Day with 36 years of teaching in the Department of Art and Art History. Day’s prints and animations have been exhibited both nationally and internationally and are included in both Joslyn Art Museum and Lincoln’s Sheldon Art Gallery. Day has worked with traditional mediums and was an early developer of digital printmaking technologies. Bradshaw has shown in more than 350 national and international exhibitions. His mixed –media drawing “Togetherness One” was digitally included as part of an installation at the Louvre Museum in France. His paintings and drawings reflect his ongoing contemplations of everyday life. — Eddith Buis

“TOGETHERNESS ONE,” MIXED MEDIA DRAWING BY LARRY BRADHSAW

| THE READER |

picks

Thursday, November 12 LOW WITH ANDY SHAUF Reverb Lounge, 6121 Military Avenue 9:00 p.m., $20 www.reverblounge.com Veteran softcore trio Low bring their brooding, minimalistic style to the Reverb Lounge. The Duluth, MN based band released their newest studio offering September 11th on Sup Pop Records, titled Ones and Sixes. Alan Sparhawk’s distorted guitar riffs, Mimi Parker’s alluring falsetto renditions of haunting lyrics, and the ever-present, sometimes painfully slow tempos that have defined Low over the last 20 years are all present on their newest album. Ones and Sixes manages to take repetitive lyrical stanzas and simple instrumentation to create complicated, melancholic arrangements. Where their 2013 release The Invisible Way, produced by Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, divulged from the band’s usual punky and austere style Ones and Sixes delivers the sound loyal Low fans are accustomed to. Low begins their U.S. tour Nov. 11 at First Avenue in Minneapolis before coming to Omaha and continuing through Feb. in cities across the country. — Colin Larson

he keeps on coming. He’s coming to Omaha. One gig only. Nov. 13 at the Holland. He brings with him his Electric Band and takes the stage with singer Philip Bailey from another earth: Earth. Wind and Fire in which, among others, jazz, funk, disco, Latin and African breezes heat up and blow. Bailey, FYI, has collected multiple Grammys himself, seven, and been inducted into two Halls of Fame: Rock and Roll plus the Songwriters’. Lewis has long linked up with that band which has now been around more than 45 years. It started when another singer, Maurice White, left a Lewis group to be one of the founders. That’s around the time Lewis was in hitsville with “The In Crowd”, “Hang On Sloopy”, and “Wade in the Water”. The Electric Band’s book ranges wide, with charts by Stevie Wonder, Dr. John, Kung Fu and of course, EW&F. The line-up includes another keyboardist, Tim Gant along with Joshua Ramos on bass and drummer Charles Heath. Chicago’s Henry Johnson is the guitarist. He started our strong with organist Jack McDuff and then, at age 25, spring- boarded onto a career with Lewis, bringing with him the influences of Wes Montgomery, George Benson and Kenny Burrell. Fiery, funky breezes fanned by multitudinous fans.

— Gordon Spencer

Friday, November 13 RAMSEY LEWIS ELECTRIC BAND WITH PHILIP BAILEY Kiewit Hall, Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas Street 8:00 p.m., $20-$45 www.omahaperformingarts.org Ramsey Lewis has turned out a quantity of albums equal to the amount of years he’s been on this earth: 80. His shelves hold up seven gold records and three Grammy Awards and he keeps on holding up a standard for keeping up with the times. Earthiness has long been his thing, springing off from his jazz pianoism to dig into other roots, melding, blending and grooving with rock, soul, and R&B. But jazz still is where he comes from and where

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RAMSEY LEWIS

T IC K E T S O N S A L E • T IC K E T S ON SA L E • T IC K E T S ON SA LE • T IC K E T S O N SA LE •

Scholar - in - Residence

Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, Ph.D. Lawrence A. Hoffman was ordained as a rabbi in 1969, received his Ph.D. in 1973, and has taught since then at the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. He co-founded “Synagogue 2000,” a trans-denominational project to envision the ideal synagogue “as moral and spiritual center” for the 21st century. As Synagogue 3000, it has launched Next Dor, a national initiative to engage the next generation through a relational approach featuring strong communities with transformed synagogues at their center.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

sponsor: First National Bank orchestra sponsor: KPMG LLP snow sponsor: Children’s Hospital and Medical Center media sponsor: Cox

See it Before Dec. 15 and Save An Interactive Beatles Experience

NOV. 27–DEC. 31, 2015 sponsors: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska and WoodmenLife media sponsor: KETV

2 Special New Year’s Eve Performances 6915 CASS STREET | (402) 553-0800 OMAHAPLAYHOUSE.COM

Religion, Ethnicity, and More: Judaism as a Conversation Friday, December 4, 6 p.m.

Torah Study

Spirituality in Public: Looking for God in Omaha, Nebraska Saturday, December 5, 9 a.m.

Afternoon Session Bagels & Coffee

Spirituality in Private: Even for Those Who Think There Isn’t Any Saturday, December 5, 12:30 p.m. Judaism for the Next Generation: Limits, Truth and Meaning Sunday, December 6, 10:15 a.m.

All events will be located at Temple Israel 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive, Omaha, NE, 68144

All events are open to the public; no RSVPs required. Visit www.templeisraelomaha.com for more information. Questions? Contact Program Director Scott Littky, slittky@templeisraelomaha.com or 402-556-6536.

Temple Israel The Reform Jewish Congregation of Omaha

Hermene Zweiback Center Lifelong Jewish Learning

for

NOV. 20–DEC. 23, 2015

Friday Evening Services

| THE READER |

NOVEMBER 2015

in all its glory at Vega. Thankfully, his beef with the War On Drugs is old news though it was quite entertaining. Now if only he will get Sun Kil Moon’s full catalog on Spotify.

— Wayne Brekke Friday, November 20 AWARD-WINNING ARCHITECT, ROBERTO DE LEON Kaneko, 1111 Jones Street 6:00 p.m., Free www.thekaneko.org

MARK KOZELEK

y continued from page 14 Friday November 13 and Saturday, November 14 SATURN ASCENDS: A TOOL LIVE TRIBUTE EXPERIENCE TWO NIGHTS, WITH THE END IN RED, THE MATADOR, THE IMPULSIVE, AND VALLEYHILL The Waiting Room Lounge, 6212 Maple Street 9:00 p.m., $12 www.waitingroomlounge.com Fans will get a hefty dose of their favorite progressive/ metal/rock band (at least in spirit) as tribute act Saturn Ascends throws down at the Waiting Room for a 2 night Tool-fest. Known for their intense shows packed with accurate musical interpretations and stunning audio and visual accompaniment, Saturn Ascends has been heralded by fans to be one of the best shows at the Waiting Room ever. Their popularity has given the band the opportunity to present two shows to accommodate the demand. Night one will see the band perform the entire, “Lateralus” while night 2 will showcase Tool’s greatest hits. Supporting acts include The End In Red, The Matador, The Impulsive, and Valleyhill.

— Wayne Brekke

Sunday, November 15 CORIOLANUS Corkscrew Wine & Cheese, 3908 Farnam Street 3:00 p.m., Free www.nebraskashakespeare.com It’s not often that you get the chance to witness one of Shakespeare’s last tragedies, the infrequently-produced Coriolanus, which many critics see as a natural choice in times of political turmoil while also viewing it as confronting socialism. You have a fleeting chance to make up your own mind this month. Nebraska Shakespeare offers one performance only, a staged reading. Artistic Director Vincent Carlson-Brown gets it together and takes on the title role in what T. S. Eliot famously proclaimed to be one of the playwright’s greatest tragic achievements. The play is based on histories concerning Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus, during the early days of the Roman Republic. It was a time when the populous was newly and adamantly opposed to anyone having absolute power. Discontent with government was rife. The title character, who may or may not have actually lived, was a victorious general. In the play he’s offered considerable power and prestige, provided he willingly submits to the will of the people. But his stubborn, caustic pride and his refusal to curry favor, brings about his downfall and death. This chance to know the play better involves a 14-member cast in Carlson-Brown’s adaptation for the Nebraska Shakespeare’s Director’s Reading Series. (Full disclosure: I have a small role.) A subsequent audience discussion offers the chance to exchange ideas about meanings and interpretations.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Omaha Chapter announced the final of its annual 2015 lecture series will feature Roberto De Leon. De Leon, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB, partner and co-founder of Louisville, Kentucky-based architectural studio De Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop (DPAW), will present a program titled “Work/Process.” This will profile the firm’s award winning projects and their approach to contextual design. DPAW is a design studio that focuses on public non-profit projects at a wide variety of scales and environments. DPAW was recently selected as the recipient of the 2015 AIA Architecture Firm Award, but this is not the first award and recognition the architectural studio has received, dating back to the 2010 Design Vanguard by Architectural Record and more recently in 2015 the American Institute of Architects Honor Award. Brian Spencer, AIA, Manager of Facilities Planning at the Nebraska Medical Center and President of the AIA Omaha Chapter, said, “Roberto De Leon’s work is recognized for its contextual sensitivity, innovation in material applications, and the holistic integration of sustainable strategies rooted in regional specificity. He continues the AIA Omaha’s commitment to bringing important voices in architecture to the attention of our community.” When De Leon is finished presenting, the AIA Omaha’s annual meeting and election of officers will occur. For more information regarding De Leon, DPAW or AIA visit the website above or www.aiaomaha. org.

— Mara Wilson

Friday, November 20 PLEIADES & THE BEAR WITH PANCHO & THE CONTRABAND, BACKWATER SPAWN, AND JUSTIN READY & THE ECHO PRAIRIE The Waiting Room Lounge, 6212 Maple Street 9:00 p.m., $7 www.waitingroomlounge.com Warm and earthy, the music of Pleiades & The Bear brings together rich harmonies, beautiful instrumentation, and thoughtful songwriting. Bluegrass, Americana, and indie influences make this band a treat to hear live. This night, the band is joined by Pancho & The Contraband, Backwater Spawn, and Justin Ready & The Echo Prairie for an unforgettable evening of heartfelt songs that show what, “Flyover Soul” is all about.

— Wayne Brekke Through November 21 WALK THE NIGHT Starlight Chateau, 1310 North 29th Street Wed.-Sat. 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., $20, double admission $35 www.walkthenightwithme.com Shakespeare plunges into terrible dimensions of old age in King Lear. And more. The tale emerges again, within a building long ago dedicated to withdrawal

— Gordon Spencer Tuesday, November 17 MARK KOZELEK Vega, 350 Canopy Street #220, Lincoln 9:00 p.m., $18 ADV/$20 DOS, 18+ www.vegalincoln.com Mark Kozelek is a guy that likes to keep busy. Between solo records, acting gigs, and recordings of his bands Sun Kil Moon and the Red House Painters, Kozelek has ample outlets for his prolific creativity. His songs are moody, introspective, and lush with storytelling. His seventh Sun Kil Moon album was released June 5th 2015 and is titled, “Universal Themes.” It’s a follow up to the critically acclaimed, “Benji” and should be represented

NOVEMBER 2015

| THE READER |

picks

LOW

from the perilous vicissitudes of normal life. Amid its 100 year old walls, along its halls, corridors and stairs, 15 people re-enact the story in a rare way. Site specific and immersive. Where ghostly figures are haunted by murder, betrayal, madness. Blue Barn Theatre leads you into Walk The Night. You stand amid this constant swirl with other live humans, witnesses to the unfolding of inevitable tragedy. You are so close that, should a ghostly hand touch yours, or a blind man stumble into you groping for passage, do not be afraid. Such ghosts may have suffered but do not wish to proliferate the pain. Rather they want your compassion and understanding. Think of this not as theatre, but rather as an up-close exposure to a dark legend. Music and dance decorate. No electronics assault you. You choose where to be as everything transpires. And for how long. You may walk amid the doings anywhere inside the confines of the former convent, or stay fixed on the main level to grasp it all. Nonetheless, comfortable shoes are advised. You may want to further learn about this. Know then, that theatre director Spencer Williams hovers behind the scenes as do co-producers/directors Sebastiani Romagnolo and Wai Yim plus (full disclosure) The Reader’s Bill Grennan. — Gordon Spencer

Saturday, November 28 TEN O’CLOCK SCHOLARS CD RELEASE PARTY WITH BROTHERS TANDEM & THE 9’S Reverb Lounge, 6121 Military Avenue 8:00 p.m., $5 www.reverblounge.com Still making tracks since their formation in 2000, Ten O’clock Scholars is set to celebrate the release of a brand new batch of recordings fresh out of the oven titled, “A Long Way From Midnight.” The band sticks to its roots of 90’s influenced power pop/grunge/rock style with radio friendly tunes that ride the edge of nostalgia for those that favor the sounds of Ranch Bowl-era Omaha. After a few breaks over the years, the band still writes music together and is welcoming Brothers Tandem, and longtime Omaha music veterans The 9’s to help them showcase their new songs at the Reverb. — Wayne Brekke

Saturday, November 21 FLIGHT METAPHOR CD RELEASE SHOW W/ROCK PAPER DYNAMITE, THROUGH THE STONE, PELICAN RODEO Slowdown, 729 North 14th Street 9:00 p.m., $8 ADV/$10 DOS, All ages www.theslowdown.com Fresh off a successful Kickstarter campaign, Flight Metaphor celebrates the release of their new album that’s been three years in the making. The self-titled album is a collection of powerfully layered rock songs with a pop sensibility that highlights the bands’ strong vocal harmonies. Add in incredibly catchy melodies, well-crafted lyrics, and powerful performances and you have a truly well rounded record. Along for the ride is Through the Stone, Pelican Rodeo, and Rock Paper Dynamite (also fresh off the release of their new album “Teeth”). — Wayne Brekke

FLIGHT METAPHOR

TEN O’CLOCK SCHOLARS

Through November 28 MONTE KRUSE Connect Gallery, 3901 Leavenworth Street Reception: Friday, Nov. 20 Gallery Hours: Wed.-Sat., 1:00-5:00 p.m. www.connectgallery.net Longtime photographer Monte Kruse will headline Connect Gallery’s Nov. 4-28 exhibit with large digital photos on canvas featuring his new Hummel Park series. Kruse considers himself a blue-collar artist, interested in the collision between man and nature. The goal of this exhibit is to catch the spirit of this old North Omaha Park—with its venerable history, tales of ghosts, and habitation by today’s visitors. For just one photo, he hikes the area, looking for the detritus of human cast-offs to combine with the vegetation. These abandoned objects spur the arrangements—a woman’s slip or an old Johnny Cash t-shirt—setting up a telling composition. “The Incredible Lightness of Being”, suggests in formal terms the juxtaposition of humanity’s habitation in the terrain. Kruse sees his task as searching for the perfect light, perhaps night or before a storm, and then he composes an arrangement to gain that single shot that tells his story. After graduating from Creighton University with an English degree and minor in photography, Kruse became a photo-journalist, where he did portraits in Chicago with the AIDS epidemic, in Gaza, which he viewed as a “mean, vicious society for women, children and animals,” and in New York, photographing famous artists. Riding a bike, his choice of transportation, Kruse travels light, shooting film that will develop into the next

statement—perhaps another book of photos about the human condition. — Eddith Buis

‘INCREDILBLE LIKENESS OF BEING’ - PHOTOGRAPHER MONTE KRUSE’

Through November 30 EASING THE TRANSITION Pet Shop Gallery, 2725 North 62nd Street Opening Reception: Friday, Nov. 6, 7:00-10:00 p.m. www.facebook.com/bensonpetshop Easing the Transition from Efficient to a Living Grave, a group exhibition at Pet Shop Gallery curated by artist Derek Courtney, will open with a reception Friday, Nov. 6. Curator Courtney describes this group effort “as what people do to deal with living in our modern world. “I was thinking about al the ways we distract, entertain and even numb ourselves to the life that is happening all around us. Often times, these coping mechanisms have detrimental effects on our physical and emotional well being.” The group is as varied as their mediums of choice, and so far it includes Courtney, Alex Jochim, Mike Scheef, Joel Holm, Mike Bauer, Dustin Bythrow, Evelyn Render-Katz and Phil Reno who offers a musical piece as well. “I gave them all very general instructions on what approach to take with their piece without telling them the overall theme,” Courtney said. “This was fun for me because…I was able to tell a fellow artist to try something I’ve been waiting to see from them for years. I even approached a musician friend (Reno) about supplying a soundtrack for the event.” — Michael J. Krainak

‘SELF PORTRAIT AS CEO’ A PIECE AT THE PET SHOP EXHIBIT ‘EASING THE TRANSITION’

picks

Monday, November 30 ARX DUO – EKO NOVA Kaneko, 1111 Jones Street 7:00 p.m., $10-$15 www.thekaneko.org The pulses of percussion can reach into your heartbeat and, further, into your toes. Argentine-born Brit Alejandro Vinao hopes to reach you there, with, he says, “a desire to move, to dance or to foot-tap” in his 2011 twomarimba composition “Book of Grooves” You may have to restrain yourself; you’re at a concert. It features the arx duo, percussionists, pulsing here for just one visit on Nov. 30. This is the second event in the new Eko Nova series. The pair, Japan-born Mari Yoshinaga and Brooklyn native Garrett Arney, in their late 20s, united musically just three years ago as students at the Yale School of Music. Their collaborative name comes from “arcs” meaning, for them, “new connections and new pathways” in percussion performance. They hope to stimulate public interest by making it clear that they are a link to the currents of current things flowing in such repertoire. Certainly they will play recent pieces. They’re by composers from Sweden, Brazil and the U.S. Included is “Silence Treatment” written for them, and world-premiering, by 26 year old American Jonathan Allen, of Sandbox Percussion. It’s for kick-drum and snare drums. Other elements are “Loneliness of Santa Clause” by Swede Fredrik Andersson and “Seeds” from Brazilian percussion duo DESVIO which coalesced five years ago and takes its name from Portuguese words meaning “obvious deconstruction.” Their arrival is part of Eko Nova’s dedication to music of today, reaching out to devotees of many kinds of contemporary art and doing so at Kaneko, famous for ground-breaking. The aim, collaborating with Omaha Chamber Music Society, is to get people excited about a fresh variety of such compositions, reaching beyond the traditional. The time has come.

— Gordon Spencer Through December 4 SAM HERRON, ‘STREET LIFE FRAGMENTS’ RNG Gallery, 157 West Broadway, Council Bluffs Opens Saturday, Nov. 14 6:00-9:00 p.m. www.dixiequicks.com RNG Gallery in Council Bluffs will recognize National Homeless Awareness Month this November with a photo exhibition by Omahan Sam Herron tentatively titled Street Life Fragments. The streetwise exhibit opens to the public Saturday, Nov. 14, 6:00-9:00 p.m. and continues until Dec. 4. Herron is a writer/photographer whose photography documents issues of homelessness, economic calamity, and dehumanization in contemporary America. Since 2012, his haunting, yet beautifully expressive work has been steadily cultivating a local and international audience. The title of this show references his soon to be published first book, Street Life Fragments: Stories and Photographs from Homeless America. Slated for a 2016 publication by Loyola University of Maryland’s Apprentice House Press, the book combines photography and memoir into an unflinching examination of what it’s like to be down-and-out in a thriving city. Street Life Fragments, both in text and image, transforms his firsthand experience of life on the streets into a microcosm for life on the edge in contemporary America. Hercontinued on page 18y

| THE READER |

NOVEMBER 2015

victims in Angola and Bosnia, and child soldiers in Uganda and Chad. Doll’s photographs give insight into the daily realities, its hardships and joys, of the poorest and most voiceless members of the world community. — Janet L. Farber

“DON DOLL, S.J. ON ASSIGNMENT”

y continued from page 17 ron—a former millionaire whose personal tragedies, illness, and bad luck cast him into extreme poverty at fifty was forced to confront the dark side of the “American Dream” at an age when recovery was Improbable. Through the lens of a pawnshop camera, he discovered a side of humanity he says he once “feared and ignored. The insights gained through my art, along with heartfelt interviews with people (photographed) helped me transcend the solipsism that had catalyzed (my) fall.” Heron credits his renewed sense of purpose and empathy not only to his art but also to his work as an assistant manager at Siena Francis House, a homeless shelter in Omaha, Nebraska.

— Michael J. Krainak

But when it comes right down to who they really are inside their skins and deep within their hearts, no question. Sam may look like a boy, but, since he believes he’s a girl, Amelia defends whatever, whomever Sam wants to be. If that means standing up to the adults, that is just what she will do. Watch out! Such rebellion could upset the marriage cart. SNAP stages this stimulus from Anselmi who’s written ten full-length plays and had them produced all over the U.S. She started along this path, moved there after the accidental death of a son. And, as it turns out, she felt she wanted to say things on stage about gender and orientation. This 2014 play was a semi-finalist at Pride Plays and Films Great Gay Play and Musical Contest in Chicago that year. Other awards and recognition: In 2015 the Mark Gilbert Award in the North Carolina New Play Project as well as the Porter Fleming Literary Competition Award in 2012. She was finalist at Playwrights First, NYC in 2013; semi-finalist in 2015 in the Maxim Mazumdar New Play Competition at, Alleyway Theater, Buffalo, NY plus the Firehouse Theater New Play Festival of Richmond, VA in 2014 and the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference that same year.

— Gordon Spencer

OF SAM HERRON

Through December 6 MAMA’S GIRLS SNAP Productions, 3225 California Street Opens Thursday, Nov.12 Thurs.-Sat. 8:00 p.m., Sun.: 6:00 p.m. and Sun., Dec. 6 2:00 p.m., $10-$15 www.snapproductions.com Being gay and being a mother, North Carolina playwright Marilynn Barner Anselmi knew whereof she wrote, creating Mama’s Girls. There a pair of eleven-year old twins are closer to each other than a lot of people would realize. And would accept. Including their parents. Sure Amelia and Sam often clash about plenty of stuff. You know, like, Barbie dolls and sports and chores.

NOVEMBER 2015

Continuing its series of contemporary one-artist shows in its Riley CAP Gallery, Joslyn Art Museum will next feature the work of Brad Kahlhamer. The New York City artist works in a variety of media—painting, drawing, sculpture and installation—along a very personal trajectory that has been described as a union of Native American culture and post-punk art. Born in Tucson, Arizona, and raised in Wisconsin, Kahlhamer creates work that describes what he calls a “Third Place” existing in the sometimes oppositional space between his Native American heritage and his European-influenced upbringing. In his abstracted, expressionistic, and graffiti-inspired art may often be found images of katsinas, tipis and dream catchers. In preparation for this exhibition, Kahlhamer has been in residence for six weeks at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. This has provided an opportunity intended to enrich the exhibition for artist and visitor alike: Kahlhamer has been able to directly study Joslyn’s permanent collection

of Native American art, with its particular strengths in Plains and Southwest art, and been able to respond to it in the creation of new work for the show. As with the CAP Gallery’s inaugural show of iROZEALb, the space is intended to offer an occasional platform for the debut of new art made expressly for its exhibitions. — Janet L. Farber

Through December 18 DON DOLL, S.J. ON ASSIGNMENT Hillmer Art GalleryCollege of Saint Mary campus 7000 Mercy Road Reception: Thursday, Nov. 19, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Gallery Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 9:00 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Fri. 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Sat. 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Free

THE STREETWISE PHOTOGRAPHY

Through April 17, 2016 BRAD KAHLHAMER Riley CAP Gallery at the Joslyn Art Museum 2200 Dodge St., Opens Saturday, Nov. 14 Free www.joslyn.org

It’s hard to remember a time when Fr. Don Doll wasn’t a major presence in Omaha. The photojournalistic legacy he has created in a more than 50-year career touches all parts of the globe, though one might argue his most regionally profound work has been in representing the lives and traditions of the Sioux communities of the central plains. Doll’s calling as a Jesuit priest, a humanitarian and photographer has also taken him on journeys to refugee camps around the world, where he has documented the images and stories of largely unseen populations. A selection of his work from nearly 20 years of association with the Jesuit Refugee Service opened on Oct. 26. The exhibition comprises images of refugees from Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Darfur, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Congo, Uganda, Chad and Jordan, as well as landmine

| THE READER |

picks

ARTIST BRAD KAHLHAMER’S COLLAGE “YONDERING,” 2011

Lucianne Walkowicz Thur Nov 12 at 7 p.m.

Planet Hunting: Looking Up, Seeking Life, Finding Home

Smile

You we smile.

Thank you, Omaha! We’re proud to serve this great community as the Best Orthodontist.

TED Fellow Walkowicz and the Kepler mission have found some 3,500 potential new planets. Equipped with Kepler-generated footage and an infectious enthusiasm for science, Walkowicz will show and tell how these and other discoveries are possible, and why they matter to this planet we call home...leaving us with

8 years in a row.

renewed wonder and awe.

Countryside Community ant to change theChurch future? 8787 Pacific Street

For advanced tickets ($10/$5 students) ant to change become a the future? 402-391-0350 become a kellyk@countrysideucc.org

saveayou a seat.) .) (We’ll save(We’ll you seat

ant to change the future? become a

402-930-3000 • mentor@p4k.org

10801 Pacific Street, Suite 200 Omaha, NE 68154 402.330.1152 igelorthodontics.com

(We’ll save you a seat.)

402-930-3000 • mentor@p4k.org | THE READER |

NOVEMBER 2015

HerbalViagra?

Caveat emptor BY MICHAEL BRAUNSTEIN

heartlandhealing

robably the best thing Lamar Odom has done since giving the Lakers a couple decent seasons as a backup forward is bringing to light the dangers of taking unreliable herbal supplements. Let’s be clear: Mixing cocaine and sketchy herbal supplements, like former NBA player Odom reportedly did recently, is never a good idea. Sources claimed Odom used several doses of a so-called “male enhancement” herbal tonic before collapsing in a Nevada brothel. And while there undoubtedly are some supplements that are beneficial and effective, it’s unlikely that they will be found at the counter of your local gas station or bordello. There are two diametrically opposed medical systems at work in America and the rest of the Western world. One can be called “holistic” and is often referred to as “alternative medicine” or “alternative therapies.” The other is allopathic or conventional medicine, the kind government subsidizes, that uses primarily drugs, surgery and technology. Holistic medicine generally recognizes that the body works as a whole organism and treating one complaint in an isolated fashion is counter to how the body is designed. Holistic therapy typically looks at the whole (surprise!) and never ignores how seemingly disparate functions and modes are actually working in coherence with the rest of the body. Every experience, thought, action and behavior has impact on health. By strengthening the whole being, energetically and physically, a healthful balance is restored and disease is eliminated. Allopathic (modern) medicine works in a reductionist method, isolating symptoms and attacking them directly in an attempt to defeat a specific symptom. To many of us, it’s obvious how such a method fails: It’s like playing Whack-a-Mole with ailments. And you all know of examples. (For an excellent Oscar-winning example of the futility and folly of Western medicine, see if you can get your hands on the film The Hospital from 1971. It’s on Amazon.) [It should be noted that I believe allopathic/modern medicine does have redeeming values. When it comes to trauma, injury or a grievous insult to the body, there is nought on this gray earth anything to rival what ER docs and surgeons can accomplish. In an acute crisis, one can take a lead from my old friend, cardiologist Richard Collins who said, “If you find yourself in the ER with a massive heart attack, I’m not gonna lay a sprig of broccoli on your chest.”] Whaddya mean, “alternative”?

HEARTLAND HEALING is a metaphysically-based polemic describing alternatives to conventional methods of healing the body, mind and planet by MICHAEL BRAUNSTEIN. It is provided as information and entertainment, certainly not medical advice. Important to remember and pass on to others: for a weekly dose of Heartland Healing, visit HeartlandHealing.com. .

Somewhere along the line, sometime in the 20th century, therapies that have existed for thousands of years became known as “alternative.” It is ironic that allopathic medicine featuring pharmaceutical drugs, surgery and technology, in existence for only about 125 years, has somehow become known as “traditional medicine.” Meanwhile, time-tested remedies like Traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, ayurveda, true herbal medicine, and other holistic modalities effective for thousands of years, were relegated to a genre that seemed second-string and viewed with a skeptical eye. But with a ‘60s generation that spouted, “Question Authority,” and celebrated comics such as “Mr. Natural”, we saw increased interest in holistic approaches to health. Marry that to journalist James Reston’s account in the New York Times of his positive experience with traditional Chinese medicine while undergoing an emergency appendectomy while reporting on Nixon’s China junket in 1972. Then factor in Linus Pauling’s groundbreaking 1970 best-seller Vitamin C and the Common Cold and we see a huge upsurge of interest in herbs, nutrition and vitamins as a means to restoring and maintaining health. Clouding the perception came a glut of not-so-natural supplements. Unlike herbs, one would be hard-pressed to find these chemical and extract supplement forms in nature. They have flooded the shelves of drugstores, convenience stores

NOVEMBER 2015

| THE READER |

heartland healing

and gyms. These types of supplements with the weird names and formulaic descriptions benefit from the halo effect of holistic, traditional therapies but in most cases suffer Western medicine’s same mistake of being reductionist and derivative in the approach to healing and health. Such is the case with the type of supplement touted as “herbal Viagra.” It’s wrong on so many levels. First, it’s likely most Viagra-like drugs aren’t really used to treat an ailment but as a “performance enhancing drug” — sorta like what gets athletes banned. Secondly, these kinds of supplements haven’t passed the most important evaluation that a real traditional, holistic therapy must: the test of time. When worlds collide.

The most trustworthy holistic therapies — often labeled “alternative” — are the ones that time has shown to work. Acupuncture works. Meditation works. Massage therapy works. Ayurveda works. Bona fide herbal therapies work. A host of other, adjuvant therapies are also effective. One can’t rely on modern Western medicine to validate those kinds of therapies because Western allopathic medicine doesn’t understand them in the first place. E.g., the Western medical paradigm trying to understand acupuncture is like a dog staring at a stopwatch. On the other hand, some archaic therapies — like bloodletting, for example (even though there is evidence that there is indeed a very limited example of when modern-day bloodletting is therapeutic) — don’t pass muster. They simply didn’t work well enough or pass the test of time. (One wonders if our current cancer therapies won’t fall into the same category.) Simply put, I guess I use three main factors in choosing a healing modality: Is it attached to a long-standing cultural system such as Chinese medicine, ayurveda, folk medicine or Native American? Has it stood the test of time? And, does it pass the common sense test? And, as in the case of the so-called “herbal Viagra,” how could one not practice caveat emptor for something as dubious as that? Just because something is not conventional medicine doesn’t make it a viable alternative. And don’t let the words “herbal”, “natural” or even “holistic” sell you a bill of goods that could put you on life support. Be well. ,

EP RELEASE SHOW @ SLOWDOWN

with Dr. Croon

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH 8 PM $5 Advance $7 Day of Show

| THE READER |

NOVEMBER 2015

downbutnotdone M

uddying Omaha’s high quality of life rankings are pockets of chronic poverty and growing new poor populations. Identifiable impoverished sections, homeless communities and shelters exist, but most poverty here is insidious and invisible. It’s even in the suburbs. Thus, the title of a new documentary, Out of Frame: Unseen Poverty in the Heartland. It premieres Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at Aksarben Cinema. A panel discussion follows. Surreal Media Lab owner Jason Fischer made the film for Together, a nonprofit that assists people out of poverty, hunger and homelessness into self-sufficiency and sustainable living. The project resonates with Fischer, who grew up in a poor, single-parent household. “My mom never made a big deal about it,” he says. “I didn’t know how poor we were until I started thinking back, Oh, that’s why we ate peanut butter and banana sandwiches or pancakes for dinner. We shopped at Goodwill. That’s what you did. You learn those survival skills. It was a mindset my mom had that she never let it be known we were doing so bad. That was her superpower.” Interviewing clients and caseworkers for the film, Fischer’s learned the local poverty landscape. “It doesn’t feel like there’s a huge homeless sector here but the line between poverty and homelessness is fairly thin. That’s what you hear – that having a roof over your head and not having a roof over your head might just be a matter of days. It’s the working poor who are most vulnerable – the folks barely cutting it and living paycheck to paycheck.” It’s someone like Rodgers, whose lack of living wage job skills puts him in precarious straits with advancing age and no nest egg or safety net. Or Air Force veteran Vernon Louis Muhammad, who suffered a severe work-related injury that prevented him from holding a job. His health issues and lost income, combined with a divorce, began a cascade that resulted in him losing his home and nearly everything else. As he recovers a semblance of his old life he helps other disabled and homeless vets find their footing, too. Takina Humphrey lost her children to foster care when she went into treatment for meth addiction but since getting sober she’s reunited with them and working hard to make ends meet. Fischer says he’s struck by “the variations and gradations of all the situations,” adding, “I want to give a face and add humanity to the complexities of poverty and homelessness,

NOVEMBER 2015

Documentary surveys the poverty landscape BY LEO ADAM BIGA

culture

It’s not what you imagine. It’s not about the person who just gave up. It’s not just black and white. It’s not just the people down by the river and the railroad tracks. It may be a neighbor or a person at your church or someone at the grocery store. That’s the unseen part of it, even though it might be in plain view. And when we do see it, we avert our eyes.” Together executive director Mike Hornacek says the problem in Omaha “is definitely not unemployment – we have one of the country’s lowest unemployment rates – it’s underemployment.” He adds, “We have a huge socio-economic divide in our community. We have tons of white collar professionals doing extremely well and then another huge blue collar, service-oriented population making $8 or $9 an hour. We’re missing that large segment of $16 to $18 an hour skilled trade sector jobs. So we’re seeing a trickle down effect of all kinds of people asking for help and services that never had to ask before.” For example, he says nearly half of Millard public schools students are on free and reduced lunch – an indicator that struggles are not confined to the inner city. In this era of excessive cost of living and flat wages and salaries, he says one unforeseen disruptive event or major expense finds many families “suddenly teetering on the edge of working poor and needing to use a food pantry.”

| THE READER |

culture

Clients exhibit a gamut of causes and needs. “Walking through our door on a daily basis is really a sliding scale of severity. On the minor side it’s somebody who needs to use a pantry for the first time. It may just be once. Maybe things got tight at the end of the month with a high heating bill and the family couldn’t afford groceries. Not a lot of support services need to be involved. “In the middle range is a single mom working two jobs, making minimum wage or more, doing the best she can, living paycheck to paycheck. Then her car needs repairing so she can continue going to work to support her family. She uses the rent money for the car and it turns into a snowball that sees her evicted. She comes to Together and we pay the back rent, supply one month to move forward and discuss budget. We cover basic skills to make sure she and her family are sustainable after we provide the help. “On the extreme end, in a very severe crisis, you have somebody literally homeless or really close to homeless. Maybe with PTSD syndrome and needing serious intervention just to be able to regain housing and sustain that on their own. They might need six to 12 months of intense case management to stabilize that living situation and ensure they are mentally stable and getting the right supports.

“The more near you get to homeless and the more years you live in poverty for generations a lot of times the root cause has to do with mental illness and behavioral health.” Fischer’s discovered that just as many things trigger poverty “different variables go into creating stability.” “Stability comes through support groups, caring and community. No one organization does everything by itself. Several working interdependently, each doing its part, is really the key. That’s how Together came to be and true to its name it works collaboratively. That’s the strength of it.” Hornacek says, ”In a lot of those more medium to severe situations we can provide resources until we’re blue in the face but we’re not going to create any significant or lasting change unless we address those underlying issues and that comes through case management and connecting people to support services that help with mental health, medical needs, substance abuse and things like that. “It is very complex. It is not one silver bullet that fixes the problem. And the person or family you’re trying to help has to want the help.” But it’s first things first. “It’s really unrealistic for us to expect individuals to just make those radical changes unless their basic needs are taken care of. Once past that threshold money doesn’t fix the problem..Then it’s all about education, guidance, mentoring and helping somebody work a plan to get where they want to go.” Fischer is grateful to those who shared their struggles on film. “They’re very courageous people for sharing their stories. I was surprised they were as open as they were. When you can see someone that hasn’t given up and is still pushing and still believes, and the hope they have, that’s inspiring. If that person’s still trying, then I have no excuses .” Hornacek says he commissioned the film as an “advocacy tool.” He adds, “I hope people walk away with a better understanding that we do have some significant, pervasive issues in the greater Omaha area. We need to address families living in poverty and the economic divide. These things have repercussions” – educational deficits, health problems, criminal activities, “If we don’t get a handle on it, its going to get dramatically worse.” Then the problem won’t remain hidden anymore. The November 12 screening is part of Together’s gala fundraiser. Tickets are $35 per person or $60 for two. Visit www.AksarbenCinema.com or togetheromaha.org ,

Omaha Parks Program Sport Complex & Arena Advertising

Best Buy Signs Since 1989

Omaha Bus Bench Program More than 500 Locations

| THE READER |

NOVEMBER 2015

| THE READER |

Celebrate the Holiday Lights Festival and help Shine the Light on Hunger. MAYOR JEAN STOTHERT & Downtown Omaha Inc. Foundation

Five Weeks of Holiday Lights

Events Launch Thanksgiving Evening

he Holiday Lights Festival, produced by Mayor Jean Stothert and the Downtown Omaha Inc. Foundation and presented by ConAgra Foods, KMTV 3 and STAR 104.5 The Christmas Station, showcases downtown Omaha and celebrates the spirit of the holidays by providing a full season of fun, festive, family-friendly activities. Festivalgoers will find an abundance of holiday spirit in downtown Omaha this winter. The five-week Holiday Lights Festival is packed with exciting activities to offer a little something for everyone each weekend. More than 40 blocks of white lights, sponsored by Aetna, painting an incredible picture of Downtown Omaha, will again illuminate this year’s event, and more than 300,000 people are expected to enjoy the sight of the lights over their five-week display period. This year’s festival will feature favorites such as the annual Thanksgiving Lighting Ceremony, the Making Spirits Bright Holiday Concert, Sounds of the Season, the ConAgra Foods Ice Rink and the Wells Fargo Family Festival. The community theme will once again be a campaign to “Shine the Light on Hunger,” encouraging the entire community to help fight hunger by dropping off non-perishable food and household items at the ice skating rink as well as at collection barrels that will be placed at other locations throughout the community, including area Baker’s stores. Community members can also donate cash online by visiting www. holidaylightsfestival.org and clicking on the “Shine the Light on Hunger” tab. Last year, ConAgra Foods and the community collected more than 64,000 pounds of food and raised over $515,000 during the campaign, the equivalent of more than 1.5 million meals donated to Food Bank for the Heartland. The ConAgra Foods Foundation matched donations to Food Bank for the Heartland dollar for dollar up to $100,000. The 2014 campaign exceeded its goal of 1.3 million meals and the total collected was also an increase over the previous year. The 2015 goal is 1.4 million meals.

NOVEMBER 2015

| THE READER |

ne of Omaha’s most anticipated events of the holiday season is the night spirits are boosted with the annual Thanksgiving Lighting Ceremony held on Thanksgiving evening, November 26, in the Gene Leahy Mall at 14th and Farnam Streets. The dazzling lights, sponsored by Aetna, are sure to amaze people of all ages. Patrons will gather to hear a variety of musical performances beginning at 5:30 p.m. At 6 p.m., Mayor Jean Stothert will lead the crowd in a countdown to turn on the cheer and the 2015 lighting display. holiday lights

Trees throughout the Gene Leahy Mall and neighboring streets will be lit with hundreds of thousands of white lights. The trees along 16th Street from Howard to Dodge Streets and 10th Street from Douglas Street to Abbott Drive will also be lit. Many downtown businesses and residences will feature lighting and holiday decorations as well. Aetna is sponsoring the lighting display along Gene Leahy Mall on Douglas and Farnam Streets between 10th and 13th Streets during the Holiday Lights Festival.

“The Gene Leahy Mall lights are the focal point for the array of downtown lights and symbolize the entire Holiday Lights Festival,” Aetna Market President Dale Mackel said. “We are pleased to be the sponsor for this beautiful display for the fourth consecutive year.” After the ceremony, the public is invited to shop and dine in the Old Market and attend a free holiday concert at the Holland Performing Arts Center. Following Thanksgiving, the lighting display will be turned on each evening from 5 p.m. until 1 a.m. through January 3, 2016.

holidaylightsfestival.org

FREE Family Fun Downtown

10th Anniversary of Wells Fargo Family Festival

or the 10th consecutive year, Wells Fargo will present Omaha-area families with the opportunity to experience an afternoon of fun—for free—at a variety of Omaha’s leading downtown attractions. This year’s Family Festival will be held Sunday, December 6, from noon to 5 p.m. Families can park at any participating venue to access a free trolley service provided by Ollie the Trolley that connects the six participating venues, which each offer free admission and family activities. Families are encouraged to “Shine the Light on Hunger” and donate non-perishable foods and household goods to be distributed to families in need through Food Bank for the Heartland. “Wells Fargo is pleased to serve as the Family Festival sponsor again in 2015, which represents a special milestone for us: our 10th year of sponsorship,” said Kirk Kellner, region president for Wells Fargo in Nebraska. “The Wells Fargo team has enjoyed seeing the Family Festival grow over the years and become an important and fun holiday tradition for area families. It also provides parents and children a memorable afternoon experiencing some of the community’s best family-friendly venues—for free.” The 2015 Family Festival will feature the following attractions and special programs at these locations:

Omaha Police Mounted Patrol Barn 615 Leavenworth Street

Wells Fargo

20th and Douglas Streets

• Enjoy Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn courtesy of ConAgra Foods • Children can pose for a picture with Wells Fargo’s very own “Jack the Dog” and make fun holiday crafts • Stop by the company museum and see the historically accurate reproduction of the Wells Fargo Stagecoach in the lobby • Listen to holiday music and participate in other activities

W. Dale Clark (Main) Library 215 South 15th Street

• Partnering with Krypton Comics, this year’s theme celebrates the heroes in our lives • Enjoy a number of super family activities, including: live holiday music, face painting, and story times from a storytelling group • Test your superhero reflexes at our Super Hero Training Camp • Take home a sketch of your favorite superheroes from artists on site • Stop by the Wells Fargo activity area for cookie decorating and Swiss Miss hot cocoa courtesy of ConAgra Foods

Joslyn Art Museum 2200 Dodge Street

• Explore Joslyn Art Museum’s galleries including the current exhibition Go West! Art of the American Frontier from

holidaylightsfestival.org

the Buffalo Bill Center of the West; Go West! is free for children, $5 for adults • Swing by ART WORKS: A Place for Curiosity, offering nine creative project stations, all with connections to works of art found in Joslyn’s permanent collections • Visit the studios to experiment with hands-on activities and create your own works of art using stencils, contact paper, watercolor, and more • Don’t miss the chance to get a special giveaway from Wells Fargo and watch Amazing Arthur perform magic at 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in the atrium

Omaha Children’s Museum 500 South 20th Street

• Engage in active play in the museum’s permanent exhibits • Take a carousel ride for $2 • Visit with Santa from 2 to 5 p.m. • Enjoy the free Amazing Science Shows in the Science Lab holiday lights

• Tour the stables and visit with Santa • Learn how police officers care for the animals at the Mounted Patrol Barn and get a photo picture taken with the horses; watch officers present horse demonstrations and warm up with Swiss Miss hot cocoa courtesy of ConAgra Foods • Allens Traveling Pony Rides will be onsite from noon to 3 p.m. • Wells Fargo will be giving free stagecoach rides from 1 to 4 p.m. and helping young buckaroos decorate their own cowboy hats • The Citizen’s Foundation for the Omaha Police Mounted Patrol will offer face painting, and families can enjoy entertainment from a balloon artist

The Durham Museum 801 South 10th Street

• Experience the wonder of the season at the Durham Museum during Christmas at Union Station • See Omaha’s largest indoor Christmas tree, visit with Santa and enjoy an exceptional lineup of family-friendly live musical performances • Visit the Ethnic Holiday Trees exhibit, an annual favorite which highlights the holiday traditions of approximately a dozen cultures in the Omaha community • View the wonderful temporary exhibitions on display including Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Union Station: Built to Last and Omaha – Shizuoka: 50 Years of Friendship • Children can also pan for gold and participate in a scavenger hunt provided by Wells Fargo | THE READER |

NOVEMBER 2015

Ice Skating Rink Helps ‘Shine Light on Hunger’

onAgra Foods invites the Omaha community to help “Shine the Light on Hunger” for the ninth consecutive year as part of its role as a presenting sponsor of the 2015 Holiday Lights Festival. The company will again open the ConAgra Foods Ice Rink on its campus at 10th and Harney Streets, providing the public with an opportunity to enjoy outdoor ice skating while supporting the effort to fight hunger. Skaters will be able to drop off non-perishable food and household items at the ice skating rink and festivalgoers can do the same at collection barrels that will be placed at other locations throughout the festival event sites. The ConAgra Foods Ice Rink will open at 6 p.m., on Friday, December 11, and remain open through Sunday, January 3, so families with schoolchildren can enjoy the rink for an extended period during the winter break. After opening night, the rink will be open from 1 to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; 1 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays; and 1 to 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. The rink will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. A $5 admission fee includes skate rental, although patrons may bring their own skates. The ConAgra Foods Foundation will match all rink income dollar for dollar up to $100,000 and donate all proceeds to Food Bank for the Heartland as a component of the ConAgra Foods Shine the Light on Hunger campaign. Donations of non-perishable food and household goods will also be collected onsite. Last year, ConAgra Foods and the community collected more than 64,000 pounds of food and raised over $515,000 during the campaign, the equivalent of more than 1.5 million meals donated to Food Bank for the Heartland. The ConAgra Foods Foundation matched donations to Food Bank for the Heartland dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000. The 2014 campaign exceeded its goal of 1.3 million meals and the total collected was also an increase over the previous year. The 2015 goal is 1.4 million meals. “The ConAgra Foods Ice Rink is a unique, family-friendly holiday tradition that helps create awareness about an issue we’re particularly passionate about – providing meals to families in need during the holiday season,” said Chris Kircher, vice president of Corporate Affairs and president of the ConAgra Foods Foundation. “Participants have a terrific time attending Holiday Lights Festival events, and the community’s continued support of the Shine the Light on Hunger campaign continues to make a real difference in the lives of our children and families throughout Nebraska and western Iowa.” Spectators are invited to enjoy a special Skating Extravaganza at the ice rink featuring skaters from the

NOVEMBER 2015

| THE READER |

Blade & Edge Figure Skating Club on Saturday, December 19, and Sunday, December 20, at 3 p.m. Both 30-minute performances are free of charge.

holiday lights

Baker’s Supermarkets is encouraging the community to help “Shine the Light on Hunger” by supporting the campaign in each of its Omaha area stores throughout the month of December. Baker’s will be collecting food donations and selling $1 paper “light bulbs” posted in each store in recognition of those customers who wish to donate to the campaign. All proceeds will go to Food Bank for the Heartland. The Shine the Light on Hunger campaign builds on a 20-year commitment by ConAgra Foods and the ConAgra Foods Foundation to improve the quality of life for millions of families by taking action to solve child hunger. Taking a year-round approach to address child hunger with nonprofit partners across the U.S., ConAgra Foods donates food, engages its employees as volunteers and conducts consumer outreach to mobilize the public to support food and meal programs for children and families when they need it most. Since 1993, the ConAgra Foods has contributed more than $65 million from its Foundation to nonprofit organizations pursuing sustainable solutions to end child hunger, and it has donated more than 370 million pounds of food to Feeding America member food banks across the country. For more information about the ConAgra Foods Ice Rink and other ways you can help “Shine the Light on Hunger,” visit www.holidaylightsfestival.org and click on the “Shine the Light on Hunger” tab.

holidaylightsfestival.org

Holiday Lights Festival Events

HOLIDAY LIGHTS FESTIVAL

CALENDAR OF EVENTS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26

Thanksgiving Lighting Ceremony 6 – 6:30 p.m. Gene Leahy Mall, 14th & Farnam Old Market Shopping and Dining 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Making Spirits Bright Holiday Concert 7 p.m. Holland Performing Arts Center 13th & Douglas

SATURDAYS, NOVEMBER 28 - DECEMBER 26 Thanksgiving Lighting Ceremony Thursday, November 26, 6-7 p.m.

One of Omaha’s most anticipated events of the holiday season is the night spirits are boosted with the annual Thanksgiving Lighting Ceremony held on Thanksgiving evening, November 26, in the Gene Leahy Mall at 14th and Farnam Streets. The dazzling lights, sponsored by Aetna, are sure to amaze people of all ages. Patrons will gather to hear a variety of musical performances beginning at 5:30 p.m. At 6 p.m., Mayor Jean Stothert

will lead the crowd in a countdown to turn on the cheer and the 2015 lighting display. Trees throughout the Gene Leahy Mall and neighboring streets will be lit with hundreds of thousands of white lights. The trees along 16th Street from Howard to Dodge Streets and 10th Street from Douglas Street to Abbott Drive will also be lit. Many downtown businesses and residences will feature lighting and holiday decorations as well. Following the ceremony, the lighting display will be turned on each evening from 5 p.m. until 1 a.m. through January 3, 2016. After the ceremony, the public is invited to shop and dine in the Old Market and attend a free holiday concert at the Holland Performing Arts Center.

Making Spirits Bright Holiday Concert

Thursday, November 26, 7 p.m. The Making Spirits Bright Holiday Concert will be presented at the Holland Performing Arts Center located at 13th and Douglas Streets. Beginning at 7 p.m., the free concert will feature special guest vocalist Drew Duncan accompanied by the Nebraska Wind Symphony.

Sounds of the Season

Saturdays, Nov. 28-Dec. 26, 7-8 p.m. Each Saturday from November 28 through December 26, from 7 to 8 p.m., Sounds of the Season will showcase the talent of local choral

holidaylightsfestival.org

groups ranging from youth to professional performers. Performances will take place throughout the Gene Leahy Mall and the Old Market, and a schedule is available online at www.holidaylightsfestival.org.

Wells Fargo Family Festival

7 – 8 p.m. Gene Leahy Mall and the Old Market

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6 Wells Fargo Family Festival

Sunday, December 6, noon-5 p.m. For the 10th year, Wells Fargo will be sponsoring The Wells Fargo Family Festival, which offers an afternoon of free family fun. Six downtown arts and cultural institutions will provide free admission and hands-on activities for the entire family. Free trolley service provided by Ollie the Trolley will connect all participating locations from noon to 5 p.m. “Shine the Light on Hunger” donation barrels will be located at selected Family Festival venues.

ConAgra Foods Ice Rink

Friday, December 11- Sunday, January 3 The ConAgra Foods Ice Rink, located on the ConAgra Foods campus at 10th and Harney Streets, will return for a ninth year to entertain families and “Shine the Light on Hunger.” The rink will be open from 1 to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; 1 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays; and 1 to 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. The rink will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. A $5 admission fee includes skate rental, although patrons may bring their own skates. The ConAgra Foods Foundation will match all

holiday lights

Sounds of the Season

Noon – 5 p.m. Downtown Arts and Cultural Institutions

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11SUNDAY, JANUARY 3 ConAgra Foods Ice Rink 1 to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays 1 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays 1 to 5 p.m. Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve closed Christmas Day & New Year’s Day ConAgra Foods Campus, 10th & Harney rink income dollar for dollar up to $100,000 and donate all proceeds to Food Bank for the Heartland as a component of the Shine the Light on Hunger campaign. Donations of nonperishable food and household goods will also be collected onsite. For details and how to donate, visit www.holidaylightsfestival.org and click on the “Shine the Light on Hunger” tab.

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NOVEMBER 2015

or the fifth year, the Holiday Lights will expand to North Omaha and South Omaha, thanks to the generosity of The Sherwood Foundation. Lights will shine bright in South Omaha at 24th Street between L and Q Streets and in North Omaha along a six-block area around 24th and Lake Streets. These trees will be illuminated each evening beginning the first weekend in December. The official ceremonial tree lighting for the North Omaha displays will take place after Christmas in the Village on Saturday, December 5, at 5 p.m. near 24th and Lake Streets. A South Omaha lighting ceremony will take place Friday, December 4, at 6 p.m. at La Plaza de la Raza, 24th and N Streets.

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holiday lights

SOUTH OMAHA BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

North and South Omaha Holiday Lights

holidaylightsfestival.org

MAYOR JEAN STOTHERT & Downtown Omaha Inc. Foundation

Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation

PROFESSIONALLY MANAGED BY

holidaylightsfestival.org

Vic Gutman, Event Director Emily Peklo, Project Manager

holiday lights

Christine Dunn, Marketing Manager Kylie Feilmeier, Project Coordinator

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NOVEMBER 2015

A Season of Events Thanksgiving Lighting Ceremony

Thursday, November 26, 6-6:30 p.m. Gene Leahy Mall, 14th & Farnam FREE Holiday lights will be illuminated every evening 5 p.m.-1 a.m. through January 3, 2016 Gene Leahy Mall Lights sponsored by Aetna

Making Spirits Bright Holiday Concert

Celebrate the Holiday Lights Festival and help Shine the Light on Hunger.

Thursday, November 26, 7 p.m. Holland Performing Arts Center, 13th & Douglas FREE

Wells Fargo Family Festival Family activities and entertainment Sunday, December 6, noon-5 p.m. Venues • Wells Fargo, 1919 Douglas St. • Omaha Children’s Museum • Durham Museum • Joslyn Art Museum • W. Dale Clark Library • Omaha Police Mounted Patrol Barn, 615 Leavenworth Ollie the Trolley provides transportation between sites FREE

Sounds of the Season

Features choral groups from youth to professional performers Saturdays, November 28-December 26, 7-8 p.m. Gene Leahy Mall and the Old Market

MAYOR JEAN STOTHERT & Downtown Omaha Inc. Foundation EVE N T SP ONS OR S

MED IA SP ONS ORS

SHI N I NG STAR SP ONS ORS Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation

flclassiccharles

BY LEO ADAM BIGA

theater

John Hardy’s one-man A Christmas Carol highlights Dickens-themed literary festival

he Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol has long haunted actor-writer-director John Hardy. Though ghosts have yet to visit him ala Scrooge, the story’s held an enchanted place in Hardy’s heart ever since he got his Equity card acting in a professional stage version. Much theater work followed but he soon tired of others dictating his artistic life and took creative matters into his own hands. He’s since developed a pair of one-man shows he now tours nationally, including a solo rendition of Christmas Carol. He will perform his adaptation of Carol at the free Nov. 14-December 13 Joslyn Castle Literary Festival, “Dickens at the Castle.” Joslyn Castle is located at 3902 Davenport St. The festival includes lectures, concerts and other Dickens-themed events. But Hardy’s one-man Carol stands apart. In his energetic show he as-

sumes more than 40 roles across a spectrum of Victorian and Industrial Age archetypes. The well-traveled Hardy is no stranger to Omaha. He performed his other one-man play, Rattlesnake, here. He directed Othello at this past summer’s Nebraska Shakespeare Festival. Able to pick and choose his projects, he’s reached a golden period in his performing life. But getting there took years of searching. This native of Texas grew up in New Jersey and got bitten by the theater bug attending plays in New York City. He studied drama and stagecraft under his muse, Bud Frank, at East Tennessee State University. He no sooner graduated then went off to do the starving acting bit in the Big Apple, making the rounds at casting calls and booking work on stage and screen. A stated desire to create “my own opportunities” led him to Calif., where he co-founded a theater. Then he earned a master

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of fine arts degree at the University of Alabama, where he started another theater. He soon established himself a director and acting coach. Once fully committed to following his own creative instincts, his original one-man play, Rattlesnake, emerged. “You know how it is, you come to things when you come to them,” Hardy says. “Freedom explains all good things I get. Man, there’s nothing like liberation.” In casting around for another one-man play, he returned to his old friends, Dickens and Christmas Carol. “As much as I had done it, I always felt like there was something else there. I wasn’t quite sure what it was. But there’s a reason why that play is done and why that book’s become a play and become so many movies. I feel like people were searching for it, just as I was, too. continued on page 34 y

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“The other thing is it had a built-in commercial appeal. People have heard of it, it’s known.” Tried and true is fine, but Hardy imagined a fresh take on the classic. “I’ve seen one-man versions, but they’re nothing like the one I do. The one I do is not storytelling, it’s not described. Mine is dramatic theater, It’s characters fully involved in this world, this existence from moment to moment. I’ve never seen that in a one-man Christmas Carol. In the others, there’s always a separation – it’s storytelling with a hint of characterization here and there. Whereas mine is moment to moment characters living through this world, which makes it distinctly different.” The more Hardy dug into the book and play, the more he discovered. “A Christmas Carol must have a universal thing in it because it never dies and therefore there must be some very human thing that most of us can see in it and relate to in it.” He believes Dickens possessed insights rare even among great authors or dramatists in exploring the experiences that shape us, such as the transformative powers of forgiveness, humility and gratitude. “It’s a thrill to have anything to do with Dickens or talk about him. Dickens is just one of those people like Shakespeare that seems to have a window into the human experience that few people have. The more we get to know about ourselves through his work then the closer we get to not killing ourselves and I would like to participate in that endeavor,” he says. “The psychology of the human being – that seems to be what he has an insight into in a way that is almost never if ever spoken. In other words, what he does is allow char-

NOVEMBER 2015

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acters to engage in living from moment to moment and doesn’t necessarily draw conclusions about it. He doesn’t explain their behavior, he allows them to live.” That approach works well for Hardy, who abides by the axiom that “you only really come to know a character when they’re engaged in doing something – forget about someone describing them or they describing themselves.” And therein lies the key I think to A Christmas Carol,” he adds.. “It’s not an accident this story has been made into a play and a movie again and again because it’s so active. Somebody’s engaged in doing something. It’s on its way somewhere a hundred percent of the time. It’s never static. It’s not reflective. It moves past a moment into the next moment and you can’t stop and think about it.” “Even as a book it doesn’t have that page-long description of reaching for a door handle and turning it and that kind of thing. It’s in the room, it’s taking in the room, it’s dealing with what’s in the room and going into the next room. It never stops moving forward. It really doesn’t take a breath. It lends itself to the dramatic universe as opposed to the prosaic. It’s a series of actions characters do – and that reveals them.” In his one-man show Hardy is our avatar embedded in the story. He embodies the entire gallery of characters immersed in this fable of redemption. As he moves from one characterization to the next, he seductively pulls us inside to intimately experience with him-them the despair, tragedy, fright, frivolity, inspiration and joy. “Seeing a person move through that whole thing is even more human,” he says. ‘We see ourselves passing through it as this one human being passing through it. Maybe we are everyone in A Christmas Carol –Scrooge, Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchit – and Scrooge is everyone, too.”

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Because this is Hardy’s vision of Carol, he can play the omnipresent God who let’s us see and hear things not in the original text. “I get to do things the book and the plays don’t get to do. For instance, in the book I think Tiny Tim says one thing – ‘God bless us everyone.’ He says it a couple of times. Well, I get to have Tiny Tim say whatever I want him to say. In the book Bob Cratchit explains to his wife what Tiny Tim said when he was carrying him home from church on Christmas morning but I get to have Tiny Tim actually say that. I get to have him actually experience these things and you get to see him live a little more. That’s the kind of thing I can do.” Hardy’s well aware he’s doing the show in a place with a special relationship to the Dickens drama. The Omaha Community Playhouse production of Charles Jones’ musical adaptation is a perennial sell-out here and in cities across America where the Nebraska Theatre Caravan tours it. Hardy auditioned for the Caravan himself one year. “It seems like half of everyone I know in the business has had something to do with the Nebraska Theatre Caravan or with the Playhouse or A Christmas Carol. It’s kind of like six degrees of separation – you’re not far away from knowing someone who knows someone who was in that.” As for his own relationship to Carol, he says, “I’ve been with that story for a long time.” His one-man homage kicks off “Dickens at the Castle” Nov.14 at 6:30 p.m. A pre-show panel of local theater artists, plus Hardy, will discuss adapting the novel. For datestimes of Hardy’s other performances of Carol during the fest and for more event details, visit joslyncastle.com , Read more of Leo Adam Biga’s work at leoadambiga.com.

art atauction: Vera Mercer’s “The One Leaf” a monumental photo still life.

auctionreboot T

o build a better art auction…build it, it is said, and they will come. That’s the goal of the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts when it launches version 17.0, Saturday, Nov. 21, and in the process, reunite the Metro with the venue’s mission. “Better,” because after general dissatisfaction with recent efforts the Bemis Center promises “a return to its traditional format,” one that staff hopes the entire arts community will find more engaging and beneficial. That would explain the event’s name change to “Bemis Benefit Art Auction” that Development Director Carol Kobza says re-establishes its primary focus along with its party-going celebration.

“The title of the event in the past indicated that it offers collectors an opportunity to purchase art at bargain price,” Kobza said. “The name has been changed to emphasize that the (auction) is a fundraising event.” One she said that Bemis hopes will “benefit” all including, not only its residency program, public engagement events and exhibitions in 2016, but all the artists and patrons who participate in this year’s auction. Traditionally, Saturday evening will offer patrons more than 230 works from 200 international, national and local artists in a silent auction in four galleries with specific bidding schedules throughout

To BEnefit or not to BEnefit: Bemis Center hopes Metro will party on with art auction reboot BY MICHAEL J. KRAINAK

the evening. The fundraiser culminates in a live art auction led by auctioneer Wes Schlobohm and his team from Kansas City. To set the stage for the main event, Bemis staff and volunteers have planned a series of preview nights, from 6-7:30 p.m., Nov. 11 (BE First), Nov. 13 (BE Together) and Nov. 18 (BE Honored) that will give the press, public and artists a special look/see at the art on the wall which will continue to be on view until the auction. These are free events, but for the Nov. 21 auction the public will pony up $100 per person in advance or $125 at the door for the evening’s food, beverage and festivities. Already, nearly 200 admissions have been sold in an early bird, half price sale that ended Oct. 23 in order to encourage attendance by “new collectors, artists, students, and, generally, those who might not be able to attend at the $100 admission rate,” Kobza said. Advance bidding begins online this Friday, Nov. 6 at Paddle8.com/auction/bemiscenter where a full array of the art can be seen. Further information as well as A Buy It Now option can be found at bemiscenter.org. If the above sounds familiar, one can rightly assume that it’s Bemis’ attempt to restore the auction as the most annually anticipated contemporary art event and exhibition in the Metro, one that began some 16 versions ago. Though historically quite successful at all levels, in recent years, the auction has endured such comments as “elitist,” “expensive,” “experimental,” “inefficient,” and even “too often.” Collectors complained about high starting bids and reserves while later congratulating themselves on a buy it at less than asking prices for similar work in private galleries. Some artists resented being asked to donate year after year while others felt dissed when they weren’t, often one and the same. Still others balked at anything less than a 50/50% split on any sale. Meanwhile, the event increased in nights held, number of galleries used-- including the former Underground--length of time it took up gallery space and the amount of art on the walls, swelling to as many as 400 plus works on view, salon

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style. By 2012, the bidding, let alone navigating process had become so challenging, that Bemis experimented with a digital system, which it quickly abandoned the following year. It was if Bemis had lost its mojo, and artists and patrons alike forgot that the auction’s main goal was to support artists supporting other artists (residency program). Especially disconcerting was witnessing, auction after auction, the sad sight of more than half the art still hanging, without a single bid. That had to be discouraging. Not that partygoers didn’t have a good time. Former director Mark Masuoka, staff and volunteers as well as a long list of sponsors saw to that in the hope of creating the proper vibe conducive to their own version of “be there, behold and be generous.” In return, Masuoka said in 2009 that he was proud of Bemis’ reputation “to throw some of the best parties in the area.” But he also acknowledged the terrific strain it placed on staff energy and time by saying, “We have 45 days (each year) we aren’t planning for this auction.” Masuoka’s successor, Adam Price, recognized the conflict during the 2013 event and attempted the following year “to separate the historical art auction into two separate events—some kind of high-end fund raiser for a relatively smaller group of donors. “Then, on a separate date, you’ll also see an all-out community party where we can thank the community without needing to charge hundreds of dollars per ticket in order to achieve our revenue goals.” In the opinion of this writer, the resulting 2014 fundraiser, “Maximus: A Circuit for the Senses,” and the thank you party, “RGB Cocktail Party,” Bemis organized were both creative, enjoyable happenings. But, the tacked on, last minute auction held in conjunction with the former on the fourth floor was not. Whether the fundraiser achieved its revenue goal is debatable as Bemis does not normally reveal its net profit on similar events. Besides, as Kobza accurately points out, though fundraising is job one, Bemis, as well as the entire arts community, profits in other ways that are immeasurable and difficult to quantify. “Often, the public assumes that Bemis Center makes significant profit from the auction,” she said. “However, once the cost of staff time, advertising, printing, contractors and a myriad of other expenses are included, the event is more a celebration of contemporary art than a profit producing benefit.” Still, Bemis is making every effort to lower overhead, in order to improve its bottom line. “We would love to have all the catering, alcohol and other sponsors donate their services,” Kobza added. “Blue Moon has stepped up. Catering Creations has discounted their service. A vendor is

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atauction:

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The aptly titled “Blobs,” of Nicholas Jacobsen.

atauction: Troy Muller’s oil painting, “Maladies of Modern Women.”

working with us to donate specialty cocktails…we are still looking for a wine sponsor.” Despite past difficulties, Bemis’ most loyal supporters and artists are grateful for the auction’s return to its original, familiar, festival atmosphere. “For many years the Bemis Auction was a beautiful format and formula that worked,” participating artist Mary Zicafoose said. “And then it quit working. Perhaps, when it ceased becoming selective and started salon styling hundreds upon hundreds of pieces of art. It was always one of the best parties of the year, and everyone knew it. And always you could find, and then fight to own, an amazing piece of art. I said ‘amazing’ not ‘bargain’ art.” Patrons and collectors Lori Reed, John McIntyre and Laura Vranes can identify with Zicafoose on all accounts. Reed calls the auction “one of my favorite events. It is so much fun. I find it interesting that some of the pieces I’ve chosen on a whim are the ones my eyes return to with joy every day. It’s like meeting a new friend.” McIntyre says he likes “the thrill of the hunt,” while Vranes favors the social vibe saying, “I enjoy seeing all the artists who participate.” And anyone who knows and appreciates the individual contribution of either to the Metro arts scene will not be surprised to hear the always uniquely attired Vranes add, “The Bemis auction brings out Omaha fashion which I enjoy.” The 200 participating artists were chosen by a trio of judges that included Larry Roots, artist and owner of Modern Arts Midtown Gallery, Ellina Kevorkian, Bemis Artistic Director for residency programs and Alex Priest, Bemis Exhibitions Manager. Besides the option of a 50% split on any sale, artists are also eligible for an additional benefit. “Artists who submitted their work via SlideRoom and live within a 100-mile radius of Bemis will be eligible for a 10-person group exhibition happening in 2016,” Priest said. “We will make the announcement on Nov. 23.”

atauction: Terry Rosenberg’s abstract figurative painting of “Barry.”

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art

A live auction open to all patrons will climax the evening featuring a mix of international and regional artists including Christo, Jun Kaneko, Vera Mercer, Laurie Flick, Kim Darling, Betty Woodman, Therman Statom, Alexandra Grant, Brandon Ballengee, Brad Kahlhamer, Zicafoose and “with the potential of additional surprises.” Priest is also impressed with the overall quality of the work in the silent auction citing just a few of the pieces on display. “While difficult to narrow down the wide array of favorites to one particular artwork,” he said, “I was particularly drawn to Christopher Prinz’s ‘Nickel Shard’, Heron Bassett’s ‘Block’, and Karen Linder’s ‘Potato Chips.’ I enjoyed these pieces in particular is because they show a high quality of craft and wit while being made by artists here in Omaha.” Potential bidders might also consider this writer’s short list: Troy Muller’s modern sendup of Renaissance painting, “Maladies of Modern Woman,” that continues his commentary on contemporary issues; “Barry,” an abstract “figure” painting from Terry Rosenberg in his characteristic gestural and expressionistic style; and “Mandala,” a vibrant mosaic piece from popular regional artist Bart Vargas. Also, consider Bradley Peters’ playful nightscape photo aptly titled “Boys Throwing a Light Bulb”; Angie Seykora’s stunning, ethereal tapestry, “Emerald Weave”; Christina Vogel’s in your face portrait of “Ashley”; Christina West’s amorphous, organic ceramic portrait, “Core,” that intrigues but defies description; Ying Zhu’s scintillating paint brush of color and light, “Pink me”; and Beverly Todd’s bold yet delicate blend of primary and secondary color, space and time, “Present in the Here and Now.”

While Bemis is also focusing on the “here and now,” new Director Chris Cook, barely on the job one month, and his staff are already looking ahead to develop new funding solutions for the coming year. “The Bemis Center’s membership campaign is about to begin,” Kobza said. “This gives supporters an opportunity to donate as little as $50 and as much as $5,000 or more to help make Bemis programs possible. The alumni program puts us in touch with 800 global artists who have been in residence at the Bemis Center. We hope to tap into this powerful network to develop new ways of providing funding for one of the world’s top ten artist residencies.” Meanwhile, while many in the community hope that the auction stays on Bemis’ radar, they too

have concerns about Bemis’ success and role in the future. Better branding and encouraging a younger audience are often high on suggestions going forward by artists and patrons both. “Get the message out on social media,” Reed said. “We can create the community we want by supporting the things we value.” Zicafoose says recruiting a younger generation for the sake of continuity is “Terribly important. Ask the Joslyn YAP group how they became so successful. I believe you make this cultivation of an age demographic more than a one-night stand. It has to spring from a genuine and sincere courtship.” But artist Muller, who cautions that “the Bemis Board of Directors would do better to focus on larger corporate donations rather than the relatively smaller, unreliable amounts generated by memberships and auction proceeds,” nonetheless

has a specific suggestion to entice younger artists and collectors into the fold. “Bemis should bring back the Underground or similar experimental gallery,” he said. “It was highly respected by local and regional artists and was the most viable connection for area artists. I would personally get behind such a fundraising effort.” The draw of the Underground he says would benefit collectors too. “New collectors are probably more adventurous and apt to be polymorphic in their tastes, and wholly less interested in the name-recognition game that seems to have marginalized all other artists in the past several decades. There is also a much better chance that they will bring new energy and investment dollars into art that might be otherwise overlooked by established collectors.” Zicafoose also sees the need for change in Bemis’ future despite, like many of her peers, welcoming a return to a traditional auction format. “To stay on the cutting edge you must constantly be shifting and repositioning yourself to find and redefine that edge,” she adds. “The public gives an organization a very brief grace period to regroup and repower. “As a former Bemis resident artist, this has been painful to watch. That said, I have great belief in this organization and tremendous loyalty to it. When Bemis goes well, the entire Omaha arts community thrives.” The same can be said for the Bemis art auction. When it goes well, everyone will “BEnefit.” ,

atauction: “Mandala,” an exotic mosaic painting by Bart Vargas.

atauction: “Peaks of Desire,” a colorful, geometric print by Mary Zicafoose.

atauction: Bradley Peter’s magical night scape photo, “Boys Throwing Light Bulb.” .

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art whatthe?: “Dry Ice” is one of artist Corey Broman’s 63 glass sculptures featured in his first solo show, Unknown/Audible, currently on view at Gallery 72 through Nov. 14.

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Broman’s elegant sculptures sound refined notes at Gallery 72 B Y J A N E T L . FA R B E R

n the world of art, glassmaking implies a kind of wonderful alchemy. Essentially, it starts with sand, which is melted along with a few other helpful materials by the tremendous heat of a kiln or furnace. The red-hot, molten mixture that results may then be transformed into any number of solid objects, ranging from windowpanes and drinking glasses to mobile device screens and fiber optic cable. What we think of as art glass came into being in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, led by such still-familiar names as Gallé, Tiffany and Lalique. Glass as a more individual pursuit in the artist’s studio didn’t really gain traction, however, until the middle to later part of the last century. If any one name continues to resonate with the public, it is that of Dale Chihuly, whose arrangements of nested seaforms, tendril-filled chandeliers and sculptural installations turn glass and light into optical theater. And it was the experience of Chihuly’s 2000 show at Joslyn Art Museum that inspired young Omahan Corey Broman to pursue his own muse in this medium. Though a recurring presence in the Metro art scene only in the past two years, Broman’s patience and creativity have been rewarded with his first solo show, Unknown/Audible, which continues until Nov. 14 at Gallery 72. It features 63 works by the artist, all created within the last year. Each is composed of hand-blown

glass elements that are cold-worked with etching, sandblasting and grinding to achieve a variety of patterns and surface effects. Broman first began to learn and refine his process with Ed Fennel at the Hot Shops’ Crystal Forge. After the Chihuly epiphany, Broman joined the estimable studio glass program at Hastings College, where he also apprenticed with Tom Kreager. He has since attended workshops at the Corning Museum of Glass, as well as various university programs, and made his pilgrimage to the glass motherland of Murano. In 2003, he set up his own studio in Omaha in Midtown. A decade later he surfaced in a two-person exhibit with artist Nancy Lepo at the Fred Simon Gallery followed by two group showcases in 2014, setting the stage for his solo. Unknown/Audible is filled with elegant sculptural pieces. There is virtually nothing here that would have a utilitarian function, yet each work partakes of the wide vocabulary useful wares: beakers, compotes, cylinders, flutes, gourds, hourglasses and so on. Broman has made individual pieces of glass in a variety of shapes, colors and surface treatments, and arranged them into new structural compositions. Many are tall sculptures such as the elongated ”Bell,” which is made of six stacked components fixed in place by a steel rod that also provides its topping finial. The piece is graphic with incised lines, graduated dots and map-like patterns, and

finishing that is both polished and matte in high contrasting tones of green and black. The work is at once bold and delicate and the artist’s emphasis on precision is obvious. In this writer’s opinion, the only discordant note here is sounded by the bases of the works, simple squared boxes in unfinished wood that would have benefited from being stained. “Dry Ice” is Broman’s glossy white-rimmed compote with black base, and in the shallow well of its milky center, a swirled green disk seems to float. It’s a very organic abstraction, suave and moderne. It sits on a shelf with ”Denial,” a green-lined black bowl topped with three “chopstick” rods balancing a pebble of glass. Broman says that he wanted to work with suspension over the open space of a bowl, denying access to it functionally—it acts as a kind of metaphor for his intention to transform a utilitarian material into a pure objet d’art. Overall, one is struck by the highly curated nature of this creative outpouring. Broman tasked himself to work with a strongly vertical orientation, the result of which is a ring of glass totems on wallmounted pedestals. There are few items in the center of the gallery, a distinctly unusual approach to an essentially sculptural exposition. Broman also selected a specific palette to manipulate. Black, white, lime green, marigold, and amethyst for the main gallery. Black and white/ clear for the side space. These tight parameters have the vibe of an étude—a study on a theme or technique--presuming one can shrug off the “this year’s model” showroom feel it can also engender. In his artist statement, he explains that part of the inspiration for the works and their titles was the relationship each had to sound it made, hence the Audible part of the show title. Himself a musician (drums, plus keyboards for indie-rock New Lungs), Broman has the benefit of tuning his aesthetics and emotions to the soundscapes in his studio. The glass resonates while being worked on and its tones change according to size and shape, as well as surface treatments of texture, pattern and even color. At first, this seems terribly unfair to the visitor, left only to watch the display and lacking the permission to empathize by running a finger around the lip of a sculpture or plinking it to experience a pleasing resonant tone. But every artist has their inspiration, personal and rarely shareable, one that provides us backstory or context if we’re interested; ultimately, the works have to ring true to the viewer. With the refined beauty of Broman’s sculptures, it seems he has struck a chord. , Unknown/Audible continues until Nov. 14 at Gallery 72 at 1806 Vinton St. For details and gallery hours, go to gallery72.com.

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art

eat boozetravelers: Angie Anaya (left) and Sara Locke enjoy a margaritas at Trini’s.

12HourWorldtour ﬁFIRSTSTOP: A hot cup of Kenyan at the trendy, farmer-friendly Archetype Coffee (3926 Farnam St.)

Your Passport To Omaha’s Diverse Food Scene BY SARA LOCKE

nce upon a time, in a tiny apartment kitchen in Dundee, my friend Angie Anaya and I developed a thing for cooking. Our relationship with food and flavor transcended the standard bickering and communication issues that plague every other relationship. A misread text or hastily spoken slight could be overcome with a living room picnic of pollo asada or pumpkin lasagna. It was a simpler time before family and career took the place of weekend Netflix sessions and meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting. In 2010, I decided that Angie deserved the best birthday my meager budget could afford her. Knowing that her favorite things in life were food and travel, I planned a culinary tour of the world. Having an expired passport and mostly good intentions to spend on this trip, I decided to keep it local. I woke her with a pot of African Violets, pastry from a nearby patisserie, coffee from a now-closed Cuban café, and whisked her off for a Swedish massage. A trip to a pub for a pint and corned beef sandwich, an Italian place for espresso and tiramisu, then a quick hop to a Greek eatery for Saganaki (flaming brick of cheese) and shot of ouzo. By then we were ready for margaritas before a French Bistro for dinner and capping the

eat

PHOTOS BY DEBRA S. KAPLAN

night off with sake. Different friends from her remarkably diverse life met us in different ‘regions’, ensuring a drama-free evening with many wallets to handle the burden of the bill. Catching up last weekend, we laughed at some of the restaurants we visited- it was a time when taco pizza made the cut as Italian/Mexican fusion. Angie has had an already-storied career in Omaha’s food scene since then. After attending the culinary program at Metro, she found herself helping launch Salt 88, cooking at Plank, Taxi’s, and Market Pantry, and is now a pastry chef at Modern Love. Although not a vegan herself, she is currently developing a line of vegan cheeses, breads, and desserts for the infamous eatery. Her passion for elevating flavor is instantly evident as she begins to describe her slow and scientific method for creating cheeses. Enzymes, fermentation, chemical reactions. She closes her eyes and begins playing an invisible instrument with her hands as she talks about a line of ice cream she’s working on. She describes her flavors the way a mother describes her child’s face. We are certainly older (and arguably wiser) than we were in the days of living room picnics- but one continued on page 40 y

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NOVEMBER 2015

eat

y continued from page 39 thing led to another and we found ourselves reimagining our tour with what we now know about the diversity of Omaha’s food landscape. Fueling up

The first stop on Angie and Sara’s Tour of The World (2.0) is for a quick jolt of java. A hot cup of Kenyan at the trendy, farmer-friendly Archetype Coffee (3926 Farnam St.) at Midtown sets the right tone for the adventures one faces in any given day. The shop has an excellent energy, and the friendly staff is as much a reason to walk in as the hot cup of go-go juice. The mission statement of Archetype is very grower-centric and each cup comes with a complimentary serving of good karma! Sweet and Warm

A fresh batch of Kolaches is already waiting for us at Great Harvest Bread in Dundee (4910 Underwood Ave.) where the sweet lady behind the counter carves a warm loaf of cinnamon chip bread for us to sample. Like the fat kid I truly am, I smash cheese and rhubarb kolaches together to eat like a sandwich. Angie chooses the strawberry and apricot and eats like a real lady, but I know this façade won’t last. We have work to do! Haus Rules

wasistdas: Beer and Bavarian pretzel in Huber Haus at Crescent Moon (36th and Farnam).

Having infinite German options in Omaha, we finally settle on a beer and Bavarian pretzel in Huber Haus at Crescent Moon (36th and Farnam). The imported, oven baked pretzel is served with warm queso for any-

one who doesn’t find the soft, salty staple sufficiently flavorful. After agonizing over the beer list for far longer than my schedule allows, I order the New Belgium Pumpkick to wash down an order of fried pickle chips. Greasy, crisp, and tangy, the chips are served with a cooling sauce and hit the spot. The loud, indecipherable chatter of the full dining area lends itself to the feeling of a family gathering, and the festive air stays with us long after we have departed. Mangia!

We set out to find an exceptional Italian dessert and end up at Enzo’s (8510 N. 30th). Having only just opened in June, Chef/Owner Enzo Zurlo has already buckled under the pressure of his diners to extend his hours to accommodate their craving. I order the tiramisu, but can’t contain my lust as I peruse the menu. One bite into the perfectly constructed coffee and ricotta daydream I momentarily forget about the dizzying fresh pasta menu, and accept that the heavenly smell of pizza Napoli will just have to wait for another day. continued on page 42 y

Sweettreat: The quest for exceptional Italian dessert takes our team to Enzo Zurlo at his Enzo’s (8510 N. 30th) in Florence.

NOVEMBER 2015

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eat

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NOVEMBER 2015

eat ﬁFRENCHFARE:

French onion soup and man buns at Dario’s in Dundee.

ﬁFIREDUP: Fun and fried cheese with the gang at Greek Islands (3821 Center).

NOVEMBER 2015

y continued from page 40

The French Connection

Next stop, Margaritaville!

We have somehow managed to stay interested in flavor through this delicious day, and settle in at Dario’s French Bistro (4920 Underwood Ave) around 7 p.m. We resist a dozen or so obscenely tempting dishes (croque monsieur, crepes, moules platter) and opt for a warm bowl of French Onion Soup and Pomme Frites. A beer float is a whimsical twist in such a sophisticated setting, and we agree we could easily enjoy the rest of our evening herebut we leave for one last adventure.

After years of exhaustive research, we have come to the conclusion that most margaritas are basically the same. If you find a place that uses pure agave, you’re going to have a good time. On this particular excursion, we decided to try the brand new El Parian Downtown. A check of the website showed they were open, but as we stood outside the dark restaurant with the sun sinking low, it was evident we weren’t going to be sitting down. A call to the defunct number on the site deepens our disappointment. I later learned that the website is all incorrect, and if you want to get in touch with the restaurant, you need to call the number on their Facebook page. I look forward to trying the restaurant in the future!

I Need A Hiro

A quick stop at Hiro 88 (1308 Jackson) for Sake shots to toast a successful journey around the world in just 12 hours! ,

The Wanderers

We swallow our sadness and go with plan B. wander the Old Market to find a place we’ve never tried. We find Trini’s in The Passageway and sit down excited. I decide on a chili and chocolate margarita I find on the menu, but the waitress looks at me like I have bugs crawling out of my eyes and informs me that they aren’t serving chili that day. Several attempts to clarify only frustrate her further, so we settle on strawberry margaritas. While the view is amazing, the nachos we ordered and service take the establishment off of any future to-do lists for us. Angie interjects that if she is going out for Mexican, she can be found at Rivera’s at 12047 Blondo. My own top contender is Hector’s on 3007 S 83rd. We agree that a Margarita battle is in our near future and move on.

| THE READER |

eat

Say Cheese!

When I think of my favorite appetizers, I head straight to The Greek Islands for a flaming Saganaki. The dish is baked gooey and warm, then bathed in brandy and ignited at your table before being extinguished with a squirt of lemon and served with warm bread. My words can do nothing to oversell this dish, so just go to 3821 Center and enjoy.

BRIDGET MCQUILLAN

‘folkfellows: Dan McCarthy (right) and James Maakestad of McCarthy Trenching.

McCarthyTrenching:

BY TIM MCMAHAN

Laughing in the Right Places

n the surface, Dan McCarthy is a throwback artist. Whether standing in front of a microphone with an acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder or sitting behind the wheel of an upright classic 88, McCarthy’s music, his style, reflects an era defined by the likes of Scott Joplin and Hank Williams rather than any modernday composer. “I knew the Scott Joplin stuff before I knew old country,” McCarthy said via cell phone from Brooklyn, where he’s visiting his brother’s family and taking in some local musicians in the evenings. He pointed

to the six-album Anthology of American Folk Music as his primary musical influence. The 1952 compilation, comprised of 84 American folk, blues and country recordings, was rereleased as a six-compact-disc set in 1997 by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. “I was around 20 years old when I heard that, and it was like, ‘This is the pure shit; this is what I want to do.’” Echoes of those recordings are heard throughout McCarthy’s own seven-album catalog, released under the name McCarthy Trenching, that reaches back to 2003 up to his latest album, More Like It, whose release

music

is being celebrated with a pair of parties — Nov. 5 at Zoo Bar in Lincoln and Nov. 6 at O’Leaver’s in Omaha. The 10-song collection is loaded with Hank-style walking guitar melodies and chiming piano tunes that recall the best of Randy Newman, all backed by the other member of McCarthy Trenching, upright bass player James Maakestad. But as down-home authentic as the music sounds, it’s the lyrics that bring the songs into the modern world. The snarky “Mean Things on My Mind” is a rant against everyday annoyances, like the a-hole who talks on a cell phone and eats ice cream while

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NOVEMBER 2015

y continued from page 43

driving. McCarthy caps of the tune with a sentiment we’ve all felt at one time or another: “All my wishes will come true / As long as everybody dies.” The guitar-strummed hymnal “Air Force One” is McCarthy’s memory of the September 11 attacks, built around the central chorus, “It was the only plane in the sky / It was the only plane in the sky / There was only one person permitted to fly / It was the only plane in the sky.” “That one is pretty much a true story of that day in Omaha,” said McCarthy, who was 24 at the time. “I went to a friend’s house and did see Air Force One flying over. I think that’s a true fact.” Then there’s the gorgeous, piano-driven geology lesson “Ogallala Aquaifer” that features McCarthy singing the history of the sixth Great Lake that lies beneath the Great Plains of the United States. It’s a perfect counter argument to anyone arguing for the construction of the Keystone LX Pipeline. “That’s what it was written for,” McCarthy said, explaining that the song also was released on Stopping the Pipeline Rocks: A #NoKXL Benefit Album, a project put together by anti-pipeline organization Bold Nebraska along with culture

& arts org Hear Nebraska and Red Rebel Media. It was through that project and performing at the Neil Young/Willie Nelson Harvest the Hope Concert that McCarthy met Mike Semrad. A member of classic Nebraska band The Bottle Tops, Semrad runs Sower Records, who is releasing McCarthy’s latest. More Like It was recorded at Omaha’s ARC Studios by Ben Brodin over the course of five days — two days to record tracks, two to mix and one day for cushion. Among the musicians who joined McCarthy in the studio were vocalist Pearl Lovejoy Boyd of Outlaw Con Bandana,

shoplocalomaha.com

NOVEMBER 2015

| THE READER |

Absolutely Fresh & Shucks Fish House Advanced Home Health Care and Nursing Adam Michael Jewelry Aksarben Cinema Baby Junk Bel Air Fashions Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts Better Bodies Fitness & Training Bliss Boutique Body Basics Borsheims Callahan Financial Planning Company Candy Wrappers Canfield’s Comprehensive Financial Services, LLC Curb Appeal Salon & Spa Dee-sign Garden Shop and Landscaping Design with you in mind, llc

music

who added backing vocals to two tracks, and Maakestad, who has been playing alongside McCarthy for six years. “I saw James sing in Bear Country a few times,” McCarthy said, referring to the now-defunct country rock band that featured Maakestad. “I invited him to come down to O’Leaver’s and play a show with me. and was taken with him. I asked him what else he played, and he said he studied classical bass in Lincoln. I knew right then and there I wanted him to play that with me.” McCarthy knows first-hand how hard it is to play the upright bass. The Omaha transplant, originally from Shelby, Iowa, took piano lessons from the age of five. He never played in a band until reaching Omaha after receiving his degree in English literature from Brown University. His first band gig was playing upright bass with Bill Hoover’s local American Folk revival group The Short Timers. “The first rock band I was in was with Ted Stevens (of Lullaby for the Working Class and Saddle Creek band Cursive), who asked me to play in Mayday,” McCarthy said. He quickly earned a reputation for being a solid musician and sideman, playing either guitar or piano in a number of

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local bands, including Mal Madrigal, SoSo Sailors and The Mynabirds, while at the same time working on his own music. His songs are heartfelt, touching, often funny snapshots of his everyday life, sung in a quiet voice of an old friend. On top of that, McCarthy’s been known to play ragtime piano at Pageturners Lounge on 50th and Dodge just for fun. “I’m not ready to be a total ragtime head,” he said. “To me, it’s the right balance of being difficult and entertaining.” That could be the perfect metaphor for how he approaches his career. So how does he define success in the music business? “That’s a good question,” he said with a pause. “I hope this is not cheesy, but I’d settle for having other songwriters and musicians I respect listening to what I do and paying attention and recognizing it. That’s validating to me. Not album sales or ticket sales. I love when there’s a crowd laughing at the right places.” , McCarthy Trenching plays with Bud Heavy and the High Lifes Friday, November 6, at O’Leaver’s, 1322 Saddle Creek Rd. Showtime is 9:30 p.m. Admission is $5. For more information, visit liveatoleavers.com.

Le Wonderment Malbar Vision Malibu Gallery Mama’s Pizza MANGELSEN - Images of Nature Gallery Millard Lumber Mystery Rose Nicola’s Italian Wine & Faire Old Market Artists Gallery Omaha Glass Oriental Rug Palace Passageway Gallery Patrick’s Market Personal Threads Boutique Printing Plus population-we LLC Printing Plus Ralston Arena

Rockbrook Camera RSVP Sarpy County Customs Scout: Dry Goods & Trade Sgt. Peffer’s Spirit World Stickman Graphics & Signs Studio Konchagulian The Bookworm The Imaginarium The Laurel Tree The Reader The Tea Smith Village Needleworks Villains Tattoo White Crane Gallery

‘back’beat

New venue opens more music and event options in NoDo

PHOTOGRAHPY BY DEBRA S. KAPLAN

ocated on Mike Fahey Street just west of Filmstreams, The Session Room is one of NODO’s best kept secrets. After looking around the Old Market for a building with venue potential, owners Bret and Cindy Schnittgrund stumbled across the spacious vacant building just north of 14th street. “We looked at a building next to the Hive, but decided against it,” Schnittgrund said. “We were going to keep our ‘real’ jobs and then Cindy found this place on the internet and texted me. ‘Hey babe, wanna go look at 6,800 square feet of awesomeness?’ So we walked through it and thought, we could make this work.” The Schnittgrunds went into business with another couple of investors and began working on renovations with Cindy designing the entire interior. Showcasing original exposed brick and using barn wood from A&R salvage give the space a comfortable feeling that’s in line with what’s now becoming a trademark for downtown businesses. The large beer advertisement painted on the wall is a historic relic discovered during a previous renovation. Walking into the place now, patrons will notice that while spacious, the room is divided by a brick partition with a large opening separating the stage area from the bar area. This makes the place feel comfortable while allowing a fantastic view

of the stage from both sides. Other rooms offer even more space for events and parties, which has been the bulk of the business for the Session Room. As it’s off the beaten path, the Session Room doesn’t get the kind of walk up traffic found in Old Market venues. Instead, it benefits from events in the surrounding NoDo area, such as concerts at the Century Link Center and of course College World Series. Schnittgrund was surprised to find that companies and organizations have flocked to the space for their events and parties, packing the house on random weekdays. With such a large room, music was a no brainer. Schnittgrund built a generous stage and has plans to bring in quality live music for parties, events, and weekends. As of now, he has no plans to charge a cover but will still pay the bands well, following the Harney Street’s lead. Due to the wood rafters, exposed brick, and segmented layout of the space, the sound at the Session Room is fantastic any-

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where you sit. Bands can contact Schnittgrund at bschnittgrund@sessonroomomaha.com to inquire about booking gigs and working with various scheduled events. Plans for consistent live music are still in the works as Schnittgrund wants to figure out what works best for the bands as well as the venue due to the unique location and event schedule. The Session Room also takes a different approach to its beer sales. Their focus is on craft beers, so no pitchers, buckets, or dollar draws. To complement their quality beer selection, they also offer a great menu that includes wings, sliders, ribs, cheese steaks, and yes, pizza cones. Hand held cones of pizza crust wrapped and filled with your choice of delicious options. As sides they offer tantalizing items like asparagus fries, sidewinder fries, onion chips, truffle chips, sweet potato fries, flatbread, and Tommy Tok Thai egg rolls. When live music isn’t playing, patrons can enjoy games on the multiple flat screens, darts in the game room, tunes on the juke box, or tossing bags on the patio which is often filled with folks challenging each other to games of corn hole. One of the most inspiring things about the Session Room and its owners is the sense of community they want to see thrive in NoDo. “The guys that own Slowdown, the Omaha Mattress Factory, DJs, and the Blatt are all some of our best friends,” Schnittgrund said. “We are super tight. We talk and have meetings. NoDo is going to be even more awesome in about a year.” — Wayne Brekke Got a tip? Email it to backbeat@thereader.com.

| THE READER |

NOVEMBER 2015

PickingonCriticsandCritics’Picks On the upcoming Film Streams series and why you should read more

y unabashed, unapologetic love for Film Streams has been well documented over the years. You have to forgive me if I feel eternally grateful for them saving this fair city from remaining a barren wasteland devoid of any indie, foreign or documentary films. Pre-Film Streams cinema in Omaha to me felt like the burning wastelands of Mad Max: Fury Road. And yes, their founder, Rachel Jacobson, is Imperator Furiosa in this metaphor. So when they ask me to do a thing, I do that thing. It’s the least I can do. They asked me to participate in their “Critic’s Choice” series that started Oct. 24 and will run until Dec. 23. We’ll get to what I chose, why I did that and what others picked in a bit. But first, let’s talk for just a moment about why I consider this to be one of the coolest, smartest things. The series itself, not them asking me in particular. I mean, they got A.O. Scott from The New York Times to do it, and I’m pretty much the Jimmy Olsen to his Superman in this scenario.

NOVEMBER 2015

A new book edited by Mattias Frey and Cecila Sayad called Film Criticism in the Digital Age is a series of essays by various scholars that engages the “crisis in film criticism.” That crisis is, essentially, that your mom’s movie blog is killing me. That is to say, with digital opportunities to share opinions in such outrageous supply, what use does anyone have for me? I remember turning on Roger Ebert to see what his judgmental thumb would tell me to do each week. Now? You just click on your Rotten Tomatoes app, if you even consider critical opinion a factor at all, which most don’t. In modern society, the film critic seems as useful as a town crier. Except, “hear ye, hear ye,” that’s not true. I’ve never preferred the term “film critic.” For one, it sounds like the job description is to be a dick. Critic evokes “criticize,” even if that’s not the job description. But the distinct lack of alternatives has left us saddled with that yoke of a label, as calling yourself a “film writer” sounds like you spend your days at Starbucks pounding out a “groundbreaking original idea.” The film critic’s job isn’t to criti-

| THE READER |

film

B Y R YA N S Y R E K

cize, nor is it truly to tell you if you should go see a movie or not. Most of my favorite writers don’t give stars or grades for just that reason. They aren’t trying to be prescriptive and tell you what this means to you. I do use a letter grade system, but only because I think it’s only fair to stand behind my opinion with a declarative statement of some kind. Because, you see, that’s what we’re really doing. Film criticism is supposed to deepen an understanding of a movie, to place it in societal context and in context with other films, to start a rolling dialogue, to provide insight casual viewers may have missed. Our job is to be experts at investigating and understanding meaning behind and within what I consider to be this era’s defining art form. It’s not about thumb’s up or thumb’s down. It never really was. That was an act, a clever ruse to keep drawing a paycheck. Our job is to engage the shit out of film, because if educated people don’t do that, then the truest potential of film remains inert. Yes, even for crap like Pixels. The reason that my opinion matters more than your mom’s blog isn’t because my opin-

ion is “better.” Your mom is a lovely lady, and although her review of The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was a little too Richard Gereheavy for my liking, she has some sound perspectives. The point is, unless she sees movies pretty much all the time, unless she has been trained and practiced in engaging that content, unless she constantly reads the work of other writers in an effort to improve, her opinion may not be “worse” than mine, but it is unquestionably less informed. The entirety of journalism is battling this right now, as people can’t understand why they need The New York Times when Twitter barfs information at them in real time. We have largely forgotten why we asked people to do the work of becoming experts in the first place. Which is where Film Streams’ series comes in. Its very existence isn’t just a tip of the cap to those of us still doing this work. Although, boy howdy does that feel nice, as most of the feedback we get (especially on the Internet) begins with something like “Dear flaming poophead.” No, the series is an affirmacontinued on page 48y

313 N. 13TH STREET / LINCOLN, NE

SHOWING IN NOVEMBER

Badlands 1973

Critics’ Choice The movies that made them love movies. Nov 1, 2 & 5 Pulp Fiction 1994 Selected by Ryan Syrek | The (Omaha) Reader Nov 7, 8 & 11 The Third Man 1949 Selected by David Denby | The New Yorker Nov 14, 15 & 18 Rushmore 1998 Selected by Micah Mertes | The Omaha World-Herald Nov 22, 24, 26 Brazil 1985 Selected by Tasha Robinson | A.V. Club Nov 28, 29 & Dec 1 Rocco and His Brothers 1960 Selected by A.O. Scott | The New York Times

Film Streams’ Ruth Sokolof Theater 1340 Mike Fahey St.

CALL OR CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR MOVIE TIMES AND PRICES

Dec 6, 7 & 9 Blue Velvet 1986 Dec 12 & 14 Selected by Dennis Lim | critic and curator Discovery Passion Fish 1992 Selected by Leonard Maltin Discovery Dec 13 & 15 Max et les ferrailleurs 1971 Selected by Scott Foundas | Former Variety Chief Critic Dec 19, 20 & 23 Badlands 1973 Selected by Nick Pinkerton | Freelance

Omaha Steaks Classics

Info & tickets at filmstreams.org.

| THE READER |

NOVEMBER 2015

‘cutting’room

■ You’re missing it! Sorry, but you are! Creighton University and Film Streams are showing a series of Spanish films, hosted by the Latin American Studies Initiative at Creighton. Our publication schedule means you only have two more chances to see this awesome series! On Sunday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. in the Harper Center, Room 3048, you can see Aquí y Allá (Here and There). It’s about an immigrant who leaves New York to return to Mexico, or what Donald Trump calls “My wildest dreams come true because I’m a horrid unperson.” On Sunday, Nov. 22, also at 7 p.m. and in the same room, you can see Asier ETA Biok (Asier and I). It’s about two friends who go down just slightly different paths. One becomes an actor and the other becomes a terrorist. All of these are free. I should have led with that, huh? ■ Also at Film Streams, you can catch a one-time screening of The Homestretch. It’s free! Whew, remembered to do that early this time. On Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m., the Ruth Sokolof Theater along with Youth Emergency Services will screen this important documentary about homeless teens. This isn’t a coincidence, but November is National Youth Homeless Awareness Month. There will be a panel discussion after the film, during which time you will learn how insignificant most of your problems really are as you consider what life on the streets is like for young people. Hooray for perspective and also, hopefully, some activism! —Ryan Syrek

Cutting Room provides breaking local and national movie news … complete with added sarcasm. Send any relevant information to film@thereader.com. Check out Ryan on Movieha!, a weekly half-hour movie podcast (movieha.libsyn.com/rss), catch him on the radio on CD 105.9 (cd1059.com) on Fridays at around 7:30 a.m. and on KVNO 90.7 (kvno.org) at 8:30 a.m. on Fridays and follow him on Twitter (twitter.com/thereaderfilm).

y continued from page 46 tion that certain perspectives are objectively something good, that when A.O. Scott says that Rocco and His Brothers is the reason he believes films can outachieve novels, you listen to him. And you see it. Not because he gave it a thumb’s up, but because his writing is so engaging that I want to be a part of whatever he’s engaging. There are some great local critics in this Film Streams’ series and some nice national ones, but I always have to take time out to mention the two people I think are doing the best work in the field right now. Amy Nicholson at LA Weekly is a word goddess whose every piece teaches me something. Even when I deeply, deeply disagree with her, I never question the soundness of her logic or fail to marvel at the quality of her observations. Alternatively, Film Crit Hulk (yes, that’s his name), a frequent contributor to BirthMoviesDeath.com but who has appeared in the New Yorker, is so profound I often take two passes at his commentaries. Some people are offput by his all-caps Hulk “schtick,” but in case you hadn’t noticed, it’s hard to get noticed. And his work is the only thing that matters. Seek them out. But back to the series at hand. What a great, varied selection of movies were chosen! It’s almost like these people know what they’re doing! David Denby from the New Yorker chose the classic The Third Man, which runs Nov. 7, 8 and 11. Micah Mertes, the man who stepped into Bob Fischbach’s shoes over at the Omaha World-Herald, picked Rushmore, easily Wes Anderson’s finest film. That’s up Nov. 14, 15 and 18. Denis Lim over at the Film Society of Lincoln Center chose Blue Velvet, the hallucinatory masterpiece from David Lynch, which will run Dec. 6, 7 and 9. Nick Pinkerton, a freelance critic, chose Terrence Malick’s Badlands, which is up on Dec. 19, 20 and 23. Tasha Robinson of the A.V. Club picked Brazil, one of my favorites, and that shows Nov. 22, 24 and 26. And Scott’s Rocco and His Brothers is up on Nov. 28, 29 and Dec. 1. Me? I chose Pulp Fiction. Why? I mean, I want to just say “Have you seen Pulp Fiction?” But let’s go a bit further than that. It was the first movie that made me have to PULP FICTION

DRAFTHOUSE.COM/OMAHA 48

NOVEMBER 2015

| THE READER |

film

write about it. I had to. I had to talk about the interweaving structure, speculate as to what was in that suitcase, marvel at the music, talk about how great the dialogue was. I mean, Quentin Tarantino rewrote a bible quotation. Think about that for a moment. The man said “yeah, yeah, I know this is the alleged word of God, but here’s a second draft.” Doesn’t that show you everything you need to know about that man? Anyway, the movie is so rich and inspired so many other films that came after it that it had to be my choice. It simply had to. Unfortunately, our monthly printing means you missed your chance to see it. You even missed me! As on Nov. 2, I will be introducing it in person. Except you’re reading it after I already did it... The last thing I’ll say on this whole critical fiasco is that it’s even worse for us schmucks in the midwest; our opinions are treated like farts on an elevator, in that everybody pretends they don’t hear them and think they stink. The Los Angeles and New York critics rightfully and understandably are more respected and catered to. But that’s the funny thing about movies: It doesn’t matter where you’re geographically located. That art travels. We can all engage it. I mean, now that there’s Film Streams. I’ve been slowly, very slowly, working towards building a Midwest Film Critic Society. I think it’s time our opinions get a bit more weight behind them. Hell, I’ve been reviewing movies professionally for 13 years and am syndicated in another state and I still can’t get on Rotten Tomatoes despite trying often. That’s a real thing. Lest this whole thing sound like “look at me, I matter,” I want to tell you this: Each semester, I get a chance to sit next to Rachel Jacobson on a panel and discuss film criticism with college students at UNO. They are so energized, so passionate. They light up. At the end of the day, that’s what matters. I want to be some small part of what movies do to people, even if my part is incredibly small and well after the fact. If I can get one more person to engage A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night or The Babadook, if I can make someone go “huh, I didn’t think of it like that,” then I’m happy, regardless of how many “Dear flaming poophead” reactions I get. ,

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Sal Robles t sal@abm-enterprises.com t 402-943-8888 | THE READER |

NOVEMBER 2015

25, Thanksgiving Eve, stay up late with Kris Lager Band starting after 9 p.m. for the late show. Texas blues-roots rocker Jim Suhler and his great band Monkey Beat plug in Wednesday, Dec. 2, 6-9 p.m. Lil’ Slim Blues Band plays the traditional Thanksgiving night show that Magic Slim played for many years, Thursday, Nov. 26, 9 p.m. See zoobar.com.

hoodoo

The 21st Saloon Blues

Shows coming at The 21st Saloon include bluesrocker and new Royal Southern Brotherhood guitarist Bart Walker Thursday, Nov. 5. Scottie Miller Band performs Thursday, Nov. 12. The soul-blues of John Németh is up Thursday, Nov. 19. Blue House & The Rent To Own Horns play their Thanksgiving Eve party Wednesday, Nov. 25. Jim Suhler is scheduled Thursday, Dec. 3. All shows 6 p.m. Watch for more roots music shows coming on Saturdays after football season ends.

COURTESY TOMMYCASTRO.COM

Hot Notes

CHIP DUDEN

Award-winning, rockin’ soul-blues guitarist Tommy Castro, second from left, and his band The Painkillers have a CD release party for his new Alligator disc Method to My Madness at The 21st Saloon Sunday, Nov. 22, 6 p.m.

HOODOO focuses on blues, roots, Americana and occasional other music styles with an emphasis on live music performances. Hoodoo columnist B.J. Huchtemann is a senior contributing writer and veteran music journalist who received the Blues Foundation’s 2015 Keeping the Blues Alive Award for Journalism. Follow her blog at hoodoorootsblues.blogspot.com and on www.thereader.com.

New&Big T

Local Venues Shake, Rock & Roll with Music including Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Scottie Miller, John Németh & Wanda Jackson BY B.J. HUCHTEMANN

ommy Castro & The Painkillers take The 21st Saloon stage Sunday, Nov. 22, 6 p.m. for a CD release show. Tommy Castro has been heating up stages for more than 20 years and he continues to bring the blues to a boiling point with his soul and rock fueled blues guitar. His sound has roots in his classic blues heroes but is undeniably contemporary. A few years ago Castro stripped his sound down to a four-piece, renaming the new band Tommy Castro & The Painkillers. On their brand new release, Method to My Madness (Alligator), Castro says he wanted to get back to basics, throwing down a raw, live vibe in the studio with “my basic ingredients, blues and soul,” according to Alligator. The result is a disc full of guitar riffing and solo runs that has a fresh, live feel that is usually elusive on studio recordings. Castro’s music has enough soul and R&B influence to appeal to the next generation of music fans. And he’s got enough serious respect and solid credentials in the blues industry to cement him as one of the current generation’s best. His accolades include a current career total of six Blues Music Awards, including the coveted B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year Award, the very highest award a blues performer can receive. For more see tommycastro.com.

NOVEMBER 2015

| THE READER |

Scottie Miller’s Reciprocation

Minneapolis-based Scottie Miller is a phenomenal artist whose keyboard-driven music is drawn from boogie blues, New Orleans sounds and even jazz. Reciprocation is Miller’s ninth self-produced CD. It has a more rocking edge to it, with Miller’s vocals getting grittier and the grooves getting deeper. Miller’s usual uplifting lyrics are being driven largely by Wurlitzer and Hammond organ sounds on this outing, with some extra rock-oriented guitar power from Patrick Allen. Miller is a first-class live performer who performs with joy and passion. His “day job” is working as the keyboard player for three-time Grammy-nominee and multiple Blues Music Award winner Ruthie Foster & The Family Band. See scottiemiller.com. The Scottie Miller Band has one Nebraska show in support of Reciprocation. Don’t miss them Thursday, Nov. 12, 6-9 p.m. at The 21st Saloon.

COURTESY FACEBOOK.COM/WANDAJACKSON

Charismatic castro:

Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal release their album, Cooked Raw, with a special show back in Nashville where the album was tracked live to vinyl Nov. 6. Catch the band live in Lincoln and Omaha: Saturday, Nov. 14, and Friday, Nov. 27, at Lincoln’s Zoo Bar and Saturday, Nov. 28, at Omaha’s Harney Street Tavern. All shows, 9 p.m. See joshhoyer.com. Gina Sicilia also performs Thursday, Nov. 12, at Harney Street Tavern. Matt Cox hosts his sixth annual songwriter’s showcase and food drive for Food Bank for the Heartland Wednesday, Nov. 25, 9 p.m., at Barley Street Tavern. See mattcoxmusic.net. Rockabilly icon Wanda Jackson plays Lincoln’s Bourbon Theatre Friday, Nov. 20, with Mezcal Brothers and The Bottle Tops. ,

Zoo Bar Highlights

Lincoln’s Zoo Bar hosts East Coast vocalist Gina Sicilia Wednesday, Nov. 11, 6-9 p.m. The always dancefloor-filling John Németh brings his band to the Zoo Wednesday, Nov. 18, 6-9 p.m. Then Wednesday, Nov.

hoodoo

Rockabilly queen: One of the most influential and earliest female rockers, the great Wanda Jackson, performs at Lincoln’s Bourbon Theatre Friday, Nov. 20.

| THE READER |

NOVEMBER 2015

| THE READER |

NOVEMBER SHOWS NOV 5-8

NICK GRIFFIN

Nick was a staff writer on the Keenen Ivory Wayans Show in 1996 & later a head writer for the Bobby Slayton/Sue Murphy radio show. But his first love was always stand-up comedy. In 1998 he was invited to take part in the New Faces show at The HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. That same year he made his network television debut on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, as well as Comedy Central’s Premium Blend. Nick has made multiple appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn. Last year Nick taped his own Comedy Central Presents, which is airing this Spring. He now headlines America’s best comedy clubs and is a regular guest on nationally syndicated radio’s The Bob and Tom Show.

NOV 12-15 TOMMY JOHNAGIN

Tommy is an autobiographical story telling comedian who is a favorite at comedy clubs all across the country. In 2007 Tommy was invited to the prestigious Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal, where he was the highest reviewed “new face”. He has also appeared at Comedy Central’s South Beach Comedy Festival. TV credits include: four appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman. His own half-hour special on Comedy Central Live at Gotham” & John Oliver’s New York Stand-up Show. In 2010 he finished 2nd on NBC’s Last Comic Standing. He’s also appeared on CMT’s Comedy Stage & TBS’s Very Funny Stand-Up Show.

NOV 20-21 JOHN CAPARULO SPECIAL ENGAGEMENT

John Caparulo is perhaps best known as the under-dressed everyman on the E! hit show, Chelsea Lately. Cap, as he’s known by his friends & fans, has also made multiple appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Next Generation of Blue Collar, & as a standout performer in Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show. More recently, in addition to touring as a popular national headliner, Cap appeared as part of Ron White’s Salute To The Troops on CMT, a network on which he became well-known as the host of the surprisingly hilarious Mobile Home Disaster. Caparulo’s stand-up comedy has become a favorite for SiriusXM fans, which led to his radio show The Mad Cap Hour, and the Domestic Disputes podcast.

NOV 25, 27-29 ANTHONY POTMESIL

The “R” Rated Hypnotist! There is a reason they call him “The Erotic Hypnotic”. At the sexually frustrated age of 34, this nationally touring entertainer combines his unique blend of perversion & hypnosis to produce one of the hottest & most risque comedy/hypnosis shows in the country. Think you or your friends would make a great porn star? During this show “the Erotic Hypnotic “ will bring his hypnotized volunteers through the wildest & most twisted sides of their minds.

DEC 3-6

GREG WARREN

Greg Warren has been building a strong fan base around the country with his act inspired by stories from his Midwestern upbringing. Greg attracts a diverse audience spectrum, performing on networks such as BET (as a finalist on Coming to the Stage) and CMT’s Comedy Stage. Greg is also a favorite on the nationally syndicated Bob & Tom radio show. While in college, Greg won a comedy contest and was invited to perform at a local club in Columbia, MO. He received an invitation to the prestigious Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal in 2002, where Greg performed as one of their featured New Faces of Comedy. He has also been seen on the Comedy Central show, Premium Blend.

MONDAY NOV 2 Gooch & His Las Vegas Big Band TUESDAY NOV 3 Billy Troy WEDNESDAY NOV 4 The Grease Band THURSDAY NOV 5 Mike Wallace Fusion Force

WEDNESDAY NOV 11 Bozak & Morrissey

FRIDAY NOV 20 Rough Cut

THURSDAY NOV 12 Finest Hour

SATURDAY NOV 21 The 402

FRIDAY NOV 13 On The Fritz

MONDAY NOV 23 Gooch & His Las Vegas Big Band

SATURDAY NOV 14 MoSynth

TUESDAY NOV 24 Scott Evans

FRIDAY NOV 6 Taxi Driver

MONDAY NOV 16 Gooch & His Las Vegas Big Band

WEDNESDAY NOV 25 Bill Chrastil

SATURDAY NOV 7 The Six

TUESDAY NOV 17 Billy Troy

FRIDAY NOV 27 Avaricious

MONDAY NOV 9 Gooch & His Las Vegas Big Band

WEDNESDAY NOV 18 Badd Combination

SATURDAY NOV 28 Hi-Fi Hangover

THURSDAY NOV 19 Jules & Joe Band

MONDAY NOV 30 Gooch & His Las Vegas Big Band

TUESDAY NOV 10 Spontaneous Combustion

| THE READER |

NOVEMBER 2015

Bang Your Head

KILL

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Prepare for heavy metal to steal the international stage. Although at the moment the two American musical genres most prevalent worldwide are hip-hop and pop music, American heavy metal will soon explode in international popularity again. It will be called the Hesher Revolution, and will begin the summer of 2018, which will be known in rock and roll annals as “Headbanger Summer.” The forthcoming style of hard rock will be a throwback to the music of the 70s, and critics will theorize that its popularity will largely be due to its simplicity, and music fans react against the increasingly mechanical qualities of pop and hip-hop, which will then be largely produced by computers and autotuned and tweaked in obviously artificial ways. Heavy metal, with its focus on musicians actually playing guitars and drums, will seem an honorable alternative. Additionally, the music will return to its roots,

Beware the Town Festival

A strange trend will start in America in the next few years: Smalltown festivals. These will start out saturated in Americana, including American flags and men dressed as Uncle Sam. These festivals will vie with each other for national attention, especially as reality television turns its attention to these towns and starts to reward them for uniqueness. Area-specific foods and dances will develop, as well as regionally specific styles of dress and decoration. Towns will even develop their own ritual events, sometimes borrowed from history, sometimes invented. In some places, these seemingly harmless rituals will turn violent, and sometimes even deadly. Sometimes this will be through accidents, with people drowning in lakes or falling off cliffs. But there will be a few instances where members of a small town will deliberately torture or even kill someone, ritualistically, carried away by their town’s weird culture.

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NOVEMBER 2015

| THE READER |

The Witch Hunts

One of the most horrific chapters in human history is making a huge return: witch-hunting. Even now, in parts of Africa, accusations of witchcraft can be a death penalty for the accused. As a result of changes to the social fabric, with an increasingly large number of people leaving mainstream religions, religious leaders will find it valuable to lead hunts for supposed witches. This will mostly be associated with fundamentalism, but it will not be limited to any one religion, and neither will it be limited to third-world countries. People -- mostly women -- will be accused, tried, and frequently executed for witchcraft in Canada, Great Britain, and even in the United States. These persecutions will be condemned by the press, politicians, and the public, but they will continue. In the next hundred years, as many of 5,000 people will die as a result of accusations of witchcraft, some tortured to death during efforts to extract confession, some at the hands of mobs, and some at the hands of a religiously appointed executioner.

The Old Ones

There are vast, undiscovered monsters in the ocean, far below where we have been able to explore, but soon will visit and discover. These creatures are so vast as to swarf anything now on earth, even the blue whale, now believed to be the largest animal that has ever lived. They have remained hidden because they live at such depths the loss of pressure of rising to the surface causes them to implode. They are like fish, but are not fish. Many will be discovered to be ancient, some probably having lived more than 1,000 years. We will call them the old ones, and for a decade or so we will send men in special submersibles to the bottom of the ocean to study them. One day, they will be gone. We will not know where they go, some will speculate they have disappeared into deeper trenches beneath the ocean, so deep and hidden we will never find them. We will not know why they left; perhaps they had studied us and had discovered they were better off hidden from the world of men. For more on these predictions and others by Dr. Mysterian visit www.thereader.com.

ON ND

TO LIVERP

aPRIL 22-29, 2016 Step this way...and roll up to the ultimate Beatles experience! Boomer 1490 and Bellevue Travel present the Magical Mystery London to Liverpool Tour! We embark for London on Saturday, April 22, 2016 for eight days a week of exciting land- marks in the group’s history! For Beatles fans a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit the here, there and everywhere of the Fab Four’s history! You’ll have a ticket to ride aboard the double decker bus excursion to see dozens of Beatles sights in London and Liverpool. See the Abbey Road crosswalk, Apple Headquarters – sight of the Beatles famous

rooftop concert! Visit Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, the boy’s childhood homes and so much more! Then it’s onto visit Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace & Piccadilly Circus! AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!!

Even a day trip to Windsor Castle – where the Royal family entertains Heads of State. All accompanied by your host, Beatles expert extraordinaire Rick Galusha. This amazing trip covers ‘every little thing’: airfare, hotel, admissions and breakfast. Hurry! All you need is love and a $250 deposit! Space is extremely limited!

FOR INFO aND bOOkINgs, PLEasE cONTacT: Julie Imgrund • Bellevue Travel 1508 JFKennedy Drive • Suite 101 • Bellevue NE 68005 • 402-292-6600 • julie@bellevuetravelne.com Let’s all come together for the Magical Mystery London to Liverpool Tour, April 22, 2016, from Bellevue Travel and Boomer 1490...it’s your ticket to ride!