ARTS@ENTERTAINMENT
■Taco bar tasty, tough on stomach
I<i%ASY
By Shannon Uehling
Senior RegortSLv ' __
Paul Phillips. Buffalo wings. Atmosphere*
The Watering Hole has it all, but best of all is
the FREE TACO BAR!
Every Wednesday from 9 p.m. to midnight,
a person can walk in to the Hole with less than
$1 in change, and walk out with a tummy
churning with a cheap, spicy and somewhat
greasy taco-type sustenance.
When thrifty diners enter the Hole, they will
be greeted (assaulted?) by the battery-acid scent
of buffalo-wing sauce hovering in the dimly
lighted tavern.
However, patrons first must make it past the
fake-I.D. hounds — usually this means the
friendly, long-haired Carl, but occasionally
owner Ben will throw his customers a curve by
watching the door himself.
For those not acquainted with the Hole, it is
located at 1321 O St., and exudes a quaint,
rustic and oddly eclectic aura. Its patrons arc as
varied as the beverages served there.
So, what does a hungry patron have to do to
partake of the free munchics?
The best way I’ve found of procuring the
gratuitous grub is to say “Hey Tony! I’ll have a
(insert name of favorite beverage)” and do a
180-degree turn to hop on the gravy train.
In other words, you can use a soda (beer,
shot, mixed drink) as your ticket to taco hell.
Don’t get me wrong, the spicy food bar is
quite tasty, but a word of warning: Watering
Hole tacos are not for the faint of stomach.
The taco meat is very savory, but a bit on the
greasy side, so unless you can manage to squee
gee off the majority of the grease, prepare to
feel the wrath of heartburn.
The shcllsarc tiny—definitely one-handers.
One of the more productive ways to cat them is
to crunch them up into small chips and make a
David Badders/DN
taco salad out of them.
Diners arc provided with all the traditional
trimmings — lettuce, tomatoes, onions, hot
sauce and cheese that is reminiscent of the kind
the government gives away.
In all, it would be difficult to beat the taco
bar at the Watering Hole, but if free tacos aren’t
what you’re looking for, there’s always pop
corn.
Heading science fiction makes sense
in era of technological, societal change
r
When my editor conceived the idea for this
column, it was envisioned as a blend of science
fiction and science fact. His logic behind the
title was simple: “We are living in the future.”
For the non-metaphysically minded, this
may be puzzling. But chew on it fora while, and
it makes perfect sense.
Consider what we see as commonplace in
A.D. 1993. Space travel, desktop computers,
v CRs, and all those streamlined, scientifically
designed autos coming out of Detroit arc a few
of the best examples.
Compare this with what was commonplace
in, say, 1980. The Shuttle hadn’t flown yet,
desktop computers were a rarity, VCRs were
primarily used by the military, and autos were
still pretty box-shaped.
One wonders at the advances in store for the
next 13 years.
virtual reality will be an everyday affair,
computers will become even smaller and more
powerful, and cars may run on electricity or
solar power.
Space travel will almost certainly be more
routine than today, with at least one space
station in orbit, and permanent bases on the
moon and Mars in advanced planning if not
actual construction. For anyone who lives in it
today or tomorrow, the future holds wonders
beyond belief.
This neatly segues into the Sci/fi part of this
column. Note that 1 say science fiction. I care
fully omitted fantasy tor a reason.
Booksellers often lump the two together; a
major long-running magazine is titled Fantasy
& Science Fiction. However, to link the two
together is erroneous — like comparing sili
con- and carbon-based life forms. SF is for
ward-looking and adaptive; fantasy is back
ward-looking and static.
SF is based on the premise that the future is
worth exploring and living for. SF writers being
an impatient lot, they try to predict the future
and occasionally get it right.
H.G. Wells’ r‘The World Set Free" foresaw
nuclear power and nuclear war in 1914.
Robert Hcinlein wrote about an atom bomb
so convincingly in .1940 that the FBI was sent
to investigate him and his magazine.
SF is never better than when it takes some
current trend, fad or technology and extrapo
lates it into the future. Larry Niven’s
"wirchcads” appeared in the ’70s and served as
-■ ». ----- ^ ■> — «—>- — - j
a warning against addiction to Virtual Reality
(or video games).
Cautionary SF talcs arc the genre’s (and
society’s) conscience against the careless use
of the wonders science bestows.
Up to the late 1980s, the post-nuclear war
story was an admonition against doing the
unthinkable. They have been replaced by the
cco-disastcr talc, whose popular beginnings lie
in Gregory Benford’s 1981 book‘‘Timescapc.”
The themes possible in SF arc as varied as
the future itself. First contact, space travel,
space wars, genetic engineering, computers
running the world, alternate history — all arc
fair game.
Fantasy, by contrast, possesses none of this
originality. It is a static, unevolving genre,
much like the feudal past it wistfully signs for.
It is as much formulaic writing, as are Harle
quin romances.
Fantasy writers have only three settings
available to them. The first is a throwback to the
medieval era, with knights and dragons and
wizards and demons and... you get the picture.
The second is the “Conan” world, peopled
Bnan Shellito/DN
by heavily muscled barbarians wearing fur ,
loincloths. The third is a blend of the two. There I
«ms to be a fourth emerging, personified by <£
rcedcs Lackey, using contemporary settings ,
— but it’s still hamstrung by the old formula.
You must havdmagic, you must have wizards,
and — most importantly — you must have
some kind of heroic quest.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m not personally
knocking fantasy and those who read it. Hcck,
at least they’re reading. But to me, once you’ve
plowed through Tolkien, you know all there is
to know about fantasy. I would even encourage
die-hard SF nuts to read The Lord of thyRings
trilogy, and even a couple of his related books.
I would encourage anyone, regardless of
what he reads, to occasionally pick up some
classic Hcinlein or Greg Bear’s latest, or to buy
the latest issue of Analog magazine. Look at it
not merely as pleasure reading, but as home
work. Those who do their homework will be
better adjusted to, and feel at home, living in the
future.
— Kcpfkld Is a die hard Sct/fl nut and a real sweetheart
of a guy.
1 -man portrayal brings
Malcolm X to campus
By Mark Baldridge
Senior Editor
Darryl Van Leer will portray the late
Malcolm X in a one-man show based on
“The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and
“Malcolm X Speaks.”
“Rated: Malcolm
X” will be performed
Xin the Nebraska Union
Centennial Ballroom
on Monday at 7 p.m.
The 65-minute pre
sentation is a trip to
the past and the heady
days of the civil rights
movement. *
In Act I, “Message to the Grass Roots,”
Van Leer, as Malcolm X, says, ‘‘Our
religion teaches us to be intelligent, be
peaceful,obey the law, rcspcctcvcryone;
but if someone puls his hand on you, send
him to the cemetery.”
In Act II, “Ballot of the Bullet,” Van
Leer delivers the following spqpch: “It’s
the ballot or the bullet. It’s liberty ^or
death. It’s freedom for everyone or free
dom for nobody.”
The 32-year-old Van Leer specializes
in portraying black leaders. He has also
performed as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
and Frederick Douglass.
The Show, presented by the Univer
sity Program Council, has a S3 admis
sion. It is free to UNL students with ID.
Vocalist to sing
at Lied Center
From Statl Reports 1
l Bobby MeFerr in w ill play at the Lied \
Center again this season.
A nine-time Grammy winner,
MeFerrin is best known for his quirky and
original vocal style. Using only his voice
and the rhythms he generates on his body,
MeFerrin often imitates musical^instru
mcnts and accompanies himself/
I Last year, however,
he began his career as
a classical music con
ductor, appearing be
fore the National, New
Jersey and San Fran
_ . cisco orchestras.
MeFerrin MeFerrin has re
corded with Yo Yo Ma and Chick Corea,
Herbie Hancock, Brandford and Wynton
Marsalis, as well as Jack Nicholson.
His unforgettable “Don’t Worry, Be
Happy” rocketed him to stardom four
years ago and sparked explosions of mer
chandising.
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”briefly be
came the theme song of a nation.
MeFerrin’s last appearance at the Lied
Center for Performing Arts was well re
ceived, and plans were made almost im
mediately for his return.
His Saturday show starts at 8 p.m. Pre
performance talks by Kit Voornces, co
ordinator for cducation/outrcach for the
College of Fine and Performing Arts, will
be given at 7 and 7:30 p.m.
Tickets arc still available at the Lied
Center for $22.
Solution to last week's puzzle:
Be6! Threatening both BxKtd5 and Qg6, follwed
(note: last weeks King and Queen symbols were
reversed) _