Week of Nov. 23, 2022

From the editor’s desk

In a beautiful vale near the Idaho-Nevada border, the people of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation are reviving their languages and agricultural methods, and a young researcher is proving the healing properties of ancient medicines, Katelyn Welsh reports.

Thanksgiving traditionally unleashes a crop of new Christmas movies, yet very few make the list of seasonal favorites in the years to come. But Spirited, a musical rom-com starring the former large elf Will Farrell and Deadpool’s Ryan Reynolds, is one of those holiday flicks you will be happy to revisit annually, says reviewer Bob Grimm. He also recommends The Menu, “a caustic, funny stick in the eye to crazed foodies everywhere,” starring Ralph Fiennes as an ultra-control-freak chef. The film also features Anya Taylor-Joy as one of the diners—brought on a date to the chef’s quietly deranged restaurant on a remote island.

Closer to home, (non-crazed) foodie Taylor Harker takes a look at Reno restaurants offering holiday-themed menus for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The dishes range from the traditional turkey, ham or beef to haute cuisine.

As the seasons change, RN&R photo editor Dave Robert provides a brief slide show of the blazing autumn colors along the Truckee River.

Our Western Lit feature spotlights Straight Flossin’ and Other Stories of the American West by Danny Nielsen. The story collection takes readers on a romp through the high desert, a place of open roads, bird counts, rat research, close calls with fires and skunks, and a refuge for those looking for the American Dream—or what’s left of it.

RN&R’s November mailbag contains readers’ missives about the midterm elections, the failures of the Nevada Cancer Registry and the GOP’s perpetual rage machine.

Happy Thanksgiving! Be sure to pick up our December print edition, which will begin showing up around the region this weekend.

I’ll see you in the funny papers.

Take care,

—Frank X. Mullen, Editor