Jan. 9, 2014

Letters............................ 2 Opinion/Streetalk............ 3 Sheila.Leslie.................... 5 Brendan.Trainor.............. 5 News.............................. 6 Green............................. 8 Feature........................... 9 Arts&Culture................ 12 Art.of.the.State............. 15

Foodfinds...................... 16 Film............................... 17 Musicbeat..................... 19 Nightclubs/Casinos....... 20 This.Week.................... 23 Advice.Goddess........... 24 Free.Will.Astrology........26 15.Minutes.....................27 Bruce.Van.Dyke............27

On yOur marks See News, page 6.

If you gIve a lIttle, you’ll get a lIttle See Green, page 8.

BEST MUSIC

of 2013

See Arts&Culture, page 12.

we’ve gOt big bOwls See Foodfinds, page 16.

RENo’s NEws & ENtERtaiNmENt wEEkly

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VolumE

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JaNuaRy

9-15,

2014

Send letters to renoletters@newsreview.com

I don’t mind Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

I’m writing from my dad’s living room in Falls City, Nebr.

Needless to say, with the Gator Bowl victory on New Year’s Day, all is well in the Cornhusker State.

I didn’t actually watch the game, as I was taking a nap, recovering from a late New Year’s Eve celebration at the Would Eye. I’ve thought a lot about the nature of memory while I’ve been here. It’s kind of strange, but totally normal, I suppose.

There are so many things that I know exist in my mind, but I don’t really know how to access them. For example, I remember my house at 1204 Dundy St., which was the primary house we lived in until I was in third grade, but it wasn’t til I drove by it that the cascade of memories began. For example, I could name every family that lived within blocks.

It’ll take brains far better equipped than mine to explain, but I’d sure like to understand where those memories exist.

I mean, at their most basic, memories are things, right?

They’re made of chemicals and tissue. But the brain is like 78 percent water. How are those connections maintained without accessing them occasionally?

Maybe it’s all there, somewhere, all the time. It must be.

I’ve often said that it won’t be long until technology allows us to move our memories, maybe even our consciousnesses, to some kind of external drive, which may make the whole question of artificial intelligence moot. I guess it’s a race. As long as the procedure isn’t destructive, I’ll be among the first in line. I might have to think pretty hard if the process is destructive.

To push it a step further, if scientists eventually allow us to move our minds to some kind of external storage—to exist within the storage—I wonder if those memories that require a stimulating memory will be suddenly completely accessible.

That would be a whole new idea of hell, wouldn’t it? All those memories that we suppress for lots of different reasons, suddenly at the forefront of our thinking, and as important as that memory of first love or a great song.

—D. Brian Burghart

brian b@ n ewsreview . com

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JANUARY 9, 2014

People dance better with marijuana Re “Taking their time” (News, Jan. 2): Appalling and depressing. In 2000, the people of Nevada voted in favor of allowing medical marijuana, and it took the state legislature 13 years to get off their behinds and finally enact legislation. Now that a law is in place and a deadline is set, local officials ... do nothing? Instead, they let prejudices based on lies, fairy tales and propaganda from the 1930s cloud their judgments and invoke the name of the big, bad Feds to excuse their inaction and, in the meantime, leave millions of dollars for Nevada on the table (not to mention denying patients access to medicine that is far less harmful than the synthetic opiates that are ravaging this state).

No wonder Nevada continues to struggle economically and pathetically chase and fail to land industries that have deep roots in other regions.

It’s a stubborn unwillingness to be cutting edge. Meanwhile, Western states Colorado, Washington and soon California have gone the full legalize, regulate and tax route and will reap the benefits of reducing law enforcement costs, generating tax revenue, and attracting flocks of tourists. (You know, those people who used to come to Nevada.)

The good ol’ boys who run this state need to realize that prohibition is over, and Nevada needs to get in on the ground floor of the new wave.

Medical marijuana in 2014, legalize and tax in 2016. If not they will continue to beg companies like Apple to set up shop here with massive tax breaks and continue to be the lonely, desperate guy at the dance.

Hopefully, they wake up now instead of scrambling to do something in 10 years when Nevadans take the short drive over the border to have some fun and spend their hard-earned cash funding California’s education and infrastructure instead of keeping the money in state. Nevada: The Decade Behind State.

Roger Emery Reno

Our Mission To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages people to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live.

Bruce!

Losing the battle

Re “Unhappy advice” (Notes from the Neon Babylon, Jan. 2): Every time I read Bruce Van Dyke’s column, I think to myself I should really send him an email to tell him what a good writer he is and how interesting his “Notes From The Neon Babylon” is. So this is for Bruce: Keep writing those good words.

Robin Parker Truckee, Calif.

Re “Pet peeves” (Editorial, Jan. 2): Pets? A trivial topic, don’t you think? The same old pet care advice, repeated over and over from so many media sources, year after year after year. I guess pet owners aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, if this basic information has to be drummed into their heads so often.

April Pederson Reno

Our pleasure Re “Poetry, a notion” (Feature story, Dec. 26): I am writing, as a long time reader of poetry, to thank you for the article “Poetry, A Notion” that appeared in the Dec. 26 edition of Reno News & Review.

I was especially taken by Jake Highton’s granddaughter, Kamryn Moloney, choosing to memorize and recite Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” because “I enjoyed the words that Poe used and the story they describe.”

To me, I have never read a better description of what a poem should do.

Many thanks, again, for publishing the article.

Gary Jackson Reno

Evil cats Re “Pet peeves” (Editorial, Jan. 2): Huh? Keeping cats indoors to protect birds? What about to protect the cats? Coyotes, cars, dogs, catfights, and other hazards befall outdoor cats.

No way do cats kill billions of birds each year. That figure was fabricated by environmental whackos. Why don’t these same whackos slander dogs? Dog poop is a pollution problem, as is barking dogs.

Dogs sometimes kill people. Has a domestic house cat ever killed someone?

Don Maning Reno

Editor/Publisher D. Brian Burghart News Editor Dennis Myers Arts Editor Brad Bynum Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Editorial Intern Sage Leehey Contributors Amy Alkon, Chanelle Bessette, Megan Berner, Mark Dunagan, Bob Grimm, Ashley Hennefer, Sheila Leslie, Dave Preston, Jessica Santina, K.J. Sullivan, Kris Vagner, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young

Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Junior Art Director Brian Breneman Design Vivian Liu, Serene Lusano, Marianne Mancina, Skyler Smith Advertising Consultants Meg Brown, Gina Odegard, Bev Savage Senior Classified Advertising Consultant Olla Ubay Office Manager/Ad Coordinator Karen Brooke Executive Assistant/Operations Coordinator Nanette Harker

The ancient art Re “Poetry, a notion” (Feature story, Dec. 26): Thanks so much for publishing the article on poetry by Jake Highton which brought back memories of much loved poems. Many of us care about the ancient art of poetry but see little mention of it in the current media.

Marjorie Sill Reno Editor’s note: Yeah, we did it—we started a poetry contest. Read the rules, http://media.newsreview.com/ Tearsheets/files/R/2014-01-02/0018. pdf, especially the submission guidelines, and send in your verses. We’re only accepting one entry per person, no nom de plumes, and if your poem starts, “There once was a man from Nantucket,” well, just remember— you can only submit one.

Bummer Bob Re “Bob stay home” (Letters to the Editor, Jan. 2): I agree with Neal, Bob Grimm is a joyless critic. Hire some new blood, guys. His reviews are alienating an increased number of your readers.

When people that I know talk about his reviews, they usually convey that if Grimm hates a film, chances are they will like the film. It’s like when Grimm was a li’l tyke, someone tied him up and pelted him in the head with home recorded VHS tapes. I among many question whether or not he even likes to watch movies.

He seems to have lost the purpose of film, escapism. A world doesn’t need

Distribution Manager Valerie Mets Assistant Distribution Manager Ron Neill Distribution Drivers Sandra Chhina, Ron Large, Joe Medeiros, Andy Odegard, Jesse Pike, Martin Troye, Warren Tucker, Matthew Veach, Gary White, Joseph White, Sam White General Manager/Publisher John D. Murphy President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resource Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Grant Ronsenquist

to feel real—but it does help—in order to provide an escape from reality. And even the worst films have that. Grimm it seems has forgotten that simplicity of watching films.

Please hire someone new. His time is over. Let someone who enjoys film review it for you.

Chris Vargas Reno

Appealing argument Re “Help” (Feature story, Jan 2): The case Dennis Myers presents for creation of an appellate court sounds quite reasonable. I always enjoy how he puts such political issues into historical context—his decades of experience as an observer of the political scene make his perspective invaluable.

Dennis mentions that over the years the Legislature has expanded the Supreme Court from 3 to 5 to 7 members, so I guess they could grow it to 9 or 12 or 15 if the voters turned down the measure on the November ballot. That would be less than ideal, but this state has outgrown the current judicial setup and something has to give.

To put things in context, I put together this list of the 10 states without an intermediate appellate court in order of population: Nevada (pop. 2,759,000) West Virginia (pop. 1,855,000) Maine (pop. 1,329,000) New Hampshire (pop. 1,321,000) Rhode Island (pop. 1,050,000) Montana (pop. 1,005,000) Delaware (pop. 917,000) South Dakota (pop. 833,000) Vermont (pop. 626,000) Wyoming (pop. 576,000) Notice something? There are now almost 3 million Nevadans, but the average population of the other nine states in this judicial bush league is a little more than 1 million. So, do Wyoming or Vermont need a new court of appeals? Clearly not. But does Nevada need one? Absolutely it does. It’s time for us to move up in the world.eft out on the left coast.

Rich Dunn Carson City

Business Nicole Jackson, Tami Sandoval Systems Manager Jonathan Schultz Systems Support Specialist Joe Kakacek Web Developer/Support Specialist John Bisignano 708 North Center Street Reno, NV 89501 Phone (775) 324-4440 Fax (775) 324-4572 Classified Fax (916) 498-7940 Mail Classifieds & Talking Personals to N&R Classifieds, Reno Edition, 1015 20th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 or e-mail classifieds@ newsreview.com

Web site www.newsreview.com Printed by Paradise Post The RN&R is printed using recycled newsprint whenever available.

Editorial Policies Opinions expressed in the RN&R are those of the authors and not of Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permission to reprint articles, cartoons or other portions of the paper. The RN&R is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form.

Cover & Feature story design: Brian Breneman

by Dennis Myers

ThIS Modern World

by tom tomorrow

Your favorite 2013 movie?

Asked at the UNR student union

Robbie Campbell Middle school teacher

Wolf on Wall Street. First, because Leonardo is in it. I thought the plot was really good, and I think it was realistic about what really goes on in Wall Street and what went on in Wall Street in those days. I didn’t care for the raunchy parts.

Gina Bradley Student

Dallas Buyers Club. I liked seeing Matthew McConaughey in a different kind of role. It was quite a transformation, his getting down to 131 pounds. I also though Jered Leto was good in his role.

Bridget Walsh Assistant professor

Raise the quality of discourse As 2013 fades into the history books, and optimism about 2014 eases into putting one foot in front of the other for another year, we should probably take a look back at some of the media lessons of the year just finished.

We don’t want to crack anyone’s rose-colored glasses, but in many ways, 2013 was a nadir for journalism. An incredibly large percentage of our national conversation was devoted to things that just didn’t matter to the American democracy or culture: Miley Sirus’ twerking, Anthony Weiner’s wiener, Rob Ford’s crack—the list is almost endless.

And while those of us in media and our consumers were dining on a high-fructose corn syrup-flavored buffet of empty-calorie stories, the nutrition rich stories were reported superficially and as black or white: NSA spying, the Obama administration’s attacks on whistleblowers, Congress’ dysfunction—again, can’t begin to mention them all.

Fundamentally, both sides of this issue have a single source: Commercialism of news. While many conspiracy theorists blame political bias for the failings in media, it’s market forces that drive coverage. And those forces are not going to change in 2014, particularly since it’s an election year. There’s one particular “force” that seems to be growing, and we’ll see more of it in 2014: We’ll call it the outrage-for-profit model. It’s a true reflection of how behavior in Congress affects culture.

Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty was a recent example of this with his comments in support of pedophilia and against homosexuality. However, it’s easy OPINION

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NEWS

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FEATURE STORY

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ARTS&CULTURE

Frozen. It was cute. I thought that the animation was really impressive. I went to see it with my friend’s kids, and I liked that, too.

to recall other examples like the attacks on women last election, Megyn Kelly’s attacks on minorities, or even the way some politicians refer to members of the loyal opposition.

It’s a simple grift, and it works like this: Someone with some kind of celebrity or credentials says something outlandish about a minority group, which is intended to be controversial. The online commentariat attack—predictably and correctly—and the opposing side—also predictably and correctly—respond.

But after the heat-of-the-moment battles, look back at the results. The offensive person or politician is almost inevitably rewarded for their behavior. Those misogynistic electeds got millions for their hate campaigns in 2012. Phil Robertson’s brand is now on guns, and millions upon millions of people who had never heard of his show have received the marketing message.

The luminaries here at the RN&R haven’t come up with a solution to this quandary. Not responding to the haters allows the hate to pass as legitimate discourse, but responding heightens the profile of those who engage in the troll-baiting. One thing we can say with certainty is it can’t be fought with escalation or by fighting hateful speech with similar rhetoric.

Perhaps a simple recognition of the scam is enough to deflate it. Probably, though, the best way to discourage it is not to reward the individuals or media outlets on either side of the political spectrum who use this tactic to create controversy and increase website clicks.

We can only hope that some consumers of media in 2014—ours anyway—will stop responding as though hateful speech is legitimate opinion. Ω |

ART OF THE STATE

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Jessica Carling Student

The Hobbit, because it had Orlando Bloom and because I really liked the expansion of the story with items not originally in the book, so it was kind of like seeing a whole new story.

Robert Michael IT technician

Elysium, because it was different. From beginning to the end, it was action packed. It was just interesting from beginning to the end.

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THIS WEEK

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MISCELLANY

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Having affordable health insurance is a big relief.

We can finally do the things we love with less worry.

There’s still time to purchase income-based health insurance plans from Nevada Health Link. Enroll in a health plan today at NevadaHealthLink.com and depending on your income, you could receive help from the federal government with your insurance costs.

Nevada Health Link offers certified health insurance plans that are high quality, regardless of the amount you pay. You won’t be denied even if you have a previous health condition. Nevada Health Link built by Nevadans, for Nevadans.

Find a plan that’s right for you.

Last day to enroll Visit NevadaHealthLink.com or call 855-7-NVLINK (855-768-5465).

For updates, text NVLINK to 25827.

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January 9, 2014

Demand voting reforms now Voters must start holding candidates’ feet to the fire when it comes to voting rights.

The 2013 Legislature delivered next to nothing in terms of modernizing voting procedures in Nevada, missing the opportunity to strengthen the most basic element of our democby racy. The few bills passed by the Sheila Leslie Democratically controlled Legislature were unceremoniously vetoed by Gov. Brian Sandoval, leaving the status quo intact and voting rights mired in the past.

Our Legislature doesn’t meet again in regular session until February 2015. But in an election year, voters can pressure candidates into revealing their positions on protecting and expanding voting rights and let them know that voters are informed and paying attention to these issues.

At the local level, we’re likely to see a lively race for mayor and several council seats in Reno.

When candidates come knocking at your door, ask if they plan to bring the city into compliance with the Voting Rights Act and change the City Charter so voters can elect their representatives by ward. Tell them you want a council member who represents your neighborhood’s interests.

At candidate forums, you need to The Brennan Center for Justice’s page about stand up and say enough already with voting reform can be the citywide election of individual found here: http:// council members. Reno and Sparks tinyurl.com/on5t4kb are among the last four cities in Nevada to violate the Voting Rights Act by insisting it’s somehow more democratic to elect candidates citywide in the general election.

This power structure perpetuates the influence of the elite and diminishes the electoral power of neighborhoods.

If a candidate won’t commit to changing the City Charter to enact ward voting, find another candidate to support. And make sure they know why you’re rejecting them.

At the state level, the governor, secretary of state, attorney general and legislative candidates should be pressed hard on a variety of voting rights issues, such as same-day voter registration, a reform that has increased voting by 10 to 12 percent in areas where it’s been implemented.

And why can’t we have polling places where anyone can vote on Election Day like we do during early voting?

OPINION

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A new battle over public lands Nevada is planning to join five other Western states challenging the federal government’s control of the public lands.

Nevada has the least control of its lands of all the states. Only about 15 percent of its vast acreage by Brendan Trainor is under the state’s control. The federal government, which means the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, control the other 85 percent. The 2013 Nevada Legislature created the Nevada Land Transfer Committee, whose hearings have just begun. The committee is expected to provide the input that the Legislature needs for final legislation to reclaim Nevada’s lands from the federal government.

Because the federal government controls so much of Nevada’s lands, several counties have a tax base of less than 5 percent of their area.

This means that the rest of Nevada has to subsidize their services. The Nevada Land Transfer Committee is county-based. It has commissioned a study of state resources to get updated data on just how much better off Nevada would be (or not) if it controlled all the land inside its borders. Because the committee is Right wing activist think county-based, each county will plan tank ALEC has this to how they want their recovered land say on the topic: http:// tinyurl.com/mvemow3. to be allocated.

There are some who oppose the transfer. They wonder if the state can effectively manage these resources. They believe that the federal government does a better job than Nevada could. One commenter at a hearing said she gladly pays her income taxes, because it goes to federal land management. Actually, taxpayers have no control over how their individual taxes are spent. I wish citizens could earmark their taxes like Congress does.

Many studies conclude the federal government does a relatively poor job of range and timber management, especially with all the resources at its disposal.

Unfortunately, there are numerous examples of mediocre state management as well.

Most candidates think the average voter doesn’t care about these issues because they don’t come up very often in candidate forums or at the door. That’s why Sandoval felt comfortable vetoing AB 440 and AB 441, two bills that would have expanded voting opportunities last session. These reforms were seen as being more beneficial to Democrats by making it easier for minorities and youth to vote, groups that tend to prefer Democrats over Republicans.

Educate yourself. A good place to start is the Brennan Center for Justice, a national non-profit organization that has just released a report documenting changes in voting laws in 2013 along with a plan to improve our voting system in the future.

The four key reforms suggested by the Brennan Center focus on expanding voting access by modernizing voter registration, expanding early voting sites, improving polling place resource management, and simplifying ballots and voting machines.

Perhaps the most important reform is one that has been implemented in California but has never been taken seriously in Nevada— taking redistricting out of the hands of the partisan Legislature. Allowing legislators to draw their own districts every 10 years is the primary reason most districts are not competitive, leaving voters frustrated and feeling disenfranchised.

California voters passed the Voters First Act in 2008 giving the responsibility for redistricting to an independent commission, quickly leading to many more competitive seats at the congressional and state legislative levels.

While you can never take the politics of redistricting completely out of the equation, there’s no doubt an independent commission would shake up the system and force incumbents to pay more attention to their voters.

Who knows? Maybe they’d start complying with the Voting Rights Act. Ω

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MISCELLANY

Because Nevada manages so few public lands now, the state management infrastructure is largely nonexistent. For instance, some states that have significant tax revenue from public lands dedicate those taxes in a trust, often for schools. Nevada has no such historical arrangement. But, this could be a feature, not a bug.

Nevada simply has more choices available to it. There is a chance that Nevada could privatize most of the land it acquires, as private property allows for the highest and best use of resources over time. But Nevada also has powerful groups that would want a lot of the land to remain open. Hunters, off-roaders, fishermen, hikers, wild horse enthusiasts, all will have their input.

Some committee members are focused on the constitutional issues, as the Western states believe they were discriminated against by the federal government and were not admitted into the Union on an equal footing with Eastern states.

Nebraska was admitted at the same time as Nevada, but it controls 97 percent of its land. These battles have raged for decades now.

Individual ranchers have tried to challenge the jurisdiction of the federal government in court with some limited success. There was the Sagebrush Rebellion of the 1970s-80s. There was the incident in 2000 when the “Shovel Brigades,” an “Occupy the Range” style spontaneous demonstration of people from all over the country, came to Nevada to keep open a road in Elko County that the Forest Service wanted to close. There was the Nevada Committee for Full Statehood—I was a member—that studied the issues and lobbied the Legislature for land reform. We concluded the transfer of lands would not happen by court decree, but would only happen if the states passed laws asserting their sovereignty. That’s exactly what is happening now. Ω

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Photo/Dennis Myers

Reno Mayor Bob Cashell, left, and Sparks Mayor Geno Martini, center, talk here at a function in Sparks in November.

Summer problems loom A snow survey by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) does not bode well for the summer months in areas that depend on the snowpack for water.

“Manual and electronic readings record the snowpack’s water content at about 20 percent of average for this time of year,” a DWR statement read.

Department officials said the survey “found more bare ground than snow” in the Sierra, including around South Lake Tahoe.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has formed a Drought Task Force to plan for the expected water shortages. “DWR and other agencies will streamline transfers of water from areas of relative abundance to areas of critical need, monitor water supply impacts in small rural communities whose groundwater sources are stressed by prolonged dry conditions, and take other steps to mitigate the effects of dry weather,” the statement read.

Last year, at a time when water shortages affected mainly farming, wildlife and fire protection, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval designated the Division of Emergency Management, Division of Water Resources and the State Climatology Office to coordinate information but was unable to offer assistance. “I encourage affected Nevada farmers and ranchers to contact the federal Farm Service Agency’s state office for assistance,” he said. This year, there is now the prospect of drought impact expanding to include municipal shortages.

Fields of dreams New election year, new field of candidates

To the rescue The Fox News television network has thrown a spotlight on the plight of Renoites oppressed by the verbiage of tolerance.

A Reno icon appears on the network’s “War on Christmas” map, though the Fox cartographer seems to have placed Reno near about Vya. By clicking on the icon, the reader can view a KOLO report by Joe Harrington about the official city holiday tree downtown. The tree has been known by the term holiday tree for several years, but local journalists just took notice this year, and Fox picked up on the threat posed by rampant secularism in the city.

“Once again this holiday season, the right to celebrate Christmas is under attack,” reads an intro to the map.

In Nevada, term limits are talking hold with a vengeance both statewide and locally.

There is no presidential or U.S. senate by race to drive turnout in the 2014 elecDennis Myers tion, and the governor’s race may also depress turnout.

The only federal race in this part of the state is the northern U.S. House race for the seat held by Republican Mark Amodei. Since the creation of the district in 1981, it has been a safe GOP seat. After the state added another seat in 2001, and the district was reconfigured, it became somewhat more competitive for Democrats but still a hard fight. In the 2011

Although councilmember duties are similar to mayor’s, they are not identical.

Reid/Heller minuet U.S. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic floor leader, had a mutual nonaggression pact with Republican Sen. Dean Heller’s predecessor, Republican John Ensign, but the relationship between Reid and Heller has been more prickly. But Reid keeps trying.

“Remember, Dean Heller is not some maverick that is out spewing socialism,” Reid said on CBS’s Face The Nation. “Here’s a guy who is really a conservative person, and he wants to extend unemployment benefits. I admire him for doing that. And can’t we get four Republicans to agree with the American people that we should do that? I would certainly hope so.”

—Dennis Myers

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JANUARY 9, 2014

Want to run for office?

A list of the offices up for election this year is posted at www. washoecounty.us/ voters/14officesup.html.

Filing for judicial offices is already underway.

Filing for other offices begins March 3.

special election in which Amodei was first elected, Democrat Kate Marshall collected just 36 percent of the vote.

Now the Democrats are as silent as the grave about the district.

Republican Brian Sandoval has spent his term as governor raising money, which was uncomfortable for some of his fellow Republicans who—during Sandoval’s first two years—had to compete for campaign dollars for the 2012 election while he was raising money for the 2014 campaign (“Republicans miffed at guv,” RN&R, Oct. 27, 2011).

Democrats, meanwhile, seem to be intimidated by Sandoval’s campaign treasury. No major Democrat so far has shown any sign of taking the plunge.

Other state officials elected statewide are in quite the game of musical chairs. State Controller Kim Wallin, termed out, will run for state treasurer. State Treasurer Kate Marshall, termed out, will run for secretary of state. Secretary of State Ross Miller, termed out, will run for attorney general. (All are Democrats.) And when the music stops, Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki and Democratic Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto seem to be the players with nowhere to go. Both are termed out but neither have indicated plans to run for anything else.

Given the strong field of statewide Democratic talent, it is remarkable that the two top state offices are left wanting for Democratic candidates.

The party is nothing if not anxious for Cortez Masto to run for governor or lieutenant governor, but she has ruled it out. Even importuning from Harry Reid did not convince her. The party so far has turned up only one candidate for lieutenant governor, Clark County Assemblymember Lucy Flores. Democrats would like the post in order to keep Sandoval’s activities in check awtnd to complicate his life if he tries to run for U.S. Senate in 2016.

On the other side, Sandoval—who reduced the visibility of the lieutenant governor by reorganizing some state agencies—anointed his own candidate for lieutenant governor, Clark County Sen. Mark Hutchison, a step that did not sit well with some Republicans.

Hutchison has drawn primary opposition from former Clark senator Sue Lowden.

Among other state offices, Nevada Supreme Court seats currently held by justices Kris Pickering and Mark Gibbons are up for election this year.

So are numerous state district judgeships, including 15 in Washoe County.

A Board of Regents seat for district 10, one of three representing Washoe, is up for election.

Closer to home, the Washoe delegation in the Nevada Legislature is currently Republicans seven and Democrats five. The Assembly is Republicans four and Democrats four.

In the Senate, it’s Republicans three and Democrats one. Republicans benefit from districts that overlap with smaller counties. There are four Washoe legislators with such districts—two in the Assembly, two in the Senate—and those seats are all held by Republicans. But Washoe has also been drifting Democratic.

Moderate Republicans have always done well in the county, so the county GOP’s recent habit of nominating hard rightists may be aiding the Democrats.

Three of the four Washoe Senate seats—Districts 13, 14 and 16—and all Assembly seats are up for election this year.

In municipal races, three Washoe County Commission seats are up for election, in Districts 2, 3 and 5. So are the county posts of assessor, clerk, district attorney, public administrator, recorder, sheriff and treasurer.

At the city level, mayor and the city council seats currently held by Sharon Zadra and Dwight Dortch are up for election this year. Zadra, Dortch and Mayor Robert Cashell are all term limited.

One mayoral candidate, George “Eddie” Lorton, has filed a legal action to try to keep some of his prospective opponents—term limited city councilmembers—from running, on the theory that because the duties of council members and mayor are similar, a termed-out city councilmember is ineligible to run for mayor because it would be the equivalent of running for another term on the council.

Among the possible candidates who could be affected by Lorton’s lawsuit are Councilmembers Dortch and Zadra and former councilmembers Jessica Sferrazza and David Aiazzi.

Surprisingly, the Nevada Supreme Court accepted the case in October even though legally, there were no candidates yet—and there still aren’t— so government is not yet involved.

Filing for these offices. does not open until March 3. The Nevada Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on this matter on Jan. 21.

In a court filing, Lorton argued that the law “prohibits a person from being re-elected to the governing body as a whole, regardless of which seat the person seeks to serve [in].” Lorton’s chances of success in the lawsuit have been widely discussed in political circles. In similar electoral cases, the Nevada Supreme Court has a history, when the facts of the case leave any doubt or flexibility at all, of defaulting to the voters’ judgment and allowing the widest possible choice. That was the way the court ruled in allowing independent candidate for governor Charles Springer’s name to appear on the ballot in 1970 and in clearing Bob Miller to run for a third term as governor in 1998.

In addition, although the duties of councilmembers are similar to those of the mayor, they are not identical, making it possible for the court to find that the two offices are distinguishable. The mayor is empowered to deal with civil disturbances, which is not true of councilmembers. The mayor can convene the council in special session; a councilmember cannot. The mayor signs city ordinances passed by the city council. The mayor nominates members of the Civil Service Commission, airport authority and other bodies; the council approves or rejects the mayor’s nominees.

The popular Cashell would likely be able to win another term if he were eligible, and he was certainly willing.

“I will miss it very much,” he said in 2012. “I’m probably getting to the age

where I should think about retirement, but really I don’t want to retire.” But term limits took that decision out of his hands. His endorsement will probably be one of the most sought-after in municipal politics. Soon after the current council took office, he was asked if he would cultivate a successor. “I don’t know if I’ll cultivate one,” he said. “There’s three or four people that I’ve heard talking about it, running, and all I can [do is] see who’s there and see who I could work with or who’s going to carry on and do some of the things that I’d like to see done.” Since then he has done little to put his imprimatur on anyone.

STARSHIP FE AT URING

MICKEY THOMAS Saturday, January 11

BOOKER T. JONES

Lack of big races could depress turnout

Saturday, January 18

The posts of Reno city attorney and municipal court judge are also up for election.

In Sparks, the mayor’s post held

by Geno Martini and the council seats currently held by Ed Lawson and Mike Carrigan are up for election, along with the municipal court judgeship now held by Barbara McCarthy and a vacant justice of the peace. Carrigan is term limited after serving 15 years, well above the 12 allowed. He benefited from a legal glitch involving a switch of Sparks municipal elections from the spring of odd numbered years to the autumn of even numbered years. Ω

PABLO CRUISE Saturday, January 25

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WALK OFF THE EARTH

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Convenience stores in the valley are carrying “Show your flag” bracelets that bear the colors of nations like the Dominican Republic, Guatamala, Cuba, Colombia and other hemispheric neighbors, an indication of the diversity of the local population.

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JANUARY 9, 2014

“A day on, not a day off” is the motto of the national Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, which has been dubbed by some groups as a “Day of Service.” The holiday is meant to honor Dr. King and should, in by Sage Leehey their view, encourage volunteer work in our communities.

Urban Roots is a local nonprofit farm focused on teaching sagel@ gardening and related topics to community members. Urban Roots ne w s re v i e w . c o m will host a local King Day of Service in the Garden event for the second year in a row from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Jan. 18.

“The goal of Martin Luther King, Jr. was to really make an active community come together and support one another, and that’s really our goal,” said Urban Roots’ FarmCorps Program Director, MJ Pickett. “This is a great way to get people involved.”

The event will take place at various schools that participate in the Garden Classrooms program throughout the community, although anyone can come out and help. Pickett said the only requirement will be some forms—a Washoe County volunteer form and a liability and photo release. Children are welcome to come, but if they’re under 18, a parent or guardian will need to sign the forms for their children.

“They can contact me to get the form sent to them early so their parents can sign it, and they can bring it in if needed,” Pickett said.

“We encourage everyone to come and be a part of it. Last year we had quite a few families that had really young kids with their grandparents coming out. There’s a lot of stuff to be done at a lot of ability levels.”

For more information about Urban Roots’ The work to be done at each school will vary, but some of the MLK Day of Service in areas will include cleaning up trash, removing dead plants, building the garden, visit new raised beds, painting signs and winterizing the gardens. www.urgc.org or email Urban Roots has been able to expand this event from last year MJ Pickett at because the organization has more AmeriCorps volunteers now, mj@urgc.org. according to Pickett. And she expects to have somewhere between 20 and 50 volunteers come out on this day, spread among all the locations. Urban Roots, Hug High School Mount Rose Elementary School will be among these locations. More schools are expected to join, but Pickett assured that there will be enough space for all volunteers. She’s excited for the event herself and thinks it can really help the community.

“I think it’s super important—as a community, as Reno—that we come together, we help each other out, and school gardens are a great way to do that,” Pickett said. “They benefit kids so much even if they’re not in the garden everyday, even if they’re out there once a year even, it’s just so much better. And it’s really fun. We get to hang out. It’s really not hard work. It’s a lot of socializing and talking to people and getting to know them as well as doing something good for the community.”

Urban Roots is expanding and will move into the space of the bar next door as soon as the current occupants move out. Pickett said this will be great for them because they have very little indoor space for teaching and other activities at this time. Ω

Our movie critic battles a beastly, terrifying cinematic year

T

his year’s best movies list contains no superheroes, sequels, or super mega budgets. This was a great year for the brain at cinemas, but it was also one that was mind-numbing and hard on the eyes in many instances.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug represents, to me, the very worst in filmmaking. A once great director is shitting the bed these last couple of years with his atrocious take on the J.R.R. Tolkien classic as far as storytelling goes. As for the presentation, high frame rate digital 3-D might work for future films, but it fails miserably when your cast is in a bunch of artificial sets and wearing makeup prosthetics and wigs. The movie is boring beyond belief, it looks awful, and I hate it … so there.

Other big budget letdowns included Man of Steel, Zack Snyder’s attempt to darken the legend of Superman, Christopher Nolan-style (who helped produce the film). The only thing human

by

Bob Grimm b g ri m m @ ne w s re v i e w . c o m

Best Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station), Chiwetel Efjiofor (12 Years a Slave), Robert Redford (All is Lost)

Best Actresses: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Adele Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Color), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Enough Said), Amy Adams (American Hustle) McConaughey (Mud), Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street), John Goodman (Inside Llewyn Davis), James Gandolfini (Enough Said). Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)

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Best Actress in a Bad Movie: Elisabeth

Underrated: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,

Olsen (Old Boy)

Out of the Furnace, The Great Gatsby

Single Worst Movie Moment of the Year (and it’s actually in a good movie):

Best Reason to Say You are Sorry:

Worst Actor: Johnny Depp (The Lone Ranger)

Worst Actress: Mila Kunis (Oz: The Great

in Inside Llewyn Davis

Because somebody is forcing you to do so by putting a big spider in your ear. Let’s face it; you simply aren’t being honest in such a scenario.

Worst Animal Performance: Kevin James in

Best Soundtracks: Prince Avalanche, Her

Best Animal Performance: The orange cats

Cumberbatch (August: Osage County)

Grown Ups 2

Worst Actress in a Good Movie: Natalie Best Actor in a Bad Movie: Jim Carrey (He

the End and the ghost of Stonewall Jackson in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

ties himself with Kick-Ass and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone)

Overrated: The Hobbit: The Desolation of

ART OF THE STATE

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Worst Soundtracks: 47 Ronin, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Best Cameo: (Tie) Michael Cera in This is

Portman (Thor: The Dark World)

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Worst Reason to Say You are Sorry:

Best Pastry : I’m partial to Napoleons

and Powerful)

ARTS&CULTURE

Because that’s when the healing really begins!

Spock screaming “Khan!” in Star Trek Into Darkness

Worst Actor in a Good Movie: Benedict

Best Supporting Actors: Matthew

OPINION

Best Supporting Actresses: Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Octavia Spencer (Fruitvale Station), Scarlett Johansson (Her), Carrie Mulligan (Inside Llewyn Davis)

FILM

about Superman is his upbringing.

Otherwise, he’s an alien, and he has a different set of emotional and physical tools than your average guy. I don’t want a Superman film with Supes constantly crying about his mommy and daddy. That’s Batman’s thing.

For big movies, I did like Star Trek Into Darkness: The Wrath of Khan Again, Iron Man 3: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Pacific Rim: I Totally Wish Guillermo del Toro Directed the Hobbit Movies! but not enough for any of them to crack the top 20. This is also a landmark year in that I really liked The Hunger Games: Catching Fire after bitterly deriding the first film. A man can change. It’s true!

So, here we go, with the best films in a great year if you like movies that make you go “Hmmm?” rather than “Yeeeeahhhh!” (with the exception of one survival film set in outer space, of course).

Worst Racetrack: Saratoga Racetrack (I lost a lot of money there back in the day!)

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4. Gravity: Alfonso Cuaron directs one of

quietly becoming one of the best directors on the scene, with this gem, Away from Her and Take This Waltz as sparkling examples.

the better space adventures in recent film history, an immersive experience that makes you glad you didn’t stick with your kindergarten declaration to become an astronaut when you grew up.

15. Lone Survivor: When I saw that Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead) was in charge of makeup for this one in the opening credits, I knew it was going to be hard to watch. Director Peter Berg makes a nice comeback after Battleship with this tribute to the 19 men who died in Afghanistan during Operation Red Wings. A stellar ensemble including Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster and Emile Hirsch work hard to show us what type of hell our soldiers endure on a daily basis.

It’s a tough film to watch, and it should be.

5. 12 Years a Slave: Director Steve McQueen has given the world the ugly, nasty, vicious film about slavery that the world needed, and he has done it in extraordinary fashion. Chiwetel Efjiofor, whose name I will never be able to spell without looking it up, delivered one of the year’s best performances as a free man kidnapped into slavery.

1. The Wolf of Wall Street: Martin Scorsese has made a lot of good movies in the latter part of his career. But he used to be quite the provocateur with films like The Last Temptation of Christ and Taxi Driver. The year’s best movie represents Scorsese back in the provocateur mode with a vengeance, putting things up on the screen that drop your jaw, perhaps even embarrass you while watching, and crack you up. With the subject of Jordan Belfort, a scummy stockbroker who robbed millions from the rich during his late ’80s and ’90s heyday, he’s pulled out all of the stops and made one of the more shocking and hilarious films of his career.

I’m hoping a little guy named Leonardo DiCaprio builds up some steam going into awards season for his fire-breathing portrayal of Belfort. (Smaug ain’t got nothing on Leo!) It’s high time Leo took home an Oscar, and he deserves it for this fearless performance.

It’s probably too much and too naughty for many Academy voters. Screw them.

2. Inside Llewyn Davis: In a lot of ways, this year was a tie for best film, but I ultimately gave the edge to Scorsese over the Coen brothers. With their latest, the Coens take a look at the early ’60s folk scene in New York City, but they don’t do it from the vantage point of an idealistic, peace and love, sweet spirited protagonist. Instead, we get the title character, a cynical and mourning raw talent played by Oscar Isaac in a breakout performance. Isaac does his own singing and guitar playing, and it’s all downright astonishing.

Throw in John Goodman simply killing it as a messed-up jazz musician, Carrie Mulligan cursing with eternal grace as Llewyn’s angry love interest, and an awesome orange tabby, and you have yet another wholly unique, fantastic Coen brothers cinematic experience.

(See full review on page 17.)

3. Her: Spike Jonze (who also had an awesome cameo in The Wolf of Wall Street) wrote and directed this beautiful love story about a man smitten with his computer’s operating system (voiced by a lovely Scarlett Johansson). Johansson deserves an Oscar nomination for her voice work in this movie.

She makes you believe a man (albeit a somewhat strange one played by Joaquin Phoenix) could fall in love with his computer.

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JANUARY 9, 2014

6. Mud: Yes, I liked Dallas Buyers Club, but I was more impressed with Matthew McConaughey’s turn as the title character in this dark fable. It’s a movie about a dude living in a boat in a tree, and I love it.

Midnight in Paris, and I rarely raise a glass to Allen’s latter film career, but he’s made up for many duds with this one. Andrew Dice Clay and Louis C.K. do standup comedians proud with their dramatic roles in this one.

16. Saving Mr. Banks: Disney whitewashes the story of Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) trying to get the rights to make Mary Poppins from author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson). That might irk some of you, but it’s too good a movie to complain about it.

Hanks and Thompson are very charming, and Colin Farrell is excellent in flashbacks playing Travers’s troubled dad.

7. Fruitvale Station: Michael B. Jordan delivered a breakout performance in this heartbreaking movie based on the real life murder of Oscar Grant. Octavia Spencer is equally good playing Grant’s mom. Director Ryan Coogler made an astonishing debut with this pic, and he’s slated to reteam with Jordan for Creed, about the grandson of Rocky’s Apollo Creed. Yes, please.

OK, grab your hard hats, your chocolate bars and your bottled water because we’re going to 20!

11. The Spectacular Now: A high school romance film unlike any ever made, Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley are more than memorable as a confused couple that drinks a little too often. It’s bittersweet moviemaking at its best (and it has Bob Odenkirk!).

17. Dallas Buyer’s Club: Jared Leto seems cued up for his first Oscar nomination for playing a transvestite helping an entrepreneurial AIDS victim sell illegal drugs to fellow sufferers. Matthew McConaughey is awesome in the lead role, but Leto is the one gaining all the steam.

8. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: Ben Stiller makes one of the most beautiful, heartwarming, introspective and curiously funny films of the year, and he takes a critical drubbing lackluster domestic box office drub.

Meanwhile, that Hobbit eyesore continues to vacuum money from wallets and get accolades. I feel so alone, sometimes. Hold me.

12. Before Midnight: The third go-round for Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy is perhaps the best one yet, containing what I think may be the most honest depiction of a marital squabble I’ve ever seen. I seriously hope Richard Linklater keeps making these movies through the years.

18. Enough Said: James Gandolfini deserves posthumous Oscar consideration for his gentle bear portrayal of a man trying to date in his 50s. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is equally good as a woman dealing with a very unique situation while getting to know him.

9. Blue is the Warmest Color: Adele Exarchopoulos is dynamite in this three-hour epic about a young woman falling in love for the first time with a blue-haired female painter, played by the equally terrific Lea Seydoux. The sex scenes caused a lot of controversy, but the more I think about them, they really just don’t bother me all that much.

10. Blue Jasmine: Cate Blanchett blew my ass out the back of the theater with her sheer power in this, the best Woody Allen film in many years. Take note: I did not like

13. This is the End: This is a movie that gets better with each viewing. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg make their directorial debut in obscenely grand fashion with their version of the apocalypse where they play themselves and all of their friends die gnarly deaths. The death of Michael Cera is a 2013 comedic highlight. “Say cheese for me, baby.”

14. The Stories We Tell: The best documentary of the year comes courtesy of Sarah Polley, who goes on a highly engaging search for her birth origins. Mixing real footage with staged stuff usually doesn’t work, but Polley makes the presentation seamless. Polley is

19. Prince Avalanche: David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) takes a break from straight comedy to return to his more ethereal roots with this terrific soul-searching movie starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch.

Features a great soundtrack from Explosions in the Sky. 20. Sightseers: A dark, twisted, funny road movie wherein a new couple (Alice Lowe and Steve Oram) find out some disturbing things about one another as the death toll rises.

And now we shall address … THE PAIN AND THE SUFFERING.

My single Most anticipated filM of 2014 For me, it’s one word: Godzilla!

Yes, Legendary Pictures will be rebooting Godzilla—there’s already a teaser trailer for it that gives plenty of reason for excitement. I was at San Diego Comic-Con this year—yes, I’m a geek—and I got my first glimpse of the big radioactive monster.

If this movie sucks, I will be a crestfallen, non-showering slob drinking gallons of Ripple at the local watering hole. The one-two punch of lousy Hobbit movies and another bad Godzilla will finally do me in.

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug:

5. Kick-Ass 2: The first Kick-Ass managed

The shiny, HDTV appearance of this movie left me feeling like I was watching The Hobbit: The Variety Special. Cameos

by Stephen Colbert and Peter Jackson (in which he, at the beginning of the movie, takes a bite out of a carrot and looks right at the camera as if to say, “Enjoy the movie folks! Popcorn in the lobby!”) helped to reinforce the TV vibe.

2. The Lone Ranger: Say kids, let’s go see the new Disney Western with Captain Sparrow in it! Say, did the bad guy just cut out a dead man’s heart and eat it? Err … sorry about that, kids. Blame the nightmares on me. On second thought, toughen up. Bad guys eat people’s hearts all of the time. It’s everything Disney stands for.

Stop crying.

8. The Internship: Vince Vaughn and Owen

to mix vulgarity with super violence and got big laughs. This one tries to do the same, but gets nothing but pained, noxious groans in return. Suffers from a lack of Nicolas Cage, and that’s when you know you have a real problem.

Wilson reteam for a Google commercial that will probably make you hate them in The Wedding Crashers retroactively.

9. Insidious: Chapter 2: Director James Wan delivered his best film to date with The Conjuring in 2013, then promptly followed it up with this ghostly garbage.

6. Grown Ups 2: I expected it this to be bad because it has Adam Sandler and the words “Grown Ups” before the number.

10. Getaway: Ethan Hawke starred in Before Midnight this past year, which was great.

He also starred in The Purge, which was pretty bad. Then, he showed up in this thing, which was downright execrable.

7. Spring Breakers: An incoherent, incontinent, sloppy mess that many critics mistook for clever, this supposed satire is proof that improvisation can be deadly at the movies.

Amazingly, there were enough bad movies to keep the Ryan Gosling twin bill of Gangster Squad and Only God Forgives out of the top 10 bad list. Ω

3. 47 Ronin: A $175 million dollar nightmare in which a samurai Keanu Reeves never cracks a smile and mopes a lot. Supposedly based on a real legend and most certainly not worth your time.

4. The Host: This alien yarn wants to be Invasion of the Body Snatchers with a side helping of Twilight and a pinch of Cocoon without the old people. It’s nothing but terrible.

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13 SONGS The RN&R arts editor picks his favorite new albums of 2013

by Brad Bynum bradb@newsreview.com

N

othing pisses me off quite like prescriptive music criticism—that is to say, music criticism written by people who think they know what makes music good. I have little use for writers who say things like, “Good music has strong melodies and memorable lyrics” or “good music has monster crushing guitar riffs” or “good music would never use AutoTune.”

Sure, sometimes those things make for good music. But there are endless ways that music can be good. To me, the best pieces of music are those that are good in unexpected ways. I like to be surprised, to practice investigative music criticism, exploring possibilities, hearing things in new ways. I listen as an explorer, not as a hall monitor enforcing the rules of what I think makes music good.

To me, the best pieces of music are those that reward repeated listening, continued exploration.

I don’t want to just be coddled, to hear confirmation of what I already think is good. Of course, sometimes it’s nice to hear a familiar voice, and sometimes it’s nice to be comforted. There’s value in that. It’s one of the

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JANUARY 9, 2014

infinite possible ways that music can be good.

So what is the function of year-end lists like this? If, like me, you love discovering new music, there’s a strong possibility you’ve already read dozens of lists like this. There’s so much music in the world; it can be daunting to keep up. (You only have two ears and 24 hours in a day, and only about 27,740 days in a lifetime—if you’re lucky. And only if you’re really lucky will you be able to devote a sizable number of those hours to music.) Here are the new albums I personally found the most rewarding to explore in 2013. I will continue to listen to these albums into 2014 and beyond. Give a listen. Let me know what you think.

The RUNNeRs Up 13. Yo La Tengo: Fade 12. Flaming Lips: The Terror 11. Thee Oh Sees: Floating Coffin

The besT New AlbUms of 2013 10. Low:

The Invisible Way The problem with being old and consistent is that you can put out really good records annually, and people just shrug them off. That’s true of Yo La Tengo, one of my runners up, and it’s true of this Minnesota slowcore band that’s been putting out records since the early ’90s. But for some reason, I like this one as much as anything they’ve ever done. It might be that Jeff Tweedy’s production emphasizes the music’s spacious, melancholy country vibe. Or, it might be the increased prominence of vocals from drummer Mimi Parker. She sings lead on half the record, and in close, haunting harmony with her husband, guitarist Alan Sparhawk, for much of the rest of it.

9. William Onyeabor: World Psychedelic Classics, Vol. 5: Who Is William Onyeabor?

There’s a great record store on Valencia Street in San Francisco called Aquarius Records. It’s the kind of place where you go to discover something new—perhaps even an entire genre previously

unknown. The store’s relatively small selection is carefully chosen, and many of the albums are attached with handwritten reviews and descriptions by staffers. Anyway, I was there a few years ago and started asking the clerk for recommendations.

At the time, I had been on a big kick of early ’70s Temptations, and wanted more psychedelic soul. Among the albums I ended up leaving with was a compilation from the label Luaka Bop called World Psychedelic Classics, Vol. 3: Love’s a Real Thing. It was a collection of “funky, fuzzy” rock and dance music from West Africa in the ’60s and ’70s. It’s remained in constant rotation for years.

One of my favorite tracks on that comp was a song called “Better Change Your Mind”

by William Onyeabor—which sounded like James Brown playing a blown-out mid-’70s synthesizer. At the time, I couldn’t find anything else by Onyeabor, a Nigerian vocalist and keyboard master. And then, lo and behold, this compilation came out, and it’s terrific—seriously funky. You might argue that it’s a compilation of music from the ’70s, and therefore not a “new album,” but I don’t think any of this music ever got an American release, and besides, it’s my list, so I’ll do what I want.

8. The National:

Trouble Will Find Me Man, I wish I could just dismiss this band as boring hipster dad rock. But I can’t stop listening to this record. Fuck. I might be a boring hipster dad.

7. My Bloody Valentine: mbv Yeah, yeah, comeback of the year, blah blah blah. In stark contrast with ’90s-affiliated bands like Yo La Tengo and Low, who have continued quietly releasing great albums for decades.

My Bloody Valentine waited 22 years to release the follow-up to its widely beloved and influential 1991 album Loveless. The album was greeted with fanfare-blowing hype and knee-jerk criticism, and probably wins this year’s award for the record more discussed than actually listened to (at least in circles, like many of mine, where music is the most common topic of conversation).

Our First

2014 6. A$AP Rocky:

2. Savages:

LongLiveA$AP One of the year’s best hip-hop records, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the Skrillexproduced banger “Wild for the Night,” which is the best argument I’ve heard yet in favor of this whole dubstep business.

Silence Yourself OK, this is another record that manages to just perfectly hit my taste buds right where they like to get spiked. I like many kinds of music, but British post-punk is probably my favorite genre.

And this all-woman quartet from London has delivered the best new record in the genre in years. All the best reference points are there—notably Joy Division, Wire, and Siouxsie and the Banshees—wrapped in all black with the requisite glum, serious expressions. But the music is still somehow super catchy and hard rocking. Plus, it’s the last album you’d expect to end with a clarinet, but there it is.

5. Iceage: You’re Nothing Despite my lip service to preferring records that surprise me, sometimes I like a record just because it nails my taste perfectly. These Danish punks are perfect for my ears—moody art punk that’s not too arty or moody.

3. Danny Brown: Old My favorite rap record of 2013. The Detroit rapper’s previous album, XXX, was a record that I liked when it came out in 2011, and then grew to love over the next couple of years. Old is actually a more temperate affair—relatively—with Brown toning down his oversized, occasionally cartoonish delivery in favor of rugged introspection and accompanied by beats chosen by a master curator.

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unusual fonts or formatting. We will presume all spellings and punctuation are intentional and we won’t copy-edit. Email to: renopoetry@newsreview.com with “Poetry 2014” in the subject line. Deadline for entries is 5PM, 2/28/2014. Winners will be published on 4/3/2014. The person who strips names from submissions will not be part of the judging team. We reserve the right to reject any submission at the editors’ discretion.

Random Access Memories This album did, for me, the thing I most desire in music: It changed the way I hear. The album is constructed from raw materials that, coming from a rock background, I might not have always considered cool—disco, easylistening, electronic dance music, yacht rock, Broadway tunes, cheesy prog—but immaculately produced, beautifully constructed, and all wrapped up in a couple of French robot suits, it works. Sure, perceptions of the album might have suffered some from all the hype, prominent major label advertising, and the ubiquity of the Pharrell-sung single “Get Lucky.” But that undeniably catchy summer jam is, to my ears, actually one of the set’s weaker cuts. I prefer the musical biopic “Giorgio by Moroder,” the pensive, melodic Julian Casablancas song “Instant Crush,” or the dramatic Paul Williams feature “Touch.” And as great as the album’s melodic hooks are, the real power of the album is in the subtle details: like the use of pedal steel guitar, usually more likely associated with American country music than European dance music, or the rocket propulsion sounds in the cosmic science fiction song “Contact.” Ω

... Like Clockwork To those classic rock fans who point toward albums like Led Zeppelin IV, Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced? or Black Sabbath’s Master of Reality and say, “They just don’t make ’em like that anymore”: Yes, they do.

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once more into the breach, my friends. the reno news & review is hosting a poetry contest.

One submission per person. Entrants must live within 50 miles of the Reno News & Review’s office. There will be a panel of judges from both inside and outside the newspaper; we won’t announce who they are until publication of the winners to prevent lobbying. We’ll only accept emailed entries. The poem must be in the body of the email; no attachments, please. Include full name, address and phone in your email. Nom de plumes will not be accepted. Poems must be less than 500 words and must be submitted in a publishable form, e.g., no 1-line, 499-word poems. We’ll be mindful of intentional line breaks and word placement, yet reserve the right to change if needed, so stay away from

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Freedom of choice

Kathy Welch portrays a cancer patient in Excerpts.

Excerpts Which life would you choose? A woman struggling with breast cancer or a mother terrified of by the consequences a revealed secret will Rachel Gattuso wreak? A reporter tasked with interviewing a death row inmate or an immigrant struggling to adapt to American life? What about a protective father holding tightly to the strained relationship with his daughter?

It’s the question playwright and director Bob Gabrielli wants you to consider when his production, Excerpts, comes to life Jan. 9 at the Reno Little Theater. Excerpts Excerpts runs at Reno centers around FLX, an individual yet to Little Theater, 147 E. be born who must choose to inhabit one of Pueblo St., Jan. 9, 10 five lives. and 11 at 7:30 p.m. and “You ever heard the saying that a Jan. 12 at 2 p.m. For person’s never given more than they can tickets or more information, visit www. handle in life?” asks Gabrielli. “Well, I’ve renolittletheater.org. come up with a reason that is: pre-incarnation. Not reincarnation, but pre-incarnation.

That a human prototype can look at five excerpts, five lives and then decide which one they want to be born into.”

In Gabrielli’s play, FLX is offered the chance to view and interact with these

lives in order to determine which he feels he can best embody. Guided through the process by a life coach, Gabriel, FLX slowly awakens to the notion that each life holds both difficulty and potential and that there’s more to his circumstance than is immediately obvious.

The play’s short run is part of Reno Little Theater’s Off-Off Wells series, an attempt to bring atypical theater fare to patrons. However, the intense preparation period required Gabrielli to bring strong performers into the fold.

“For the time frame, Christmas and holidays, I had to go out and cajole and beg and plead for the best actors,” he says.

Excerpts showcases both the performer’s ability to relate to the audience and their ability to transition into multiple roles. The character switches are a tactic Gabrielli borrowed from a past Reno Little Theater production of A. R. Gurney’s The Dining Room. Actors were required to play at least two characters each, an experience Gabrielli recounts fondly. In Excerpts, eight actors will play 22 roles.

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During rehearsal, actress Libby Bakke vaults between the character of a young woman smitten with an American soldier occupying her war-torn homeland and that of a strong-willed daughter working to loosen her father’s expectations. The pain she conjures to her face during a tense interaction with her on-stage father brings forward personal memories of similar conversations and a knot to my throat.

Jeff Chamberlin, the actor who portrays FLX, notes it’s been satisfying to be a part of the Excerpts story. “I think most people, at least at some point in their lives, have

asked themselves some of the spiritual questions that FLX is asking,” he says.

“My hope is that we are able to give some external shape to these often internal questions.”

Chamberlin adds he felt the power of “the main character evaluating his courage and skills and making choices based on what he finds there. There are some very real dangers to his situation and that makes for a great story.”

Gabrielli says he subscribes to the belief that people should give more than they take, and he hopes that Excerpts will prompt viewers to eventually inspect their own motives.

By the conclusion, it’s apparent the play embodies Gabrielli’s concept—giving the audience more than its premise suggests. And though the pace seems deceivingly slow early on, patrons will likely appreciate the bigger picture that surfaces as FLX gains more clarity. Ω

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Family meal Anna’s Mexican Grill 9570 S. McCarran Ave., 384-1675 Contradictions can be a good thing. For instance, Mexican food can be simple and hearty, or a complex mix of flavor by Todd South and technique. The fare at Anna’s Mexican Grill manages to be both, sometimes simultaneously on the same plate. Located in a northwest Reno strip mall, this family-owned business is something of a hybrid, combining aspects of a traditional Mexican-American “sit-down” restaurant with those of a fast service, authentic Mexican taqueria. The fact that Anna’s is both a “best-kept secret” as well as “beloved favorite” adds another contradiction, perhaps unsurprising given its somewhat hidden location on a high-traffic thoroughfare. You almost have to know it’s there in order to notice it as you drive past at near-freeway speeds.

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Speaking of speed, there’s nothing “fast food” about Anna’s cuisine, and yet I’ve waited longer at burger joints and stripped-down taquerias than I have at this restaurant. We were seated, served and paid the check for dinner in perhaps 40 minutes, all without feeling rushed. Featuring an open kitchen, the service and genuine warmth from the entire staff is among the best you’ll find in any restaurant.

But man doesn’t live by hospitality alone, so let’s talk about the food.

When you sit down for Mexican cuisine, your first expectation is to be served chips and salsa picante.

Instead, within a minute or two of being seated, we were served warm gorditas—crispy-yet-soft pillows of corn flour—topped with sour cream and grated Cotija cheese. I love good chips and salsa, but those gorditas

are a brilliant introduction to a memorable meal.

When we first discovered Anna’s a couple of years ago, I ordered a pork enchilada and chile relleno combo ($7.99) with a ceviche tostada on the side ($4.99), while my wife ordered chicken fajitas ($12.25) with corn tortillas. Both dinners were served with guacamole, sour cream, rice and refried beans. The fajitas were flavorful, the enchilada and relleno were tasty, and the extras were all quite good. However, the ceviche was a knock-out. I’ve made ceviche at home, ordered plenty of it at restaurants, but was blown away

by Anna’s tasty, crisp tostada tortilla holding up well under the perfectlycured fish, avocado and seasonings.

It was really, really good.

During that first Anna’s experience, my wife and I noticed a couple sharing what appeared to be a giant serving of steaming awesomeness, served from a black stone crucible.

Even though our meal was completely outstanding, we suffered a bit of buyer’s remorse and vowed, “Next time, we’re ordering that!” And so we did on our most recent visit.

Among the “Dinner for Two” menu selections is the molcajete ($21.99), the aforementioned big bowl of wonder. A molcajete is a carved lava-rock mortar (i.e. mortar and pestle, sans pestle), traditionally used by pre-Hispanic Mexican cultures for both preparing foods as well as serving them. As with cast iron, the molcajete does a great job of keeping Anna’s special concoction of chicken, steak, chorizo, shrimp, onion, peppers, melted cheese and “special sauce” piping hot at the table, perfect for filling warm corn tortillas with guacamole, sour cream, rice, beans, and a choice of housemade salsa picante. The shrimp was a standout item among the symphony—perfectly cooked, plenty of flavor, not too tough. This is tricky to accomplish in this kind of dish, and a testament to the chefs’ skill.

As if to say, “thanks so much for visiting us,” a complimentary slice of tres leche cake arrived along with the check. The cake was moist, not-too-sweet and the perfect ending to a delicious meal. Even paying the check was speedily efficient, and as we left we were sent-off with friendly farewells that made us feel like a part of Anna’s family. Ω

Folk you!

4

American Hustle

Inside Llewyn Davis The 1961 Greenwich Village folk music scene is the rich setting for the latest Coen brothers triumph, the brilliant Inside Llewyn Davis. Featuring a knockout performance from Oscar Isaac as the title character, and the usual top notch writing and directing from brothers Joel and Ethan, it’s easily one of the year’s best films.

The movie, loosely based on the life of by late folk singer Dave Van Ronk, opens on a Bob Grimm profile shot of Llewyn singing his heart out on the traditional track, “Hang Me, Oh Hang bgrimm@ newsre view.c om Me.” Isaac does all of his own singing and guitar playing, and he does it well. Shortly after completing his performance, his ass gets royally kicked behind the Gaslight Cafe, and the saga has begun.

5

Slightly sour, brooding and acerbic, the talented Llewyn is going through some hard times. He’s lost his singing partner, his new solo album isn’t catching on, and he doesn’t have a place to live. He surfs couches, one of them belonging to the married Jean (Carey Mulligan), who might be carrying his baby.

Llewyn tries to relax at times, perhaps even attempts to smile and enjoy life. That’s not going to work for him, at least not in the timespan this movie covers. If he stops to happily address a cat, it escapes out a window.

If he tries to lovingly play a tune for his aging father, the dude craps his pants. The universe seems to require Llewyn to remain steadfast with the snarky retorts.

Through all his misery, Llewyn tries to make it as a musician. He performs studio duties on a novelty track called “Please Mr. Kennedy” with Jim (Justin Timberlake) and Al Cody (Adam Driver), eschewing royalties for a quick session paycheck. The performance of this song, with Driver employing some strange Big Bopper-like vocal styling, is a total hoot.

“Did somebody hit a skunk?”

1 Poor

2 Fair

3 Good

4 Very Good

5 excellent

On a whim, Llewyn travels to Chicago and forces an audition with infamous agent Bud Grossman (F. Murray Abraham). The Bud Grossman audition scene is the total antithesis of the joyous and funny “Please Mr. Kennedy” sequence. Let’s just say it’s a terribly honest nod to the music industry.

The cross-country trek allows for some quality time with Garret Hedlund’s stoic, cigarette hoarding driver, and John Goodman’s pretentiously cruel jazz musician. Goodman, who has a nice Coen pedigree, is a hilarious mess as Roland Turner, a blathering back seat passenger with an opinion about everything and nefarious bathroom secrets. His presence is priceless.

Seeing Isaac and Mulligan together reminds me of their previous work together in Drive (Isaac played Mulligan’s troubled husband). They are total magic on screen, with Mulligan showing an impressive aptitude for justifiable rage. She’s very funny, and just a little scary.

Joining Llewyn on most of his journeys are numerous orange tabby cats that do felines proud. Their presence equates to one of those great, eccentric Coen touches. A sequence where a Llewyn friend screams about a cat’s gender is quite memorable, and beautifully strange. Llewyn’s moment closing a car door on that same cat will break your heart. I’m allergic to cats, but I want an orange one after seeing this movie.

The music is produced by T. Bone Burnett, who also worked with the Coens on O Brother, Where Art Thou? In casting musically talented performers like Isaac, Timberlake and Stark Sands as a folk-singing soldier, the Coens have given their film an authenticity that couldn’t be achieved with lip-synching. (Although it must be said that George Clooney did some badass lip-synching in O Brother.)

Inside Llewyn Davis is an authentic look at the pre-Dylan folk music scene, and it gets high marks for its dedication to the music. It sounds great across the board.

It’s also an uncompromisingly honest character study of a disagreeable sort with a wounded soul. The Coen brothers can do no wrong. Ω

a tragic, disastrous choice. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, like its predecessor, An Unexpected Journey, is a task to watch. The look of the movie simply doesn’t jibe with the technology, resulting in a visual nightmare. As a middle chapter in The Hobbit saga, Smaug is guilty of the same flaws that marred the first film. It’s overstuffed, the dwarves are severely uninteresting, and the action scenes lack any kind of urgency. It’s just a big, boring stunt film with people looking silly in their getups. As Bilbo, Martin Freeman labors to make things interesting during action scenes that feel redundant.

(Hey, it’s another giant icky spider attack!) He definitely stands out among a cast of bland actors playing bland dwarves. Oh Gimli, how you are missed! Jackson finds a way to bring back Orlando Bloom as Legolas. Bloom’s scenes are a bunch of sorry minutes that could be cut from the film’s running time. Too many scenes in this movie feel padded and bloated. With each passing minute, Jackson is doing further damage to his directing legacy. His original Lord of the Rings trilogy was a major triumph. These Hobbit films feel and look like parody. Smaug the dragon (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) finally shows up, and he is easily the best thing in the Hobbit films thus far. He should’ve arrived in the second half of the first film, and the whole damned thing should’ve been over in three hours.

David O. Russell continues his impressive directorial roll with this semi-comedic look at the notorious ’70s Abscam scandal. This is basically Russell shooting for Scorsese glory here, and while the style of the movie seems copied at times, there’s no denying the power of the ensemble cast. Bradley Cooper scores laughs as a pathetic FBI agent looking to make a name for himself, and Christian Bale looks great in a comb-over as the conman forced into an alliance with the law. Amy Adams gets one of the strangest roles of the year as a con artist pretending to be British, and she pulls it off quite nicely, while Jennifer Lawrence steals her every scene as a seemingly dim Long Island housewife.

You also get stand up comic Louis C.K. as Cooper’s field boss. (C.K. canceled a show I had tickets for to make this movie. I was pissed but, after seeing how good he is here, I’m OK with it now.) The film falls a little short of greatness due to its sometimes carbon copy feel, but the cast pulls it out of the fire. It also has the best use of Robert De Niro as a bad guy in many years.

4

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

After nearly a decade of being absent from our movie screens, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), the world’s greatest newscaster, has returned. This time, it’s the ’80s, and a new media craze called 24 Hour News has Ron and the boys (Paul Rudd’s Brian Fantana, Steve Carell’s Brick Tamland and David Koechner’s Champ Kind) working the late night shift in New York. The plot is basically just a place setter for weird, random humor involving bats, sharks, shadows, scorpions in RVs, and hair. Ferrell and the crew manage to sell the dumbest of things, and they make so much of it funny. Even the stuff that’s just strange has its own humorous appeal. Carell goes super dopey with Brick as he finds a love interest (Kristen Wiig), Champ still loves Ron in a dangerous way, and Brian has a new condom cabinet. I laughed my face off, with this being a sequel that continues the comedic legacy of the brilliant original, and even ups the ante when it comes to anchor-on-anchor battles in the park (the battle scene in this one is one for the ages, and involves fighter jets).

The last time they made one of these, they had enough on the cutting room floor to release an entire other movie. I hope that happened here as well, because I don’t want to wait 10 years for more.

5

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The dream world and reality progressively and beautifully blend in the latest from director Ben Stiller. The film is based, just a little bit, on the short story by James Thurber about a man prone to elaborate daydreams. Stiller uses that story as a springboard to something altogether new and surprisingly intimate. Stiller, in one of his best performances, plays the title character, an introverted man holding down a job handling photo negatives for Life magazine.

When an important negative for the final publication of the magazine goes missing, Walter, with help from work crush Cheryl (a delightful Kristen Wiig) springs into action on a quest that leads him through Greenland, Iceland and Afghanistan.

Along the way, he reignites former passions (like skateboarding and hiking), and those daydreams become more and more unnecessary. The message that Stiller is delivering with his film is an obvious one: Many of those daydreams we are having are just a hop, skip and skateboard away from being realities. A great supporting cast includes Adam Scott, Sean Penn and Shirley MacLaine.

4

Dallas Buyers Club

4

Saving Mr. Banks

Matthew McConaughey continues his career resurgence in this film based on the life of Ron Woodroof, a man who tested HIV positive in the ’80s, and had to battle the FDA while smuggling non-approved drugs into the country for himself and fellow sufferers. McConaughey lost many pounds to look the part, and it’s a frightening transformation. He also delivers an incredible performance. This, combined with his work earlier this year in Mud, easily establishes 2013 as the best year of his career. Jared Leto does incredible work as Rayon, a cross-dresser who helps Woodroof distribute the drugs to those needing some sort of treatment. Director Jean-Marc Vallee does a good job of capturing a time where HIV was a death sentence, and the terror that surrounded those who were fighting for their lives. This is a very good movie with great performances.

Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson are charming as Walt Disney and Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers in this obviously whitewashed look at Disney’s attempts at getting Travers’ approval to make a movie out of her book. Of course, most of us know he succeeded, but many don’t know that Travers was quite the holdout. The movie splits time between the Disney/Travers business and Travers’ childhood, where we find out much of Mary Poppins was based on her troubled father (Colin Farrell) and actual nanny. B.J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman are wonderful as the Sherman brothers, who made Poppins into a musical, much to the chagrin of Travers. The movie takes a lot of artistic license with the situation. Even though Travers is depicted as difficult here, she was far more adversarial in real life and never approved of the movie (those animated penguins!). Still, the film is fun to watch, with Hanks and Thompson making it all very worthwhile and heartwarming.

3

Frozen

I have to admit I was more into the strange Mickey Mouse short that precedes this musical adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Snow Queen” than the actual feature. It features retro Mickey busting out of a black and white film and becoming 3-D as he battles a bad guy kidnapping Minnie. It’s worth the price of admission. As for the actual feature movie, Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel have wonderful voices, and the visuals are fun to behold in this middle-of-the-road Disney fare. It has a lot of music—some of it quite good, some of it, well, not—and a beautiful look to it. For recent Disney animation, my vote goes to Tangled for best, but that’s not to say this one is a letdown. It’s OK. Just OK. It’s about on par with Pixar’s latest, Monster’s University. It’s fun to watch, but not altogether memorable.

5

The Wolf of Wall Street

Martin Scorsese’s latest explodes in your face like a mortar full of deranged bliss.

Leonardo DiCaprio, in the performance of the year, plays slimeball stockbroker and convicted felon Jordan Belfort, a real life scumbag who made millions selling penny stocks at a Long Island, New York brokerage. The movie, based on Belfort’s own autobiography, takes people doing bad, bad things to such an extreme that the film doesn’t just stand as one of the best of 2013, but one of its best and most deranged comedies. Like Ray Liotta in Goodfellas, DiCaprio talks to the camera on occasion, often during the sort of highly elaborate tracking shots that have become a Scorsese mainstay. It’s in these moments, and during Belfort’s drug-fueled “rouse-the-troops, fire-breathing speeches to his crew, where DiCaprio does his most exhilarating, bona fide nuts acting to date. He is a formidable competitor for a Best Actor Oscar.

He’s certainly my pick.

1

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Peter Jackson’s decision to shoot his latest Tolkien trilogy in High Frame Rate 3-D is

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January 9, 2014

CODE: PN24

Streamline Memory Motel Memory Motel is not a new band, but it is a young one. The trio, ranging in age from 18 to 22, has a bright-eyed by Fil Corbitt optimism that exudes excitement.

That mood currently seems to stem from what seems like a turning point—their first interstate tour.

Though the band has played out-oftown dates before, the beginning of 2014 will mark their first consecutive run of non-Reno shows, spanning from Boise to Los Angeles.

Photo/Allison Young

“I was thinking we couldn’t tour until we did this or that, or until we got a big van,” says Gibson. “But I realized we were just putting up arbitrary blocks.”

So when they got a show offer in L.A., they took it as a test run, driving down separately in two Subarus—which is how they plan to do this tour.

They considered renting a van, but the band ran the numbers and found that it would be cheaper to take the two cars.

“Plus, Sam and Ben can get really rowdy, and I tend to keep it mellow,” laughs Gibson.

Since they’re brothers, he tends to be the odd one out.

“But he’s family too,” Ben says.

They say that familial bond means that they relate, and fight, like brothers.

Ben says their tour manager and merch person Samantha Gates helps balance the dynamic.

The last thing the band had to hurdle was reducing the gear they bring on stage. There’s a drum machine in addition to a drum set. Sam frequently plays bass while also running samples on a laptop, and Gibson has a pedal board that looks like the cockpit of a fighter jet.

“But it’s pretty streamlined,” adds Gibson. He says they have no problem getting everything running because they’ve played with much bigger set-ups.

The excited approach the band brings to tour is not only refreshing—it’s calculated. Their onstage set-up and the way they plan to tour were thought-out decisions.

“We’ve seen other bands that have gotten jaded on the road or burnt themselves out, and I really want to make sure we don’t do that,” adds Gibson.

Though that’s probably a claim all young bands make, it seems like Memory Motel has the determination, and the smarts, to back that up. Ω

But this isn’t a ramshackle first tour. Chris Gibson, the frontman and by-default booking agent, has done his research. Sitting on a couch in the band’s upstairs studio at 420 Valley, Gibson explains that he’s watched a lot of young bands book out-of-town dates with little precision and perhaps a desperate hunger for any show away from home.

“It’s not just buckshot,” says Ben Ashlock, the drummer and one of two brothers in the band, calling Gibson’s approach to booking “scouting.”

And that’s exactly what it is.

The band seems to know which venues in which cities will fit them, and they seem to know the right people and the right bands to play with.

The three of them—bassist Sam Ashlock was sick on the day of the interview—have been working toward this point for a few years.

Young, but not new: Sam Ashlock, Ben Ashlock and Chris Gibson of Memory Motel.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ Memorymotelreno.

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THURSDAY 1/9

FRIDAY 1/10

1UP 214 W. Commercial Row, (775) 329-9444

3RD STREET 125 W. Third St., (775) 323-5005

Blues jam w/Blue Haven, 9:30pm, no cover

SATURDAY 1/11

SUNDAY 1/12

Select Saturdays, 8pm, no cover Anima Stereo, 9:30pm, no cover

DG Kicks, 9pm, Tu, no cover

BAR-M-BAR

Monday Night Open Mic, 8pm, M, no cover

816 Highway 40 West, Verdi; (775) 351-3206

THE BLUE BEAN

The Northstar Session Cottonwood Restaurant 10142 Rue Hilltop Truckee (530) 587-5711

BODEGA NIGHTCLUB Pub Quiz Trivia Night, 8pm, no cover

Blarney Band, 9pm, no cover

1099 S. Virginia St., (775) 324-2244

Sonic Mass w/DJ Tigerbunny, 7pm, no cover

Good Friday with rotating DJs, 10pm, no cover

COMMA COFFEE

Mark Diorio, 11:30am, no cover

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

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

COTTONWOOD RESTAURANT & BAR

3rd Street, 125 W. Third St., 323-5005: Comedy Night & Improv w/Patrick Shillito, W, 9pm, no cover Catch a Rising Star, Silver Legacy, 407 N. Virginia St., 329-4777: Tommy Savitt, Th, 7:30pm, $15.95; F, 7:30pm, 9:30pm, $15.95; Sa, 7:30pm, 9:30pm, $17.95; Frances Dilorinzo, Tu, W, 7:30pm, $15.95

10142 Rue Hilltop, Truckee; (530) 587-5711 275 E. Fourth St., (775) 324-1917

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

Reno-Tahoe Comedy at Pioneer Underground, 100 S. Virginia St., 686-6600: The Utility Players, Th, 7:30pm, $12, $16; Sean Peabody, F, 7pm, $13, $16; Ron Josol, F, 8:30pm; Sa, 6:30pm, 9:30pm, $13, $16

1100 E. Plumb Ln., (775) 828-7665

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

HARRY’S SPORTS BAR & GRILL

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

| JANUARY 9, 2014

CW and Mr. Spoons, noon, M, no cover Mile High Jazz Band, 8pm, Tu, $5

The Lady Crooners, 7pm, no cover VooDoo Dogz, 9:30pm, no cover

The Last Kings, 9:30pm, no cover

Karaoke with Lisa Lisa, 9pm, no cover

Karaoke with Lisa Lisa, 9pm, no cover

Open Mic Jam, 9:30pm, M, karaoke, 9:30pm, Tu, open mic, 9:30pm, W, no cover Karaoke with Lisa Lisa, 9pm, no cover

Karaoke with Lisa Lisa, 9pm, M, Tu, W, no cover

Karaoke w/Andrew, 9pm, no cover

Bass Heavy, 9pm, W, $TBA

Open Mic Night, 9pm, M, no cover Trivia Night, 9pm, W, no cover

3819 Saddle Rd., South Lake Tahoe; (530) 314-7665 140 Vesta St., (775) 742-1858

Traditional Irish Tune Session, 7pm, Tu, no cover

Open mic, 7pm, no cover

HIMMEL HAUS THE HOLLAND PROJECT

The RN&R no longer a ccepts emailed or phoned-in listings.

Post show s online by registering at www.ne wsreview.c om/reno.

Deadline is the Friday b efore publication .

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

THE GRID BAR & GRILL

JAVA JUNGLE

RN&R

Karaoke with Lisa Lisa, 9pm, no cover

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

|

The Northstar Session, 7pm, no cover

DAVIDSON’S DISTILLERY

The Improv at Harveys Cabaret, Harveys Lake Tahoe, Stateline, (800) 553-1022: Mark Pitta, Suli McCullough, Th-F, Su, 9pm, $25; Sa, 8pm, 10pm, $30; Graham Elwood, Annie Lederman, W, 9pm, $25

20

Rhythm Rewind w/DJs RyOn and Rewind, 9pm, $7

555 E. Fourth St., (775) 378-4507

CHAPEL TAVERN

Comedy

Phil Prunier, 10am, no cover

205 S. Sierra St., (775) 870-1288

CEOL IRISH PUB

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 1/13-1/15 College Night Wednesdays, 8pm, W, no cover

Audacity, Televisions, White Night, 8pm, $5-$7 Outspoken: Open Mic Night, 7pm, M, no cover

THURSDAY 1/9 JAZZ, A LOUISIANA KITCHEN

FRIDAY 1/10

SATURDAY 1/11

Erika Paul, 6pm, no cover

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

SUNDAY 1/12

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 1/13-1/15

Bill Davis, 6pm, no cover

JUB JUB’S THIRST PARLOR

1) Lionheart, Warhound, Havenside, Swamps, Badlands, 6:30pm, $12-$15

71 S. Wells Ave., (775) 384-1652 1) Showroom 2) Bar Room

KNITTING FACTORY CONCERT HOUSE

Drake Nelson, Patrick Shillito, Josie Spadon, Sean Pearson, 8pm, $8

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

L’UVA BELLA WINE GALLERY

Hyper Crush, Kronyak, DJ 530, 8pm, $20

13925 S. Virginia St., (775) 851-1110

Barbara Baxter, Peter Supersano, 6pm, no cover

MOODY’S BISTRO BAR & BEATS

Live music, 8:30pm, no cover

Live music, 8:30pm, no cover

Karaoke hosted by Gina Jones, 9pm, no cover

Karaoke hosted by Gina Jones, 9pm, no cover

Gemini, 9pm, no cover

Gemini, 9pm, no cover

10007 Bridge St., Truckee; (530) 587-8688

THE POINT

Karaoke hosted by Gina Jones, 7pm, no cover

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

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

Hyper Crush Jan. 11, 8 p.m.

Knitting Factory 211 N. Virginia St. 323-5648

Darcy & January, 8pm, W, no cover

RED DOG SALOON

Open Mic Night, 7pm, W, no cover

76 N. C St., Virginia City; (775) 847-7474

RUBEN’S CANTINA

Karaoke, 8pm, no cover

1483 E. Fourth St., (775) 622-9424

Hip Hop Open Mic, 10pm, W, no cover

RYAN’S SALOON

Karaoke, 9pm, no cover

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

SIDELINES BAR & NIGHTCLUB

Davis Nothere, 9:30pm, no cover

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

ST. JAMES INFIRMARY 445 California Ave., (775) 657-8484

STUDIO ON 4TH

Country in Lights w/Lizzie Cates and Friends, 8pm, no cover

432 E. Fourth St., (775) 410-5993

Afrofunk Experience

Live jazz, 7:30pm, W, no cover The Last Kings, 9:30pm, no cover

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

Dance party, 9pm, no cover

Elephant Rifle, Yelsa, 9pm, M, no cover Tuesday Night Trivia, 8pm, Tu, no cover

Crush, 6pm, $5

Open Mic Wednesdays, 7pm, W, no cover

WILD RIVER GRILLE

Jan. 11, 10 p.m.

Crystal Bay Club 14 Highway 28 Crystal Bay 833-6333

Sunday Jazz, 2pm, no cover

17 S. Virginia St., (775) 284-7455

WILDFLOWER VILLAGE

Reno Music Project Open Mic, 6:30pm, no cover

4275-4395 W. Fourth St., (775) 787-3769

Wildflower Comedy Power Hour Open Mic, 8:30pm, no cover

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ATLANTIS CASINO RESORT SPA 3800 S. Virginia St., (775) 825-4700 1) Grand Ballroom Stage 2) Cabaret

THURSDAY 1/9

FRIDAY 1/10

SATURDAY 1/11

SUNDAY 1/12

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 1/13-1/15

2) Midnight Riders, 8pm, no cover

2) Midnight Riders, 4pm, no cover Red Hot Smokin’ Aces, 10pm, no cover

2) Midnight Riders, 4pm, no cover Red Hot Smokin’ Aces, 10pm, no cover

2) Red Hot Smokin’ Aces, 8pm, no cover

2) Steppen Stonz, 8pm, M, Tu, W, no cover

2) Brian Andrews, 7pm, no cover

2) Brian Andrews, 8pm, no cover

2) Brian Andrews, 8pm, no cover

2) Lisa Marie Johnston, 6pm, no cover

2) Lisa Marie Johnston, 6pm, M, Tu, W, no cover

1) Fan Halen, 10pm, no cover 2) DeeJay Theory, 11:30pm, no cover

2) Afrofunk Experience, 10pm, no cover

1) Ice Fantasy, call for showtimes, $19.95-$24.95 2) Garage Boys, 10:30pm, no cover 3) Skyy High Fridays, 10pm, $10 4) Live piano, jazz, 4:30pm, no cover

1) Ice Fantasy, call for showtimes, $19.95-$24.95 2) Garage Boys, 10:30pm, no cover 3) Four Play Saturdays, 10pm, $10 4) Live piano, jazz, 4:30pm, no cover

3) DJ Keenan, 10:30pm, $20

1) Starship featuring Mickey Thomas, 7:30pm, $40.70 3) Rick Gee, DJ SN1, 10pm, $20

1) Beatles vs. Stones w/Abbey Road and Jumping Jack Flash, 8pm, $25-$35 2) Edge of Seventeen, 8pm, no cover

1) Beatles vs. Stones w/Abbey Road and Jumping Jack Flash, 8pm, $25-$35 2) Edge of Seventeen, 8pm, no cover

2) The Vegas Road Show, 8pm, no cover 3) Tyler Stafford, 6pm, no cover

2) The Vegas Road Show, 8pm, Country at the Cabaret w/DJ Jamie G, 9pm, no cover 3) Tyler Stafford, 6pm, no cover

CARSON VALLEY INN

1627 Hwy. 395, Minden; (775) 782-9711 1) Valley Ballroom 2) Cabaret Lounge 3) Valley Sky Theatre

CRYSTAL BAY CLUB

3 Doors Down

14 Hwy. 28, Crystal Bay; (775) 833-6333 1) Crown Room 2) Red Room

Jan. 10, 8 p.m.

Silver Legacy 407 N. Virginia St. 325-7401

ELDORADO HOTEL CASINO

345 N. Virginia St., (775) 786-5700 1) Showroom 2) Brew Brothers 3) BuBinga Lounge 4) Roxy’s Bar & Lounge 5) Stadium Bar

1) Ice Fantasy, call for showtimes, $19.95-$24.95 2) Garage Boys, 10:30pm, no cover 4) Live piano, jazz, 4:30pm, no cover

HARRAH’S LAKE TAHOE

15 Hwy. 50, Stateline; (775) 588-6611 1) South Shore Room 2) Casino Center Stage 3) Peek Nightclub

Karaoke

HARRAH’S RENO

Bottoms Up Saloon, 1923 Prater Way, Sparks, 359-3677: Th-Sa, 9pm, no cover Elbow Room Bar, 2002 Victorian Ave., Sparks, 359-3526: F, Tu, 7pm; Su, 2pm, no cover Celtic Knot Pub, 541 E. Moana Lane, 829-8886: J.P. and Super Fun Entertainment, Th, 8pm, 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 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, 847-4467: Gothic Productions Karaoke, Sa, Tu, 8pm, no cover

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JANUARY 9, 2014

219 N. Center St., (775) 788-2900 1) Sammy’s Showroom 2) The Zone 3) Sapphire Lounge 4) Plaza 5) 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

2) The Vegas Road Show, 7pm, no cover 3) Tyler Stafford, 5:30pm, no cover

MONTBLEU RESORT

2707 S. Virginia St., (775) 826-2121 1) Tuscany Ballroom 2) Terrace Lounge 3) Edge 4) Capri Ballroom

SILVER LEGACY

1) Ice Fantasy, call for showtimes, $19.95-$24.95 2) Garage Boys, 10:30pm, no cover 4) Live piano, jazz, 4:30pm, no cover

1) Ice Fantasy, call for showtimes, Tu, W, $19.95-$24.95 2) Live Band Karaoke, 10pm, M, DJ Chris English, 10pm, Tu, Steel Breeze, no cover 4) Live piano, jazz, 4:30pm, W, no cover

2) Country at the Cabaret w/DJ Jamie G, 7pm, W, no cover 3) Travis Vega, 6pm, W, no cover

1) Jon Lovitz, Tim Meadows, 8pm, $19.99-$29.99 3) Boogie Nights, 8pm, no cover w/’70s -’80s attire

55 Hwy. 50, Stateline; (800) 648-3353 1) Theatre 2) Opal 3) Blu 4) Onsen Beach & Nightclub 5) Convention Center 6) Outdoor Event Center

PEPPERMILL RESORT SPA CASINO

1) A Benefit for Blake w/Dead Winter Carpenters, Jellybread, 9pm, W, $25

2) Soul Scratch, 7pm, no cover 3) 3-D Thursdays w/DJs Max, Chris English, Kronyak, 10pm, $20

407 N. Virginia St., (775) 325-7401 3) Social Network Night, 9pm, no cover 1) Grand Exposition Hall 2) Rum Bullions Island Bar 4) Live music, 6:30pm, no cover 3) Aura Ultra Lounge 4) Silver Baron Lounge 5) Drinx Lounge

2) Soul Scratch, 8pm, no cover 3) Salsa dancing with BB of Salsa Reno, 2) Soul Scratch, 8pm, no cover 7:30pm, $10 after 8pm, DJ Chris English, 3) Rogue Saturdays, 10pm, $20 DJ ((Fredie)), 10pm, $20

2) Anderson, Ackerson & Teran, 6pm, no cover

2) Anderson, Ackerson & Teran, 6pm, M, Tu, W, no cover

1) 3 Doors Down, 8pm, $59.50-$74.50 2) Live music/DJ, 9pm, no cover 3) Fashion Friday, 7pm, no cover 4) Live music, 8:30pm, no cover

2) Recovery Sundays, 10pm, no cover 3) Midnight Mass, 9pm, no cover 4) Live music, 6:30pm, no cover

2) Gong Show Karaoke, 8pm, Tu, no cover 3) Step This Way (dubstep, house), 8pm, W, no cover

2) Live music/DJ, 9pm, no cover 3) Seduction Saturdays, 9pm, $5 4) Live music, 8:30pm, no cover

For a complete listing of this week’s events, visit newsreview.com/reno ExcErpts Reno Little Theater presents this original play by local playwright Bob Gabrielli about how we choose our lives, or “pre-incarnation,” as part of its Off-Off-Wells series.

The play opens on Thursday, Jan. 9, and runs through Sunday, Jan. 12 at the RLT, 147 E. Pueblo St. Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday with a 2 p.m. matinee performance on Sunday. Tickets are $7. Call 8138900 or visit renolittletheater.org.

BrrroquE MastErs TOCCATA— Tahoe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus presents its ninth annual Winter MusicFest, which kicked off on Jan. 4 with its “Brrroque Masters” concert series. The program includes Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Trumpets, Handel’s Organ Concerto Op. 4 No. 4 in F major and Bach’s Cantata No. 4 from the Christmas Oratorio, among other selections. Soloists include sopranos Joy Strotz, Anna Helwing and Michelle Norris, organist David Brock and trumpeters Mark Lord and William van Meter. The show begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 10, at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 501 California Ave. Tickets are $5-$35 and free for youth under age 19. Call 313-9697 or visit www.toccatatahoe.com.

Giovanni, a vaMpirE talE Reno Tahoe Comedy presents Nevada Opera’s vampire twist on Mozart’s comic melodrama Don Giovanni featuring vocal talent from NVO’s Chorus and Young Artists Program. This version of the opera explores Don Giovanni’s character and actions as a vampire instead of a seducer. Performances are at noon and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11, at the Pioneer Underground located in the plaza of Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, 100 S. Virginia St. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for youth age 19 and younger. Call Reno Tahoe Comedy at 322-5233 or Nevada Opera at 786-4046.

BowlinG is lotsafun This fundraiser benefits Amplify Life, a local organization that serves children, teens and adults with developmental disabilities. The ticket includes three games, free parking, shoe rental, access to a silent auction and raffle prizes and music by local artists Joel Ackerson and Zack Teran of The Novelists, Hollywood Trashed and Critical Mass. Proceeds from the event will help send people to Camp Lotsafun, a summer camp that provides recreational, therapeutic and educational opportunities to people with disabilities and also provides respite care for their families. The fun begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11, at the National Bowling Stadium, 300 N. Center St. Tickets are $10-$25. Call 8273866 or visit www.amplifylife.org.

wintEr trails Day Winter Trails Day offers those new to snow sports the chance to try snowshoeing and cross country skiing for free and discover the fitness and social benefits they provide. Join organizations and vendors for a day of winter fun with mini-snowshoe and cross country ski lessons, interpretive hikes with the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, education, product demos, food and entertainment and free trail passes for pre-registered participants. Bring your own snowshoe or cross country ski equipment if you have them. Demo products from vendors will be available, but are limited. The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11, at Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Center and Snowshoe Center, 15275 Alder Creek Road, Truckee. Carpooling is recommended due to limited parking. The center will have shuttles available once the lot is full. Pre-registration is required with a $5 suggested donation to the Truckee High School Nordic Team. Call (916) 924-8900 or visit www. rei.com/sacramento.

usa BMx silvEr Dollar nationals Some of the top amateur and professional BMX racers from across the U.S. and the world will compete in the first event of the 2014 national series season. More than 1,500 BMX racers are expected to attend the bicycle motocross event, which begins on

Friday, Jan. 10, in the Main Indoor Arena at the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center, 1350 N. Wells Ave. Gates open at 8 a.m. on Jan. 10-12.

Admission is free, although there is a $10 per vehicle parking fee at the events center. Call 688-5751 or visit www.usabmx.com.

—Kelley Lang OPINION

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Down on his luxe I’ve always loved surprising my wife with expensive jewelry and lavish vacations. However, I lost my job, and my new job pays far less. There’s barely money for necessities, let alone luxuries. My wife has been very supportive, reassuring me, “I’d love you if you were flat broke,” which makes me feel even more of a desire to wow her. But realizing we have no funds for a big trip this year, I suggested a “staycation” where we’d just stay local and relax. She agreed to it, but I could tell she was disappointed. I’m worried that the “magic” of our relationship was based in part on the lavish gifts and that we’ll lose it now that our resources have dwindled.

Sure, it’s better when “living hand to mouth” means being fed chocolate-dipped strawberries at a spa in Gstaad. But it wasn’t just the lavishness of your gifts that made your wife happy. The money you were able to spend camouflaged what you were really doing to delight her, which was employing the element of surprise.

Over time, relationships, like powdered substances available on dodgy street corners, stop providing the buzz they did at first. Neuroscientist Wolfram Schultz found that unpredictable rewards are the most exciting kind for the brain—maybe even three or four times as exciting as expected ones. And research by Sonja Lyubomirsky, who studies happiness, finds that one of the most effective ways to keep a relationship buzzy is by injecting surprise—the novel, the unexpected (unexpected good things, that is, not 24 | RN&R |

JANUARY 9, 2014

having your partner come home to find you in bed with the cleaning lady).

People think they have to go big on surprise, and this keeps them from doing much that’s surprising. But it’s the surprise itself that counts, not whether you rented elephants. Recently, I was having a particularly craptastic day—until my boyfriend, who was away on business, told me to look above the molding over my kitchen doorway.

Most awesomely, he’d hidden a little bar of my favorite French chocolate there before he left. In other words, don’t worry. There should be “magic” aplenty if you just shift your surprise pipeline from, say, Tiffany the store on Fifth Avenue to Tiffany the postal worker who delivers your mail—including a handwritten love letter you’ve mailed your wife.

Likewise, in staycationing, you just need to go places and do things that are exciting and new. This takes only imagination, the events calendar from the paper, and what you’ve already shown you have: love for your wife and a desire to make her happy. While you’re out there watching the sunset instead of your bank balance, consider that there is an upside to your downturn: finding out that your wife didn’t just love you for your money. Of course, there’s no telling whether she’s just been using you for sex. Ω

Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave., No. 280, Santa Monica,CA 90405, or email AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com).

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~ Recent Concert-Goer

Classix Four Neil Tatman | Oboe

The Reno Philharmonic Orchestra with Laura Jackson, Music Director

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Neil Tatman, Oboe d’amore BACH: Concerto for Oboe d’amore in A major, BWV 1055 RESPIGHI: Ancient Airs and Dances–Suite II BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, op. 98

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January 17 & 18 Call now for tickets: 356–3300 www.sheepdipshow.org

“

The Reno Philharmonic is one of the great joys of living in northern Nevada!

We have never been disappointed. Laura Jackson brings so much energy to each performance!”

by rob brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You can blame

it on the coming full moon. You can blame it on the gorgeous storm or the epic dream or the haunting song or the suffering you’re struggling to vanquish. All I ask is that you don’t blame it on the alcohol. OK? If you’re going to do wild and brave and unexpected things, make sure they are rooted in your vigorous response to primal rhythms, not in a drunken surrender to weakness or ignorance. I’m all for you losing your oppressive self-control, but not the healthy kind of self-control.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): When is the

last time you did an experiment? I’m not talking about scientific tests and trials that take place in a laboratory. I’m referring to real-life experiments, like when you try out an unfamiliar experience to see if it appeals to you, or when you instigate a change in your routine to attract unpredictable blessings into your sphere. Now would be an excellent time to expose yourself to a few what-ifs like that. You’re overdue to have your eyes opened, your limits stretched and your mind blown.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): To help take

the edge off the darkness you have been wrestling with, I offer you these lines from a poem by Kay Ryan: “The day misspent, / the love misplaced, / has inside it / the seed of redemption. / Nothing is exempt from resurrection.” In other words, Gemini, whatever has disappeared from your life will probably return later in a new form. The wrong turns you made may lead you to a fresh possibility.

Is that what you want? Or would you prefer that the lost things stay lost, the dead things stay dead? Make a decision soon.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “Human

beings are often unable to receive because we do not know what to ask for,” says the writer Malidoma Patrice Somé in his book Of Water and the Spirit. “We are sometimes unable to get what we need because we do not know what we want.” With that in mind, Cancerian, hear my two pleas: First, that in the next six weeks, you will work diligently to identify the goodies you want most; and second, that you will cultivate your capacity to receive the goodies you want most by refining your skill at asking for them.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Julia Morgan

(1872-1957) was the first woman licensed as an architect in California. She designed more than 700 buildings over the course of her brilliant career, and thrived both financially and artistically. One key to her success was her humility. “Don’t ever turn down a job because it’s beneath you,” she advised. That’s a helpful message for you to hear, Leo. It applies to the work-related opportunities you may be invited to take on, as well as the tasks that your friends, associates and loved ones ask you to consider.

You can’t possibly know ahead of time how important it might ultimately be to apply yourself conscientiously to a seemingly small assignment.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): One of

Beethoven’s music teachers said, “As a composer, he is hopeless.” When Thomas Edison was a kid, a teacher told him he was “too stupid to learn anything.” Walt Disney worked at a newspaper when he was young, but his editor fired him because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” I’m sure there was a person like that in your past— someone who disparaged and discouraged you. But I’m happy to report that 2014 will be the best year ever for neutralizing and overcoming that naysayer’s curse. If you have not yet launched your holy crusade, begin now.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In 1609, sea

explorer Henry Hudson sailed to America and came upon what we now call Coney Island. Back then, it was a barren spit of sand whose main inhabitants were rabbits.

But it was eventually turned into a dazzling resort—an “extravagant playground,” according to the documentary film Coney Island.

By the early 20th century, there were three sprawling amusement parks packed into its 2 square miles of land, plus “a forest of glittering electric towers, historical displays, freak shows, a simulated trip to the moon, the largest herd of elephants in the world, and panoramas showing the Creation, the End of the World, and Hell.” I mention this, Scorpio, because 2014 could feature your very own Henry Hudson moment: a time when you will discover virgin territory that will ultimately become an extravagant playground.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

“If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows,” said 19th-century social reformer Henry Ward Beecher. That might be an accurate assessment for most people, but I don’t think it will be true for you Sagittarians in the foreseeable future. Your animal intelligence will be working even better than usual. Your instinctual inclinations are likely to serve as reliable guides to wise action.

Trust what your body tells you! You will definitely be clever enough to be a crow.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Can

you guess what combination of colors makes the most vivid visual impact? Psychologists say it’s black on yellow. Together they arrest the eye. They command attention. They activate a readiness to respond. According to my reading of the astrological omens, this is the effect you can and should have in the coming weeks. It’s time for you to draw the best kind of attention to yourself. You have a right and a duty to galvanize people with the power of your presence. Whether you actually wear yellow clothes with black highlights is optional as long as you cultivate a similar potency.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I’m guess-

ing that in a metaphorical sense, you’ve been swallowed by a whale. Now you’re biding your time in the beast’s belly. Here’s my prediction: You will be like the biblical Jonah, who underwent a more literal version of your experience. The whale eventually expelled him, allowing him to return to his life safe and sound—and your story will have the same outcome. What should you do in the meantime? Here’s the advice that Dan Albergotti gives in his poem “Things to Do in the Belly of the Whale.” “Count the ribs,” he says. “Look up for blue sky through the spout. Make small fires with the broken hulls of fishing boats. Practice smoke signals.

Call old friends. … Organize your calendar.

Dream of the beach. … Review each of your life’s ten million choices. … Find the evidence of those before you. … Listen for the sound of your heart. Be thankful that you are here, swallowed with all hope, where you can rest and wait.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): How do

you like your tests? Short, intense and dramatic? Or leisurely, drawn-out and lowpressure? Here’s another question: Do you prefer to pick out the tests you take, making sure they’re good fits for the precise lessons you want to master? Or do you find it more exciting and adventurous to let fate determine what unpredictable tests get sent your way? Ruminate about these matters, Pisces.

You’re due for a nice big test sometime soon, and it’s in your interest to help shape and define how everything unfolds.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): As a child,

French philosopher and writer Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) loved math. But his father, who homeschooled him, forced him to forgo math and concentrate on studying the humanities.

Blaise rebelled. When he was 12 years old, he locked himself in his room for days and immersed himself in mathematical investigations. When he emerged, he had figured out on his own some of Euclid’s fundamental theorems about geometry. Eventually, he became a noted mathematician. I see the coming weeks as prime time to do something like the young Pascal did: Seal yourself away from other people’s opinions about who you’re supposed to be, and explore the themes that will be crucial for the person you are becoming.

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.

by Dennis Myers PHOTO/DENNIS MYERS

Librarian Arnold Maurins became director of the Washoe County Library System in 2008.

He brought to the job an economics degree from the University of Santa Clara, a library science master’s from San Jose University, and experience in several lower level library positions before taking the directorship. He spoke with us about the role of a library in a high tech world.

You didn’t start out with the traditional credentials of a librarian.

No. I got a degree in economics, thinking that I’d go to law school. And I went to law school for a year and a half and decided I didn’t want to be an attorney. I came back and took an aptitude test, and it kind of confirmed what I’d already suspected—I liked libraries and that kind of environment. … So I went to library school and got my degree, my master’s there.

Do you have trouble staying ahead of the technology?

I think we’re doing the best we can, given the resources that we’ve got. There’s some limitations on what we can do as far as what the county does with technology. They’re generally one or two releases behind the latest software and that kind of thing, but I think within those limitations ... we’re doing pretty well. Staff is starting to use mobile devices like tablets out in the stacks, helping people. And we’re going to start lending out

those kinds of things to the public for them to use and maybe having a bar setup in the library where they can use those kinds of things and try out the latest stuff. So I think we’re doing pretty well.

Do you have difficulty with obtaining the latest stuff and it becomes obsolete about 10 minutes after you buy it?

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Do you find people here think of a library as a place where they can get books and not look beyond that to using tablets, computers, that kind of thing?

There are some problems with that kind of thing. … The devices that we provide generally stay current for a fair amount of time.

It’s not like we buy something and next week it’s obsolete. For the most part we do pretty well. We’re trying to buy things that have a good track record and from companies that are not fly by night.

We do get some people who are surprised at that. It depends on if they’ve grown up in this area or if they come from outside.

Some people do come in and they are surprised. Ω

How much have hard times hurt your ability to stay current?

Yes, our technology budget took a big hit with, you know, the budget problems. …

Shingles, snowpack and Baddicts Look, all you readers out there who are not yet citizens of Breaking Bad Nation, and are just plain sick and tired of reading and hearing all of us Baddicts still drooling gobs of gaga for the show and the newly released “barrel set,” I ask, as a slobberer residing in The House of Walter, for you to keep a handle on your hate. I know it’s a little much, what with all the gushing that will build to a pitch in the next couple of weeks during the upcoming onslaught of awards shows, but please, stay cool. Trust me, the gushing is for a reason. Put your hate on hold, bite your lip, tolerate what is apparently our bottomless cup of raving, and remember the immortal words of John Lennon, who once sang, “I hope some day you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.” And have an A-1 day! (Bitch!)

• It’s been a while since I indulged in some good ole medically unauthorized and totally gratuitous fingerwagging, so let’s take care of that right now. First, I have a few friends currently struggling with nasty bouts of influenza. I feel for them in their

We’re slowly getting that money back, but it is a challenge. It definitely is. There’s a lot of things we’d like to do as far as having more modern public computers, you know, in the branches, and that kind of thing, but we just can’t. You know, we’re doing it in kind of slow steps. … Hopefully, in the next three or four years, the budget will start increasing again.

∫y Bruce Van Dye my part. Usually, when I write about drought, it’ll be pouring on the day you read this.

But we’re thirsty right now. Big time. Last week, driving on 395 in the Lone Pine/Bishop metroplex, on the back side of the mightiest mountains of the West, it looked like there was a base of about 6 inches above 10,000 feet. That’s not a snowpack. That’s Sierra dandruff.

The snow on Mt. Whitney looked like shake that fell off the backs of the last flock of honkers that flew by. The White Mountains were, once again, horribly misnamed. That brought to mind a conversation I had with a fisherman out at Pyramid a few weeks ago. Looking at the ever-expanding beaches out there, I commented that we sure do need a good winter this year. He corrected me. “We need three good winters.” He’s right. That means we got some rallying to do. Is there an “instant big ass blizzard” app on iTunes? Ω

snuffling, hacking misery and am thus reminded—flu shots are cool. Period.

I’m speaking from the perspective of my own bod. I’ve had flu shots 4 out of the last 5 years. The one year I didn’t get one, I got sick. The four years I got the shots, nothing. Not even a sore throat. If you’ve been avoiding flu shots the way Jenny McCarthy avoids vaccinations, time to rethink.

Then there’s shingles shots. Are you a baby boomer who had chicken pox as a kid? You’re vulnerable. Trust me, as someone who got lashed with a slash of these touchy tinglers awhile back, you don’t want to get lit up with a dose of these oozing owies. Consider getting the vaccination. In fact, don’t consider. Just do it.

• Looks like we’re well on our way to Extraordinary Parchitude here in the West. We’ll probably arrive at our Desiccation Destination sometime in early August, unless, of course, we actually get rained/snowed on sometime between now and May Day. Right now, it doesn’t look good, but then again, you never know. I’m doing

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