Friday, April 16, 1993 Akts^Entertainment
Man and myth
Counterculture poet to give UNL reading
Allen Ginsberg is, tor many, more myth than
man.
Part beat saint of the clan of Burroughs and
Kerouac, part living ambassador of beatific
vision from outer space, he has influenced and
shaped generations of writers since the shatter
ing publication of “‘Howl’ and Other Poems”
in 1956.
“Howl” was considered obscene by many,
but was vind icated in the courts and has gone on
to become part of required reading in most
modem poetry classes.
Ginsberg’s biography reads like a novel. He
has wandered the world, has been elected King
of May in Prague, and was forcibly ejected
from there soon thereafter. He’s run with the
beatniks, and later the hippies, the yippies, the
countercultures of three generations.
Twenty-five years ago he
passed through Lincoln
and was impressed with the
city for naming Its main
street"Zero Street” (O
Street). He mentions It in a
poem; you can find it in the
library.
He’s hung out with rock stars, poets, artists,
drug fiends and religious leaders.
He is on record against war and mean
spirited regimes, has been hassled and arrested
by the police of several continents and is a
member of the American Institute of Arts and
Letters.
He is a poet, a musician, a photographer, an
activist and a Buddhist practitioner.
Twenty-five years ago he passed through
Lincoln and was impressed with the city for
naming its main street “Zero Street” (O Street).
He mentions it in a poem; you can find it in the
library.
And he’s passing through again this week
end. He’ll be reading (performing might be a
better word) Saturday at 8 p.m. in Kimball Hall.
The cost to students is S5, and the proceeds
go to Jewel Heart, a Buddhist society, to aid the
Nyare Khantsan monks, displaced by the Com
munist Chinese from their homes in Tibet.
Gelek Rinpoche of the international Jewel
Heart organization will also speak at the YWCA,
1432 N St., Friday at 7 p.m.
— Mark Baldridge
Courtesy of Myles Aronowitz
Allen Ginsberg, world wanderer, beatnik saint and poet, will officially
bless Lincoln with his presence Saturday.
Tax time increases PMS cases
My friend stared down at his 1040EZ tax
form.
He couldn’t figure it out.
Oh, it’s easy, I said. You put this numbei
here... and you put this number here... then
you subtract, (Hit this number here and call it
solved.
“Jan, you’re some kind of genius,” he said.
And you’re owing me $5,1 said.
Although this friend was my only tax client,
he gave me significant insight into the world ol
paying taxes.
There are three things that upset taxpayers:
the form, the way taxes are collected and the
way the money is spent.
Some people don't have too much trouble
doing the one homework assignment they get
from the government each year. f
My friend’s form, for instance*, the 1040EZ,
is basically for a single person who doesn’t
have itemized deductions and all the fancy
stuff. It really isn’t that hard.
But take a look at the 1040 and 1040A. It’s
not like you have to do calculus or anything, just
addition and subtraction.
Trouble is, there’s a lot of addition and
subtraction — enough to make people think
having H&R Block do their taxes for them is
worth coughing up half their tax refunds in fees.
(Of course, people who really want can have
the IRS do their taxes for them. But then, the
IRS would probably be more strict about busi
ness trips to Tahiti than H&R Block.)
But doing taxes can be fun.
At least I think it would be fun to have all my
friends come over, order a pizza and do our
taxes together. It would be a lot more fun than
Pictionary. .
But I digress: The second thing that upsets
Americans about taxes is how they are col
lected.
Look at your pay stub. So much of it is
withheld for taxes.
Legislators are lucky In that
respect: Imagine If tax day
was the same day as
Election Day.
Fonn ; ; j
_
That is nicer, admittedly, than having to wait
in line to sec a tax collector; I can have my
company pay my taxes for me.
On the downside, though, I think I’d feel
better if only I had someone to yell at, like a tax
collector I could wait in line for.
The third upselling thing about paying taxes
is where the money goes.
Government is not run like a business. A
business has to make a profit or it goes down the
toilet.
A government can’t go down the toilet, or
we’d have more than 500 former legislators
looking to do nothing elsewhere.
A government can spend its heart out, and I
don’t mean paying $100 for a screwdriver or
spending $100,000 trying to grow mohawks on
bald eagles.
Thanks to all these factors, April 15 was the
one day this year when all Americans, except
the ones who already filed, had PMS (Paying
the Miserly Scum).
So once again, we have to listen to talk about
how we ought to oust our legislators come
Election Day — and then hear that talk cool
down by next week.
’ Legislators are lucky in that respect: Imag
ine if tax day was the same day as Election Day.
Fortunately, I already paid my taxes and
received my refund.
Then again, if the IRS reads this column, it
may audit me. If it does, it may give me hell
about that tax client of mine. They didn’t know
I was self-employed, they’ll say.
Didn’t I mention I was just kidding about the
S5?
V.
jan Calingcr is a freshman news-ed itorial major and
in arts and entertainment columnist.
Courtesy of Milestone Management
Sonny Rollins
Jazz innovator
to play at Lied
A man who has often been called the
greatest living tenor saxophonist will share
his talent with the Lied Center audience
tonight.
Sonny Rollins, jazz musician, is famous
for his inventive improvisations. His dy
namic style ranges from romantic balladry
to hard bop. From his parents, who immi
grated from the Virgin Islands, he developed
an affinity for the Caribbean rhythms that
have inspired his later jazz-calypso experi
ments.
Rollins,63, worked frequently with trum
peter Miles Davis in his early 20s. “Falling
in Love with Jazz” is Rollins’ most recent
recording.
“Over the past 40 years, Sonny Rollins
has been making and remaking jazz history,
day by day...”— Rolling Stone.
Tickets are still available for the 8 p.m.
performance at the Lied Center.
— Staff Reports
Courtesy of Fleming Tamulevich
Aurelio Font of the Flirtations
A cappella group
to play Carson
jI V f i
The openly gay, politically active, multi
cultural a cappel la singing group The Flirta
tions will perform two shows Sunday night
. at Carson Theater.
Not only are The Flirtations known for
their singing talent, the group addresses the
AIDS crisis and issues of homophobia in a
ht.
. discussion on AIDS-related is
sues will be held with the group at 4 p.m.
Sunday in the Lied Center’s Steinhart Room.
Reservations for the 7 and 10 p.m. perfor
mances are strongly suggested. S ludents can
buy tickets at half-price. Tickets can also be
purchased an hour before the performance at
~^lhe Carson box office.
— Staff Reports
