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Caveman
Lenny’s testicles?
Cowardly commenters
Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review. Sometimes I like to think about how Paleolithic people would have reacted to modern situations. I took my girlfriend and son out to Harrah’s Steakhouse for her birthday. It’s our tradition. I can’t remember what was happening at that exact moment. I think we were just served our entrees. But for just a second, everything seemed so pretentious, and I pictured Ancestor Brian, sitting at the table with us, looking down at the giant cut of prime rib, and I wondered just what he’d do. Those people were as smart as us. They were probably kinder because their experience of violence almost always had instant consequences. I’m sure they’d react much as one of us would, should we somehow be transported back to their time. Obviously, they wouldn’t know how to use a fork and knife, but since they’d be in a strange environment, they wouldn’t just dig in with their hands and faces. They’d watch what we’d do and try to imitate our behavior. Or would they? Would Ancestor Brian have already gotten up and taken the food from a table of people who’d already been served? Possibly patted the guy on the head who couldn’t stop loudly talking about his gamechanging real estate investment in land Washoe County was unloading. I’m sure of one thing. If hypothetical Reno Man had been sitting there when the waiter brought that dry ice fog-spewing bowl of chocolates to the table, he’d have moved away. You know why I’m thinking about this stuff these days? It’s because every day I feel that extra minute or two of sunshine, and I know Ancestor Brian would have known that spring was coming. We’ve kind of broken that natural cycle. George W. Bush extended daylight saving time hours, which I for one consider the crowning achievement of his administration. The concept of getting up and going to bed by a constructed passage of time based on numbers would probably be really hard for Ancestor Brian to take. Probably about as hard as having someone bring him a big, juicy piece of meat that he didn’t have to kill himself.
Editor Brian Burghart astounded me in that he was standing at his computer, not sitting like most editors do, which has been judged as one step better to prevent sitting all day as far as health is concerned. In regard to Martin Luther King Jr., he was supposedly with a woman other than his wife right before he gave his “I have a dream” speech. Probably because if he had waited until the day after, it would have contained the word “wet” somewhere in title. The concerning issue is regarding LK [Lenny Kravitz], as opposed to MLK, which will be entertaining during the halftime of the next XLVTVI game. He has stated that he remained celibate for four years, that he inherited a diamond from his mother, and it now sits near his other family jewels. I think verification would be in order, and I will personally volunteer part of my time to see if Kravitz is being honest about this very touchy matter. Jeannie Jackson Reno
Re “Back in the USSR” (Musicbeat, Jan. 15): I usually don’t comment in public forums but I just read the story and the disparaging remarks [in the comment section on the RN&R website] made against Dr. Brion Hill. What a classless use of a public forum to make personal remarks and attacks about a person. Learn some etiquette and keep personal trash and opinions where it belongs. To yourself. There are always two sides to every situation and you have been judge, jury and executioner on this happening. I have had the privilege of knowing Dr. Hill on a personal and a professional basis. He is one of the kindest, most caring, upstanding, respectful persons I have ever met. To bash him on a public forum shows just how little dignity you have. Grow up and leave the “high school” drama out of this. I agree with Jeff that a mature approach would have been to contact him and work out the differences privately. Obviously, you felt compelled to hurt the credibility of a person by hiding behind the keyboard. You just showed how pathetic and immature you are. Maybe you should look in the mirror and see what kind of person looks back. Might be worth working on yourself before you judge someone else. Stephen Giossi Sparks
You don’t know how lucky you are Re “Back in the USSR” (Musicbeat, Jan. 15): For anyone who does not personally know Brion Hill, he is one of the most respectable, selfless, and caring physicians that I know. I have known Brion for over 15 years, both personally and professionally. He would break his own back to help someone in need, be it a friend, member of his own family, a patient or a stranger. Brion is an ethical and good-hearted man. If anyone I know is interested in always “doing the right thing” it is Brion Hill. Thanks, News & Review, for supporting and reporting on Rubles Plunge. They are an awesome band! Brian Opitz Reno
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Yeah, let’s hear it To the Washoe County School District Board of Trustees: I’m writing to ask for your assistance. You recently made a determination that Pedro Martinez was not an appropriate leader for our school district. While that generated much controversy, in the end I appreciate your commitment to our school district and children. From that position of respect, I ask you to come to the aid of the people of our state. It concerns me that Gov. Brian Sandoval has proposed that Martinez head a newly formed statewide school district. How can someone, not capable of leading an established and well-performing school system, be expected to stand up and run an achievement school
Editor/Publisher D. Brian Burghart News Editor Dennis Myers Arts Editor Brad Bynum Special Projects Editor Georgia Fisher Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Contributors Amy Alkon, Woody Barlettani, Bob Grimm, Ashley Hennefer, Sheila Leslie, Eric Marks, Dave Preston, Jessica Santina, Todd South, Brendan Trainor, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young
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—D. Brian Burghart
brianb@ ne wsreview . com
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district? The people of Nevada need to understand why Martinez was asked to leave his position to be able to influence the governor’s decision in order to bring this man back into our education bureaucracy. The people of Nevada need your insight to make informed decisions and properly engage with our elected representatives. I implore you to inform the public on the substantive issues that you considered in asking Martinez to step down from his position. Nevada cannot afford another misadventure in the leadership of our schools. Troy Ross Reno
That’s just crazy Re “We’re all Charlie. Now what?” (Editorial, Jan. 15): I just don’t get why there is so much willful ignorance in regards to Overly Enthusiastic Islam. (We’re not supposed to say Radical Islam, right?) Seriously though, to say what happened in Paris was a result of insanity is absurd. Yes, it may seem insane when someone kills someone else for drawing a cartoon, but if you are a religious fanatic, much of your behavior will seem insane to non-religious fanatics. People who are actually insane don’t act methodically, and many Muslim extremists are very methodical and patient in their efforts to terrorize the civilized world. The only way that radical Muslims can impose their blasphemy laws on people in territories that they don’t control is through terrorizing those people to self-censor. It’s a tactic that works, but Charlie Hebdo refused and paid the ultimate price for it. The importance of Charlie Hebdo putting a picture of Mohammed on their cover a week after the attack is probably lost on many people. They have paid and may continue to pay a heavy toll for the rest of us. I am not Charlie Hebdo, I haven’t put my life on the line for freedom of speech like they have, but I do have a great amount of love for those French cartoonists who have made a brave and lonely stand against fanatical intolerance in this world. Finally, I would say that to continue to summarize Radical Islam as just
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a few crazy people, when there are numerous organizations—and in ISIS and Boko Haram’s case, armies—who by their very nature will always be probing the path of least resistance to chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, is in itself insane. Every good person in this world should want peace, but the more noble, courageous and difficult goal to achieve is peace for future generations, for your children and grandchildren, and you simply can’t achieve that if you’re incapable of identifying and confronting evil in your time. I don’t mind when newspaper editors get it wrong, but when our president, the leader of the free world, is unwilling to identify that which most threatens our freedom, that is deeply disturbing. David Flynt Reno Editor’s note: Saying insane behavior isn’t insane just because the person professes to follow a particular religion is not logical. And insane people often act methodically, that’s frequently the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath. Sociopathic behavior is often associated with belief systems.
Agree to agree you’re wrong Re “Thoughts on Charlie Hebdo” (Notes from the Neon Babylon, Jan. 27): You are wrong, sir. Using the logic presented, Hitler and the Kim family, Stalin, Mubarak and countless other despots should have been given free rein. Might makes right? And your analogy is just baseless. Holding the act of property damage in the same light as these murders ... pretty unthinking. Mark McPhail Reno
Correction In our feature story, “Almost Famous,” Jan. 22, we incorrectly spelled Chris Hubbell’s name. We regret the error and apologize for any confusion our error caused.
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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 and feature story design: Brian Breneman
JANUARY 29, 2015
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