river cities' reader issue 893 - october 1, 2015

8/20/2019 River Cities' Reader Issue 893 - October 1, 2015

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River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 22 No. 893 • October 15 - 28, 20152 Business • Politics • Arts • Culture • Now You Know • RiverCitiesReader.com

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River Cities’ Reader • Vol. 22 No. 893 • October 15 - 28, 2015 3Business • Politics • Arts • Culture • Now You Know • RiverCitiesReader.com

WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Educate Yourself on Four Need-to-KnowSubjects While They Still Matter

by Kathleen McCarthy

[email protected] COMMENTARY By Jean Regenwether

[email protected]

It’s Just a Dog … but …

How many times have you heard the

phrase “It’s just a dog”? But timeis certainly changing our opinionsand treatment toward – and our lives with– our furry companions. “A dog is a familymember” is a good way to describe theevolution taking place.

Focusing on “It’s just a dog” suggeststhat dogs are creatures with no ability tothink; they just follow humans around forfood and shelter. Consequently, dogs musthave no feelings. No joy, no anger, no love,no loss.

We are lucky to live in a time in whichsuch viewpoints are changing, and hugekudos must be given to early dog trainersand animal behaviorists for realizing thatthe “dogs have no feelings” argument isclearly wrong.

Over the past several decades, studieshave been conducted to determine howdogs think, learn, and feel, and theirresults have been amazing. In the 1980s, veterinarian and animal behaviorist Ian

Dunbar worked extensively with puppiesunder the age of six months, and initiatedoff-leash training with great success. Hispioneering studies on the social livesand hierarchies of dogs are used today in Continued On Page 13

training and behavior work.

Karen Pryor was a marine-mammaltrainer who brought her operant skillsand positive, reward-based methods tothe dog-training world. Pryor introduceddog trainers to clicker-training in the early1990s, and showed how positive methodsof training are highly effective, and farmore enjoyable, for both dog and owner.

These are just two individuals amongmany who advanced the understandingof dog behavior into the science of dogtraining.

We have learned that dogs do think.(Sorry to disappoint those who thinkthey just love you for the food.) They caneven think analytically – dogs are verygood at solving problems – and can bequite independent in their thinking. Anyobservant person also knows they cancount; just take out three treats, give thedog two treats, and try to get away with it.

Such knowledge has helped dogtraining evolve into a practice that

employs more positive methods, withmethods that reward correct behaviornow more commonplace. The days ofphysical force, punishment, and other

After 21 years of publishing, the

depth and breadth of civic disen-

gagement continues to befuddle

me, confirming that people get the govern-

ment they deserve. Everyone senses the

undercurrent of serious trouble afoot in

this country. But no amount of leaderships’

disgraceful conduct, criminal enterprise,

or wholesale injustice – all of which cause

profound suffering for our families, friends,

neighbors, co-workers, and community atlarge – rises to a level that produces mean-

ingful activism. Why is that?

Mostly it is because of denial, lack

of imagination, laziness, inertia, and

an absurd amount of self-absorption.

Ignorance plays a part, but most people

are intelligent enough to grasp problems.

Instead, they choose to ignore such matters

as a means to absolve themselves from

responsibility head-in-the-sand style.

Clearly, this is not the American way. Or at

least it didn’t used to be.

No matter how much civic impotence

we claim, there is still plenty we can

individually affect if we are willing

to sacrifice a bit of convenience. Our

ancestors, after all, sacrificed their lives.

First, we must reaffirm that we are

created with inherent rights that are ours

whether government exists or not. The

United States Constitution protects rights

we already have by limiting government’s

ability to interfere with those inherent

rights. That is a core principle that must

be internalized before we can correct our

course as a nation.

Each individual has enormous, albeitmostly unused, power in our form of

bottom-up governance; a constitutional

Republic under the rule of law, including,

but not limited to, the power of the vote,

the power of the purse, and the power of

the jury. The Bill of Rights secures free

speech and the press, worship, assembly,

petitions for redress of grievances, due

process, and the right to bear arms, to

name a few. Read the Bill of Rights and you

will find that it states very clearly, without

ambiguity, “Congress shall make no law”

that interferes with the above.

Is anyone surprised when politicians and

bureaucrats readily step in and usurp moreContinued On Page 13


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What We Have Here Is aFailure to Negotiate

by Rich Miller

CapitolFax.comILLINOIS POLITICS

Last year, gubernatorial candidate BruceRauner pledged to “crack down onwaste” in government in order to save

taxpayers over $140 million. He also vowed tocut $500 million from the Illinois Departmentof Central Management Services and findanother $250 million in Medicaid savings.

Very little of that has happened to date, as

the governor himself inadvertently admittedduring a speech last week inthe southern Cook County

suburbs.Instead of saving

$500 million at CMS, forexample, Rauner touted just $15 million in savings,mainly from grounding

the state’s fleet of airplanes– although that doesn’ttake into considerationthe cost of paying mileagereimbursements for all

those folks who can nolonger fly.

The governor identified a grand total of$107 million in what he said are savingshe’s found this year, but most came from

cuts at the Department of Healthcare andFamily Services, and people I’ve talked toaren’t buying those numbers because somemajor state cost controls have been allowed

to expire. He also failed to mention that he vetoed a bill that the Democrats say would’veresulted in $400 million in DHFS savings –

far more than his own stated campaign goaland lots more than the $70 million he claims

to have actually saved.Governor Rauner also bemoaned the lack

of a budget and the myriad court orderswhich are forcing state spending at lastfiscal year’s levels. “I can’t control” the court

orders, the governor said. That’s true, butthe governor could try negotiating with thestakeholders and the courts to come up withmore affordable orders. He’s not a complete victim.

And, of course, he repeatedly complainedthat the Democratic General Assemblyhasn’t allowed votes on a single one of hisTurnaround Agenda items.

He has a right to complain, but he’s not alegislator and needs to eventually realize thathe can’t pass bills on his own.

Rauner also has to come to terms withthe fact that “giving” the Democrats some

Republican votes on a tax-hike roll call inexchange for Democrats whacking unionsisn’t exactly a Democratic “win.” To quite a

few Democrats, that’s a most definite lose-loseproposition.

For crying out loud, man, what aboutan infrastructure projects plan? How aboutfinding anything that could help grease a victory instead of this unseemly whining

about how the other side won’t cave?And the Democrats, for their part, have

got to get it into their heads that they have aRepublican governor.

“I’ve stated all year that I will work with thegovernor cooperatively and professionally, butwe will not devastate Illinois’ middle class andstruggling families by furthering an agenda

aimed at driving down their wages andtheir standard of living,” said House Speaker

Michael Madigan shortly

after the governor’s speechlast week.

Okay, well, firstof all, comparingGovernor Rauner toRod Blagojevich earlierthis year was definitely

neither cooperative norprofessional on Madigan’spart, and his presssecretary claimed thegovernor was acting like “a

scared second grader” when he skipped outof that south suburban speech without takingreporters’ questions.

Apart from that, Madigan’s two pension-reform laws most definitely were designedto reduce the standard of living of retirees.And Governor Rauner was absolutely rightlast week to point out the various labor law

exemptions that Madigan has passed forChicago. Even so, that doesn’t mean theDemocrats would ever accede to Rauner’sdemand that teachers and local governmentemployees should be stripped of their right to

bargain over wages, benefits, overtime, andworking conditions. Ain’t gonna happen, man.

Eventually, because the governor is soanti-union and won’t talk about a budgetuntil he gets some wins on that front, Speaker

Madigan and the Democrats are going to haveto do something that unions don’t love or thisimpasse will never end.

The problem for the Democrats is intensely

political. Rauner’s horrible idea to spend

the first four months of his administrationtouring the state demanding a so-called “rightto work” law united unions like never before.Some major trade unions actively backed

cuts in pension benefits for public employees,believing it would free up money for otherstate spending (a position encouraged bySpeaker Madigan, by the way). Now, thanksto Rauner, they’re all one big happy family.

The Democrats are so frozen in positionthat they can’t or won’t budge until things getso bad that they will have no other choice but

to ding the unions at least a little bit, whichmay be the ultimate plan here.

It’s just a mess everywhere you look.

Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax (a daily political newsletter) and CapitolFax.com.

How about findinganything that could

help grease a victory

instead of this unseemly

whining about how the

other side won’t cave?

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in 1933.

The SAA Design Group of Madison,

Wisconsin – now part of Ayres Associates – was

the prime consultant for this beautiful park,

including the playground and fountain.

The striking geometric patterning in

Schwiebert Park’s fountain and playground

the fountain. The most striking visual element of

this area, though, is the beautiful elliptical shapes

in the fountain’s floor that cover an area nearly

100 feet in length. To me, they suggest planetary

orbits; to someone else, they might suggest

something very different in this imaginative

environment.

The creative qualities and open-ended

play encouraged by the fountain area are

characteristic of a “playscape,” an area that

breaks away from specific play equipment.

Playscapes were inspired in large part by

sculptor and landscape visionary Isamu Noguchi

(1904-1988), who began working on playscapes

Playgrounds can be

innovative, bold

environments with

intriguing sculptural forms:

their colors bright and excit-ing; their designs active –

imprinted with the rhythms

of jumping, climbing,

running, and hanging. They

can capture our imagination

as fully as abstract works of

fine art.

The fountain and

playground area in

Schwiebert Riverfront Park

and the Davenport Skateparkin its entirety are among the

most compelling and visually

exciting environments

created for play in the Quad

Cities. There are other

wonderful places in the

Quad Cities for children

to play, learn, and

socialize, such as the

Family Museum in

Bettendorf and theLearning Center in

Davenport. (Happily,

the Mother Goose

entrance to the latter

is restored.) But they

are inside or fenced

in – not necessarily

“in plain sight.”

The groups

of playground

equipment at

Schwiebert

Riverfront Park,

on the Mississippi

riverfront between 17th and 20th streets in

downtown Rock Island, are like islands on a sea

of blue padded tiles – crazy geometric shapes

with Dr. Seuss-like chutes and ladders on metal

stilts. Each has multiple entries and unique

nooks and crannies waiting to be explored.

Integrated into the playground are digital

electronic games without instructions.

Near this playground is a fountain areaalso designed for play. Children run through

or from water sprays that bubble up from the

ground, starting and stopping unexpectedly. Or

through a row of water arcs lining one side of

Art in Plain Sight: Schwiebert Riverfront Park and the Davenport Skatepark

Article and photos by Bruce Walters

[email protected]

Vol. 22 · No. 893 Oct. 15 - 28, 2015

River Cities’ Reader 532 W. 3rd St.

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Kathleen McCarthy

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Contributing Writers: Amy Alkon, Rob Brezsny, Rich

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S i n c e 1

9 9 3

Continued On Page 13

ART

(above and below right) Schwiebert Riverfront Park

Davenport Skatepark


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Brooks Strause Plays the Devil’s Advocate in Song; October 23 at Rozz-Tox

A Restless Spirit

“It was not really a comfortable situ-

ation,” said Brooks Strause. “It was

okay. It worked well, and it was

worth it artistically.”

Such dull words suggest a mundane

departure for a musician – an experimental

song, the dipping of a toe into a new

stylistic stream. But Strause – the prolific

34-year-old singer/songwriter from

Muscatine now based in Iowa City – is not

nearly so timid.

He was, in fact, talking about having

a bucket of actual lamb’s blood dumped

on him for a photo shoot for his second

album. Differences in animal aside, Strause

volunteered to be Carrie White – and it

was his idea.

In that photo, Strause is foregrounded

and exhaling smoke, with a couple

clutching each other in the background.

The concept, he said, “represented love

in a way I haven’t seen it represented that

much,” which made it a good match for theStrause-ian love songs that made up his

album Dead Animals (whose first releasewas housed, it should be said, in actual

animal fur).

In case you’re curious, Strause said

“there wasn’t really time” for second

thoughts at the shoot: “This photograph

has to get done. Let’s do it.” And “it was

kind of surprising – the texture. I definitely

got some in my mouth very quickly. It

wasn’t really as gross as I thought it wasgoing to be.”

So he’s human after all – although that’s

not necessarily apparent from the flood

of work he’s been producing. His seventh

album, the richly rewarding The ChymicalWedding of Brooks Strause, was releasedthis month, and he’ll be performing

October 23 at Rozz-Tox. Dead Animals wasreissued earlier this year by the Maximum

Ames label, and 2014 saw two new full-

lengths, Acid Casual

andRenaissance Beast

.

Oh, but there’s more. He has a rock/folk

opera, an album of electronic music, and

a solo-acoustic record in various stages of

completion, and he’s written all the songs

for his next rock-and-roll outing with his

band The Gory Details – with whom he’ll

share the stage at Rozz-Tox.

Strause offered a simple reason for this

burst of creativity: time. He works home-

health-care overnight shifts that give him

plenty of time to sleep, leaving his days

free for music. And “I had been solidlyin relationships for 10 years. I’ve spent a

lot of the last three years single, which is

artistically fruitful, and spiritually. That

just helps me focus on my own work and

myself as a human being.”But there’s clearly also a restless spirit

at work, somebody eager to bust through

constraints and connect wildly disparate

influences. Each album might have its own

coherence and clear reference points, but

Strause said his careening body of work has

a shape – in a hugely ambitious way.

He gave the example of his in-the-works

electronic album mining ’80s and ’90s

sounds. “Being able to introduce that ...

gives more context to the things on my

previous records that were influenced by

’20s ragtime,” he explained. “I feel like

musically I just want to bridge all these

things. I want to find something that hasn’t

been done in the whole context of modern

music history. ...

“I realized that I have been exploring

classic styles – world styles – and the

further I push out, the more it makes sense.

It’s a bigger picture, which makes it a little

clearer as I branch out ... .”

Last year’s Renaissance Beast , he said,was “the record where I really took control

of pushing out of those boundaries and

deciding that the further I could go, the

more all-encompassing I can be stylistically

... . If you create a context, then you can do

anything you want. Creating a precedent

for any sound to be present.”

Ceding ControlThe irony of the new album, however,

is that Strause gave up the reins. Priorto now, Strause had produced five of hisrecords and co-produced the other.

But on Chymical Wedding , Quad Citiesproducer and musician Pat Stolley is

responsible for all thearrangements andtextures.

“I initially wroteit envisioning a’50s-influencedrecord – somewherebetween doo-wop andearly rock-and-roll –and that’s how I wasplanning on producingit,” Strause said. “AndI sat on it for a whileand just became lessexcited about puttingthe time into producingit myself after havinga little bit of distancefrom it and decided togive it to Pat Stolley toproduce.

“He said that as long

as I gave him ful l control production-wise,he would record it. I’ve been a big fan ofhis music for a really long time – since Iwas 16, I’ve been obsessed with his music– so it seemed like the right time to giveup control ... which is something I haven’tdone.”

It helped that both men were familiarwith the centuries-old manifesto ChymicalWedding of Christian Rosenkreutz , atouchstone work for people interested in

alchemy and an inspiration for the recordand (obviously) its title. The link is clear inthe first words of “The Creeping Heart”:“Water and the air and the earth make atree. / Magic and the mind and the firemake me.”

“Lyrically,” Strause said, “it’s a break-uprecord, but also the break-up I was goingthrough at the time tied into mysticalstudies, and getting into spiritual alchemy.I was just noticing overlap in these

different concepts, how I was trying to getthrough this relationship stuff while I wasalso learning how to transform as a humanbeing spiritually. Juxtapositions and tyingthose things together became kind of thegoal in writing that album.”

Handing it off, Strause said, was anacknowledgment of how “involved” hisoriginal idea would have been to execute.“I was realizing that if I wanted momentsto sound like The Platters, I was going tohave to get a big string section together.

I just started realizing how it was a lot ofstuff I hadn’t done before, and I knew itwas going to be a really big challenge. ...The biggest production job [on one of hisalbums] took 10 years to finish the record,

and I didn’t want that to happen. ...“The idea of working with Pat seemed ...

equally exciting and less work.”Initially, he said, he tried to describe to

Stolley his aims for Chymical Wedding . But“once he started talking to me about whathis ideas were, I realized that it was goingto be beyond what I had thought it wasgoing to be. I wasn’t even going to be ableto predict what each song was going tosound like, so I just let go.”

Stolley wrote in an e-mail: “I saw it asa chance to have some real fun and twistBrooks’ material around. I basically justlistened to each song and imagined what Iwanted to hear. If I couldn’t do the part, I’dget someone to play.”

Strause said of the process: “InitiallyI just gave him demos that I recorded inmy bedroom ... and he listened to themfor a while and started having me cometo the Quad Cities for four-hour chunks

of time. And I would just record guitar, vocals – usually at the same time – to aclick track or a drum machine, and thenI would go. And then the next time that Iwould come, he’d give me a mix with all ofthe things that he’d added. He brought inother musicians while I wasn’t there andmade the record like he would make hisown records. ...

“The chords, the structure of thesongs is all me. All of the layers, all of the

fleshed-out sound, that’s pretty much Pat.”There were surprises, Strause said.

“When I had written the songs, I reallydidn’t hear any electronic sounds in them”– the synthesizers and drum machines thatStolley added. “It wouldn’t have occurredto me to put those sounds in those songs....

“That’s why the collaboration happened,and why it worked. I was willing to give upthat control. ... I knew it was going to be

something ... that I wouldn’t have made onmy own.”

Yet Strause added that even thoughhe and Stolley never discussed hisoverarching vision for his catalog, theyended up of like minds: “When I firstheard the mixes that Pat had done andheard what he was doing with the record,there was overlap with the record I wasworking on at the time.”

Much of Chymical Wedding is alluring

and easily accessible, with Stolley’sarrangements and Strause’s warm voicedrawing listeners in. Opener “GoodWorld” could have come from the 1960s,with a synchronized rhythm in thedrums, guitars, and chorus vocals. “Bridge

COVER STORY

Photo by Laura Heath


7/20


by Jeff Ignatius

[email protected]

Over Nothing” and “Hearts” have someswinging country influence, while “Really”is straight-ahead pop rock.

But “The Creeping Heart” announcesthe arrival of the bluntly foreign, withStrause singing over a throbbing, subduedlow end and click-heavy percussion, withminimal echoing of the vocal melodyin ghostly keyboards. A break near theend augments the core instrumentationwith guitar, and each element serves with

purpose.“Time Slayer” has an undeniable groove,

but it’s also coarse and kid-like, giving theimpression of a demented circus tune.

“Undead Ends” is a love song ofsalvation until its final line, and Stolleyforeshadows the closing turn withdowncast reverb guitar and quavering keysthat give it an unsteady solemnity fromthe outset. The album might be as muchStolley’s as Strause’s, but the producer

has clearly and thoughtfully digested thematerial before putting his stamp on it.

The result is an often bright treatmentof darkness. Iowa City’s Little Village magazine summarized the album well:“The tension between what is wishedfor and what exists drives these songs.Strause’s voice – a reedy baritone thatwavers subtly, accented at times by apurring of vocal fry – is the perfect vehicleto express an uncertain vacillation between

belief and disillusionment.”

Mining the UncomfortableJust as Strause is trying to push

himself in his work, he’s also trying to beconfrontational with listeners. And it’s not just the lamb blood and real fur.

“With my songs,” he said, “I don’t doa lot of storytelling usually. I’m kind ofdescribing aspects of life, or trying todraw pictures and perspectives that I have,

or can have. Just to widen other people’sperspectives. Just to start a conversation,to make people think about things.”

And that’s especially true of his folk/rock opera The Lamentable Tragedy ofButch Strange, whose narrative threadsounds true to the last word of the title.

“It’s about a serial killer named ButchStrange who loves to murder women,”Strause said. “He goes out into the night,he’s singing about how that’s what he lives

for. ... Then this bug starts speaking to himin an alley and offers him three gifts, andit’s about the change that he goes throughwhile receiving those three gifts.”

If that sounds a bit silly, Strause has aserious purpose. “I’m attracted to a lot

of dark concepts, because I think they’reunder-explored. I think people let feardictate their actions – at least frequently.If you explore something, it quells thatfear to some extent. So I guess I use a lotof those dark concepts to inoculate myselfagainst them.” And he sometimes useshorror and fantasy to dig around in thoseareas.

More specifically, he said, ButchStrange is intended to question whether

people seen as monsters can rescue theirhumanity – even a little bit. “If you thinkabout the shooting that just happened [inOregon], and the shootings that have beenhappening – a very modern issue – it’ssomething that’s hard to approach withcompassion [for the shooter] a lot of thetime, which is very compelling to me. ... Iwanted to explore that and see if I coulddepict the most horrifying, despicablecharacter that I could think of and see if I

could give him any kind of redemption. ...“It’s hard to say if I did. ...“When I’ve seen various people like

that on the news, I think: What wouldmake somebody do that? There have beenseveral times that I’ve thought: Whatcircumstances could have happened inmy life where I would have turned into amonster like this? Are there things thatcould have happened to me that wouldhave brought me to that place? Usually,

I can think of something where it’s like,‘Maybe. Maybe that would have doneit.’ That was really interesting for meto explore. I don’t think there are a lotof people who would admit that – thatthose people tend to be a creation of theircircumstances. ...

“Philosophically, I like the devil’s-advocate mentality. I want to talk aboutthings people are not comfortable talkingabout. ... Those are things ... I strive towrite about, because so many songs are just about the same things over and overagain. You can write a nice love song, butthere are thousands of nice love songs. [If]you write some kind of weird, nasty lovesong, maybe you’re hitting on somethingoriginal.”

Brooks Strause & the Gory Details will perform on Friday, October 23, at Rozz-Tox(2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island; RozzTox.com). Bedroom Shrine and US-MODE

open, and admission to the 9 p.m. all-agesshow is $10.

For more information on Brooks Strause,visit BrooksStrause.Bandcamp.com.


8/20


F O R Y O U R E N J O Y M E N T , A LW AY S S M O K E F R E E !

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9/20


a fiercely impassioned, moving figurewho avows that her speeches and beliefsare truly hers, and who also Google-searches sexy celebrities and barelypasses her physics tests and giggles atthe Minions just like any other teen.For audiences close to Malala’s age, themovie’s ideal demographic, that’s bound

to be enough.It’s enough for some of the rest of us,too, because while I would’ve preferred

more exploration and insight, I can’t say

I didn’t wholly enjoy getting to know

Malala Yousafzai even in this worshipful

light. The film itself is beautifully

assembled, with lovely hand-animated

sequences providing exposition and

history, and visual and aural examples of

Taliban cruelty providing the crushing

“why” behind Malala’s human-rights

efforts. Yet it’s the scenes of her out of

warrior-orator mode – goofing with

her brothers, laughing with Jon Stewart,

teaching her dad how to tweet – that

are Guggenheim’s most endearing

and transfixing; your jaw all but drops

knowing that such poise, selflessness,

and purity of spirit are emanating

from someone not yet 20. He Named

Me Malala is the rare work that truly

deserves the adjective “inspirational,”

even if it does make you feel awful forhow you may be wasting your own life …

like, by spending two hours of it at Pan.

For reviews of The Martian, The Walk,Sicario, the Putnam Museum’s TinyGiants 3D , and other current releases,visit RiverCitiesReader.com.

Follow Mike on Twitter at Twitter.com/ MikeSchulzNow.

Movie Re views by Mike Schulz • [email protected]

PAN

Not long into director Joe Wright’sorigin fable Pan, the 12-year-old Peter(Levi Miller), newly captured by piratesdescending from bungee cords, surveysthe World War II fighter planes strikinghis kidnappers’ airborne pirate ship andshouts, “Oh, come on!” Roughly an hour

later, in the midst of another aerial attack,Captain Hook (Garrett Hedlund) – aheroic American boasting Indiana Jones’wardrobe and two functional hands –gazes at the melee involving enormousCGI birds of prey and shouts, “Oh, comeon!” What does it say about a movie wheneven its leads can’t believe in the on-screennonsense?

Originally, I had another eight-letterword in place of “nonsense” (it starts with

“b” and ends in “t”), but I’m refrainingfrom using it in the spirit of familyentertainment. A spirit, I should add, thatWright and screenwriter Jason Fuchs don’tappear to give two hoots about in Pan – agarish, charmless, obnoxious adventureso stupefyingly bad that it might easilyinspire cries of “Oh, come on!” amongchildren of all ages. Given Hollywood’sobsession with superheroes and rebootingand superhero rebooting, it’s no shock that

J.M. Barrie’s boy who could fly has beengiven his very own origin story, completewith parental abandonment in the preludeand the promise/threat of sequels at theend. But it was still flabbergasting to see just how thoroughly Wright and companymucked this thing up. The openingscenes in Peter’s orphanage – with apiggy Mother Superior waddling aroundand grubby youths looking ready to sing“Consider Yourself ” at a moment’s notice

– filled mewith dread. Bythe time Peterwas whiskedto a Neverlandwork campstraight out of Mad Max: Fury

Road , with theslaveholdermasses(honest toGod) crooning a mash-up of “Smells LikeTeen Spirit” and “Blitzkrieg Bop,” I wasbemoaning dread’s absence, because thetruth of what was happening was far, farworse.

A pirate ship hovers in outer space,where everyone can miraculously stillbreathe, and where a chicken lays an egg just so the object can float toward us in3D. (I’m guessing the format is also theonly reason a mid-film mano a manotakes place on a trampoline.) Islandnatives, when shot, burst into puffs ofcolored smoke. Peter and Hook wanderthrough jungles of plastic flora suggestingfive figures spent at Pier 1 Imports. HughJackman, as the grotesque and scurrilousBlackbeard, enters the picture mid-song,as though he were again hosting the

Tonys. Hedlund, aiming for Harrison Fordand not even achieving Josh Holloway,speaks in a strangely flat sing-songindicating that the native Minnesotan hadlearned his lines phonetically. Tinkerbelland her fellow fairies are cast as laserbeams. Rooney Mara, perhaps the whitestwoman on Earth, is cast as Tiger Lily,and manages to lead throngs of fellowtribespeople despite a vacant stare reading“recently lobotomized,” or perhaps “finger

stuck in lightsocket.” Minuteby minutehere, you can’tbelieve what astaggering messa reported $150million can

buy, especiallyconsidering itevidently can’tbuy a coherent

story, or a cohesive tone, or halfway-decent green-screen effects, or even onemildly engaging character. A pan isn’tpunishment enough for Pan. This cynical,ridiculous assault deserves to walk theplank.

HE NAMED ME MALALAIt’s both intriguing and tell ing thatDavis Guggenheim’s documentary onPakistani female-education activistMalala Yousafzai – shot in the head bythe Taliban at age 15, a 2014 Nobel PeacePrize recipient at 17 – is titled He Named Me Malala, and not I Am Malala, thetitle of the autobiography that inspiredthe film. The name change would seemto suggest that Guggenheim was taking a

close look at Malala’s relationship with herfather Ziauddin Yousafzai, and whether, assome critics have maintained, this lifelongeducator forced his daughter into anactivist role, and consequently endangeredher life, merely to promote his ownagenda. Well, the film won’t provide muchinsight into that, nor does it dive terriblydeeply into how Malala’s phenomenalinternational fame has personally affectedher. What it will do is deliver a primer on

Ar-r-r-r-r You Kidding Me?

Levi Miller and Hugh Jackman in Pan

by Mike Schulz • [email protected] Mike Schulz • [email protected]


10/20


What’s Happenin’Theatre Machinal Augustana College

Friday, October 16, through Sunday, October 25

Last month, playwright Sophie Treadwell’sexpressionistic drama Machinal – a work inspiredby a real-life 1927 murder – celebrated the 87th

anniversary of its Broadway debut. But when Augustana

College stages this little-known classic October 16

through 25, it won’t exactly be the same show New Yorkaudiences saw in 1928. For one thing, it won’t feature

Clark Gable in his Broadway debut. For another, I’m

reasonably sure the original didn’t incorporate the

talents of a beatboxer.

Treadwell’s intense, thoughtful play tells of a young

stenographer who finds herself being driven slowly mad

by the suffocating forces surrounding her: the daily

pressures of a dehumanizing work grind; a dismissive

harridan of a mother; marriage to a man (her boss, no

less) she loathes. By the time she gives birth to a child

she has no feeling for, all seems hopeless for the youngwoman – until she meets a charismatic young man at a

speakeasy and falls into a passionate affair.

I probably don’t need to mention that things don’t go

at all well from there, and you’ll certainly have an idea of

just how badly they go if you’re familiar with Machinal ’s

inspiration: Long Island housewife Ruth Snyder, a photo

of whose execution via electric chair was notoriously

published in the New York Daily News.

But while author Treadwell’s tale is grim, theatrical

productions of her achievement have more frequently

been called exhilarating, with the New York Postdeeming it “thrilling” and “a vivid, bracing portrait of

a woman pushed to the edge.” Treadwell’s characters

are rich and complex, as can likely be attested by

Augustana’s cast: Christine Broughton as our tormented

heroine, Debo Balogun and Keenan Odenkirk as the

woman’s respective lover and husband, an ensemble

boasting Sarah Baker, Andrew Gilson, Thomas Hand,

Emily Johnson, Emily Mason, Joshua Price, and Jenna

Stitt. And the show’s stream-of-consciousness style andexpressionistic bent al low for intense imagination and

stage magic. (Not for nothing, I presume, did Machinal ’s

2014 Broadway revival earn Tony nominations for

scenic, costume, lighting, and sound design.)

Which brings us to Augie’s beatboxer Caleb Ivey,

who will, according to director Jennifer Popple, “bring

the sounds of this ‘world’ to life in each performance.”

Treadwell’s expressionism also means that the

inhumanity of Machinal ’s cityscape can be explored

through performances unconfined by realism. “I

have never used choreography in a non-musical,” saysPopple, “but we have had a movement coach who has

helped with the mechanized movements of the actors

when they are inside the ‘machine.’

“Between that and the live sound production by our

student beatboxer, it has been my most challenging play

to date,” which is saying something given that Popple’s

2015 credits alone include the QC Theatre Workshop’s

hearing-loss drama Tribes and Augustana’s hippie-

generation take on Shakespeare’s As You Like It . “But the

work is exciting and raw, and it will be amazing to see it

all come together.” Machinal will be performed in the Bergendoff

Hall of Fine Arts’ Potter Theatre on Fridays and

Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 1:30 p.m., and

more information and tickets are available by calling

(309)794-7306 or visiting Augustana.edu/theatre.

MusicCraig FinnRozz-Tox

Monday, October 26, 8 p.m.

Urge OverkillRock Island Brewing Company

Thursday, October 29, 8 p.m.

Within the next couple ofweeks, Dayrotter.com founder

Sean Moeller will, through his“Moeller Mondays Presents” label,be treating music lovers to concertsby two equally gifted and acclaimedalternative-rock acts: Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Craig Finn,who will play Rozz-Tox on Monday,October 26, and Chicago’s UrgeOverkill, which will perform at the

Rock Island Brewing Company on ...Thursday, October 29.

Hey, if Moeller wants a Thursday tobe a Monday, let it be a Monday.

Familiar to many as the frontmanfor the indie rockers The Hold Steady,Finn is especially noted for his lyricalstorytelling technique, with hisoutput described by Uncut Magazineas “narratives driven less by thewordy exposition of yore than acute

observation, devastating detail, byturns exclamatory, epigrammatic, andgrainily authentic.” A former member

of the Brokerdealer and LifterFinn has more recently embark solo projects, bringing his indierock stylings and poetic sensibito 2012’s solo debut Clear Hear Eyes and this past January’s Faithe Future.

Meanwhile, Urge Overkill isperhaps best known for coverinNeil Diamond’s “Girl, You’ll BeWoman Soon” for Pulp Fiction,either the band’s credit or detriI can no longer hear that smoohaunting melody without pictuUma Thurman OD-ing. Foundin the mid-1980s,Urge Overkillgone on to release six studio ala live album, and a 1993 compi

CD, and their power-pop hook and powerhouse vocals have w

1) “The Valiant”2) “Quiet Person”3) “Jackson”4) “Rented Room”5) “When No One’s Watchin6) “End of Story”

t h o w m u c h w o u l d y o u p a y t o h e a r C r a i g F i n n a n d U r g e O v e r k i l l c o l l a b o r a t e R e n t e d R o o m W h e n N o O n e ’ s W a t c h i n g – E n d o f S t o r y ” ?

Debo Balogun and Christine Broughton


11/20


MUSICThursday, October 15 – Dylan Sires

& Neighbors. Concert with the Iowa-

based rock ensemble, featuring opening

sets by Waking Robots and Chrash.

The Redstone Room (129 Main Street,

Davenport). 7:30 p.m. $8.50-9. For tickets

and information, call (563)326-1333 or

visit RiverMusicExperience.org.

Friday, October 16 – Smoke n’ Guns.

Nashville-based country-rock duo Alecia

Arnall and Lindsay Bowman in concert.

Rascals Live (1414 15th Street, Moline). 8p.m. For information, call (309)797-9457 or

visit RascalsLive.com.

Friday, October 16 – American

Heroes: Songs & Stories. Tales of

little-known Quad Cities heroes in

a co-presentation by local historian

Roald Tweet and folk singer/songwriter

Chris Dunn. Butterworth Center (1105

Eighth Street, Moline). 7 p.m. Free. For

information, call (309)743-2701 or visit

ButterworthCenter.com.Friday, October 16 – Bucktown

Revue.A celebration of Mississippi

River Valley culture through music,

storytelling, poetry, and humor, with

emcee Scott Tunnicliff and special guests.

Nighswander Theatre (2822 Eastern

Avenue, Davenport). 7 p.m. $12 at the

door. For information, call (563)940-0508

or visit BucktownRevue.com.

Saturday, October 17 – MirandaLambert. Grammy-winning countrymusician in concert, with opening setsby RaeLynn & Clare Dunn and CourtneyCole. i wireless Center (1201 River

What ElseIs Happenin’

by Mike Schulz

[email protected]

Continued On Page 12

MusicThe Thirteen Chamber ChoirSt. Ambrose University

Saturday, October 24, 7:30 p.m.

According to History.com, 10 percentof the U.S. population has a fear of thenumber 13. More than 80 percent of U.S.

high-rise buildings don’t have a 13th floor.

Financial losses in excess of $800 million

are reported due to Americans’ collectiveparaskevidekatriaphobia – the fear of Friday

the 13th that prevents many people from

marrying, traveling, or even working on that

particular, occasional day of the month.

As someone who was born on June 13

(the year being none of your business),

I’ve always found this particular phobia

rather silly. And I’m guessing that attitude

also prevails for the latest St. Ambrose

University guests in the Galvin Fine Arts

Center’s Visiting Artist Series, consideringthey’re the supremely gifted vocalists

of a nationally touring ensemble whose

moniker is the Thirteen Chamber Choir.

No tristaidekaphobes in that group! (Those

are people with a fear of the number 13 as

opposed to a fear of Friday the 13th. This

is quite the four-dollar-word article so far,

isn’t it?)

Founded by acclaimed conductor

Matthew Robertson in 2012, this

professional choir based in the New YorkCity area specializes in masterpieces of the

Renaissance and Baroque eras, with a focus

on the early and middle Tudor periods.

Performing regularly throughout the

United States, the Thirteen Chamber Choir

also enjoys

occasionalresidencies at

colleges and

universities

nationwide, and

has released a

trio of albums

in which its baker’s-dozen talents bring

thrilling new life to infrequently recorded

works by the likes of Benjamin Britten, G.P.

da Palestrina, and Thomas Tallis.

During St. Ambrose’s October 24event, the ensemble will perform from its

repertoire titled “Innovation & Brilliance:

Sound-Sculptures from the Franco-Flemish

School.” Boasting compositions from

masters of the period including Josquin

des Prez, Orlande de Lassus, and Antoine

Brumel, the concert will not only fill the

Galvin Fine Arts Center with harmonically

complex yet gloriously supple arrangements,

but will underline why the American Record

Guide has lauded the group for its “tight andattractive vocal blend and excellent choral

discipline.”

So be sure to check out the Thirteen

Chamber Choir at St. Ambrose. You’ll no

doubt be knocked out by the performers’

exquisite solos and harmonies. You may

even feel inspired to purchase one of the

group’s three albums. And now that I’ve just

typed three 13-word sentences in a row, I’m

gonna spend the rest of the day grasping my

shamrock key chain and avoiding cracks in

the sidewalk – you know, just in case.

For more information on, and tickets to,

the Thirteen Chamber Choir’s October 24

performance, call (563)333-6251 or visit

SAU.edu/galvin.

uller,d on

-ityFull

h in

gaand to

ent,h,ingdhasums,ation

wed

crowds throughout the group’sfrequent tours in the United States,Europe, and Australia. They’ve alsowowed critics, with PopMatters.compraising their “lean, muscular” soundand “taut rhythm section.”

Given the accolades and throngs offans both Craig Finn and Urge Overillhave amassed, Sean Moeller certainlyknows his talent. But how well do youknow his talent? Try matching theabove songs with the album in whichthey’re found.

For more information onCraig Finn’s October 26 Rozz-Toxengagement, visit RozzTox.com, and

for more on Urge Overkill’s October

29 concert with openers the GoddamnGallows, visit RIBCO.com.

”

A) Craig Finn’s Clear Heart Full EyesB) Urge Overkill’s Rock & Roll Submarine

A n s w e r s : 1 – B , 2 – B , 3 – A , 4 – A , 5 – A , 6 – B . B o n a s o n g t i t l e d “ T h e V a l i a n t Q u i e t P e r s o n J a c k s o n

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12/20


Drive, Moline). 7:30 p.m. $39.75-59.75.

For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visitiwirelessCenter.com.Saturday, October 17 – Celtic Woman.

All-female Irish ensemble in its 10th

Anniversary World Tour. Adler Theatre (136

East Third Street, Davenport). 7:30 p.m. $32-

102. For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit

AdlerTheatre.com.

Saturday, October 17 – Mondo

Generator. Rock, punk, and metal musicians

in concert, with opening sets by Peter

Pan Speedrock and Killshakes. Rock Island

Brewing Company (1815 Second Avenue,Rock Island). 9 p.m. $12-15. For information,

call (309)793-1999 or visit RIBCO.com.

Sunday, October 18 – Cindy Scott and

Brian Seeger. New Orleans jazz vocalist

Scott and guitarist Seeger lead a 3 p.m. jazz

workshop and perform

a 6 p.m. concert in

the Third Sunday Jazz

Matinée & Workshop

Series. The Redstone

Room (129 Main Street,Davenport). $10-15. For

tickets and information,

call (309)373-0790 or visit

RiverMusicExperience.org

or Polyrhythms.Ning.com.

Thursday, October

22, and Friday, October

23 – George Jones: The

Grand Tour . A musical

journey through country star Jones’ life

with musician Larry Tobias. Circa ’21 Dinner

Playhouse (1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island).

Thursday: 6 p.m. buffet, 7:15 p.m. show,

$50.16. Friday: noon plated lunch, 1 p.m.

show, $44.41. For tickets and information,

call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit

Circa21.com.

Thursday, October 22 – Margo Price &

the Price Tags. Concert with the Nashville-

based country artist and her ensemble. Rozz-

Tox (2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m.

$7-12. For information, call (309)200-0978 or

visit RozzTox.com.Friday, October 23 – Hairball. Concert

tribute to Van Halen, KISS, Mötley Crüe,

Queen, Journey, Prince, and Aerosmith.

Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center

(2021 State Street, Bettendorf). 7:30 p.m.

$30. For information, call (800)843-4753 or

visit QCWCC.com.

Friday, October 23 – Great Sounds

Promotions 20th-Anniversary

Celebration.Nationally touring guitarist

Nick Colionne and saxophonist Richard Elliotin concert. The Redstone Room (129 Main

Street, Davenport). 8 p.m. $45.50-52.50. For

tickets and information, call (563)326-1333

or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.

Friday, October 23 – Midnight. Thrash-

metal musicians in concert, with openingsets by Luciferian Reign and Angelust. Rock

Island Brewing Company (1815 Second

Avenue, Rock Island). 9 p.m. $12-15. For


RIBCO.com.

Saturday, October 24 – Lee Brice.

Chart-topping country musician in concert,

with an opening set by Nick Monroe. Adler

Theatre (136 East Third Street, Davenport). 8

p.m. $39.50-47.50. For tickets, call (800)745-

3000 or visit AdlerTheatre.com.

Saturday, October 24 – Portland CelloProject. Concert with the string musicians

playing from their pop repertoire, in a

Quad City Arts Visiting Artists presentation.

First Presbyterian Church of Davenport

(1702 Iowa Street, Davenport). 7:30 p.m.

$10-15. For tickets

and information, call

(309)793-1213 or

(563)326-1691, or visit

QuadCityArts.com. For

a 2013 interview withthe ensemble Artistic

Director Doug Jenkins,

visit RCReader.com/y/

cello.

Saturday, October

24 – Mountain

Sprout. Bluegrass

musicians in concert,

with opening sets by

Birdcloud and Blaine Cartwright. Rock Island

Brewing Company (1815 Second Avenue,

Rock Island). 9 p.m. $12-15. For information,

call (309)793-1999 or visit RIBCO.com.

Sunday, October 25 – The Ballroom

Thieves. Folk-rock musicians in concert, with

an opening set by PM Buys. The Redstone

Room (129 Main Street, Davenport).

7:30 p.m. $11.50-14. For tickets and


RiverMusicExperience.org.

Wednesday, October 28 – Fruit Bats.

Chicago-based folk rockers in an all-ages

concert. Rozz-Tox (2108 Third Avenue, RockIsland). 8 p.m. $10. For information, call

(309)200-0978 or visit RozzTox.com.

THEATRESaturday, October 17, through Sunday,

October 25 – Hansel & Gretel . Student-

performed adaptation of the classic fairytale,

written by Vera Morris and directed by Aaron

Randolph III. Davenport Junior Theatre (2822

Eastern Avenue, Davenport). Saturday 1

and 4 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. $6-8 at the door.For information, call (563)326-7862 or visit

DavenportJuniorTheatre.org.

Saturday, October 17 – Beauty Inside &

Out . Theatrical ensemble piece examining

different facets of beauty, written and

directed by Rock Island native Curtis B.Lewis Jr. Davenport RiverCenter (136 East

Third Street, Davenport). 7:30 p.m. $15.

For information, call (417)771-0444 or visit

JourneyLiveProduction.com.

Monday, October 26 – Miep Giles: A

Beacon of Hope. Judy Winnick performs her

one-woman show about the woman who

helped hide Anne Frank from the Nazis, in

a presentation sponsored by the Jewish

Federation of the Quad Cities. Moline Public

Library (3210 41st Street, Moline). 6 p.m.

Free. For information, call (309)524-2470 orvisit MolineLibrary.com.

KIDS’ STUFFFriday, October 16 – Disney Live!

Three Classic Fairy Tales. Stage adventure

featuring more than 25 Disney characters,

including Snow White, Cinderella, and Belle

from Beauty & the Beast . i wireless Center

(1201 River Drive, Moline). 4 and 7 p.m.

$16-61. For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit

iwirelessCenter.com.Sunday, October 18 – Pete’s Awesome

Party. QC United and anti-bullying mascot

Pete the Purple Bull host this day of

entertainment, hip-hop dance by RusHour’s

Juan Valtierra and Curtis Bell, art activities,

cookie decorating, demonstrations,

inflatable games, and more. Quad-Cities

Waterfront Convention Center (2021 State

Street, Bettendorf ). 1 p.m. For information,

visit QCUnited.org.

Sunday, October 25 – Tween Stars Live!

Interactive family entertainment featuring

TV stars Calum Worthy, Trinitee Stokes,

Spencer Boldman, Karan Brar, Paris Berelc,

and Noah Munck. Adler Theatre (136 East

Third Street, Davenport). Noon. $18-59.95.

For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit

AdlerTheatre.com.

EXHIBITSSaturday, October 17, through

Sunday, January 17 – Wendy Red Star .

Exhibit of multimedia works that exploreNative American identity and the distance

between romantic images of the Native

American and their world today. Figge

Art Museum (225 West Second Street,

Davenport). Tuesday through Saturday

10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m.-9 p.m.,

Sunday noon-5 p.m. Free with $4-7 museum

admission. For information, call (563)326-

7804 or visit FiggeArtMuseum.org.

Saturday, October 17, through

Sunday, February 7 – Wit & Whimsy:The Photographs of Kenneth Josephson.

Exhibition of works from the author’s

early explorations of the potential of

photographic images. Figge Art Museum

(225 West Second Street, Davenport).

Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday noon-5

p.m. Free with $4-7 museum admission.

For information, call (563)326-7804 or visit

FiggeArtMuseum.org.

Wednesday, October 28, throughFriday, December 18 – Sonnenzimmer:Objects of Practice and Sonnenzimmer:The Impossibility of Language ofConstruction. Twinned exhibitions of fineart, printmaking, graphic design, sound

art, and publishing by Nick Butcher and

Nadine Nakanishi. Objects of Practice at St.Ambrose University’s Morrissey Gallery,

and The Impossibility of Language ofConstruction at the Catich Gallery (Galvin

Fine Arts Center, 2101 Gaines Street,

Davenport). Monday through Saturday9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. For information, call

(563)333-6444 or visit SAU.edu.

EVENTSFriday, October 16, and Saturday,

October 17 – Bottom’s Up Quad CityBurlesque: Horror Icons. Halloween-

themed evening with the area burlesque

artists and comedians. Circa ’21 Speakeasy

(1818 Third Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $18-

20. For tickets and information, call (309)786-

7733 extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.

Saturday, October 17 – Christian

Care’s Walk the Walk. Sixth-annual walk

to “de-feet” domestic violence featuring

guest speakers, door prizes, a raffle, light

refreshments and a walk around the

Augustana pond. Meet at the gazebo

in front of Augustana College’s Thomas

Tredway Library (3435 Ninth Avenue,

Rock Island). 9 a.m. $10 registration. For


ChristianCareQC.org.

Tuesday, October 20 – Sunset

Celebration. Celebration of the Nahant

Marsh Education Center’s 15th anniversary

featuring tours, food and beverages, door

prizes, children’s activities, storytelling with

Kenny Salwey, and live music by KendraSwanson and Ellis Kell. Nahant Marsh (4220

Wapello Avenue, Davenport). 5 p.m. $5-10,

ages 14 and under free. For information, call

(563)336-3374 or visit NahantMarsh.org. For

a recent cover story on Nahant Mash, visit

RCReader.com/y/nahant.

Saturday, October 24 – Quad Cities

Tweed Bike Ride. Third-annual leisurely

bicycle ride along the waterfront, with

tea and scones at Credit Island Park, a

“Twick or Tweed” party in the Village ofEast Davenport, and more. Freight House

(421 West River Drive, Davenport). 10 a.m.

registration, noon departure. Free. For

information, visit QCTweedRide.com.

Continued From Page 11

What Else Is Happenin’

Celtic Woman @ Adler Theatre -

October 17


13/20


in the educative process. The Playground

Association of American was founded in 1906,

electing Theodore Roosevelt as honorarypresident. With his support, the number of

municipalities with playgrounds in America

grew from 90 in 1907 to more than 500 in 1910.

The Davenport Skatepark opened in 2006,

and Schwiebert Riverfront Park followed

in 2010, and they represent the continuing

evolution of playgrounds and parks.

New technologies and materials, as well

as evolving concepts about the purpose of

playgrounds, ensure that exciting changes are

still ahead. A new trend is to create multi-

generational playgrounds. For example,

the Humana Foundation and KaBOOM

have partnered to build more than 50 such

playgrounds in cities across America in the

past few years; the closest to us are in Cedar

Rapids, Des Moines, and Chicago. Mike Vietti,

a KaBOOM spokesperson, put it this way in

numerous articles: “Instead of adults just sitting

on benches while their kids play, they can also

be active and keep an eye on the kids.”

As Paige Johnson wrote at Play-Scapes.

com: “This is an incredibly interesting timefor playground design. The surge of interest

in public spaces and design for children,

urban interventions, and a maker culture are

intersecting with the availability of new materials

and advanced technology to create an explosion

of interesting play ideas and themes.”

Bruce Walters is a professor of art at Western

Illinois University.

This is part of an occasional series on the historyof public art in the Quad Cities. If there’s a piece

of public art that you’d like to learn more about,

e-mail the location and a brief description to BD-

[email protected].

Art in Plain Sight: Schwiebert RiverfrontPark and the Davenport Skatepark

Article and photos by Bruce Walters

[email protected]

is matched by the Davenport Skatepark at

700 West River Drive. SkateboardPark.com

described the 33,000-square-foot park as “agood-sized beast with super-smooth transitions.”

The Web site proceeded to list a handful of

skating features including “shallow bowls,” “a

small spine,” “street obstacles,” and “hubbas.”

To a non-skateboarder such as me, it is

better described as a breathtaking environment

of concrete rivers flowing through concrete

canyons. The ramps and arcs are graceful – like

an ocean’s wave that a surfer could ride, but the

bright stripes and checkerboard patterns are

the visual language of a speedway. Both give the

park a sense of excitement.

The project manager for the Skatepark

was Brad Siedlecki, owner of Pillar Design

Studios (based in Arizona and Chicago). His

co-designer, Colby Carter, is lead designer

for California Skateparks. A professional

skateboarder for 10 years, Carter has designed

and developed more than 250 skateparks and

events worldwide.

The park’s most distinguishing feature is

the shelter, concession-stand, and restroom

structure designed by Rock Island architectPerry Gere. Its dynamic geometric concrete

forms are angled to spectacular effect –

reflecting the visual daring of the park as a

whole. Architecturally, the building suggests

a mid-century modern style (Googie more

specifically), yet it feels contemporary.

American playgrounds date from the late

19th Century, when suffragettes and other social

reformers attempted to improve the conditions

of the poor living in slums created by the

industrial revolution. They can also be tracedto German psychologists and educators such as

Friedrich Fröbel (who originated kindergarten

in Germany in 1837); they saw playgrounds as

fundamental for child development and essential

ART

WORDS FROM THE EDITOR

Educate Yourself on Four Need-to-KnowSubjects While They Still Matter

by Kathleen McCarthy

[email protected]

GUEST COMMENTARY By Jean [email protected]

It’s Just a Dog … but …harsh techniques of this sort are fadingaway, and positive, pleasing, reward-basedmethods build a bond between you andyour dog.

The study of animal behavior has growninto an extensive field. Dogs can haveissues such as anxiety, fear, aggression,et cetera, and the behavior-modificationtechniques that have emerged from thesestudies have, in many case, saved dogs’lives.

Dogs are also individual beings,

whether they’re Golden Retrievers,

Border Collies, or Teacup Poodles. Eachdog is different and each dog within its

breed will be different, exhibiting its own

separate personality, likes, and dislikes.

Plus, every breed has genetic tendencies.

For example, the Golden Retriever is

bred to retrieve; the Border Collie to

herd. But while genetics offers a base, not

every Border Collie will herd, and we all

know that many of our Golden Retriever

friends love the sofa. (Retrieve what?)

So that misguided statement “It’s

just a dog” simply does not fit these

magnificent animals. Dogs think, love,

cry, mourn, play – all the fascinating

emotions we see our dogs display every

day. They are loyal and interesting

friends that bring so much to our lives.

We humans should consider ourselves

lucky that so many thousands of years

ago, dogs decided we were okay to hang

with.

Jean Regenwether has worked withanimals in shelters and rescuessince 1970, specializes in basic andintermediate dog training, and offershome-based training. She can be reachedat [email protected].

and more governance with cumbersome

and deliberately vague legalese, especially

when the people are abdicating their

responsibility and not doing their part, on

such a massive scale, by not utilizing their

individual power? Leadership is giddy to

do so, in partnership with the largest global

corporations that control the infrastructureneeds of mankind. But don’t kid yourself.

The largest corporation on the planet is

the United States of America Inc., with

countless sub-corporations in the form

of agency departments in all 50 states

contributing to this global behemoth. The

actual head-count comprising leadership

in the government sector is one and the

same with those running the private sector.

The crossover, commonly referred to as the

revolving door, is widespread and entirelytoxic to economies, and also poses a dire

threat to republics under the rule of law –

such as America.

If you truly want to engage, then beginby educating yourself in one of these fourareas:

1) How to ef fectively protect our vote. Explore BlackBoxVoting.org tounderstand the vulnerabilities prevalentin computerized voting.

2) Learn how money and debt reallyworks, including mortgages, becausedebt is public enemy number one. Isuggest beginning with Murray N.Rothbard’s The Mystery of Banking , a

modern expansion of The Theory of Money & Credit by Ludwig Von Mises,because both of these economists give theinstability of credit and debt the weight itrichly deserves.

3) Understand the real purpose and

strength of the grand and petit jury

in our legal system. (Fully InformedJury Association, at FIJA.org, is a good

starting point.) Both have been severely

undermined, rendering courts into small

fiefdoms of control that abuse people with

the least resources to defend themselves.

There are many excellent books and

articles on America’s corrupted court

system and abuse of power worth exploring

(among them Justice: An ImpossibleDream), written by knowledgeable authors

who demonstrate rare courage in exposingever-increasing injustice.

4) Research alternative, trustworthymedia sources for accurate, relevantinformation beyond the largelypropagandized mainstream media thatmany of us parrot in an effort to feignbeing informed. It doesn’t matter whatyour political affiliation is, DemoCRITor RepubliCON – the talking points arenearly identical, with the only difference

being who gets the blame. Alternativenews organizations will cite their sources,allowing you, the reader, to verifyinformation presented. Your process fordetermining merit: “Mistrust and verify.”

Continued From Page 5 Continued From Page 3

Continued From Page 3

Davenport Skatepark


14/20


two, get as far apart as you can.”) You couldask him – and reveal that you’ve been going all

Secret Squirrel on social media. But you could

also ask yourself, simply by applying context.

Look at the photo as one piece of information

in the whole of your experiences with him: Is he

increasingly sweet and attentive? Increasingly

eager to see you? Are you starting to meet his

friends? Chances are, you already have the

information you need to figure out whether

your relationship is going places – without

trying to conduct it at a speed that suggests yourancestry is part French, part Italian, and part

cheetah.

As Duck Would Have ItMy boyfriend just said, “Your lips

get bigger and smaller. What’s going on?” I

admitted that I’ve been getting them injected.

He hinted that I should stop, saying, “You’re

too hot. You don’t need it.” Do I really need to

kick the habit?

– Smoochy

If your boyfriend wanted to kiss something

inflated, he’d make out with his tires.

There’s a reason you feel compelled to join

the reality-star-led parade of women duck-bill-

ing it up as opposed to going in for a nostril

enlargement. Men evolved to prefer women

with plump lips. As for why, it turns out that the

features men across cultures find beautiful are

those that give them the best shot of passing on

their genes. Biopsychologist Victor S. Johnston,who studies the biological basis of human facial

attractiveness, finds that full lips on a woman

(along with small jaws and a small chin) are

associated with low androgens (male hormones)

and elevated levels of the female hormone

estrogen – a combination that translates to

higher fertility. In other words, big pillowy lips

are basically a message from nature’s ad agency:

“Wanna have descendants? Pick me – not some

thin-lipped Lizzie.”

However, there are full lips and lips full ofstuff some plastic surgeon injected in them, and

any plastic surgery that can be spotted as such is

usually a turnoff to men. (You might as well get a

tattoo that says, “Hi, I’m insecure!”) So tempting

as it is to keep up with the Kardashians, you’ll

be more attractive to your boyfriend if you don’t

seem to need to. Best of all, to accomplish this,

all you have to do is avoid spending hundreds

of dollars to look like you just got out of a heavy

make-out session with the vacuum cleaner.

Got A Problem? Ask Amy Alkon.171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405

or e-mail [email protected] (AdviceGoddess.com)©2015, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.

Ask the

AdviceGoddessBY AMY ALKON

Photo-Bomb ScareI’m a 29-year-old woman, and I’ve been

dating a guy for two months. I was scrolling

(okay, stalking him) on Instagram and saw a

pic of him with this pretty girl with her arm

draped around his neck. Does monogamy just

happen, or should I initiate the “commitment

talk”?

– Nervous

Welcome to the place relationship dreams

go to die, also known as social media. One

moment, you see your relationship heading

toward the town of OnlyYouville, and the next,

it’s looking more like a 10 Commandments

production still of the Israelites crossing the

Red Sea.

Understand why men commit: because they

come to love a particular woman more than

they love their freedom – not because they’ve

decided it would be a bore to have sex with the

Pilates-teaching twins. Getting to “only you”

happens after a guy starts to feel attached to you,which comes out of a combination of sexual

attraction, emotional compatibility, and the

sense that you have a package of qualities that

he’s unlikely to get from anyone else. Feeling

this way takes time – time spent together, and

sometimes, a little time spent comparison

shopping. Trying to rush the process is like

planting a pea in the morning, yelling “Grow!

Grow! Grow! ” and expecting to be climbing a

beanstalk by noon.

Also, even for a guy who’s starting to careabout you, hearing “We need to have the

commitment talk” can be like hearing the

starting gun at the Olympics. There are couples

who get serious without ever having this icky

conversation. It just happens organically. But to

avoid misunderstandings, right from the start,

you should be indicating your interest in getting

into a relationship. No, not with strategically

strewn Brides magazines or messages magic-

markered across your breasts: “ Marry me!!! ”

You simply drop remarks about what you want

and then ask questions to draw out what a guy’s

up for. This allows you to get out fast if your

goals aren’t a match – as opposed to getting

to the four-month mark, holding him down

and screaming in his face: “So what’s it gonna

be, buddy? You looking to start a family, or a

harem?!”

As for the woman in this photo, she could be

someone to your man – or someone standing

near him when his friend was taking his picture.

(People shooting photos rarely say, “Okay, you


15/20


will literally boost your intelligence. That’s why

I’m inviting you to explore the kingdom of

childhood, where you can encounter stimuli

that will freshen and sweeten your adulthood.

Your upcoming schedule could include

jumping in mud puddles, attending parties

with imaginary friends, having uncivilized fun

with wild toys, and drinking boisterously from

fountains of youth.

VIRGO (August 23-September

22): While still a young man, Virgo

author Leo Tolstoy wrote, “I have not

met one man who is morally as good as I am.”

He lived by a strict creed. “Eat moderately”

was one of his “rules of life,” along with “Walkfor an hour every day.” Others were equally

stern: “Go to bed no later than 10 o’clock,”

“Only do one thing at a time,” and “Disallow

flights of imagination unless necessary.” He did

provide himself with wiggle room, however.

One guideline allowed him to sleep two hours

during the day. Another specified that he could

visit a brothel twice a month. I’d love for you to

be inspired by Tolstoy’s approach, Virgo. Now is

a favorable time to revisit your own rules of life.

As you refine and recommit yourself to these

fundamental disciplines, be sure to give yourselfenough slack.

LIBRA (September 23-October

22): Many astronomers believe

that our universe began with the Big Bang.

An inconceivably condensed speck of matter

exploded, eventually expanding into thousands

of billions of stars. It must have been a noisy

event, right? Actually, no. Astronomers estimate

that the roar of the primal eruption was just 120

decibels – less than the volume of a live rock

concert. I suspect that you are also on the vergeof your own personal Big Bang, Libra. It, too,

will be relatively quiet for the amount of energy

it unleashes.

SCORPIO (October 23-November

21): For now, you are excused from

further work on the impossible tasks

that have been grinding you down. You may

take a break from the unsolvable riddles and

cease your exhaustive efforts. And if you would

also like to distance yourself from the farcical

jokes the universe has been playing, go rightahead. To help enforce this transition, I hereby

authorize you to enjoy a time of feasting and

frolicking, which will serve as an antidote to

your baffling trials. And I hereby declare that

you have been as successful at weathering

these trials as you could possibly be, even if the

concrete proof of that is not yet entirely visible.

SAGITTARIUS (November

22-December 21): One afternoon

in September, I was hiking along

a familiar path in the woods. As I passed my

favorite grandmother oak, I spied a thick, six-

foot-long snake loitering on the trail in front of

me. In hundreds of previous visits, I had never

before seen a creature bigger than a mouse.

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny'sEXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES

& DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES

The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at

1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY by Rob BrezsnyARIES (March 21-April 19): Here’s

actor Bill Murray’s advice about

relationships: “If you have someone

that you think is The One, don’t just

say, ‘Okay, let’s pick a date. Let’s get married.’

Take that person and travel around the world.

Buy a plane ticket for the two of you to go to

places that are hard to go to and hard to get

out of. And if, when you come back, you’re

still in love with that person, get married at the

airport.” In the coming weeks, Aries, I suggest

you make comparable moves to test and deepen

your own closest alliances. See what it’s like to

get more seriously and deliriously intimate.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Somefirefighters use a wetter kind of water

than the rest of us. It contains a small

amount of biodegradable foam that makes it

ten times more effective in dousing blazes. With

this as your cue, I suggest you work on making

your emotions “wetter” than usual. By that I

mean the following: When your feelings arise,

give them your reverent attention. Marvel at

how mysterious they are. Be grateful for how

much life force they endow you with. Whether

they are relatively “negative” or “positive,”

regard them as interesting revelations thatprovide useful information and potential

opportunities for growth.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Jonathan

Strange & Mr. Norrell is a BBC TV

miniseries set in the early 19th

Century. It’s the fictional story of a lone wizard,

Mr. Norrell, who seeks to revive the art of occult

magic so as to accomplish practical works,

like helping the English navy in its war against

the French navy. Norrell is pleased to find an

apprentice, Jonathan Strange, and draws up acourse of study for him. Norrell tells Strange

that the practice of magic is daunting, “but the

study is a continual delight.” If you’re interested

in taking on a similar challenge, Gemini, it’s

available.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): We

humans have put buttons on clothing

for seven millennia. But for a long

time these small knobs and disks were purely

ornamental – meant to add beauty but not

serve any other function. That changed in the13th Century, when our ancestors finally got

around to inventing buttonholes. Buttons could

then serve an additional purpose, providing a

convenient way to fasten garments. I foresee the

possibility of a comparable evolution in your

personal life, Cancerian. You have an opening

to dream up further uses for elements that have

previously been one-dimensional. Brainstorm

about how you might expand the value of

familiar things.

LEO (July 23-August 22): You would

be wise to rediscover and revive your

primal innocence. If you can figure out

how to shed a few shreds of your sophistication

and a few slivers of your excess dignity, you

The serpent’s tail was hidden in the brush, but

its head looked more like a harmless gopher

snake’s than a dangerous rattler’s. I took the

opportunity to

river cities' reader issue 893 - october 1, 2015

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