The Reader Aug. 28-Sept. 3, 2014

SR. SAP SD/ ETM ANALYST for Kiewit Corporation (Omaha, NE). Gather & analyze bus. reqmts from Construction Eqpmt Mgmt bus. stakeholders, doc functional reqmts, dvlp & recommend s/ware solutions to meet the reqmts. Reqmts: Bach’s deg in Comp Sci, Info Mgmt, Bus. Admin or Finance. 5 yrs exp as SAP Consultant, Systems Analyst or related IT occupations. 5 yrs post Bach’s exp is reqd & must incl: SAP ETM (Eqpmt Tools Mgmt) or SD (Sales & Distribution) configuration; 2 full lifecycle implmtns of SAP; creating test plans & leading QA/test activities for all configuration activities; budgeting, productivity analysis, cost forecasting; & SAP eqpmt master data, MM, FI/ CO, & integration. Apply online at kiewit.com/careers/ & enter 2981 in the search jobs field.

TSYS MERCHANT SOLUTIONS, LLC seeks Web Product Specialist for its Omaha, NE office to analyze existing biz probs & assist w/ investigating, reviewing & analyzing data from multiple internal & external srcs & understands the source structures & biz relevance of the data to create accurate & presentable reports. Reqs Master’s degree in MIS, Network Engin., CS or rel. field & 3 yrs of exp in position offrd or rel. EOE/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disability.

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heartlandhealing N E W A G E H E A LT H A N D W E L L N E S S B Y M I C H A E L B R AU N S T E I N

Anger Management

“I

I don’t get mad. I get even.” I’ve heard that before and so have you. Wrapped in that kernel of clever is the implication that the speaker can avoid feeling angry. It sounds like a good idea, that cold revenge thing. A calculus of dispatching impassionate revenge would presumably spare the offended one the ravages of feeling bad. No one likes to feel bad and anger is one of the worst feelings. Its a wonder we embrace it so often.

It doesn’t take multi-million dollar research projects for anyone to understand that feeling anger is detrimental to health. Yet, your tax dollars and mine are rifled every day to fund stupid projects by issuing federal grant money to academics in need of work or a reason to justify their departmental budgets. The result is that we get to read stories in the media or numbers quoted to tell us things we should already realize. Things like anger isn’t good for you.

Forget the fact that acting out your anger may be harmful to others. It will likely kill you in the long run. (Speaking of “long run,” I’ll bet Don Henley is still pissed at Christine Lund. Google it.)

So we’re here to give you some cluck for your buck.

Your tax dollars end up in grants and end up with research like this: A Duke University study from 1997 asked heart patients to think angry thoughts. The researchers then measured the blood flow through their heart arteries.

Can a mere thought cause disease? The researchers found that thoughts leading to negative emotions like anger or sadness actually constrict the blood vessels of the heart, a condition known as ischemia.

Ischemia starves the flow of blood to the muscle and is a precursor to heart attack. Researcher Elizabeth Gullette said “What surprised me was the power of the association and the fact that negative emotions can actually trigger ischemia.” The findings summarized that “negative emotions double risk of ischemic attacks for an hour after the emotional trigger but positive emotions reduce the risk of such events.”

There you have it. Holding on to a negative thought about someone or something blocks energy flow. A positive thought reduces risk. Imagine that. And researchers at least as far back as 1986 have empirical measurements that prove that getting mad is bad.

Metaphysicians are aware of many more examples.

Futility Someone once said, “Being angry at someone is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die!” Yep. I’ve often imagined a scene like this: Worker comes into the office in the morning. Boss tells him he screwed up an order the day before and takes him to task. Worker spends the rest of the day fuming at his boss for riding him in front of the crew. Boss takes the afternoon off to go golf. Worker spends the day being angry. You think the boss is even thinking about the worker as he’s enjoying a martini at the 19th Hole? Nuh uh! Who’s feeling crappy? The person holding onto the anger, that’s who.

Fake it til you make it. The Duke research determined anger by facial expression. Grimace equalled ischemia. Smile equalled none. So immediately I figure that if you can’t really entirely let go of the feeling of anger, at least fake a smile, eh? Start with that.

Then work on up to realizing that all anger is a case of mistaken identity.

“What?” you say. It’s mistaken identity in the sense that we’re angry because we’ve forgotten that we are not a body but a spirit. Once we remember we are actually a spirit and not a body, what can hurt us?

“Remember who you are,” Mufasa said in The Lion King. It serves us well in letting go of anger, too.

Even the slightest annoyance is the same as the greatest rage. How? Both keep us from peace of mind.

You either have peace of mind or you don’t. In that regard, a pebble and a boulder are equal. In fact, a pebble in the shoe can harm us more than a ten-pound weight on the top of our foot. Getting slightly peeved at a long traffic light or that annoying “boom, boom, boom” pumping beats from the Escalade next to us is the same as throwing a fit when something really bad happens, like the ref missing a facemask call in a Husker game or our wife cheating on us.

Ever wake from a dream about something long ago with surprise at how real it “feels”? Well, look at those feelings, good or bad. If it’s anger, now you know what to let go.

“Don’t get mad. Get even.” The actual result of that is described in another aphorism spouted by my friend Bill Frenzer whenever he was down and out at the tables in Vegas: “I tried to get even and it got even worse.” Don’t get even or worse. Let go of anger.

Though if Henley ever did and actually smiled, I think his face would break.

Be well. ,

• AUGUST 28, 2014 • The next few years is going to see an explosion of inventiveness in the creation of musical instruments, as cheap microphones and pickups now make it possible to amplify just about anything, simple software programs can adapt any noise to a perfect pitch, and 3D printing machines can create musical objects in any shape

that we can imagine. The result will be a new genre, called “junkyard bands,” that play a dizzying array of instruments that they made from old cans, or antique furniture, or thrift store finds. The music will sometimes be calamitous and sometimes unexpectedly melodic, but will sound like nothing that has been heard before.

HEARTLAND HEALING is a metaphysically based polemic describing alternatives to conventional

methods of healing the body, mind and planet. It is provided as information and entertainment, certainly not medical advice. It is not an endorsement of any particular therapy, either by the writer or The Reader. Visit HeartlandHealing.com for more information.

heartland healing

| THE READER |

AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

3

COFFEE FOR A C AU S E : URBAN ABBEY’S IMPORTANT MISSION

BY CHERIL LEE

“T

he main thing is we are not trying to make a profit, we are trying to make an impact,” said Debra McKnight, executive director for Urban Abbey.

Urban Abbey opened in November of 2011. McKnight explained First United Methodist Church was in the process of exploring what it meant to be a church in the world. At the same time, Soul Desires Bookstore (in the Old Market) was considering its future. McKnight said they received a grant, with churches across the state of Nebraska contributing to Urban Abbey’s mission.

McKnight leads worship services on Sunday evenings at 5:30 p.m. She also works with staff to connect with other non-profit groups and help them through fundraisers. McKnight said Urban Abbey has donated over $32,000 to date to partner organizations like Nebraska AIDS Project and the Big Garden Project.

“We are trying to contribute to the greater good of our community,” said McKnight.

The staff of Urban Abbey is dedicated to creating a space of hospitality. McKnight said they want people to know when they step through the doors that they are welcome and that they too can participate in Urban Abbey’s mission.

She said everyone is welcome to support them in the efforts they make in terms of social change within the community.

The coffee the Abbey sells is sourced as directly and fairly as possible. McKnight said a lot of it is fair trade but they also obtain coffee through direct trade with smaller farms that don’t qualify for the fair trade standard. Additionally, she said Urban Abbey is also greatly supported by local roaster, Beansmith Coffee.

The Urban Abbey offers a full service coffee bar, serving both iced and hot drinks including espressos, cappuccinos and smoothies. And for the noncoffee drinkers, like McKnight, the Abbey offers Tea Forte tea. She said the Abbey has three different iced teas all the time as well as a tea service that comes on a nice tray.

crumbs

n PASTA AMORE AT HOME If you’ve ever eaten a salad at Pasta Amore and wondered how you could smuggle some extra dressing home for later, you’ll be pleased to hear that Pasta Amore now offers bottles of their salad dressing for purchase in the restaurant and at select grocery stores. Choose between their classic Sicilian dressing and Sicilian dressing with gorgonzola. www.pastaamore.net n GLACIAL TILL VINEYARD HARVEST FESTIVAL It may seem like a bit of a drive, but plenty of Omaha area wine enthusiasts are more than willing to head out to Palmyra for the annual Harvest Festival. This year the sixth annual festival will take place Sept. 13 from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. and is a kick-off of the annual grape harvest. If it’s anything like last year’s festival you can expect to encounter wine, food and the opportunity to stomp grapes, among other festivities. www.glacialtillvineyard.com

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AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

| THE READER |

dish

“We hope people will have a relaxed experience when they come in,” she said.

McKnight’s mom makes most of the treats. And it’s all made with love. She said Urban Abbey serves sandwiches and soups in the fall, winter and spring as well as more typical coffee shop treats like muffins, cookies and bars.

No matter how you prefer your coffee brewed, the Abbey can make it happen. They are offer French Press, Chemex as well as traditionally brewed coffee.

McKnight attributes the high quality of the Abbey’s coffee drinks to their roaster and the way he has trained the staff to make the coffee. She said their milk comes from a local dairy and doesn’t have chemicals in it.

The tables in Urban Abbey were created from wood that used to make up the roof that sheltered a family on a farm in Iowa. Volunteers cleaned up the wood and now it can care for people in a different way.

In fact, volunteers are always welcome, especially those who have a yearning to be a barista or those who used to be baristas and miss it. Volunteers help Urban Abbey raise more money for important things. Each month, the Abbey has a non-profit partner.

That particular organization receives 10% of all coffee bar sales and 100% sales of the “Urban Abbey Blend” of whole bean coffee.

“I really want people to feel a sense of welcome and warmth when they walk through the doors,” McKnight said. , Urban Abbey is located at 1026 Jackson Street in the Old Market. Hours are 7-10:30 Monday through Friday and 8-9 on Saturday and Sunday. n IT’S TIME TO DINE Omaha Restaurant Week is set for Sept. 12-21. Visit participating restaurants and enjoy multi-course meals from their prix fixe menus, set specifically for this annual event. This is a great way to get a feel for what the restaurants around town are doing while also helping the Food Bank of the Heartland. www.omaharestaurantweek.com n WHISKEY FESTIVAL This will be the first year for what will likely become an annual event: The Omaha Whiskey Cocktails Spirit Festival. Scheduled for Sunday, Sept.

21 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., the festival will take place at Stinson Park. General admission tickets are $45. The good news is that you can also purchase the services of a designated driver for an additional $10. A percentage of the profits from the festival will benefit the Food Bank for the Heartland. www.omahawhiskeyfestival.com — Tamsen Butler Crumbs is about indulging in food and celebrating its many forms. Send information about area food and drink businesses to crumbs@thereader.com.

Tequila Corner

T

he last time you walked into La Mesa and ordered a margarita, which one did you get? Was it the classic La Mesa Margarita, made with El Jimador Blue Agave Reposado Tequila and the house blend? Maybe you ordered the Fresh Margarita, which is made with fresh lime and manages to be delicious while not wrecking your calorie count for the day. These are both outstanding choices when it comes to ordering a margarita, and really, you can’t go wrong with anything you order from the La Mesa menu. But if you have not yet braved the more exotic margaritas offered at La Mesa, you don’t even know what you’re missing.

The first example –and it has to be the first because it’s my favorite drink in the entire universe – is the Watermelon Jalapeno Margarita. It’s so refreshing, yet with just enough zip to make you stop and say, “Watermelon and jalapeno should get married and have little watermelon jalapeno babies because they are just that good together.” Or, at least, that’s what I said.

Jose Salazar, Regional Manager at La Mesa, tells me that the Watermelon Jalapeno Margarita is indeed their most exotic margarita so far. You can thank Jose and his colleagues for the margaritas at La Mesa that prove to be part creativity and part brilliance.

I asked him where he came up with the idea for this margarita and he explained to me, “Watermelon is a bit too sweet for my taste, so I wondered to m yself, ‘ what can I do with this?’

I thought about how I sometimes add hot sauce to things like cucumbers, and started to wonder what I could combine with the watermelon.

So I threw a jalapeno into the blender, added then tossed it into the watermelon.”

He says it took a few tries to get the flavor combination just right, but now it’s one of the most

popular margaritas served at La Mesa.

And for good reason too, because if you ask me, it’s magnificent. Even if you don’t ask me, I’ll still tell you it’s magnificent.

That’s how much I adore this drink.

When I asked Jose about some of the other flavors available for margaritas, he gave me a list that sounded as though he was walking through the fruit section at a farmer’s market, listing everything he saw.

“Banana, mango, peach, strawberries, pomegranate,” he started, and then gave a wild understatement: “We have a variety of flavors.”

It’s when they start to mix up all those flavors with other flavors that things get really interesting. Case in point is the Apple Cinnamon Margarita; this isn’t a flavor combination I would expect to encounter while ordering margaritas, but it works beautifully. On the horizon is the Champagne Margarita, which is scheduled to be on the new menu. “It’s coming,” Jose assured me when I eagerly demanded to know when I could get my hands on one.

Like any other artist, Jose and his cohorts likely don’t realize how in-awe of their creations we margarita lovers are. When I asked him how in the world he creates all these fantastic combinations, he chuckled and replied, “We’re mixologists. We try it and sometimes it works.”

Let’s hear it for the mixologists.

—Tamsen Butler

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AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

5

O

maha North running back sensation and recent South Dakota verbal commit Calvin Strong put up sick numbers last season leading his school to its first state football title in the playoff era. His 3,008 rushing yards and 43 touchdowns set state and metro single season Class A records, shattering anything done by past star Omaha prep backs such as Gale Sayers and Ahman Green.

Despite measuring 5’9, 175 pounds, he runs like his name, strong, right into the heart of defenses, where his uncanny vision and agility allow him to avoid big hits. Even when he does run into contact he breaks tackles thanks to his superb balance, low center of gravity and ample strength. With his legs churning forward and his head on a swivel, he probes for creases, then spin, darts. bounces, bursts through heavy traffic into open lanes for big gains.

Known for a positive attitude, ready smile and being a vocal, emotional team leader, he saves his best moves for the off-field. There he does a precarious dance to avoid the gang-banging culture around him.

Strong and his pre-season No. 1 Vikings play Friday night’s season opener at home versus Millard West.

All eyes will be on the senior when he touches the ball, which figures to be a lot given his 27-plus carries per game average last year. His 3,000 yard season came on the heels of a nearly 1,900 yard sophomore campaign, when he led North to the title game only to fall just short. He’s a two-time first-team all-state selection.

For someone with his credits it’s unusual he only had one college offer – from South Dakota. It may be more unusual yet he accepted it with a resume-enhancing session before him. North Head Coach Larry Martin confirms “there was a ton of interest out there” from FBS and FCS schools. Programs held off because Strong’s struggled academically and he’s posted subpar 40-yard dash times (4.6-4.7) at camps.

The South Dakota commitment took Martin by surprise, though he confirms the school showed the most consistent interest in Strong. Martin, who’s “extremely close” to Strong and his family, said only two weeks ago, “I know he’s on a lot of people’s boards and people are waiting to see where all the intangibles measure out.

Everybody wants to know where he’s at academically.

Right now he’s a non-qualifier. If he was a qualifier, he’d have more offers right now. Somebody’s going to take him and is going to get a helluva running back.”

The pressure to perform well in the classroom and on standardized tests has sometimes gotten the better of Strong, whose commitment eases one stressor. “He’s broke down on me multiple times about it,” Martin says.

Then there was the out-of-school suspension Strong served earlier this year for unspecified reasons. Martin says Strong put it behind him.

“He handled what he had to work through like a man. He came back and went right to work and he had his best summer since he’s been here. I thought our teachers did a great job of getting him his homework.

He’s a very genuine young man. If he tells you he’s going to do something he’s going to follow through and do it. His word means something to him. I feel real confident with what I’ve seen. He’s learned from his mistakes, been apologetic for it, and moved on.”

Strong’s a celebrity wherever he goes in North Omaha and Martin believes even though the player is humble, a sense of entitlement creeped in.

6

AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

“Sometimes kids think they can get away with a little bit more because of their status and I think he got caught up in that. I think he’s understanding that consequences apply to everybody.”

Martin has been pleased with Strong’s progress in and out of school and feels he’s prepared himself for what comes next. “He has the grades – we’ve just got to get the ACT score up and we’ve taken the measures to get that headed in the right direction. God bless he stays healthy he’s going to be one of the more decorated football players coming out of this state in quite a few years.”

There’s never been any doubt, barring injury, Strong would play somewhere on a big stage at the next level. He may have a chance of being an impact player there, too. Of course, it’s always possible Strong could de-commit from the Coyotes and go to a football factory. It that happens, it would make him the first local back in a while to breakthrough after decades of guys doing it.

| THE READER |

cover story

His coach won’t venture to guess, but Strong may even follow the path of two recent North players, in Niles Paul and Philip Bates, who went D-I and landed in the NFL. The path to the NFL doesn’t need to go through a big program either. Just ask Bates (Ohio) and Danny Woodhead (Chadron State).

The fact that Strong is even in this position is an achievement worth celebrating if for no other reason than he’s escaped the fate of friends lost to guns and gangs.

That harsh street life co-exists with his sometimes storybook, folk hero saga.

His school is in a neighborhood – Strong lives just down the hill from North – beset by poverty and crime. Drug dealing and turf wars pose dangers. Minus boundaries, gang culture exerts a pull. Strong, like his name, has stood firm against the allure and trap of that lifestyle, one that cost at least six of his buddies’ their lives. He continues knowing people caught up in it. He’s flirted with it himself. But he’s

made known he wants nothing to do with it. The Gs know he’s off-limits.

“I still have friends that are in the gang life or whatever but they know and I know where I need to be at.

It’s really not hard to x that stuff out of my life because I know and they know what I got going for myself and what’s in store for me,” Strong says.

“My freshman year I was pulled to doing dumb things but I’ve matured throughout these years to know what’s right from wrong, so I’ve been keeping myself away. Basically this whole summer I’ve just been with my coaches and teammates. I really ain’t been focused on anything else but football and studies so I can get to college.”

Martin’s aware of the pressures Strong faces. The coach and his family offer a respite when Calvin needs it. “There is a pull and you can’t ignore it but he’s got his outs and when things get a little bit tough he calls coach and he comes stays with us, sometimes for a continued on page 8y

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7

y continued from page 6 couple nights. We’re more than happy to provide that for him because he is a high quality young man.

“It’s also just to help take the burden off the family.”

In Martin, Strong appreciates he has a mentor and advocate, saying, “The only pressure that’s on me right now is finishing what he’s helped me with. Me and him have always had a relationship outside football. I’ll go to his house, chill out, eat steak. I’m like one of his own kids. He’s like a second dad to me. He’s always been there for me through anything. He has my back and I have his.

“He’s a real special guy and I give my heart to him.

He’s prepared us for life, not just football. His speeches, they really just get to you, they spark something in you.”

Martin sees Strong mostly doing the right things these days.

“He’s really worked hard in terms of making sure he’s doing everything he can to make the right decisions. We’re just here to help continue to support him, provide him more options. Our total pursuit is to get that college education.”

Strong lives at home with his father, Calvin Strong Sr., and his younger brother, Jordan Strong. As a 6’2, 250 pound sophomore nose guard, Strong’s 15-yearold “little brother” is already getting hard looks from colleges. Because of his size, Jordan’s always played a couple grade levels up from his age group and thus he and his superstar older brother have been teammates growing up. The siblings are cogs in what may be a dynasty for years to come given the talent-rich depth and winning habits Martin’s built-up.

Calvin himself is only 17, so he may be filling out some come college, though in today’s sprint offenses size isn’t the factor it used to be.

Martin has always said, “it’s going to be about finding the right fit for him. I think people want to see him one more year. He did what he needed to do this summer and then we’ll let the first three or four games take care of themselves. We’ve got tough games right away – we open up with Millard West and Burke. If he does well in those games people are going to want to see that film.”

Among other things coaches will see, Martin says, is a dynamic back who’s “motivated and very competitive,” adding, “The one concern the bigger schools have is his top-end speed. Calvin just doesn’t test well in the 40. But I don’t know that top-end speed has to be the number one factor. He has so many other things he can do. Number one, he doesn’t turn the ball over. I mean, he just doesn’t fumble. He has taken extremely good care of the football. I think he has great vision.

I think he anticipates where things are going to come open so well. He’s very durable. He’s elusive – he can make guys miss. He’s got great hips. His core and overall body strength is very good. His feet never stop moving, they’re constantly going.”

Strong has the ability to read defenses and anticipate where trouble lurks and then when things break down to change direction on a dime.

He says, “I see how everybody’s lined up. It’s really hard to tackle me unless the play gets all bunched up.

I just keep my eyes focused and I shut everything else out, and once I break everything comes back loud again, all the screaming, and I can relax and have fun after I’ve gotten a first down or I’ve scored.

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“Plus, I’m real small and my linemen are really big, so it’s good I can hide behind ‘em and just choose where I can break off. It makes it real difficult for the linebackers to read me.”

He acknowledges he’s also run behind an exceptional line anchored by Nebraska commit and fellow all-stater Michael Decker, who returns.

But not every defender’s blocked every play and Strong doesn’t back down from the one-on-one challenge of a backer trying to blow him up.

“I’m just a real strong small guy – I don’t take nothing from nobody. Playing against some of the biggest linebackers in the state I’ve always gone heads up with ‘em, I never try to fall down when they’re coming – I take it to ‘em. I’m a small back but I’m going to show

As for his less than stellar 40 clocking, he discounts it with, “My speed and everything shows on the field.”

Indeed, he’s rarely if ever caught from behind. Martin, who coached current NFL players Phil Bates and Niles Paul, is waiting to see what Strong shows this year before comparing him to those elite athletes.

“I’ll know a lot more with him after our first couple games. You know, we tell our kids that the guys from North who’ve made it to the next level are the hardest working players every day. I will say Calvin’s work ethic has definitely increased. I think we’ve got him to the point where he understands if he wants to be the elite of the elite then he needs to continue to work harder.”

Besides what’s on the line for him personally, Strong’s dedicated himself to getting North back to

you I have power. I’m not afraid of contact.”

The contact part is funny because Strong confirms he once hated even the idea of being tackled before playing organized football. His dad and uncle forced him to play to toughen him up. His first full year at running back for the Little Vikes, after a year wasted on the line, he’d curl up to avoid hits but after dominating the youth ranks he decided the contact was no big deal, though he rarely took a clean hit. When tackled today he takes it as a personal defeat, which only makes him come back harder the next time. At the end of the day his heart and will are what separate him from others.

“I feel like that’s what it is because I want it more than a lot of people. I’m always competitive. Everything is competition to me.”

the title game again.

“I worked very hard. I’m determined this year to come out with a real big bang. I really want that ring again. I really want that experience again.”

He’s aware no Omaha Public Schools team has made it to three straight finals games and he wants North to be the first to do it.

The North program’s come to the point where winning’s the expectation. Playing for the title two years ago and then winning the championship last year has meant a huge boost in confidence.

“It really set the bar for us,” Strong says. “Now nobody can really bring us down. Nobody can say they’re better than us. Nobody can say anything about us being an underdog team because we showed we’ve climbed all those obstacles. It was very heartwarm-

| THE READER |

cover story

ing to me because we’d been talking about it since my freshman year and just to have it after we should have had it my sophomore year was really nice.”

Strong’s also keenly aware of his role model and celebrity status. He still finds all the attention, as in everyone from children to adults wanting his autograph or screaming his name, a bit surreal, saying, “It’s crazy.” He adds, “There’s not a lot of 17-year olds that can give little kids hope.”

The importance he attaches to his gift for football as his gateway out of The Hood is clearly reflected in a Tweet he made: “If I didn’t have this I’d be nothing. That’s why thrive (sic) to be the best to do it.”

The way he sees it, realizing his dreams also honors the memory of his late friends who encouraged him to pursue football as far it would take him. Strong was en route to a game two years ago when he got word his friend Tyler had shot himself in the head playing Russian Roulette. He found out during the game Tyler died from his wounds.

In a Tweet, Strong wrote: “Rip to my brother Tyler Brent Hickerson When I die I want my BROTHERS walking my casket down ...the ones who stood next to me when I once stood#cant get know Realer If only u was here to see me shine … I miss u” Strong’s grown up a Husker fan and Nebraska definitely has him on their radar. The only camp he attended this past summer was in Lincoln, where he got to know NU’s premier back, Ameer Abdullah, to whom he’s often compared. Before saying yes to South Dakota Strong hinted he’d like to reestablish the once continuous running back pipeline there from Omaha that’s gone dry the last decade-and-ahalf.

He said, “I’d love to keep it in state just to show everybody how good North Omaha competition is.

Playing for Nebraska would make a lot of people happy in Omaha.”

If Strong were to renege and select another school’s offer, assuming one’s proffered, there’s still those test scores. Martin felt the junior college route was a distinct possibility for Strong. His own son, Zach Martin, who quarterbacked North to the 2012 title game, is thriving at Iowa Western Community College, which sends many players to D-I. Once Strong’s South Dakota decision sunk in, Martin understood it because the player’s developed a trust with the Coyote coaches that reminds him of what Strong has with him and his coaches at North.

“Calvin and his family mean so much to me, he’s almost like my own son. My message to Calvin has always been I will find a place that’s going to be the right fit for you. I’m just not going to turn you over to somebody that hasn’t invested that much time in you.

We’re going to take care of you.”

He says for nearly every dream Strong wants to accomplish, South Dakota will be able to provide that for him. If not, Martin’s sure there are plenty of other places that will fit the bill.

Stay strong, Calvin, stay strong. , North hosts No. 3 Millard West this Friday at Kinnick Stadium on the Northwest High campus. Kickoff is for 7 p.m. Read more of Leo Adam Biga’s work at leoadambiga. wordpress.com.

Tribute to WALTER TROUT a

a Special Concert Event to Raise Organ Donor Awareness & to Benefit the Walter Trout Band presented by Playing With Fire, The Blues Society of Omaha, Donate Life Nebraska & The Nebraska Medical Center SUNDAY, AUGUST 31, 2014 River City Star, Miller’s Landing, 151 Freedom Park Road, Omaha Gates at 2 p.m., music 3-10 p.m. or later with an ALL-STAR LATE-NIGHT JAM Performances by The Walter Trout Band fronted by British Blues guitar sensation DANNY BRYANT with special guest, JON TROUT (Walter’s son) Special guests include: rtis Salgado Cu

Curtis Salgado The Cordle/Scott Band, featuring Tim Scott The Brad Cordle Band Nick Schnebelen

Brad Cordle

FREE CONCERTS. FREE PARKING. FOOD & DRINKS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE.

Brandon Mill

er

(of Trampled Under Foot)

Brandon Miller (KC) The Laurie Morvan Band Lou Deluca & the Delta 88s plus BluesEd youth bands with SPECIAL SURPRISE BLUES MUSIC AWARD-WINNING GUESTS

Music on three covered stages including the Pavilion Main Stage & two stages on the docked Kon-Tiki-O Party Barge at The River City Star Tickets are $20. Advance Tickets can be purchased at The 21st Saloon, 96th & L, and online at www.rivercitystar.com

| THE READER |

AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

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N I C K A N D B R O O K H U D S O N C R E AT E C ATA LYS T F O R C R E AT I V E S A N D E N G A G E COMMUNINITY WITH OFW

BY LEO ADAM BIGA

O

maha Fashion Week, the Midwest couture festival that pops up twice a year in the most unexpected places, is one of those signifier events that confirms this isn’t your parents’ city anymore.

It returned to the much ballyhooed but sill largely undeveloped Capitol District after being there last year. If you had a tough time finding the 10th Street and Capitol Avenue location, you just had to look for stern looking models in high heels striding purposely down an impossibly long, elevated runway under a giant tent with the CenturyLink Center as backdrop.

OFW debuted ready-to-wear collections on Thursday and evening wear collections on Friday by multiple designers. Saturday’s finale runway show featured the spring-summer collections of: Susan Ludlow, Whitney Rorah, Max Suiter, Denise Ervin, Vesela Zarankova, Angela Balderson, Jane Round, Juanteisha Christian, Erica Cardenas and Bryan Frost, Fella Vaughn, Bridget Mahony and Kate Walz. A runway after-party follows.

When OFW started nine years ago it was an outlier experiment catching the entrepreneurial wave of new cultural offerings in Omaha. Just as the Omaha Film Festival, Film Streams, Slowdown, the downtown Omaha Lit Fest, the Great Plains Theatre Conference and Loom Weaves have become art-entertainment fixtures, so has OFW. The creative stews of the Maha Music Festival, Big Omaha, Verbal Gumbo and others have followed.

Whether held in the outdoor caverns of the Old Market, inside a former industrial space in Midtown or a glorified downtown parking lot, OFW is a platform for designers, models, stylists, makeup artists and photographers. Omaha transplant Nick Hudson launched it all out of his now defunct Nomad Lounge to serve as a catalyst for creatives.

“Fashion Week started as a little side project of Nomad but it sort of hit into other things like the Halo Institute in terms of nurturing young entrepreneurs who have a passion for creativity,” he says. “The key idea was tying together young talent around a red carpet.”

He co-produces OFW with his wife Brook Hudson.

They describe OFW as an “incubator” for emerging and established design talent.

“I think the growth that’s really interesting and most rewarding is to see our fashion designers become more sophisticated in the way they design and also in the way they conduct their business practices,” Brook

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Hudson says. “I think Fashion Week and Fashion Institute Midwest – the nonprofit arm – have been instrumental in inspiring that type of growth in our designers which helps them be more sustainable.”

Various supports are in place to help designers not only showcase their work but to reach their potential and scale their lines.

“I’m just a big believer in being self-sustaining because that gives you control over what you’re doing,” says Nick Hudson, a serial entrepreneur who is chairman and managing partner of Design Parliament.

“I encourage them to be self-sustaining. Some need coaching and education about fashion things and business tactics. A lot of mentoring goes on.”

The Hudsons retain fashion industry experts as coaches and consultants. Experienced designers, including veterans of OFW, often advise their younger counterparts.

“I love the fact all the designers help each other. It’s a very supportive community,” Nick says. “In terms of community involvement, Omaha in different ways gets behind and supports this creative community.”

He’s largely realizing his vision to grow the local fashion culture or eco-system as OFW attracts more participants and bigger audiences and some area designers and models find success beyond Omaha.

“It started off as an idea I had and then I had a few employees involved and then Brook gave up her job to take over running it full-time and that took it to a different level. And now I feel like we’re in this third generation where …”

“It’s grown beyond us,” Brook says, finishing his

COUTURECOUPLE NICK AND BROOK HUDSON

| THE READER |

PHOTOG: Herb Thompson

culture

thought. “We realized there were a lot of needs designers have that Omaha Fashion Week as a production company couldn’t serve. We really wanted to codesign a world class event and so we felt it was time to engage the community and see if it would be interested in meeting that challenge of helping designers with the resources and education. So we started Fashion Institute Midwest to accomplish that goal. It conducts workshops and gives grants.

“The Omaha Fashion Guild is a supporting organization whose members do fundraising and volunteer continued on page 12 y

rivercityrodeo.com tickets as low as $19 ticketmaster: (800) 745-3000 www.ticketmaster.com/rivercityrodeo

CALL OR CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR MOVIE TIMES AND PRICES

| THE READER |

AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

11

y continued from page 10 backstage at our shows. They work at all different levels to help support fashion designers. All these different things are happening and the beauty of it is that people are taking the ball and just running with it.”

Sponsors have come on board as OFW has proven that celebrating and supporting fashion has a place in Omaha, too.

“Building up the confidence in our market to embrace that has taken awhile because it does run counter to our agrarian roots,” Nick says. “We are salt of the earth people and to think of fashion, well it seems like something that should be on the coasts. Getting people to change their perspective on that is taking time.”

Putting on fashion week is a big, expensive operation and the Hudsons have to be creative to stretch limited dollars. Minus any old line family money or foundation funding, Nick says their “scrappy from the ground up” approach must be tactical to beg, borrow, steal and variously call in favors, do trade-outs and repurpose materials.

“But it has to be beautiful because it’s still fashion,” Brook says, “We’ve figured cost effective ways to make it look amazing. Lighting and sheer fabric can cover a multitude of sins.”

Without a permanent home, OFW must also adapt to the demands of whatever new site the show’s staged at. Thus, Brook says, the Capitol District venue meant “trying to figure out how do we grade medians, take down light poles, get access to water and remove trees in a way they can be replanted.” Then there’s procur-

ing generators for air conditioning, luxury porta-potties, building a runway and stage, erecting seats, rigging lights and sound, et cetera. “It’s crazy the things we have to think about and do,” she says.

Aside from all the physical site aspects involved, she says “a whole line of communication and education goes into preparing a designer for a show,” adding, “But by now that runs like MODEL: clockwork – we’ve got that down.”

Reyna M with Behind the scenes, hundreds of Develop Model Management volunteers attend to myriad dePHOTOG: G Thompson tails to create the magic onstage.

Higgins DESIGNER: Teams of dressers, stylists, makeDesigns by Suey up artists and models are assigned to each designer. Side-by-side with the frou-frou are technicians running lights and sound.

Dealing with everything from extreme weather to runway accidents to wardrobe malfunctions to last minute touchups and casting changes, comes with the territory.

It’s all worth it, Nick says, knowing OFW brings “something a little bit different and unexpected in hopefully building Omaha’s street cred and making Omaha a more vibrant, interesting place.”

“We’re the face of a new age for how fashion is done in Omaha,” Brook says.

The Hudsons insist OFW proves Omaha knows fashion. Brook says, “Time after time designers from other markets are just blown away when they walk into our finale and see that big tent and long runway.

They can’t believe this is happening in Omaha. They can’t believe how many people show up.”

“They’re amazed at the quality of the designs and at the supportive community,” says Nick. ,

MODEL: Treza K. with Develop Model Management PHOTOG: G Thompson Higgins DESIGNER: Angela Balderston

For more inforamtion, visit omahafashionweek.com. Read more of Leo Adam Biga’s work at leoadambiga.wordpress.com.

MODEL: Kristy B with Develop Model Management PHOTOG: G Thompson Higgins DESIGNER: Dan Richters

MODEL: Eli C with Develop Model Management PHOTOG: David Guy DESIGNER: Dan Richters

PHOTOG: Kathy Rae

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| THE READER |

culture

Extend your summer with a new Triumph purchase today. Choose a new Modern Classic or Cruiser and have your pick between one of two limited-time offers; either a special financing package for qualified buyers or up to $1,000 in Triumph vouchers to use in-store or online. Please visit your local Triumph dealer for all program details. This offer may be used in combination with the New Rider Training program.

Breeze Cycle

5545 Center Street Omaha, NE 68106 • (402) 992-5500

www.breezecycle.com

Presents

6212 Maple St

All Ages

Friday Sept 5th 8pm show

$8

with Secret Skin, Mandown, Noizewave/Evil Squad, The Fonzarellies & Buck Bowen with Jazz Trio | THE READER |

AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

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T H E R E A D E R ’ S E N T E RTA I N M E N T P I C K S AU G . 2 8 - S E P T. 3 , 2 014

DAYS

TOPTV THE STRAIN

Sunday, 9 p.m. (FX)

The exciting series tops itself with an episode set almost entirely inside a convenience store. As a vampire-creating virus spreads throughout New York City, ghouls reminiscent of Night of the Living Dead lurch through the streets in search of human flesh. Our heroes from the Centers for Disease Control hole up in the store with a veteran vampire hunter as monsters bang on the glass, climb onto the roof and search for any possible way to get inside. All looks lost until the survivors discover that the slobbering, squealing fiends THE STRAIN are vulnerable to ultraviolet light.

Literally, a ray of hope! Despite a few nice touches of black humor, this is a tense, emotional hour of TV. The vampires are terrifying, especially when gooey tentacles shoot out of their mouths and clamp onto a victim. But grotesquerie isn’t the point here; humanity is. We come to care for the people trapped inside because Chuck Hogan’s script takes the time to characterize them.

I urge you to watch this week’s episode of “The Strain.” I also urge you — and I can’t emphasize this strongly enough — to stock up on ultraviolet lights. — Dean Robbins

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SATURDAY30

MONDAY1

Saturday, Aug. 30

Monday, Sept. 1-2

Hard Rock 111 3rd St., Sioux City, Iowa (712) 224-7625 hardrockcasinosiouxcity.com

8 p.m. (History Channel)

DAUGHTRY W/ GOO GOO DOLLS

Most may know him as the showstopping rocker on American Idol from which he finished in 4th place on the 5th season of the singing competition show. After the show wrapped up and Chris Daughtry respectfully declined Fuel’s offer to make him their lead singer, the rock band Daughtry was formed. The band grew in popularity with their quadruple platinum album Daughtry including big hits such as “It’s Not Over,” and “Home.”

The album was the best selling album of 2007 by Billboard, making it the fastest-selling debut rock album in Soundscan history. In July of 2009 Daughtry released its second album Leave this Town which enlisted the help of many big names including Chad Kroeger from Nickelback and Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic. The album had some standout hits including the ballad “September.” Break the Spell, the bands third album was released November 2011 and this one held a much darker tone, but still enough rock to keep your head banging. Daughtry’s latest album is a breath of fresh air with a lighter tone and more of a pop rock feel. It’s just plain fun and will get you on your feet to dance while it still showcases Chris’ deep raspy vocals. The first single “Waiting for Superman” plays to the fact that Chris loves superheroes, who doesn’t?

The whole album is full of high energy and is truly a feel good album. You will have a good amount of fun listening to the new album and I recommend “Battleships” his latest radio single, “Wild Heart” and “Cinderella.” Chris Daughtry is one of those rare artists where his live performances sound as good as the pre recorded material. He has a presence to keep you entertained, passion to relate to his lyrics and vocals to swoon over. Daughtry will be performing at the new Hard Rock Hotel in Sioux City, IA. It’s a guaranteed night of dancing and audiences will be leaving singing “Boom ba boom boom.” — Nicole Chizek

| THE READER |

picks

HOUDINI

DAUGHTRY

SUNDAY31 Sunday, Aug. 31

TKO

The Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St. 9 p.m. | $10 theslowdown.com Gene Poindexter, otherwise known as TKO, is a hiphop Omaha man on a mission. Last September he performed for the first time at The Hideout and he has performed more shows in other venues since then. TKO has one album out online TKOmaha and he just released his first music video, which you can find and watch on YouTube. This TKO would be an accomplishment for anyone, but TKO booked his own shows and kept his determination strong.

He says that he recognizes how much progress he has made and this upcoming show is a big deal to him. He wants Omaha to realize the talent that hip-hop artists like himself have and he believes all it takes is a little recognition to help the local hip-hop scene. This upcoming show at Slowdown will not only be another performance to put under his belt, but TKO is releasing a mixtape The God King on this same day. Come to the show and bring some friends, tell everyone you know who enjoys hip-hop or might be interested in a guy like TKO who has more to offer the local scene than maybe even he realizes with his striking lyrical delivery and passion. — Mara Wilson

“Houdini” begins with a striking image of the escape artist Harry Houdini (Adrien Brody) perched on a bridge, shackled, as he works up the nerve to jump into the icy water below. The first sound we hear is a ghostly woman’s voice whispering, “Harry, can you hear me?” We have no idea where the voice is coming from or what the words mean, but it immediately establishes a dreamlike quality for this ambitious miniseries. “Dreamlike” is an appropriate tone for a biopic that attempts to psychoanalyze Houdini, the one-of-akind phenomenon from the early 20th century. It gets

HOUDINI

inside his head to figure out why he risked his life to amaze his audiences: dangling from skyscrapers in a straitjacket, immersing himself upside down in a “Chinese Water Torture Cell,” and the other creative stunts we still remember him for. In director Uli Edel’s hands, that interior landscape is a phantasmagoria of nightmares, doubts and Oedipal obsessions (weak father, doting mother). As a result, the production has emotional resonance. It’s more than just a dutiful slog through Houdini’s life, from his impoverished immigrant upbringing to his breakthrough as a vaudeville sensation. While the first 90 minutes are perfectly realized, the second half sags. Like its predecessor, the 1953 Tony Curtis movie of the same name, “Houdini” unwisely starts making stuff up. Drawing on the thinnest evidence, it fabricates a spy career for its hero and a marijuana habit for his wife, Bess (Kristen Connolly).

It also strains to pin his untimely death on the phony mediums he dedicated himself to exposing. But don’t bail out before the last scene, following the funeral.

Having been inside his head, we know that Houdini ultimately desired to escape from death itself. So it’s chilling to see Bess at a séance, whispering, “Harry, can you hear me…?” — Dean Robbins

eventcalendar For more information about these events and more, go online to:

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ONGOINGART Generation - All Day | Lux Center For the Arts UNL Legacy 1999-2013; curated by Gail Kendall, former Hixson-Lied professor of art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, featuring 14 of Kendall’s former MFA students.

Duplicity - All Day | Lux Center For the Arts Duplicity represents a departure from some of Sunny’s previous work in that instead of creating abstractions from nature she ventures further and literally flips her subject 45 degrees.

Courtney Porto - All Day | Connect Gallery Toward the Setting Sun - All Day | Free Sheldon Museum Of Art This touring exhibition organized by Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota features mixed media works on paper and oil paintings by artist T. L. Solien.

An Artist’s Journey - All Day | $2-$13 University of Nebraska State Museum Presenting the evolution of artistic talent of Nebraska painter, illustrator and muralist Mark Marcuson.

Titanboa - All Day | $2-$13 University of Nebraska State Museum From a fossil bed 60 million years old comes the largest snake in the world - Titanoboa! Measuring 48 feet long and weighing up to 2,500 pounds, this massive predator could crush and devour a crocodile.

Yard/Zone - All Day | Free University of Nebraska-Lincoln An exhibition of stitched sculptural forms by Sarah Wagner of Detroit.

Urban Design Lab - All Day | Free Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts Chlo Bass and Teal Gardner, two of the Bemis Center’s Artists-in-Residence, are collaborating with 20 local researchers to shed new light on the nature of our urban landscape.

Richard Charter: PLAY! - 1:00 pm | Free Smiling Turtle Art Spot Enter the bright, colorful and whimsical world of Richard Charter during our August Exhibit, PLAY! Richard’s use of vibrant colors is complimented by his skill in the process of batik.

THURSDAYAUG 28 ›››MUSIC Acoustic Music Thursdays - 7:00 pm | Two Fine Irishmen Third Thursdays with Thornburg - 8:00 pm | Free The Side Door Lounge Reggae Night - 8:00 pm | Free The Hive Lounge

›››MISC Structured Chaos - 12:00 am | Backline Improv Theatre A full night of long-form improv at its finest, jam-packed with many of Backline’s best teams.

Comedy Stiles Open Mic - 10:00 pm | Free Stiles Public House Hosted by Preston Tompkins.

Omaha Storm Chasers vs Colorado Springs Sky Sox - 7:00 pm | Werner Park

FRIDAYAUG 29 ›››MUSIC 3rd Annual Power and Progress Music Festival - 5:00 pm | $10 Camp Pawnee Columbus, NE This event is August 29th – 31st.

Free camping/parking. Live Music, food, games. A family event. BYOB (no glass).

Sailing in Soup - 7:00 pm | Free McKenna’s Blues Booze and BBQ The Kingfish - 8:00 pm | Free Ameristar Casino Pandora’s Box 4 - 8:00 pm | The Waiting Room Lounge Midwest Elite Concerts presents: A Night Of Arts & Music. We Be Lions headlines the night with hip hop Last Word Clique, metal When Towers Fall, & rock band Mixed Martial Audio. Pandora’s Box is back in all its glory after a near 10 month hiatus with all the elements that you have come to know and love in a Pandora event. Spoken Word performances by: Louie Hazard, Erika Alayaine, Olivia Johnson, Trac Schacht, Denise Holling, Alania Foster. Special musical performances by: John Larsen, Dave Campbell with Jesse Dean & Zach Adkins of Narcotic Self.

Live Music - 9:00 pm | Horseshoe Council Bluffs Casino Satchel Grande - 9:00 pm | $8-$10 The Slowdown Omaha The gentlemen of Satchel have long since established themselves as Omaha’s premier good time, funk, and party band. With shades and pimp mustaches, this nine-piece doesn’t just take the stage, they own it. Keys, percussion, deep bass, clapping, fiery guitar work and sing-along lyrics make a Satchel show one to remember. The sounds owes a nod to both George Clinton and Steely Dan, yet Satchel manages to not only wear its influences on its sleeve, but to also take those influences and turn them into something unique.

show to all corners of the world, including sold-out arenas in South Africa, Singapore, and The Philippines.

The Kingfish - 8:00 pm | Free Ameristar Casino 3D In Your Face at Septemberfest - 8:00 pm | CenturyLink Center Omaha 3D In Your Face is the nation’s number one 80’s Hair Metal/Glam Rock Tribute Band. From Ratt to Motley Crue and everything in-between.

The big hair, the loud guitars, and the big hits from the decade of decadence. 3D In Your Face is celebrating 15 years as a live loud Omaha Rock N Roll band with this headlining performance at the 2014 Septemberfest celebration. All ages and free with admission.

Live Music - 9:00 pm | Horseshoe Council Bluffs Casino R-Style - 9:00 pm | Love’s Jazz & Art Center The R-Style Band is a multi-talented group made up of five members, all originating from the Omaha area. R-Style is a conglomerate of two bands that formed back in the 80’s.

Former members from the bands ETC, and JAM Squad combined in 2004.

Attic Light with Two Shakes - 9:00 pm | O’Leaver’s Pub An evening of intimate rock n’ roll. The show is part of the next leg in the bands summer Midwest tour in support of their recently released debut album ‘Different Shades of Black.’

›››MISC

Omaha Storm Chasers vs Colorado Springs Sky Sox - 7:00 pm | Werner Park University of Nebraska Volleyball - 7:00 pm | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics The Love Down Below - 8:00 pm | $7 Blatt Beer & Table A love infused open mic for lovers of words, music and games. Every event invites the audience to connect to love in various ways while being mused by the variety of places it happens in. Mature Audiences 21+ “Interrogated” - 10:00 pm | Backline Improv Theatre Our weekly show featuring a rotating cast of Backline’s finest players. Audience members volunteer to come up on stage and confess something they’ve gotten away with in their life, then we send them back and perform scenes based on that information.

Arena: Champions vs. Challengers 11:00 pm | Backline Improv Theatre Each teams gets 20 minutes to win votes to come back next week!

Spokes for Hope - 9:00 pm | $10-$20 Auld Pavilion at Antelope Park A Charity BikeRide to Benefit Voices of Hope. The ride will begin at 9:30 (the six mile route takes forty minutes, the seven mile route takes fifty, and the twelve mile route takes about an hour and twenty minutes to complete). ‘This fundraiser is an event that gives the people of Lincoln an opportunity to support our agency while enjoying a fun and affordable family outing,’ says Executive Director Marcee Metzger. Riders can register online at www. spokes4hopelincoln.org Registration is $15 for adults ($20 with a shirt) and $10 for children 5-12 ($15 with a shirt). Children under 5 ride free. Riders’ entire registration fee will be donated to Voices of Hope to help cover their operating costs. Contact Patsy Martin, Voices of Hope’s Communications Coordinator for questions.

Saturday Night Show - 9:00 pm | Backline Improv Theatre Omaha Storm Chasers vs Colorado Springs Sky Sox - 2:00 pm | Werner Park University of Nebraska Football - 7:00 pm | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics

SATURDAYAUG 30

SUNDAYAUG 31

›››MUSIC

›››MUSIC

Goo Goo Dolls & Daughtry - 7:00 pm | $52.43-$95.23 Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed on Memorial Day 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by guitarist and vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist and vocalist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska. Although renowned for their commercially successful 1998 single ‘Iris’, they have had several other notable and popular singles. In the course of only five years, Chris Daughtry has had more than his share of career highlights.

The singer, songwriter, and musician from North Carolina has released back-to-back No. 1 albums and brought his electrifying live

Jon Sundermeier - 2:00 pm | Free Soaring Wings Vineyard Playing With Fire Presents Walter Trout Band “A Tribute To Walter” - 3:00 pm | River City Star Fronted by UK guitarist Danny Bryant and special guest Jon Trout (Walter’s son), comes to Omaha performing locally at River City Star/Miller’s Landing and Kon-Tiki-O Party Barge. ‘A Tribute to Walter’ performs at 7:30 p.m.

Music in the Park - 6:30 pm | Free Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park Bring your blanket or lawn chair.

›››MISC

The Luke Polipnick Trio - 8:00 pm | The Side Door Lounge Featuring Max Stehr on bass and Dana Murray on drums.

Luigi, Inc. - 9:00 pm | Free Mr. Toad’s Pub TKO - 9:00 pm | $10 The Slowdown Omaha In less than 6 months Gene TKO Poindexter made a sound loud enough to become a positioned figure at the front of Omaha’s fast growing hip hop scene. With a no nonsense approach to the rap game and all its participants, TKO uses stylish contemporary tracks to carry an in your face lyrical delivery. Being conscious of what he chooses to glorify in his music, he brings a sort of grown man street vibe to compliment a powerful stage presence.

›››MISC Omaha Comic Book Convention – 10:00 am | Free Comfort Inn & Suites Omaha Central Dealers from five states will be there with a wide variety of comic books from the golden age to present, as well as related collectible items such as action figures. Plus if you have comics lying around you no longer want bring them over, dealers will also be buying.

University of Nebraska Volleyball - 1:00 pm | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics Omaha Storm Chasers vs Colorado Springs Sky Sox - 7:00 pm | Werner Park Sunday Night Trivia - 7:00 pm | Two Fine Irishmen

MONDAYSEP 1 ›››MUSIC Omaha Storm Chasers vs Colorado Springs Sky Sox - 12:00 pm | Werner Park Pub Quiz - 9:00 pm | Free The Slowdown Omaha Gather up a team of 5 or less people and get ready to have your wits tested with 40 questions from the Quiz Masters. Always a nice prize for the winners!

Open Mic - 9:00 pm | Barley Street Tavern Sign up at the bar after 7pm.

TUESDAYSEP 2 ›››MUSIC Tempo of Twilight - 6:00 pm | $3-$7 Lauritzen Gardens These family-friendly outdoor concerts provide a unique atmosphere to enjoy wonderful musical entertainment. Due to the unique nature of the concert series, guests are allowed to bring chairs, food and beverages on Tempo of Twilight nights only.

The gift shop is open and the cafe serves an abbreviated menu.

›››MISC Urban Design Lab - 1:00 pm | Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts The Bemis Center is proud to offer area teens an opportunity to participate in the new Urban Design Lab, where they will work with national and local artists to deconstruct, decipher, and reimagine the urban landscape. In recognition of the important work that our teen urbanists will be performing, there is no fee to participate, and all students in the program will be paid minimum wage for their time in the Lab. Space is limited to 20 students.

Open Mic Night - 9:00 pm | Free Venue 51 There will be a signup sheet and minute slots depend on where we are in the evening. Be ready to play 3 songs. This is an acoustic open mic (guitars, hand percussion, stringed instruments), as well as spoken word performances (comedy, slam poetry).

WEDNESDAY SEP 3 ›››MUSIC Ray’s Piano Party - 7:00 pm | Free Mr. Toad’s Pub

›››MISC Comedy Open Mic - 10:00 pm | Barley Street Tavern

listings

| THE READER |

AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

15

CELEBRATE THE SEASONS

SATURDAY, OCT. 11 ~ 2-10 P.M. FEATURING

RETAIL TOUR ~ SECOND SATURDAY ART WALK AND

11TH STREET MUSIC FESTIVAL SPAGHETTI WORKS, LA BUVETTE AND UPSTREAM BREWING COMPANY

Food Day is a nationwide celebration and a movement toward healthy, affordable, and sustainable food.

Think of it as an Earth Day for food!

Food Day’s goals are to raise awareness about food issues among broader public, strengthen and unify the food movement, and improve our nation’s food policies.

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AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

| THE READER |

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

O L D M A R K E T FA R M E R ’ S M A R K E T

FOOD DAY PRIORITIES: n Promote safer, healthier diets n Support sustainable and organic farms n Reduce hunger n Reform factory farms to protect the environment & animals n Support fair working conditions for food and farm workers

BY B.J. HUCHTEMANN

Organ Donor Awareness Concert

T

he situation for those awaiting organ transplants is a difficult one, according to musician and transplant recipient Curtis Salgado. “If you make the wrong choice, you’re dead,” he said bluntly. Salgado spoke to The Reader by phone from his home in Portland, Ore. Salgado performs in Omaha Sunday, Aug. 31, at the Tribute to Walter Trout concert event, 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the River City Star, 151 Freedom Park Road on the riverfront. Salgado sits in with the Brad Cordle Band featuring Tim Scott. The Walter Trout Band headlines the event, featuring Trout’s protégé, British blues guitar sensation Danny Bryant and Trout’s son Jon. They are touring under the banner of A Tribute to Walter Trout.

Other guests include guitarist Nick Schnebelen of Trampled Under Foot and The Laurie Morvan Band from California plus more local and regional artists.

The event is a collaboration between the Blues Society of Omaha and Playing With Fire with support from local organizations.

See playingwithfireomaha.net for details. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance at The 21st Saloon or on show day at the gate at the River City Star.

It’s a day of music and information to raise awareness about the need for organ donors. Donate Life Nebraska will be on hand with educational materials and to sign up those interested in becoming organ donors. One donor can potentially save eight lives and help up to 50 people, according to Donate Life Nebraska’s statistics.

But the reality is there are just not enough people signed up as organ donors. In 2013, 6,650 people died nationwide waiting for an organ transplant, an average of 18 people each day. For more information see donatelifenebraska.org.

Curtis Salgado received a life-saving liver transplant at the Nebraska Medical Center’s Lied Transplant Center on Sept. 30, 2006. Earlier that year his career plans were brought up short by the news that he had liver cancer and only months to live without a transplant.

“It’s a huge ‘what if,’ you’ve got all these paths to take and choices to make…if you pick the wrong one, you’re dead,” said Salgado. He found the help and lifesaving care he needed in Omaha.

The process of even getting on the list for a donor organ is complex and stressful. Not everyone is medically eligible. Each transplant center maintains its own list. The patient needing a transplant must apply separately to each possible transplant center.

Each center does its own tests, so the patient and

hoodoo

family are racking up bills before they even know if the hospital in question will accept them onto that hospital’s transplant list. A patient also has to show a significant amount of money in the bank before a transplant hospital will consider the patient for a transplant.

In the last year, guitarist Walter Trout found himself in this situation, with a limited amount of time to get a liver transplant. The national and international blues community networked, donated and followed Walter and wife Marie Trout’s story.

Because of Salgado’s positive experience here, he recommended the Trouts talk to Omaha’s Lied Transplant Center.

They did, but Walter Trout’s situation became a statistical anomaly, he ended up waiting over two months at the Omaha Center for an organ match.

“It is like a walk to Hell and back,” said Marie Trout about the wait for a match and the shortage of organ donors. “That is the feeling: powerlessness and desperation.”

Walter Trout finally received a liver transplant on Memorial Day, 2014, and has been recovering in Omaha.

The Aug. 31 concert event was organized out of Marie Trout’s desire to raise awareness for the need for organ donors.

“Many people die waiting,” WALTER TROUT observed Marie Trout. “80 percent of Americans think that organ donation is something they should do. Yet only 43 percent of Americans have signed up as donors. We are hoping to help create awareness and offer easy signup options...Telling our stories about how organ donation has changed our lives and given us hope…

We were so thankful to our Memorial Day hero: the donor who gave Walter a new chance at life, and who in his death saved many lives.”

Funds raised at the event will go to Trout’s band members who were out of work for many months after Trout became too sick to perform.

CIGARETTES © SFNTC 3 2014

For more information on our organic growing programs, visit www.sfntc.com

Hot Notes The Nick Schnebelen Band (Trampled Under Foot’s guitarist) hits The 21st Saloon Thursday, Aug. 28.

Vocalist Sena Ehrhardt has a CD release party for her new Blind Pig disc, Live My Life, Thursday, Sept. 4.

Both shows are 6-9 p.m.

Paladins and Hacienda Brothers guitarist/vocalist Dave Gonzalez brings the Dave Gonzalez Band to Lincoln’s Zoo Bar Thursday, Aug. 28, 6-9 p.m. and Friday, Aug. 29, for the 5-7 p.m. early show. John Nemeth is up at the Zoo next Wednesday, Sept. 3, 6-9 p.m. See zoobar.com for more national acts coming in September. ,

HOODOO is a weekly column focusing on blues, roots, Americana and occasional other music styles with an emphasis on live music performances. Hoodoo columnist B.J. Huchtemann is a Reader senior contributing writer and veteran music journalist who has covered the local music scene for nearly 20 years. Follow her blog at hoodoorootsblues.blogspot.com.

hoodoo

Omaha Weekly Reader 08-28-14.indd 1

| THE READER |

AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 7/22/14 2014

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9:11 AM

overtheedge LIFESTYLE COLUMN BY TIM MCMAHAN

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Paying to Play... at the Superbowl

J

ust when you thought the music industry couldn’t fall any further into the great abyss, along comes the National Football League.

A couple weeks ago with the preseason just getting underway, the NFL began making noises about next year’s Superbowl, America’s favorite sports orgy. Without even an inkling of knowledge as to what will happen on the gridiron, the fine minds behind the singularly largest televised event of the year began leaking its plans for the half-time show, that time when we collectively push back from the table and leave the room to take a nationally synchronized flush.

NFL’s halftime rock concert traditionally showcases one of the largest performers or bands currently still touring, even though said act is well past its prime. Recent tal- BIG BLACK DELTA ent has included Madonna, The Black Eyed Peas, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Prince and last year’s hot mess, Bruno Mars with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The Superbowl halftime is almost purposely forgettable, just like the game that surrounds it $ played (Do you remember who in Superbowl XLVIII? I didn’t think so). Despite that, the SuSINCE AUG perbowl’s halftime is the largest stage on which any band can perform. The number of eyes and ears tuning in (but rarely paying attention) are easily the most at any one time for any one event. It is a solid gold piece of marketing space. The NFL understands this, which is why in past years it hasn’t paid bands a plug nickel to perform.

But this year, the NFL is going one step further. The League, which clearly has fallen on hard times, has decided to sort of auction off this prime piece of music marketing real estate. According to Forbes, the NFL is now trying to convince acts to pay for the privilege of playing the halftime show, either by asking the acts to pay a percentage of subsequent tour income or by making “some other type of financial contribution.”

The NFL said the deal is designed to help defray some of the halftime’s production costs while acknowledging that past acts have enjoyed a rather sizable “Superbowl bump” in sales. Mars’ latest record jumped to No. 3 on the Billboard charts after the Big Show, with sales increasing by 92 percent, according to the Forbes article.

So far no one has taken the bait. The Wall Street Journal reported that Katy Perry, Rihanna and Coldplay all passed on the offer… so far. But how long will they or some other desperate performer or band hold out?

This is the turning point. This is where the future of music gets decided. This is where we as a society determine if art and performance (of any quality) is worth pay-

ing for. We’ve watched from the sidelines while music has systematically been devalued over the past decade with the rise of the internet and the fall of CD sales. We now have access to virtually any recorded music with a mere click of a mouse, brought to you via YouTube or Spotify or any number of free download services. The only true cost for this convenience is the livelihood of the bands that no longer are getting paid for their music.

Income derived from music sales is drying up faster than the California aquifer. We are raising a new generation of post-internet music listeners who think that paying for music not only is unnecessary, it’s stupid.

If bands pay to play at the Superbowl, it’s only a matter of time before bands pay to have their music heard at all. Publishing rights income is money performers and songwriters currently are paid to have their music used in movies, television shows and commercials. And as a music marketing platform, this format has taken the place of terrestrial radio, which no one listens to anymore (at least for new music).

Case in point, I recently discovered the band Big Black Delta after hearing their song, “Money Rain Down,” used in a commercial for shoe maker Aldo. I “rewound” the commercial on my DVR, used my Shazam app on my iPhone to identify the band and the song, went to Spotify to listen U S T 1 S T ! to it again, and eventually paid for the track on iTunes. I never would have heard that song had it not been used in that TV commercial. I certainly wouldn’t have heard it on the radio.

In the old days, bands selling their music to Madison Avenue was considered “selling out.” Today, it’s considered good business. And believe me, Madison Avenue — and Hollywood — know this and are watching what happens with the Superbowl halftime show very closely.

If a band is willing to pay to play that halftime, surely a band — especially an unknown quantity like Big Black Delta — would be willing to pay to have its music placed in advertising or in films. Why pay for the milk when the cow is free, or in this case, when the cow is willing to pay for you to drink its milk.

Back in the radio days, payola was defined as the illegal practice of payment or other inducement by record companies for the broadcast of recordings on music radio in which the song is presented as being part of the normal day’s broadcast. This new practice of “pay for play,” if used for the Superbowl halftime or for a television commercial or movie, is a legitimate form of payola, and it’s just around the corner.

The only thing stopping it from happening is the artists (and record labels) having the courage to hold their ground and refuse to pay to do what they should be paid to do.

Or, better yet, if those who once understood the value of music once again accept the idea that art has value, that art’s worth paying for. ,

OVER 700,000 PAID IN JACKPOTS

OVER THE EDGE is a weekly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, music, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. And be sure to check out his blog at Lazy-i.com

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AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

| THE READER |

over the edge

| THE READER |

AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

19

newsoftheweird

T H E WO R L D G O N E F R E A K Y B Y C H U C K S H E P H E R D W I T H I L LU S T R AT I O N S B Y T O M B R I S C O E

It’s Facebook’s World Now

U

p-and-coming Sicilian mobster Domenico Palazzotto, 28, was outed in August by Italy’s L’Espresso magazine as the owner of an ineffectively pseudonymous Facebook page showing off his muscled, barechested body and perhaps recruiting members. One fan asked, “Do I need to send a (resume)?” “Yes, brother,” came the reply. “We need to consider your criminal record. We do not take people with clean records.” Palazzotto operates out of Palermo and listed among his “likes” the singer Kenny Loggins.

(2) Similarly young, body-obsessed Egyptian jihadist/gym member Islam Yaken, according to his postings on Facebook-type social media sites, is a law school graduate fluent in English, French and Arabic, allowing him to describe the particular viciousness that he and his brothers and sisters will wreak upon infidels.

Can’t Possibly Be True A jury’s murder conviction, and the 15-to-life sentence it carried, against Daniel Floyd in Brooklyn, New York, for a 2008 killing went for naught in July when the Brooklyn Supreme Court ordered a retrial (with witnesses forced to testify all over again). The sole reason the court cited was a decision by the trial judge on the first day -- to seat the potential jury pool and not Floyd’s mother, who, because she was temporarily left standing that first day, argued successfully that her son’s right to a “public” trial had been violated.

-- I (Heart) Strangers: Two age-30ish men knocked on the door of a Sebastian, Texas, woman at 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 3, asking for water and if they could please come inside to charge their cellphone -- and the woman apparently cheerfully invited them in, later offering them use of her backyard shed to grab some sleep. She did not learn until

20

AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

| THE READER |

weird news

a short time later, when a law enforcement manhunt widened into her neighborhood, that they were wanted for murdering a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Officers arrested the pair inside the shed.

-- A team of researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington announced recently that they had developed a prototype of a wind turbine that might deliver electricity in tiny bursts to devices like smartphones -- since it is about half the size of a grain of rice. (Tiny solar backpacks already exist.)

The New Normal (1) The ubiquitous “sexting” phenomenon continues to flourish. A Washington state agency suspended the license of anesthesiologist Arthur Zilberstein in June after finding that he had exchanged sexually explicit text messages -- during surgeries. (2) One of the emerging occupational skills for Emergency Medical Technicians, according to first responders interviewed in a June Wall Street Journal feature, is merely holding up blankets at accident scenes -- to block onlookers from their apparently uncontrollable urge to take gruesome photos to send to their friends.

Anger Management Needed (1) A 40-year-old man’s throat was fatally slashed in August in Laurel, Montana, in a fight with an acquaintance over which military service -- Army or Marines -- is better.

(News reports failed to identify the “winning” branch.) (2) A 37-year-old man survived, but with multiple bullet wounds, in New York City in August after a 1 a.m. dispute during the making of a rap music video. (The dispute was over who, exactly, would be the “star.”) (3) Roger Harris, 63, and Bryan Bandes, 42, brawled in August on the 7th tee at the Springdale Golf Course near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, while arguing the rule for playing a ball in a rain puddle. Harris apparently 3-wooded Bandes in the head; Bandes landed punches causing a swollen jaw, a fat lip and a scratched eye.

COPYRIGHT 2014 CHUCK SHEPHERD. Visit Chuck Shepherd daily at NewsoftheWeird. blogspot.com or NewsoftheWeird.com. Send Weird News to WeirdNewsTips@yahoo.com or P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, FL 33679. Illustrations by Tom Briscoe (smallworldcomics.com).

Wait -- What?

In Multnomah County, Oregon, in July, a Romanian princess pleaded guilty to cockfighting. Irina Walker, 61, was born in Switzerland where her father, King Michael I, lived after abdicating the throne.

She came to Oregon in 1983, where, in a second marriage in 2007, she fell in with former deputy sheriff John Walker, who had moved on to the gambling and cockfighting business, and, according to a USA Today report, she was assisting him.

Solutions to Non-Problems (1) Chung-Ang University in South Korea announced in April that its traditional-sport Department of Sport Science would begin accepting -- as legitimate “student athletes” -- video gamers. (2) Also in April, Berlin’s Lutheran Georgen Parochial cemetery inaugurated a 4,300-square-foot area of its grounds as reserved exclusively for lesbians -- for women who, said a spokesman, “want to be buried among other lesbians.”

New World Order Japan is noted (as News of the Weird has reported in 1997 and 2008) for several traditional fertility festivals and theme parks at which explicit, oversized male genitalia are revered by joyous visitors, including children. In July, on the other hand, police quickly arrested the artist Megumi Igarashi after she scanned her vulva and then distributed the data online to allow others to create 3-D printed reproductions. That effort was the most conspicuous of several attempts she has made as an artist/designer to call attention, she said, to the underrepresentation of female genitals in Japanese society compared to males’.

-- Who Knew? Researchers from England’s University of Lincoln revealed in July that red-footed tortoises are not only “inquisitive” but make decisions in their brain’s “medial cortex” region, associated with “complex cognitive behavior” (because they have no “hippocampus,” which is a typical decision-making area). The

tortoises thus pecked-out (and learned) touch-screen decisions (for rewards of strawberries), and in fact, said researcher Anna Wilkinson, learned as quickly as rats and pigeons and faster, actually, than dogs.

Upcoming Events Men’s Soccer Friday, Aug. 29th, 7:00 PM

Movies Come to Life (1) In July, officials at the Djanogly City Academy in Nottingham, England, broke up an attempt by five students (aged 11 to 14) attending a daytimelocked-down school to escape by tunneling under a security fence. They had discovered the boys’ metal cutlery hidden at the scene. (A World War II tunneling escape from a Nazi prison was partially successful and became the story for the 1963 movie “The Great Escape” starring Steve McQueen.) (2) In a deadly ending reminiscent of scenes in several crime movies, a 22-year-old man fleeing police in Brooklyn, New York, in June crashed his car at a high speed into the back of a flatbed truck and was decapitated as the body of the car (but not the part above the dashboard) continued on under the truck.

vs.

Sunday, Aug. 31st, 7:00 PM vs.

Women’s Soccer Monday, Sept. 1st, 12:00 PM vs.

Least Competent Criminals Not Ready for Prime Time: (1) A 40-yearold man (not named by the Seattle PostIntelligencer) was arrested in that city on July 31 after a several-hour, epically inept, crime spree. Attempting to rob a restaurant, he was turned down by employees and customers, then turned down by two potential carjack victims (the first of whom added insult by pulling out her cellphone camera and shooting video), before giving up just as police arrived. (His only take was the $15 he had swiped from the restaurant’s tip jar.) (2) Joshua Pawlak, 27, entered a total of four businesses in Woodbridge, New Jersey, on July 27 and similarly met resistance and/or indifference to his money demands -- and came away from the four with only $2, also from a tip jar. ,

Fall Sports Single Game Tickets

ON SALE NOW For more information call or visit:

weird news

| THE READER |

AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

21

cuttingroom

BLEAK &WHITE DAME IS DARK BUT NOT DEEP

C

elebrated narcissist and Freddy Krueger look-a-like Frank Miller gives the women he writes a plethora of career choices. They can be prostitutes, strippers, bondage-wearing murderers or corpses. Some get to be all of those!

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is part entertaining cartoon noir, part violently fetishized relationship revenge fantasy. The first part is recommendable; the second part is vile.

Writers/directors Robert Rodriguez and Miller finally deliver the sequel very few people have been clamoring for since their original Sin City came out nearly a decade ago. At the time, the film was visually arresting and a welcome reprieve from the stale and repetitive action template being used. Rodriguez and Miller confused that with having made some kind of legendarily important work and have been trying to get “the people” clamoring for more. They never clamored, but here it comes anyway. Don’t worry, the directors cameo to take a bow.

The interlinked vignettes take place before and after the last film, without any explanation which is which. It’s more evidence of the hubris Rodriguez and Miller have: they believe everyone has events of the last film memorized from so many rewatches. Set once again in a film noir urban hell, the only constant between the stories is tough-guy violence and misogyny.

We see Marv (Mickey Rourke) joining up with Dwight (Josh Brolin) to kill a bunch of people before Marv joins up with Nancy (Jessica Alba) to kill a bunch

Film Streams at the Ruth Sokolof Theater 14th & Mike Fahey Street (formerly Webster Street) More info & showtimes 402.933.0259 · filmstreams.org

BY RYAN SYREK

of other people. We meet Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a lucky and suave suit-andtie who wants to destroy Senator Roark (Powers Boothe). All segments are basically murder-as-closure revenge adventures. Oh, and Bruce Willis shows back up again, even though his character is dead.

Surprisingly, the visual style holds up. It is no less compelling to see the stylized hyperviolence, complete with bloody plumes of arterial spray colored as white as pure as snow. Better yet, this installment seems to realize that Sin City works best as an altered black comedy, with 1940s pulp-era dialogue so strained and silly it has to be a joke. All of it is rasped in every actor’s throatiest whisper. Sin City: The town without a cough drop.

That’s all fine. Even having the perpetually nude Eva Green as a femme fatale may have been dismissed as just thematic posturing, had the film not settled into an obvious pattern. Each woman is deceitful or dangerous, hung up on a man (or men) they declare is “the only one” they’ll ever love. It’s like Miller wants so badly to have someone tell him that, he’ll keep writing it into the mouths of those he controls to ease the pain.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is perfectly fine, live-action cartoon escapism, provided you remember Frank Miller doesn’t consider women to be people. When that fact is taken into consideration, what was a decent distraction becomes a tale that’s dark for the wrong reasons. ,

AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

Cutting Room provides breaking local and national movie news … complete with added sarcasm. Send any relevant information to fi lm@thereader.com. Check out Ryan on Movieha!, a weekly half-hour movie podcast (movieha. libsyn.com/rss), catch him on the radio on CD 105.9 (cd1059.com) on Fridays at around 7:30 a.m. and on KVNO 90.7 (KVNO.org) at 8:30 a.m. on Fridays and follow him on Twitter (twitter.com/thereaderfilm).

GRADE = C

First-Run Films Boyhood First-Run (R)

Dir. Richard Linklater.

Through Thursday, September 4 “On rare occasions a movie seems to channel the flow of real life. BOYHOOD is one of those occasions.” — Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal Believe the hype — this is the film event of 2014!

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram: @filmstreams

22

■ I always suspected, but now I know for sure: The O in David O. Russell stands for Omaha. At least, it will this November, when the Academy Award-nominated director joins Academy Award winner Alexander Payne at a theater that received an Academy Award grant! Film Streams (filmstreams.org) has announced that its annual fundraiser celebration, Feature VI, will be held Monday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. in the Holland Performing Arts Center. You’ll want to snag tickets fast, which go on sale for members Friday, Aug. 29, and for nonmembers Wednesday, Sept. 3. As a reminder, Russell has worked with Jennifer Lawrence not once, but twice. So there’s a good chance that Payne may finally ask Russell the questions I’ve been dying to have answered: What is her hair regimen and does she fart rainbows?

■ Speaking of everyone’s favorite potential rainbow farter, Jennifer Lawrence has already worked with a ton of talented directors for an actress with such a brief fi lmography. Now comes word she may work with one of the best. She’s circling Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight. It’s a movie about stagecoach travelers stuck in a blizzard in Wyoming. Of course, her casting makes no sense, as it is physically impossible to hate Jennifer Lawrence.

■ Nicolas Winding Refn is one of the most promising new directors, even if his fi lms are as challenging as pronouncing his last name. One of the projects he almost did, The Bringing, is sadly sliding off of his plate and on to Jeremy Lovering’s. The fi lm is about a real-life Canadian tourist who was found dead in a water tank at a hotel that was known to be frequented by serial killers and was later a suicide hotspot. It seems like either one of those things would be enough to have nuked that building from space…

—Ryan Syrek

| THE READER |

film

Calvary First-Run (R)

Dir. John Michael McDonagh.

Through Thursday, September 18 “A darkly hilarious and deeply ruminative update on the passion play.” — Josh Kupecki, Austin Chronicle A good Irish priest receives threats from a mysterious aggressor.

Forever Young Supported by Lincoln Financial Foundation.

The Parent Trap 1961 August 30, 31 & September 4

Cinemateca 2014 Presented with UNO’s Office on Latino/ Latin American Studies (OLLAS).

Coming Soon

Stand Clear of the Closing Doors Dir. Sam Fleischer.

Through Thursday, September 4

The Trip to Italy First-Run Elena First-Run Love is Strange First-Run (R) 20,000 Days on Earth First-Run

Special Screening on Tuesday, September 2 with food from Dixie Quicks and post-show discussion led by OLLAS.

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AUG. 28 - SEPT. 3, 2014

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