Archive
Movie Maven Crawford Celebrates 20 Years of Classic Film Revivals that Bring Hollywood to Omaha, Special Guest Pat Boone to Appear at Screening of 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'
One of my favorite movies as a kid was the 1959 version of Journey to the Center of the Earth. I've seen it all the way through perhaps a handful of times but always on television, which is why I'm looking forward to an upcoming big screen revival of the Jules Verne sci fi adventure in Omaha, Neb. courtesy of film impresario and historian Bruce Crawford.
Omaha's Pitch Man: Entrepreneur Extraordinaire Willy Theisen is Back with His Next Big Business Venture
Willy Theisen's self-made success story is an American classic. I have known of him since the breakout success of his Godfather's Pizza chain in the 1970s but it wasn't until I was assigned the following profile that I finally met him. I interviewed him for the piece in early March and the story will appear in an upcoming issue of Omaha Magazine.
Outward Bound Omaha Uses Experiential Education to Challenge and Inspire Youth
After seeing some high school students navigate the high ropes challenge course at the Outward Bound Omaha center site I understand why youths and adults, really anyone physically able to access and maneuver on the apparatus, could benefit from testing onself on it. I woulnd't mind trying it myself. I know I would be better for the challenge. The following story for a coming issue of Metro Magazine gives a sense for what Outward Bound Omaha tries to do and how it fits into the mission of the sponsoring North Star Foundation, which is bringing this and other community engagement and personal enrichment resources to northeast Omaha to address the crisis of disenfranchised youth there.
A Brief History of Omaha’s Civil Rights Struggle Distilled in Black and White By Photographer Rudy Smith
Rudy Smith was a lot of places where breaking news happened. That was his job as an Omaha World-Herald photojournalist. Early in his career he was there when riots broke out on the Near Northside, the largely African-American community he came from and lived in. He was there too when any number of civil rights events and figures came through town.
Omaha's Malcolm X Memorial Foundation Comes into its Own, As the Nonprofit Eyes Grand Plans it Weighs How Much Support Exists to Realize Them
African-Americans from the town where I live, Omaha, Neb., are often amused when they travel outside the state, especially to the coasts, and people they first meet discover where they are from and invariably express surprise that black people live in this Great Plains state. Yes, black people do live here, thank you very much. They have for as long as Nebraska's been a state and Omaha's been a city, and their presence extends back even before that, to when Nebraska was a territory and Omaha a settlement.
Bill Cosby, On His Own Terms: Backstage with the Comedy Legend and Old Friend Bob Boozer
Bill Cosby with Bob Boozer, ©photo by Marlon Wright, mawphotography.net
UPDATE: It is with a heavy heart I report that hoops legend Bob Boozer, whose friendship with Bill Cosby is glimpsed in this story, passed away May 19. Photographer Marlon Wright and I were in Cosby's dressing room when Boozer appeared with a pie in hand for the comedian. As my story explains, the two went way back, as did the tradition of Boozer bringing his friend the pie.
Alexander Payne: His Journey in Film
