* Two shows certain to have me dabbing at my eyes are Steel Magnolias at the Omaha Community Playhouse and Les Miserables, returning to the Orpheum in the Broadway Across America series. * I’ll hang around after Mary Poppins later this month to see if anyone suffers from the problem mentioned in its television commercials, […]
Posted inFood
Chocre Blue!
When Chris Blue decided to pursue a career in the culinary field, his mother told him to focus on what he liked most to eat. We should all be thankful that it’s chocolate. After graduating from the French Pastry School in Chicago and working at the Windy City’s Charlie Trotter’s as chocolatier for several years, […]
Posted inFood
Top five food predictions for 2011:
Tipplers will be able to order a proper cocktail. Instead of reaching for a jug of neon green liquid when making a daiquiri, bartenders will instead opt for fresh lime juice, rum and simple syrup. We’ll see more from-scratch cocktails and less reliance on mixes and pre-made drinks. Keep it close. We’ll continue to see […]
Posted inSpecials
Heaven Sent
I’ve got a few bon mots to jumpstart your entrée into 2011. Hope you enjoy … There are seven steps to Heaven, and they’re probably the Seven Deadly Sins transcended. Here’s the list, along with suggestions for their resolution. PRIDE: Give up foolish pride. LUST: Doesn’t it depend on what you lust for? GLUTTONY: Look […]
Posted inMusic
Visions of 2011, Pt. 1
Before we can look forward, we must look back. Last year’s predictions for 2010 started with nine hunches that can be summed up this way: There will be fewer bands all trying to get paid more to play in fewer clubs that will be booking fewer shows but with better national bands playing at a […]
Posted inSpecials
2011: The Event Horizon
Predicting the future is pointless. There is no future. In fact, there is no past. Neither exists. There is only the infinite now. So-called predictions are in reality observations of current events and conditions. A common phrase demonstrates the past and the future are not real. Computer technology gave us the term “real time.” It […]
Posted inMovies
Down on the Farm
French-born director Claire Denis grew up in Africa, and her latest film, White Material, is her first set on that continent since her 1988 debut Chocolat . Since ’88, Denis has become probably the greatest French filmmaker currently working, and White Material is an example of her observational, often dreamlike style at its peak. Somewhere […]
Posted inMovies
Cutting Room for January 5
I was appalled (and oddly intrigued) at the instruction I received from my editor this week, until I realized she told me to grab my crystal ball for this week’s column. Let’s just say the first draft of this installment was a little saucier until I realized she wanted predictions. So here’s the best brief […]
Posted inNews
Bruning proposes new drug regulations
State Attorney General Jon Bruning announced two billsto restrict drugs in Nebraska, in preparation for the state’s new legislative session that gets underway Jan. 5. One bill proposes a ban on chemical compounds found in K2, a synthetic, marijuana-like drug. Certain versions of the drug were banned at the federal level, but it is still […]
Posted inNews
Nelson crossed the party line most often in 2010
No Senator voted against his party more often in 2010 than Ben Nelson, according to the annual year-end voting report released Jan. 3 by Congressional Quarterly. The Nebraska senior Senator voted in opposition to the Democrats on 46 percent of “party issues” in 2010, well ahead of the next highest bi-partisan voter — Sen. Evan […]