Free Will Astrology

Dog lady

Landess Witmer

July 20 is the 14th annual Art Paws event. It’s tailored to people with pets and is a dog-friendly Artown event. Landess Witmer is the host and has recently added two Underdog Grants to her event. All proceeds from the event are split between the beneficiaries of these two grants and the people’s choice award. The application can be found at www.artpawsreno.com and is due by May 20.

You’ve been doing Art Paws for a while now?

Yes, yes. This will be our 14th year, and it is set for Sunday, July 20. We’re very excited because in our 15th year we have a goal of $15,000 to give back to the community. So that’s going to be a big goal. So we’re trying to rev up to it next year.

What’s your favorite part of Art Paws?

Probably the people’s choice. I think we’re the only event that I know of that you can vote, and your vote helps determine who gets the money. And I think that’s really cool. We’ve done that for many years, and this is the first year that we’ve decided that we’ll award one people’s choice grant from the popular votes at our event and we would award two needy, what we call the Underdog Grant to non-profits that apply online. … I thought it was interesting because I wanted to name this the Underdog Grant, but underdog means different things to different people. If you look it up, it has many different meanings, and one of them is perfect to somebody who is almost disenfranchised. And what we thought is that the people’s choice went for bigger groups, and there are lots of little groups that are doing amazing things. So now two-thirds of all the money from Art Paws will go to the little groups. It will go to two different groups within a 75-mile radius of Reno that help animals, and then we’ll still have the people’s choice.

What prompted that change?

Well, I guess just knowing some really great little groups and wanting to help them but not knowing how to. I am not on the grant committee. Neither is Michelle, our event coordinator. No one that’s affiliated [is], not even one of our volunteers. We have a separate group that’s being set up just for the grant committee. But yeah, I did have some non-profits in mind when I was making this, and I’ve made sure that they get to apply. And it’s the first year. Next year we’ll promote it more and give them more time to do it. But we wanted to not skip this year. It was that important.

Photo/Sage Leehey

How are you determining who gets the grants?

We’re really looking at need. We’re looking at how they’ll actually use the money. And we also have one of our grading categories as which one do you feel the most for, which I think is really cool because they may not be able to put things in words as well as somebody else, but they will be given points on having a great idea and doing good things with their money. Also, one of the things that’s important is do they use volunteers? … Volunteers are extremely valuable, and the more you use, the more your cause or event can grow. So I’d like to remind people that you’re not alone. There’s a lot of good people out there who want to help you. … We’re really looking at new groups, too. It doesn’t have to be a group that’s been doing it for years. Ω LUCKY BEAVER BAR & BURGER Job Fair in Reno

Potato notes

In the early ’90s, Bruce Springsteen had a popular song, “57 Channels.” Well, that ain’t how it is no mo’. There’s about 964 channels, and there’s a lot of good stuff on there.

If you like comedies, there are a couple that are now on the Neon Babylon DVR list. I’m talking Amy and Louis, as in Schumer and C.K. Jesus, Amy is a star. Yes, she’s bawdy, badass and bodacious. And funny as hell. If you haven’t done so, check her out and see if she is your cup of tea. I find every one of her shows to have at least one great LOL moment. Louis is a force of his own and quite brilliant at times. Also funny, big time funny in his own special way. And it’s amazing what his network, FX, is letting him get away with. In the opening show of the new season, some guy drops a full 10-letter C bomb. Impressive. I guess the fundamentalists have given up hassling the FCC. Thank God. They must be spending all their time these days complaining to school boards about evolution or some damned thing.

C.K.’s envelope-pushing reminded me of an episode at the LA airport last year. I was at a sports bar, waiting for a flight, and a basketball playoff game was on. The ref made a lame call, and the guy next to me, who’d been there a while and had a couple of snorts in him, semi-yelled, “That’s a fuckin’ bullshit call, ref!” The bartender, an older gal, at least 65, maybe 70, immediately snapped at him. “Hey, watch it, pal! There are ladies present!” Well, the guy looks at the two girls sitting nearby, two women in the 25-35 range, and both of them had a look that said, “Shit, we don’t give a fuck.” And in that moment, a microcosmic metaphor for the way it used to be and the way it now is. For the record, I’m completely fine with this. Why the hell should us boys have all the fun dropping juicy expletives? The girls have jumped into the deep end of the cussin’ pool, and it’s a better place for it. Equality in salary—and profanity.

In other TV notes, not only am I catching Amy and Louis every week, I’m also completely sucked into the Wacky World of Westeros. GoT, baby! Yes, Game of Thrones is total soap opera trash, but dayam, it is trash on a grand and glorious and high budget level. I haven’t had this good of a time watching awesome top quality TV trash since I got sucked into Walter White’s Bad-ass mess in New Methico.

Speaking of Walter, I’ve now finally found the flick that’s gonna get me into the new IMAX theaters there at Legend’s Sparks. Of course, I’m talkin’ about the greatest lizard of them all, The Big G. And here in this new remake, you’ve got Zilla taking on— Walter White! Mano a mano, fire breath versus Heisenberg! Epic showdown time? Or muy hyped sequel poop? I’m gonna find out at the IMAX, where they’ve got a wine bar and a draft beer selection that rivals the best pubs. Plus, they’ve got some nasty brats available, which is excellent. Just please, chew with your mouth closed. I mean, what are you, some kind of fuckin’ vulgarian? Dayam. Ω

∫y Bruce Van Dye Join Our Team Looking for career oriented, energetic happy people. You must have a passion for people, guest service and enjoy a very busy environment. Wednesday May 21st 10am-4pm Thursday May 22nd 3pm-8pm Friday May 23rd 10am-4m 3655 S. Virginia Street (formerly Foley’s Irish Pub across from Atlantis) If you want to join a great restaurant and be a part of our amazing team see you at our JOB FAIR!