* Bellevue barbecue standard Amarillo BBQ closed its doors Dec. 1. However, fans of the restaurant, which served Texas-style smoked meat, can take a piece of the eatery home with them via an online auction Friday, Dec. 11, at auctionsolutionsinc.com. The restaurant was popular for its decor including retro memorabilia and plenty of license plates […]
Posted inFood
Gift Tips for Foodies
Having a hard time finding the right gift for the foodie on your list? Here are three suggestions, ranging from the practical to the ridiculous. Got a cheese-lover on your list? Consider a subscription to Culture (culturecheesemag.com/), a magazine devoted to all things cheesy. Yeah, it’s a little expensive at $30 for 4 issues, but […]
Posted inSpecials
Swine Flu Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Each flu season the dog-and-pony show starts. But this year, health departments countrywide are reporting two very interesting facts: Cases of influenza are lower than usual and fewer people are getting flu shots. Is that coincidence? Each year the Center for Disease Control falsely claims that 36,000 persons die annually in the United States from […]
Posted inCulture
Books and Bagels, American Hardcore and more
* The book discussion group Books and Bagels will meet at the Bookworm in Countryside Village this Sunday, Dec. 12, at 11 a.m. to discuss This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper. An easy, entertaining read, the book received high marks from Publishers Weekly , which says, “Tropper strikes an excellent balance between […]
Posted inCulture
Mind Over Matter
It was 17th century philosopher-mathematician René Descartes who first articulated a general theory of dualism stating that humans consist of a sort of mind-body dichotomy. Descartes attributed all animal or biological activity to the brain while crediting one’s thoughts and desires to the mind, a more elusive and spiritual faculty. Inextricably linked, this mind-body dualism […]
Posted inCulture, Visual Arts
KANEKO Block Party, Building Bemis, Holidays Under Glass
* A block party is usually associated with a grill, some burgers and the hot summer sun, but downtown Omaha’s KANEKO reinvented the concept with the KANEKO Block Party — parts auction, concert and holiday celebration — slated for Friday, Dec. 10. More than 50 artists were asked to create work inspired by the alphabet, […]
Posted inMusic
Here Come the Holidays, ORG Black and Blue Ball
* Scrooges be damned, those festive holiday feelings are beginning to take hold — escorted by sights, sounds and smells oozing citywide from often-tedious Muzak players, bundled bell ringers and mailboxes stuffed with Christmas cards. Allspice and cinnamon scents hang heavy in the air, along with the deafening hum of retail excess. Two of my […]
Posted inMusic
Full Of Giving
This is the final weekend of benefit activities for the seventh annual Lash LaRue Toy Drive for the children of the Pine Ridge Reservation. Last week’s events hit a couple of bumps in the road when the CDs did not arrive in time for the CD release party. Then the Huskers’ loss effectively killed the […]
Posted inMovies
Cutting Room for December 8
If you’re a loyal Reader reader — and why wouldn’t you be, you bright and sexy person — you have undoubtedly heard all about writer/director Nik Fackler and his darling, locally shot indie film Lovely, Still. Well, our little boy is “all grown up,” as Fackler was just nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for […]
Posted inMovies
DVD Discovery: Magic Act
You know the feeling you get at the peak of a suspenseful scene? At the breathless moment where you’re waiting for the inevitable gunshot, the doom-laden footsteps or the damning, climactic line of dialogue? That simultaneously delightful and miserable squirminess? Well if you’re into that — and who isn’t, at least a little? — writer/director […]