Free Will Astrology

IT’S TIME TO VOTE

for your favorite people, businesses and things in the RN&R’s Best of Northern Nevada reader survey! As the region’s most credible and most thorough survey of its kind, we once again have lots of categories! Look through these and come up with some ideas on who you’ll vote for, then go online to www.newsreview.com/reno and click on the “Best of Northern Nevada” icon to vote!

Culture

Best 4th of July fireworks Best animal shelter Best art gallery Best mural Best charity race or walk Best church Best day trip Best dog park Best drag queen Best independent art gallery Best kept secret Best local band Best local band album Best dance instructor Best local dance company Best local theater company Best monthly event Best neighborhood Best non-casino thing to do downtown Best place to meet gay singles Best place to meet straight singles Best place to people watch Best radio station Best talk show host Best scandal Best reason to live in Reno Most environmentally conscious company Best local farm Best non-profit group Best green event Best green store Best special event in downtown Reno Best special event in downtown Sparks Food & drink Best cooking school Best hot dog Best frozen yogurt Best French fries Best smoothie Best chicken wings Best salad Best salad bar Best Mexican Best Italian Best Indian Best Basque Best Japanese Best Greek Best Thai Best Chinese Best Salvadoran Best sandwich shop Best French restaurant Best Vietnamese Best sushi Best vegetarian Best burger Best doughnuts/pastries Best bagel Best bakery Best fresh bread Best coffee Best coffee roaster Best seafood Best steak Best pizza parlor Best breakfast Best business lunch Best greasy spoon Best Reno restaurant Best Carson restaurant Best Truckee restaurant Best Sparks restaurant Best Tahoe restaurant Most romantic restaurant Best new restaurant Best fine dining Best wine list Best wine bar Best cheap eats Best dessert Best martini Best Margarita Best solo dining Best outdoor dining Best late-night dining Best food truck Best ambience Best restaurant view Best restaurant worth the long wait Best chef Best server Best tequila selection Best vodka selection Best whiskey/bourbon/Scotch selection Best Bloody Mary Best local beer Best barbecue restaurant Best catering company Best appetizers Best soups Best place to eat when drunk Best juice Best fondue Best produce Casinos & GamblinG Best casino Best casino hotel Best casino restaurant Best casino bar Best casino arcade games Best female casino bartender Best male casino bartender Best casino buffet Best casino comedy club Best casino game dealer Best casino dance club Best casino promotion Best casino show Best casino band Most eco-friendly casino Best sportsbook Best poker room Best place to cash your check Best customer service Best casino wedding planning Best casino to hear quiet music Best casino spa Best casino security Best casino-hotel for romantic getaway Best casino color scheme Best casino carpet Goods & serviCes Best thrift store Best local place to work Best landscaping company Best house cleaning service Best video game store Best gadget store Best wine shop Best cheap liquor store Best women’s clothing boutique Best men’s clothing store Best children’s clothing boutique Best place to buy a firearm Best place to shoot firearms Best jewelry store Best mall Best tanning salon Best frame shop Best spa Best dry cleaners Best bookstore Best place to get an auto smogged Best place to buy a musical instrument Best gym Best place to buy CDs Best specialty foods store Best adult-themed store Best computer store Best place to buy vintage clothes Best used clothing store Best antique store Best bicycle shop Best flower shop Best beauty salon Best hair stylist Best aesthetician Best nail technician Best barber Best barber shop Best garden nursery Best car wash Best home furnishings store Best apartment complex Best place to get a car repaired Best tattoo parlor Best tattoo artist

’13 Best place to get pierced Best shoe selection Best boutique clothing store Best hotel for a romantic getaway Best bank Best credit union Best mortgage company Best grocery store Best specialty ice cream store Best pet store Best pet supply store Best pet boarding Best skateboard store Best wireless phone service coverage Best brothel Best motorcycle dealer, shop Best new car dealership Best used car dealership Best place for photo prints Best photography supply store Best Pilates studio Best Pilates instructor Best yoga studio Best yoga instructor Best outdoor outfitter Best optical shop Best hospital Best doggy daycare Best athletic shoe selection Best business Facebook page Best independent bookstore Best independent CD music store Best independent coffee shop Best independent computer store Best independent grocery store Best independent used bookstore Best local non-casino business Best new business Best newspaper Best outdoor gear selection Best place for music lessons Best place to buy playa garb Best print shop Best public relations agency Best publication (that’s not us) Best selection of local art Best spectator sport Best sunglasses selection Best wedding event planner Best wedding reception site Best workout wear selection Best independent hardware store Best veterinarian Best Pawnbroker

innovations

Best local innovation: activism Best local innovation: collaboration Best local innovation: living space Best local innovation: service Best local innovation: technology Best local innovation: working space Most innovative local artist Most innovative local casino Most innovative local cocktails Most innovative local company Most innovative local menu Most innovative local music Most innovative local nonprofit Most innovative local promotion Most innovative local startup business Most innovative local teacher

kids & Family

Best arcade games Best charter school Best family outing Best local library Best park Best place to introduce kids to nature Best place to picnic with kids Best place to take the kids Best things to do on a Friday night Best toy store Best weekend activity Best weeknight activity Most kid-friendly restaurant

niGhtliFe

Best all-ages spot Best bar Best beer selection Best bowling alley Best club DJ Best comedy club Best concert venue Best dance club Best dive bar Best gay hangout Best happy hour Best karaoke Best microbrewery Best neighborhood bar Best open-mic night Best place for a first date Best place for live music Best place to buy sexy underwear Best place to cure your hangover Best place to have sex in public Best place to hear loud music Best place to hear quiet music Best place to see a concert Best place to watch Monday Night Football Best place to watch movies Best sports bar Best strip club Best trivia night Most romantic bar

outdoors

Best golf course Best local hot springs Best mountain biking Best outdoor beer garden Best picnic spot Best place to ride a personal watercraft Best place to swim Best ski resort Best skiing Best snowboarding Best spot to hike Best spot to run around naked Best spot to smooch under the stars

Personalities

Best athletic coach Best attorney Best barista Best bartender, female Best bartender, male Best beard Best chiropractor Best club doorman/bouncer Best cocktail server Best college instructor Best creative writer Best dentist Best elementary school teacher Best gynecologist Best high school teacher Best interior designer Best local actor/actress Best local athlete Best local columnist Best local comedian Best local filmmaker Best local musician Best local politician Best local radio DJ or DJ team Best local rapper Best local songwriter Best local TV news Best local TV news anchor Best local TV news hairstyle Best massage therapist Best middle school teacher Best minister/spiritual advisor Best muralist Best music teacher Best naturopathic practioner Best pet groomer Best photographer Best plastic surgeon Best police officer Best politician Best principal Best public figure to fantasize about Best public relations professional Best real estate agent Best social networker Best visual artist Best volunteer 13

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): If you were alive 150 years ago and needed to get a tooth extracted, you might have called on a barber or blacksmith or wigmaker to do the job. (Dentistry didn’t become a formal occupation until the latter part of the 19th century.) Today, you wouldn’t dream of seeking anyone but a specialist to attend to the health of your mouth. But I’m wondering if you are being less particular about certain other matters concerning your welfare.

Have you been seeking financial advice from your massage therapist? Spiritual counsel from your car-repair person? Nutritional guidance from a fast-food addict? I suggest you avoid such behavior. It’s time to ask for specific help from those who can actually provide it. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “My music is best understood by children and animals,” said composer Igor Stravinsky. A similar statement could be made about you Tauruses in the coming weeks: You will be best understood by children and animals—and by all others who have a capacity for dynamic innocence and a buoyant curiosity rooted in emotional intelligence. In fact, those are the types I advise you to surround yourself with.

For now, it’s best to avoid sophisticates who overthink everything and know-it-all cynics whose default mode is criticism. Take control of what influences you absorb. You need to be in the presence of those who help activate your vitality and enthusiasm. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “Nikhedonia” is an obscure English word that refers to the pleasure that comes from anticipating success or good fortune. There’s nothing wrong with indulging in this emotion as long as it doesn’t interfere with you actually doing the work that will lead to success or good fortune. But the problem is, nikhedonia makes some people lazy. Having experienced the thrill of imagining their victory, they find it hard to buckle down and slog through the gritty details necessary to manifest their victory. Don’t be like that. Enjoy your nikhedonia, then go and complete the accomplishment that will bring a second, even stronger wave of gratification. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Boston’s

Museum of Fine Arts has a collection of

Japanese art that is never on display. It consists of 6,600 wood-block prints created by artists of the ukiyo-e school, also known as “pictures of the floating world.” Some are more than 300 years old. They are tucked away in drawers and hidden from the light, ensuring that their vibrant colors won’t fade. So they are well-preserved but rarely seen by anyone. Is there anything about you that resembles these pictures of the floating world, Cancerian? Do you keep parts of you secret, protecting them from what might happen if you show them to the world? It may be time to revise that policy. (Thanks to

Molly Oldfield’s The Secret Museum for the info referred to here.) LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In the next two weeks, I hope you don’t fall prey to the craze that has been sweeping Japan. More than 40,000 people have bought books that feature the photos of hamuketsu, or hamster bottoms. Even if you do manage to avoid being consumed by that particular madness, I’m afraid you might get caught up in trifles and distractions that are equally irrelevant to your long-term dreams. Here’s what I suggest: To counteract any tendency you might have to neglect what’s truly important, vow to focus intensely on what’s truly important. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Writing at Fast

Company, Himanshu Saxena suggests that businesses create a new position: chief paradox officer, or CPXO. This person would be responsible for making good use of the conflicts and contradictions that normally arise, treating them as opportunities for growth rather than as distractions. From my astrological perspective, you Virgos are currently prime candidates to serve in this capacity. You will continue to have special powers to do this type of work for months to come.

13 13 LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In accordance with the astrological omens, you are hereby granted a brief, one-time-only license to commit the Seven Deadly Sins. You heard me correctly, Libra. As long as you don’t go to extremes, feel free to express healthy amounts of pride, greed, laziness, gluttony, anger, envy and lust. At least for now, there will be relatively little hell to pay for these indulgences. Just one caveat: If I were you, I wouldn’t invest a lot of energy in anger and envy. Technically, they are permitted, but they aren’t really much fun. On the other 13 hand, greed, gluttony and lust could be quite pleasurable, especially if you don’t take yourself too seriously. Pride and laziness may also be enjoyable in moderate, artful amounts. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio novelist Kurt Vonnegut rebelled against literary traditions. His stories were often hybrids of science fiction and autobiography. Freeform philosophizing blended with satirical moral commentary. He could be cynical yet playful, and he told a lot of jokes. “I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over,” he testified. “Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can’t see from the center.” He’s your role model for the next four weeks, Scorpio. Your challenge will be to wander as far as you can into the frontier without getting hopelessly lost. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Make a name for the dark parts of you,” writes Lisa Marie Basile in her poem “Paz.” I think that’s good advice for you, Sagittarius. The imminent future will be an excellent time to fully acknowledge the shadowy aspects of your nature. More than that, it will be a perfect moment to converse with them, get to know them better, and identify their redeeming features. I suspect you will find that just because they are dark doesn’t mean they are bad or shameful. If you approach them with love and tenderness, they may even reveal their secret genius. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Pet mice that are kept in cages need to move more than their enclosed space allows, so their owners often provide them with exercise wheels. If the rodents want to exert their natural instinct to run around, they’ve got to do it on this device. But here’s a curious twist: A team of Dutch researchers has discovered that wild mice also enjoy using exercise wheels. The creatures have all the room to roam they need, but when they come upon the wheels in the middle of the forest, they hop on and go for prolonged spins. I suggest you avoid behavior like that, Capricorn. Sometime soon you will find yourself rambling through more spacious places. When that happens, don’t act like you do when your freedom is more limited. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): It’s transition time. We will soon see how skilled you are at following through. The innovations you have launched in recent weeks need to be fleshed out. The creativity you unleashed must get the full backing of your practical action. You will be asked to make good on the promises you made or even implied. I want to urge you not to get your feelings hurt if some pruning and editing are required. In fact, I suggest you relish the opportunity to translate fuzzy ideals into tidy structures. Practicing the art of ingenious limitation will make everything better. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): It’s always important for you to shield yourself against our culture’s superficial and sexist ideas about sex. It’s always important for you to cultivate your own unique and soulful understandings about sex. But right now this is even more crucial than usual. You are headed into a phase when you will have the potential to clarify and deepen your relationship with eros. In ways you have not previously imagined, you can learn to harness your libido to serve both your spiritual aspirations and your quest for greater intimacy.

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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.