River Cities Reader Vol 19 Issue #796

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. 796 January 19 - February 1, 2012 Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com
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River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 796 January 19 - February 1, 2012 Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com
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READERAD8_19 8/22/11 10:46 AM Page 1
ILLINOIS POLITICS
A
s you might know already, Moodys
earlier this month slapped Illinois
with the worst credit rating of any
state in the nation. But while Moodys report
was damaging, S&Ps rating was far more
negative about the states future.
Moodys cited Illinois weak management
practices as one reason for its ratings
downgrade. The states failure to implement
any pension-funding reforms and to pay off
its mountain of overdue bills were the two
top reasons for the downgrade. But Moodys
moved Illinois from a negative to a stable
outlook for the future.
Fox Chicago News
quoted a spokesperson
for Governor Pat
Quinn saying that
the Moodys rating
drop was an outlier
because ratings
agencies S&P and
Fitch had decided not
to lower the states
credit rating last week.
On the surface, thats
true. Underneath, not
so much. Trouble is,
S&Ps rating contained
much harsher language
about Illinois credit
future, the agency also
put Illinois on negative watch, and it issued
a sternly worded warning that the state is in
danger of another ratings downgrade this
year.
S&P focused mainly on the states overdue
bills, which the governor estimated at about
$7 billion last week. Without meaningful
changes to balance the books, S&P warned,
we could lower the rating this year.
The ratings agency also strongly warned
against implementing the governors plan
to use long-term bonding to pay off its
past-due bills. The outlook also reflects ...
the possibility that [Illinois] might issue a
significant amount of additional debt as part
of its effort to address the large accumulated
budget deficit was the blunt message from
S&P, and it added that a downgrade could be
triggered if debt levels increase significantly.
In other words, pay off the past-due
bills, but do so without issuing significant
new debt. The governors budget office
seemed to be taken somewhat aback by
this warning, saying that its capital-markets
manager would have to work with S&P on
the structure of a bond plan that would
minimize impact on near-term cash flow.
But backloading the repayment of such a
plan would also likely create howls of protest,
and, in any case, getting a three-fifths vote in
both legislative chambers has been next to
impossible, and is now probably even more
unlikely (if that was even possible) with S&Ps
latest pronouncement.
All three ratings agencies also highlighted
Illinois pension problems. Moodys focused
on funding the pensions, not with the
ever-rising costs of paying off old debts
to the pension funds. S&P worried about
deteriorating pension funding levels.
But even with the downgrade and all the
warnings, the state still managed to get the
lowest interest rate on January 11s tax-
exempt bond sale since
at least 1976, according
to the governors
budget office, which
couldnt find any
records before that
date.
How the heck did
that happen?
Essentially, the
strong demand for
municipal bonds
(billions of dollars in
municipal bonds are
maturing around the
country this month
while few are being
sold, and investors
continue to look for safe havens) and the
current record-low interest rates (the rate
on the latest federal issue was a mere 1.9
percent) combined to make the bond sale
highly attractive to investors.
The predictions of gloom and doom
simply didnt materialize. Illinois beat every
published expectation. Yes, the interest
rate wouldve probably been even lower
if the state had a better credit rating, and
the states interest rate was about triple the
spread between top-rated bonds and what
Illinois got when compared to the states last
tax-exempt bond sale in 2009. And nobody
would say that this sale signals any particular
strength in our states financial situation.
But as Quinns capital-markets director
told reporters last week, it would be pretty
tough for any state to get an interest rate all
that much lower than the 3.9 percent Illinois
got.
So while the Moodys downgrade did have
an impact, it wasnt nearly as negative as you
mightve thought by reading the editorials
and political press releases during the past
couple of weeks.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax (a daily
political newsletter) and CapitolFax.com.
by Rich Miller
States Dropping Credit Rating
Barely Affects Bond Sale
Despite credit-agency
warnings, the strong
demand for municipal
bonds and the current
record-low interest
rates combined to
make Illinois bond
sale highly attractive to
investors.
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deserve tax relief just as much as everybody
else, Paulsen said. The other thing is their
plan does not remove any taxing authority.
Its built upon tax credits, which then the
state has to go back through and fund. And
we dont have a great history of funding
those things.
Branstad, a Republican, on January 10
released details of his 2012 property-tax-
reform plan. He again called for a rollback
on commercial and industrial property taxes
from 100 percent to 60 percent of valuation.
But this year, hes calling for it to happen over
eight years rather than five. Branstads plan
also would limit residential and agricultural
property-tax increases to 2 percent, rather
than the current 4 percent. And it would
limit city and county property-tax increases
to the rate of inflation.
The governor has said that Iowans
would see their property taxes increase
by $1.3 billion during the next five years
if lawmakers dont approve property-tax
reform. The estimate was based on the
assumption that local governments would
increase their tax levies each year by the 4-
percent maximum permitted by state law.
Local government leaders last year decried
the Republican plan to reduce property
taxes, saying it would be crippling and
would lead to service reductions, layoffs, and
increased tax rates.
Linda Hinton, government-relations
manager for the Iowa State Association of
Counties, said January 9 that county officials
once again are wary of property-tax reform,
and are especially concerned about the
proposal to cap residential and agricultural
property-tax increases at 2 percent.
We certainly are in the same position we
were in last year, which is very concerned
about what the overall picture is going to be,
and the overall impact, and whether local
governments ... have the resources to make
sure services are provided, Hinton told
IowaPolitics.com.
Branstad said he has worked with local
governments to alleviate their concerns.
Under his plan, the state would reimburse
a portion of the tax revenue lost by local
governments $50 million the first year,
then eventually growing to $240 million.
We foresee that were going to be able to
protect local governments, Branstad said.
This article was produced by IowaPolitics.
com. For an expanded version of this article,
and more stories on Iowa politics, visit
RCReader.com/y/iapolitics.
Key Differences Remain
on Property-Tax Reform
by Lynn Campbell
IowaPolitics.com
IOWA POLITICS
G
overnor Terry Branstad and the Iowa
legislature on January 9 renewed ef-
forts to overhaul the states property-
tax system. If they can do it, it will be the first
time in more than 30 years that property taxes
have been reformed in the Hawkeye State.
The problem: Iowa businesses pay taxes
on 100 percent of the assessed valuation of
their commercial and industrial properties,
while homeowners and farmers pay taxes on
about 50 percent of the assessed valuation.
Iowa is second-highest in the nation for
urban and rural commercial-property taxes,
according to a 50-state property-tax study by
the National Taxpayers Conference, a not-
for-profit that analyzes state and local taxes
and spending.
Reforming the property-tax system
is a top priority this year for both Iowa
Republicans and Democrats. However, there
is some evidence already of the same kind of
disagreements that prevented reform from
happening last year.
Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike
Gronstal (D-Council Bluffs) and Iowa Senate
President Jack Kibbie (D-Emmetsburg)
made clear on the opening day of 2012
legislative session that they still favor a more
modest plan proposed last year by Senate
Democrats which would create a $600
property-tax credit for businesses at an
initial cost to the state of $50 million, and
would grow incrementally to $200 million if
state revenue increased by at least 4 percent
rather than a more sweeping Republican
plan that could cost as much as $1 billion.
It is the only proposal that does not
simply shift more of the cost of local
schools and local services onto the backs of
homeowners and farmers,Gronstal said of
the Senate plan. Thats because the Senates
property tax is paid for. Most importantly,
the Senates property-tax cut focuses the help
on the people who need it, Iowas small and
Main Street businesses.
Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen
(R-Hiawatha) also called for property-tax
reform on the opening day of the legislature.
House Study Bill 500 was introduced
Monday in the House chamber. Paulsen said
the amount of property taxes paid by Iowans
has increased by $1.75 billion over the past
10 years.
But Paulsen told IowaPolitics.com that
the property-tax plan advocated by Senate
Democrats doesnt cut it.
One of the things with their plan is it
completely leaves the residential property-
taxpayer out of the equation, and they
A
mericas troops may be re-
turning home from Iraq, but
were far from done paying the
costs of war. In fact, at the same time
that President Obama is reducing the
number of troops in Iraq, hes replacing
them with military contractors at far
greater expense to the taxpayer. In this
way, the war on terror is privatized, the
American economy is bled dry, and the
military-security-industrial complex
makes a killing literally and figura-
tively speaking.
The war efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan,
and Pakistan have already cost taxpayers
more than $2 trillion and could go as
high as $4.4 trillion before its all over.
At least $31 billion (and perhaps $60
billion or more) of that $2 trillion was
lost to waste and fraud by military
contractors, who do everything from
janitorial and food-service work to
construction, security, and intelligence
jobs that used to be handled by the
military.
Over the past two decades, America
has become increasingly dependent
on military contractors to carry out
military operations abroad. According
to the Commission on Wartime
Contracting in Iraq & Afghanistan, the
United States can no longer conduct
large or sustained military operations
or respond to major disasters without
heavy support from contractors. As a
result, the U.S. employs at a minimum
one contractor to support every soldier
deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. For
those signing on for contractor work,
many of whom are hired by private
contracting firms after serving stints
in the military, it is a lucrative, albeit
dangerous, career path. Incredibly,
while base pay for an American soldier
hovers somewhere around $19,000 per
year, contractors are reportedly pulling
in between $150,000 and $250,000 per
year.
The exact number of military
contractors on the U.S. payroll is hard
to pin down, thanks to sleight-of-hand
accounting by the Department of
Defense and its contractors. However,
according to a Wartime Contracting
Commission report released in
August 2011, there are more than
260,000 private contractors in Iraq and
Afghanistan, more than the number of
ground troops in both countries.
Unfortunately, fraud,
mismanagement, and corruption
have become synonymous with the
U.S. governments use of military
contractors. McClatchy News found
that U.S. government funding for at least
15 large-scale programs and projects
[in Afghanistan] grew from just over
$1 billion to nearly $3 billion despite
the governments questions about their
effectiveness or cost. One program
started off as a modest wheat program
and ballooned into one of Americas
biggest counterinsurgency projects in
southern Afghanistan despite misgivings
about its impact. Then there was the
$300-million diesel power plant that
was built despite the fact that it wouldnt
be used regularly because its fuel cost
more than the Afghan government
could afford to run it regularly. RWA, a
group of three Afghan contractors, was
selected to build a 17.5-mile paved road
in Ghazni province. They were paid $4
million between 2008 and 2010 before
the contract was terminated with only
two-thirds of a mile of road paved.
Mind you, with the U.S. spending
more than $2 billion a week in
Afghanistan, these examples of
ineptitude and waste represent only
a fraction of what is being funded by
American taxpayer dollars. Yet what
most Americans fail to realize is that
were funding the very individuals we
claim to be fighting. The war effort has
become so corrupt that U.S. taxpayers
are not only being bilked by military
contractors but are also being forced to
indirectly fund insurgents and warlords
in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the
Taliban which receives money from
military contractors in exchange for
protection. This is rationalized away
as a cost of doing business in those
countries. Furthermore, the boom in
contracting work in the war zones isnt
necessarily aiding U.S. employment,
Privatizing the War on Terror:
Americas Military Contractors
by John W. Whitehead
johnw@rutherford.org
GUEST COMMENTARY
given that large numbers of contractors
are actually foreign nationals.
Despite the high levels of corruption,
waste, mismanagement, and fraud
by military contractors in Iraq and
Afghanistan, the U.S. government
continues to shield them, resisting
any attempts at greater oversight or
accountability. War, after all, has become
a huge money-making venture, and
America, with its vast military empire,
is one of its best customers. Indeed, the
American military-industrial complex
has erected an empire unsurpassed in
history in its breadth and scope and
dedicated to conducting perpetual
warfare throughout the world.
What most Americans fail to
recognize is that these ongoing wars
have little to do with keeping the
country safe and everything to do
with enriching the military-industrial
complex at taxpayer expense. Its the
military-industrial complex (the illicit
merger of the armaments industry and
the government) that President Dwight
D. Eisenhower warned us against more
than 50 years ago and has come to
represent perhaps the greatest threat to
the nations fragile infrastructure today.
Unfortunately, Americans have been
inculcated with a false, misplaced sense
of patriotism about the military that
equates devotion to ones country with
supporting the war machine so that any
mention of cutting back on the massive
defense budget is immediately met with
outrage. Yet the military-industrial
complex is engaged in a deadly game,
one that all presidents, including
Obama, foster. And the consequences,
as Eisenhower recognized, are grave:
Every gun that is made, every warship
launched, every rocket fired signifies, in
the final sense, a theft from those who
hunger and are not fed, those who are
cold and are not clothed. This world in
arms is not spending money alone. It is
spending the sweat of its laborers, the
genius of its scientists, the hopes of its
children. ... This is not a way of life at
all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of
threatening war, it is humanity hanging
from a cross of iron.
Constitutional attorney and author John
W. Whitehead is founder and president of
The Rutherford Institute Rutherford.org).
His book The Freedom Wars is available
at Amazon.com.
The U.S. employs
at a minimum one
contractor to support
every soldier deployed
to Afghanistan and
Iraq.
Terry Branstads Education Proposal Aims to Be Palatable to Varied Legislators and Interests. Theyre Open to Reform but Leery.
No Poison Apple?
by Jeff Ignatius
jeff@rcreader.com
M
eaningful education reform is
always fraught with political peril.
By definition, it challenges the
status quo. There are also disparate vested
interests from teacher unions to parents to
school administrators, districts, and boards.
Depending on the approach, reform can be
onerous on schools, teachers, or taxpayers
(or all three). And, of course, children and
their futures are at stake, and by extension so
is the long-term health of the state itself.
So education reform is inherently difficult.
Consensus education-reform is even more
challenging, but that hasnt stopped the
administration of Iowa Governor Terry
Branstad from trying. Even with Democrats
controlling the state Senate, the Republican
governor is trying to get his 26-element
education-reform package through the
legislature this year.
The final proposal was unveiled January
6, and the draft legislation followed on
January 11. It has three thrusts: great
teachers and leaders, high expectations and
fair measures, and innovation. In broad
terms, the proposal aims to: improve the
quality of classroom teachers (increasing
selectivity, allowing nontraditional pathways
into the teaching profession, and giving
school districts more flexibility in personnel
decisions); evaluate student progress more
consistently and add new requirements
such as third-grade reading proficiency
and end-of-course exams for high-school
students; and remove barriers to new
educational approaches. (See sidebar.)
Jason E. Glass, the director of the Iowa
Department of Education, told the River
Cities Reader last week that some education-
reform efforts add too many requirements
without the funding to meet them. Others
increase funding without accountability.
With this proposal, were trying to get to
the right balance of pressures and supports,
he said.
The proposal has a first-year price tag of
$25 million, $17 million of which would be
new money coming from the states general
fund. (The remainder would be redirected
existing education funding.) Thats a minor
increase compared to the Fiscal Year 2012
K-12 state funding level of almost $2.8 billion
(according to the Iowa Policy Project), but
Glass said education funding would likely
increase in the coming years although thats
not discussed in Branstads final proposal. My
expectation would be that this $25 million ...
would be a starting point, and I would expect
to see us build on that expenditure over the
next several years, he said.
He conceded that several elements of
Branstads plan could result in increased
costs at the local level that might not be
fully offset by the proposals increased state
funding for school districts. He cited three
components: the kindergarten-through-
third-grade literacy program (funded at
$10 million in Branstads proposal), the
shift to annual teacher and administrator
evaluations (from the current every-
three-years model), and the optional
School Administration Management
program (which frees up principals to
focus on instruction rather than building
management).
But he also said several elements of the
plan could reduce costs to districts, such as
the state paying for all 11th-graders to take
college-entrance exams.
Glass said that any reform effort should be
judged in a decade on a number of factors:
whether Iowas educational system is again
held in global high regard, whether Iowa
students are getting into top colleges and
top jobs, and whether the states educational
system brings jobs and businesses to the
state. On a quantitative level, he said,
Iowa ninth-graders should score as well
on the Programme for International
Student Assessment test as students in the
nations and the worlds top school systems
Massachusetts, Canada, Singapore, South
Korea, Finland. That test is one component
of the governors proposal.
The ultimate goal is to reverse a 20-year
trend. As a document prepared for last
years Iowa Education Summit noted, on the
National Assessment of Education Progress
tests for reading (in fourth grade) and
math (in eighth grade), Iowa has moved
from being a national leader to the national
average, partly due to declining results but
largely because of gains made in other states.
... Iowa has remained stagnant while much
of the nation is moving ahead. The state was
in the bottom three in the country on the
change in its test scores in both areas from
2003 to 2009.
Poison Pills
and Radioactivity
A blueprint for Branstads plan was
released in October and emphasized
that it was not a list of options to be
cherry-picked based on special interests,
ideology, political affiliation, or whether
one is within or outside of the education
profession. ... Lasting and meaningful
change requires this sort of commitment
and transformation.
That suggests an all-or-nothing rigidity,
COVER STORY
Governor Terry Branstads education-
reform proposal contains 26 components
in three basic areas. Below are short sum-
maries of each element.
A PDF of the proposal can be found at
RCReader.com/y/edproposal. A PDF of the
legislation Senate Study Bill 3009 and
House Study Bill 517 as introduced can
be found at RCReader.com/y/3009.
Section I: Great
Teachers and Leaders
1) Iowa Education Job Clearing-
house. Establishes a statewide Web-
based education employment system
where every public preK-12 education
job in the state is posted and applicants
complete one application.
2) Improving Teacher Preparation
Program Selectivity and Student Teach-
ing. Include[s] raising standards for entry
into teacher-preparation programs to
include having at least a 3.0 cumulative
college GPA and passing a pre-profes-
sional skills test in the top 75 percent
nationally.
3) Alternative Pathways into the Edu-
cation Profession. Includes widening
alternative pathways to allow teachers,
principals, and superintendents to come
into the profession from non-traditional
pathways. Quality is paramount, so the
same GPA and assessment requirements
of the traditional pathway also would
be required of alternative pathways.
Candidates in alternative routes would be
required to undergo training in teaching
or administration and have practical expe-
rience under a mentor before gaining full
licensure status.
4) Bringing Educator Licensure into
the Iowa Department of Education.
Moving licensure [from the Iowa Board of
Educational Examiners] into the Depart-
ment of Education, where a new internal
structure will be created focusing on
educator effectiveness.
5) Educator Evaluation. Calls for all
teachers and administrators to be evalu-
ated at least annually, rather than the
every-three-years model we have in place
now for non-probationary educators. The
proposal formally creates a standing task
force to continually improve the evalua-
tion systems for educators and calls for
the state to build uniform systems of
evaluation with supporting electronic
data-collection programs.
6) Extending Teacher and Admin-
istrator Probationary Status to Five
Years. Giving schools more time to make
a good judgment about whether a person
is going to be an effective educator before
additional job protections are provided.
7) Educator Non-Renewal and
Dismissal. Would have probationary
educators (in their first five years) who are
under-performing be subject to contract
nonrenewal at the end of any school year.
For non-probationary educators (sixth
year and thereafter) who are under-
performing and any educator being
dismissed for good cause, this proposal
calls for the school board to make a de-
termination on terminating an educators
contract based on the employees annual
evaluation or other evidence. One outside
adjudicator review would be allowed to
make sure the employee was evaluated
fairly and provided due process in the
evaluation and nonrenewal process.
8) Ending Seniority-Based or Last-
In-First-OutLayoffs. Would require that
performance be the primary determinant
in making layoff decisions. While seniority
could be considered as part of the deci-
sion, it would be secondary to employee
performance and needs of the school
district.
9) School Administration Manager
Program. Helps give principals the time
to focus on instruction by delegating
some time-consuming tasks of building
management to other staff members.
10) Strategically Aligning Profes-
sional Development. Would have the
Department of Education annually target
areas for professional development based
on state needs and direction.
11) A Task Force on Teacher Lead-
ership and Compensation. Asks the
legislature to create a state task force to
study these important issues and to make
recommendations in time for the 2013
legislative session.
Section II: High Expecta-
tions and Fair Measures
12) Continuing and Expanding the
Work of the Iowa Core. A tightly aligned
education system should have consisten-
cy from the standards to the curriculum
and in the assessments.
Whats in Branstads Proposal?
Continued On Page 17
21 program at the Figge, Lau says their
repertoire that evening will include the
widest variety of pieces that work well
together, and with quite a bit of modern
effects. I think people might be expecting
really pretty, laid-back, slow pieces, but
actually, these pieces are quite exciting.
As the Chicagoans explain in a recent
phone interview, the flutist and harpist
first met when Hong Kong native Lau
joined the Quad City Symphony in 2006,
four years after Huntingtons debut in the
orchestra.
But the reason we started playing
together, says Huntington, is that
I was working on my doctorate at
Northwestern, and there were a couple
of pieces I wanted to do with the harp.
Lillian also has a background as a
percussionist, and I think she plays with
really great rhythm, so we got together
to play them. And we worked so well
together that we thought wed make it a
bit more of a regular thing, instead of just
getting together once in a while to play a
piece.
Once we started our ensemble, says
Lau, Ellen discovered this big list of
repertoire, and we would get together
and go through the music, and see what
worked for us what we thought would
be interesting for an audience, and fun
to play, and challenging to play. I mean,
were constantly discovering new music.
Their partnership led to the Lyrebird
Ensemble playing in, among other
events, the Lincoln Park
Cultural Centers Unusual
Classical Delights concert,
the Wisconsin Flute Festival,
and the national conference
of the American Harp Society.
Yet while their repertoire
extended through centuries of
compositions, what Huntington
and Lau found they responded
to most were works composed
between 1890 and the present
day, 14 of which eventually
wound up on Taking Flight.
Flute and harp actually play
together a lot, says Huntington.
Theres some major repertoire
for those two instruments together. And
what we really liked [about the 1890-
to-the-present era] were that a lot of
the pieces were very melodic, and had
elements of nature the pieces were
either inspired by nature or evoked
natural sounds. Theres one piece by a
New Zealand composer [Gareth Farr]
which is all about waterfalls. And another
one is called The Seaside Reflection.
And also, adds Lau, most of these
pieces, it turns out, havent been recorded
much, and some of them are newly
discovered. So in that way, we think we
have something really special to offer.
Several of these Taking Flight
inclusions will be performed in the
Lyrebird Ensembles Figge concert,
which will be held in the gallery housing
the museums new traveling exhibit of
childrens book art, titled Fins & Feathers.
When I heard that this concert would
be at the Figge museum, says Lau, I was
really excited. Of course, were used to
performing on a stage. But I think being
in a gallery just being surrounded by
art, and having the audience so close
instead of being so far away will make it
more interesting for the audience.
And since, with our CD, we have so
many pieces that are inspired by nature,
adds Huntington, we thought we could
maybe enhance the Fins & Feathers
Vol. 19 No. 9
January 19 - February 1, 01
River Cities Reader
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2012 River Cities Reader
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N
ot long after meeting
through their participa-
tion in the Quad City
Symphony Orchestra, second
flutist Ellen Huntington and
principal harpist Lillian Lau
decided to form their own two-
person ensemble. Yet while they
knew they had more than enough
flute-and-harp repertoire to sus-
tain a professional partnership,
what they didnt have was a name.
We were looking for
something that kind of brought
out the flute and the harp, says
Huntington. And the sound of
the flute is often associated with
a bird, and a predecessor of the harp
was the lyre, and we discovered theres
actually a real bird called the lyrebird, so
we thought that was perfect.
The lyrebird, she continues, is an
Australian bird thats said to be able to
imitate any sound it hears. Actually,
if you go on the Internet, you can see
videos of it imitating, like, a camera and
a chainsaw.
Needless to say, the sounds created
by Huntingtons and Laus Lyrebird
Ensemble which will perform in
a January 21 concert at the Figge
Art Museum are nowhere near as
uncharacteristic as the rev of a chainsaw
emanating from a bird. But for those
anticipating merely sedate, lulling
chamber music from this flute and harp
combo, what Huntington and Lau instead
deliver might prove just as surprising.
Reviewing the Lyrebird Ensembles
2010 debut CD Taking Flight: Music
for Flute & Harp, a compilation of
compositions from the modern era,
Flutist Quarterly raved, These pieces,
while intricate and well-developed
from a musicians standpoint, are also
incredibly fun to listen to, and such a
treat to discover. Rendered so beautifully
by the Lyrebird Ensembles virtuosic,
spirited playing, I am left wanting more,
and thrilled by the possibility of learning
more through their ears.
And describing the musicians January
The Lyrebird Ensemble, January 21 at the Figge Art Museum
Symphony Spin-Off
by Mike Schulz
mike@rcreader.com
MUSIC
Ellen Huntington Lillian Lau
River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 796 January 19 - February 1, 2012 9 Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com
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THE IRON LADY
Its hardly a newsflash that over the
past several years well, forever, really
Meryl Streep has treated us to a run
of extraordinary performances, and
her Margaret Thatcher in the screen
biography The Iron Lady is one of the
most extraordinary of them all. Yet
the vexing question regarding Streeps
indelible work of late isnt How does
she keep doing it? Its How does she
keep doing it with so little help from her
directors?
You might easily be knocked out by the
actress transformation during Thatchers
years in parliament and as the newly
elected British prime minister, because
Streep, as usual, gets the externals almost
stunningly right: the accent, the vocal
cadences, the physicality, the eyes that
pop with impassioned self-righteousness
and ideological zealotry. Those scenes are
nothing, however, compared with Streeps
channeling of Thatcher during the early
stages of dementia; with the aid of some
rather jaw-dropping aging makeup, this
miraculous performer gives what might
be the definitive cinematic portrait of an
intensely intelligent senior at war with
failing mental health. (The sequence in
which Thatcher quietly dresses down her
physician arguing for her sanity while
the truth is heartbreakingly apparent to
both of them makes you want to sob
and applaud.) Clearly, a performance
this inspired doesnt happen in a
vacuum, and director Phyllida Lloyd is
to be commended for giving Streep the
breathing room required to deliver such
a rich, nuanced, thrillingly entertaining
portrayal.
Its nearly
everything else that
Lloyd manages to
muck up. Working
from Abi Morgans
dishearteningly
blithe, greatest-hits
screenplay, The
Iron Ladys helmer
seems colossally
uninterested in the
complexities behind Thatchers rise to power
and professional tenure and the heated social
climate of her day; generic sexism leads to
generic approval leads to generic street riots.
(We actually learn more about Thatchers
political career in one 30-second TV-news
voice-over here than in the whole of the
movies dialogue.) And sadly, the experience
is tarnished further by Morgans unfortunate
decision to have the elder Thatcher engage
in frequent, imagined conversations with
her late husband Denis, whose momentum-
stalling appearances mightve been touching
if Lloyd hadnt directed Jim Broadbent to
be so insufferably adorable. Vacillating
between traditional bio-pic blandness and
overstaged hysteria, and with the films every
subtle moment and nicely low-key portrayal
(including Olivia Colmans as the Thatchers
daughter Carol) matched by obvious, arm-
twisting ones, Lloyd seems unable to find
a consistent tone, and I came to resent the
movie for not coming close to the greatness
of its lead. Thankfully, unlike with the
achingly forced whimsy of Lloyds Mamma
Mia!, The Iron Lady isnt at all damaging to
Streep. But it might be time for her to take
a breather from star vehicles that are barely
recommendable beyond their star, before
Streeps unofficial
moniker is switched
from Americas
Greatest Living
Actress to Americas
Greatest Living
Actress in Movies
Fundamentally
Unworthy of Her.
CONTRABAND
To derive much pleasure from the action
thriller Contraband, its best to enter with
low expectations which, given the movies
January release, forgettable title, and poster
image of a typically grim-faced Mark
Wahlberg holding a gun, probably shouldnt
be a problem. Yet in a happy surprise, director
Baltasar Kormkurs Cajun-cooked outing
is a more-than-fair amount of disreputable
fun. With family loyalties forcing Wahlbergs
reformed smuggler to carry out the heist of
millions in counterfeit bills, theres little here
you havent seen in dozens of films just like
it; everything from the shoot-outs to the
shocking character reversals to the increasing
victimization of Wahlbergs wife (a miscast but
appealing Kate Beckinsale) feels like a hand-
me-down from decades of scuzzy B movies.
(Giovanni Ribisi, playing a heavily tattooed
creep with a nasal New Orleans squawk,
and squeezing his facial muscles to resemble
Brandos Don Corleone with that orange rind
in his mouth, appears to be going for B-movie
immortality here. He fails.) Still, Kormkur
stages Contrabands numerous getaways and
close calls with vitality and visual wit, and
Wahlberg in a refreshing change from his
recent action-stud portrayals appears to
be having an absolute blast. Not long after
re-entering his life of crime, Wahlbergs
thief is told by an ally that he looks ecstatic
about the crime hes supposedly committing
against his will. Is it that obvious? replies
Wahlberg with a 100-kilowatt grin. Yes,
Mark, it is. Thank you.
JOYFUL NOISE
Imagine The Blind Side redesigned
as a super-sized episode of Glee. Thats
Joyful Noise, writer/director Todd Graff s
inspirational musical dramedy about a
Southern gospel choir seeking a national
championship, and the family struggles
of the choirs warring ringleaders. Have
you run screaming yet? If so, its hard to
blame you; the movie is shamelessly trite,
manipulative, and pandering. Its also,
every once in a while, an example of how
little that matters when a movies musical
numbers are filled with so much legitimate
exhilaration and spirit. You can hate Joyful
Noise for all sorts of perfectly valid reasons.
But when Queen Latifah delivers a deeply
soulful version of Fix Me Jesus, or Dolly
Parton (despite now resembling something
that shouldve been operated by Wayland
Flowers) performs a tender duet with Kris
Kristofferson, or Keke Palmer shakes the
rafters with her glorious wailing, for a
few brief moments, you dont want to be
anywhere else. Sing it, sisters!
For reviews of Carnage and other current
releases, visit RCReader.com.
Follow Mike on Twitter at Twitter.com/
MikeSchulzNow.
by Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com by Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com
Listen to Mike every Friday at 9am on ROCK 10-9 FM with Dave & Darren
Movie Reviews
by Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com
Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
Meryl Marky Mark Melee

doesnt always blend well.
And while Carter mostly benefits from her
sincerity, David Bryant Johnsons Danny suffers
from a lack of it. The actor delivers all the right
moves, tics, and vocal inflections, but they
dont seem motivated beyond this is the way
Im supposed to do this. There isnt a sense of
spontaneity to his Danny; its as if hes inserting
his lines where appropriate instead of offering
genuine reactions to his cues. Johnson is quite
impressive during his solo number Alone at
the Drive-in Movie, but thats likely because
hes alone, and we arent witnessing practiced
responses to his castmates.
(On January 22, Johnson was
replaced by actor Aaron Alan.)
Still, there are some
excellent moments in Circa
21s production, including
a pleasing sense of sorority
among the actresses playing
the Pink Ladies and, though
to a lesser degree, a fine
camaraderie evident among the
Burger Palace Boys (the stage
versions name for the movies
T-Birds). Andy Pollock and
Jennifer Ambler shine in their
performance of Mooning;
with humor courtesy of the
songs double-entendres, the sweet romance
of the loving lyrics comes through clearly in
the chemistry between the two. Pollock also
shares some beautiful harmonies with Matthew
Wiggins Doody on Rock N Roll Party Queen,
which just for the chance to see more of these
actors impressive work had me wishing the
two characters had bigger presences in the show.
For some of the other numbers, though,
a faster tempo on the scores tracks wouldve
added energy to the performances. Most
notably, Elizabeth Flemming wouldve benefited
from a faster-paced, punchier Look at Me, Im
Sandra Dee, as her Rizzo seems held back by
the slow speed of the teasingly mean-spirited
song. Flemming would also benefit from
adding at least one more layer to her character,
perhaps a tortured resentment behind her tough
exterior; as is, Rizzo is just a rebellious teen
popping off derogatory quips, making it more
difficult to feel for her when shes struggling
with a possible pregnancy and exposing her
internal pain in There Are Worse Things I
Could Do.
While Circa 21s Grease doesnt exceed
expectations, it is, at least, a reasonable replay
of the much-loved musical, particularly for the
memorable songs. Perhaps with a few more
performances under its belt, the cast will come
into its own, making for a stronger show.
For tickets and information, call 309)786-7733
extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.
I
adore the movie version of Grease, and think
its one of the few musicals in which the film is
an improvement on the original stage version.
The theatrical musical is less cohesive in terms of
the timelimes flow, forcing the audience to fill in
the gaps between scenes, and I kind of hate that
about it unless a stage production transcends the
scripts weakness, in which case, like the movie,
I love it. However, while I did not hate Fridays
performance of Grease at the Circa 21 Dinner
Playhouse, I didnt exactly love it, either.
Director/choreographer Ann Neimans
production, with its notably amusing dance
numbers, isnt bad. But the
show is an unsurprising and, to
a certain degree, schizophrenic
one. Its hard to find anyone,
I imagine, who isnt familiar
with the story of the Rydell
High School class of 1959, with
its focus on the relationship of
Sandy Dumbrowski and Danny
Zuko set against a backdrop of
greasers versus goody-goodies.
Neimans cast, unfortunately,
offers a mixture of sincerity
and caricature in this telling
of the tale, and while either
choice would work individually,
together they weaken the
overall feel of the piece.
Because of Greases nostalgic elements, it can
be appropriate for them to be played up, with
the characters turned into enjoyable one-note
stereotypes. And among Neimans cast, Tristan
Layne Tapscott brings Eugene to life as the
expected, nasally dork we all love; Liz J. Milleas
Patty Simcox is an always-smiling goody-two-
shoes; Kelly Anna Lohrenz shades her Cha
Cha DiGregorio with unforgettable naughty
fun (showcasing especially smart choices when
flirting with Eugene in the background), and I
dont think Andrea Moores Miss Lynch could be
any more prudishly authoritarian. (While Moore
is good in the role, her most clever moment
came with her in-character announcement of
the reception following Fridays opening-night
performance, which, unfortunately, will not be
repeated during the rest of the shows run.)
Yet while some of the actors play their
characters defining traits to great effect, others
attempt more realistic approaches, which
sometimes works, but creates a constant contrast
that proves problematic. Lisa Carters Sandy, for
instance, exudes a believable sweetness in her
innocent infatuation with Danny. Its beautiful
work, but would work better if the goals of
Neimans production were to turn the greasers
into realistic characters, and deliver a nuanced,
multi-layered exploration of love in the midst
of social differences. Those dont seem to be
intended efforts in Neimans show, though, so
were left with a mix of silly and serious that
Kind of Smooth, Kind of Sticky
Grease, at the Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse through March 3
By Thom White
THEATRE
David Bryant Johnson and
Lisa Carter
talent, but leaves her mark with the few minutes
shes on stage. (The same is true of Pat Flaherty
one of the most impressive actors in the Quad
Cities whose minutes in the spotlight here I
could probably count on one hand.) And Ami
Leichsenrings chief strength is the effortlessness
in her portrayal of Annes best friend, Diana
Barry.
Karen Decker easily holds her own opposite
Crumbleholme, her Marilla still possessing that
motherly authority edged with loving patience,
wisdom, and subtlety that made her, in the same
role, a much welcome
addition to 2008s cast.
However, not even
she can prevent Ben
Klocke from stealing
scenes. As Davy Keith,
one of the twins that
Marilla and Anne take
into their home for a
spell, Klocke outdoes
his fellow actors with
his explosive delivery
and humorous
bravado. Deckers
Marilla describes Davy as a demon, and shes
right, although Klockes moxie makes it hard not
to adore this little devil of a child. Yet Decker
and Klocke also share beautiful chemistry,
particularly when Davy describes a conversation
he had with his mother on the day before her
death. The scene is dripping with tenderness,
and the connection between the two actors is
so strong that its hard not to love both of them
through their love for each other.
I could also go on and on about Weeks
graceful staging, and the multitude of moments
that had me smiling from ear to ear. There are
the hints of humor hints about to bust out
in full force behind every line Alec Peterson
delivers as Dianas love interest Fred Wright.
Theres the realism of costume designer Michelle
Heatons wardrobe choice for Anne, as if it were a
dress actually purchased in an early-1900s store
rather than a fitted costume created for the run of
a show. Sara Laufers lighting effects shift between
scenes with a grace similar to Weeks overall
effort. And I cant forget first-grader Xavier
Potts Paul Irving, a student of Annes whose
pint-sized presence is completely endearing.
Oh, and Noah Kellys brat of a student, Anthony
Pye, whose sweet shift to a respect for Anne
deserves a mention. If only I werent inching up
on my word-limit, Id also applaud ... pretty much
everything about Saturday nights performance of
Anne of Avonlea.
For tickets and information, call (309)762-0330 or
visit Playcrafters.com.
S
ydney Crumbleholme is maturing. Not
only is she physically more mature than
the impressive young acting prodigy
I fondly recall from the Playcrafters Barn
Theatres Anne of Green Gables four years ago,
shes also much more skilled as an actress and
that much more is particularly impressive
considering that Crumbleholmes previous work
was astounding, particularly for her age. In her
return to the title role of Playcrafters current
production, Anne of Avonlea, Crumbleholme
shows distinct growth as an actress, showcasing
knacks for nuance and
subtlety. She alone is
worth the money and
time spent seeing the
show.
Yet she isnt alone.
So much worked so
well in Donna Weeks
original endeavor
that the director was
wise to bring back
several of her 2008
cast members for this
sequel. And while I
would say playwright Joseph Robinettes script
descends into silliness, especially relative to the
first play (and especially regarding the parrot
thats a little more fluent in human speech than
I think parrots are capable of being), Weeks
latest executes the storys charm perfectly, with a
fluid pace appropriate to the simpler lifestyle of
early-1900s Avonlea on Canadas Prince Edward
Island.
Anne of Avonlea continues the story of the
girl who seems to me to be the Canadian Laura
Ingalls Wilder. Here, Anne has graduated school
and has her sights set on a college scholarship.
However, a health problem with her adopted
mother, Marilla, changes those plans, forcing
Anne to stay home and attempt to raise enough
money, as a schoolteacher, to prevent Green
Gables from being sold.
Like Weeks 2008 production, this piece
features many notable performances, with 26
actors all of them deserving accolades I dont
have space enough to give taking the stage
throughout the evening. Playing the younger
Anne in flashback, Katie Moore channels the
precociousness and confidence that marked
Crumbleholmes performance four years ago.
Cayte Rivera tackles no less than three roles,
and manages to make them so distinct that I
had to check the program to be sure it was the
same actress in each. Anna Tunnicliff, another
performance prodigy I first noticed on the
Playcrafters stage (in 2009s The Childrens
Hour) and havent seen a weak showing from
since, is under-utilitzed given her remarkable
The Gables Are Always Greener
Anne of Avonlea, at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through January 22
By Thom White
THEATRE
Sydney Crumbleholme and Ben Klocke
Australias No. 1 magician,
James Galea, will mix magic
and stand-up comedy.
Saturday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m.
Augustana College,
Centennial Hall, Rock Island
Tickets: $8 general public
To order tickets, go to
www.augustana.edu/tickets
or call (309) 794-7306.
Magic T
H
E
JAMES
GALEA
of
This magician I think you will
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Hes not like
other magicians. Hes notcreepy.
Ellen DeGeneres
Predicting the 2012 Academy Award Nominees
by Mike Schulz
mike@rcreader.com
A
nother year; another set of Mikes
sure-to-be-off-the-mark-with-
at-least-a-couple-choices-in-just-
about-every-category Oscar predictions!
The following are my best guesses for
the 2012 Academy Award nominations
subject to change within minutes of
publication which will be announced
on the morning of Tuesday, January
24. (The ceremony will be held on the
evening of Sunday, February 26.)
Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
As youve likely heard, in yet another
desperate attempt to keep the Oscar
race fresh and vital, the Academy
has decreed that this year will see five
to 10 nominees in the Best Picture
category, with films needing to secure
at least 5 percent of first-place rankings
on voters ballots or roughly 250
number-one votes to make the lineup.
(Theoretically, this should mean that
as many as 20 movies could make the
lineup, but lets hope Academy officials
dont figure that out, or theyll just
change the damned rules again.) With
that in mind, Im banking on seven
contenders in this category ... and am a
little worried that there might only be
six.
The Artist, The Descendants, and
Midnight in Paris have all been short-
listed by the five most reliable indicators
of Best Picture heat: the Producers
Guild of America (PGA), Directors
Guild of America (DGA), and Screen
Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, the Critics
Choice Awards (CCA), and the Golden
Globes. So theyre in. The Helps Tate
Taylor missed with the DGA, which
wasnt very surprising, and Hugo wasnt
cited for SAGs Best Ensemble prize,
which also wasnt surprising, so they
feel safe, too. Dragon Tattoo is a really
late-bloomer, having been excluded
from top contention in Decembers
SAG-, CCA-, and Globe-nomination
announcements. But a January surge
from the producers and directors (and
writers and cinematographers and art
directors ...) guilds makes it a likely
choice. Meanwhile, I should be feeling
more confident about the PGA-, CCA-,
and Globe-nominated Moneyball, but
the lack of a DGA nod for Bennett
Miller stings a bit; Im going to predict,
and hope, that overall affection for the
film and for the SAG-cited Brad Pitt
and Jonah Hill carries it through.
And that, I think, is where this Best
Picture train stops. Once upon a time, I
wouldve thought that given the intense
admiration it elicits among die-hard
fans, finding 250 voters willing to place
The Tree of Life at the top of their ballots
wouldnt be all that difficult. Given the
movies near-complete dissing by the
precursors, with the PGA even unable
to find room for it among a roster of
10 titles, I may have been wrong about
that. War Horse is the anti-Dragon
Tattoo, a movie that started strong
(with PGA, CCA, and Globe nods)
but eventually wilted so badly that not
only was Steven Spielberg denied DGA
recognition, but the movie was also
dissed by the writing, art-direction,
and cinematography guilds. As for
Bridesmaids, nominated by the PGA,
SAG, and Globes, it wouldve made for
an enjoyable 10th inclusion in the past
couple of Oscar races but will probably
have to remain content with its happily
surprising precursor run. With Globe
and PGA nominee The Ides of March
the only other mildly conceivable
contender here, your Best Picture lineup
is no doubt somewhere amidst the
aforementioned titles. Many apologies
to all of the incredibly patient Harry
Potter fans out there; it aint gonna
happen this year, either.
Best Director
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
David Fincher, The Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
So heres the thing: Given his films
scope, its ambition, the degree to
which he pulled it off, and his status
as a living legend among directors, I
dont see how Malick misses in this
category. Even his being ignored by the
DGA isnt necessarily a deal-breaker;
when the Academys directors branch
veers from the guilds choices, they
nearly always go with the directors of
challenging, edgy, oftentimes polarizing
works with passionate fan bases but
minimal support in other categories. In
the last decade alone, Oscar nominees
without an accompanying DGA citation
include David Lynch for Mullholland
Dr., Pedro Almodvar for Talk to Her,
Fernando Meirelles for City of God, Paul
Greengrass for United 93, and Julian
Schnabel for The Diving Bell & the
Butterfly, and Malick and Tree of Life
would seem to fit that assemblage to
perfection.
But heres the other thing: Among the
five directors who were short-listed by
the DGA, whose place does he usurp?
With his film the current Best Picture
front-runner and himself the likely Best
Director victor, Hazanavicius seems a
done deal. Scorsese will be rewarded for
Hugos technical brilliance and artful
argument for film preservation (way to
play to your base, Marty!), and in case
you hadnt noticed, 2011 was Woodys
latest comeback year (did you catch that
incredible, two-part American Masters
bio on PBS?), so chalk up a seventh Best
Director nod for each of them. Finchers
DGA recognition was a tad surprising,
but Dragon Tattoos increasing precursor
strength bodes well for him, as does I
would hope the residual guilt felt for
his losing last years Best Director Oscar
for The Social Network.
So my guess is that Malick will
instead steal a spot from the DGAs fifth
contender, The Descendants Alexander
Payne. I fully concede that this might
just be my anti-Descendants bias talking,
as Payne hasnt yet missed a single
precursor nod, and his latest outing
is enormously well-regarded. But as
hes guaranteed a nomination for the
movies screenplay, does Payne really
need another one here, especially when
his direction isnt noticeably stronger
and, in my humble opinion, is actually
a good deal weaker than Malicks?
Plus, lets not forget the rather shocking
omission of Inceptions Christopher
Nolan last year; unpredictable dissings
happen all the time in this category.
Im going out on a major limb (pun
intended) and saying Tree of Life over
Descendants, although Id love to see
Moneyballs Bennett Miller and Drives
Nicolas Winding Refn awarded the
recognition they deserve and likely
wont receive. Oh, and as for the chances
of Steven Spielberg? Insert the lame-
or wounded-horse metaphor of your
choice.
Best Actor
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter
Im hardly one for statistical analysis,
even though I am working on it through
incessant repeat viewings of Moneyball.
So lets just say that the percentage of
performers who earn SAG, CCA, and
Globe nominations and then dont go
on to earn Oscar nominations is really,
really low. (Over the past five years,
its only happened to The Departeds
Leonardo DiCaprio, A Mighty Hearts
Angelina Jolie, Lars & the Real Girls
Ryan Gosling, and Black Swans Mila
Kunis.) I consequently feel incredibly
secure about predicting citations for
Clooney, Dujardin, and Pitt, the latter
of whom seems more and more assured
of an eventual victory. DiCaprio also
nabbed the precursor trifecta, but
J. Edgars middling reception puts
him on shakier ground; I think hell
still make the cut for fine, decade-
crossing work under occasionally
trying circumstances, for his bravery
in playing a (maybe) gay historical
figure, and for delivering so many
recent performances in The Departed,
Revolutionary Road, Shutter Island, and
Inception for which he was probably
MOVIES
Jean Dujardin and Brnice Bejo in
The Artist
Woody Allen directs Marion Cotillard and
Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris
Michael Shannon in Take Shelter
Exhibit
Fins & Feathers
Figge Art Museum
Saturday, January 21,
through Sunday, April 22
O
n display from
January 21 through April 22,
the newest touring exhibition at the
Figge Art Museum is Fins & Feathers:
Childrens Book Illustrations from the
Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.
As its title suggests, the exhibit will
celebrate the colorful and creative images
that accompany many beloved literary
offerings, including, according to the
Figges Web site, stories of a turtles quest
to find a new home, a chameleon who
dreams of being like other animals, and
the adventures of a chickens beach
towel.
Man, if I had a nickel for every book
Ive read about the adventures of a
chickens beach towel ... . Are there no
new ideas in childrens lit?!?
Seriously, though, this special showing
of 43 original illustrations from the late
19th Century through the present day
will no doubt be an informative, visually
absorbing treat for young readers and
their adult chaperones. Showcasing a
wide variety of techniques among
them colored pencil, watercolor, and
painted-tissue collage employed to
help transform funny and touching
parables into true works of art, this
family-friendly exhibition will introduce
museum guests to a host of memorable
fish, birds, and other creatures designed
to spark readers imaginations. Perhaps
you, or your kids, are already acquainted
with some of them?
Try matching the illustrators above
with their works on display in Fins &
Feathers.
For more information on Fins &
Feathers: Childrens Book Illustrations
from the Eric Carle Museum of Picture
Book Art, call (563)326-7804 or visit
FiggeArtMuseum.com
Whats Happenin
Comedy
Pimprov
Circa 21 Speakeasy
Saturday, January 28, 7 & 9:30 p.m.
H
eres a stumper: Based solely on the
accompanying photo, what would you guess
are the professions of the four gentlemen pictured?
Wow thats right! One is a police officer, one
is a fireman, one is a computer technician, and
one is a community coordinator for a Head Start
program! Nicely done!
Of course, those are just their day jobs. By night,
this quartet Mark Bratton, Jonathan Keaton,
Keith Smitherman, and Marz Timms dons
sufficiently garish wardrobes for their roles as
HoLease, Poochie, Grand Finale, and Timepiece,
the ber-wild characters in
the acclaimed comedy troupe
Pimprov. Appearing locally
in two January 28 shows at
the Circa 21 Speakeasy, this
Chicago-based ensemble
promises an evening of
improvisational sketch comedy
as memorable as it is hilarious.
Or, in the words of Now Magazine Toronto,
holarious.
Pimprovs setup finds its performers playing
gold-chain-laden alter egos, four Windy City
ahem businessmen who wound up accidentally
taking Second City improv classes. Consequently,
they formed a hardcore comedy team eager to
show off their newfound skills through improvised
sketches and audience participation if they can
only stay in character long enough to do so.
In short, Pimprov finds actors playing pimps
playing characters trying not to be
pimps. And the resulting comic
melee between the performers
and their delighted crowds has led
to frequent tours, a regular gig at
Chicagos Chemically Imbalanced
Theatre, and plaudits from the
likes of the Chicago Tribune,
whose January 4 rave began,
Outrageous and tacky as all get-out, Pimprov is
the rare show that truly nails political correctness
right between the eyes with style and exuberant
wit.
Pimprov performs on January 28 at 7 and 9:30
p.m., reservations can be made by calling (309)786-
7733 extension 2 or visiting Circa21.com, and
tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
(Feel free to throw in a few bucks extra, though.
Remember, as the Oscar-winning song told us, its
hard out there for a pimp.)
Theatre
Guys on Ice: An Ice-Fishing
Musical Comedy
Riverside Theatre
Friday, January 20, through Sunday,
February 19
T
he latest production at
Riverside Theatre is Guys
on Ice: An Ice-Fishing Musical
Comedy, it runs at the Iowa
City venue January 20 through
February 19, and its described at
FolkloreTheatre.com as a kind of
Waiting for Godot with regional
accents. Im presuming, though,
thats if Godot was a perch, and if
Pozzo was a beer-guzzling mooch,
and Vladimir and Estragon
spent their time pining over the
checkout girl at the Pick n Save.
With native Wisconsinites and
best buddies Marvin and Lloyd
sharing stories, and the occasional
song-and-dance, while holed
up in a ramshackle ice-fishing
shanty, Guys on Ice has proven to
be a huge hit with Midwestern
audiences, so much of one that this
marks the third time the show has
been produced at Riverside over
the past six years. And reading the
raves of critics, its easy to see why;
the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
praises Guys on Ice for its sweet
charm, abundant humor, and
original music [thats] melodic and
catchy, and the Wisconsin State
Journal states, Unless your heart
is colder than a Wisconsin winter,
youll fall hook, line, and sinker for
this light-hearted romp.
Featuring a gifted cast
composed of John Watkins, Randal
Sandersfield (both pictured), and
Ryan Westwood the latter a St.
Ambrose University graduate who
portrayed the title characters in
recent productions of Pippin and
Sweeney Todd Riversides outing
is sure to be a delightful seasonal
treat. And I have to give the theatre
points for bravery, as audiences
may have easily wanted to shy away
from a musical about ice and snow
and miserable winter weather in
the middle of January. Who knew
that, this year, those elements
would seem so freakin novel?
For more information and
tickets to Guys on Ice: An
Ice-Fishing Musical Comedy,
call (319)338-7672 or visit
RiversideTheatre.org.
1) Ashley Bryan
2) Eric Carle
3) David Harrison
and John Par Miller
4) Leo Lionni
5) Arnold Lobel
6) Petra Mathers
A) Beautiful Blackbird
B) An Extraordinary Egg
C) The Foolish Tortoise
D) The Ice Cream Cone Coot
& Other Rare Birds
E) Little Turtles Big Adventure
F) Lotties New Beach Towel
A n s w e r s : 1 A , 2 C , 3 E , 4 B , 5 D , 6 F . L o t t i e , b y t h e w a y , i s t h e n a m e o f t h e
c h i c k e n w h o s e h e r o i c t o w e l p r o t e c t s h e r f r o m s u n b u r n s a n d b e i n g l o s t a t s e a . T h e h e r o i c
t o w e l , I r e g r e t t o s a y , h a s n o n a m e . M u c h l i k e E a s t w o o d i n t h o s e S e r g i o L e o n e W e s t e r n s .
Leo Lionnis Fish Is Fish

The White Rose
Exhibit open through February 24.
An exhibit exploring one of Germanys most
famous resistance groups formed by a small
group of university students in 1942-43.
712 W 2nd St Davenport, IA 563-322-8844 www.gahc.org
The German American Heritage Center presents:
Films at the Figge:
Sun. Jan 22, 4pm The White
Rose
Sun. Feb 5, 4pm Sophie
Scholl: The Final Days
Readers Theater play at
GAHC:
Sat. Feb 11, 1:30pm and 3pm
The White Rose: A True Story of
Freedom in Nazi Germany
Support provided by Rauch Family Foundation II,
Doris and Victor Day Foundation, and
the Rock Island Community Foundation
The Magic Flute
The German American Heritage Center and Saint Ambrose
University Music Dept. will present the Des Moines Metro
Opera in Davenport on Tuesday February 7th at 7pm for a one
night only performance. OPERA Iowa will present a two-hour
version of Mozarts The Magic Flute in English at the Rogalski
Center on the SAU campus. 518 W. Locust St. Davenport, IA
$15 General Admission or
$25 Premium Seating
Tickets available in person,
through mail, or by phone at
GAHC: 712 W. 2nd St.
Davenport or 563-322-8844
visit gahc.org for details
River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 796 January 19 - February 1, 2012 1
by Mike Schulz
mike@rcreader.com
What Else
Is Happenin
MUSIC
Thursday, January 19 TobyMac
Unplugged: A Night of Stories & Songs.
Performance with the acclaimed Christian re-
cording artist, featuring special guest Jamie
Grace. Adler Theatre (136 East Third Street,
Davenport). 7:30 p.m. $25-45. For tickets, call
(800)745-3000 or visit AdlerTheatre.com.
Thursday, January 19 The Java
Jews. The seven-piece klezmer ensemble
in concert, in a presentation by the Jewish
Federation of the Quad Cities. Moline Public
Library (3210 41st Street, Moline). 7 p.m. Free
admission. For information, call (309)793-
1300 or visit JFQC.org.
Saturday, January 21 The Big Dance.
Fifteenth-annual competition between a
dozen high-school show choirs from three
states, with competing schools including
Bettendorf, Davenport Central, and Daven-
port West. Davenport North High Schools
Holzworth Performing Arts Center (626 West
53rd Street, Davenport). 11:30 a.m. prelimi-
naries, 7:30 p.m. finals. $7-12 at the door. For
information, call (563)388-9884.
Friday, January 27 Battle of the
Bands. The first night of the annual competi-
tion, featuring three sets by local musicians.
Rock Island Brewing Company (1815 Second
Avenue, Rock Island). 9 p.m. For information,
call (309)793-4060 or visit RIBCO.com.
Friday, January 27 Tim Stop. Pop, rock,
and soul musician in concert. The Redstone
Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 9 p.m.
Comedy
Pimprov
Circa 21 Speakeasy
Saturday, January 28, 7 & 9:30 p.m.
H
eres a stumper: Based solely on the
accompanying photo, what would you guess
are the professions of the four gentlemen pictured?
Wow thats right! One is a police officer, one
is a fireman, one is a computer technician, and
one is a community coordinator for a Head Start
program! Nicely done!
Of course, those are just their day jobs. By night,
this quartet Mark Bratton, Jonathan Keaton,
Keith Smitherman, and Marz Timms dons
sufficiently garish wardrobes for their roles as
HoLease, Poochie, Grand Finale, and Timepiece,
the ber-wild characters in
the acclaimed comedy troupe
Pimprov. Appearing locally
in two January 28 shows at
the Circa 21 Speakeasy, this
Chicago-based ensemble
promises an evening of
improvisational sketch comedy
as memorable as it is hilarious.
Or, in the words of Now Magazine Toronto,
holarious.
Pimprovs setup finds its performers playing
gold-chain-laden alter egos, four Windy City
ahem businessmen who wound up accidentally
taking Second City improv classes. Consequently,
they formed a hardcore comedy team eager to
show off their newfound skills through improvised
sketches and audience participation if they can
only stay in character long enough to do so.
In short, Pimprov finds actors playing pimps
playing characters trying not to be
pimps. And the resulting comic
melee between the performers
and their delighted crowds has led
to frequent tours, a regular gig at
Chicagos Chemically Imbalanced
Theatre, and plaudits from the
likes of the Chicago Tribune,
whose January 4 rave began,
Outrageous and tacky as all get-out, Pimprov is
the rare show that truly nails political correctness
right between the eyes with style and exuberant
wit.
Pimprov performs on January 28 at 7 and 9:30
p.m., reservations can be made by calling (309)786-
7733 extension 2 or visiting Circa21.com, and
tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
(Feel free to throw in a few bucks extra, though.
Remember, as the Oscar-winning song told us, its
hard out there for a pimp.)
Theatre
Guys on Ice: An Ice-Fishing
Musical Comedy
Riverside Theatre
February 19
T
he latest production at
Riverside Theatre is Guys
on Ice: An Ice-Fishing Musical
Comedy, it runs at the Iowa
City venue January 20 through
February 19, and its described at
FolkloreTheatre.com as a kind of
Waiting for Godot with regional
accents. Im presuming, though,
thats if Godot was a perch, and if
Pozzo was a beer-guzzling mooch,
and Vladimir and Estragon
spent their time pining over the
checkout girl at the Pick n Save.
With native Wisconsinites and
best buddies Marvin and Lloyd
sharing stories, and the occasional
song-and-dance, while holed
up in a ramshackle ice-fishing
shanty, Guys on Ice has proven to
be a huge hit with Midwestern
audiences, so much of one that this
marks the third time the show has
been produced at Riverside over
the past six years. And reading the
raves of critics, its easy to see why;
the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
praises Guys on Ice for its sweet
charm, abundant humor, and
original music [thats] melodic and
catchy, and the Wisconsin State
Journal states, Unless your heart
is colder than a Wisconsin winter,
youll fall hook, line, and sinker for
this light-hearted romp.
Featuring a gifted cast
composed of John Watkins, Randal
Sandersfield (both pictured), and
Ryan Westwood the latter a St.
Ambrose University graduate who
portrayed the title characters in
recent productions of Pippin and
Sweeney Todd Riversides outing
is sure to be a delightful seasonal
treat. And I have to give the theatre
points for bravery, as audiences
may have easily wanted to shy away
from a musical about ice and snow
and miserable winter weather in
the middle of January. Who knew
that, this year, those elements
would seem so freakin novel?
For more information and
tickets to Guys on Ice: An
Ice-Fishing Musical Comedy,
call (319)338-7672 or visit
RiversideTheatre.org.
ACTING SMART
Helpful Tips on Appearing More Intelligent Than You Actually Are
T
he latest guests in Quad City Arts Visiting Artist series are the gifted modern-
dance masters of Rioult, whose exhilarating expressiveness and acrobatic intensity
will light up St. Ambrose Universitys Galvin Fine Arts Center on Saturday, January
28. It should go without saying that anyone with an appreciation for the thrill of
contemporary dance wont want to miss this performance. But if youre a dance novice
whod like to attend but are leery about going in completely
blind, here are five ways to get yourself a bit more up-to-speed
on the Rioult experience.
1) Know where Rioults name comes from. The company
was founded in 1994 by famed French choreographer (and
former track-and-field star) Pascal Rioult, who serves as the
groups artistic director, was a former principal dancer for the Martha Graham Dance
Company, and was described by Backstage magazine as one of the most adept and
courageous choreographers in mainstream modern dance today.
2) Know where Rioult has performed. Based in New York City, the company
presents an annual season of New York-based productions, and has performed in such
esteemed North American venues as Lincoln Center, Philadelphias Annenberg Center,
and Canadas Le Grand Thtre de Qubec. Across the Atlantic, Rioult has toured in
such countries as France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium.
3) Know what the critics have to say about Rioult performances. Among the
dance troupes many accolades, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette describes Rioult as rich in
tradition and intellectually and musically satisfying, New Jerseys Daily Gazette calls
the groups choreography vibrant, soulful, and painterly, and Cleveland.com raves
about the limber and urgent strength that is a hallmark of the company.
4) Know how to pronounce Rioult. Its RAY-yoo.
5) Know how to use it in a sentence. When asked about your weekend plans, say,
Im actually going to be busy that night seeing those amazing dancers of Rioult, Ray.
You? Only say this, of course, if youre speaking to someone named Ray. And if you
dont mind sounding like an overly self-amused ass.
Rioults January 28 performance starts at 7:30 p.m., and more information is available by
calling (309)793-1213 or visiting QuadCityArts.com.
No Poison Apple?
by Jeff Ignatius
jeff@rcreader.com
and Glass called the governors plan bold
and sweeping. Yet he also stressed that
Branstad was open to compromise and
alternative strategies to accomplish his
education-reform goals.
We are committed to the values that are
behind every part of this ... , he said. We are
going to be very rigid and stand behind the
values that are behind this, but we are open
and flexible on the specific strategies and
how we get there. ... It needs to go through
this democratic legislative process. ... If
we can get the majority of these elements
through, I think that would be a short-term
success.
Glass said the plan was crafted to be
palatable to Democrats and Republicans.
Our proposal is an attempt to get at a
bipartisan consensus on a number of
contentious issues, he said. We tried to
pitch a proposal that would be received
with optimism and that wouldnt contain
any poison pills for either ... chamber or
either party. Its an attempt to put together
a proposal that we can stand behind for the
long term for both chambers and regardless
of what administration is in charge.
This is not about trying to get a short-term
political victory.
He added that hes encouraged so far by
the leadership in both chambers and both
parties. Im very optimistic that well get an
education-reform bill passed in Iowa this
session, he said. I think the governor has
worked very hard to try to keep the door
open to both chambers and both parties ... .
They also are trying very hard not to make
this discussion radioactive to the other side.
The Branstad administration has certainly
been inclusive in its process. We have been
at the table in several meetings, said Chris
Bern, president of the Iowa State Education
Association (ISEA). Were relatively happy
with the amount of input weve had into this.
... I believe the governor and his staff and the
Department of Education and the staff there
have been listening.
Yet after the release of the governors
final plan (but prior to the legislation being
made public), Bern sounded lukewarm:
Overall, we like that the governor is making
education a priority in the state. But theres
still a lot of missing detail in what theyve put
out, and until we see the detail, its hard to
take a position on things.
Berns reaction was echoed by others. I
think that we share a lot of the same goals,
said Senator Herman Quirmbach, chair of the
Senate Education Committee and a Democrat
from Ames. I think that we have some
common ground in some of the proposals
that have been made. As for Glass promise
of trying to build a two-party consensus,
Quirmbach sounded warily optimistic. Im
going to give him the benefit of a doubt until
I have reason to doubt. ... I want to keep the
focus on this on the kids. ... Im hopeful that
well do something serious this year.
Quirmbach said his goal is to get
education reform through the Senate
Education Committee by the February 24
funnel deadline. Adjournment of the
legislature is scheduled for April 17.
There were several changes to the
governors proposal between the October
blueprint and the January version. Teacher
compensation was punted to a proposed
legislative task force both because the
governors proposal was unpopular and
because it was potentially expensive.
We felt that the state system wasnt ready
to engage in that conversation, Glass said.
Very skeptical reactions and low level of
understanding around what we were trying
to accomplish with it. We have work to do to
help people understand what our approach
was. ... This is not an idea thats taken hold in
Iowa yet. So we have to work to do to build
understanding ... .
Funding was also a factor. We want to
take that issue on at the top of a new budget
cycle, Glass said. Right now were halfway
through a two-year budget cycle in Iowa,
so most of the resources have already been
allocated for next [fiscal] year. When you
talk about educator compensation, thats the
largest expenditure in education, so we want
to engage in that discussion at a time when
we have all the chips on the table in terms of
the resources that are available.
He added that Iowas relatively strong
economy and state-budget situation present
an opportunity to direct ... additional
resources into education in the coming
years. The state has low unemployment
compared to many states, its likely to
run a budget surplus this fiscal year, and
its revenues have been coming in above
forecasts in the current fiscal year.
Yet even with the teacher-compensation
discussion removed from the reform
proposal and other changes to the blueprint,
the path to serious reform appears
challenging.
Withholding Judgment
Although the basic proposal was released
more than three months ago, legislators
and interest groups remain cautious. The
bill is 156 pages, after all, and it will take
some time to evaluate it. Representative
Linda Miller, a Bettendorf Republican who
serves on the House Education Committee,
said she needs to talk to teachers about the
legislation, and I dont think theyve had the
chance to digest the bill yet, either.
I dont know if we have as many dislikes
as we just have questions, said the ISEAs
Bern prior to the bill being made public.
I dont think that theres anything that we
actually dislike conceptually. Its all going to
depend on the details.
The devil is always in the detail, and until
we have a chance to analyze the specifics,
Im tending to withhold at least some of my
judgment on this, Quirmbach said a day
after hed received the bill. A poison pill is
often buried pretty deeply.
But if problematic details are just details,
they can be overcome. What should concern
Branstad is the resistance to a couple key
aspects of his proposal.
Quirmbach said he has philosophical
issues with at least two elements of the
Branstad plan: retention of third-graders
who cant pass a reading test, and the 3.0-
grade-point-average requirement for entry
into college teacher-prep programs.
On third-grade retention, he said, he
has talked to school superintendents in his
home county as well as people involved
in education generally. There is a lot of
reluctance at least to the idea of flunking
every third-grader who cant pass some state-
mandated test, he said. Thats a significant
consequence. Really what youre doing long-
term is taking away a year of the kids adult
life. They graduate high school a year later,
they get a job or go to college a year later. ...
Thats not something you undertake lightly.
The GPA requirement for teaching
programs, he said, would be difficult to
enforce (in terms of private and out-of-
state institutions), would have unintended
consequences, and would amount to
micromanagement of Iowas public
universities. Plus, it could exacerbate teacher
shortages in hard-to-fill areas. Are we
going to make it that much more difficult to
recruit people in the STEM areas science,
technology, [engineering,] and math ... ? he
asked. Im on board with the goal. I have
questions whether this is the right way to
implement it.
Republican Miller was similarly skeptical
of those two legislative mandates. On both,
she said, she supports the goal. I think there
has to be leeway instead of absolutes ... , she
said of the GPA requirement. Im not averse
to that as an expectation, but as black-and-
white legislation demanding it ... Im not
sure Im ready to go that far. ... The fact that
we expect more from them [teacher-prep
programs] than they are delivering currently,
... I think everybody in the state of Iowa can
agree with [that].
Miller similarly said she supports the goal
of having all students read at grade level
in third grade. I do think its important to
tell parents this is what our expectation is,
she said. Weve never done that before. We
havent been clear about what our goals are.
But she stressed that shes hesitant to
support such rigid rules. We have to be
careful of the unintentional consequences
when we make Band-Aids, she said. Im
kind of a less-is-better person at this point
in time ... . But I do believe that we have
to be clear in what our expectations are in
improving education.
And she added that sometimes the
discussion itself can produce change without
the legislature taking action. The fact that
we are actually discussing this is good, she
said, because it actually does bring about
change kind of just by consensus, rather than
legislative change. She said that Branstads
reform proposals have prompted discussion
about teacher-preparation programs in
Iowas higher-education community.
Bern said that while the ISEA supports
an increased emphasis on early-childhood
literacy, it too has issues with third-grade
retention. He said theres a contradiction
between the governors support of
competency-based education in which
students advance at their own pace and the
third-grade-retention proposal.
Toothless Noble Reforms?
There are several dangers to Branstads
plan in these specific objections.
First, third-grade literacy/retention has
arguably the highest profile among his
proposals, and Glass said teacher selectivity
has the potential to have a lot of stand-
alone impact. If those get watered down or
eliminated, the plan overall loses a good deal
of its boldness.
Second, a reluctance to attach a genuine
pressure (in Glass terminology) to
the early-literacy and teacher-selectivity
components might reflect a general
reluctance to put teeth in education reform.
Noble goals without clear repercussions are
unlikely to have the desired impact.
Quirmbach said hes not opposed to
gauging progress through testing. But the
state needs to be sure that its not over-testing
students. We absolutely have to measure
what were doing, he said. But on the other
side, time taken up in testing is time taken
away from instruction. Testing is not free.
The ISEA also frets about the Branstad
emphasis on testing. Theres a lot of talk
about assessments theres kindergarten
assessments and end-of-course exams and
college-entrance exams and so forth, Bern
said. One of the questions is: What are we
going to do with all that information? Hows
it going to be used?
The ISEA worries that school districts
will place undue weight on student-
achievement scores in evaluating teachers
COVER STORY
Continued From Page 7
and making personnel decisions. If they use
a standardized test, and make it a major part
of the teacher evaluation, we would not be in
favor of that, Bern said.
Glass addressed that concern, saying that
student achievement should be used as
a validating component of an evaluation
where available and appropriate. A positive
teacher evaluation should be accompanied
by large student-achievement gains. Where
those things arent lining up, then I think
there are some questions to be raised at
the local level about the capacity of the
evaluation system, he said. School districts,
however, would make decisions about how
much student assessments play into teacher
evaluations, he said.
The ISEA is also concerned that new
mandates arent accompanied by new tools.
Theres no talk about how were going to
support educators in doing their jobs in
getting students ready for these assessments,
Bern said. For example, theres no talk about
professional development. And theres no
talk about preparation time ... . (Branstads
plan actually does address professional
development by having the Department of
Education dictate target areas for the states
nine Area Education Agencies.) Theres
further concern, Bern said, about unfunded
mandates.
These are details, yet theyre important
ones rooted in philosophical differences.
And its in the details rather than the
overarching goals that any reform will (or
wont) be ultimately successful.
To listen to interviews with Glass and
Quirmbach, visit this article at RCReader.
com/y/iowaeducation.
13) Kindergarten Readiness Mea-
sures. Would have all four-year-olds in
the state voluntary preschool program
complete a kindergarten-readiness assess-
ment that would determine early literacy
and numeracy skills.
14) High School End-of-Course
Exams. Calls for the development of
[standardized] end-of-course exams in
core areas such as algebra, English, science,
and U.S. history. ... Over time, the results on
this suite of assessments would be used as
a component of graduation.
15) The Programme for International
Student Assessment. Calls for a sampling
of about 3,000 students in the ninth grade
to take the PISA every three years, follow-
ing the same procedures of countries all
over the world. Data from this assessment
will give Iowa information on how well
our education system is doing versus the
international competition our students will
face once they graduate.
16) College and Career Readiness
Measures. Calls for all 11th-grade stu-
dents to take a college-entrance exam.
17) Value-Added Measures (VAM).
A method of analyzing assessment data
that accounts for student background and
demographics in determining whether
students are making expected growth
from year to year. ... Calls for making VAM
available at the individual student, teacher,
grade, school, and district levels.
18) Statewide Literacy Program. Calls
for all students, beginning in preschool, to
be taught with an evidence-based reading
program that covers the five components
of reading. ... Students finishing third grade
who do not meet basic literacy require-
ments across a broad set of measures
would be retained and provided intensive
reading assistance that could include one-
on-one or small-group reading supports,
summer-school programs, or specialized
tutoring.
19) Project Lead the Way. A project-
based and hands-on middle school and
high school science, technology, engineer-
ing, and math curriculum. ... Makes Project
Lead the Way eligible for concurrent enroll-
ment supplemental weighted funding for
high-school/community-college credit.
Section III: Innovation
20) Innovation Acceleration Fund.
Calls for the creation of an Innovation
Acceleration Fund with money from the
state, from philanthropies and founda-
tions, and from the business sector. These
funds would be available to schools and to
community-based nonprofit organizations
across Iowa through a competitive-bid
process. Of the $25-million price tag for
Branstads proposals, $2 million would go
toward this fund.
21) Competency-Based Education.
This [current] time-based system is
the root of the outdated industrial or
factory model of education. The truth is,
some students dont need the seat-time
requirements we have now, while others
need more. ... Removes barriers to schools
choosing to adopt competency-based
systems.
22) Online Learning. Creates two
pathways for online learning in schools
across Iowa.
23) Charter Schools. Would provide a
wider pathway for charters. School districts
could still start charter schools, but so
could universities, community colleges,
and nonprofit organizations, as well as col-
laborative efforts of all these groups.
24) Increased Waiver Authority.
Would provide school districts the same
flexibility that charter schools have. It
would give the director of the Depart-
ment of Education the authority to waive
compliance with rule or statute for schools
wishing to use an innovative approach that
isnt currently allowed.
25) Statewide Parent Engagement
Network. Iowa currently has a system
called the Iowa Parent Information
Resource Center ... . This program has been
effective at increasing parent engagement
and student achievement in the schools
where it has operated. ... Would take this
system statewide with a tiered model of
supports.
26) Task Force on Time and Schools.
In town-hall meetings on education
across the state, Iowans asked how
school calendars, extended days, and the
extended year fit into the broader discus-
sions on reform. ... Calls for a statewide Task
Force on Time & Schools to convene and
study this complex (and often contentious)
issue and make recommendations to the
legislature for the 2013 session.
Whats in Branstads Proposal?
on the bubble for a Best Actor nod but
didnt break into the top five.
Its that fifth slot thats a major head-
scratcher. SAG nominee Demin Bichir?
Quite possibly, though his A Better
Life turn is a low-key (albeit lovely)
performance in a mostly forgotten
film. Globe nominee Ryan Gosling?
Maybe, but while he got the nod for
The Ides of March, he might wind up
canceling himself out with additional
votes for Drive. Globe nominee Michael
Fassbender? Hes a critics darling for
his Shame portrayal, but those who
dont care for his NC-17-rated drama
positively detest it, and Fassbenders lack
of a SAG nomination feels pretty telling.
Barring a huge, unexpected rally for
either Tinker Tailor Soldier Spys Gary
Oldman or Ramparts Woody Harrelson,
then, Im going to throw up my hands
and pick Shannon, whose said-to-be-
astonishing work has gone strangely
ignored in the precursor stages. It would
be odd for anyone without SAG, CCA,
or Globe nominations to make the cut in
the Oscars acting races, but there are a
few examples to back up the possibility.
Such as Biutifuls Javier Bardem. Or
Crazy Hearts Maggie Gyllenhaal. Or ...
Revolutionary Roads Michael Shannon.
Best Actress
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl
with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk
About Kevin
Michelle Williams, My Week
with Marilyn
Up until last week, I thought this
category was locked tight as a drum.
Streep, Swinton, Williams, and Davis
(the odds-on favorite for the win) all
went three-for-three in the precursor
stages, and all appear rock-solid for
Oscar citation; given the grimness of We
Need to Talk About Kevins subject matter
and a few lukewarm reviews, Swintons
inclusion was somewhat unexpected,
but there now appears to be no ignoring
the strength of her portrayal. And while
she was denied CCA recognition, Albert
Nobbs Glenn Close did score SAG and
Globe nods and has so much Oscar-bait
attached to her story that its almost
overwhelming. A passion project that
she stars in, co-wrote, and wrote song
lyrics for! A movie shes been trying to
get made for 30 years! A legendary star
of stage, screen, and television! A five-
time Oscar nominee with no previous
win! A wait of 23 years since her last
nomination! A role as a woman in
disguise as a man, for heavens sake! Just
wrap up her Oscar with a bow!
Theres just o-o-o-one little hitch:
According to many, the movie sucks.
(Actually, according to a vocal few,
Close also sucks in it.) Still, its not
uncommon for fine performers to
be rewarded for subpar films, and
everything seemed in place for a sure-
fire Close nomination ... until a little
movie titled The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo started getting recognized all
over the place, and star Rooney Mara
became Hollywoods new It Girl,
complete with magazine covers and
fan pages and the obligatory Internet
scandals. (Mara spoke ill of a guest
role she played years ago on Law &
Order: Special Victims Unit. Horrors!)
Close may have the bait though, like
War Horse, maybe too much of it but
fellow Globe nominee Mara has the
heat, and besides, it would be wildly
unusual for an acting category to boast
five previous acting nominees; the last
time it happened was actually in this
category, but that was back in 1995.
Lets go with Mara over Close, with
only Young Adults Chalize Theron and
Bridesmaids Kristen Wiig as possible,
yet totally deserving, spoilers.
For Mike's predictions in the rest of this
year's categories, visit
RCReader.com/y/2012OscarRace.
Predicting the 2012 Academy
Award Nominees
by Mike Schulz
mike@rcreader.com
MOVIES
Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo
$8. For information and tickets, call (563)326-
1333 or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
January 29 The Turn of the Screw.
Adaptation of Henry James novel performed
by students in the University of Iowas opera
department. Englert Theatre (221 East
Washington Street, Iowa City). Friday and
Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. $5-20. For
tickets and information, call (319)688-2653
or visit Englert.org.
Saturday, January 28 Hillbilly Casino.
Acclaimed rockabilly musicians in concert,
with openers James Hunnicutt and 3 on the
Tree. Rock Island Brewing Company (1815
Second Avenue, Rock Island). 9 p.m. $8.
For information, call (309)793-4060 or visit
RIBCO.com.
Saturday, January 28 The Giving Tree
Band. Popular folk, bluegrass, and indie
musicians in concert. The Redstone Room
(129 Main Street, Davenport). 9 p.m. $8. For
information and tickets, call (563)326-1333
or visit RiverMusicExperience.org.
Saturday, January 28 Night Ranger.
Pop-rock musicians of the classic Sister Chris-
tian in concert. Riverside Casino Event Center
(3184 Highway 22, Riverside). 8 p.m. $25-35.
For tickets and information, call (877)677-3456
or visit RiversideCasinoAndResort.com.
Wednesday, February 1 Eliot Lipp.
Acclaimed electro-funk musician in concert.
The Redstone Room (129 Main Street, Dav-
enport). 9 p.m. $10-15. For information and
tickets, call (563)326-1333 or visit
RiverMusicExperience.org.
THEATRE
Thursday, January 19, through Sunday,
February 5 Bad Habits. New Ground
Theatres presentation of locally written
one-acts, featuring Ann Boadens Bad Habits
and Chris Moss Malnati Monday. Village
Theatre (2113 East 11th Street, Village of
East Davenport). Thursdays-Saturdays 7:30
p.m., Sundays 2 p.m. $15-18. For tickets
and information, call (563)326-7529 or visit
NewGroundTheatre.org.
February 5 How I Learned to Drive. Paula
Vogels Pulitzer Prize-winning memory play,
directed by Jennifer Popple. Augustana
Colleges Potter Hall (3701 Seventh Avenue,
Rock Island). Fridays and Saturdays 7:30
p.m., Sundays 1:30p.m. $9-11. For tickets
and information, call (309)794-7306 or visit
Augustana.edu.
EXHIBIT
Friday, January 27, through Friday,
February 24 Augustana Sights & Sounds
Exhibition. Fifth-annual exhibit of pho-
tographs from Augustana students and
high-schoolers throughout the Quad Cities.
Opening reception January 27 from 6-9
p.m. Bucktown Center for the Arts (225 East
Second Street, Davenport). Wednesdays-
Saturdays 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free admission.
Augustana.edu.
COMEDY
Saturday, January 28 John Oliver.
Stand-up with the Emmy-winning comedian
and senior British correspondent on The
Daily Show with Jon Stewart, in a Hancher
Auditorium presentation. University of Iowas
Iowa Memorial Union (125 North Madison
Street, Iowa City). 7:30 p.m. $22-40. For
tickets and information, call (319)335-1160
or visit http://www.Hancher.UIowa.edu.
SPORTS
Saturday, January 28 Mixed Martial
Arts Extreme Challenge. Competitions with
amateur and professional MMA fighters.
Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center
(1777 Isle Parkway, Bettendorf ). 7:30 p.m.
$25-35. For information, call (800)724-5825
or visit Bettendorf.IsleOfCapriCasinos.com.
EVENTS
Saturday, January 21 The Project
of the Quad Cities Red Ribbon Dinner.
Annual fundraiser featuring a cocktail
hour, a gourmet dinner, music by Smooth
Groove, a live and silent auction, and more.
Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center
(1777 Isle Parkway, Bettendorf ). 5 p.m. $65.
APQC4Life.org.
Friday, January 27, and Saturday, Janu-
ary 28 Worlds Toughest Rodeo. Touring
event featuring wild Brahma bulls, bucking
horses, cowboys, rodeo clowns, and more.
i wireless Center (1201 River Drive, Moline).
7:30 p.m. $18-55. For tickets, call (800)745-
3000 or visit iwirelessCenter.com.
January 29 Eagles & Ivories Ragtime
Weekend. Eighteenth-annual event
featuring concerts, eagle watches, and
presentations held throughout downtown
Muscatine. $10-15 concerts, $5 after-hours
events, $35 three-day event package. For
information, call (563)263-8895 or visit
MuscatineArtsCouncil.org.
Saturday, January 28 Chinese
New Year Celebration. Event featuring
a historical program, calligraphy, martial
arts, noodle-making, a Chinese-instrument
demonstration, childrens activities, and
a traditional Chinese meal. St. Ambrose
Universitys Rogalski Center (518 West Locust
Street, Davenport). 3-7 p.m. $5. For informa-
tion, call (563)333-6389 or visit SAU.edu.
What Else Is Happenin
these pieces, or any of the composers,
even. But theyre all really effective, and
the modern effects are used in a really
interesting and exciting way.
The pieces are really unconventional,
adds Lau with a laugh, but its not scary
modern music.
A concert in the Quad City Symphony
Orchestras Signature Series, the Lyrebird
Ensemble performs at the Figge Art
Museum on Saturday, January 21, at 8
p.m. Admission is $18 for adults and $7
for students, and tickets are available
by calling (563)322-7276 or visiting
QCSymphony.com.
For more information on the Lyrebird
Ensemble, visit LyrebirdEnsemble.com.
exhibit a little bit by playing some of
those pieces. So we have a piece thats
called The Swans & the Squirrels; were
actually opening the program with that.
We have a piece called The Song of the
Lark, which was written by a Wisconsin
composer [Charles Rochester Young].
Whats also fun, says Lau, is that I
get to use a lot of special techniques on
the harp. For example, in one piece, I use
a piece of paper in the strings to create a
more percussive effect. And then in an
Irish piece were doing, I actually tap on
the soundboard to make it sound like an
Irish drum.
Unless youre a flutist or a harpist
whos really looked at this sort of
repertoire, says Huntington, you
probably will not have heard of any of
Symphony Spin-Off
by Mike Schulz
mike@rcreader.com
MUSIC
RiverCitiesReader.com
Art in Plain Sight: First National Bank Building
Article and photos by Bruce Walters
T
he entrance to the First National
Bank Building (now U.S. Bank)
at 201 West Second Street in
Davenport tells the story of commerce
and banking through classical images and
symbols. The ancient Greek and Roman
references and high artistic level of the
entrance tell us, in effect, that banking
is an important institution one of the
cornerstones of Western civilization and
a pillar of the community.
The entrance is primarily composed
of three parts: an intricately cast bronze
doorway, two reclining life-sized figures
carved in stone above the doorway, and
four smaller figures in the stone reveal on
both sides of the doorway. Collectively,
the three parts create an impressive and
unified whole.
Standing 21 feet tall, the bronze
doorway is the visual focus of the
building. Images include figures and
objects from ancient Greek coins and
images of Hermes (or the Roman
Mercury), the protector of commerce.
The central clock uses Roman numerals
and is encircled by the Latin-named
zodiac signs. Its classical imagery is
consistent with the buildings Roman
arched windows, fluted pilasters, and
classical frieze.
Above the clock is a sequence of four
carved scenes. The left-hand group
includes a robed man with a pickaxe and
metal workers; the second scene shows
the mined and smelted metal being
stamped into coins; the third depicts the
weighing and counting of the coins; and
the final relates to trade.
The bronze portion of the entrance
was created in 1923 by the John Polachek
Bronze & Iron Company, a firm that also
created sculptures and ornate entrances
for prominent artists and architects in the
early 20th Century including a close
association with Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Above the entrances archway are two
symmetrically positioned figures carved
in stone. The winged woman on the
left is holding up a caduceus a short,
winged staff entwined by two serpents,
and the ancient symbol of commerce and
negotiation. (The traditional medical
symbol, the rod of Asclepius, has a single
snake and no wings.)
The winged man on the right holds
out a container and keys, symbolizing
security. Both figures are resting an
arm on a cornucopia, the symbol of
abundance an especially appropriate
symbol for an agricultural area. In the
spandrels above the flanking arched
windows on the front of the building, the
figures are holding other symbols such as
bolts of lightning with a hammer.
These sculptural reliefs were created
by Adolph A. Weinman (1870-1952),
one of Americans greatest sculptors
who specialized in classical figures.
The pediment over the entrance to the
Jefferson Memorial and the frieze in the
courtroom of the U.S. Supreme Court are
just two examples of his work. He also
designed the Mercury-head-dime and
liberty-half-dollar coins.
In the entrances reveal are additional
figures labeled labor, agriculture,
industry, and commerce (on the left) and
law, philosophy, soldier, and banking
(on the right). One could read these
symbols in a straightforward manner. For
example, law is represented as a woman
holding the two
tablets of the Ten
Commandments
(the Roman
numerals one
through five are
inscribed on the
back of the outer
tablet) and a sword
and scale in the
other hand. The
scale representing
truth and fairness
is held behind a
sword, which could
symbolize the power
to enforce the law.
But subtleties
are added by
additional elements
a plant behind
her and a lamp in
the frame above
her head. Further
meaning comes
from proportion,
placement, the gaze
and expression of
the figure, etc.
Yet a simple listing of the symbols
is less rewarding than viewing the
works directly and drawing your
own interpretation. Art is, at best, a
conversation between you and the artist
that grows in meaning as you put time
and thought into it.
Bruce Walters is a professor of art at
Western Illinois University.
This is part of an occasional series on the
history of public art in the Quad Cities. If
theres a piece of public art that youd like
to learn more about, e-mail the location
and a brief description to BD-Walters@
wiu.edu.
ART
You should read No More Mr. Nice Guy, by
reformed doormat Dr. Robert Glover. Glover
lays out how conflict-avoidant men go limp
in the face of abuse because of their approval-
seeking (driven by low self-worth and fear of
abandonment) and their hiding of flaws and
mistakes (instead of accepting themselves as
fallible and human). Transforming oneself
from a chew-toy among men doesnt happen
overnight. Until you build self-respect, act like
somebody who has it. Set standards for how
youll be treated, and inform your exploding
wife that you expect them to be met (which
may take anger management), and tell her that
youll walk if the rage and unloving treatment
continue. And mean it. So, if she wants to
have a little overnight with her ex, tell her
thats her prerogative when your divorce is
final. Remember, youre never too old to be
happy, and to instill healthy behavior, and
to have something a little warmer and sexier
at Christmas than a lecture about what a
pathetic loser you are under the mistletoe.
Baby, I Need Your Oven
I love good food and wine, but I hate
cooking and Im bad at it. When youre
dating, it seems like youre supposed to
cook your partner dinner at a certain
point, especially if youre a woman. I think
Im at that point now, and Im considering
setting a nice table and ordering takeout.
Will he think Im not that interested if I
dont break out the cookbook?
Food and Whine
According to needlepointed pillows, the
way to a mans heart is through his stomach.
Actually, its through his sternum with a big
saw. I say that a bit defensively because I,
too, love good food but spend all of my time
slaving over a hot computer. (I dont cook; I
heat.) Luckily, I have a boyfriend who likes to
cook for me, but for some guys, a woman who
doesnt cook is an automatic deal-breaker. For
others, its a bit of a bummer, but what matters
is whether the woman otherwise is giving
and shows in various ways that she wants to
take care of them. Youll find out which kind
of man you have when youre honest with
him about who you are a woman who sets
a beautiful table and serves a delicious dinner
right out of The Joy of Calling Up the Chinese
Restaurant and Giving Them Your Credit Card
Number.
Witchful Thinking
Im a retired pastor in my 50s. A nearby
church wanted my help with their Christmas
musical, and I asked my wife of five years,
who played bass at my church, to join me.
She became angry at this suggestion and
said I should do my own thing on Christmas
and shed do hers. She then announced
that shed be spending Christmas Eve with
her (single, lonely) ex-boyfriend, staying
the night at his place and hiking with him
on Christmas Day. I was taken aback. I
said this had the whiff of adultery and
wondered if she wanted to end the marriage.
She flew into a rage. How could I even
think of calling her an adulteress, etc.?
Their overnight got canceled because his
son came home for Christmas, but shes
still mad barely talking to or looking at
me. I confess, Im a conflict-avoider and in
counseling for it. But what do I do about a
woman whose rage can last for several hours
to a month or more? Who gives me lengthy,
pedantic lectures about how pathetic and
hopeless I am? If I say, Then why dont you
leave me?, she says, Because I love you.
Stuck
Your wife has some creative
interpretations of classic Christmas songs:
Ill be home for Christmas? Naw. Youll be
home for Christmas, and Ill be sleeping over
at my ex-boyfriends. Question this in the
slightest and the burning smell will be your
chestnuts roasting over an open fire.
First, the obvious: Unless theres some
previously agreed-upon interesting marital
arrangement, wives do not get to have
ex-boyfriend sleepovers. As for a pastors
wife picking Christmas for hers, whats
the matter? Was he busy on your wedding
anniversary?
A love like hers sends chills down a mans
spine that is, when the man happens to
have one. Did you forget yours at the airport?
Maybe leave it at a hotel? Although your wife
is engaging in outrageous emotional abuse,
your reaction your fear of her rage, which
she uses to control you and get her way is
what keeps it going. You might have had a
different relationship dynamic (or a different
woman altogether) if only youd put your foot
down stood up to her instead of always lying
down and rolling over so she could better kick
you in the head.
Got A Problem? Ask Amy Alkon.
171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405
or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (AdviceGoddess.com)
2012, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.
Ask
the
Advice
Goddess
BY AMY ALKON
loves learning for its own sake. I nominate him
to be your role model for the coming weeks,
Sagittarius. Your opportunities for absorbing
new lessons will be at a peak. I hope you take
full advantage of all the teachings that will be
available.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January
19): Te Bible addresses the subjects
of money and possessions in about
2,000 verses, but devotes only 500 verses to prayer
and 500 to faith. As you know, my advice in these
horoscopes usually tends to have the opposite
emphasis: I concentrate more on spiritual matters
than materialistic concerns. But this time, in
acknowledgment of the specifc cosmic infuences
coming to bear on you, Im going to be more like
the Bible. Please proceed on the assumption that
you have a mandate to think extra deeply and
super creatively about money and possessions
in the coming weeks. Feel free, too, to pray for
fnancial guidance and meditate on increasing
your cash fow.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February
18): Heres one of my favorite quotes
from American philosopher Ralph
Waldo Emerson: I hate quotations. Tell me
what you think. Te current astrological omens
suggest that this is an excellent message for you to
heed. Its crucial for you to know your own mind
and speak your own thoughts. Its smart to trust
your own instincts and draw on your own hard-
won epiphanies. For best results, dont just be
skeptical of the conventional wisdom; be cautious
about giving too much credence to every source
of sagacity and expertise. Try to defne your own
positions rather than relying on theories youve
read about and opinions youve heard.

PISCES (February 19-March 20):
Why did Mark Gibbons strap a washing
machine to his back and then climb to
the top of Mount Snowdown in Wales? He did
it to raise charity money for the Kenyan Orphan
Project. If, in the coming weeks, you try anything
as crazy as he did, Pisces, make sure its for an
equally worthy cause. Dont you dare take on a big
challenge simply to make people feel sorry for you
or to demonstrate what a frst-class martyr you
can be. On the other hand, Im happy to say that
you could stir up a lot of good mojo by wandering
into previously of-limits zones as you push past
the limitations people expect you to honor.

Homework: Imagine that one of your heroes
comes to you and says, Teach me the most
important things you know. What would you say?
FreeWillAstrology.com.
LEO (July 23-August 22): One way or
another, you will be more famous in
the coming months than youve ever
been before. Tat might mean youll become
better known or more popular or it could take
a diferent turn. To tease out the nuances, lets
draw on Naomi Shihab Nyes poem Famous.
Te river is famous to the fsh. / Te loud voice
is famous to silence, / which knew it would
inherit the earth / before anybody said so. / Te
cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
/ watching him from the birdhouse. / Te tear
is famous, briefy, to the cheek. / Te idea you
carry close to your bosom / is famous to your
bosom. (Read the whole poem here: bit.ly/
FamousToWhom.)

VIRGO (August 23-September 22):
Tree famous actresses formed the
British Anti-Cosmetic Surgery League
last year. Rachel Wiesz, Kate Winslet,
and Emma Tompson say they believe people
should be happy with the physical appearance
that nature gave them. Is it rude of me to note that
unlike most of the rest of us, those three women
were born gorgeous? Its easy for them to promise
not to mess with their looks. Do you ever do that,
Virgo? Urge other people to do whats natural
for you but a challenge for them? I recommend
against that this week. For example: If you want to
infuence someone to change, be willing to change
something about yourself thats hard to change.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22):
I predict major breakthroughs in
your relationship to intimacy and togetherness
in 2012, Libra if, that is, you keep in mind the
following counsel from psychologist Dr. Neil
Clark Warren: Attraction and chemistry are
easily mistaken for love, but they are far from
the same thing. Being attracted to someone is
immediate and largely subconscious. Staying
deeply in love with someone happens gradually
and requires conscious decisions, made over and
over again. (Read more by Warren here: tinyurl.
com/WiseChoices.)

SCORPIO (October 23-November
21): Purslane is a plant thats also
known colloquially as pigweed. Its
hearty, prolifc, and spreads fast. In a short time,
it can grow out-of-control, covering a large area
with a thick carpet. On the other hand, its a tasty
salad green and has a long history of being used as
a cooked vegetable. As a medicinal herb, its also
quite useful, being rich in omega-3 fatty acids as
well as a number of vitamins and minerals. Moral
of the story: Keep pigweed contained dont let
it grow out of control and it will be your friend.
Does anything in your life ft that description?

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-
December 21): As he approaches his
70th birthday, retiree and Michigan
resident Michael Nicholson is still hard at work
adding to his education. Hes got 27 college
degrees so far, including 12 masters degrees and
a doctorate. Although hes not an A student, he
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Te
Macys ad I saw in the newspaper had
a blaring headline: Find Your Magic
2.0. Te items that were being touted to help us
discover our upgraded and more deluxe sense
of magic were luxurious diamond rings. Te
cheapest was $2,150. Im going to try to steer
you in another direction in your quest to get in
touch with Magic 2.0, Aries. I do believe you are
in an excellent position to do just that, but only if
you take a decidedly non-materialistic approach.
What does your intuition tell you about how
to hook up with a higher, wilder version of the
primal mojo?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Te U.S.
Constitution has survived 222 years,
longer than the constitution of any
other nation on the planet. But one of
Americas founding fathers, Tomas Jeferson,
might have had a problem with that. He believed
our constitution should be revised every 19 years.
Personally, I share Jefersons view. And I would
apply that same principle of regular reinvention
to all of us as individuals although I think it
should be far more frequently than every 19 years.
How long has it been since youve amended or
overhauled your own rules to live by, Taurus?
Judging by the astrological omens, I suspect its
high time.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): It is
respectable to have no illusions and
safe and proftable and dull, said
author Joseph Conrad. Taking our
cue from his liberating derision, I propose that
we protest the dullness of having no illusions.
Lets decry the blah gray sterility that comes
from entertaining no fantastic fantasies and
unreasonable dreams. How boring it is to have
such machine-like mental hygiene! For this one
week, Gemini, I urge you to celebrate your crazy
ideas. Treasure and adore your wacky beliefs.
Study all those irrational and insane urges
running around your mind to see what you can
learn about your deep, dark unconsciousness.
(P.S.: But Im not saying you should act on any
of those phantasms, at least not now. Simply be
amused by them.)

CANCER (June 21-July 22): If you
were a medieval knight going into
battle with a full suit of armor, the
advantage you had from the metals
protection was ofset by the extra energy it took
to haul around so much extra weight. In fact,
historians say this is one reason that a modest
force of English soldiers defeated a much larger
French army at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
Te Frenchmens armor was much bulkier, and
by the time they slogged through muddy felds
to reach their enemy, they were too tired to fght
at peak intensity. Te moral of the story, as far
as youre concerned: To win a great victory in
the coming weeks, shed as many of your defense
mechanisms and as much of your emotional
baggage as possible.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY by Rob Brezsny
Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny's
EXPANDED 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
Jan. 5 Answers: Right
RELATIVELY SPEAKING - Jan. 19, 01
ACROSS
1. Traipse
5. Alpenstock
10. Clif
15. Winglike parts
19. Lhasa _
20. Atelier essential
21. Of a bone
22. Outlaws
23. Man with an hourglass: 2 wds.
25. Sci-f vessel
27. Port-au-Prince native
28. Banded stone
30. _ beloved...
31. Clueless heroine
32. Era
33. Afrikaans
34. Examines
36. Granary for corn
37. Make up-to-date
41. Spinet
42. Broadway hit of 1957: 2 wds.
45. Cats thatch
46. Rents
47. New Yorks _ Island
48. Jokes
49. Courier vehicle
50. Old greeting
51. Composed
52. A vital sign
53. American pioneer
55. Place of punishment
57. Norman Vincent _
58. Tower
59. The jackal is one
60. Softens
61. Bones of the feet
62. Wraps
64. Sacher or Linzer
65. First-rate
68. Rudd and Revere
69. _ Andronicus
70. OT prophet
71. Word in a palindrome
72. Muscles near the pecs
73. Penalties
74. Hardened
75. Ruler of old
76. Loam
78. Chekhov title: 2 wds.
80. Campus fgures, for short
81. 75-Across, e.g.
83. Car
84. Hard to discern
85. Decomposes
86. Cavity, in anatomy
88. Noted rights org.
89. Newly
92. Beast
93. Works over: 2 wds.
96. Early Reagan movie: 2 wds.
98. Timid one: 2 wds.
101. Swag
102. Disgrace
103. Earmark
104. Villain in a play
105. Novel by Austen
106. Powdered ink
107. Holy smoke!
108. Eats
DOWN
1. British mil. acronym
2. Moonfsh
3. Thin Man pooch
4. The Last of the _
5. Sequence
6. Attar anagram
7. Hindu month
8. Abbr. in grammar
9. Run-down cinemas
10. Tanning plant
11. Rag
12. _ meridiem
13. Yay team!
14. Comes frst
15. Son of David
16. Cowardly Lion actor Bert _
17. Indigo
18. Spot
24. People: prefx
26. Hitchcocks _ Window
29. Desert area
32. Muppet name
33. Place near Mesa
34. Lima bean
35. Close friend: Hyph.
36. Vilifed groups
37. Boost
38. Popular pol: 2 wds.
39. Absurd
40. Article of faith
41. _ du jour
42. One way to read
43. Liken
44. Thinks long and hard
47. To _ _ human...
51. Lessens
52. Trappers merchandise
53. Scalds
54. Roughly: 2 wds.
56. Like some orders
57. Read
58. Treated a sprain
60. Place to stay
61. Go _ _ (set sail)
62. Throe
63. Unmentionable
64. Color slightly
65. Godzilla setting
66. Traditional skill
67. That womans
69. Fey and Louise
70. Sea devil
73. To the greatest degree
74. Raised road
75. Mesozoic period
77. Lynn or Swit
79. Boundless
80. Page or LaBelle
82. Blackjack
84. Dines
86. Entrap
87. _ Hebrides
88. Black tea grade
89. Competent
90. Word on a gift label
91. Reading or drawing
92. Fiber source
93. Refuse
94. The 45th state
95. _ _ My Heart
97. Pi-sigma link
99. Yalie
100. Wrangle
January Crossword Answers
Live Music Live Music Live Music
Email all listings to calendar@rcreader.com Deadline 5 p.m. Thursday before publication
Jam Night w/ Jordan Danielsen -11th
Street Precinct, 2108 E 11th St Dav-
enport, IA
Mandolin Junction -RME Community
Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night -The Dam View Inn, 410
2nd St Davenport, IA
Small Houses - American Dust -Rozz-Tox,
2108 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL
Southern Thunder Karaoke & DJ -McMa-
nus Pub, 1401 7th Ave Moline, IL
2012/01/25 (Wed)
A Party to Go Karaoke Night -Stacks Bar,
525 14th St. Moline, IL
Burlington Street Bluegrass Band -The
Mill, 120 E Burlington Iowa City, IA
Drum Circle (6pm) -Teranga House of
Africa, 1706 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL
Fat Dawgs Productions Karaoke Contest
-Parkers, 635 15th St Moline, IL
Jam Session -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S
Linn St Iowa City, IA
Karaoke Night -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave.
Rock Island, IL
Keller Karaoke -Martinis on the Rock,
4619 34th St Rock Island, IL
Live Lunch w/ Alan Sweet (noon) -RME
Communi ty Stage, 131 W. 2nd St.
Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night -Boozies Bar & Grill, 114
1/2 W. 3rd St. Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night w/ Alan Sweet and Siri
Hirth -RME Community Stage, 131 W.
2nd St. Davenport, IA
Peter Yarrow -CSPS/Legion Arts, 1103 3rd
St SE Cedar Rapids, IA
The Old 57s -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W
Locust Davenport, IA
Wednesday Night Jam Session -The Pub,
4320 N. Brady St. Davenport, IA
2012/01/19 (Thu)
Dead Larry -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock
Island, IL
Fat Dawgs Productions Karaoke & DJ
Jam Sessions with John OMeara and
Friends -The Muddy Waters, 1708
State St. Bettendorf, IA
Jason Carl -Brady Street Pub, 217 Brady
St. Davenport, IA
Karaoke & Retro DJ w/ BMAX Enter-
tainment -The Pub, 4320 N. Brady St.
Davenport, IA
Kodiak Flats - Sam Knutson -The Mill, 120
E Burlington Iowa City, IA
Live Lunch w/ Mo (noon) -RME Com-
munity Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Dav-
enport, IA
Open Mic Night -Uptown Bills Coffee
House, 730 S. Dubuque St. I owa
City, IA
Phantom Vibrations - Attic Party -
Nebula Was -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13
S Linn St Iowa City, IA
The Java Jews -Moline Public Library,
3210 41st St Moline, IL
Thumping Thursday w/ DJ Hypnotic and
Patrick Rifley -McManus Pub, 1401
7th Ave Moline, IL
TobyMac - Jamie Grace -Adler Theatre,
136 E. 3rd St. Davenport, IA
2012/01/20 (Fri)
Bucktown Revue -Nighswander Theatre,
2822 Eastern Ave Davenport, IA
Charley Hayes Trio (6pm) -Skinny Legs
BBQ, 2020 1st Street Milan, IL
Dirt Road Rockers -Martinis on the Rock,
Dubstep for Dummies: Kage - DJ Smiley
- Ghost Science -Gabes, 330 E. Wash-
ington St. Iowa City, IA
Gray Wol f Band -Edj e Ni ghtcl ub at
Jumers Casino and Hotel, I-280 & Hwy
92 Rock Island, IL
Grazin District -The Pub, 4320 N. Brady
St. Davenport, IA
Harp & Lyre -Rogalski Center - St. Am-
brose University, 518 W. Locust St.
Davenport, IA
Jazz After Five w/ Eric Thompson & the
Talented Tenth (5pm) -The Mill, 120 E
Burlington Iowa City, IA
Jet Edison - Organic Underground
-Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St
Iowa City, IA
John Patti w/ the Terry Hanson Ensem-
ble -The Redstone Room, 129 Main St
Davenport, IA
Keys to a Good Time -Rock Island Arsenal
Golf Clubhouse, 1838 Gillespie, Arsenal
Island Rock Island, IL
Live Lunch w/ Jordan Darosa (noon)
-RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd
St. Davenport, IA
Maurice John Vaughn -The Muddy Wa-
ters, 1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA
Open Mic Coffeehouse -First Lutheran
Church of Rock Island Parish House,
Russ Reyman Trio (5:30pm) - Lynn Allen
(9:30) -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust
Davenport, IA
Savannah Smith -Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd Ave.
Rock Island, IL
The Candymakers -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave.
Rock Island, IL
2012/01/21 (Sat)
Brad Rock-it -Martinis on the Rock, 4619
34th St Rock Island, IL
Buddy Olson -Bleyarts Tap, 2210 E. 11th
St. Davenport, IA
Cosmic -Mound Street Landing, 1029
Mound St. Davenport, IA
Deja vu Rendezvous featuring Gratest
Story Ever Told -The Redstone Room,
129 Main St Davenport, IA
Ghost Science - The Car Thief - Danny
Grooves -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock
Island, IL
Gray Wol f Band -Edj e Ni ghtcl ub at
92 Rock Island, IL
Hi-Fi -Duckys Lagoon, 13515 78th Ave
Andalusia, IL
Iowa Ci ty Yacht Cl ub 9th Anni ver-
sary Party: The Big Wu - OSG - Aaron
Kamm & the One Drops - Whistle
Pigs - Tallgrass - Limbs - Caterwaulla
- Gone South - The Enz - (4pm) -Iowa
City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa
City, IA
St. Davenport, IA
L.T. Eckles Band -The Muddy Waters, 1708
Lynn Allen -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust
Davenport, IA
North of 40 -Go Fish Marina and Bar, 411
River Dr. Princeton, IA
Puddle Jumper - As You Were - This
Dream We Speak - Kno Compl y
-Brady Street Pub, 217 Brady St. Dav-
enport, IA
Punk Farm 2012 -Gabes, 330 E. Washing-
ton St. Iowa City, IA
Rob Dahms & Detroit Larry Davidson
(6pm) -Skinny Legs BBQ, 2020 1st
Street Milan, IL
Russ Reyman, Pianist (7pm) -Phoenix,
111 West 2nd St. Davenport, IA
Smooth Groove -Quad-Cities Waterfront
Convention Center, 1777 Isle Parkway
Bettendorf, IA
Spatterdash -The Pub, 4320 N. Brady St.
Davenport, IA
Tapped Out -Crabbys Bar & Grill, 826 W.
1st Ave. Coal Valley, IL
The Emilees - Stinky Jones - Old Charlie
- The Sullivan Gang -The Mill, 120 E
Burlington Iowa City, IA
The Lyrebird Ensemble -Figge Art Mu-
seum, 225 W 2nd St Davenport, IA
Three Hits and a Miss (2 & 7:30pm) -
Cedar Rapids Prairie High School, 401
76th Ave. Cedar Rapids, IA
Three Hits and a Miss (2 & 7:30pm) -
Cedar Rapids Prairie High School, 401
76th Ave. Cedar Rapids, IA
Zither Ensemble (10am) -German Ameri-
can Heritage Center, 712 W. 2nd St.
Davenport, IA
2012/01/22 (Sun)
Dead Larry - Smokin Joe & Friends (5pm) -Iowa
City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA
Ed Gray - Doug Nye - Erik Whitaker - Eli
Lueders & Cale Pruess -The Mill, 120
E Burlington Iowa City, IA
Funday Sunday with Dave Ellis (6pm)
-The Muddy Waters, 1708 State St.
Bettendorf, IA
Russ Reyman, Pi ani st ( 10am- 2pm
brunch) -The Lodge Hotel, 900 Spruce
Hills Dr. Bettendorf, IA
Spoken Word -Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd Ave.
Rock Island, IL
Sunday Jazz Brunch at Bi x Bi stro
(10:30am & 12:30pm) -Hotel Black-
hawk, 200 E. 3rd St. Davenport, IA
Terry Hanson Ensemble (10: 30am)
-Brady Street Chop House, Radisson
QC Plaza Hotel Davenport, IA
2012/01/23 (Mon)
One Night Stand Open Mic -Iowa City
Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA
2012/01/24 (Tue)
Acoustic Music Club (4:30pm) -RME
Davenport, IA
Glenn Hickson (5:30pm) -OMelias Sup-
per Club, 2900 Blackhawk Rd. Rock
Island, IL
19 THURSDAY
21 SATURDAY
20 FRIDAY
25 WEDNESDAY
24 TUESDAY
23 MONDAY
22 SUNDAY
John Patti @ The Redstone Room January 20
CONNECT WITH US

2012 Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. Must be 21 to enter the casino. Management reserves
the right to change or cancel events and promotions at any time without prior notification.
Gambling a problem? There is help. And hope. Call 1-800-BETS-OFF.
www.theislebettendorf.com
1777 sle Parkway - BettendorI, A 52722
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ENTERTAINMENT
YOULL LOVE
Purchase tickets at www.theislebettendorf.com.
FEBRUARY 2
BOBBY VALLI
Frankie Vallis brother
performing a tribute
to The Jersey Boys
FEBRUARY 11
TRAVIS TRITT
ACOUSTIC SHOW
FEBRUARY 24
THE TEXAS TENORS
Live Music Live Music Live Music
Email all listings to calendar@rcreader.com Deadline 5 p.m. Thursday before publication
2012/01/26 (Thu)
5 in a Hand - Item 9 & the Mad Hatters
Iowa City, IA
Jam Sessions with John OMeara and
Friends -The Muddy Waters, 1708
St. Davenport, IA
Jazz Jam w/ the North Scott Jazz Combo
-RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St.
Davenport, IA
Karaoke & Retro DJ w/ BMAX Enter-
tainment -The Pub, 4320 N. Brady St.
Davenport, IA
Live Lunch w/ Randy Leasman (noon)
St. Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night -Uptown Bills Coffee
House, 730 S. Dubuque St. I owa
City, IA
Passafire - Pacific Dub - Fire Sale -The
Mill, 120 E Burlington Iowa City, IA
Rude Punch -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock
Island, IL
Thumping Thursday w/ DJ Hypnotic and
Patrick Rifley -McManus Pub, 1401
7th Ave Moline, IL
2012/01/27 (Fri)
Battle of the Bands: Round One -RIBCO,
1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL
Buddy Olson (noon) -Bettendorf Public
Library, 2950 Learning Campus Bet-
tendorf, IA
Cobalt Blue -The Muddy Waters, 1708
Eagles & Ivories Ragtime Weekend:
The Mad Creek Mudcats (5pm)
- Ivory & Gold - Donald & Barron
Ryan (7pm) -Wesley United Method-
ist Church - Muscatine, 400 Iowa Ave
Muscatine, IA
Emanations Series: Pendulum w/ Ran-
dall Hall & Jonathan Kirk -Rozz-Tox,
2108 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL
Funktastic Five -Martinis on the Rock,
Henhouse Prowlers - Acoustic Mayflies
Iowa City, IA
Hitman (5:30pm) - Wild Oatz (9:30pm)
-The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Dav-
enport, IA
Live Lunch w/ Ellis Kell (noon) -RME
Davenport, IA
Miles Nielson -Gabes, 330 E. Washing-
ton St. Iowa City, IA
Rob Dahms (6pm) -Skinny Legs BBQ,
2020 1st Street Milan, IL
Russ Reyman Trio (5pm) -Phoenix, 111
West 2nd St. Davenport, IA
Smooth Groove -Edj e Ni ghtcl ub at
92 Rock Island, IL
The Avey Brothers -The Pub, 4320 N.
Brady St. Davenport, IA
The Gabri el Hounds - The Sound
Thoughts - Knubby - Sapwoods
-The Mi l l, 120 E Burl i ngton I owa
City, IA
Tim Stop -The Redstone Room, 129 Main
St Davenport, IA
Tony Hamilton Orchestra -Walcott Coli-
seum, 116 E Bryant St Walcott, IA
2012/01/28 (Sat)
A Party to Go Karaoke Night -Wooden
Nickel, 2402 W 3rd St., Davenport, IA
Barlowe & James (6pm) -Skinny Legs BBQ,
2020 1st Street Milan, IL
Community Drum Circle (10: 30am)
St. Davenport, IA
Danika Holmes -The Grape Life Wine
Emporium - Davenport, 3402 Elmore
Ave. Davenport, IA
Dustin Lee (7:30pm) -RME Community
Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA
Donald & Barron Ryan (1:30pm)
-Muscatine Art Center, 1314 Mulberry
Ave. Muscatine, IA
Locust Street Boys (5pm) - Ivory &
Gold (7pm) - Donald & Barron Ryan
(7pm) -Wesl ey Uni ted Methodi st
Church - Muscatine, 400 Iowa Ave
Muscatine, IA
Hillbilly Casino - James Hunnicutt - 3 on
the Tree -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock
Island, IL
Item 9 & the Mad Hatters - Gone South
-Gabes, 330 E. Washington St. Iowa
City, IA
Jam Session w/ Steve McFate -Corner
Tap, 4018 14th Ave. Rock Island, IL
Karaoke w/ Steve K. -Blu Shamrock, 311
S. 13th Ave. Cordova, IL
Kent Burnside & the New Generation
-Bent River Brewing Company, 1413
5th Ave. Moline, IL
Lovedogs -Dels Pub, 102 W. LeClaire
Eldridge, IA
Lynn Allen -The Pub, 4320 N. Brady St.
Davenport, IA
Night Ranger -Riverside Casino Event
Center, 3184 Highway 22 Riverside,
IA
North of 40 -Martinis on the Rock, 4619
34th St Rock Island, IL
Russ Reyman, Pianist (7pm) -Phoenix,
111 West 2nd St. Davenport, IA
Smooth Groove -Edj e Ni ghtcl ub at
92 Rock Island, IL
Stuart Matthews -Bleyarts Tap, 2210 E.
11th St. Davenport, IA
T.U.G.G. - Lick It Ticket -Iowa City Yacht
Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA
The Giving Tree Band -The Redstone
Room, 129 Main St Davenport, IA
The Karry Outz Band -The Muddy Waters,
1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA
The Post Mortems - Satellite Heart
- Break-Up Art -Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd
Ave. Rock Island, IL
Wild Oatz -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust
Davenport, IA
Zither Ensemble (10am) -German Ameri-
can Heritage Center, 712 W. 2nd St.
Davenport, IA
2012/01/29 (Sun)
Anthony Catalfano Quartet (10:30am)
-Brady Street Chop House, Radisson
QC Plaza Hotel Davenport, IA
Ivory & Gold (2pm) -Muscatine Art
Center, 1314 Mulberry Ave. Musca-
tine, IA
Funday Sunday with Lee Blackmon
(6pm) -The Muddy Waters, 1708 State
St. Bettendorf, IA
Russ Reyman, Pi ani st ( 10am- 2pm
brunch) -The Lodge Hotel, 900 Spruce
Hills Dr. Bettendorf, IA
Sunday Jazz Brunch at Bi x Bi stro
(10:30am & 12:30pm) -Hotel Black-
hawk, 200 E. 3rd St. Davenport, IA
2012/01/30 (Mon)
One Night Stand Open Mic -Iowa City
Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA
2012/01/31 (Tue)
Acoustic Music Club (4:30pm) -RME
Davenport, IA
Glenn Hickson (5:30pm) -OMelias Sup-
per Club, 2900 Blackhawk Rd. Rock
Island, IL
Jam Night w/ Jordan Danielsen -11th
Street Precinct, 2108 E 11th St Dav-
enport, IA
Open Mic Night -The Dam View Inn, 410
2nd St Davenport, IA
Southern Thunder Karaoke & DJ -McMa-
nus Pub, 1401 7th Ave Moline, IL
2012/02/01 (Wed)
A Party to Go Karaoke Night -Stacks Bar,
525 14th St. Moline, IL
Eliot Lipp -The Redstone Room, 129 Main
St Davenport, IA
Fat Dawgs Productions Karaoke Contest
Jam Session -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S
Linn St Iowa City, IA
Karaoke Night -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave.
Rock Island, IL
Keller Karaoke -Martinis on the Rock,
Kenny Paulsen Quarter -The Rusty Nail,
2606 W Locust Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night -Boozies Bar & Grill, 114
1/2 W. 3rd St. Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night w/ Alan Sweet and Siri
Hirth -RME Community Stage, 131 W.
2nd St. Davenport, IA
Wednesday Night Jam Session -The Pub,
4320 N. Brady St. Davenport, IA
27 FRIDAY
01 WEDNESDAY
31 TUESDAY
30 MONDAY
Hillbilly Casino @ RIBCO January 28
29 SUNDAY
28 SATURDAY
26 THURSDAY
2 0 1 1 / 2 0 1 2 S E AS ON
BOWLING TO BANISH BULLYING FUNDRAISER
FEBUARY 4, 2012 6:00PM - 9:00PM
BLACKHAWK BOWL AND MARTINI LOUNGE
LOVE STORIES- LOVE ON THE RUN!
FEBRUARY 17 - 8:00PM FEBRUARY 18 - 2:00PM AND 8:00PM
CAMPUS OF AUGUSTANA COLLEGE
WALLENBERG HALL SECOND FLOOR DENKMAN
3520 7TH AVENUE ROCK ISLAND
FROM THE PAGES OF A YOUNG GIRLS LIFE
THE STORY OF ANNE FRANK
MARCH 3, 2012 - 2:00 PM AND 8:00PM
HOLZWORTH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
TUTU FABULOUS TAKE TWO!
WINE TASTING
MARCH 23, 2012 6:00PM - 9:00PM
HOTEL BLACKHAWK
LOVE STORIES- LOVE ON THE RUN!
APRIL 20, 2012 - 7:30PM
MUSCATINE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ART
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
MAY 19, 2012 - 1:00PM AND 7:00PM
ADLER THEATRE
BALLET UNDER THE STARS
JUNE 8-10, 2012 - 8:00PM
LINCOLN PARK CLASSIC THEATER

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