Atomic film festival this weekend

by Karl Horeis

Cinemareno presents the Atomic Film Festival this weekend at the Nevada Museum of Art. Featuring eight films related to nuclear energy and warfare, the festival marks the 25th anniversary of the accident at Three Mile Island - described by festival promoters as "the worst nuclear accident in American history ... so far."

Last fall, I toured the Nevada Test Site, where 80 percent of U.S. nuclear weapons tests were done. Among the timeworn structures there was a sense of something recently missing. Thousands of scientists, officials and soldiers were involved in testing there during the Cold War, yet now it's mostly abandoned.

Aluminum domes smashed like cans and railroad bridges bent several feet are an awesome testament to the power of the A-bomb. Movies featured in the Atomic Film Festival will also offer an interesting perspective on nuclear power.

Before I realized I'd be working, I was hoping to catch "Atomic Cafe" on Saturday. It's a collection of old propaganda films put together in 1982. Sometimes referred to as the "nuclear 'Reefer Madness,'" the film has a bizarre black humor - or so I've read. A reviewer who calls himself "bigfootsalienbaby" on Amazon.com wrote, "Most of the statements by politicians and military types are so ridiculous, it's as though they were scripted by Mel Brooks! The true horror of this movie lies in its presentation of real people saying and doing irrational, stupid things."

Other films will include "Plutonium Circus," shown at 11:30 a.m. Saturday; "Panic in Year Zero," shown at 3:30 p.m. Sunday; and Stanley Kubrick's Cold War classic "Dr. Strangelove (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb)."

Tickets are $7 per film. A full-festival pass may be purchased for $35. The first film on Sunday, shown at 11:30 a.m., will be free. For a complete schedule of show times and titles, go to www.cinemareno.org or call 329-3333.

To tour the Nevada Test Site north of Las Vegas, call the Department of Energy at (702) 295-0944.

Free tours are offered once a month. Maps distributed during the tour show the proposed Yucca Mountain national nuclear waste repository site along the western edge.

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The Tahoe Dance Band will play its last-Friday-of-the-month gig at the Tahoe Senior Center this week. The 17-member band plays classics from a bygone era: Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller. It's great dance music, said "band aid" Marian Setterfield, whose husband, Bob, plays bass saxophone with the group.

"The ladies dress up a little and the men wear nice shoes with leather soles - you can't dance in tennis shoes," she said with a giggle. "Some of these people are wonderful dancers."

The dance runs from about 8 to 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $6. Cheese, wine, snacks, dessert and coffee are provided, as well as various door prizes. You might win a bottle of wine, some chocolate or a painting by one of the seniors.

For more details, call 882-6807.

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I had countless calls and e-mails with ideas on what to do about my broken-down 4Runner out in Elko. Craig said I should have them look at the electronic sensor in the transmission. Margaret thinks I should call Toyota's regional office. Judy and Jim had a similar problem with their RV. Ron Knecht had a solution: Use, or buy, his Nissan.

I appreciate everyone's concern. The mechanic thinks he's located a short circuit in the coolant temperature sensor. Too late to have the rig ready for the long-awaited road trip to Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks I'm currently on. I've rented a little economy car. Say a prayer for my rental while I'm in the badlands.

I guess a few extra days for mechanics to work on the 4Runner (at $65 an hour) won't hurt. Funny - if you accidentally hit the "shift" key on the keyboard when you type "4Runner," you get "$Runner."

Contact Karl Horeis at khoreis@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.