THE READER-EL PERICO OMAHA FEBRUARY 2021

In si

F E B R UA RY 2 021 | volU M E 27 | I SSUE 12

The

High Cost of Meat

STORY and PHOTOS by Chris

de t he

Nebraska Missed an Opportunity to Protect Its Essential Meatpacking Workers, But 2021 Brings New Hope

Bowling

JOBS: minorities ARE bearing THE brunt OF unemployment DISH: Soul Food with Style HOODOO: Pandemic Blues FILM: Top 10 TV Shows of 2020 FILM REVIEW: Wonder Woman 1984 Doesn’t Exist SERIES: Four funeral directors. One month. 60 deaths.

HEARTLAND HEALING: Better than Butter OVER THE EDGE: When Will Live Music Return? PLUS: PICKS, COMICS & A CROSSWORD

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JOBS: Minorities & Women Are Bearing The Brunt Of Unemployment

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COVER: The High Cost of Meat: Nebraska missed an opportunity to protect its essential meatpacking workers, but 2021 brings new hope

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DISH: Soul Food with Style

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PICKS: Cool Things To Do in February

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FEATURE: Inside the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards

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HOODOO: Pandemic Blues

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FILM: Top 10 TV Shows of 2020

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REVIEW: Wonder Woman 1984 Doesn’t Exist

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healing...............Michael Braunstein info@heartlandhealing.com arts/visual.................... Mike Krainak mixedmedia@thereader.com eat.................................. Sara Locke crumbs@thereader.com film.................................Ryan Syrek cuttingroom@thereader.com hoodoo................. B.J. Huchtemann bjhuchtemann@gmail.com music..................... Houston Wiltsey backbeat@thereader.com over the edge..............Tim McMahan tim.mcmahan@gmail.com theater.................... Beaufield Berry coldcream@thereader.com

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IN MEMORIAM: Gone But Not Forgotten

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

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Special SERIES: Four funeral directors. One month.

60 deaths.

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publisher/editor........... John Heaston john@thereader.com graphic designers........... Ken Guthrie Albory Seijas news..........................Robyn Murray copy@thereader.com lead reporter............... Chris Bowling chris@thereader.com associate publisher.... Karlha Velásquez karlha@el-perico.com creative coordinator...... Lynn Sánchez lynn@pioneermedia.me

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COMICS: Ted Rall, Jen Sorensen and Garry Trudeau

El Alto Costo De La Carne

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HEARTLAND HEALING: Ghee: Better than Butter

Una inflación se ve venir,. .

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¿En qué invertir para tener ganancias?

FEBRUARY 2021

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OVER THE EDGE: When Will Live Music Return?

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Minorities & Women Continue Bearing Brunt of Unemployment

Quality Assurance Test Engineer #912332

by Chris Bowling

ProKarma, Inc. has mult. openings for Quality Assurance Test Engineer in Omaha, NE; travel and/or reloc to various unanticipated locations throughout the U.S. is required.

Responsible for providing technical expertise to plan activities concerned with the development, application and maintenance of quality standards. Req. a BS degree in Comp Sci/Engg (any), or related tech/analytical field plus 5 yrs. of exp in an IT/Comp-related position.

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s the economy continues its slow recovery, not all Nebraskans are returning to work at the same rate.

In Douglas County, women continue to file more claims for unemployment benefits than men. At the same time, some minority residents in the county continue filing more unemployment claims per their share of the population.

At the end of December, 34 out every 1,000 Black Douglas County residents were asking the state for help after losing their jobs. Seventy five of every 1,000 Native American, Native Alaskan and Pacific Islanders did the same.

Meanwhile Asian, white and Hispanic people saw relatively low

numbers of uninsurance claims filed, claiming about six people per 1,000 residents.

While the gap between men and women filing unemployment claims is starting to shrink, women were far more likely to lose their jobs than men in 2020. During the highest spike in unemployment, women in Douglas County filed nearly 8,000 more claims than men. At the end of 2020, they were still filing several hundred more claims than men.

The trends aren’t isolated to Nebraska’s largest county. In December, Americans lost a net 140,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and women, particularly women of color, accounted for the entirety of the decline.

At the end of 2020, Black Nebraskans were more than five times more likely to file an unemployment claim compared to white, Asian and Hispanic Nebraskans. Other races including “unknown,” Pacific Islanders and American Indians or Native Alaskans were even more overrepresented. asian

black

APR MAY JUN

white

hispanic

other

JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Since the pandemic began, women have filed claims for unemployment benefits at higher rates than men in Nebraska. women

men

no response

APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Figures are represented per 1,000 people.

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FEBRUARY 2021

To apply, email Resumes to

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ProKarma, Inc. Technical Delivery Manager #769571 ProKarma, Inc. has mult. openings for Technical Delivery Manager in Omaha, NE; travel and/ or reloc to various unanticipated locations throughout the U.S. is required. Responsible for monitoring progress and driving teams to meet dates. Confer with systems analysts, engineers and programmers and others to design system and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements and interfaces. Req. a Master’s degree in Comp Sci, Engineering (any), or any technical/analytical field that is closely related to the specialty, plus 2 years of exp in an IT/Comp-related position.

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ProKarma, Inc. Product Owner #858889

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N E W S

The High Cost of Meat Nebraska Missed an Opportunity to Protect Its Essential Meatpacking Workers, But 2021 Brings New Hope STORY AND PHOTOS by Chris Bowling

T

he workers told stories of wet masks splotched with blood. One woman said she asked a supervisor to use the bathroom because she’d had her period. He wiped his hand through the blood of a slaughtered animal to mock her.

At night, some struggled to hold a comb or toothbrush in aching hands. With so many out of work due to COVID-19, they sliced cuts of beef, pork and chicken with electric knives faster than ever to keep grocery stores stocked.

As the early August heat sweltered outside, meatpacking plant workers shared these stories under the air conditioning in a committee hearing in the Nebraska State Capitol. They testified for legislation offering them enforceable COVID-19 protections at work, knowing their employers could be watching.

Days later their efforts died after too few senators voted to suspend the body’s rules and allow discussion.

In the months since, the number of Nebraska’s meat-

packing workers who caught the virus totaled nearly 7,000.

Twenty six have died as of mid-January, according to advocates. Many came to work with the virus, afraid they’d lose their jobs or be denied sick leave.

According to federal reports, three of the biggest plants in Nebraska reported a total of 14 deaths in 2020. Most hadn’t had a single recorded death in years. All but one of the deaths were listed as health related.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal agency responsible

for enforcing workplace safety, has been criticized for its response to COVID-19 in meat processing plants. Calls made to the Omaha-area OSHA office were not returned. Out of $4 million in penalties it’s assigned, the agency fined the multibillion-dollar industry, which in July had been linked to upwards of 310,000 cases of COVID-19, less than $100,000.

No fines have been issued for Nebraska food processors, according to a Reader analysis.

There is one part-time state employee tasked with upholding these workers’ rights, and according to a report from the Nebraska Department of Labor, that official spent most of 2020 helping to manage the state’s overwhelmed unemployment system.

“I think the summary is still the same,” said Darcy Tromanhauser, director of Nebraska Appleseed’s Immigrants and Communities Program, who told The Reader in May packing plants were far from safe for workers.

“We’re not even close to what we need.”

Eric Reeder stands in a garage of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 293 office in Omaha. Reeder is the president of the union, which has been a primary voice in advocating for workers during and before the pandemic.

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FEBRUARY 2021

And while the vaccine, and prioritizing meatpacking workers to receive it, offers some hope, Gov. Pete Ricketts’ staff has said undocumented immigrants will receive less priority than legal citizens. Advocates doubt that will be true in an industry that employs many undocumented people, but the confusion sews fear.

N E W S “These are people who’ve worked tirelessly since the time they were named essential,” said Dulce Castañeda, a co-founder of the advocacy group Children of Smithfield in Crete and the daughter of a meatpacking plant worker.

“They’ve worked hard to put food on our tables and to all of the sudden turn around and say, you’re not that important or you’re not a priority or you don’t actually matter that much, it’s especially offensive.”

But even if the vaccine rolls out smoothly, advocates say workers will need COVID-19 protections until herd immunity is achieved, which may take much of 2021. And it still does little to address the industry’s systemic issues and lax accountability, highlighted by the virus.

Both are tasks of a new bill in the Nebraska Legislature’s 2021 session. On Jan. 11, it was introduced by Sen. Tony Vargas, who backed the failed meatpacking protection bill in 2020.

Many hope the outcome this year will be different. But others wonder what’s really changed.

“I do not believe all the senators that are on the other side have the courage to step up and do the right thing,” said Eric Reeder, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 293, which represents food workers in Nebraska. “I don’t have a lot of faith in them.”

Hot Spots Smoldering When COVID-19 came to Nebraska, it hammered an industry of nearly 12,000 slaughterers, trimmers and other employees. Meat processing is one of the most popular occupations in the state, and the industry is one of the country’s largest.

Dulce Castañeda stands under a fountain in Crete City Park in CRETE, NEB., ON Jan. 23.

Castañeda and her friends started Children of Smithfield to advocate for their parents who work in the Smithfield plant outside Crete.

In April, areas like Grand Island, Dakota City and Crete not only outpaced Omaha in infections and deaths, but the rest of the country.

“I’d hate for this to be the new normal for how we say, ‘So long friend,’” Jose Gayatan told The Reader in April after a funeral for someone who died of complications caused by COVID-19. His friend worked at the JBS USA meatpacking plant in Grand Island.

Protections like masks and hand sanitizer came slowly, while advocates say other measures, such as social distancing, updated ventilation, temperature checks and plastic barriers, either never came or weren’t widely implemented.

“I don’t think we can point to a single plant where we’ve heard people feel safe, even if that plant can lift up one or two things they’ve done,” Tromanhauser said. “Usually what follows if you’re speaking with workers is that protection itself is inconsistent.”

With vaccines coming to meatpacking workers soon, some fear protections will roll back. Advocates don’t know companies’ plans, but sick pay, keeping high-risk employees out and other measures undoubtedly interfere with production, they said.

“As we roll out the vaccine, there’s this perception that this will become less and less necessary,” said Micky Devitt, legal and policy coordinator for Heartland Workers Center.

“I think that’s not the case … it’s as urgent as ever. We know the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] is urging everyone to remain vigilant until we reach that herd immunity level, and that could be months and months.”

Sen. Vargas’ new COVID-19 protection bill includes requirements such as: n maintaining six feet of social distance at work; n providing free masks and face shields;

n making hand sanitizer available to everyone; n disinfecting work surfaces; n doing temperature checks; n allowing employees to get COVID-19 tests on company time and pay; n paying sick leave; and n communicating when a person’s tested positive for COVID-19.

Companies that don’t follow these standards, or put workers in an unsafe work environment, face fines of at least $5,000 for a first-time offense and $50,000 thereafter.

This bill will have the benefit of facing fewer logistical hurdles than Vargas’ 2020 bill. Because it was introduced after the session reconvened from a pandemic hiatus, many senators wanted to use remaining time on other issues, such as property taxes and school spending.

Vargas says this can’t get sidelined again.

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N E W S “This is not just important,” Vargas said in a January press conference, “This is urgent and this is critical.”

The bill would be a significant help to Reeder, whose union is one of the few entities holding Nebraska’s meatpacking facilities accountable.

Though he doesn’t know how many complaints Nebraska’s UFCW chapter has received, he said the phones have “rang off the wall,” since the pandemic began. Reeder said nearly every complaint his team gets is solved immediately when the union and company representatives talk it out. Some rise to the level of legal arbitration.

As a result, people have gotten more and better masks. Ensuring bathroom breaks has risen to the top of employee rights education. Company executives have committed to better communication with the union after finding out how managers ran their plants.

The problem is it’s hard to be proactive with so many workers and plants across the state, which are all run by different companies with different workers and different problems. Of the approximately 50 processing plants in Nebraska, the UFCW is only in 14, though they’ll take complaints from any of them.

Meanwhile, there have been more injuries as understaffed lines continue running at high speeds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has limits on beef and poultry line speeds for food safety, but none for pork, and even the regulated line speeds are the subjects of lawsuits.

“That’s been the nature of some of our grievances, that they’re running the lines the same speed with less people because you have people out on quarantine,” Reeder said.

“You have people working longer hours, so you’re automatically going to see an unsafe work environment due to that.”

Nebraska’s official accountability arm has also been underutilized. At the turn of the millennium, Nebraska created both a meatpacking workers’ bill of rights and an employee to uphold them.

The Nebraska Department of Labor declined The Reader’s request to interview the state employee. Instead, it sent a report prepared for Sen. Vargas in November showing the part-time

rights coordinator spent as little as 2.23% of her time on meatpacking plants in one month.

The bulk of her time was spent processing unemployment claims. The employee also had to care for her daughter due to public schools closing, further limiting her time for plant visits, the report said.

Of the 54 complaints Nebraska’s meatpacking workers’ rights coordinator responded to last year, only five dealt with COVID-19. Most workers complained of verbal abuse, unsafe working conditions, managers forcing them to do work doctors warned against and fear of retaliation.

But even if she had dedicated all her 20 hours per week to meatpacking plants, the meatpacking workers’ rights coordinator has little authority.

According to statute, they can respond to complaints, tour plants and write reports, but they can’t issue penalties or fines. If Sen. Vargas’ bill passes, the employee would recommend fines for violating the meatpacking workers’ bill of rights or COVID-19 protections to the state’s labor commissioner.

It’s not surprising to people like Tromanhauser. She’s worked in this field for more than 15 years and says the abuse has only gotten worse.

It’s a step in fighting a system that’s long taken advantage of vulnerable people, subjecting them to dangerous work, low pay and managerial abuse.

Reeder hopes enough people can sway their representatives. People could also stop buying from producers like JBS USA, Tyson, Cargill and Smithfield. He doesn’t want that, which would hurt workers, too, but he said something has to change.

“We have these inconsistencies, because I think the companies, broad picture, want to protect the workplace,” Reeder said. “I think they want to. But the question is how far are they responsible to go?”

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Documentation has gotten better, including reports like one from the National Employment Law Project, which shows that while workplace deaths are on the rise, OSHA has nearly 128 fewer inspectors than it did nearly 40 years ago. Much of that decline happened during President Donald Trump’s time in office.

It’s a tough trend to buck given America’s demand for cheap, abundant meat. But advocates say they’re encouraged as more people see what this meat costs.

There needs to be someone in charge, Reeder said. Right now, it doesn’t feel like there is.

Reeder wants OSHA to take the reins. Early in the pandemic, OSHA issued guidelines for COVID-19 in the workplace. But it’s since been criticized for assigning light fines and failing to uphold its own rules.

“Literally people describe to us on a regular basis, ‘They treat us like animals,’ ‘They care more about the meat than the people,’ ‘They’re killing the cows immediately but the rest of us little by little.’”

Denise Bowyer sits with Clark, her 3-year-old labradoodle, in her home in West Omaha on Jan. 22. Bowyer recently moved back to Omaha from Maryland and has been involved in advocating for the rights of meatpacking plant workers.

FEBRUARY 2021

“Until the plants decide to do some of this stuff on their own or in conjunction with us, the government needs to step in,” he said. “They need to tell them, just like years ago when we had sweatshops where people would get hurt, that you can’t treat people like this.”

N E W S Gathering, Organizing, Hope

Vargas’ 2020 bill for COVID-19 protections in meatpacking facilities fail, she became more determined.

Denise Bowyer didn’t know how she would spend her retirement. But she didn’t expect it to involve meatpacking.

“It was a level of denial [from senators] that I found, not that I was upset by it, but angry that we need to do a better job of telling these stories and making them aware and putting the political pressure on them,” she said.

The 65-year-old had been a vice president of a large union insurance company, living in Maryland near Washington, D.C. When she moved back to Omaha after 35 years away in December 2019, she started volunteering with an immigration advocacy group. When the pandemic started infecting meatpacking workers in Nebraska, 66% of which are immigrants according to the Migration Policy Institute, she went to Grand Island to hand out masks to workers.

From there she kept coming back. When she watched Sen.

The pandemic has mobilized many to combat glaring inequities. Bowyer started with handing out masks, and now she volunteers about 20 hours a week to help the UFCW organize workers. Unlikely allies have found common ground in the statewide coalition Solidarity with Packing Plant Workers.

“I don’t think, to my knowledge, the Heartland Workers Center has done a lot of work with the farmers’ union, for

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N E W S example,” Devitt said. “DC Resolve, [which] also does work in farming justice, the teachers unions, the AFL-CIO, would not necessarily have been in alignment on these issues [before COVID-19].”

Bowyer, who came from a union job that advocated for underserved families, said this is a journey of small wins. Right now the conversation is about basic protections. But it won’t always be that way.

They’ve also found friends at the federal level. Castañeda said she’s had more contact with the transition team of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris then she ever had with Ricketts, who held one short phone call with her organization, she said.

A sign of better days to come recently showed up on her computer.

Biden also signed an executive order on Jan. 21 directing OSHA to reevaluate its guidelines and enforcements as well as work with states to devise COVID-19 workplace protection plans. For Tromanhauser the new administration’s plan, combined with movement at the state level, is reason to be hopeful.

“I would say a both-hand approach has been shown to be really necessary,” she said.

“What’s missing is enforceable protections and then getting those at whatever level we can get them.”

But it doesn’t mean the work in Nebraska is done. Advocates said they need to organize more to bring an even stronger message to the legislature this year.

That seems to have been happening. While advocates work to recruit allies, Reeder said more people are joining the union, and workers at nonunion plants want to start organizing, though COVID-19 has hampered those conversations.

For Castañeda, no matter the circumstances the tide is clearly changing.

“We’ve been focused on small wins,” she said, “and I think small victories are important in keeping the bigger picture in mind.”

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Her application for a job in OSHA had been sent to Biden’s presidential personnel office.

Starting another career after her retirement wasn’t Bowyer’s plan, but after a year advocating for meatpacking plant workers she wants to make sure the right changes get made. And if it doesn’t work, she’ll still be here. No matter how big or small, advocates can’t let up.

“When you go in and organize and get some wins it helps alleviate some of that fear,” Bowyer said. “And I think that’s what people are committed to. I think people understand there’s a lot of fear that getting an extra mask isn’t going to take care of. But that’s a start. That’s where you start.”

Something Has to Happen The reality Nebraska’s meatpacking workers face isn’t new to Dulce Castañeda. She’s watched her small town of Crete move in rhythm with the operational hours of the Smithfield pork processing plant.

There, each piece of meat takes seconds to slice into a recognizable product. But seconds multiply into hours, days, months and years. For some, decades pass along the line.

What’s changed is the opportunity to actually treat workers like her dad as essential.

Castañeda hopes that involves Nebraska senators passing a bill to install new COVID-19 protections. She

FEBRUARY 2021

hopes the new president will up federal oversight while state officials look at local accountability. But more than anything she hopes the light on this issue won’t die out.

Accomplishing that won’t be easy. These issues are longstanding and seem so entrenched that it will take more than a few laws to undo.

But it’s starting. The small wins, the organizing, the reassurance that these are issues worth fighting for, these are lead dominos in a chain reaction that can’t be stopped, no matter what happens.

“Something,” Castañeda’s dad told her, “has to come of everything you guys have been doing.”

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e r ’ u o y w o n k we s ’ t I t u b , t I r ove . t e y r e not ov It’s up to each of us to do our part.

Wear a mask – the right way. Give each other space. Get a flu shot.

We know what to do.

Let’s get to it.

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D I S H

Soul Food with Style

Chef Lex Ewing serves with passion, compassion and a whole lot of heart

by Sara Locke | PHOTOS Davie Grams, LLC

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killed, it occurred to me that most people who eat meat do so without ever seeing the cruelty it takes to make it happen. Watching this animal die really changed something in me. That was the moment that turned into everything that’s happened since.”

ou may know Alexandria Ewing for her work creating ethical, organic beauty and self-care items through her boutique business Balance Botanica.

Her belief is that products should be good for your skin, body and the world around you. You may also know her from her mentoring work and for teaching culinary arts through Step-Up Omaha!, the youth employment program.

When I encountered her, it was as Chef Lex of Soular Power Plates.

I was immediately struck by Chef Lex’s relentless pursuit to create a healthier, more empowered world through every avenue available to her (when there are no avenues, she paves one of her own).

Lex teaches mindfulness, yoga and holistic care through Omaha Public Schools, Kids & Company in Council Bluffs, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands, the Teen Center at St. Luke United Methodist Church and The Union for Contemporary Art. Her volunteer experience spans Omaha, from work with Open Door Mission to the Alzheimer’s Association and Heartland Family Service, and her compassion for her fellow citizens

Chef Lex proves that plant-based protein packs a nutritious and flavorful punch.

Chef Lex’s herbed popcorn. of the earth, human or otherwise, is as boundless as her creativity to nurture them.

I recently had a chance to sit down with Chef Lex and couldn’t wait to learn a little more about what drives her, how she fuels it and where it’s taking her next.

Athlete Turns Activist Lex attended college at Wayne State University, where she joined the cheerleading team. A consummate athlete, she always incorporated healthy eating and physical

activity into her daily life. It wasn’t long before she realized that her goal of maintaining her athleticism meant forgoing anything that was served in the cafeteria.

“I wasn’t a vegetarian at the time, and even without that standard, I couldn’t eat anything they were serving,” Lex said. “None of it was healthy, all of it was really high in sodium and hyper processed. In addition to being an athlete, I was taking health courses, and nothing I was learning would have let me eat what was on the menu.”

Soular Mission The concept for Soular Power Plate started taking shape in 2015 when Lex, back home and finished with school, began caring for her ill grandmother.

“I wanted to do something for her to make our time happier and to help her fight,” Lex said. “Homecooked food gave her the strength she needed, and so I started cooking for her. I began developing this menu concept of vegan soul-food infused with love. And you could see her spirits start to rise.

“She and my mom had always had this dream to open a café. It was a continuation of their love of parties, and they wanted to serve these hearty, nurturing dishes in a fun way. I loved being part of this

Just as she was developing an understanding of what better fueled her body, a life-changing trip ignited changes she hadn’t seen coming.

“I was studying abroad, doing research in Spain,” Lex said. “I was learning about food profiles, tasting things I’d never even heard of and couldn’t pronounce. I was just amazed at how much could be done with food and with all of these spices that were completely changing ingredients I thought I knew.

The from-scratch components of Chef Lex’s dishes make each one a work of heart.

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FEBRUARY 2021

“While I was there, we decided to take in a bull fight.

You’re in Spain, it’s a rite of passage. But that moment, watching this innocent animal being

Chef Lex educates children on the power of nutrition in a fun, interactive mindfulness and empowerment class.

D I S H dream and started to put together ideas for Soular Power Plate.”

Lex’s idea grew slowly, steadily and sturdily as she started offering to serve her dishes for gatherings and events. In 2018 she found herself dishing up her signature style at Melanation Celebration. The event created a nurture-network where Omaha’s Black business owners and professionals could connect and collaborate.

“The meal was really just a way to incentivize people to come, to connect and to celebrate,” Lex said. “I was serving soups, salads, burritos and sandwiches. Food really has a way of bringing people together, and I was really excited to be part of that, especially at this beautiful, empowering event.

There was a lot of surprise when people found out that the food was vegan. It wasn’t a ‘vegan event,’ it was just really good food that happened to be vegan and happened to start a conversation.”

Lex doesn’t fault anyone for their preconceived notions about vegan food being boring, because her own experience with veganism had fallen flat before she took up the tongs herself.

“Vegan isn’t as widespread here, and so a lot of recipes are just a salad with an oil-based dressing, or a lot of pasta. But I have this deep love of herbs, spices and botanicals. I couldn’t imagine making any of my dishes without them.”

One Soular Power Plate at a Time While it would have been significantly easier for Chef Lex to start making dishes in bulk, she had a different vision in mind.

“Vegans function by thinking about their food,” Lex said.

“They’re considering their impact on their health and the health of our planet.”

Chef Lex gives the same amount of consideration to every dish she creates.

“Nothing works the same for two people, so I really want my clients to communicate with me. I want them to tell me if they have an allergy or sensitivity. I want to hear if they have eczema or if eating something makes them feel bloated. All of these things are your

body communicating to you. I love customizing a plate for someone, because I know that even though I don’t get to see them eat it, they are loving it, their body is loving it, and it’s feeding their soul.”

Going Soular Solo Lex’s many clients may be surprised to find that Lex creates, customizes, cooks and serves each meal entirely by herself. The one-woman powerhouse doesn’t just serve beautiful meals, but scratch-makes many of the components that go into them. Her house-made cashew milk is the creamy, delectable component that makes her baked macaroni the rich, hearty and heart-healthy dish that keeps clients coming back for more.

LOCALLY OWNED DELIVERY CO-OP

USE CODE

GoLoCo

In addition to her catering company, Chef Lex offers a free online cooking class, as well as packages for health coaching and nutrition plans. You can make a donation to Soular Power’s mission by visiting soularpowerplate.square.site.

The Menu While many chefs will grudgingly adhere to a diner’s dietary restrictions, Chef Lex urges her clients to explore which foods make them feel strong and which leave them dragging. Her menu exists, but each dish is joyfully adjusted to meet her client’s health and nutrition needs. Following Lex on Instagram (@SoularPowerPlate) will give you a chef’s eye view of the work she puts into each dish and will leave you hungry for more.

Schedule a Friday Family Feast with Soular Power Plate, and let Lex make a believer out of your whole family! Your meatless Mondays will be a breeze with a BBQ Jackfruit sandwich, and your next potluck will be a no-brainer when you bring a side like Lex’s Southern braised collard greens, with smoked paprika, green cabbage and red onions.

No matter what you order, it will be made with love and the intent to make the world a little better place than it was yesterday.

Place your order by emailing SoularPowerPlate@gmail.com or by visiting soularpowerplate.square.site.

O MAHA

G et Ready O ma ha LoCo is owned and operated by local independent restaurants. The ultimate goal of LoCo is to offer delivery from the best local restaurants in town, provide great service, and enhance the local dining scene. Support local and download our app today.

FEBRUARY 2021

15

W PICKS W

The Blues Society of Omaha presents its Thursday night live shows at Stocks ’n’ Bonds from 6 to 9 p.m. Those in attendance are required to wear face masks and socially distance to comply with local ordinances. This month’s artists include Indigenous, Tony Holiday, the Josh Vowell Blues Band and Stone Cutters Union. Read more about local blues in this month’s Hoodoo on page 20.

—Alex Preston

February 5-26

Standup with

Brooke Barsell

Wendy Red Star CAP Gallery

Baaéetitchish, meaning “One Who is Talented,” references the Apsáalooke name artist Wendy Red Star received while visiting her home, the Apsáalooke (Crow) Indian Reservation in Montana. It’s the original name of her grand-uncle, Clive Francis Dust, Sr., known in her family for his creativity as a cultural keeper.

For her CAP Gallery exhibition at Joslyn Art Museum, Red Star developed an immersive, site-specific installation that draws upon the 1898 Indian Congress, a convening of more than 30 Native American tribes during Nebraska’s Trans-Mississippi Exhibition that celebrated American Westward expansion.

16

The exhibition borrows from and reframes her research into exposition photographs, memorabilia and historic sites in Omaha and Montana, particularly taking from Omaha Public Library’s vast collection of Frank Rinehart (1861-1928) photographs. A Nebraskan famous for his portraits of Indian Congress members, Rinehart captured an image of White Swan, a well-known Apsáalooke scout.

For more information, visit www. joslyn.org.

—Jonathan Orozco

February 4-25

Thursday Night Blues Stocks ’n’ Bonds 8528 Park Dr.

FEBRUARY 2021

MONA2 Omaha Gallery 1516

Gallery 1516’s latest version of MONA2Omaha, a collaboration with the Museum of Nebraska Art, features Fred Otnes: A Collage, opening Feb. 5. Otnes enjoyed extraordinary success designing stamps for the U.S. Postal Service and creating posters for 34 movies, album covers and a mural for the Ronald Reagan Library and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Online Through April 25

February 5

For Omaha comedy fans who want to watch standup from the safety of their own homes, local comedian Brooke Barsell is hosting a variety of live-streamed shows in February. The Backline open-mic streams live every Tuesday at 8 p.m. on its Facebook page, and Barsell hosts her own show, Contagious, every Friday at 4 p.m., featuring comics from throughout the country, as well as some international performers. On Valentine’s Day, Barsell and Nick Lindemann are hosting a special Swapping Sets show, where performers will trade jokes with each other and attempt to perform them.

—Alex Preston

His most recognized works are his complex collages that combine old photographs with torn paper and fabrics, drawn and found imagery, and incorporate a variety of printmaking techniques. Through his multilayered process, his modern, abstract works often carry a strong nostalgic connection.

Born in Kansas in 1925, Otnes and his family moved to Lincoln while he was young. His first position was with the Lincoln Journal.

The exhibit will be on display until April 11. Gallery 1516 is at 1516 Leavenworth. Masks required; show open by appointment only. Visit gallery1516.org.

-Kent Behrens

W PICKS W Omaha Funny Bone on Feb. 17.

In 2018, Baker was featured at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, and she was selected as New Face of Comedy, the showcase’s top prize. Her style of humor is sharp, dark, no-nonsense and deeply personal. Doors open for the show at 6:45 p.m., and show time is at 7:30. Visit the Funny Bone’s website omaha.funnybone. com to see the venue’s COVID protocols and to reserve your ticket.

—Alex Preston

February 18

February 11-13

Enjoli & Timeless The Jewell

Local jazz club The Jewell is presenting live roots performances from artists such as the Doyle Tipler Quartet (Feb. 11); singer, songwriter and pianist Victoria Ortega (Feb. 12); and a special Valentine’s performance from Enjoli & Timeless (Feb. 13). Check the website, jewellomaha.com, and Facebook page for more listings and updates on performances.

—Alex Preston

February 11

animals as the result of his activities “harvesting the land for consumption.” With their emphasis on individual specimens of flora and fauna, the photographs have a distinct, almost scientific objectivity.

Larry Gawel, Land : Mine runs through March 28 in the Garden of the Zodiac Gallery, 1042 Howard Street. Call 402-341-1877, email gardenofthezodiac@gmail.com or visit the Garden of the Zodiac page on Facebook.

—Janet L. Farber

February 17

Rosebud Baker

Omaha Funny Bone 17305 Davenport St.

Natural Curiosity

TEDxOmaha

Ignite

fer their interpretations of what it means to “ignite.” To reserve tickets for the virtual event, visit tedxomahatickets.com.

—Alex Preston

February 19

All About the Art RBR G

The 15th annual Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards climaxes Feb. 28 on Facebook, but if you missed seeing the nominated artists last year, it’s understandable. OEAA gets it.

So does John Rogers, owner of RBR Gallery, who is organizing the Visual Arts Showcase for the third time. The showcase features more than 30 nominees exhibiting paintings, fine art prints, fiber arts, video, 3D/sculpture, photographs and images of large mural projects.

Online

TEDxOmaha is returning this year with an online event Feb. 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The theme is “Ignite,” which was initially chosen for the 10th anniversary event in 2020. TEDxOmaha decided to bring back the theme to reflect the year of tremendous change and turmoil that we just experienced.

This year’s speakers, including Dr. Jasmine Marcelin, Dr. Roger Firestein, Dr. Pat Friman and Dr. Brenda Hopkins Miranda, will share inspirational stories and ideas from their unique perspectives, as well as of-

The showcase opens at RBR G Feb. 19, from 5 to 9 p.m., and continues through March 6. Nominees include such familiar faces as Barber, Shawnequa Linder and Watie White, as well as emerging artists Thalia Rogers, Lauren Scheele and Anthony Pena, among others.

Nominees must deliver to RBR G by Feb. 13. Details are available at www.rbrg.org or info@rbrg.org.

Viewers are expected to wear masks and maintain social distancing.

—Michael J. Krainak

Garden of the Zodiac The Garden of the Zodiac Gallery once again brings past and present together with the opening of Larry Gawel’s exhibition Land : Mine on Feb. 11.

Gawel, a professor of photography at Metropolitan Community College, prefers old school forms of photography, making dryplate tintypes, lumens tintypes (a form of cameraless solar printmaking) and gelatin silver prints from film negatives rather than digital cameras.

An avid gardener, hunter and fisherman, Gawel describes his still life images of fallen leaves and dead

New York-based comedian Rosebud Baker takes the stage for a special engagement at the

FEBRUARY 2021

17

F E A T U R E

Inside the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards

by Paul B. Allen IV

A

fter 15 years, the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards has become an institution. A chance for Omaha to celebrate its artists and their works, praise those artists with a lifetime of work behind them and give a boost to new artists who might need one.

The celebration of people in our community and their accomplishments can instill a sense of pride in the city. And for those artists who thrive on competition, nothing gets them motivated like being labeled the “best of” something.

The OEAAs give us the opportunity to dress up, hit the red carpet and be around the artists we admire. It means parties, fanfare and a general loosening of our social interactions for a night. Unfortunately, those social interactions will be limited this year due to … well, you already know. However, on the plus side, the event, which will take place virtually on Feb. 28, will be free this year.

photo by Catherine Bosley

much-needed exposure for artists, placing their work before curators of the scene who judge what is worthy of accolades.

Jave Yoshimoto, 2019’s Outstanding Visual Artist

OEAAs have deepened their voice in the areas of social justice, arts and public health with acknowledgements and presentations on these subjects.

The Union for Contemporary Art and the Culxr House will be recognized for their work at the intersection of social justice and the arts, and Dr. Ali Khan, dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, will discuss staying safe during the pandemic. There will be performances by R&B band Enjoli & Timeless and blues artist Sebastian Lane. This will no doubt be a very entertaining livestreamed event.

The Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards are unique in that they comClarence Tilton is Up for an bine several arts

Outstanding Country award

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2019’s Outstanding Emerging Visual Artist: Barber

FEBRUARY 2021

categories in one show. It’s like the Grammys, the Tonys and the Art Directors Guild awards wrapped into one, which is a reflection of the size of the artist community here.

The importance of the “Best New…” category is huge, and it’s usually the most popular category of the night. The reason awards shows are important to a city’s arts and entertainment scene is they provide

As with any awards show, especially those held in smaller communities, there is always a question about whether or not the process to pick winners is fair. The Omaha Entertainment and Arts awards are no exception. It is a tricky thing to get a community to trust the fairness of an awards show. Even harder in a close-knit community like we have here in Omaha. “Everybody knowing everybody” is part of the reason some distrust the process. To some, it seems that each year the same artists get nominated, and some of those same artists always win.

The process comes into question and the politics of the scene will sometimes have the public and individuals who vote in the winners at odds.

Knowing how important a local awards show can be to a

BlueBarn Theatre’s production of “Indecent,” WON 9 AWARDS BY THE END OF LAST YEAR’S OEAA SHOW

F E A T U R E Jocelyn is nominated again for Outstanding Pop

thriving arts community, it becomes imperative to understand the OEAA’s process to be able to trust it. Writer Chris Bowling, in an article for Omaha Magazine in 2020, broke down the process. In a nutshell, it starts with us, the public. We nominate our favorite local artists in each category, which are determined by the OEAA’s board of directors. The board takes those nominations and puts together voting ballots based on their total number.

Those ballots go to the OEAA Committee, a group of established artists, journalists and industry pros, which votes on the winners. Speaking with a member of the OEAA Committee who wished to remain anonymous, I learned there are struggles in the process relating to how familiar the committee is with the artists nominated by the public. It can be a lot of work to research the artists and then decide on how to vote.

The member I spoke to stressed that the whole process is a very big job that has no malicious intent behind it whatsoever. The board and the committee refine the process every year.

Implementation of the “Lifetime Achievement Award,”

which rotates across categories, highlights and celebrates whole bodies of work over the lifespan of an artist and is a helpful addition for those “familiar names” that have been showing up in the nominations every year.

I was invited to sit in on one of the music nomination sessions this year. As we went through the list of nominees, I was impressed by the knowledge of those involved and the diligence displayed when making sure the work of deserving artists did not go unnoticed for extemporaneous reasons. I got a clearer understanding on how we can maintain fairness the way the process is set up now.

Nominating artists is how we, the public, can help ensure fairness and diversity and spotlight the artists who we think deserve to have their names included.

And after the arduous process is finally complete, we all get to dress up and experience the awards ceremony with all of its celebratory grandeur. Even if we have to sit at home in our tux or gown this year. The OEAAs are a crucial piece to a thriving music, stage and arts scene in Omaha, and it is worth our participation and attention.

FEBRUARY 2021

19

H O O D O O

Pandemic Blues

Zoo Bar launches a Patreon membership opportunity, Playing With Fire announces 2021 summer dates and more

by B.J. Huchtemann

I

n December, Lincoln’s Zoo Bar launched a Patreon Zoo Bar +Plus membership program. A member only needs to commit to an $8 per month minimum donation through the Patreon platform to support the club. In return, plans are in the works for exclusive live-streaming shows for members in the coming months, along with discounts for merchandise. Once it’s safe to hold shows at a reasonable capacity, the bar intends to offer special membership perks, including reduced prices for member admission to select shows. Co-owner Pete Watters also sees an opportunity to support new bands by offering members low-dough or free admissions to check out new talent. Visit patreon. com/zoobar for details or to sign up and support this historic venue.

Running a successful music venue is a challenge in the best of times, and the Zoo Bar +Plus membership program hopes to help the small Lincoln club until shows can begin again. The bar has hosted a few selected, socially distanced shows, but mostly the stage has been dark. The bar is open currently 3-11 p.m. daily and at noon on Sundays and will continue to operate according to the city of Lincoln’s COVID-19 guidelines for bar service with socially distanced measures and masks required. A large amount of merchandise is available for sale both at the club and online at shirts101.store/zoo_bar.

The late Larry Boehmer was the first to book live music at the Zoo Bar in 1973, setting the standard for decades of excellence. Boehmer ultimately became sole owner of the bar, and as talent booker he was seen as a tastemaker in the Midwest blues scene. Many a band felt they’d gotten a big break on the touring scene if Boehmer liked and booked them. Boehmer and the bar were recognized as Club of the Year in 1993 with a Keeping the Blues Alive award from the Blues Foundation. And in recent years, the Zoo

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has been nominated for Venue of the Year in honky-tonker Dale Watson’s Ameripolitan Awards. The bar is two years older than Austin’s famous Antone’s blues nightclub. The club was also the focus of UNL History Professor Patrick Jones’ spring 2019 History Harvest class, which focuses on documenting local history. Jones and his students spent considerable time recording interviews and scanning archival posters, with the online exhibit still pending.

2021 will mark 48 years of operation for the Zoo Bar. Longtime manager Pete Watters took over the club when Boehmer retired in 2000 alongside Boehmer’s two sons, Tim and Jeff. Watters has become the main public face of the bar and has continued Boehmer’s tradition of putting the best artists onstage for local audiences. The Zoo has also continued to present an annual anniversary summer street festival, ZooFest, sidelined for the first time in decades by COVID-19 last year.

Keep up with the latest announcements at zoobar.com and facebook.com/zoobarblues. For a deep-dive into the bar’s history, visit my archived version of the Zoo Bar story compiled from interviews for previous Reader articles by searching “Zoo Bar” at hoodoorootsblues. blogspot.com. For more information see zoobar.com and facebook. com/zoobarblues.

Blues Society of Omaha Stays Live With the large capacity of its anchor venue, Stocks ‘n’ Bonds, the Blues Society of Omaha has continued its Thursday 6-9 p.m. live shows. The events are socially distanced with masks required, following local ordinances. Thursday, Feb. 4, Indigenous, led by blues-rock guitar star Mato Nanji, takes the stage. Thursday, Feb. 11, vocalist and harmonica player Tony Holiday from Memphis is up.

Thursday, Feb. 18, the Josh Vowell Blues Band from Topeka performs.

FEBRUARY 2021

Kansas City’s Stone Cutters Union plays Thursday, Feb. 25.

Visit the BSO’s Facebook page at facebook.com/bluessocietyofomaha for updates, other late-breaking information and related blues shows.

Matt Cox CD Release Popular local roots/Americana singer-songwriter Matt Cox is celebrating a new CD release. Find out more and preview the new music at mattcoxmusic.net. Cox wrote all the tunes, played all the instruments, recorded and mixed the new project, titled Bandits, during the pandemic. It’s available on all the usual digital platforms.

Hot Notes Other local venues still offering live roots music include The B. Bar, facebook.com/theb.baromaha, and jazz club The Jewell, jewellomaha. com. Check their websites and Facebook events listings for updates on performance offerings.

One Percent Productions is focusing selected performances plus a partnership with Rave On Productions to present theatre in The Waiting Room space. Rave On’s production of the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch will play throughout February. The Waiting Room has also been presenting comedy shows, with Jeremy Piven scheduled for two nights starting Friday, May 7. In music bookings, Brandy Clark is currently scheduled for Friday, April 16, and Southern Culture on the Skids is up Tuesday, May 18. The legendary Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives are just that — incomparable — and they return to The Waiting Room Wednesday, Oct. 20. Find details at onepercentproductions.com.

Unrelated to the pandemic, Fremont’s Corner Bar closed its doors in November. The owner, Tammy Hespen Trahan, had listed the bar space for sale in the summer of

Americana artist Matt Cox has a new CD out, the product of his 2020 pandemic time at home photo by Chip Duden Photography

2019, deciding to retire and focus on her grandchildren. The bar celebrated its 39th anniversary in 2020.

Fremont’s LifeHouse shelter has taken over the building. Their thrift store will occupy the ground floor, and the upper floors will be redeveloped as housing for community members in need.

The Hi-Fi House in the Blackstone district has gone on hiatus due to the pandemic and will be giving up its physical space, according to founder Kate Dussault, who made the announcement on Facebook. The listening club has been closed for almost a year, according to Dussault, who added “[we] hope to re-emerge at a future date elsewhere.”

Playing With Fire founder and promoter Jeff Davis is making plans for two weekends of Playing With Fire free concerts along with some other summer live music events.

Mark your calendar for Friday and Saturday, July 16 and 17, and August 13 and 14. Full details will be available soon at playingwithfireomaha.net.

A

R

T

very becoming Seven make good impreSSion in g1516’S firSt ‘emerging artiStS’ group exHibit

By Kent Behrens at the former’s location at 16th and Leavenworth.

Amplify Arts’ Program Director Peter Fankhauser offered this as the venue’s definition: “Artists in the early stages of their creative development, with 2 to 10 years of generative experience, a focused direction and goals, a developing artistic “voice,” who have yet to be substantially celebrated within their field, the media, or funding circles.”

VIEWABLE IN PRINT ONLY

TalberT Reflection of PoweR, 2019

Searching the term on the web only confounds the issue; it appears that arts writers and curators are in little agreement about this somewhat new and seemingly overused label. What they do agree on, mostly, is these artists evolving presence and reputation.

The exhibit, which takes good advantage of G1516’s excellent space, features the work of seven local contemporary artists at varying levels of experience and renown.

Gallery 1516’s Assistant Curator Suzi Eberly tapped into Amplify Arts extensive roster to serve as guide through the forest of those transpiring from unknown to known.

Together, they assembled a group of local talent, as described in the show’s accompanying pamphlet, “that reexamines and rewrites traditional artistic narratives.”

One possible enlightenment is the recent collaboration of Omaha’s Gallery 1516 and the art center Amplify Arts which resulted in an exhibit, appropriately titled Emerging Artists, which opened Sept. 13

Gallery Director Pat Drickey said the show was “put together as a kind of precursor and complement to the upcoming Spring 2021 Biennial.” In addition, it satiates the recent virus-induced dearth of art

H

ave you ever found yourself asking “What exactly is an emerging artist?” Is it as obvious as it sounds or is there more there than meets the eye?

22

Neil Griess BluRRed landscaPe, 2019

shows; group shows have always been a good way to show more work to more people.

Prior to the completion, Eberly moved away, but still consults with the gallery. Subsequent curation and installation was then taken up by the staff at 1516. This transient collaboration yielded a group of seven artists at different stages of their careers: Camille Hawbaker Voorhees, Shawnequa Linder, Jenna Johnson, Neil Griess, Tom White, Patty Talbert, and Anne Dovali. Depending on your frequency of gallery visits in the area, a few of these names may be new to you, and

INTRIGUING, ISN’T IT?

OCTOBER 2020

shawNequa lindeR scotch and soda, 2020

F I L M

The Top 10 TV Shows of 2020 We’ll never stop talking about this year, will we?

by Ryan Syrek

B

3 – What We Do in the Shadows (FX; available on Hulu)

ig-time, super-famous movie actors and film directors now do TV shows whenever they want without sullying their reputations. Ergo, I can do the same thing, right? I’m going to say yes, if only because my reputation is unsullyable by this point.

Thanks to streaming services popping up like somebody let a gremlin ride a slip-n-slide, humans watched more television than ever before. Don’t fact check me on that, just know I’d never lie to you. Personally, with less fancy-schmancy blockbuster movie releases, my intake of TV spiked to the point where my blood type was HBO-positive. Heyo!

Because shows don’t spoil once the calendar rolls over, here is a list of what your eyes should be snorting in binge-tastic fashion if you haven’t yet.

The Best Shows of Last Year 10 – Fargo

(FX; available on Hulu)

Noah Hawley’s anthology series about Midwestern crimes did a full-on 1950s Kansas City gang war this year, and yet somehow people hated it?! I’m sorry, did they not see Jessie Buckley as a murderin’ nurse, Timothy Olyphant as a Mormon? Marshall Raylan Givens, or Jason Schwartzman’s mustache?

Chris Rock’s tough-guy acting is a wall worth climbing over for a show with a vast web of connected, compelling, cuckoo-crazy characters.

9 – Raised By Wolves (HBO Max) A pair of androids play mommy and daddy to what could be the last human children in what feels like Ridley Scott’s third Prometheus movie. I mean that last part as a compliment! Religious fanaticism, a bonkers-gory murder spree and ample pontification on the meaning of life combine to form a wicked bit of sci-fi everyone should get in on.

22

In one of the year’s best shows, DEVS, Nick Offerman squares off against someone almost as powerful as Leslie Knope: God. Photo credit: FX.

8 – Lovecraft Country

(HBO Max)

Because we can’t physically resurrect racists and kill them again, reappropriating the things they created is as satisfying a revenge as we’re capable. Misha Green’s adaptation of Matt Ruff’s novel is basically a quasi-anthology show that drops an across-the-board brilliant cast of Black actors into a different societal and literal nightmare each week. From the divine use of cosmic horror to the thoughtful use of genre gimmicks to explore racial inequity, this is the smartest show to ever call Cthulhu.

7 – Middleditch & Schwartz (Netflix) I have rewatched the three episodes of this improv comedy no fewer than five times. A coffee mug in my house has a line of dialogue from the show on it. Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz prove, once again, that while bad improv has to be what hell feels like, good improv can leave your tum-tum aching with laughter. Try to have a bad time, I dare you.

6 – The Last Dance (ESPN; available on Netflix) If for no other reason, you have to watch this absolutely perfect Michael Jordan documentary to understand all the memes it gave us.

Look, I get that the Venn diagram of people who love cinema and

FEBRUARY 2021

prestige TV and people who know what a John Paxson is doesn’t overlap much. What I can promise is that, even if you generally don’t do sports, this profile of the maniacal, narcissistic insanity that it takes to be the greatest at what you do will be infatuating.

5 – Pen15 (Hulu) Coming-of-age entertainment is so clichéd and stale, I bet the second generation of cavepeople were already bored looking at blood/feces on walls about it. Along come Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle with the funniest, most-heartfelt look at awkward adolescence ever filmed.

The effect of the two comedians playing themselves at 13 years old, amid a cast of actual teens, is somehow equally as revealing/insightful as it is hilarious. It is far less “nostalgia porn” and far more successfully sincere than it has any right to be.

4 – Devs

(FX; available on Hulu) Since you’re already probably contemplating mortality, the afterlife and the potential for some degree of time travel, why not watch a coldly beautiful TV show about it? Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) is quickly cornering the market on gorgeously upsetting, hardcore science-fiction. Even President Barack Obama loved this one, so come watch Ron Swanson poke God in the eye!

If you haven’t watched Matt Berry transform his vampire character into the legendary Jackie Daytona, you have missed arguably the finest half hour of entertainment in the past year. Whatever I expected from this spinoff of Taika Waititi’s mockumentary, it wasn’t this good.

The show is somehow growing its wacky mythology while inhabiting the space The Office dearly departed. Cleverly raunchy and wryly hilarious, everyone needs in on this one.

2 – The Mandalorian (Disney Plus) In any other year, maybe this show doesn’t place this high for me. The hellish, despondent nature of 2020 made nostalgic escapism feel that much sweeter. To be clear, I am a Last Jedi devotee and do not want Star Wars to forever stay a navel-gazing chronicle of one family amid an entire sprawling galaxy. I do, however, want to see space monk kung fu and adorable puppets inside a space Western.

While I can acknowledge this is likely ranked too far toward the top, I have to admit this is the show that I looked forward to most each week.

Take note, other services: It’s good to have things to look forward to each week right now.

1 – The Good Place (NBC; available on Netflix) This is easily one of the best television shows of my lifetime.

Hilarious from start to finish, no show has ever before done more to coax those of us with crippling fears about mortality into normalcy.

When it wasn’t making me snort laugh about Jacksonville or feel tender-hearted about characters whose varied personalities captured all of humanity, it was putting forth a forceful argument for how we should behave as decent people. That sure feels needed now more than ever. In fact, I think I’m gonna go rewatch it now.

F I L M YOU ARE NOT ALONE...

Wonder Woman 1984 Doesn’t Exist

Where’s Borat? This is a prank, right?

I

by Ryan Syrek

almost never check my Facebook messages, on account of that site helping to facilitate fascist costume parties at the Capitol building and such. I recently stumbled upon a note from a non-friend that had been sitting in my FB inbox for years. It simply read “Disney’s bitch” and had a link to my Justice League review.

That is all the evidence I need for the following claim: Wonder Woman 1984 is a hoax.

It is a trick. A trap. A ruse. It is not an actual film. Warner Bros. spent $200 million to waste 2.5 hours of everyone’s life as a small measure of revenge. “You think we’re dumb? We’ll show you dumb!” was the only studio note on the entire script, which doesn’t exist, because this is all fake. It has to be.

The alternative is that people actually thought the following would make for a good movie:  Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) spends 60-plus years sad about a boy (Chris Pine). Despite shifting the balance of World War I, she’s so super bummed about dead boyfriend, she lets Hitler do whatever and goes to work at the Smithsonian. Presumably she spends her free time stroking dead boyfriend’s photo.  A magic rock brings dead boyfriend back in 1984! But not in his own body, for reasons known only to the magic rock. Wonder Woman then has sex with that man’s body, which now has dead boyfriend’s soul in it or something.

That’s not legally rape, but it’s not not rape.  Magic rock becomes welded to Ronald Drumpf or whatever Pedro Pascal’s character’s name is. He then gets people to wish for things, which allows him to take things from those people. It’s like a monkey’s paw thing, and they didn’t even call him Monkey Paw.  One of Wonder Woman’s colleagues (Kristen Wiig) at the Smithsonian wishes for Monkey Paw to turn her into “an apex predator,” which is such a clichéd wish, right? Like, genies pop out of lamps and instantly say “I know you want to be an ‘apex predator,’ but what

do you want for the other two wishes?”

Anyway, she becomes Dumb Dumb Tigger or whatever Jellicle name Taylor Swift didn’t use up.  Wonder Woman appears in costume as Wonder Woman only 3-4 times and just once in the first hour and a half. During one of the bigger fight scenes, dead boyfriend has to save her a bunch. Also, he is the one that gets to fly the invisible jet, despite not being alive when radar was invented.  The ending hinges on the idea that literal terrorists would surrender their wishes for global destruction if they were simply asked nicely. Oh, and those terrorists are all horrendous Arab stereotypes. The several scenes set in the Middle East are among the most racist things I’ve seen this side of the aforementioned fascist costume party.

I’m supposed to believe that all really happened? GTFOH. In all seriousness, the film clearly aimed for campy, Richard Donner’s Superman–style shenanigans and missed.

Badly. Nothing works here. Gadot is anti-charismatic. Cheetah is a half-finished effects nightmare that Dwayne Johnson’s Scorpion King had. Despite being purposefully set in the 1980s, there is no 80s music really involved. There are consent issues, racism and, more than anything, mind-numbing boredom.

I don’t know that Wonder Woman 1984 is the worst movie I’ve ever seen. I do know that, in all sincerity, it made me like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice more, and Jesse Eisenberg gives Holly Hunter a jar of pee in that.

After being called a fat pig by Vincent Gallo for calling his film, The Brown Bunny, the worst film in the history of Cannes, Roger Ebert said “I may be fat, one day I will be thin, but Vincent Gallo will always be the director of The Brown Bunny.”

I may be “Disney’s bitch,” but the person who sent me that Facebook message will probably watch Wonder Woman 1984 more than once.

Grade = F-

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F E A T U R E

Four funeral directors.

One month. 60 deaths.

by Lindsay Seldera

W

hen COVID-19 hit Omaha, businesses scrambled to do whatever they could to keep their staff and clients safe.

Many shops, restaurants and bars closed their doors entirely for the first few months of the pandemic to enable workers to quarantine. Other companies sent staff to work from home in droves as the pandemic ravaged cities across America.

For Omaha’s last responders, closing the doors wasn’t an option. These essential workers continued working almost behind the scenes of the pandemic.

For Kremer Funeral Home in Benson, quarantining was not possible. Funeral director Maranda Harouff recounted the beginning of the pandemic as a hectic time of change for the industry.

“We started quarantining in April, and we stopped in May because it was too crazy,” she said.

In a normal month, the funeral home sees about one cremation per day.

“Now with COVID season, we have had months where we’ve doubled, where we’ve had 60-70 people in our busiest month.”

Harouff is one of just four funeral directors at Kremer.

While many Omahans were enjoying holiday gatherings,

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Harouff and the other staff at Kremer were working.

of in nursing homes just letting go.”

mail you the ashes or you can come pick them up.’”

“Our busiest month was actually November,” she said.

One family lost their matriarch to the disease recently, Harouff said, but they don’t believe COVID was solely to blame. “COVID got her broken heart,” they explained to Harouff.

The mass death of COVID-19 has affected everyone, no matter how well-prepared or experienced they are in supporting families through loss.

The home keeps track of everyone for its books, and since

“I’m probably more cautious than other people just because I see the deaths from it, and I see it a lot.”

— Maranda Harouff the pandemic has begun highlighting every COVID death in red.

“It’s a lot of red in November,” Harouff said, shaking her head. “Over the holidays, we worked a lot.”

Even all that red highlighting doesn’t account for every COVID-19 death the funeral home has seen.

Harouff said she believes much of the increase in volume over the past months has been due to COVID-19 indirectly.

She said restrictions are a double-edged sword.

“People in nursing homes can’t see their loved ones,” she said. “I think that’s one of the reasons why people are kind

FEBRUARY 2021

Restrictions on funeral attendance for a time compounded the heaviness of all this death. A temporary 10-person limit made for impossible conversations with grieving families.

“I’m the eldest of five kids. If you were to tell me ‘10 people...’” Harouff takes a deep breath. “That’s hard.”

For everyone’s safety, in many instances the most difficult and painful conversations are happening via email as families struggling in the aftermath of the disease are stuck in quarantine.

Harouff, who lost her best friend when she was in high school, went into the funeral business to personally help families in the grieving process. She never expected she would be arranging services over email.

Whereas she used to be able to sit down with loved ones and share meaningful moments of human connection, “doing stuff online, it’s more of a ‘Here are the documents.

Fill them out and we can either

“Sometimes stuff gets to you,” Harouff said simply.

Harouff’s normal method of coping with the difficulties of her job is by taking a very hands-on approach to supporting loved ones of the deceased.

“Helping a family, that’s like my coping,” she said.

But with the pandemic, Harouff faces twice the amount of death with scarce opportunities to share in-person moments with her clients. The connection isn’t the same.

As normal coping methods remain out of reach in many cases, the threat of burnout looms alongside the threat of COVID for last responders.

Self-care practices have taken on a dire importance for both mental and physical health.

For Harouff that means spending time with her dog and occasionally escaping home for socially distanced visits with her family. She is also grateful for chances to safely meet up with other funeral directors having the same experience.

F E A T U R E Maranda Harouff, director of Kremer Funeral Home. Photo by Josh Foo.

The physical health piece is a little more complicated for last responders. They are implementing practices to keep themselves safe wherever possible, but exposure is inevitable.

“It [the virus] is still on the body when someone dies. We do embalmings, and people still have it,” Harouff said.

Picking up the deceased from nursing homes presents another high-risk challenge, as last responders do all they can to prevent themselves from potentially exposing nursing home staff and residents to the virus.

“We get tested a lot through Test Nebraska,” Harouff said.

Despite these risks and the continual exposure to remains

with the virus, funeral directors were placed behind many other frontline workers in second-tier priority to receive the vaccine.

“I just feel like some people kind of forget about us, because no one likes to talk about death,” Harouff said. “A lot of people are scared of it, especially now.”

In addition to social distancing when possible, Harouff said Kremer employs N95 masks, gowns, updated ventilation equipment and “PPE everywhere” to protect its staff.

“I’m probably more cautious than other people just because I see the deaths from it,” Harouff said. “And I see it a lot.”

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M E M O R I A M photo coutesy of Thomas Funeral Home

Shirley Tyree Age 82 - January 12, 2021 A Pioneer for Omaha Girls and Public Schools In mid-January of 2021, North Omaha lost a cherished matriarch and pioneer for Omaha Public Schools. Shirley Tyree was a fierce advocate for Omaha Public Schools’ students and staff while serving on the OPS board for 20 years.

Tyree, 82, died Jan. 12 in her home surrounded by family members after her battle with blood cancer.

community through her talent, then she blessed the community with her daughter, local legend, “Omaha’s Own Queen of Soul,” Kathy Tyree.

“Who could ask for anything more?” said Green. “I did have the opportunity numerous times to see the two of them sing together, which was outstanding.”

Tyree is also well-known in the local theatre community in Omaha with her appearances at the Omaha Community Playhouse, the Dundee Dinner Theater and the Center Stage. Along with her daughter, Kathy, Tyree is survived by her three sons: Darwin Seals of Omaha, Curtis Tyree of Las Vegas and DJ Tyree of Omaha; stepdaughter Antoinette Russ of Omaha; sister: Vyree (Karl) Russell of Omaha; godsister: Beatrice Coleman; goddaughter: Lisa Tarver of Omaha; 17 grandchildren; and 22 greatgrandchildren.

(Reprinted with permission from NOISEOmaha.com, written by Elle Love)

Former Omaha Public Schools Director Luanne Mainelli Nelson, who worked with Tyree, said she had “a calm and direct way getting her point across when discussing issues impacting her OPS family.”

Carolyn Green of Girls Inc. said Tyree generously gave her smile to those who had the opportunity to work with her.

I N

M E M O R I A M

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Nelson added, “Shirley also had a great sense of humor and a delightful witty personality.” Many who worked with Tyree remember her leadership and integrity along with her tough yet loving approach with the young women she mentored in Girls Inc.

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“She was good with the girls. She was like the grandma hand with the girls when she interacted with them,” said Girls Inc. Director of Health Carolyn Green, who hired her to be a part-time mentor.

Submit an online In Memoriam (starting at $50) or a print In Memoriam (starting at $30) with The Reader.

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“Whenever you saw her, she is just a very happy person, just a very happy spirit,” noted Green.

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Carolyn Green remembered breezing by Tyree’s office door hearing her humming and singing, which would make her linger by her door to hear more. “I didn’t stick my head in the door because then she would stop and talk so I would just slowly pass, but whenever she does talk with others, there’s always a smile on her face.”

Green said Tyree brought a lot of joy to the Omaha

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FEBRUARY 2021

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c r o s s w o r d AnswerS in next next month’s issue or online at TheReader.com

Must Be ‘21 to Enter

happy new year to you!

by Matt Jones

Across

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1. “21 ___” (2003 Sean Penn film)

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6. Go on and on

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10. 1982 movie with a 2010 sequel 14. Quick text that’s usually abbreviated even more 15. Pilot’s prefix 16. Mandlikova of tennis 17. “Raging Bull” boxer Jake La ___ 18. Person, place, or thing, in grammar 19. One of many for “Game of Thrones”

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20. Band whose album “No Need to Argue” features the track “Twenty One” (followed by their biggest hit, “Zombie”)

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24. Largest continent 25. Trivia locale, once (and hopefully in the future) 28. “Frozen” snowman 31. “Great British Bake Off” fixtures 35. Ending for suburban 36. Rattled 38. Actress Falco of “The Sopranos” 39. 1950s news involving Charles Van Doren and “Twenty-One” 43. Primal calling

44. Holiday spread 45. Kind of wind or will 46. Opposite combatant 48. “Live!” cohost for 20+ years 49. 1994 and 1997 U.S. Open winner Ernie 50. Icicle lights locale 53. “Skyfall” actor Rapace 55. Place to play Twenty-One 62. Penguins’ milieu 63. Former “Whose Line” host Carey

64. “Spunk” author Zora ___ Hurston

Down

54. Draw ___ on (take aim at) 55. Waxing target

58. Ancient British Isles settler

1. Workout facility

10. Poem with the line “Darkness there and nothing more”

2. Square or cube follower

11. “Mr. Robot” actor Malek

3. Short story-writer?

12. “The joke’s ___!”

61. Airline to Jerusalem

4. Inaudible on Zoom, maybe

13. Some House votes

65. Language suffix

69. Calamities 70. Bigfoot’s Tibetan cousin

5. Full of legroom

71. Singer with the Grammy-winning album “21”

7. Florida explorer Ponce de ___

66. Present prefix 67. “Rondo ___ Turca” (Mozart piece) 68. Casual goodbyes

6. “Munich” star Eric

59. “The Bridge on the River ___” 60. Hurrying, maybe

© 2021 Matt Jones

21. “Lord of the Flies” leader 22. 2014 World Cup final city 25. Irritated state

8. Caribbean island near Venezuela

26. Half a 360

9. Skeletal makeup

29. Starting on

27. Neutral, blah color 30. Less numerous

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AnsweR to last month’s “Join Up” T A D A I M A Y G A M U T

E N O S

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S U R N A T S M Y H E P O O U H L I I D E V E A R T N E A A D P

O F F L A R D I E R E B S A E A R T T I M A D M T A P C A H I N I T E N O L E

R E P U B L I C A N

B E T W E E N U S I G O R

I V E T E R P I S O D E A C K A G E S D E S S E S S E A N T L L G O O N O P O S E T H E L L O A R S O N S S E N C R A M O T T O M E R I O L E S E P R E S S

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C O M I C S Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau

which deaths matter? by Jen Sorensen

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FEBRUARY 2021

TED RALL

H E A R T L A N D

H E A L I N G

Better than Butter

by Michael Braunstein

B

ack in the 1970s, America went on a kick-the-fat binge.

Industrial food shills in concert with the medical mafia vilified fat. But they went too far. They targeted all fat as bad. Thankfully, the obsession has waned. One reason is that we are learning to eat more holistically. That means people are remembering that food exists on this planet in ways that provide us with whole, synergistic nutrition.

The more we try to redesign food, the more we screw it up.

By the end of the 1970s, foods had become so processed that they hardly resembled anything found in nature. Milk is a perfect example that persists today. With modern milk, industrial dairies collect the effluent from thousands of different cow udders from dozens of different industrial dairies. They transport, then mix that liquid in giant vats at processing plants. The milk is deconstructed into its various components, extracting the milk fat, solids, water and then processed with heat and centrifugal force. The components are then reassembled to formulate liquids with varying levels of fat. By doing away with fat, we were led to believe that humans were creating a healthier food. Nice try.

Certainly some fats are not so good for human consumption. But those are the ones concocted by humans. For almost 100 years, trans fatty acids, aka “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” fats, were the darling of the food industry. Invented in the 1890s, what a boon they seemed to be. First marketed as “Crisco,” this type of fat was created by the unnatural marriage of hydrogen and liquid fat. Scientists found that hydrogenating fat allowed higher cooking temperatures, longer shelf life and that fats would remain solid at room temperature. The invention spawned new versions of foods impossible without hydrogenated oils, among them the donut, the French fry and oleomargarine.

sands of years and is produced by gently heating butter churned from cow’s milk. The uninitiated sometimes refer to ghee as clarified butter. Calling ghee “clarified butter” is as inaccurate as calling yogurt “spoiled milk.”

Crisco Kid was a Friend of Mine Dietary trans fats were virtually unknown before the 1900s.

When food industrialists realized that cheap, abundant corn oil and byproduct vegetable fats could be treated with metals and hydrogen to preserve shelf life and elevate cooking temperatures, they recognized the boon immediately. They modified the artificially concocted paste into oleomargarine.

In many of her published papers, Dr. Mary Enig questioned the propaganda campaign the trans fat and vegetable oil industry waged against animal fats beginning in the early 20th century. One of Dr. Enig’s early reports used data mined from a Congressional report. She found that heart attacks caused by arterial blockage were relatively rare in the early 1900s though Americans consumed copious amounts of animal fat. Most of the fat consumed then was naturally occurring animal fat.

Then, between 1909 and 1972, consumption of animal fats decreased dramatically while consumption of vegetable fats nearly tripled. By 1972, despite less animal fat consumption, heart disease had become the leading cause of death.

Animal fats are not the villains we’ve been led to believe.

Fats Domino Effect The late Vince Gironda trained scores of celebrities at his North Hollywood gym from the 1940s to the 1990s. Acknowledged as one of the first to recognize the value of proper nutrition in bodybuilding, Gironda’s expertise led people like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Clint Eastwood and a multitude of others to seek him out.

Gironda preached that in order to properly digest protein, we need the fat that goes along with it in nature. Lean organ meat was fine, but a cut of naturally raised beef has the perfect balance of protein-to-fat ratio for balanced digestion. What became a problem was when humans interfered with this balance by feeding cattle fat-promoting foods such as corn, grains and artificial growth hormones, thus artificially inducing more fat than nature would.

But animals that have been raised on healthy diets and in healthy circumstances produce fats that are actually good for us when part of a balanced diet.

Life in the Fats Lane Followers of the ancient Indian medical system known as ayurveda are familiar with ghee, pronounced with the hard “g” sound as in “geezer.” Ghee has been used for thou-

Preparation of ghee takes longer than simply melting butter because the transformation involves boiling off the water in butter and cooking off the milk fat solids. What is left is a very pure form of fat that will last for years on the shelf and is void of most of the fat solids. It’s been used for millennia with beneficial results.

Higher cooking temperatures, longer shelf life and allowed fat to remain solid at room temperature — sound familiar?

Ghee is believed to have medicinal properties that help remove toxins from the body. When infused with medicinal herbs, it enhances their beneficial effects.

Better with Butter.

Ask Brando.

Humans have been eating butter for thousands of years. It looks like we’re eating more real butter than ever. Reports confirm that butter sales in 2020 were up 20% for some leading producers. Good butter has good fats. My research says the best butter is raw (unpasteurized) from grass fed cows. Milk from cows raised fully on pasture is higher in many nutrients, including vitamin E, beta-carotene and the healthy fats omega-3 and CLA. Got that? Get fat.

Be well.

Heartland Healing is a metaphysically based polemic describing alternatives to conventional methods of healing the body, mind and planet. 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.

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When Will Live Music Return

?

Club owners and tour bookers point to late fall 2021

by Tim McMahan

I

n February last year we were all still living the dream.

Oh sure, we knew about COVID-19, but that was a China problem with a smattering of cases in Seattle. The virus wouldn’t slam into the East Coast for another month, and it wouldn’t be until after St. Patrick’s Day — the first holiday to really get cancelled — that cases would arrive in Omaha.

The last maskless rock show I attended was PUP at The Waiting Room March 4. Within a couple weeks, every rock show was cancelled. But even then, some of us thought the pandemic would be a short-lived respite from a rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, a mere inconvenience.

Now, almost a year later, a vaccine is slowly making its way across the country, and with it comes hope for the return of live music enjoyed standing side-by-side, without social distancing, without masks. But it’s still months away.

“It’s not like the floodgates are open, but things you would typically expect to see here are booking for fall 2021 and the following winter, with the latter looking more like something you would consider ‘normal,’” said The Slowdown’s owner/operator Jason Kulbel. The rock club’s next announced live music show features cover band Pet Rock April 16.

“Our calendar will be pretty light to start, just a handful of shows in April as we ease back into things,” Kulbel said.

Benson’s marquee music venue, The Waiting Room, is being a bit more aggressive. Its next live rock show is Tom Petty tribute act Ventura Blvd Feb. 13. That’s followed by touring country act Lo-

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gan Mize slated to perform March 19 and hip-hop artist Devin the Dude March 27.

Despite the city’s relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions at events, those shows will be seated, though they don’t have to be.

“The city restrictions allow us to host shows at 75% capacity, but we’re not doing that right away,” said Marc Leibowitz, who runs The Waiting Room and Reverb Lounge with business partner Jim Johnson.

“Our plan for February and March is to stay at our 160-capacity number, which means everyone will be seated at tables.”

Leibowitz is aware that some bars downtown and in West Omaha have been skirting the restrictions and have been packed with business as a result. “People don’t want to go to a place to wear their masks; they want to do what they want,” he said. “And those places aren’t enforcing shit.”

Not so in Benson, where he said bars like Krug Park are enforcing mask wearing and following city guidance even if it costs them business. “The Sydney is down 40%, and so is Krug,” Leibowitz said. “But we’re trying to be responsible.”

Leibowitz, who also runs music promotion company One Percent Productions, said a few out-oftown acts have confirmed for later this year: Built to Spill Aug. 14, Airborne Toxic Avenger Oct. 9 and Marty Stuart Oct. 20. “But that’s about it,” he said. “The rest are confirmed for next year. We’re still confirming shows for September through late 2021.”

Leibowitz hopes local acts will begin to fill his event calendar be-

FEBRUARY 2021

ginning in April as we await the return of touring acts. “People will want to get back on the road, but it takes time,” he said. “It’s not going to be April or May.” Leibowitz said getting vaccines in people’s arms will help move things along. Eric Dimenstein of Ground Control Touring agreed.

Dimenstein, who cofounded the national booking agency in 2000, books tours for some of the most popular indie acts in the country, including Bright Eyes, Yo La Tengo, Snail Mail and Lush.

“A lot depends on how this vaccine rolls out,” Dimenstein said. “If things all go well, we could see something happening in the fall.

“The difference between what Marc (Leibowitz) does and what I do is that Marc can book acts locally,” Dimenstein said. “Whereas I have to have all the Marcs in all 50 states be able to book shows.

You can’t have an artist play one state and then skip three states (because of restrictions). It has to make financial sense.”

the Small Business Administration, which is responsible for distributing the $15 billion pot, still hadn’t opened the application process.

“It’s a true lifeline for the industry and places just like (Slowdown),” Kulbel said.

Leibowitz said the grant amount could equal 45% of an entity’s gross earned revenue in 2019. “The grant money will allow us to climb out of debt to pay rent or staff,” he said. “Every venue has dug itself a hole.”

With grant money and a vaccine on the way, there’s a ray of hope for a turnaround, though one question still looms large: If you book it, will they come?

“Booking a show is one thing, but not knowing how comfortable people will be with ‘getting back out there’ poses an additional set of problems,” Kulbel said. “The old rules/data/gut feelings of ‘this band will bring in X, so I will pay them Y’ are out the window.”

Leibowitz is more optimistic.

Dimenstein said he spent down time during the pandemic as a founding member of the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO), which, along with the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), helped lobby music fans to get Congress to pass legislation that will financially help music venues and the people who work behind the scenes.

“People are going to come back and in full force, but what day that happens is anyone’s guess,” he said. “People are ready to see live music again. They don’t want to see live streams; they don’t want to sit down for rock shows. They’re waiting for general admission shows. Let’s get through this, get a new president and get an actual plan in place.”

The lobbying paid off as funds were allocated in the last round of COVID-19 relief legislation signed into law in January. Both Leibowitz and Kulbel said their businesses should be eligible to receive grants designated for “Shuttered Venue Operators,’ but as of Jan. 20,

Over The Edge is a monthly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, music, the media and the arts.

Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com.

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