Feb. 2, 2012

Smog test

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

OK, I’m trying to keep my cool. My car failed the smog test. I took it to my mechanic with a grocery list of problems the car was having with the intention of having repaired what I could afford to have repaired, starting with the reasons it failed the smog test: the catalytic converter and the crankshaft position sensor.

I replay the conversations in my head where I said I expected to spend about $1,000 (although one time I do know that I said $1,500). “If I spend a thousand bucks now, I’ll probably drive this car another five years.”

I also know we discussed making the smog problems a priority. But he was able to fix everything except the catalytic converter (which he’d have to send to a different shop). So I still have a red engine light on.

All that allowed me to get a waiver at DMV for the smog problems, but I’m a greenie. I don’t care if the state says I don’t have to pass smog. I want to pollute as little as possible.

The bottom line is $2,300 to fix a bunch of incidentals—the dash lights were dim, the dome light would flicker, the hatch door wouldn’t automatically lock, blah, blah—and a safety issue—some past mechanic screwed up my brakes. Then there was the starter and the rear brakes.

But here’s the thing. I trust my mechanic. I’m not even going to mention his name here for fear of someone getting the wrong idea. But daaammmn, man. There were times in the last couple of years when $2,300 could have cost me my house. That’s not an exaggeration. I’m just fortunate I’ve known the guy awhile so he’s letting me make payments. I’m fortunate my credit is good. I’m fortunate I have a tax refund coming.

But what if I had not tightened my belt to the point my face swells? What if I were out of a job or new in town? My kid has to get to school. I need to get to work.

What if I weren’t so damned lucky? What then?

—D. Brian Burghart brianb@newsreview.com

Point by point

Re “Welcome to the Machine”

(Feature story, Jan. 19): Don’t get me wrong, the disinformation and signing of National Defense Authorization Act, something author Burghart accurately called a “crime” in this article, is despicable and deplorable. However, the article could have been better without the liberal trimmings.

The only image I walked away with after reading the article was not that of an overbearing government, but a smiling, likable President Obama with the backdrop of the American flag and the caption “Obama” across the midriff. What’s with the thousandword endorsement? The only thing missing was his logo. Passersby, unable to read the article in its entirety might deduct the wrong conclusion and proceed to vote for one of the culprits.

Even the “14 characteristics of Fascism” was slanted. Not all, but some, notably.

1. Powerful and continuing expression of nationalism: We don’t have nationalism, that’s the problem. The Tea Party was destroyed/ridiculed for asserting people’s rights and the protection thereof from an encroaching, tyrannical government. The media as well as the progressive left disparaged these efforts.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights: “Human rights” are sloppy lump-sum assertions. Remember individual rights? That’s the good stuff. The individual [you] was held above the state so as not to be enslaved and/or trampled! Hence NDAA, eminent domain, bailouts, etc. Notice how that love for liberty shrinks the size and power of government?

3. Identification of enemies/ scapegoats as a unifying cause: President Obama actually gaffed during a speech and referred to Republicans as the “enemy.” He has an army of youth that dedicates songs to his glory. He claims that Congress is forcing him to act the part of dictator.

10. Power of labor suppressed. Labor, as in union? Shouldn’t that be the free market? Obama’s and Big Daddy’s concept of free markets are GSEs that fail (Solyndra/Freddy/ Fannie), moratoriums, bailouts, and pitting the average American business

owner against people who can print their own money. Labor we have. What we don’t have is a chance to compete fairly. There is nothing China makes that we didn’t invent. I wonder to this day why the Made in America ads were pulled.

14. Fraudulent elections: Does that include favorable media coverage, or free endorsements by RN&R? What about the obvious bigotry and disdain for candidates like Ron Paul (because he’s old), who happens to be the only viable solution for this country, by the way? He’s the only one turning away lobbyists, challenging the banks, the Fed and big government.

I guess, that is my point. If any endorsement needed to be included on this rather insightful article, which would have been better without the political slants, Ron Paul should have been your endorsement with a corresponding portrait complete with American flag. Fact: Ron Paul would have never signed NDAA, not today or 30 years ago, or taken 1.6 million from Freddy Mac, like Gingrich did. His platform is to re-establish the rule of law and sound money. He is the champion of liberty and individual rights. Welcome to the Machine Destroyer!

Mark Phillips

Via email

American made, foreign owned

Re “Hooray for Citizens United”

(Letters to the Editor, Jan. 19):

Citizens United is not a case of where the money is going after the corporations spend it on advertising in Nevada, but where the money originated. Take Barrick Corporation, for example. Barrick’s base of operations is in Canada. They are not an American corporation. If, or when, Barrick gets involved in Nevada politics, will it be for the good of Nevadans? The United States? Or their home country of Canada? I, and any other person in the world, can buy shares of stock in any American corporation. If enough non-Americans were to buy stock in the same corporation at what point does the corporation cease to be an American corporation? With only a few shares of stock, I can’t influence the decision making process of a major

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corporation, but what influence will someone with millions of shares have over the same decision?

If that person were Russian, Arab, Chinese or a citizen of one of our other trading partners, they may be working for the benefit of their stock portfolio, but are there secondary considerations that may benefit their country over ours? It is just a small step to nudge the corporate board to support one candidate over others, in the best interest of the corporation, of course. At that point, our election process will be handed over to citizens of foreign countries who may not have the best interests of the United States in mind. The legal system has determined that corporations have a right to be involved in the American election process, but who vets the citizenship of the corporations? Bayer Aspirin, German company; PepsiCola, the CEO was born in India. Products familiar to most Americans may not be U.S.-owned or operated. Until stockholders of corporations wishing to be involved in American politics are vetted to determine if the majority are Americans and the decisions made to support a candidate are made by Americans, it is in our interest to limit the participation of corporations regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court says.

Dewey Quong Reno

Fire on the mountain

I would like to thank the hundreds of first responders who fought to contain the recent Washoe Drive fire. I’m grateful that Nevada’s emergency personnel and valiant citizens acted swiftly to evacuate local communities. I am particularly moved by the local teachers from Pleasant Valley and elsewhere who exhibited courage while trying to keep Nevada’s children safe and calm while they exited local schools. Each one of you is a hero.

I followed the situation closely as the blaze grew Thursday afternoon. By Saturday morning, my immediate concerns were put to rest when the fire was contained. The resulting

damage, however, was extensive. My thoughts and best wishes are with all the victims of this terrible event.

Federal, state and local resources are moving quickly to ensure those affected by the fire have the necessary resources to rebuild. Personal possessions, memories and mementos cannot be recovered, but there is no doubt that the resilience of the Northern Nevada community will overcome recent challenges. We can accomplish so much when we work together.

U.S. Senator Harry Reid Searchlight

Sticky wicket

Re “Think twice about reviews” (Letters to the Editor, Jan. 19):

As a life-long newspaperman (now retired), I can see you’re in quite a predicament. Your restaurant writer, David Preston, who writes biased “reviews,” contacting the businesses he’s writing about before he publishes and never writing a negative word, is undermining your restaurant reviewer, K.J. Sullivan, who seems to go into restaurants without a predetermined outcome and honestly (if somewhat crudely) writes about the experience. Restaurants that get bad reviews—and their friends—call for her head.

It’s plain that this situation cannot stand. In these days of decreasing advertising revenues, most people wouldn’t blame you for letting her go and only doing promotional restaurant stories, as do other publications in the neighborhood. But won’t your readers who expect “truth” be disappointed? Yes, quite a predicament.

Ronald James Sparks

Correction

Re “Government-approved voters?” (News, Jan 26):

We reported that Sen. Greg Brower is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Exchange Council (ALEC). However, although he was a member of ALEC while he was in the Nevada Assembly, he is no longer a member.

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THIS MODERN WORLD

This is all true

There is nothing like writing an anti-smoking editorial to make a writer who’s trying not to smoke cigarettes want to light up. Everything’s a prompt, even an image of someone smoking—smoking through their tracheotomy hole—can make the lungs feel “itchy.” Abillboard of someone receiving open-heart surgery can launch the smoking urge. You think you’ve quit? Try walking across that bastion of great thought, the University of Nevada, Reno, through the occasional clouds of cigarette smoke—you’ll be patting your pockets for a lighter.

Take it from someone who has fought an addiction to cigarettes for more than 35 years—anything can be a trigger. You know the best cigarette of the day? It’s the first one after an hour of cardio at the gym.

There is nothing logical about addiction. Not for cigarette smoking, not for meth, not for know-it-all pretension.

You know who’s grossed out by those billboards and commercials of open-heart surgery? Non-smokers.

Does anyone in the United States of America believe there are some smokers who don’t know their little habit has the potential—not the guarantee—of causing health problems?

Does anyone really think that the negative reinforcement provided by an image of a blackened lung is going to make a smoker quit smoking? If so, it’s because they’ve never awakened after a night of drinking beer and smoking cigarettes with a mouth that tastes like someone took a shit in it. And then gone out to the deck for that satisfying first smoke of the day.

There is no one who starts smoking because the things taste good. (Except maybe for those clove and other flavored ciggies that the kids favor.) People start smoking because they like the image. People start smoking because

BY TOM TOMORROW

they’ve got a substance addiction issue—like chewing or hookah, or maybe their parents’second-hand smoke snared them. People start smoking because they like the image they project to other people: “I’m a rebel. I have no fear of death. I’m not going to let The Man tell me what I can do to my own body. Smoking is an affirmation of life.”

Think a threat of lung cancer is a deterrent? Smokers make jokes about it: “It’s got a lot better kick with just one lung.”

There are hundreds of thousands of people on the street who did not become addicted on their first cigarette. There are just as many who did. And nobody can look at their family history or in the mirror and know if they’re going to be one of the ones who don’t get addicted for their first 200 smokes. It’s just like with meth or heroin. It may literally be that first bump.

And once you’re hooked, you are hooked til you die. Any ex-smoker—any ex-smoker—in the right circumstances may slip: a little booze, a little stress, a little environmental smoke, an available cigarette. That’s why so many ex-smokers become judgmental toward those who still smoke. It’s a defense mechanism.

For those who do manage to quit smoking, each does it for his or her own reasons. Maybe they’d like to meet their grandchildren. Those disgusting billboards, commercials and warnings only impress the people who haven’t smoked—like children.

Forget putting those commercials on TVafter 10 p.m. They should be showing them with Saturday morning cartoons.

Take it from someone who has fought an addiction to cigarettes for more than 35 years—because writing this anti-smoking editorial makes me want to light up.Ω

by Dennis Myers

Do you trust your food?

Asked at the U.S. Post Office, Virginia and 17th streets

Andrew Oxner Systems engineer

Generally speaking, yes. Of course, it all depends on where I eat. I trust my own food because I shop carefully; I read ingredients and pay attention to what I’m buying. Now, when I eat at a restaurant … I have to be a little more picky. That’s why I like our local organic restaurants.

Kathleen Goicoechea

Rancher

Yes, because I grow it. We have cattle and sheep, and we eat our own beef and lamb. And most of the time we use farmers’markets.

Trevor Cummins

Student

It’s never failed me before. For the most part, I make my own food, so I cook a lot. Don’t eat out a lot.

John Kanipe

Retail sales consultant

Somewhat. Depends on where I get it from, because I’ve gotten food poisoning three times in the last two years. But I think a lot of it has to do with, I go to roach coaches. … That’s a reason why I don’t go to those anymore.

Nicole McCarty

Student

No, because nowadays a lot of the stuff has a lot of the chemicals, and it’s processed. No, I don’t trust it. … I read labels.

Time for Occupy to evolve

“Apathy isn’t it. ... We can do something. OK, so flower power didn’t work. So what? We start again.”

by Casey O’Lear caseyo@ newsreview.com

For the past three months, a moderate assortment of tents and signs painted with slogans such as “This is what solidarity looks like” stood steadfastly at Moana Pool in the makeshift Occupy Reno campsite.

Last week, protesters dismantled the site and cleaned up garbage as the occupation came to an end. On Jan. 25 at 4 p.m., the special events permit given to the demonstration by the city of Reno reached its expiration.

After a tumultuous start on the streets of New York and a riveting climax as dozens of other cities joined in, the Occupy movement, which began in September with citizens protesting the economic injustice in the United States, has reached its dénouement in Reno— for the moment.

It was an exciting political movement while it lasted. Watching the initial Occupy Wall Street protest cause uproar in New York City that would inspire a remarkably large wave of similar demonstrations across the United States was thrilling. And, for months, hearing about the adversity many protesters faced including police brutality and arrest was inspiring.

But now the movement has fizzled out, as the desertion of the Reno campsite suggests, and the timing for this seems about right. We can’t continue to hope that “occupying” anything will still earn a reaction from people, as it did when the idea was fresh and more based in rebellion. But, at the same time, we can’t allow the end of this particular movement to make us forget the reason it was started.

Though the campsite has disbanded, the activists behind Occupy Reno are still at work tackling important issues. Last week, some demonstrators presented the Reno City Council with more than 1,000 signatures in support of a resolution that would place restrictions on the way corporate money is allowed to finance politics. The resolution was one of many that have popped up

across the United States, which, inspired by the increase of political action committees, would have ended the protection of corporations’rights to spend money in order to influence the electoral process. This concept has become known as “corporate personhood,” which implies that companies are being granted the same rights as individual citizens.

Councilman Dave Aiazzi supported the resolution and brought it to the City Council, which voted 6-1 to deny it for various reasons.

Still, the fact that those associated with Occupy Reno are continuing to work on projects such as this one to extend the influence of the movement is exactly the right move at this junction in time.

It is not a bad thing to let go of the Occupy movement. The time to let go has come. It is, however, always a bad idea to let go of our passion and desire to influence change. There is still work to be done. It is simply time for a new tactic.

I want to believe that the movement was more than just a fad, and I want to believe that it will have lasting effects on the United States besides contributing the phrase “We are the 99 percent” to our vernacular.

The outpouring of support for the movement has proven that many U.S. citizens are displeased with the country’s current economic structure and require something to change. If all of us remain focused on this fact in the coming months despite the dwindling of actual campouts, rallies or protests associated with Occupy Wall Street, we will be much more likely to maintain the community that has formed around the so-called 99 percent and use this unity to continue working toward a common goal of economic reform.

So when you pass the now-vacant lot at the Moana Pool, I hope you won’t feel discouraged that Occupy Reno is no longer there. I hope, instead, that it inspires you to help come up with the next big movement that will bring about much-needed change in our lives. Ω

by Sean Cary seanc@ newsreview.com

Final thoughts before the Republican caucus

Republicans are a zany bunch, and the events of this presidential nominating contest get wackier by the day. It’s starting to feel as though we aren’t watching a nominating contest as much as we are feeding quarters into a game of political Whack-a-Mole, and few see fitness for the office, electability, or mental clarity as reasons for picking a presidential candidate. There isn’t any rhyme or reason left in this contest, and I’m not just talking about the candidates.

It tickles me that a man who has spent is his entire life making gobs of money in the private sector is considered the “establishment” guy while a man who has been a creature of the Beltway since the 1970s is considered some sort of crusading outsider sweeping in on his trusty steed to deliver us from Obama and his big government cronies.

None of this makes any sense, and no matter how many times I shake my head, close my eyes and stick my fingers in my ears, I still feel like I’m immersed in some odd fairy tale as Frothy, Horny, Dopey and Boring sway in unison to some song I don’t know the words to.

Gingrich’s rise from the ashes has had an unexpected effect on the Silver State, however. Thanks to Newt’s resurgence, Nevada’s caucuses are at least semi-relevant again. Our votes are going to count for something to someone, but what Nevada really needs to insert in this process is a bit of a history lesson.

This is a show we’ve seen here in Nevada. The 2010 U.S. Senate race also saw a well funded, sufficiently liked frontrunner with money to burn, facing off against a political has-been who had long been written off as too goofy to actually win the nomination.

She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named rose from the cheap seats like a rocket, tarring and feathering former casino executive Sue Lowden as some sort of moderate establishment hack who was secretly doing the bidding of Harry Reid because 25 years ago she donated a few bucks to his campaign. She rose to promi-

nence backed by a tremendous amount of tea party hubris and between chants of “socialism!” and “Saul Alinsky!” she never once stopped to notice that her campaign, with all its cheap gaudy parlor tricks and little bags of red, white and blue jelly beans, never really got off the launch pad.

Democrats from sea to shining sea watched with glee, because with every point Lowden slipped in the polls, they were one point closer to reelecting their kingpin, Sen. Harry Reid. I can’t help but think the same thing is happening this time. Obama, although not in the same trouble as Reid was at the time, is breathing a little easier knowing that Newt Gingrich might actually get the nomination.

Is Newt Gingrich the same creature as She-Who-Must-Not-BeNamed? Not exactly. Newt so far has been smart enough to pay people who play politics for a living to advise him, but that only goes so far. He never shies away from a microphone, and when he’s not bashing the “liberal media” for asking questions he doesn’t feel like answering, he has a tendency to wander a bit out into the weeds.

I’ve said before that few—if any—have a healthier knowledge of the workings of the United States government than Gingrich, but this isn’t a secret. The PR wizards propping up President Obama are looking for a two-fer, and if it’s Gingrich, they will make sure the conversation has little to do with the issues. Can you blame them, really? Open marriages, divorces, poor kids cleaning bathrooms—who really wants to talk about policy?

Remember, kids, the Republican caucus is Saturday, Feb. 4. By hook or by crook, get there, cast your vote, and let’s prove to the country that we have the stones to play in the political big leagues. Ω

Friends aid library with $100k

A lot of public institutions have suffered during the recession. The states’ higher-education budget—down by about a third—is often cited as a particularly egregious case.

So the cuts endured by the Washoe County Library—more than 40 percent in five years—have to stand as among the more severe. Its budget in the current fiscal year is $7,851,000. That compares with $12,587,517 in 2006-2007.

The library has a private group formed to support its functions and last week Friends of Washoe County Library rode to the rescue with $100,000. Never was the money more needed. Friends is the group that holds huge book sales a couple of times a year to raise money. In fact, its next sale is Feb. 11-12. Details are available at www.washoelibraryfriends.org. Since providing the library with $4,000 in 1991, Friends has given $1.4 million.

Food for tax

The Nevada Tax Commission is rejecting casino claims that comped meals for preferred guests should be free of sales tax.

The commission decision at its Jan. 23 meeting came on agenda item 4e, in which Boyd Gaming sought a refund of taxes its casinos had already paid. Boyd argued that because the meals are not sold, sales tax was inappropriate. But the state countered that there is no such legal requirement and that only gamblers who pay money to a casino while playing can obtain the free meals.

The decision could have wide impact because most of the state’s casinos have put in similar claims amounting to millions.

The sales tax on comps has considerable political support. Even Jim Gibbons, who as governor pursued “no new taxes” policy, wanted the casinos to pay the tax on comps. Boyd is expected to go to court to overturn the commission decision.

Local girl goes to the big city

Actress Dawn Wells, a Reno High School graduate and former Miss Nevada, is about to begin work on a play in New York, Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Village Voice columnist Michael Musto last week ran an item seeking a sublet for her “in the West 40s area, near the theater she’ll be performing at. … Serious respondents only. Come on, you can dine off this for years!”

Wells was also scheduled to play Sarah Palin in last month’s Sheep Dip show in Sparks. She was forced to cancel her appearance in because she was working on a movie, It’s Our Time, that did not wrap on schedule.

Sheep Dip is an annual show that pokes fun at the previous year’s events in Nevada and elsewhere.

Wells has recently finished a book, What Would Mary Ann Do?

She describes it as “a conversation between Dawn and Mary Ann,” her wholesome character on Gilligan’s Island, about “today’s world, Mary Ann and Dawn’s values, etcetera.”

Hickey takes reins

Republicans in the Nevada Assembly have turned back to the urban areas for leadership. Washoe’s Pat Hickey will be the new GOP floor leader—assuming he is reelected—at the 2013 legislature.

Hickey, a painting contractor is now serving his second term. His first term was in 1996-1998, but he did not seek reelection because his business had suffered from demands on his time.Hickey is author of a memoir, TahoeBoy, about his experiences with the Unification Church.

He replaces Pete Goichoechea, whose district included part or all of seven small counties and a sliver of Washoe. Hickey’s district runs from the Mayberry area through south Reno to the Storey county line.

—Dennis Myers

Young and homeless

Volunteers try to get a handle on young adults without homes

by Dennis Myers

Late in the evening on Jan. 26, the effort was nearing its end. Supplies of everything from shampoo to Tylenol stood on tables, and eight volunteers were still on hand.

It was the second floor of the Nevadan Hotel, and the event was a sort of census of Reno’s homeless young conducted by the Nevada Youth Empowerment Project. From midnight to midnight, people drawn by leaflets distributed around town had wandered in—54 of them, so far. One more would arrive before midnight.

a bedroom (kitchen, couch, bathroom) friend’s house or family members house on a temporary basis, sharing a living space with another family, car/van/camper [or] abandoned building” to appear and be counted.

Earlier in the day, four blocks away, a count had been done on homeless adults. The two populations were treated differently in part because it is simply easier to find older homeless people. They tend to be more fixed and hang out at the same places consistently. As a result, a count held at the homeless shelter functions well for older homeless. Younger homeless are another matter. Counts for young adults were conducted at other sites along with the Nevadan.

housing services or social services. They are young people who will sleep on a couch here and there, will camp outside for a while, will go to this city, go to that city. And basically they are just such a transient, moving population that yes, they very well could be downtown one day and then at a friend’s house for a few days and then out of town for a few more days and then camping for a couple days. They’re just moving and surviving.”

One 19-year-old at the downtown municipal bus terminal said he knew about the count but did not attend.

“Afriend of mine lets me sleep in a shed kind of building in his family’s backyard,” he said. “He lives with his family, his parents. I come in after they’re in bed, and I have to be gone early in the morning. He and I were friends in high school, and it’s ... I hate being in this position in his eyes.”

He said he sometimes arranges with his friend to shower when the family members are not at home.

He said he did not get counted because “I keep hoping that I won’t be in this position long enough to matter.”

DuPea acknowledged that there are probably those who did not appear for the count, either for benign reasons or because they feared arrest—“in fear of their situation becoming worse than what it already is for them.”

Limits

“Young,” in this case, was defined as 18 to 24, a period when people should be experiencing some of their most productive years but instead find themselves stalled in a crippling economic recession. The leaflets asked anyone who had slept “last night … in a house or apartment with other young people, on the street/outdoors/park/river [or] on roof/in a garage/attic/basement/storage structure, a place in a house not

“We just don’t know exactly where they hang out all the time or we just go find them and get the information that we need,” said Nevada Youth Empowerment Project director Monica DuPea. The project handled the count of younger homeless people.

“We set up several activities so that we can count homeless youth, so that we can return these numbers [to other agencies] and show that there is, in fact, a problem and that we do need to create some solutions to start supporting our young people on their path to independence.”

She said the homeless young are a moving target to find and help.

“They are a population that is very hidden or invisible,” she continued. “They don’t usually access

Those conducting the count could do little for those who showed up except hand out the supplies that were displayed on the tables and refer them to other agencies. That’s because Reno has few facilities available.

“Unfortunately, this event is not really to provide much outreach to them, but it’s rather to get an accurate count of how many they are,” DuPea said. “And so we did take the opportunity to be able to hand out incentives, including gift cards and hiking kits, clothes, food and resource cards. But as of right now, the option for these homeless youths is to go down to the homeless shelter and receive shelter services from Volunteers of America.”

Some of those in the 18-to-24 group do not use the facilities that do exist. Of those counted, she said, “We have about five that are staying in some sort of a shelter in town. … I did have a young man come in earlier tonight, and I’d asked him if

A lot of homeless young people stay near the downtown area, where jobs are possible but where they are also vulnerable.

“They are a population that is very hidden or invisible.”

Monica DuPea Nevada Youth Empowerment Project

PHOTO/DENNIS MYERS

DAWN WELLS

he’d been to the shelter. And he said he’d gone over and stayed about two hours and left. It just really wasn’t comfortable for him.”

The young man at the bus station said he didn’t stay in a shelter “because I have another option. Why use space someone else needs? I have stayed there before, but it was mostly people a lot older than me, and honestly, I don’t want to think of myself as that way permanently. If I do ...” His voice dwindled out, and he shrugged.

DuPea said the purpose of gathering the information on the 18-24 population is to use it to try to get facilities tailored to the needs of that group, who are usually job-seekers.

“The count isn’t going to make a big difference right away,” she said. “So their options right now are really to go and use the individual and family shelter services that we have available in town. And then what we hope is that this information will influence future spending decisions so that we can maybe set up some support of transitional housing programs for homeless youth 18 to 24 years old.”

The information will be given to the Reno area Alliance for the Homeless, which writes grant applications for housing assistance that

will eventually go to the federal House and Urban Development Department. It will be meshed with the count taken at the shelter the same day and included “in grant applications that could influence future funding and help engage bonus dollars for our community to start providing service that it doesn’t currently provide, which is support of transitional housing to homeless youth that are 18 to 24 not involved with the foster care system.”

The questionnaire is detailed.

“The interview is quite lengthy, and we ask a lot of questions about how many times a day they’re eating, where are they eating, when was the last time they went to school, how they make their money, if they’ve been victims of crime in the streets.”

Checking up

Sparks Police officer Tod Novak examined a window at a Sparks home where a break-in was attempted. The officer said the incident was isolated and that there is no sign of a rash of such crimes.

A group of volunteers worked on the second floor of the Nevadan Hotel to count younger homeless people.

PHOTO/DENNIS MYERS

GREENSPACE

Trailing ahead

Last week, Washoe County received a $96,868 grant from the Federal Highway Administration Recreational Trails program to be used toward 17 trails—more than 28 miles—through the Nevada Division of State Parks. The trails are located within 13 county parks, and the grant will support projects such as adding new informational and directional signs, preventing erosion damage, and maintaining the cleanliness and accessibility of the trails. Washoe County’s Department of Regional Parks and Open Spaces offers a Regional Trails Guide available in print by calling 823-6500 and online at www.washoecountyparks.com.

Sharing is caring

If you’re looking for a quick trip out of town or up to the mountains, share a ride with a fellow traveler through Zimride, a ride-sharing service that facilitates carpooling to help travelers save money and reduce gas. You can host a carpool or join one, and rides can cost as little as $10. Rides are available from Berkeley to Truckee and San Francisco to Tahoe, among others. According to Zimride, “If just 10 percent of Tahoe travelers choose to travel with two additional people this season, we estimate it would take 60,000 cars off the rode [and] save $12 million.” Check it out at www.zimride.com.

Cool schools

Schools in Lander County are moving toward energy efficiency with newly installed wind turbines at Eleanor Lemaire Elementary School and the Austin K-12 school. The 80-feet-tall turbines can generate up to 360 kilowatts of electricity, and the district will receive a rebate for $1.35 million as part of NVEnergy’s Renewable Generations program. Students will be able to see firsthand how much energy is generated by the turbines through meters installed in the foyer of the campuses. Lander County School District has already tested renewable energy sources through an installation of photovoltaic panels at Lemaire Elementary and in the district’s garage where the school buses are parked and maintained.

—Ashley Hennefer ashleyh@newsreview.com

ECO-EVENT

The Sierra Club will host a lecture with geologist Ed Oakes on Feb. 9, 7:30 p.m., at the Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada building, 605 Washington St. Oakes will discuss the increasing amount of natural disasters and how they may affect Reno in the future. Free, open to the public. For more information, contact Valerie Andersen, 544-3061 ormtnval@sbcglobal.net.

Got an eco-event?

Contact ashleyh@newsreview.com. Find more at the Green with NV blog, newsreview.com/greenwithnv, and on Facebook at facebook.com/rnrgreen.

Why is Tom’s Wife Smiling?

Keep Tahoe green

Sustainable Tahoe

by Ashley Hennefer ashleyh@ newsreview.com

Non-profit group Sustainable Tahoe sets goals in threes. Their mission is to target the economy, environment and community through their diverse programs, and to encourage stewardship by “showcasing, cultivating and connecting models of success.” On their website, they ask, “What do [the] Monterey Bay Aquarium, Epcot Center and Switzerland Public Transit have in common? They made conservation, education and public transit engaging, profitable and sustainable.”

“How can we do things that benefit the water—the entire watershed— and have fun?” says chief visionary officer Jacquie Chandler. “We think it’s possible.”

Chandler defines the watershed as not just Lake Tahoe, but the regional landscape, including other bodies of water, forests and wildlife. Sustainable Tahoe’s goal for 2012 is to take past programs to the next level to establish Northern Nevada as a year-round geotourist hotspot to immerse residents in the environment and to help jumpstart the economy.

“Alot of what we’re doing is a showcase for geotourism,” Chandler says. “Our goal is to eventually have it so that locals in the area are so well aware of these geotourism activities that it transforms the economy in the region. There’s something to do here all the time that falls in line with geotourism.”

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In 2010, Sustainable Tahoe hosted a stewardship congress, which gathered leaders of regional sustainable organizations and companies and established an opportunity to work together.

“We put them right on the beach, and a lot of people came who had never had a reason to interact with each other,” says Chandler. “We told them, ‘Leave your guns at home and come with an open mind’to better understand what the other groups are doing.”

The first Sustainable Tahoe Expo was held in September and attracted a crowd of more than 600 people. The entire event offered alternative transportation options, including shuttles, water taxis, walking and biking trails, and kayaking. The expo was designed to circle the entire lake and allow visitors to navigate around it while participating in activities like hiking or listening to a drum circle.

According to board member John Hara, the expo is a project that requires a lot of community support, but that’s what makes it a unique event.

“The transition is to have the community own it,” he says. “It’s a community event so what we’re really trying to do is have different leadership groups to come out and start to their own components of it.”

The expo is the first step toward establishing geocenters around the area that offer free, environmentally conscious activities to locals and visitors.

“They would function like huts within a five-mile ratio, and relate to culture, heritage, recreation and all of those activities, connected with alternative transit,” Chandler says.

Another project in the works is the Tahoe Blue Card, which is a card that can be used as a transportation pass for buses or boats connected to expo activities. It can link to a smartphone app that provides recommendations for businesses supporting sustainability, such as restaurants cooking and serving locally grown food. Chandler hopes that offering new and inexpensive ways to learn about the area will increase local involvement.

“Instead of using flyers and brochures, we want to take people on a hike and show them where the bears are,” Chandler says. “We’re rich with native, incredible adventures.”

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The food industry is rife with buzz words and labels, and to those unfamiliar with celiac disease or the slew of related illnesses, a fear of “gluten” seems to be just another health trend for paranoid eaters. Boxes of crackers, cake mixes, sauces and beers with gluten-free claims line grocery store shelves. Many of them are filled with sugars and carbohydrates instead, and the gluten-free industry has made nearly $7 billion from products sold in the past couple of years. Thousands of blogs tackle the topic with anecdotes and personal experiences instead of empirical research, and celebrity spokespeople don’t do much to support its validity with science.

Skeptics have a right to be skeptical, especially when phrases like “g-free” are thrown around, coined by The View co-host Elizabeth Hasselback, who tried to use the phrase as a cooler way to talk about gluten, much to the chagrin of some scientists, doctors and their patients who take the word quite seriously. With celebrity endorsements and foodie blogs more highly publicized than scientific evidence, it can seem that fear and abolishment of bread, pasta and pastries is unfounded. Those are the good foods, the comfort foods, to which Americans have tied memories and traditions. Everything is OK in moderation, right? But Hasselback’s defense for her cutesy phrase is that the word “gluten” is ugly, and is holding back potential conversations we should have about it.

She has a point there. It is an ugly word, and there’s not much that’s pretty about the relationship between many Americans and their food, which has resulted in a rise of obesity and diabetes, and an addiction to sugar and processed foods. And an epidemic of gluten intolerance has come to the forefront of medical research, and it’s something that can’t be fixed with medicine.

It has to start on our plates.

Conventional wisdom says a well-rounded diet full of vegetables is the key to keeping illness, premature aging and weight gain at bay, but grains are a mixed bag. On the updated food plate designed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a suggested

“GRAINY DAYS” continued on page 14

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY PRISCILLA GARCIA

serving takes up a little more than a quarter— nearly equal to the suggested amount of vegetables. The old food pyramid recommended six to 11 servings of grains per day. That means that the past couple of generations have grown up eating cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and carboloaded meals for dinner. In many circles, it’s still considered a health food.

Europe. This super-gluten was recently introduced into our agricultural food supply and now has ‘infected’nearly all wheat strains in America.”

While it is estimated that almost 40 percent of the population in America suffers from a form of gluten intolerance, a lack of reliable testing by medical professionals makes it hard to know just how serious this may be. And quite simply, many are reluctant to give up the foods on which they have come to rely. What could be harmful about a handful of Triscuits for a snack? Sandwiches and mac and cheese are American staples.

But for the 2 million Americans living with celiac disease, epilepsy, migraines and other disorders, staving off gluten can save their lives. And for the rest of us, it’s hard to admit that the foods we love—and refuse to give up—are making us chronically sick.

WHAT IT IS and what it does

It’s time for a quick vocabulary lesson. What is gluten, anyway?

The Food and Drug Administration defines gluten as complex proteins found in grains like barley and rye that, when mixed with water, thicken and create a sticky substance. It’s what gives dough its gummy texture. It’s also in the dreaded monosodium glutamate (MSG) and provides a basis for sauces. Gluten is often added to soy-based cheese and imitation meat.

heart disease or cancer. Wheat allergy falls between celiac disease and gluten intolerance and can be moderately serious. And because gluten intolerance is not immediately noticeable—and is difficult to test for—it often goes untreated, or is diagnosed as another illness and then mistreated with medication.

“An estimated 99 percent of people who have a problem with eating gluten don’t even know it,” Hyman stated. “They ascribe their ill health or symptoms to something else—not gluten sensitivity, which is 100 percent curable.”

What often sets off a red flag for skeptics is that it can be cured holistically, and it’s not just hippie jargon to make that claim. While not all illnesses are magically cured by munching on leafy greens instead of crackers, removing gluten entirely from patients’diets has proven effective in dozens of clinical studies conducted with people who suffer from a multitude of serious ailments. It’s also been claimed to be a cause of them.

or are at least allergic or sensitive. But there’s not a lot of research on why. Nobody really knows why. Nobody has really studied the sticky part that is doing a lot of the damage.”

It’s not just gluten that’s toxic, but specific proteins gliadin and glutelin that cause a negative reaction in the digestive system.

“This gliadin doesn’t break down like normal proteins,” Rutherford says. “They stick to the inside of the intestines and damage them to the point where they have other foods leaking into your blood stream. Glutelin is the sticky part. Alot of people are sensitive to the sticky part.”

These proteins are nearly identical to casein, which is a protein linked to increasing epileptic seizures or symptoms of autism.

FINDING the g-spot

Some scientists claim that some grains are OK to digest, and can contribute to long-term heart health. Neuroscientist Darya Pino argues that intact, legitimately whole grains, the ones that still maintain their natural shape and nutrients, are good for humans to consume—it’s the ones incorrectly labeled “whole” that are the problem, because they often simplified in the process of inserting them into whole grain pastas or breads. In any case, grains are engrained—pun intended—into the modern diet, but researchers are divided about when it was first cultivated for consumption by humans, and if it’s even necessary at all for humans to incorporate into their diet. This has led to the establishment of diets like Paleo and keto, which follow a revised caveman-esque diet (“The caveman diet,” Dec. 22) and choose veggies and meat over corn and wheat. Even so, archaeologists have found remnants of flour on artifacts from ancient Rome, and the first mills back date back to 9,000 years ago. But even if our ancestors consumed variations of bread, their process of growing and using wheat is much different than ours today Some scientists claim that it’s not just the wheat itself wreaking havoc on bodies, but the way it’s used in modern flour. Bread used to be made with slow rise yeast, allowing it to break down more easily in the body, but packaged bread is often made to bake faster, which requires an excess of gluten to help the dough maintain its consistency. Wheat is often bleached for products like white bread or packaged pastries.

In a 2010 article published in the Huffington Post, physician Mark Hyman stated, “American strains of wheat have a much higher gluten content (which is needed to make light, fluffy Wonder Bread and giant bagels) than those traditionally found in

It’s onomatopoetic—glue-ten—so avoiding the word, as Hasselback suggests, avoids communicating the nature of the problem.

An abundance of gluten in a person’s digestive system leads to an attack on the tiny villi that line the stomach, which is what filters out the nutrients from food. When the villi are destroyed, people develop a leaky gut—and yes, it sounds gross, because it is— where the toxins of foods are sent into the blood stream. This is when the immune system must go into overdrive to prevent the person from getting sick, which can result in constant pain and fatigue, or make other existing conditions worse.

The amount of villi damaged is what distinguishes an intolerance from a full-blown disease, but many who are already sensitive to gluten are at risk for developing celiac disease later on in their lives. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which the healthy bacteria present in the stomach can’t properly absorb the nutrients from food, leaving a person sick and tired. According to the medical journal Lancet, 30 percent of people of European descent possess the gene for celiac disease.

Wheat allergy is essentially like other food allergies and affects people differently, but generally contributes to an increased likelihood of nasal allergies, headaches and migraines. Gluten intolerance is often linked to other ailments such as low gland activity, including adrenal and thyroid disorders, but can also worsen symptoms of neurological disorders like epilepsy or fibromyalgia.

On a spectrum, celiac disease is considered the most extreme form of gluten sensitivity and a potentially life-threatening illness if left untreated. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, people with celiac disease have a higher risk of dying from

“Areview paper in The New England Journal of Medicine listed 55 ‘diseases’that can be caused by eating gluten,” according to the Huffington Post article. “These include osteoporosis, irritable bowel disease, inflammatory bowel disease, anemia, cancer, fatigue, canker sores, ... rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis and almost all other autoimmune diseases. Gluten is also linked to many psychiatric and neurological diseases, including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, dementia, migraines, epilepsy and neuropathy (nerve damage).”

“Gluten sensitivity is one of the most common food intolerances,” says Dr. Martin Rutherford, a functional medicine doctor who is a gluten sensitivity coach and a chiropractor, specializing in chronic pain and autoimmune disorders. He also has celiac disease. “Sixty to 70 percent have a genetic problem with gluten,

But eliminating gluten is not as easy as just keeping bread and muffins at an arm’s length. Gluten is an ingredient hidden in many common foods and substances, for example, pickles, bouillon cubes, play dough, some vitamins, lip balms and toothpastes all have traces of gluten. You shouldn’t be eating play dough or toothpaste anyway, but if you’re attempting a diet void of gluten, it’s harder than it seems. Most labels on foods do not explicitly state the amount of gluten contained in it, but if a product contains wheat, rye, barley, spelt or emmer, it does. For a full list of unsafe ingredients, visit http://bit.ly/answu8.

But while many restaurants and grocery stores offer gluten-free options, gluten may not be the only ingredient contributing to illnesses. According to Rutherford, most people are intolerant to something, whether it be sugar, sesame seeds or nuts—ingredients that are often used in gluten-free products. So even when they cut out gluten, other food sources are still making them

Registered dietician Mary Reynolds holds a support group for people with celiac disease.

“Some people freak out when we tell them they can’t have gluten anymore. … They are severely addicted to it.”

Martin Rutherford, gluten sensitivity coach

sick, and several allergies working in conjunction result in a patient becoming frustrated when their health continues to deteriorate.

“It’s pretty amazing how much the gluten can attack, but it’s not the only one [protein], and that’s what makes it confusing,” says Rutherford. “There’s so many reasons for these foods causing illnesses.”

Testing for celiac disease is done through a blood test, and a biopsy of a patient’s villi is also conducted if blood tests are non-conclusive. But many doctors are unwilling to diagnose patients for celiac disease unless their villi are 100 percent destroyed.

“Some doctors don’t believe that gluten has this impact on people’s health, and that’s not to speak ill of them,” Rutherford says. “It’s just that the medical model hasn’t adapted to the possibility yet. But there is a lot of peerreviewed, empirical research in our corner, and a lot of clinical studies to back it up.

“But this isn’t an acute pain model, and trying to apply acute pain applications, like pain pills or medications, to chronic pain patients doesn’t work. Things that are causing them to get worse aren’t being addressed. They take an anti-inflammatory [medication] and then go home and stuff themselves with bread and pasta. Eventually, the drugs don’t work.”

PUT THE PASTA DOWN and nobody gets hurt

Even though “gluten-free” labels are common, and intolerance is fairly easy to

self-diagnose and test by a trial elimination of gluten, Rutherford says that no patients ever come in stating that they think they might be sensitive or allergic to it.

“If anything, many flat out reject the idea,” he says. “They go into denial about it. Or they say that they’ve tried not eating gluten for two weeks, and nothing has changed, when they should try it for at least two months to see the results.”

Eliminating gluten for the sake of better health—and the abolishment of some severe diseases—might seem like an easy option. But its presence in foods to which we have an emotional attachment makes it an unthinkable option for some patients, even if they are killing themselves by digesting it.

“Some jump on it right away and say, ‘That’s all I have to do to feel better?’” Rutherford says. “Some people freak out when we tell them they can’t have gluten anymore. Some start shaking. Others have tears in their eyes. They are severely addicted to it.

“And some just flat out refuse to give it up. It’s like cocaine to them. Sometimes they’ll cut it out entirely for a year, and get better, and then start eating it again. It’s really hard for them to admit that they can’t have it anymore, because it’s so much a part of how we eat. But it’s an addiction, it’s a habit. It’s kind of a study of human nature to see how far a person will go to make themselves feel better.”

CAKE or death

Agluten-free lifestyle has become a choice for those with celiac disease and those who want to prevent it. Gluten-free communities often partner with local agriculture organizations to promote organic, wholesome eating. Mary Reynolds, a registered dietician at Renown South Meadows who has celiac disease, helps host a support group, High Sierra Gluten Free Support Group. Those interested in joining can contact her at glutenfreereno@gmail.com.

While most nutritionists and doctors don’t always suggest that everyone go gluten-free. Reynolds doesn’t think it’s necessary. “Idon’t want people following the diet if they don’t have to,” she says. “Why make eating more difficult for yourself?”

But Rutherford says there is compelling research to support that even healthy people should cut it out of their diet.

“It could be that humans just haven’t evolved to be able to handle this kind of food,” Rutherford says.

That means that humans have two choices—own up to our addictions and eat simply and live healthier, or evolve into beings with super-strength stomach villi. How many times must humans be told that the things to which we get addicted are poisonous before we stop ingesting it into our bodies? People still smoke cigarettes, still refuse to exercise, still drink and eat to excess. Americans are conditioned to live in opulence—which has resulted in millions living shorter, painful, disease-ridden lives.

“Nothing is going to change for us unless we make drastic life changes,” Rutherford says. “Food can be your medicine or your poison.”

“I don’t want people following the diet if they don’t have to. Why make eating more difficult?”

Mary Reynolds, registered dietician

Groundhog Day movies

What are the best movies to watch over and over again?

by Bob Grimm bgrimm@newsreview.com

Somy editor calls me up and asks me to do an article for Groundhog Day. He says some crap along the lines of, “Hey, why don’t you pick your favorite movies to watch over and over again, just like how Bill Murray repeats the same day over and over in the movie Groundhog Day?”

To this I responded, “Oh, let’s not go down this road again! We’ve been down this road before!” and I hung up the phone.

Then it rang again, and it was my editor asking me if I wanted to make up a list of films I like to watch over and over again just like how Bill Murray repeats the same day over and over in the movie Groundhog Day. This gave me a dangerous feeling of déjà vu. I wept just a little, and I relented.

So, here you go, just as the groundhog comes up every year like clockwork to look at his shadow, here are the movies I like to watch again and again, some of them at least once a year.

So, here you go, just as the groundhog comes up every year like … oh, bloody hell.

Jaws: Yes, it’s my favorite movie of all time, topping yet another list. There are many reasons why I feel this one is eternally watchable. Reason number one: Super kick-ass shark action, my friends. Super kick- ass shark action is so choice. Which reminds me … I like to watch Ferris Beuller a lot too. I know that is off the subject, but who cares. There’s no real science at work in this column.

Rushmore: Of all of Wes Anderson’s films, this is the one I just keep watching. There are little quirky comedy moments that make me laugh every time, and Anderson’s use of music is always perfect. It’s a close one between this and The Royal Tenenbaums, but I’m going with the saga of Max Fischer.

Life of Brian: I vacillate back and forth between this one and Holy Grail when it comes to Monty Python. The scene I love the most: Graham Chapman’s Brian trying to sell snacks to terrorists inside a Roman Coliseum and facing off against a foul-mouthed John Cleese.

Apollo 13: Shit, I knew the ending before the first time I watched it, and yet it pulls me in and I get emotionally invested each time Forrest Gump, Ren and Pvt. Hudson go around the dark side of the moon.

Mulholland Drive: One of the great puzzler movies, it simply demands to be watched again and again and again. Still not quite sure what David Lynch was trying to do with this, but I think I get a little closer to figuring it out each time I watch it.

Fargo: I religiously re-watch all of the Coen Brothers movies, but this one is probably winning the viewing race. Every time that music rises as William H. Macy’s burnt umbra Ciera comes over the snowy road, I get chills.

The Bad News Bears: I repeat view this one a lot because it reminds me of my childhood. Then I am reminded that my childhood kind of sucked, so I drink heavily until I vomit. Then I watch The Bad News Bears sequels. But those don’t have Matthau in them, which makes me miss him, which drives me to drink and vomit more.

The Odd Couple: And with this, I get my Matthau fix again. This is comfort food. Is there a more comforting movie star than Walter Matthau? Hmm … I dunno, maybe Jack Lemmon? Oh my god, he’s in this one, too!

The Poseidon Adventure: If this is on TVwhen I’m surfing, I will not—CANNOT—go past it. Gene Hackman’s final speech where he basically tells off god is EPIC!

First Blood: I’m a sucker for oldschool Stallone, and it doesn’t get any better than this. When Sly slurs through that final speech—“I can’t even get a job … PARKING CARS!”—I often rewind and start that speech over. I find it strangely invigorating. He’s the greatest slob actor of all time.

Strange Brew: “My brother and I used to say that drownin’in beer was like heaven, eh? Now he’s not here, and I’ve got two soakers … this isn’t heaven. This sucks!” This line, said by Rick Moranis in a large beer tank filling up with beer, is one of many that I can quote verbatim. I have seen this movie at least 20 times.

From top, Apollo 13, Wet Hot American Summer, Rushmore, and Groundhog Day Left, Daniel Day Lewis inThere Will Be Blood.

Wet Hot American Summer: David Wain’s summer camp movie made me giggle the first time I watched it, but I wasn’t blown away. Since then, I’ve probably watched it over 12 times, and it just gets funnier and funnier. Nothing is funnier than Christopher Meloni talking to canned vegetables.

Groundhog Day: As things would have it, Groundhog Day actually is a movie I watch over and over again.

King Kong: Original King Kong is BADASS! He’s all stop-motion, and he’s scary as all heck. The New York sequence is something I will never, ever grow tired of. And that soundtrack is one of the best soundtracks ever. Shit, I’m going to go watch this one right now. Be back in a few.

Caddyshack: OK, I’m back. Yes, this list is full of comedies. Perfect comedies worth revisiting are so hard to come by, but they do cheer me up oh so much. My current favorite line in this movie: Ted Knight asks Chevy Chase, “How do you measure yourself with other golfers?” Chase replies, “By height.” Classic.

Modern Times: Chaplin’s song and dance at the end is awesome on a scale that runs out of room for awesome and goes into some other interstellar level of awesome where awesome is so awesome people’s feet fall off. I don’t know what that means, but it’s awesome.

Pulp Fiction: I know this is an obvious pick for Tarantino, but it’s so damn great. It’s fun spotting John Travolta in the opening diner scene on your first repeat viewing, isn’t it?

There Will Be Blood: I watch this one a lot. I will go ahead and say it contains the greatest film performance of all time. Daniel Day Lewis is God. That is all.

The Thing (1982): This is just one of those movies I watch when I want to be scared. Considering that I know where all of the scares are, and I’ve seen them all umpteen times, it’s amazing that John Carpenter still manages to scare the shit out of me.

Yellow Submarine: I like to watch this one when I am violently high on heroin, which is pretty much every day.

Ghostbusters: Yeah, I want another Ghostbusters Ghostbusters II sucked balls, so I am stuck with only one, albeit magnificent, Ghostbusters movie. I need another one for my Ghostbusters marathon, which consists of Ghostbusters and pie. I can’t keep watching the same movie 13 times over for the marathon. Actually, I can. No problem.

The Pink Panther Movies: Peter Sellers Panther—not Steve Martin. When I need a Martin fix, I watch The Jerk or Planes, Trains & Automobiles

When I need Sellers, I watch Panther flicks and, of course, Dr. Strangelove (which also takes care of my need for a Kubrick fix).

Taxi Driver: And for Scorsese, it’s his epic ode to loneliness that tops my most viewed list. I cannot get enough of De Niro in this. In fact, De Niro can make 50 more fucking Focker movies, and I would still love him, all thanks to this shockingly beautiful film.

Jaws: Yes, it’s my favorite movie of all time, topping yet another list. There are many reasons why I feel this one is eternally watchable. Reason number one: Super kick-ass shark action, my friends. Super kickass shark action is so choice. Which reminds me … I like to watch Ferris Beuller a lot too. I know that is off the subject, but who cares. There’s no real science at work in this column.

Clockwise from top: Ghostbusters, Jaws and David Lynch.

Immigrant son

The Mexican dishes on the anti-immigrant descendents of immigrants

Dear Mexican: My cousin put a picture on Facebook that said, “I will not be forced to learn a foreign language to accommodate illegals in my country.” He’s Mexican-American. Our family is from La Luz, Zacatecas. His dad was born here in El Paso, Texas. How do I politely tell him he’s wrong? Sorry, cabrón, but you’re just not going to win this battle. As much as I and other Chicano yaktivists would love it that everyone of Mexican descent in this country were a cardcarrying member of the Reconquista complete with Nahuatl names and a Frida-filled house, that’s just not going to happen. As I’ve explained muchos times before, the great thing about this country is how it can turn the descendents of even the biggest wab into an anti-immigrant loon by the second generation (see: Marco Rubio) and even by the first (see: my parents). The best you can tell your cousin is remind him that your grandparents came to this country to find a

by

better life, not to talk trash on those less fortunate than them—but, again, it’s a losing battle that goes contrary to the American immigrant experience, which sees the previous generation of immigrants spit on newcomers. So can I suggest something revolutionary? Leave your primo to his opinions. Let him be a prieto Know Nothing. You be the conscious cousin, and let him be the pocho one—trust me, you’ll get all the hot second cousins at the family pachangas, while he’ll be condemned to be the Tio Taco of El Paso.

You explain the etymology of words so well! Please enlighten your readers with the explanation of the word prieto, as opposed to moreno.

Prieto is derived from apretar (“press”), from the Late Latin appectorare (“to press against one’s chest”), but in Mexico it denotes a dark hue, one veering on blackness. Moreno, on the other hand, comes from moro, the Spanish word for Moor, and usually

signifies a dark brown—you know, like a Moor! How we got prieto to mean “blackish” from its pressing roots escapes me. But these are general definitions, as their meaning shifts across the color prism depending on who’s talking and what century. In the present day, prieto is usually reserved as a term for parents to describe their darkest-skinned kid, a description as injurious to a young soul as calling them “tubby” or “Newt Gingrich.”

It’s sad to see your wimpy answers. Your replies scream self-hatred and shame for your raza. You’re pathetic! No plan or desire to fix Mexico’s problems. You’re a puto with no huevos. My dream act would be that you Mexicans would stop groveling to gringos, and scream about fixing Mexico, like WHITE PEOPLE did against the Iron Curtain. ONLY THEN will your Mexican self-shaming and self-hatred of your un-macho, puto, groveling raza change to real pride.

Groveling? Chulo, this is the only column in the country that refers to gabachos as gabachos instead of the candy-ass “gringo” like your gabacho ass uses. No desire to fix Mexico?

What’s billions of dollars of remittances, then—or the Reconquista, for that matter? Or those marches of millions rallying for amnesty? That’s a movement as epic as Solidarity or glasnot (and last I checked, a chingo of Eastern Bloc refugees worked from los Estados Unidos to liberate their homelands). Pride for America? All I hear from Know Nothings is how horrible the U.S. is, yet they do nothing to improve it other than rant—they sound just like Mexicans used to until we started doing instead of crying. Selfhatred and self-shame? The only thing this Mexican is ashamed of is his panza—and even then, it’s a panza more glorious in its contentment and fire than any gabacho panza can ever hope to attain. Huevos that, pendejo. Ω

Gustavo Arellano Gustavo Arellano’s column “¡Ask a Mexican!” runs every week on our website at www.newsreview.com/ reno/ask_a_mexican/A ll?oid=353508.

Heart gallery

No Strings Attached

by Brad Bynum bradb@ newsreview.com

With the possible exception of Christmas, no holiday conjures up quite as many mixed emotions as Valentine’s Day. For some people, it’s a romantic, zesty occasion. For others, it’s an irritating reminder of their own pathetic loneliness. For others, it’s a forgotten date that quickly transforms into a frenzy of Hallmark purchases. There’s also the sneaking suspicion that the holiday is nothing more than a commercial creation meant to capitalize on our most ineffable emotions. And though the imagery is often cliché, it’s also universal. Santa Claus lives in December, but the human heart is year-round.

No Strings Attached, the Sheppard Gallery’s 12th Biennial Valentine Invitational Exhibition and Auction, is on display through Feb. 10, in the Church Fine Arts building at the University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St. The auction will be held Friday, Feb. 10, at 5:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.unr.edu/art.

So Valentine’s Day is a good occasion for an art show. The mixed emotions associated with the holiday, as well as its themes of love, lust and loneliness, are fodder for artists. This year, the Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery at the University of Nevada, Reno presents No Strings Attached, the gallery’s 12th biennial Valentine’s Day invitational art exhibition and auction.

The show features works by more than 70 artists—from Anthony Alston to Joseph Zuccarini. The list of participating artists reads a bit like a “who’s who” of local artists, especially those associated with the university, including current and former faculty, like Rebekah Bogard, Michael Sarich and Tamara Scronce, and current and former students, like Nate Clark, Dominique Palladino and Omar Pierce, as well as national and regional artists who have previously exhibited in the gallery, and other local artists.

Gallery manager Rachel Armstrong says she and gallery director Marji Vecchio came up with the title and theme for this year’s exhibition, No Strings Attached, while discussing a recent tend of artists being really personal and unguarded in their artwork— sort of a positive flipside to the decrease in personal privacy of the internet age.

“We’ve seen a trend of tons of artists being really honest, putting themselves out there in a really open way, just saying, ‘This is who I am,’” says Armstrong.

The show is includes a wide array of styles, sensibilities and media. But, perhaps because of the suggestive exhibition title, the content leans a little toward the bawdy.

Lani Albin’s sculpture “AWoody With No Strings Attached” features a knot of wood so phallic that even a sparkling clean mind will immediately understand the pun in the title. The “woody” in question is painted with bright, nearly psychedelic acrylic colors.

Clint Sleeper’s assemblage “CS Reading NSA” features a stack of books with titles like The Art of Kissing, Are You the One for Me? and How to Romance the Woman You Love, and a pair of headphones. If a gallery visitor puts on the headphones, they hear Sleeper, in a soft, even monotone, reading raunchy “no strings attached” online personal ads.

The gallery walls are decorated with a mural by artists Kelly Peyton and Kaitlin Bryson. Peyton’s scrawling black line work is complemented by Bryson’s painterly splotches of red, pink and white. The mural adds some loose, impressionistic cohesion to the exhibition by uniting the individual pieces on the wall.

“We obviously intentionally left space so that when the work was on the wall, it would interact with the mural, but it also has its own place on the wall,” says Peyton. “I think it looks awesome because it has. I like how it overlaps in some places, so some of the words are lost but you can still kind of tell what it said. ... But it almost completes the mural by having the work on there.”

Peyton’s lines occasionally convey nearly subliminal language, like, “I love you ... maybe ... maybe not.”

“It looks like a drawing,” she says. “It’s a bunch of words and a bunch of strings but none of them are really attached, they’re just falling all over the place, like disconnecting. It’s all kind of loose and falling all over the place, like No Strings Attached.”Ω

Rachel Armstrong is the gallery manager at UNR’s Sheppard Gallery.

OPEN FOR THE BIG GAME

Sunday, Feb 5th, 11am-7pm

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Café Alfresco

Atlantis Casino, 3800 S. Virginia St., 825-4700

by Dave Preston davep@ newsreview.com

What to do for dinner? How about a petite restaurant in a casino? Not the coffee shop or the buffet … ciao a tutti, Café Alfresco. With a revamped menu, this eatery sits next to the buffet on the Atlantis’main casino floor. This casual lunch and dinner spot has a friendly, efficient wait staff and a warm, open feeling. The menu is creative, with more than comfort food, and prices ranging from $7.99 to $15.99.

It is VEGANING...

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ALL OF OUR SAUCES ARE GLUTEN - FREE AND ANY OF OUR PIZZAS CAN BE MADE ON OUR GLUTEN - FREE DOUGH

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Now serving hard liquor including Baileys & Coffee Special for $2 w/ entree IN CELEBRATION OF OUR NEW MENU OPTIONS, ALL OF OUR 12” PIZZAS (VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE OR NOT) WILL BE $15 FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY

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TEACHERS - receive 25% off lunch from 11-3pm when you show your Washoe County TMCC, UNR or Charter School ID

Ph: 775-356-1771 • www.BlackRockPizza.com

2855 N.McCarran Blvd. #106 Sparks, NV 89431

Sparks Mercantile (Raley's Shopping Center)

Corner of North McCarran Blvd and Pyramid Way

OPEN 11:00 am–9:00 pm SEVEN DAYS A WEEK

In the ever-changing, ever-challenging culinary chase, as chefs explore the roots of many cuisines and try to define unique styles, comes the advent of fine-dining comfort food restaurants that feature more careful cooking and presentation, higher quality and fresh organic ingredients—that’s Café Alfresco in a nutshell.

Executive chef Bob Katausky is a master of the menu, and room chef Telma Calderon oversees preparation. The offerings take you around the world in 80 ways from spicy Thai crunch salad ($10.99) to Southwest Santa Fe chicken ($10.99) to Cajun pasta ($14.99) to brick oven pizzas, and then there is plenty of Italian mangiari

I started with chicken Parmesan sliders ($9.99). Three two-inch-round breasts, lightly breaded and fried, were topped with a house-made Southern Italian-style marinara and mozzarella cheese on fresh buns. Piping hot, the taste of the Roma tomatoes used in the sauce with the usual Italian seasoning suspects

defined the bites, and the cheese was the kicker, but it wasn’t overwhelming. The breast was moist with a notable ever so slightly sweet tomato flavor.

The Atlantis Classico ($15.99) is simple but elegant. It’s spaghetti embedded with 50-cent-size shrimp and nickel-size scallop, and they were plentiful. The sauce was white wine, butter, garlic, parsley and finished with some cream. This is not a sauce you can prepare and leave in a steam table. It’s fix-and-serve to order or you get no flavor. It had a rich, garlicky nose and finished with a creamy richness that held everything together. It had a velvet texture binding everything together. Wines-by-the-glass range from $4.50 to $15.50, and one of the best wine guys in this town, Atlantis Sommelier Christian O’Kuinghttons, makes this a fun list with good prices. I went Italian with the Alois Legeder “Riff” Pinot grigio ($11.50).

This Pinot grigio reflects the expertise of acclaimed winegrower Alois Lageder and the wines from vineyards in the northern part of the country— acknowledged as one of Italy’s prime regions for quality white wines found on the sloping hills leading to the Alps. It had a brilliant, straw-yellow, color with a subtle green tint, a very fine, fruity nose with apples and peaches aroma, a clean, elegant, grape flavor, a light to medium body and a fresh, mouthwatering finish. Every drink made way for another mouthful of food flavors.

If you’d like a beer, there are 20 to choose from—domestic, microbrews and imported ($4.75 to $5.25)—and a fun selection of Alfresco coolers ($4.00), Italian-inspired cocktails ($8.00) and espresso coffees galore ($2.99-$4.49).

Did I mention dessert? Sinful gelato, rich and creamy Italian ice cream in 16 flavors made fresh daily— you see it in a refrigerated case the minute you walk in—one to three scoops ($3.49 to $4.99). So there you have it: affordable, varied and flavorful, with free valet parking … bella serata!Ω

The Atlantis Classico at Café Alfresco is simple but elegant.

Café Alfresco is open 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.

PHOTO/AMY BECK

Heigl crimes One for the Money

I hate Katherine Heigl a lot less than most critics do. In fact, I don’t really hate her at all. I kind of like her. I liked her stupid baby movie, Life as We Know It, just a little bit, and I loved her in Knocked Up

Granted, all her other starring vehicles blow ass, but she’s routinely better than her material. Such is the case with her latest bottom-feeder, One for the Money

guy who consumes much chocolate between takes. I can’t make any other suggestions about what chemicals might contribute to his uppity film persona because that would be crossing some lines, but you know what I’m thinking. Chocolate is just a gateway drug, man.

2Albert Nobbs

Glenn Close gives it her all as the title character, a woman dressed as a man in 19th century Ireland, working as a waiter and saving money to buy a tobacco shop. Having spent much time as a man, Albert sees trying to take a wife as the next logical step, and tries courting a fellow hotel employee played by Mia Wasikowska. Little does Albert know that the prospective wife is a user, simply trying to score bounty for her and her boyfriend (Aaron Johnson). Janet McTeer plays another woman masquerading as a man in order to get work. The whole scenario seems unlikely. Close and McTeer are rather unconvincing as men, and the story fails to be compelling. Still, Close does provide some genuinely moving moments, even if she does look like an odd combo of Conan O’Brien and Gabriel Byrne in this film.

4The Artist

1

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

The latest 9/11 movie is the worst one yet, focusing on an obnoxious kid (Thomas Horn) on a quest to find the lock for a key his father (Tom Hanks) left behind after dying on 9/11. Horn is just impossible to watch, and the plotting is deplorable. Yes, the kid is making his acting debut here, and it’s a demanding role. I’m sorry—he just drove me crazy. Max von Sydow shows up in a silent role and has some fun with it. That’s about the most positive thing I can say about this trash. It wastes decent performances from Hanks and Sandra Bullock.

5The Grey

by Bob Grimm bgrimm@ newsreview.com

Heigl is only slightly bad, and still somewhat charming, as Stephanie Plum, a former Macy’s employee who goes into the bail-bond business. Her first gig is to go after a cop in trouble, Joe Morelli (Jason O’Mara), a guy she lost her virginity to and tried to run over with a car.

See, that’s just stupid as all hell right there, and Heigl didn’t have a hand in the writing of this crap. It’s based on the first of a popular string of novels by Janet Evanovich, and my guess is that director Julie Anne Robinson missed something in the translation from book to film. The movie is a dull dud.

They get Debbie Reynolds out of mothballs to play the crazy grandma who shoots turkeys at the kitchen table. I guess Betty White wasn’t available, or perhaps she thought the script was a piece of shit. Fisher Stevens shows up late in the film as a sweaty bounty hunter. If that isn’t a harbinger of bad film, what is?

The movie is populated with your standard bounty hunter movie clichés. (We’ll exclude The Empire Strikes Back from the category of “standard bounty hunter movie.” Boba Fett rules!) There’s the hooker with a heart of gold (Sherrie Shepherd) who Stephanie gets all of her information from in exchange for hoagies. There’s the doting, paranoid mama (Debra Monk) who worries when her daughter is five minutes late for dinner. There’s the appliance store guy (Adam Paul) who her mama is trying to fix her up with even though he’s a total dick. OK, most of those roles don’t show up in your average bounty hunter movie. I guess One for the Money just has a way of making everything feel tired and clichéd. The hooker with a heart of gold who eats hoagies is in just about every romantic comedy with guns ever made, though. I won’t back off that argument.

An homage to silent films that’s actually a silent film, this is a funny, touching and innovative piece of work with a fun performance from Jean Dujardin. He plays a silent movie star at the dawning of the sound age, much like Charlie Chaplin, who either must make the leap to sound or slip away. Berenice Bejo plays Peppy Miller, a star on the rise. After sharing a scene in a film, their two careers go in separate directions. They’re wonderfully expressive performers, which suits Michel Hazanavicius’s film perfectly. One of last year’s biggest surprises, and they’ll be watching this one a hundred years from now.

1Contraband

Mark Wahlberg can be cool in a movie. In fact, he’s cool in most of his movies, and the right director can make the man look like a pro. But, oh boy, when Mark Wahlberg stinks, he stinks real bad. Like, The Happening bad. Wahlberg looks clueless and tired in this movie, and who can blame him? Director Baltasar Kormakur packs this silly actioner full of so many garbage subplots and locales that most actors would probably grow weary. Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) has gone legit after a career as a smuggler. Life is good due to beautiful wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and his alarm system business. But when his brother-in-law gets into trouble, Chris goes back into the criminal world, which inexplicably involves long boat trips and gunfights with Panamanians while his wife is terrorized back home by a drug dealer (Giovanni Ribisi). This is an overstuffed mess.

4A Dangerous Method

Keira Knightley is just brilliant as a temporarily insane woman who has an affair with her psychiatrist, and that psychiatrist just happens to be Carl Jung (masterfully played by Michael Fassbender). Viggo Mortensen does an impressive turn as Sigmund Freud in this spellbinder from director David Cronenberg. Knightley delivers one of those high-wire performances that go right to the edge of physical and emotional cohesion at all times. When her character is more “ill” in the film’s early stages, her tics and fits are so real, I was actually concerned for her. Watching Fassbender’s Jung and Mortensen’s Freud having intellectual battles over sex and the psyche is one of last year’s great acting feats. This is without a doubt the best thing Knightley has ever done.

4The Descendants

Much of the blame can go to Robinson, who directs with all the finesse of a drunken three-legged polar bear on ice skates suffering from a gaping neck wound. Nothing in this film works, and I mean nothing. All attempts at humor fall flat, with Heigl and O’Mara generating zero screen chemistry.

O’Mara is an actor who has a talent for making every line irritating. He’s just so intense. This is a guy who visits the catering table for coffee a lot during the shoot. This is a

As Ranger, the stud who shows Stephanie the ropes and saves her ass multiple times, Daniel Sunjata is the film’s one true bright spot. He’s funny, he has actual rapport with Heigl, and he needed more screen time. The film goes dark whenever he leaves the screen, and he should’ve been cast as the lead over O’Mara.

The whole thing is set in Jersey, although much of it was shot in Pittsburgh, which means one thing: Bad Jersey accents. Everybody’s got one, most of them sound bad, and Jersey should be pissed.

Heigl’s string of bad luck continues, and it’s no surprise she recently said she’d like to do a return guest spot on Grey’s Anatomy

The big screen hasn’t been kind to her in recent years.

George Clooney delivers another great performance as Matt King, a rich land tycoon living a modest life in Hawaii, trying to get along with his two daughters while his wife is in a coma. Matt finds out some stuff about the wife, and his life takes some interesting turns. Shailene Woodley is excellent here as Matt’s older daughter, as is Amara Miller as the younger one. Robert Forster is both funny and sad as Matt’s bitter father-in-law, while Matthew Lillard gets a good role as a real estate agent with a secret. Written and directed by Alexander Payne (About Schmidt, Election, Sideways), it’s characteristic of his films. There are lots of good laughs to go with the heavy stuff.

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Liam Neeson battles nature and puts up a good fight in director Joe Carnahan’s totally absorbing and devastating survival pic. The Grey tells the scary and surprisingly emotional tale of some Alaskan oil drillers who find themselves stranded in the middle of frozen tundra after their plane crashes. There’s scant chance of survival due to lack of food, lack of shelter and lack of time before temperatures drop and people freeze. There’s also the little matter of nasty, evil wolves trying to dismember them as they fight to stay warm and find food. The animals in The Grey have very little in common with White Fang. Actually, they make the werewolf from An American Werewolf in London look like an elderly pug. Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney and Joe Anderson all shine in supporting roles, but this is Neeson’s movie, containing some of his best work.

3Haywire

While Gina Carano might not be the best with line deliveries, she kicks some major ass as Mallory, a gun for hire who finds herself getting double-crossed by the boss (Ewan McGregor). When Carano is handling a dramatic scene, the film falls flat, but she and director Steven Soderbergh do some pretty amazing stuff when Mallory flies into physical action. She does all of her own stuff, and she’s a sleek badass when it comes to throwing down. Channing Tatum, Antonio Banderas and a healthy Michael Douglas show up in supporting roles, each of them doing a great job. The plot itself is interesting enough, with enough twists and turns to keep you involved. And, yes, this is the umpteenth movie in a year to co-star Michael Fassbender. Does that man ever rest?

4

The Iron Lady

Meryl Streep is my pick for 2011’s Best Actress for her incredible, uncanny work as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in director Phyllida Lloyd’s engaging biopic. Streep disappears into her role. Yes, it’s in partly due to excellent makeup work, but it’s mostly due to Streep’s beautifully nuanced performance. She plays Thatcher at many ages, including her recent declining years, and she’s spot on. Her accent is natural, her physicality is perfection. Yes, the film glosses over a lot of the political aspects that made Thatcher controversial. It focuses mainly on Thatcher’s relationship with her husband (played in later years by Jim Broadbent), and her psychological and emotional difficulties in her elder years. This is all about Streep and seeing an actress showing the world how this sort of thing is done right.

3 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

The famous detective franchise fronted by director Guy Ritchie and Robert Downey Jr. keeps things entertaining but loses a little steam. Sherlock Holmes (Downey Jr.) faces off against the evil Professor James Moriarty, who looks to drag the entire world into war and profit by it. Of course, Watson (Jude Law) is sleuthing right alongside Holmes, and the two actors still have fun screen chemistry. Noomi Rapace, the original Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, is a nice addition, and Rachel McAdams makes a brief appearance. This sequel has a tinge of “been there, done that” and doesn’t really distinguish itself from the original. Still, Downey Jr. is good for a bunch of laughs, and Ritchie does manage some exciting fight scenes.

Grand Sierra Cinema 2500 E. Second St.: 323-1100

Nevada Museum of Art, 160 W. Liberty St.: 329-3333

Sparks

Century Sparks 14, 1250

Victorian Ave.: 357-7400

Carson City Galaxy Fandango, 4000 S. Curry St.: 885-7469

Tahoe

Horizon Stadium Cinemas, Stateline: (775) 589-6000

Yes, Bob. But she did lose her virginity.

The dicemen cometh

The Hardways

by Marvin Gonzalez

Around these parts, the metaphor of life as a roll of the dice actually resonates truth. We’ve all seen someone either on the losing or winning end of this roll as we stroll downtown. Around here, it’s not simply a cute saying. Life is literally a gamble.

The Hardways pay homage to their hometown by carrying this philosophy in their music. In life, as in dice, there is the easy way to achieve a goal, and there is also the hard way.

Easter and McGuire work for 505 Records—they have taken steps to ensure that when their moment of opportunity arises, they’ll be prepared. Part of that is understanding the music business is precisely that—a business.

“Being a self-produced band is like doing things the hard way, so it serves as a model,” says Sperber.

“It used to be music was 70 percent of the battle,” says Schroeder.

“Now, even though we put as much effort into the music as we can, it’s only 30 percent of the battle, the rest is marketing and playing the right shows.”

But these gambling men—Jesse Easter (lead guitar/vocals), Spike McGuire (rhythm guitar), Tyson Schroeder (bass guitar) and Steven Sperber (drums)—approach their music with such focus that they hope to leave little to chance.

“I have taken the Lady Gaga approach for the last few years, in that we are really following what’s happening and delving into all areas,” says McGuire. “If I’m not writing or practicing, I am trying to read up on the industry and see what’s going on.”

They know where they want to end up. “Our goal is to play big, big shows,” says Easter.

That’s the message they hope to send with their CD release party for their album Perpetual Motion on Feb. 4 at The Alley: That they aren’t simply guys on stage playing instruments, but that they have a vision of what they are capable of accomplishing as a band, not simply as musicians.

Still, the struggle of attracting a wide audience continues, which is one of the reasons that they try to make accessible music, and not simply for a niche audience.

“Our music is really radio-friendly, but it’s not necessarily like what you hear on the radio,” says McGuire.

But, of course this requires a balancing act of not compromising sound, while still making it marketable for a national audience. However, The Hardways are committed to the craft of songwriting.

For more information, visit www.reverb nation.com/ thehardways.

They know what they want out of their sound. “We play rock that’s right down the middle to where you can fit in a lot of bills, a lot of venues, and it’s nice to not be segregated,” says Schroeder.

And they understand their constraints within the changing music industry. “It’s a more diluted playing field,” says Sperber. “It’s a bigger plane so everyone levels out.”

But nowadays simply knowing the what, the where and the how is not a guarantee for success. Because of their understanding of the music industry—

“I think a detriment to a lot of bands today is that everyone is playing to shine the brightest, but our number one goal is writing and playing for the song itself,” says Mcguire.

And, Schroeder adds, to convey that theirs is a positive message, “There’s none of that girl-broke-myheart stuff.”

“We’re tired of people complaining, we are tired of relationship songs,” says McGuire.

“One day we will write a ballad,” says Easter. “But it will be a positive one.”

Jesse Easter, left, and Spike McGuire, are members of the “right down the middle” rock band The Hardways.

PHOTO/AMY BECK

Schizopolitans

Feb. 4, 7:30 p.m.

The Holland Project

140 Vesta St. 742-1858

Comedy

3rd Street, 125 W. Third St., 323-5005:

Comedy Night & Improv w/Wayne Walsh, W, 9pm, no cover

Catch a Rising Star, Silver Legacy, 407 N. Virginia St., 329-4777: Marc Ryan, Th, Su, 7:30pm, $15.95; F, 7:30pm, 10pm, $15.95; Sa, 7:30pm, 10pm, $17.95; Patrick Garrity, W, 7:30pm, $15.95

The Improv at Harveys Cabaret, Harveys Lake Tahoe, Stateline, (800) 553-1022: Bob Zany, Gary Cannon, Th-F, Su, 9pm, $25; Sa, 8pm, 10pm, $30; Dat Phan, Brett Walkow, W, 9pm, $25

Reno-Tahoe Comedy at Pioneer Underground, 100 S. Virginia St., 686-6600: Tom McClain, Hark Dulai, Layla Baird, F, 7:30pm; Sa, 7:30pm, 9:30pm, $12, $16; Hynopt!c with Dan Kimm, F, 9:30pm, $16, $21

3RD STREET

125 W. Third St., (775) 323-5005

ABEL’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT

2905 U.S. Highway 40 West, Verdi; (775) 345-2235

THE ALLEY

906 Victorian Ave., Sparks; (775) 358-8891

BECK’S BREW HOUSE

3611 Kings Row, (775) 787-5050

BIGGEST LITTLE CITY CLUB

188 California Ave., (775) 322-2480

THE BLACK TANGERINE

9825 S. Virginia St., (775) 853-5003

CEOL IRISH PUB

538 S. Virginia St., (775) 329-5558

CHAPEL TAVERN

1495 S. Virginia St., (775) 324-2244

COMMA COFFEE

312 S. Carson St., Carson City; (775) 883-2662

COMMROW

255 N. Virginia St., (775) 398-5400

COTTONWOOD RESTAURANT & BAR

10142 Rue Hilltop, Truckee; (530) 587-5711

DAVIDSON’S DISTILLERY

275 E. Fourth St., (775) 324-1917

EL CORTEZ LOUNGE

235 W. Second St., (775) 324-4255

FUEGO

170 S. Virginia St., (775) 322-1800

GREAT BASIN BREWING CO.

846 Victorian Ave., Sparks; (775) 355-7711

THE GRID BAR & GRILL

8545 N. Lake Blvd., Kings Beach; (530) 546-0300

THE HOLLAND PROJECT

140 Vesta St., (775) 742-1858

JAVA JUNGLE

246 W. First St., (775) 329-4484

JAZZ, A LOUISIANA KITCHEN

1180 Scheels Dr., Sparks; (775) 657-8659

Terri Clark, 8pm, $23.50-$56 Billy Martini, 8pm, $9-$21

Richard Blair and The Others, 7pm, no cover Earthrise, 7pm, no cover

Nuke Vegas, Mudslide, 10pm, no cover Los Pistoleros, Mary Jane Rocket, Stabracadabra, 9:30pm, no cover Karaoke, 9pm, Tu, no cover Open mic, 9pm, W, no cover

Karaoke w/Lisa Lisa, 9pm, no coverKaraoke w/Nick, 9pm, no coverKaraoke w/Lisa Lisa, 9pm, no coverKaraoke w/Mitchell, 9pm, no cover Karaoke w/Mitchell, 9pm, M, no cover Karaoke w/Nick, 9pm, Tu, W, no cover

Live flamenco guitar music, 5:30pm, no cover

Open Mic Comedy, 9pm, no cover

Mark Castro Band, 10pm, no cover

Jared Paul, Spoken Views, Two Shits Poetry Collective, 6pm, $5 Schizopolitans, Red Mercury, Crush, 7:30pm, $5

Sunday Music Showcase, 4pm, no cover Java Jungle Open Mic, 7:30pm, M, no cover

Jazz Jam w/First Take featuring Rick Metz, 6pm, no cover

Live jazz w/First Take featuring Rick Metz, 6pm, no cover

Live jazz w/First Take featuring Rick Metz, 6pm, no cover

JUB JUB’S THIRST PARLOR

71 S. Wells Ave., (775) 384-1652

KNITTING FACTORY CONCERT HOUSE

211 N. Virginia St., (775) 323-5648

KNUCKLEHEADS BAR & GRILL

405 Vine St., (775) 323-6500

NEW OASIS

2100 Victorian Ave., Sparks; (775) 359-4020

PADDY & IRENE’S IRISH PUB

906-A Victorian Ave, Sparks; (775) 358-5484

THE POINT

3001 W. Fourth St., (775) 322-3001

POLO LOUNGE

1559 S. Virginia St., (775) 322-8864

RED ROCK

241 S. Sierra St., (775) 324-2468

RYAN’S SALOON

924 S. Wells Ave., (775) 323-4142

SIDELINES BAR & NIGHTCLUB

1237 Baring Blvd., Sparks; (775) 355-1030

SIERRA GOLD

680 S. Meadows Pkwy., (775) 850-1112

SPARKY’S

9570 S. McCarran Blvd., (775) 787-9669

ST. JAMES INFIRMARY

445 California Ave., (775) 657-8484

STREGA BAR

310 S. Arlington Ave., (775) 348-9911

STUDIO ON 4TH

432 E. Fourth St., (775) 786-6460

THE UNDERGROUND

555 E. Fourth St., (775) 786-2582

1) Showroom 2) Tree House Lounge

WALDEN’S COFFEEHOUSE

3940 Mayberry Dr., (775) 787-3307

WURK

Karaoke hosted by Gina Jones, 7pm, no cover

Noche Norteña, Impacto Musical de Nevada, 9pm, free for women until 11pm

Karaoke hosted by Gina Jones, 9pm, no cover

Attack Attack!, The Ghost Inside, Sleeping with Sirens, others, 7pm, $18-$39

Vlad the Impaler, Point Blank, Dr. Mengele, 9pm, $5

Banda Pavorosa, DJ Ras, 9pm, no cover charge for women until 11pm

The Luckey Walker Show featuring Masami, 8pm, no cover

Karaoke hosted by Gina Jones, 9pm, no cover

Stevie D., 8pm, no cover Gemini, 9pm, no cover Gemini, 9pm, no cover

Boogie Monster Acoustic Show, 9pm, no cover

Chord Soup, 8pm, no cover The Atomiks, 9pm, no cover

Jamie Rollins, 9pm, no cover

Social Distortion,

Open Mic Night/College Night, 8pm, Tu, no cover

Super Bowl Potluck Party w/The Palmore Brothers, 2pm, no cover Karaoke hosted by Gina Jones, 7:30pm, W, no cover

Corky Bennett, 7pm, W, no cover

Apostles of Badness, Liquorville, 9pm, M, live jazz, 8pm W, no cover

Black and Blues Jam, 8:30pm, Tu, no cover

Gemini, 9pm, no cover Jamie Rollins, 9pm, no cover

Buster Blue, Blunderbusst, Lucas Young and the Wilderness, 8pm, $10, $15 Elephant Rifle, The Firebombing, Spitting Image, Glacier, 8pm, $10, $15 Jazz Night w/Mike Mayhall & Friends, 7pm, no cover

Vinyl Shit Show, 9pm, no cover DJ Winston Smith, 9pm, no coverDJ Winston Smith, 9pm, no cover Sunday Night Strega Mic, 9pm, no cover

Toast & Jam w/Christy Lynn, 5pm, Spoken Views Poetry Slam, 8pm, no cover Toast & Jam w/Christy Lynn, 5pm, no cover, Kause & Effeckts, 9pm, $5 Interzone (alt. ’80s, hard electronic) w/DJs Endif, Rusty, TV1, 9pm, $5

1)The Trilogy album release show, 8pm, $10, $15

1)Bob Marley’s B-day Bash w/AbjaI, Ishence, Lions of Kush, Jahzilla, others, 8pm, $5, $8

Lenny El Bajo, Kristin Pittman, 7pm, no cover Reno Music Project Open Mic, 7pm, no cover

214 W. Commercial Row, (775) 329-9444 Hype, 10pm, no cover

Nü Fridays, 10pm, no cover charge for women till 2am

Doc Martin, The Mener, Sentry, Miss Cooper, The SubDocta, Fat Sam, 10pm, $5

Strange on the Range, 7pm, M, no cover Tuesday Night Trivia, 8pm, Tu, no cover

Occupy Reno Outreach Night, 9pm, M, Dark Tuesdays w/Stefani, 9pm, Tu, no cover

The Heroine, 8pm, M, $5, Karaoke w/Steve Starr, 8pm, Tu, no cover

Bill Maher

Feb. 4, 8 p.m. Silver Legacy 407 N. Virginia St. 325-7401

Karaoke

Bottoms Up Saloon, 1923 Prater Way, Sparks, 359-3677: Th-Sa, 9pm, no cover

Flowing Tide Pub, 465 S. Meadows Pkwy., Ste. 5, 284-7707; 4690 Longley Lane, Ste. 30, (775) 284-7610: Karaoke, Sa, 9pm, no cover

Red’s Golden Eagle Grill, 5800 Home Run Dr., Spanish Springs, (775) 626-6551: Karaoke w/Manny, F, 8pm, no cover

Sneakers Bar & Grill, 3923 S. McCarran Blvd., 829-8770: Karaoke w/Mark, Sa, 8:30pm, no cover

Spiro’s Sports Bar & Grille, 1475 E. Prater Way, Sparks, 356-6000: Music &Karaoke, F, 9pm; Lovely Karaoke, Sa, 9pm, no cover Washoe Club, 112 S. C St., Virginia City, 8474467: Gothic Productions Karaoke, Su, Tu, 6pm, no cover

ATLANTIS CASINO RESORT SPA

3800 S. Virginia St., (775) 825-4700

1) Grand Ballroom Stage 2) Cabaret

CARSON VALLEY INN 1627 Hwy. 395, Minden; (775) 782-9711

1) Shannon Ballroom 2) Cabaret Lounge

CIRCUS CIRCUS

500 N. Sierra St., (775) 329-0711

CRYSTAL BAY CLUB

14 Hwy. 28, Crystal Bay; (775) 833-6333

1) Crown Room 2) Red Room

ELDORADO HOTEL CASINO 345 N. Virginia St., (775) 786-5700

1) Showroom 2) Brew Brothers

3) Roxy’s Bar & Lounge 4) Cin Cin Bar & Lounge

GRAND SIERRA RESORT 2500 E. Second St., (775) 789-2000

1) Theater 2) 2500 East 3) The Beach

4) Xtreme Sports Bar 5) Mustangs Dancehall & Saloon

6) Summit Pavilion 7) Grand Sierra Ballroom 8) Silver State Pavilion

HARRAH’S LAKE TAHOE 15 Hwy. 50, Stateline; (800) 427-7247

1) South Shore Room 2) Casino Center Stage 3) VEX

HARRAH’S RENO 219 N. Center St., (775) 788-2900

1) Showroom 2) Sapphire Lounge 3) Plaza

4) Convention Center

JOHN ASCUAGA’S NUGGET 1100 Nugget Ave., Sparks; (775) 356-3300

1) Showroom 2) Cabaret 3) Orozko

4) Rose Ballroom 5) Trader Dick’s

PEPPERMILL RESORT SPA CASINO 2707 S. Virginia St., (775) 826-2121

1) Tuscany Ballroom 2) Cabaret 3) Terrace Lounge

4) Edge 5) Aqua Lounge

SILVER LEGACY 407 N. Virginia St., (775) 325-7401

1) Grand Exposition Hall 2) Rum Bullions

3) Aura Ultra Lounge 4) Silver Baron Ballroom

5) Drinx Lounge

TAHOE BILTMORE

5 Hwy. 28, Crystal Bay; (775) 831-0660

1) Breeze Nightclub 2) Casino Floor 3) Conrad’s

5)Country dance lessons w/DJ Jamie

“G”, Cowboy Tom, 8pm, $5

1)Benise—Nights of Fire!, 7pm, 9:30pm, $19.95

1)The Magic of Chin-Chin, 9pm, $54)Baila Latin Dance Party, 7:30pm, $5

1)Tower of Power, 7:30pm, $37.50

2)Arthur Hervey, 8pm, no cover

3)DJ/dancing, VEX Girls, 10:30pm, $20

2)Arthur Hervey, 8pm, no cover

3)DJ/dancing, VEX Girls, 10:30pm, $20

1) Jimmy Shubert, 8pm, $20

2)John Dawson Band, 8pm, no cover

3)Scot Marshall, 5:30pm, no cover

5)Ladies ’80s w/DJ BG, 6pm, no cover

2) Fastlane, 5pm, no cover

3)Chris Costa, 7pm, no cover

2)DJ I, 10pm, no cover

3)Ladies Karaoke Night, 9pm, no cover

1)Steelin’ Dan—A Tribute to Steely Dan, 8pm, $25, $30, Jimmy Shubert, 10:30pm, $20 2)Karaoke, 6pm, Club Sapphire, 9pm, no cover

2)John Dawson Band, 9pm, no cover

3)Scot Marshall, 6pm, no cover 4)Sierra Arts Brew HaHa w/Del Castillo, 9pm, $50, $60

2) Fastlane, 8pm, no cover 3)Tony Vee, 9pm, no cover 4)Salsa dancing, 7pm, $10 after 8pm, DJ Chris English, 10pm, $20

1) Clint Black, 8pm, $42.50

2)Dueling pianos, 9pm, no cover 3)Dance party, 10pm, no cover

1)Tom Miller, 9pm, no cover

1)Steelin’ Dan—A Tribute to Steely Dan, 8pm, $25, $30, Jimmy Shubert, 10:30pm, $20

2)Club Sapphire, 9pm, no cover

2)John Dawson Band, 9pm, no cover

3)Scot Marshall, 6pm, no cover

5)Paul Covarelli, 5:30pm, DJ BG Weekend Jump-Off Party, 10pm, no cover

2) Fastlane, 8pm, no cover 3) Tony Vee, 9pm, no cover 4) Rogue Saturdays, 10pm, $20

1)Bill Maher, 8pm, $45.50, $60.50

2)Dueling pianos, 9pm, no cover 3)Dance party, 10pm, no cover

1)John Shipley, 9pm, no cover

5)Paul Covarelli, 5:30pm, no cover3) Jeff Kashiwa, 6pm, W, no cover

2) Fastlane, 7pm, no cover 3)Tony Vee, 9pm, no cover

2)DJ REXX, 10pm, no cover

Etc., 7pm, no cover

2) Fastlane, 7pm, M, no cover

3) Chris Costa, 7pm, M, W, no cover

2)DJ Tom, 9pm, M, DJ I, 10pm, Tu, W, no cover

3)Dudes Day, 7pm, Tu, Country Night, 7pm, W, no cover

To post events to our online calendar and have them considered for the print edition, visit our website at www.newsreview.com/reno and post your events by registering in the box in the upper right of the page. Once registered, you can log in to post. Events you create will be viewable by the public almost immediately and will be considered for the print calendar in the Reno News & Review.

Listings are free, but not guaranteed.

Online and print submissions are subject to review and editing by the calendar editor. For details, call (775) 324-4440, ext. 3521, or email renocalendar@newsreview.com.

The deadline for entries in the issue of Thurs., Feb. 23, is Thursday, Feb. 16. Listings are free, but not guaranteed.

Events

DIRECTIONS 2012: Experts in the fields of technology, mining, economic development and education talk about what’s changing the playing field in this election year. Speakers include Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, political analyst Karl Rove and Wall Street Journal economics writer Stephen Moore. Th, 2/2, 6:30am. $40-$20. Grand Sierra Resort, 2500 E. Second St., (775) 636-9550.

KIEL JOHNSON: VISITING ARTIST LECTURE: Kiel Johnsons’ drawings and sculptures tell tales, layered narratives speak of his travels and adventures through everyday life. His works become a springboard for metaphorical investigations of the world he inhabits. Tu, 2/7, 5:30pm. Free. Wells Fargo Auditorium, Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center, 1664 N. Virginia St. University of Nevada, Reno, (775) 7844278, www.unr.edu/arts.

LION DANCE PERFORMANCES: One of the traditions of the Chinese New Year is the Lion Dance, a ritual that is performed each new year to frighten away evil spirits and bring luck for the coming year. The Lion Dance will be performed on the Silver Legacy’s mezzanine level near the Mining Rig. F, 2/3, 4, 7 & 10pm; Sa, 2/4, noon, 3, 6 & 9pm; Su, 2/5, noon. Free. Silver Legacy, 407 N. Virginia St., (775) 325-7401.

LIVE SKYTONIGHT TALK: Learn about the nighttime sky during this informal presentation with the aid of state-of-the-art digital technology, followed by telescope viewing (weather permitting) at Rancho San Rafael Park. First F of every month, 6pm. $6 adults; $4 children, seniors. Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center, 1650 N. Virginia St., (775) 784-4812, http://planetarium.unr.edu.

A NOTE-ABLE EVENING OF ROMANCE: The Rat

Pack-themed event features dancing to the swingin’ sounds of Dean, Frank and Sammy, as performed by The Reno Jazz Orchestra, Scot Marshall, Ken Pettiford and The Note-Ables. The evening includes hors d’oeuvres, desserts, champagne and a silent auction. Cocktail attire encouraged. All proceeds benefit music therapy programs and services of The Note-Ables. Sa, 2/4, 7:30pm. $45-$400. Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, 3800 S. Virginia St., (775) 324-5521, www.note-ables.org.

OPEN HOUSE & TELESCOPE CLINIC: Visitors can explore the observatory at their leisure, ask questions of observatory volunteers, learn how telescopes work and even learn how to image celestial objects.First Sa of every month, 7pm. Free. Jack C. Davis Observatory, 2699 Van Patten Drive, Carson City, (775) 445-3240, www.wnc.edu/observatory.

For Thursday, February 2 to Wednesday, February 8

STITCH RED KNIT NIGHT: Jimmy Beans Wool and Reno dentist Zeny N. Ocean join forces to educate women about their risk factors for heart disease and the connection between heart disease and oral health. Dr. Ocean will educate attendees about how they can protect their heart health through a variety of oral hygiene techniques that can be done from home. Stitch Red Knit Night is part of a national heart disease awareness campaign founded by Jimmy Beans Wool. Tu, 2/7, 6pm. Free. Jimmy Beans Wool, 1312 Capital Blvd., Ste. 103, (775) 827-9276, www.stitchred.com.

THE WINTER BALL FIRE AND ICE MASQUERADE: This costume ball benefits Northern Nevada Pagan Pride Day 2012. There will be live entertainment, refreshments and free divination. Silent auction from 6:30pm to 9pm. Steampunk, pirate, Renaissance, ritual garb and other costume dress encouraged. The ball is open to adults age 18 and older. Sa, 2/4, 6:30-10pm. $15 advance; $20 at the door. Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northern Nevada, 780 Del Monte Lane, (775) 827-6104, www.uufnn.org.

WINTER WINE & SKI EXPO: The 12th annual winter fund-raising event features representatives from more than 40 wineries and microbreweries, cuisine from some of Reno-Tahoe top restaurants, representatives from local ski resorts and more than 150 items to bid on at the silent auction. All proceeds will fund Squaw Valley’s Vertical Express for Can Do MS fund-raising event, which benefits Can Do Multiple Sclerosis, a national non-profit organization and provider of lifestyle empowerment programs for people with MS and their support partners. Th, 2/2, 6-9pm. $50 advance; $60 day of event. Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, 3800 S. Virginia St., (775) 825-4700, www.mscando.org.

All ages

ART ADVENTURES FOR KIDS: Kids ages 7-10 will explore different media and techniques weekly. All supplies are included. One-hour workshops, Thursdays, Feb. 2 through March 3 and April 19 through May 24. Pre-registration required. Th, 2/2, 4-5pm; Th, 4/19, 4-5pm. $45 for six classes. VSA Nevada at Lake Mansion, 250 Court St., (775) 826-6100 ext. 3, www.vsanevada.org.

ART ADVENTURES FOR KIDS IN SPARKS: Students ages 6-10 will explore different media and techniques weekly. All supplies are included. One-hour workshops, Thursdays, Feb. 2 through March 8 and April 19 through May 24. Register online. Th, 2/2, 4-5pm; Th, 4/19, 4-5pm. $45 for six classes. Alf Sorensen Community Center, 1400 Baring Blvd., Sparks, (775) 826-6100 ext. 3, www.vsanevada.org.

BARNES & NOBLE STORYTIMES: Staff members and guest readers tell stories to children. Sa, 10am. Free. Barnes & Noble, 5555 S. Virginia St., (775) 826-8882.

DOWN SYNDROME FAMILY SUPPORT GROUPS: Meet other parents who are going through issues faced by relatives or caretakers of a child with a disability. The Down Syndrome Network of Northern Nevada seeks to connect families and create a strong foundation of support. First Tu of every month, 5:45-7:30pm. Free. Nevada Early Intervention Services, 2667 Enterprise Road, (775) 828-5159, http://dsnnn.org.

FUN WITH DRAWING: Students ages 8-12 will learn value, shading and an introduction to perspective while developing techniques and skills to practice on their own.

One-hour workshops, Thursdays, Feb. 2, 2012-March 8, 2012 and April 19, 2012-May 24, 2012. Register online. Th, 2/2, 5:156:15pm; Th, 4/19, 5:15-6:15pm. $45 per person, all supplies included. VSA Nevada at Lake Mansion, 250 Court St., (775) 8266100 ext. 3, www.vsanevada.org.

FUN WITH DRAWING IN SPARKS: Students ages 8-12 will learn value, shading and an introduction to perspective while developing techniques and skills to practice on their own. One-hour workshops, Thursdays, Feb. 2-March 8 and April 19May 24. All supplies included. Register online. Th, 2/2, 5:15-6:15pm; Th, 4/19, 5:156:15pm. $45 per person. Alf Sorensen Community Center, 1400 Baring Blvd., Sparks, (775) 826-6100 ext. 3, www.vsanevada.org.

KINDERART: Youngsters will explore different mediums every week. Classes will be held on Mondays, Feb. 6-March 19 (no class on Feb. 20) and April 16-May 21. Pre-registration required. M, 2/6, 12pm; M, 4/16, 1-2pm. $45. VSA Nevada at Lake Mansion, 250 Court St., (775) 8266100 ext. 3, www.vsanevada.org.

LEARN TO SEW: Girls and boys ages 9-14 can learn how to sew multiple projects. Classes are held every Thursday, Feb. 2-March 22 and March 29-May 24 (no class April 12). Register online. Th, 2/2, 4-5:30pm; Th, 3/29, 4-5:30pm. $75 for eight classes. VSA Nevada at Lake Mansion, 250 Court St., (775) 826-6100 ext. 3, www.vsanevada.org.

MOMMY (OR DADDY) AND ME: Nurture your child’s creative process. Open to children ages 3-5 accompanied by an adult. Classes are Mondays from Feb. 6-March 19. Register online. M, 2/6, 9-10am. $50 for the first child with adult; $10 for each additional child. VSA Nevada at Lake Mansion, 250 Court St., (775) 826-6100 ext. 3, www.vsanevada.org.

continued on page 28

Roll out the barrel

Raise a pint or two and help local arts programs by attending Sierra Arts’ BrewHaHa. The 17th annual fundraiser features beer from 35 breweries, including New Belgium, Newcastle, Pyramid, Anderson Valley, Mammoth, Heineken, Sierra Nevada and Sam Adams, as well as local establishments like Buckbean, Silver Peak and Great Basin Brewing Co. The Latin rock music of Del Castillo (pictured) should keep you in a festive mood while you’re enjoying your brew. The Austin, Texas, band plays a mix of rock, blues, R&B, flamenco and Latin rhythms, and have been featured in the soundtracks of several films by director Robert Rodriguez, including Once Upon A Time in Mexico, Sin City and Grindhouse The party also features a raffle and the VIP Brewers Reception that starts at 7 p.m. Proceeds from BrewHaHa will go toward Sierra Arts Foundation, which provides support to programs such as Arts Education, the Elder Care Concert Series and the Arts Infusion Project. Tickets are $50 general admission and $60 for VIP tickets. BrewHaHa starts at 8 p.m., Feb. 3, in the Rose Ballroom at John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave., Sparks. Call 329-2787 or visit www.sierra-arts.org.

—Kelley Lang

continued from page 27

NORTHSTAR RIPPEROO PARADE: The Ski & Snowboard School mascot will lead guests through the village for an afternoon filled with music, singing, dancing and fun. Ripperoo parades depart from the Adventure, Learning & Guiding Center, located next door to the Season Pass Office. Sa, 2/4, 4:45-5:30pm. Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort, 100 Northstar Drive, Truckee, (800) 466-6784, www.northstarcalifornia.com.

STORY TIME AT SUNDANCE WITH JOYCE ROSSI: The local children’s book author shares stories, rhymes, songs and activities with children ages 3-6. Children must be accompanied by a guardian or chaperone. F, 2/3, 10:3011:15am. Free. Sundance Bookstore & Music, 121 California Ave., (775) 786-1188, www.sundancebookstore.com.

Art

ARTISTS CO-OP OF RENO GALLERY: Great Basin Bonanza. Artists Co-op of Reno hosts this month-long art show and sale to benefit the Great Basin Outdoor School. The art featured will be representative of the scenery and life in the Great Basin. There will be a reception on Feb. 5. M-Su, 11am-4pm through 2/29; Su, 2/5, 1-4pm. Free. 627 Mill St., (775) 322-8896, www.artistsco-opgalleryreno.com.

THE HOLLAND PROJECT GALLERY: Homebodies

Local artists Bryan Christiansen, Jen Graham and Leah Ruby showcase their work in non-traditional media exploring domestic objects and utilitarian craft. Tu-Sa, 3-6pm through 2/18. Free. 140 Vesta St., (775) 7421858, www.hollandreno.org.

Shove thy neighbor

My commitment-phobic boyfriend of several years is also my neighbor. I resolved to make it work with him and then caught him on FriendFinder exchanging numerous messages with some woman in Tijuana. He claimed he was just being friendly. I asked if he’d correspond with a guy. He responded, “No. I’m not gay.” Humiliatingly, I’ve let him use me for things he can’t afford. (He’s been unemployed for two years.) He sometimes showers at his tiny apartment but basically uses it for storage. He refuses to move in with me so we could pay expenses with money his grandma gives him for his rent, but he spends all his time at my place (where I pay for everything). He partakes of my cable TV, internet, food and beer, and he even eats food I buy specially for my 9-year-old son. Well, he’s now my ex-boyfriend. As he’s been many times before. What’s with him? Is talking to some random woman on the internet worth losing everything over?

Feminists have hammered into us girls that we aren’t supposed to sit around dreaming of being rescued by some prince. Somehow, I don’t think the alternative’s supposed to be opting for the mooch neighbor who eats your kid’s food while using your DSLto talk to some chiquita in Tijuana.

Why do you keep taking him back? You’re probably engaging in “future discounting,” an econ term explaining how we’re prone to forgo big benefits down the road for a small immediate reward. It helps to recognize that you’ll be tempted to go for

NORTH TAHOE ARTS CENTER: TheWeekly’s30Year

AnniversaryExhibit, The Weekly magazine celebrates its 30th anniversary with an exhibit of 30 years of Weekly covers. M, W-Su, 11am-4pm through 2/27; PrintmakingExtravaganza

Artists Candace Nicol, Larry Hunt, Sue Gross, Cathy McClelland and Janet Martin will exhibit a genre of printmaking techniques from wood cuts, collagraph assemblage, screen prints, silk screening, metal etching, monotype, relief and intaglio to name a few. Artists reception is Feb. 10, 5-7pm. M, W-Su, 11am-4pm through 2/27. Art Gallery & Gift Shop, 380 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, (530) 581-2787, www.northtahoearts.com.

continued on page 30

the quick fix. You’ll be lonely some night and rationalize all the reasons he isn’t so bad after all, and before you know it, there’ll be a familiar barnacle attaching itself to your hull. To avoid backsliding, don’t rely on yourself to gin up self-control in the moment. Use tricks like “precommitment” to your goal, a strategy originated by Nobel Prize-winning economist Thomas Schelling and recommended by Dr. Roy Baumeister and John Tierney in their book, Willpower Precommitment involves setting things up in advance so it’s hard to cheat. Research suggests that two of the most helpful measures are recruiting others to monitor your progress and establishing financial penalties for relapse—the higher, the better. It also helps to give yourself small rewards for daily good behavior. Maybe put aside $5 on each day you don’t call him and give yourself occasional lump-sum rewards, like at the two months loser-free mark. The website stickk.com can help. You can configure it to forfeit your money to a cause you hate if you fail.

Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave. #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or email AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com).

Print ads start at $6/wk. www.newsreview.com or (775) 324-4440 ext. 5

Phone hours: M-F 8am-5pm.

All ads post online same day.

Online ads are STILL FREE!*

space occupied by such an error or omission. The advertiser and not the newspaper assumes full responsibility for the truthful content of their advertising message.

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continued from page 28

SHEPPARD FINE ARTS GALLERY, CHURCH FINE ARTS BUILDING, UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO: No Strings Attached Exhibition. The Biennial Valentines Auction serves as a fund-raising event for the Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery. This year’s theme, “No Strings Attached,” will provide an opportunity for local, regional and national artists to create unique and highly diverse valentines. Silent auction and reception, 5:30-8pm on Feb. 10. Auction starts at 5:30pm and ends at 6:30pm. Through 2/10. Free. Contact University Arts Information 1664 N. Virginia St., (775) 784-6658, www.unr.edu/arts.

SIERRA NEVADA COLLEGE: LIGHT ON YOUR FEET: A Study in Play, Participation and Collaboration, This group art show explores improvisation, practice, performance, movement and synergy. There will be a reception and performance on Feb. 9 at 5pm. M-F, 5-7pm through 2/9. Free. 999 Tahoe Blvd., Incline Village, (775) 881-7549, www.sierranevada.edu.

STREGA BAR: Art Show. Strega Bar will host an art exhibit featuring work by Rev Luficarius van Ratspeed, Gary Weinheimer, Michael Kelly, Alexandria Nicol, Bill Harris, Arielle Murphy and Stefani Leota, as well as work by TMCC art students. Mediums include photography, men’s tailoring and prints. MSu through 2/10. Free. 310 S. Arlington Ave., (775) 348-9911.

Call for Artists

NORTH TAHOE ARTS OPEN CALL FOR MARCH EXHIBIT: North Tahoe Arts invites artists to submit artwork for its March exhibition Wildlife in Wild Places. The show has an all-animal theme and is open to all mediums. Send three images of your work on a CD or email to info@northtahoearts.com. Please label your CD with your name and a self-stamped enveloped for its return. A non-refundable application fee of $20 is required for processing. Deadline for applications is Feb. 17. M-Su, 10am-4pm . North Tahoe Arts Center, Art Gallery & Gift Shop, 380 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, (530) 5812787, www.northtahoearts.com.

Museums

NATIONAL AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM (THE HARRAH COLLECTION): Mutant Rides: Origin of a Species M-Su through 7/25. 10 S. Lake St., (775) 333-9300, http://automuseum.org.

NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: BasqueAspenTreeArt Exhibition, W-Sa, 10am-5pm through 4/28; Reno: BiggestLittleCityintheWorld, W-Sa, 10am-5pm $4 adults; free for members, children age 17 and younger. 1650 N. Virginia St., (775) 688-1190.

NEVADA MUSEUM OF ART: Jacob Hashimoto: Here in Sleep, a World, Muted to a Whisper W-F, Su through 7/1; The Canary Project: Landscapes of Climate Change, W-Su through 4/29; August Sander: Face of Our Time, W-Su through 4/22; Tim Hawkinson: Totem, W-Su through 10/7; Peter Liashkov: Paper Cowboy, W-Su through 4/15; This is Not a Trojan Horse, W-Su through 3/11; Art, Science, and the Arc of Inquiry: The Evolution of the Nevada Museum of Art, W-Su

through 7/1; Jean-Luc Mylayne: The Heavens Are Blue, W-Su through 3/11; Landscape Futures: Instruments, Devices and Architectural Inventions, W-Su through 2/19 $1-$10; free for NMA members. 160 W. Liberty St., (775) 329-3333, www.nevadaart.org.

WILBUR D. MAY MUSEUM, RANCHO SAN RAFAEL

REGIONAL PARK: King Tut: Wonderful Things from the Pharaohs Tomb, W-Sa, 10am-4pm through 5/23; Su, 12-4pm through 5/20. $8-$9. 1595 N. Sierra St., (775) 785-5961.

Film

THRIVE: Transition Reno presents a screening of this documentary film that lifts the veil on what’s going on in our world by following the money upstream, uncovering the global consolidation of power in nearly every aspect of our lives. The event includes a panel discussion with local artist Jim Eaglesmith and local visionary Kyle Chandler-Isacksen. Tu, 2/7, 7-10pm. Free. Good Luck Macbeth Theater, 119 N. Virginia St., (775) 337-9111, www.artemisiamovies.org.

Music

BLUEGRASS JAM: Northern Nevada Bluegrass Association hosts this bluegrass jam. First Tu of every month, 7-9pm. Free. Maytan Music Center, 777 S. Center St., (775) 323-5443, www.nnba.org.

BRANDON HEATH AND I AM “THEY” LIVE: The musical acts present an evening of music and worship. F, 2/3, 7pm. $15 general; $25 VIP meet and greet. The Rock Church, 4950 Vista Blvd., Sparks, (775) 750-4431, www.inlinemusicproductions.com.

COME IN FROM THE COLD: The family entertainment series continues with a program of bluegrass music performed by Homemade Jam. Sa, 2/4, 7pm. $3 suggested donation per person. Western Heritage Interpretive Center, Bartley Ranch Regional Park, 6000 Bartley Ranch Road, (775) 828-6612.

DOUBLE REED DAY: University of Nevada, Reno music faculty members, oboist Andrea Lenz and bassoonist Eric Fassbende host this educational event for bassoon and oboe players of all ages and abilities. Activities include classes on reed-making and adjustment, a master class and a mass double-reed ensemble for all participants. At the end of the event, there will be a recital featuring university music faculty, the university bassoon ensemble, woodwind quintet and the Double Reed Day ensemble. Sa, 2/4, 1pm. Free.

Nightingale Concert Hall, Church Fine Arts Complex, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., (775) 682-9020, www.unr.edu/arts.

JAZZ REACH: This globally themed main-stage program features performances of all new commissions by internationally recognized jazz composers Lionel Loueke, Omer Avital, Yosvany Terry, Miguel Zenon, Rudresh Mahanthappa and Marcus Strickland. Each composition is inspired by elements of both the American jazz tradition and the indigenous music of each composer’s respective

RENO BIGHORNS: The NBA D-league team plays Bakersfield Jam. Sa, 2/4, 7pm; M, 2/6, 7pm; Sa, 3/3, 7pm; Su, 3/4, 3pm. $8-$125. Reno Events Center, 400 N. Center St., (775) 284-2622, www.renobighorns.com.

SCHEELS RUNNING AND WALKING CLUB: Runners and walkers are invited to join this Tuesday night group run. Water and snacks will be available after the runs. Meet in the mens sport shoe shop. Tu, 6:30pm through 11/27. Free. Scheels, 1200 Scheels Drive, Sparks, (775) 331-2700, www.scheels.com/events.

WOLF PACK MEN’S BASKETBALL: The University of Nevada, Reno plays Utah State. Th, 2/2, 7pm; UNR plays University of Idaho. Sa, 2/4, 7pm. $10-$117. Lawlor Events Center, 1500 N. Virginia St., (775) 348-7225, www.nevadawolfpack.com.

Onstage

DEALT A DEADLY HAND—MURDER AT THE CARSON CITY

Auditions

AUDITIONS FOR CINDERELLA: Wild Horse Children’s Theater looking for actors, singers and dancers ages 5 to 11 for its spring musical production of Cinderella. Auditions will be held Thursday, Feb. 2 starting at 4pm and Saturday, Feb. 4 starting at 10am. Auditions are by appointment only. Those auditioning should bring a short (one minute or less) song with accompaniment on tape or CD. Please wear comfortable clothes and shoes and plan to arrive promptly to be photographed and fill out forms, including parental consent forms. Th, 2/2, 4pm; Sa, 2/4, 10am. Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada, 813 N. Carson St., Carson City, (775) 887-0438, www.wildhorsetheater.com.

country of origin. The opening piece will be performed by 35 local jazz musicians from Incline Village, North Lake Tahoe and Truckee. F, 2/3, 7pm. $15 adults; $5 children, seniors, military. Frank Sinatra Showroom, Cal Neva Resort, 2 Stateline Road, Crystal Bay, (530) 582-8278, www.artsfortheschools.org.

A JOURNEY THROUGH PRELUDES: Award-winning pianist Adela H. Park explores the evolution of piano writing from classical to contemporary through the prism of preludes. Featuring works by Bach, Debussy, Messiaen, Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff and closing with the cycle of 24 Preludes, Op. 28 by Frederic Chopin. Presented by the Argenta Concert Series. F, 2/3, 7:30pm. $20 adults; $5 UNR students. Nightingale Concert Hall, Church Fine Arts Complex, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., (775) 784-4278, www.unr.edu/arts.

NATIONWIDE GOSPEL SHOWCASE BENEFIT EVENT: New Believers Christian Fellowship presents its JAMS (Jesus Anointed Music Servants)

Nationwide Gospel Showcase Benefit Concert featuring choir groups, praise dance teams, praise teams, gospel rappers, poets, mime acts, stage play acts, musicians, singers, and more. The church hopes to raise $1 million and more to purchase more than 200 roundtrip tickets to send ministers, pastors, gospel artists, youth team groups, etc., to Jerusalem, Israel, to support its Praise and Worship Tour. Sa, 2/4, 7-9pm; Sa, 2/18, 7-9pm. Free. New Believers Christian Fellowship Church, 680 Montello St., (775) 250-9003, http://newbelieverschristianfellowshipchurch.org/events.html.

PIPES ON THE RIVER: The Friday lunchtime concert series features guest artists performing on the church’s Casavant pipe organ. F, noon. Free. Trinity Episcopal Church, 200 Island Ave., (775) 329-4279, www.trinityreno.org.

TYLER STAFFORD: The Reno singer-songwriter will perform songs from his newly released album On a String Sa, 2/4, 2pm. Free. Brewery Arts Center Artisans Store, 449 W. King St., Carson City, (775) 883-1976, www.breweryarts.org.

Sports & fitness

30/30 (CARDIO MAT/STRETCHING): Thirty minutes of Cardio Mat Pilates and 30 minutes of intensive stretching. Intermediate-level strength, stamina and flexibility are required for this class which emphasizes the principle of fluidity. Call to reserve your spot. M through 12/31. $15 per class. Mind Body & Pilates, 670 Alvaro St., Ste. B, (775) 745-4151, www.yogareno.com.

MOONLIGHT SNOWSHOE TOUR AT NORTHSTAR: Guides will lead guests through a variety of trails and terrain. There will be two to three different routes ranging in difficulty and distance. After the trek, guests will return to the Cross-Country Ski, Telemark & Snowshoe Center for some live acoustic music, s'mores and hot chocolate around the fire pits under the moonlight. Sa, 2/4, 5-7pm. Northstar-atTahoe, 100 Northstar Drive, Truckee, (800) 466-6784, www.northstarcalifornia.com.

CASINO ROYALE: Proscenium Players Inc. presents this murder mystery dinner theater production that spoofs the movie Casablanca and the American Dream of winning the jackpot. Reservations required. F, 2/3, 6pm; Sa, 2/4, 6pm. $35 general; $32 students, seniors, PPI members. Gold Dust West Casino Carson City, 2171 U.S. Highway 50 East, Carson City, (775) 781-0664, www.prosceniumplayers.org.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST: Good Luck

Macbeth presents Oscar Wilde’s popular play about a couple of English aristocrats pretending to be the same made-up person in order to escape burdensome social obligations in Victorian London. F, 2/3; Sa, 2/4; F, 2/10; Sa, 2/11; Su, 2/12; F, 2/17; Sa, 2/18. $4-$20. Good Luck Macbeth Theater, 119 N. Virginia St., (775) 3223716, www.goodluckmacbeth.org.

IN THE NEXT ROOM (OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY): Brüka Theatre presents Sarah Ruhl’s comedy “about marriage, intimacy and electricity.” There will be a talkback with the company following the Feb. 12 matinee performance.

Th, 2/2, 8pm; F, 2/3, 8pm; Sa, 2/4, 8pm; Th, 2/9, 8pm; F, 2/10, 8pm; Sa, 2/11, 8pm; Su, 2/12, 2pm; Th, 2/16, 8pm; F, 2/17, 8pm; Sa, 2/18, 8pm. $18 general admission; $16 students, seniors and military; $20 at the door. Brüka Theatre, 99 N. Virginia St., (775) 323-3221, www.bruka.org.

UNR COMEDY SERIES WITH K-VON AND SAY EM: RenoStandUp.com presents the first UNR Comedy Night of the semester. The show features headlining comedian K-Von, featured comedian Say Em, host Danwise and guest comedian John Gallagher. Sa, 2/4, 8:45pm. Free. Joe Crowley Student Union, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., (775) 293-8669, www.renostandup.com.

AUDITIONS FOR DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE: TheatreWorks of Northern Nevada hold auditions for its production of Sarah Ruhl’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone. Please prepare a twominute contemporary monologue. Callbacks will be held at the same location on Feb. 6 with cold readings from the script. The theater company seeks a cast of six characters: two males and four females ranging in age from early 20s to early 50s. F, 2/3, 6-8pm; M, 2/6, 6-8pm. Free. Wildflower Village, 4275-4395 W. Fourth St., (775) 240-6970, www.twnn.org.

RLT AUDITIONS FOR AUGUST, OSAGE CO.: August, Osage County by Tracy Letts is a Tony Award-winning dark comedy about a dysfunctional, true-to-life family. Auditions consist of cold readings from the script plus movement exercises. Needed: seven women, ages 16-60s; six men, ages mid-20s-60s. Su, 2/5, 7-10pm; M, 2/6, 7-10pm. Free. Reno Little Theater Rehearsal Hall, 246 E. Arroyo St., (775) 348-7091, www.renolittletheater.org.

Classes

BANKRUPTCY EDUCATION CLINIC: Nevada Legal Services Inc. and Washoe Legal Services host this legal education clinic. Pre-registration requested to ensure the availability of materials. First Tu of every month, 1:30-3:30pm; Third Th of every month, 1:30-3:30pm. Free. Nevada Legal Services, 654 Tahoe St., (775) 284-3491 ext. 214.

CROCHET 101-THE BASICS: Learn the basic crochet stitches while working on your first scarf. Sa, 2/4, 11am-1pm; W, 2/8, 5-7pm; W, 3/7, 5-7pm; Sa, 3/10, 11am-1pm. $25. Jimmy Beans Wool, 1312 Capital Blvd., Ste. 103, (775) 8279276, www.jimmybeanswool.com/class.asp.

FAMILY LAW EDUCATION CLINIC: Nevada Legal Services host this Q & A session for those seeking information regarding family law issues. Call to register for class. First Tu of every month, 4:30-6pm. Free. Nevada Legal Services, 654 Tahoe St., (775) 284-3491 ext. 214.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Sad but true: A lot of people seem to be perpetually in a state of wanting what they don’t have and not wanting what they actually do have. I’m begging you not to be like that in the coming weeks, Aries. Please? I’ll tell you why: More than I’ve seen in a long time, you will have everything going for you if you want precisely what you do have—and are not full of longing for what’s unavailable. Do you think you can you manage that brilliant trick? If so, you will be amazed by the sublimity of the peace that will settle over you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Of all the signs of the zodiac, Tauruses are the least likely to be arrogant. Sadly, in a related development, they’re also among the most likely to have low self-esteem. But your tribe now has an excellent opportunity to address the latter problem. Current cosmic rhythms are inviting you rather loudly and dramatically to boost your confidence, even at the risk of you careening into the forbidden realm of arrogance. That’s why I recommend Taurus musician Trent Reznor as your role model. He has no problem summoning feelings of self-worth. As evidence, here’s what he confessed when asked about whether he frequents music social networks: “I don’t care what my friends are listening to. Because I’m cooler than they are.”

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “If Mark Twain had had Twitter,” says humorist Andy Borowitz, “he would have been amazing at it. But he probably wouldn’t have gotten around to writing Huckleberry Finn.” I think you’re facing a comparable choice, Gemini. You can either get a lot of little things done that will serve your short-term aims, or else you can at least partially withdraw from the day-to-day give-and-take so as to devote yourself with more focus to a longrange goal. I’m not here to tell you which way to go; I just want to make sure you know the nature of the decision before you.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You now have a special talent for helping your allies tap into their dormant potentials and latent energy. If you choose to use it, you will also have a knack for snapping lost sheep and fallen angels out of their wasteful trances. There’s a third kind of magic you have in abundance right now, Cancerian, and that’s the ability to coax concealed truths out of their hiding places. Personally, I’m hopeful that you will make lavish use of these gifts. I should mention, however, that some people may resist you. The transformations you could conceivably set in motion with your superpowers might seem alarming to them. So I suggest that you hang out as much as possible with change-lovers who like the strong medicine you have to offer.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Publishing a volume of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo,” said author Don Marquis, speaking from experience. Something you’re considering, Leo, may seem to fit that description, too. It’s a project or action or gift that you’d feel good about offering, but you also wonder whether it will generate the same buzz as that rose petal floating down into the Grand Canyon. Here’s what I think: To the degree that you shed your attachment to making an impact, you will make the exact impact that matters most. Give yourself without any expectations.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Comedian Louis CK told a story about his young daughter. She had a fever, and he gave her some Tylenol that was bubble gum flavored. “Ewwww!” she complained. Louis was exasperated. “You can’t say ‘ewwww,’” he told her. What he meant was that as a white kid in America, she’s among the most privileged characters in the world—certainly far luckier than all the poor children who have no medicine at all, let alone medicine that tastes like candy. I’m going to present a similar argument to you, Virgo. In the large scheme of things, your suffering right now is small. Try to keep your attention on your blessings rather than your discomfort.

BY ROB BREZSNY

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I stumbled upon an engineering textbook for undergraduates. There was a section on how to do technical writing, as opposed to the literary kind. It quoted a poem by Edgar Allan Poe: “Helen, thy beauty is to me / Like those Nicean barks of yore / That gently, o’er a perfumed sea, / The weary way-worn wanderer bore / To his own native shore.” Then the book gave advice to the student: “To express these ideas in technical writing, we would simply say, ‘He thinks Helen is beautiful.’” Don’t take shortcuts like that, Libra. For the sake of your emotional health and spiritual integrity, you can’t see or treat the world anything like what a technical writer would.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Are you ready to start playing in earnest with that riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma? Are you looking forward to the rough and tumble fun that will ensue after you leap into the middle of that sucker and start trying to decipher its impossibly interesting meaning? I hope you are primed and eager, Scorpio. I hope you can’t wait to try to answer the question that seems to have no answer. Be brave and adventurous, my friend—and be intent on having a blast.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Lessons could come to you from unforeseen sources and unanticipated directions during the next few weeks, Sagittarius. They will also come in expected forms from all the familiar influences, so the sum total of your learning could be pretty spectacular. To take maximum advantage of the opportunity, just assume that everyone and everything might have useful teachings for you—even people you usually ignore and situations that have bored you in the past. Act like an eager student who’s hungry for knowledge and curious to fill in the gaps in your education.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “The consuming desire of most human beings is deliberately to plant their whole life in the hands of some other person,” said British writer Quentin Crisp. If you harbor even a small tendency in that direction, Capricorn, I hope that in the coming days you will make a concentrated effort to talk yourself out of it. In my astrological opinion, this is a critical moment in the long-term evolution of your healthy self-sufficiency. For both your own sake and the sake of the people you love, you must find a way to shrink your urge to make them responsible for your well-being.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): If you go to California’s Yosemite National Park this month, you might get the chance to witness a reddish gold waterfall. Here’s how: At sunset, gaze up at the sheer east face of the rock formation known as El Capitan. There you will see what seems to be a vertical river of fire, also known as Horsetail Fall. I nominate this marvel to be your inspirational symbol for the coming weeks. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will have the power to blend fire and water in novel ways. I encourage you to look at the photo here—bit.ly/fluidicfire—and imprint the image on your mind’s eye. It will help unleash the subconscious forces you’ll need to pull off your own natural wonder.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): After singer Amy Winehouse died, actor Russell Brand asked the public and media to scale back their derisive opinions about her struggle with intoxicants. Addiction isn’t a romantic affectation or glamorous self-indulgence that people are too lazy to overcome, he said. It’s a disease. Would you mock a schizophrenic for his “stupid” propensity for hearing voices? Would you ridicule a victim of multiple sclerosis for not being vigorous?

I’m of the opinion that all of us have at least one addiction, although it may not be as disabling as Winehouse’s weakness for liquor and narcotics. What’s yours, Pisces? Porn? Sugar? Internet? Bad relationships? The coming weeks would be a very good time to seek help in healing it.

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily text message horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at (877) 873-4888 or (900) 950-7700.

Rocket man

Dan Ruby

Dan Ruby, associate director of the Fleishmann Planetarium and graduate student in UNR’s college of education, is among 26 educators to be accepted to conduct research on NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). SOFIA is a Boeing 747SP outfitted with a 100-inch diameter telescope, allowing astronomy educators to participate in intense, detailed research alongside NASA astronomers.

How did you hear about this program and what made you want to apply?

A friend of a friend was a flight engineer on this project, and this friend sent me this notice, so I kind of filed it away with every other NASA notice I get. But I thought, oh that looks kind of cool, that could be kind of fun. It could be fun getting to fly, but also getting, like, a flight jacket and a mission patch would be cool. Then I realized this was a fairly intense application process. … You have to have a teammate, and my teammate is Matt Oates at Dilworth Middle School [STEM academy]. He’s a guy I know that I thought might be interested. We had to put together an education plan, because it’s not just about teachers having fun, that’s not the point. It worked out pretty well because we get a lot of field trip visitors here [at the planetarium], like 10-15,000 kids each year come for field trips, and that’s a

pretty good captive audience that I get to talk to about this stuff, and we get a ton of public visitors too. NASA is very interested in middle school kids, and getting middle school kids interested in science, so that they become high school kids interested in science, and then college kids interested in science. So we did it and got selected. … We’ll be airborne astronomy ambassadors.

So you’re not quite going into space, just pretty close, right?

No, it’s just a 747. We’ll go around 40,000 to 50,000 feet, around the same elevation as most commercial carriers. But with the telescope we’ll be able to see things really clearly.

What is the training process like?

I’m not exactly sure since they just let us know a few weeks ago that we were in. we got a bunch of packets in the mail, like cool

Vonnegut by way of hard bodies

After seeing that an estimated 36,000 people floated by JoePa’s casket last week in Stepford Valley, Penn., I’m once again reminded that if we Americans could somehow harness just one-tenth of the energy that we expend on our national religion (football, baby!) and divert that energy towards the building of better, stronger and more cooperative communities from coast to coast, we’d probably be real impressed. Just a hunch.

And after slobbishly dialing up TMZ so I could feed upon the latest prurient blab about who’s having sex with whom, I’m once again reminded that we Americans—well, I’m sure this is a cultural plague in Iceland, Spain, and Brazil, too—but goddamn, we sure appear to be completely strung out on gobbling up the latest scuttlebutt about which nice-looking celebrity is having intercourse with which nicelooking hard body. I mean, how many people are out there in the great wasteland thriving on the vicarious thrills generated by these up-to-theminute boinking bulletins?

packages of stuff of all the stuff we have to do. We have to take grad courses on astronomy, and that’s this semester, which is kind of crazy because that’s like, work, and I’m already taking other classes so it’s like, wow, a bigger course load. But I think the credits will actually count toward my degree, so that’s good. But that’s pretty intense. And you know, regular teleconferences, and there’s going to be some week where we have to go and do light instrument training, and then we go on an overnight flight. … We’ve got to take a week off to do the mission part of the program, and then classes this semester, and then another year to do our education plan for it.

So if you fail your classes, will they not let you fly?

Well, no, but at this point, no one is going to fail. It’s an astronomy class for educators.

What do you hope to bring back to your work at the planetarium?

The thing is focusing on what is intrinsically interesting about that experience, which is infrared astronomy. And you can learn a lot about how the universe is made up with those instruments [telescopes]. So it’s a way to talk about that and just add that personal touch like infrared astronomy is cool, airborne astronomy is cool, and I know because I did it. … We want the kids to focus on space. It has to be the science that’s cool, and just the neatness of the universe. Ω

Whatever the answer to that question, I’m positive it’s an absolutely awesome number that indirectly reveals that Kurt Vonnegut was on the right track when he wrote in his nifty novel Galapagos that the planet itself was in great peril because there were all these creatures with these huge and dangerous computers in their skulls, about 7 billion at last count, and they were just positively running amok with self-absorbed desires directly connected to either their (a) guts or (b) gonads. They needed to literally devolve because their behavior was utterly controlled by these outlandishly complex chunks of gray matter that were just too much, too wild, and too fucking crazy for Mama Gaia to tolerate any longer. And it took a few generations, according to Kurt, but the problem eventually got fixed in a most clever and humorous way.

Speaking of blab, there’s been much of this ever-cheapening commodity generated lately on the hot potato topic of the Keystone XL pipeline project, the one that would bring a nearly bottomless stream of tar sands to the

oil refineries of America. In the midst of this particular blabstorm, someone asked a simple, direct question.

“Why not build refineries in Alberta, where the sludge could then be processed and this pipeline talk made moot?” Good question.

The instant nutshell answer is, of course, money. As usual. Duh.

Estimates now holding serve say the pipeline project would cost $7 billion. Meaning it would probably top out at about $12 billion. To build the refineries necessary to deal with the massive volume of goo (think cold molasses) getting scraped out of the mighty Athabasca lode, it would, say the oil giants, cost $15-20 billion. (How many billions? Are you serious? Come on!) So anyway, there ya go. The discussions and arguments are all online, but don’t bug me about that stuff because I gotta find out why Heidi and Seal are getting divorced, and just where did it all go wrong

PHOTO/ASHLEY HENNEFER

by Ashley Hennefer