Tucson Weekly, Nov. 11, 2021 by Times Media Group

CURRENTS: PIMA COUNTY CASES ARE ON THE RISE AGAIN

NOVEMBER 11 - 17, 2021 • TUCSONWEEKLY.COM • FREE

Adaptive Renewal A new midtown art studio space has sprung up on Grant Road By Bryn Bailer MUSIC: The Return of the Dusk Fest

REEL INDIE: Loft Film Fest Highlights

TUCSONWEEKLY.COM

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

NOVEMBER 11, 2021 | VOL. 36, NO. 45

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STAFF

CONTENTS

CURRENTS

New research finds COVID is the leading cause of death in Arizona

CINEMA

129

Feast your eyes on the new Julia Child documentary

FEATURE

A new midtown art studio space has sprung up on Grant Road

MUSIC

ADMINISTRATION Steve T. Strickbine, Publisher Michael Hiatt, Vice President

EDITOR’S NOTE

Jaime Hood, General Manager, jaime@tucsonlocalmedia.com

Artistic License

Tyler Vondrak, Associate Publisher, tyler@tucsonlocalmedia.com Claudine Sowards, Accounting, claudine@tucsonlocalmedia.com

YOU GOTTA HAND IT TO TUCSON ARTISTS. When work on the Downtown Links road (which will finally complete the last mile of Aviation Parkway, decades after planning began) forced them from the Citizens Transfer warehouse, they found themselves a new building in need of some love, just down the street from one of Tucson’s most notorious intersections, Grant Road and Alvernon Way. The group of artists have rehabbed an old furniture store, transforming it into the Tucson Art and Design Center. There are still challenges, but it’s blooming into the kind of artist space we need in this town. Contributor Bryn Bailer brings you the details in this week’s cover story. In this edition, we also relaunch our Reel Indie film column to give shoutouts to cinema happenings around town. This week, Matthew Singer brings us updates from the Loft Film Fest—which swings into full gear this week—as well as the Fox Theatre’s new Spanish-language Cinema Tucson and other special screenings around town. Plus, movie critic Bob Grimm reviews Julia, one of the Loft Film Fest’s anchors. Elsewhere in the book this week: Staff reporter Alexandra Pere brings us the distressing news that the spread of COVID is on the rise (but at least the vaccine is now available for

kids ages 5 to 11); Kylie Cochrane of Cronkite News looks at how Arizona will soon be distributing “social equity” licenses for cannabis dispensaries; food columnist Matt Russell pours one out for the craft beer benefit happening at this weekend’s Tucson Roadrunners hockey match; managing editor Jeff Gardner tells you about Luz de Vida II, a benefit album featuring Tucson-related bands that benefits nonprofit organization Homicide Survivors; XOXO columnist Xavier Omar Otero tells you all about another lineup of bands coming through town this week, including Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, REO Speedwagon, the Beach Boys, Jenny Lewis and more; calendar editor Emily Dieckman lets you know what you can do for fun in this burg in City Week; and we’ve got a preview of this week’s Dusk festival and plenty more in our pages. Jim Nintzel Executive Editor Hear Nintz talk about some of your best entertainment options at 9:30 a.m. Wednesdays during the World-Famous Frank Show on KLPX, 96.1 FM.

RANDOM SHOTS By Rand Carlson

Tucson music compilation Luz de Vida II supports families of homicide victims

Sheryl Kocher, Receptionist, sheryl@tucsonlocalmedia.com EDITORIAL Jim Nintzel, Executive Editor, jimn@tucsonlocalmedia.com Jeff Gardner, Managing Editor, jeff@tucsonlocalmedia.com Mike Truelsen, Web Editor, mike@tucsonlocalmedia.com Alexandra Pere, Staff Reporter, apere@timespublications.com Contributors: David Abbott, Rob Brezsny, Max Cannon, Rand Carlson, Tom Danehy, Emily Dieckman, Bob Grimm, Andy Mosier, Linda Ray, Margaret Regan, Will Shortz, Jen Sorensen, Clay Jones, Dan Savage PRODUCTION Courtney Oldham, Production Manager, tucsonproduction@timespublications.com Ryan Dyson, Graphic Designer, ryand@tucsonlocalmedia.com Emily Filener, Graphic Designer, emilyf@tucsonlocalmedia.com CIRCULATION Alex Carrasco, Circulation, alexc@tucsonlocalmedia.com ADVERTISING TLMSales@TucsonLocalMedia.com Kristin Chester, Account Executive, kristin@tucsonlocalmedia.com Candace Murray, Account Executive, candace@tucsonlocalmedia.com Lisa Hopper, Account Executive, lisa@tucsonlocalmedia.com NATIONAL ADVERTISING Zac Reynolds Director of National Advertising Zac@TimesPublications.com Tucson Weekly® is published every Thursday by Times Media Group at 7225 N. Mona Lisa Rd., Ste. 125, Tucson, Arizona. Address all editorial, business and production correspondence to: Tucson Weekly, 7225 N. Mona Lisa Rd., Ste. 125, Tucson, Arizona 85741. Phone: (520) 797-4384, FAX (520) 575-8891. Member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN). The Tucson Weekly® and Best of Tucson® are registered trademarks of Times Media Group. Publisher has the right to refuse any advertisement at his or her discretion.

TUCSON WEEDLY

Equity program will offer 26 new marijuana dispensary licenses, but will it actually aid targeted communities?

Cover image by Bryn Bailer

Copyright: The entire contents of Tucson Weekly are Copyright Times Media Group No portion may be reproduced in whole or part by any means without the express written permission of the Publisher, Tucson Weekly, 7225 N. Mona Lisa Rd., Ste. 125, Tucson, AZ 85741.

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NOVEMBER 11, 2021

and Johnson & Johnson booster on Oct. 21 with a “mix and match” recommendation. People can choose to receive a different booster shot from their original vaccination. Pima County continued to expand vaccine availability on Nov. 5 by offering the COVID cases jumped by 25% in the last two weeks of October Pfizer pediatric COVID vaccine to kids ages 5 to 11. The Health Department established Alexandra Pere of individual mitigation behaviors,” Gerald a proactive method of pediatric vaccine apere@tucsonlocalmedia.com wrote. distribution before FDA and CDC approval Overall case numbers may be even highso the vaccines will be widely available this AS COVID CASES RISE AGAIN, er, as some people may be using take home week to providers. Pediatric Pfizer vaccines Pima County and other local government kits and not reporting their results to county are a third of the normal dosage and are free agencies are struggling to lower transmisauthorities. Pima County Health Department through Pima County. sion amid an increase in public events. Director Dr. Theresa Cullen said in a Nov. Pima County is also expected to make the Dr. Joe Gerald, an epidemiologist with 5 press conference that only about 10% to vaccines available with their mobile vaccine the UA Zuckerman School of Public Health 15% of people are reporting their home-test clinics on Nov. 8 at elementary, middle, who has been tracking COVID cases since results to Pima County. private, and charter schools throughout the the virus first arrived in Arizona, noted that By December, it will have been exactly county. for the week ending Oct. 31, Arizona had 260 one year since the COVID vaccines became “We’re hitting those elementary and new cases per 100,000 residents, a 25% jump available in Arizona. Health officials believe middle school areas heavily in order to try to compared to just two weeks earlier, when the vaccine’s efficacy might wane over time, increase as much access as possible for folks cases were just 203 per 100K residents. especially against the widespread Delta varwho maybe have reduced access to transporGerald noted the cases are rising across all iant, which is why Gerald advises people to tation, or who it might be harder for them to age groups. get a booster shot if they have already been get to a pediatricians office to get a vacci“The cause is uncertain but the list of vaccinated. nation,” Pima County Health Department’s culprits includes fall break for many K-12 Two weeks ago, Pima County made the COVID-19 school liaison Brian Eller said in a schools, a welcomed cold front that cooled Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster Nov. 5 press conference. things down for a week or so, waning vaccine shots available to eligible adults. The Centers This new rollout along with recommendand acquired immunity, sporting events, loss for Disease Control approved the Moderna

CURRENTS

ON THE RISE AGAIN

ed mitigation strategies such as masking will help lower school outbreaks and classroom closures. These strategies are desperately needed to prevent schools from closing. Agua Caliente Elementary School was forced to close due to a COVID outbreak last week and is expected to stay closed until Nov 15. Eller said there were 40 students with reported cases and more than 50% of the student body had been absent for two days prior to closure. “There was a significant amount of time spent on discussions with the school in order to come to the right conclusion on what would be best and safest for that community,” Eller said. Agua Caliente does not require students to wear masks. Schools without mask requirements are at higher risk for outbreaks, according to Pima County research. A recently released study by the CDC, co-authored with Pima County, showed K-12 schools without mask requirements were 3.5 times more likely to experience a COVID outbreak. Data was taken from 999 public schools in Pima and Maricopa County. Cullen said school outbreak cases are high and she’s hoping vaccination will CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

A mobile recreation program is coming to a park near you! Visit the park in November and enjoy general play and speciality modules at each location: 11/12 11/12 11/12 11/13 11/13 11/13 11/13 11/14 11/15 11/15

Rio Vista Park Michael Perry Park Alvernon Park Kennedy Park Udall Park Jacobs Park Himmel Park Mansfield Park Palo Verde Park Hoffman Park

3-5 p.m 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 10 a.m.-noon 9-11 a.m. 10 a.m.-noon Noon-2 p.m. 3-7 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m.

11/16 11/16 11/16 11/17 11/17 11/17 11/18 11/18 11/18 11/19

Ormsby Park Purple Heart Park Swan Park Palo Verde Park Mitchell Park Harriet Johnson Park Sarah Ann Miller Park Rolling Hills Park Santa Rosa Park Gollob Park

3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m.

11/19 11/19 11/20 11/20 11/20 11/20 11/22 11/22 11/23 11/23

Mansfield Park Ochoa Park Mission Manor Park Limberlost Park Purple Heart Park Catalina Park Case Park Rudy Garcia Park Riverview Park Todd Harris Park

3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 10 a.m.-noon 9-11 a.m. 9-11 a.m 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m.

11/23 11/23 11/24 11/24 11/24 11/24 11/26 11/27 11/27 11/27

Silverlake Park Swan Way Park Bonita Park Claire Weeks Park Elias Esquer Park Manuel Herrera Park Jacinto Park La Madera Park Lakeside Park Tahoe Park

3-5 p.m 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 9-11 a.m. 9-11 a.m. Noon-2 p.m.

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

known as Title 42, which effectively closed U.S. borders and allows border agents to immediately “expel” anyone they encounter at and between official ports of entry — even if they are seeking asylum under U.S. law. With the reopening of the border crossings to tourism after 19 months of restrictions and the continued denial of entry to

CURRENTS

TUCSONWEEKLY.COM

asylum-seekers who are vaccinated or have tested negative for COVID-19, migrant advocates are calling the Biden administration’s border policy a double-standard. They say it endangers asylum-seekers and violates human rights. CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

SORENSEN

PHOTO BY ARIZONA MIRROR

HARD LINE

American borders reopen to tourists, but remain closed for those seeking asylum Laura Gómez Arizona Mirror

“He said that, for the time being, there is no asylum. The border is only open to tourists with a passport and a visa,” Lisandro AS ENTRY RESTRICTIONS LIFTED ON said at a press conference Monday. “I have Monday in a welcomed reopening of the the vaccine. It’s my right to ask for asylum land U.S. border crossings to some tourists and I am fleeing from a very dangerous from Mexico, the Biden administration is place. How is it possible that they do this to continuing to deny entry to asylum-seekers us?” from Mexico and Central America under a The press conference was held by the Trump-era emergency public health rule. Kino Border Initiative, a faith-based organiLisandro, a migrant from southern zation that provides shelter, food and other Mexico using a pseudonym to protect his humanitarian services to migrants waiting identity, tried to request entry to the country in Nogales, Sonora, for a chance to get prowith his wife and two kids Monday morning tections from prosecution and violence as under U.S. asylum law at a Nogales border outlined by U.S. and international law. The crossing. He presented his COVID-19 vacci- organization is among the various Arizona nation card, but a border agent turned and national groups that have denounced the family away. the invocation of public health powers,

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COVID

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decrease the number of cases. Cullen urged those who remain unvaccinated to schedule an appointment for a shot. This is especially important as a new study shows Arizona is the only state in the U.S. where the leading cause of death during the pandemic was COVID-19. Cullen said hospitals in Pima County are stable but not equipped to handle a major disaster. “That stable nature is a system that could quickly get into a crisis,” Cullen said. “We have not had a situation where there’s been inadequate ICU or med surge or pediatric beds in the last few months. However, as we approach the winter, we remain very concerned about that possibility.” Amid rising case numbers in Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey announced on Nov. 4 that he planned to challenge the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate geared towards private businesses. According to the administration’s requirements, all U.S. companies with at least 100 employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or get tested weekly starting Jan 4. “We have and will continue to encourage all Arizonans to get the shot, which has been

granted full approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but it isn’t mandatory and shouldn’t be,” from Ducey’s statement. But Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-District 3) praised the Biden administration for the new workplace requirements. “This new workplace standard by the Biden administration is welcome news and will save lives,” Grijalva said in a prepared statement. “With COVID-19 as the new leading cause of death in Arizona, I applaud this effort to mitigate transmission of the virus in the workplace. Right now, people are uncomfortable risking themselves or their families to be in unsafe working conditions—and that must change. Having unvaccinated employees harms businesses as workers fall ill, spread the virus in the workplace, and businesses are forced to close and quarantine for extended periods of time. As we continue to see a rise in breakthrough cases and strained hospitals in Arizona, I encourage individuals to get vaccinated, to get their booster shots, wear masks and continue practicing safe public health protocols.” Cullen said the Pima County Health Department doesn’t expect to assist with enforcement of the mandate, but the county is working with local businesses to ensure their employees will have access to the vaccine. ■

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

HARD LINE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

Jose Hernandez, a Central American migrant also using a pseudonym who spoke at the Nogales press conference, said he’s been waiting in the Sonoran border town for a month. He said migrants are exploited for cheap labor, are taken advantage with high rent bills and persecuted by criminal groups. “Our lives are in danger here,” he said. “To the criminal groups, we are like cattle to them, they don’t see us as people. It’s not an option to stay here.” Last month, Human Rights First published a report documenting “at least 7,647 kidnappings and other attacks” on migrant families, adults, and children that were seeking protections but U.S. authorities expelled under Title 42 authority since President Joe Biden took office. Public health experts have repeatedly made the case that the implementation of Title 42 to expel migrants seeking asylum is not based on science or public health best practices, and is instead politically motivated. The policy weakens U.S. and international law meant to safeguard

5th Now in our 3

asylum processes, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said. While Biden campaigned on promising more humane immigration policies than those of his predecessor, his administration has continued to defend and use Title 42. The administration also recently relied on Title 42 to implement an expulsion plan that has sent back to Haiti an estimated 7,000 migrants, the majority of whom are women and children. Josefina Bejarano Padilla, shelter coordinator at Kino Border Initiative, said the indifference the Biden administration is showing to vulnerable adults and children is “unimaginable.” She said it hurts that, while the U.S. reopened its land border for tourists who show proof of vaccination, it chose to continue excluding asylum-seekers. Bejarano Padilla wants both U.S. and Mexican authorities to respond by providing them a dignified way of life. “All of the migrants that we embrace need open hands, they need for us to fight so their rights are valid,” she said. “They need a roof over their heads, they need food, the right to healthcare and work.” ■

TUCSONWEEKLY.COM

CLAYTOONZ

This article originally appeared on azmirror.com, a nonprofit online news site.

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Editor’s Note: While we are delighted to see Tucsonans once again gathering for fun events, we are also aware that the Delta variant is in widespread circulation. Please consider getting vaccinated against COVID if you haven’t yet and following CDC guidance, which includes wearing masks at crowded indoor events. Keep yourself and others safe—the pandemic isn’t over yet. Hockey & Hops. What could make going to a hockey game even more fun? How about a beer garden featuring pours from 11—count ‘em! 11!—regional brewers? Tickets to this event include access to the pre-game beer garden, 10 drink tickets, a Tucson Roadrunners commemorative shot glass and—of course—a ticket to the game against Ontario Reign. It’s a great way to try a sampling of tons of local beers, while also getting yourself into the perfectly rowdy mood for a hockey game. Proceeds go to Roadrunners Give Back, a foundation that supports local nonprofits. Charitable beer gardens are the best beer gardens. 4 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13. Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave. $50 GA, or $30 as an add-on for Tucson Roadrunners. Little One-Inch. It seems like every culture has a story about the underdog finding success. Oftentimes, like in the case of Tom Thumb or this Japanese tale, the “little guy” is literally a teeny-tiny person. This show is put on by Red Herring Puppets, whose artistic director, Lisa Sturz, has more than 40 years of puppetry/art experience, including work with Jim Henson Productions, Walt Disney Imagineering, Lucasfilm and more. Needless to say, the artistry is truly something to behold. This show full of magic and delight is recommended for audiences aged 3 and up. 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13, 20 and 27. Red Herring Puppet Studio at the Tucson Mall (between Macy’s and Forever 21). $8. My Left Breast. Invisible Theatre is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a whole season of excellent shows, including one this weekend. My Left Breast, written and performed by Obie Award-winning actress and playwright Susan Miller, shows this weekend. Miller is a one-breasted, Jewish, bisexual, menopausal mom who tells a hilarious and moving story about relationships, parenthood, cancer and her ever-changing self. It’s an excellent example of the power of live theater, and why we

missed it all so much! 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11 and Friday, Nov. 12. Invisible Theatre, 1400 N. First Ave. $40, or $20 for students. Reservations required. Whiskey Del Bac’s 10th Anniversary. Though it’s been around officially for a decade now, the idea for Whiskey Del Bac came back in 2006, when the owners were barbecuing mesquite scraps. Why not malt barley over mesquite, instead of peat, for a distinct Southwestern flavor? Today, the distillery is a beloved local staple, and this weekend, we’re celebrating! Cocktail workshops and whiskey seminars will be accompanied by live music and plenty of cocktails for purchase. Local companies like HUB, Monsoon Chocolates and Decibel Coffee Works are featured, and a limited Tenth Anniversary Calvados cask release will be bottled and distributed at the release and online. 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13. Mercado San Agustin Annex, 100 S. Avenida del Convento. Free to attend, but seminars and workshops cost and require reservations.

by Emily Dieckman Guatemalan Crafts Sale. Each year, a colorful blend of items make their way all the way from small cottage villages in Guatemala to our very own Old Puebo, where they’re available for purchase at Tohono Chul’s annual sale. From brilliant beaded jewelry to handwoven textiles, from purses to table runners to clothing, the rainbow of goods at this sale are guaranteed to brighten up your home. Or the lives of people you gift them too. After all, the holidays are (somehow and suddenly!) going to be upon us soon. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 12 and Saturday, Nov. 13. Education Center Classroom 1 at Tohono Chul, 7211 N. Northern Ave. Free admission during the sale. TusCon 48. No, I didn’t just spell “Tucson” the way an out-of-towner might try to spell it. This is a convention, billed as “the best little sci-fi, fantasy & horror convention in Arizona.” How fun! Special guests include Jennifer Ashley, a New York Times bestselling author of more than 100 (100!!!) novels and novellas; Jill Bauman, an illustrator and designer who has illustrated works by folks like Stephen King and Harlan Ellison; and Weston Ochse, the toastmaster of TusCon and winner of the Bram Stoker Award. Come watch movies, attend workshops, enjoy panels, buy art and geek out in general at this treat of a convention. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14. Sheraton Tucson Hotel & Suites, 5151 E. Grant Road. $55 for full event, or $25 for Saturday, $40 for Saturday and $15 for Sunday. $27 for full event for kids 6 to 15.

Footprints at the Fox. Ballet Tucson is presenting this one-night-only event, featuring up-and-coming young choreographers, for the fourth year in a row. Through the company’s ChoreoLab program, not only are the next generation of choreographers offered support and a chance to show their work to an audience, but the community gets to see new pieces in contemporary, classical ballet and everything in between. And then you can vote on your favorite piece! The top three vote-getters will receive cash awards. 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14. Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St. $30 GA. Jonathan’s Cork Food Drive. It’s never too early to be thinking about giving, but especially not with the holidays coming up. Jonathan’s Cork is launching a food drive for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona to give the community plenty of time to contribute. Last year, the drive brought in 2,000 pounds of food and more than $500 in cash donations in just over month, and they’re looking forward to beating that this year, with an effort that runs all the way through Dec. 22. Canned and dry good are welcome, and envelopes for cash donations will be available as well. Items can be dropped off Mondays through Thursdays from 3 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 3 to 10 p.m. (P.S.: They’ve got special cocktail pricing for those who bring food donations throughout the campaign.) 6320 E. Tanque Verde. Mercado Flea. There’s nothing like strolling through a market on an autumnal Sunday morning, right? It’s hard to believe that the Mercado Flea has been around for four years already, but here we are! This open-air market features more than 40 vendors selling antique and vintage items, meaning you’re sure to find something you can’t resist. All of the restaurants and coffee shops in the Mercado and Annex are open too, to keep you fueled up and powered up for a morning or afternoon full of shopping. From Beaut Burger to Presta Coffee to La Estrella Bakery, you’ll truly be in for a treat. 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14. On Avenida Del Convento, between Congress and Cushing streets. Free entry.

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

because she was too tall. It was during her post-war time in France that she developed a love for French food, eventually writing the bestselling Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The film covers the almost accidental start to Julia’s TV career, where she showed up to promote that book on PBS in 1962, and figured she’d cook an omelet on live TV to spruce the segment up. Audiences responded enthusiastically to the idea of watching somebody prepare a meal on that little box in their living room. The rest is history. The directors interview those who were close to her and incorporate archival footage of Child so that her own voice contributes to the telling of her story. Access to some of Child’s journals add so much to the proceedings, including a funny series of entries where Child comments on her future husband. He went from not being all that attractive in her first observations to being the best thing that ever COURTESY PHOTO happened to her (besides, well, the food). Their romance provides a nice flavor to the overall story. In 1978, probably dressed in footie pajamas, I caught the SNL where Dan Aykroyd played Child cutting her hand Feast your eyes on the new Julia Child documentary and bleeding torrents of blood all over the set. (“Save the liver!”) The film reminds that Child actually had really cut her thumb the month before that skit aired, making it through the whole show live then heading to the hospital for five By Bob Grimm stitches. Battles with on-air injuries, unruly omelets, PBS tucsoneditor@tucsonlocalmedia.com and cancer couldn’t take her down. She always resurfaced somewhere with a new show or made amends and went JULIA CHILD WAS AN INTIMIDATING CELEBRITY home to PBS for some warmly received specials. Apart from making you fall in love with Julia Child all to witness as a pre-teen. over again, Julia will make you hungry. The filmmakers When I stayed home sick from school, my feverish face do a fine job of catching food in all of its glory beyond the sampled a mixture of syndicated programming (Gilligan, actual footage of Julia cooking. I don’t think I’ve ever had Flintstones, Love American Style) and PBS shows, includBeef Bourguignon before, but I for damned sure want it ing my favorite, The Electric Company, along with Sesame now. I wonder if Julia would be pissed if I tried to make it in Street, Mister Rogers and the incomparable Julia Child a Crock Pot? ■ with her very enthusiastic cooking programs. The French Chef was already in reruns by the time I started seeing it The film will be the headliner for closing night at the Loft (its original run was from 1963-73) but continued to air in Film Fest Thursday, Nov. 18. repeats until 1989. Whenever Julia came on, I’d switch it right off, of course. I’d handle a few minutes of it but would bail pretty fast. I was, like, 8, and didn’t want to know about cooking. Also, being a stupid little kid, I thought Julia was yelling at everybody because she was angry, unaware that she was just super freaking psyched to be showing you how to cook a chicken. With the passage of time, further study of Julia has taught me to love her on so many levels. She was a pioneer, a person who wasn’t afraid to make a mistake and, yes dammit, she could cook up a storm. That boisterous voice that used to spin me out as a child transformed in my head over the years into the voice of one of the most cheerful, enthusiastic and funny people to ever host a program on TV. Directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West (the makers of RBG) have put together a loving film that covers her entire life, from childhood, to the first time she showed up on PBS and requested a hot plate for her interview, until her passing at the age of 91. She stayed on TV well into her later years, cooking like crazy and eating with a passion unmatched. During WWII, she served in the Office of Strategic Services after not being allowed to serve in the Army or Navy

CINEMA

CHEF’S KISS

TUCSONWEEKLY.COM

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

because Harkins Theatre is spending the month honoring the 91-year-old icon’s somehow still-growing filmography. This week features a double-shot of ’90s Eastwood that proves his career hasn’t been all guns, ponchos and gravelly-voiced threats, just most of it: the dad-movie classic Unforgiven, in which he plays a cranky Old West outlaw coaxed into one last job; and your grandmother’s favorite, The Bridges of Madison County, in which he plays a cranky old photographer romancing Meryl Streep. See: range! Unforgiven: 2 p.m. Friday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, Nov. 12, 14, 16, 18. The Bridges of Madison County: 2 p.m. Saturday, Monday and Wednesday, Nov. 13, 15, 17. 5455 S. Calle Santa Cruz.

By Matthew Singer tucsoneditor@tucsonlocalmedia.com

Cinema Tucson presents “Prayers for the Stolen.” In the past, if Spanish-speaking audiences in Tucson wanted to see Mexican-made movies on the big screen, they only had one opportunity: the Cine Mexico festival, held at the end of March each year since 2004. When it ended last year, it was the longest-running annual showcase of Mexican film in the United States. But former programmers Vicky Westover and Carlos Gutierrez insist that Cinema Tucson, their new monthly film series at the Fox Theatre, isn’t just a replacement for the festival, but a next step forward. For one thing, it gives Latin cinema in Tucson a permanent home—a place where those who enjoy Spanish-language film can go each month, rather than five days a year. And while Cine Mexico was dedicated to contemporary movies, Cinema Tucson focuses on both new and classic films, as well as seldom-seen cult flicks. The aim, according to Westover, is to show that Mexican cinema is not a monolith, and never has been. “People may have preconceived ideas of what Mexican cinema is,” she says, “but really, it’s tremendously diverse.” That point has already been made clear by Cinema Tucson’s first three months: In September, the series debuted with Polvo, a recent comedy about an aspiring actor turned accidental drug dealer, then followed in October with 1968’s The Batwoman, a gender-swapped, lucha libre-infused Batman spinoff presumably not recognized as DC Universe canon. This month’s movie is something different yet again: Prayers for the Stolen, documentarian Tatiana Huezo’s debut feature, a drama about

Gremlins. Halloween is over, but this much-loved Christmas-themed creature feature makes for an ideal transition point between spooky season and drama, even dusting off the cliche of a the Mariah Carey months. Somehow, beautiful young wife staring lustfully at it’s one of the only mega-popular ’80s a hot, shirtless pool boy, but the longer franchises that hasn’t yet had the fun it goes on, it reveals a central conflict rebooted out of it, but it’s only a matter much worse than a cheating spouse, of time before someone decides to, like, though exactly what isn’t entirely clear. make all the gremlins trans or someAhed’s Knee, from Israel’s Nadav Lapid, thing, causing a bunch of 40-year-old also falls into the “you just have to see dudes with extensive figurine collecit” category, but reviews describe a tions to go on Twitter and declare their movie that seethes with anger against childhoods “ruined,” so enjoy the origLapid’s home government, while also inal now before it becomes completely featuring a dance sequence involving exhausting to revisit! Screening as part M16-wielding soldiers. But if all you’re of Harkins Theatre’s Tuesday Night looking for is to reconnect with the Classics series. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16. simple joys of cinema after a year of 5455 S. Calle Santa Cruz. streaming from the recliner, nothing beats Buster Keaton falling off stuff. WHAT TO RENT FROM CASA The free Sunday screening of the slapVIDEO: In Cold Blood (1967). Before stick pioneer’s 1924 classic Sherlock unspeakable violence became fodder for Jr. will be accompanied by a live score podcasts and daily TV news segments from a group of local chamber musiwe barely pay attention to anymore, the cians—the sort of unreproducible event murder of the Clutter family in rural that should make anyone grateful that Kansas on Nov. 15, 1959, shocked a moviegoing has moved from the sofa not-yet-desensitized nation. In adaptback to the theater. Silent Land: 8 p.m. ing Truman Capote’s groundbreaking Friday, Nov. 12 (open air screening). book about the killings, director Richard Ahed’s Knee: 4:45 p.m. Saturday, Nov. Brooks approaches the crime and fall13. Sherlock Jr.: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. out with an almost clinical realism that 14. Vortex: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16. was rare then and remains chilling even 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. now—it’s a horror movie for all seasons. Recommended beer pairing: Button Clint Eastwood Career Celebration. Brew House’s 2-Notorious Hazy IPA. Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, you 2905 E Speedway Blvd. should if you’re a Clint Eastwood fan, COURTESY PHOTO

The Loft Film Fest brings dozens of national and international films to Tucson this week.

young girls coming of age in a small mountain town where young girls frequently vanish. (It’s also Mexico’s official 2021 Oscar entry.) Expect the series to continue expanding its scope, perhaps even into movies from other Latin-American countries. “Carlos and I have the same philosophy,” she says. “We program for the community. We don’t program for ourselves.” 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18. 17 W. Congress St. The Loft Film Fest. After a year on pandemic-related hiatus, Tucson’s best film festival is back. In last week’s issue, we went over eight of our under-the-radar must-sees for the fest...but there’s a lot more where that came from. For a certain kind of cinephile, anything new from Argentine provocateur Gaspar Noe deserves an automatic circle on the calendar. Vortex, his latest, surprise-debuted at Cannes in June and remains shrouded in mystery. Its premise—a quasi-documentary following an elderly couple stricken with dementia— seems tame for a director whose previous work includes a first-person drug trip and a 3D sex film, but knowing Noe, there’s likely more going on than can fit in a one-line synopsis. The Polish-Italian co-production Silent Land is equally hard to parse: The remarkably tense trailer initially teases an infidelity

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

CHOW

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Julie and Ben Vernon of Crooked Tooth Brewing will be serving up their unique craft beer at Hockey and Hops.

COLD BEER FOR A GOOD CAUSE Roadrunners team up with craft brewers

By Matt Russell tucsoneditor@tucsonlocalmedia.com CALL IT A POWER PLAY FOR THE palate. I wasn’t much of a hockey fan until my friend and local hockey maven Danny Plattner hosted me for my first Tucson Roadrunners game in 2018. The team was in first place, maximizing the thrill of the moment with what appeared to be a near-capacity crowd at the Tucson Arena, but it was the mere speed

and spirit of the game that kept me on my feet. Another expression of the game’s spirit is the Roadrunners’ commitment to community causes which will be evident in suds—er, spades—three hours before faceoff at the Nov. 13 home game. It’s called Hockey and Hops, a beer garden with 11 regional brewers that will pop-up outside the Tucson Convention Center prior to the game. Event proceeds will go to Roadrunners Give Back, a foundation that supports local non-profit organizations that promote

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Call Circulation at 797-4384 for details.

healthcare, education, and cultural arts programs for children, servicemen and servicewomen in Southern Arizona. Local beer executive Tristan White has participated in this event every year since its inception and is eager to return following the event’s pandemic-forced hiatus last year. “I think we’re really good at making beer, but the thing we’re even better at is getting in front of our customers and telling our story, and we’ve missed doing that over the past year and a half,” said White, general manager of Dragoon Brewing Company, 1859 W. Grant Road. “Our greatest strength is giving people an interaction with both our product and our brand, and the Hockey and Hops event checks a lot of boxes for us in that it’s Tucson, it’s community focused, it’s the perfect time of year, and it’s just plain fun.” White and his team will be pouring the flagship Dragoon IPA, the newly released and easy-drinking Dragoon Pils, and possibly the Palomino IPA, a limited-edition beer made with galaxy hops. As he approaches his brewery’s fifth anniversary, Ben Vernon also looks forward to engaging his customers at an event that he says brings our community together. “To be part of what the Tucson Roadrunners are doing to build our community up is the reason that we’re involved here,” said Vernon, co-owner of Crooked Tooth Brewing Company, 228 E. Sixth St. “Bringing sports to town is only going to make this community better, and we’ll always be a part of any event that’s about bringing Tucson together and

giving us all something to celebrate, in a shared space, in this cool town.” Crooked Tooth will be pouring three beers at the event—a Mexican lager, a sour made with tamarind, and a sour made with grapefruit, in the Paloma cocktail tradition, served in a glass with a salted rim and lime wedge. Other brewers participating in the event include Barrio Brewing Company, BlackRock Brewers, Borderlands Brewing Company, Buqui Bichi Brewing, Catalina Brewing Company, Dillinger Brewing Company, Grand Canyon Brewing Company, MotoSonora Brewing Company and Ten55 Brewing Company. Hockey and Hops is on Nov. 13 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Individual tickets are $50 each, or $30 as an add-on for Tucson Roadrunners season ticket holders. Your ticket includes access to the pre-game beer garden, 10 beer garden drink tickets, a Tucson Roadrunners commemorative shot glass, and a ticket to the game against the visiting Ontario Reign that starts at 7:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased at www.tucsonroadrunners. com/tickets/2021-hockey-and-hops/. I’m certainly not a hockey expert but I do know beer, and this event promises to be one heck of a beer barnburner. ■ Contact Matt Russell, whose day job is CEO of Russell Public Communications, at mrussell@russellpublic.com. Russell is also the publisher of OnTheMenuLive. com as well as the host of the Friday Weekend Watch segment on the “Buckmaster Show” on KVOI 1030 AM.

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TUCSONWEEKLY.COM 11

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NOVEMBER 11, 2021

ARTS & CULTURE

PHOTO BY BRYN BAILER

Painters Yovannah Diovanti and David “Nezah” Lopez Jr. Lopez has taken a leadership role in managing the new Art and Design Center.

ADAPTIVE RENEWAL

A new midtown art studio space has sprung up on Grant Road

By Bryn Bailer tucsoneditor@tucsonlocalmedia.com

upholstery and fabric workshop, a wicker furniture restoration operation and a lampshade repair service. A few years ago, the city decided to FOR A LESS-THAN-CHARMING purchase the 42-year-old, ivory-colored property not blessed with the three things complex to make way for the accelerating that matter most in real estate—“locaGrant Road Improvement Project, and tion-location-location”—the only remain- since 2018, the property had been fesing option may be “vocation-vocation-vo- tooned with store closing signs and later, cation”—and preferably an exciting giant MOVING SALE - EVERYTHING one. That’s why a handful of midtown MUST GO banners. Then it sat empty neighborhoods hope that turning an for months, while landscaping ground to abandoned strip-shopping center into the a halt, weeds flourished, a once-leafy tree newest industrial studio space for artists died, and the abandoned property’s shady may turn around the area’s struggling porch collected lost souls and rail-thin reputation. addicts on the nod. The fledgling Art and Design Center, But the times, they may be a-changin’. which opened earlier this month at 3778 “Sometimes, (buildings) that artists can E. Grant Road, has the potential to help afford are the places that other people out a notoriously hard-luck locale over don’t want to be—but when artists move time. into neighborhoods, they can convince Located just west of the mean, misereverybody it’s about to change,” said Jim able intersection of Grant and Alvernon Wilcox, project manager at the non-profit Way, the collection of buildings now Warehouse Arts Management Organizaknown as the ADC has long been an tion (WAMO). “Then other people want eyesore for residents and rush-hour to be there. But artists are there first.” commuters alike. Over time, the propWAMO is an artist-led group that manerties housed a variety of interior-deages studio space for about 65 working sign-related businesses, including a creatives in Tucson. It has renovated and Southwest-themed furniture store, an subleased space at, among other sites, the

Steinfeld Warehouse Community Arts Center, 101 W. Sixth St., and The Toole Shed, 197 E. Toole Ave. The Grant Road complex, formerly named the “Wicker and Rattan Design Center,” was rechristened the Art and Design Center partly because artists wanted to repurpose part of the existing façade signage. One of the artisan welders crafted a striking, taxicab yellow “ART” sign, suspending it from the parapet next to the remaining letters. Et Voilà! As the Grant Road widening continues to gobble up property and buildings along the thoroughfare, the two-story ADC will lose its single-story attachment buildings to the west, along with much of its front parking lot. It will retain its large back property, with plenty of space for parking, events and artist workspace. Inside, 18 artists labor in separate studios, ranging from utilitarian metal sheds in the outside courtyard, to spacious, climate-controlled spaces inside the main building. The ADC artistic clan includes sculptors, painters, photographers, fineart metalsmiths, mixed-media artists, musicians, jewelry artisans, a glass sculptor, a fire performer and a latex-fetish-fashion designer. Several have worked together before, at rough-around-the-edges Citizens Warehouse, 44 W. Sixth St. Earlier this year, the 92-year-old concrete bunker (located next to a brace of Union Pacific Railroad tracks, and across the street from tony, red-brick Steinfeld Warehouse Community Arts Center) was emptied of artists as work accelerated on the Downtown Links Project. When the project is completed, a four-lane corridor road will skim past, crossing beneath the tracks to connect Interstate 10 with Barraza-Aviation Parkway and State Route 210. Months ago, when touring the derelict Grant Road property, photographer-painter Monique Laraway said she could see that it had lots of potential, but would need “a lot of work and love” to pull it together. Today, she occupies a cozy, air-conditioned studio just off the front lobby, and husband Colin Holmes has his evaporative-cooled artisan welding studio ensconced in the back. The ADC occupies a lot of geography: It sits on an acre lot, and boasts about 8,700 square feet of inside studio space, not including a second-story loft used by

painter David Lopez Jr. Lopez—an unfailingly optimistic man who paints under the pseudonym “Nezah”—captains the building, and helps guide the passel of independent artists to group consensus when important issues need to be addressed. He also helped organize a recent, well-attended grand opening that essentially introduced the heretofore quiet venture to the neighborhood, as well as a larger, Aztec-themed celebration last weekend. Lopez, along with others, used his construction skills to help get the sprawling building into shape—tearing up stained carpeting, erecting steel framing and drywall to carve out individual studios within the open-floor plan, and painting the wide hallways a dazzling gallery white. They also saved room for a glassed-in display lobby, beautifully suffused with natural light. Other elements of the renovation included additional fencing, improved lighting, repair of the building’s air-conditioning system, and replacement of an aged swamp cooler. The work went on for months, Lopez said, and “was like watching a child grow up.” And not unlike child rearing, opening the ADC has involved plenty of growing pains along the way. Homeless camp issues have arisen. Tools and other items have been stolen. An alcove just outside the lobby door attracted loiterers, so metal artist Holmes installed a corrugated steel barrier to keep them out. (Vandals promptly climbed over it, broke in through a ground-floor window, and made off with two of his fine-art sculptures.) Since then, he has fortified the barrier and zhuzhed it up with a sturdy, decorative trim. Additional security lighting has been installed, and artists are encouraged to actively discourage loitering. They are learning the hard way about needing to “harden the target”—a lock-it-or-lose-it crime-prevention concept that many area residents are already familiar with. ALTHOUGH PORTIONS OF THE surrounding neighborhoods can be charming and well-cared-for, opportunistic criminals create frustrating quality-of-life issues for many in the area. Property crimes—porch piracy, wanton

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

Skulls, chrysanthemums and other Día de los Muertos icons fashioned by mixed-media artists Margaret Guerrero and Eneida Colón festooned the lobby altar.

vandalism, bike thefts, car break-ins and burglaries—are endemic. Businesses and homeowners roust homeless encampments, only to have them pop up elsewhere nearby. And prescription opioid dependency has morphed into a cheaper heroin addiction, so discarded IV syringes are not an unusual find during outings. Using art to heal people in pain would seem particularly relevant here. At one point, the neighborhood élan vital and other psychological stresses led Hopi sculptor and painter Gerry Quotskuyva to smudge the building, burning sacred herbs in an attempt to clear out the profoundly negative energy. Quotskuyva, an award-winning artist who has exhibited at museums and galleries across the nation, secured one of the last air-conditioned studios at the ADC. There, among dark wine-colored walls, he paints and sculpts, and carves feather-light katsina from dried cotton-

wood root. When he closed his art gallery in Sedona last year, he knew he wanted to return to Tucson, his university alma mater. “It was a choice between lifestyle and healing—or Santa Fe and money,” he quipped. Quotskuyva indicated that the collection of artists at the ADC could be a creative dream team. “There are some phenomenal artists here, and then you’ve got a lot of the younger generation who are just getting their start,” he said. “They’re asking questions. They want to learn. I hope we gel well enough that if we don’t stay here, we all move together to continue on.” Artists at the ADC operate on year-toyear studio leases with WAMO, which in turn has a year-to-year lease with the City of Tucson for the building itself. A few still nurse a grudge over the Citizens eviction, but it’s also not lost on them that while one road project pushed them out of a grungy but beloved warehouse downtown, yet another street widening opened up a bigger, newer, arguably more upscale industrial space in midtown. Art studio rents there are based on square footage and comfort. Workspace in a no-frills courtyard shed costs 10 cents per square foot per month. A swamp-cooled indoor studio runs 35 cents per square foot, and an air-conditioned one tops out at 65 cents per square foot per month. Using federally funded Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and historic-preservation funds, WAMO has upgraded and converted several buildings in the post-industrial Tucson Historic Warehouse Arts District. Wilcox said it has already spent nearly $60,000 to get the Grant Road complex up to code, and will adjust future rents to keep pace with operating costs. And if artists choose to return to Citizens Warehouse when it reopens, there’s a plan to deal with that, too: There are three dozen more ready to take their place. “The standard arts space downtown along Toole Avenue and in Monterey Court Studio Galleries (on Miracle Mile) is $2 to $3 per square foot,” Wilcox said. “That’s why we have a waiting list that

goes on forever.” Some area residents—more specifically, those in The Garden District, Palo Verde, Dodge Flower and Oak Flower neighborhoods—are tentatively encouraged by early changes to the property, but want to see more. Landscaping cleanup requests directed to local real-estate and property-management company Peach Properties have gone largely unaddressed, and in mid-October, homeless individuals could still be seen sleeping on the front porch. “Any time we can provide a space for the creative class, I’m for it,” noted City Councilman Steve Kozachik, who represents midtown’s Ward 6. “The function and intent of the operation is great—fully support. … If management would exercise some care on the exterior maintenance of the space, the neighbors would truly appreciate it.” Lopez acknowledged the concerns, and the need to involve surrounding communities. “The neighborhood was, is and will continue to be … violent (and with) many drugs and robberies,” he observed. “But

TUCSONWEEKLY.COM 13

that is the challenge of art. It changes landscapes, lives, places, and it makes us better human beings.” His partner is Yovannah Diovanti, a vivacious woman whose richly colored paintings celebrate desert flora, fauna and indigenous cultures, especially mothers and their children. A native of the Mexican state of Jalisco (itself known for high-quality ceramics, punched tin and other folk arts), she is looking at ways to marry culture and community here with art exhibits, workshops, and open-studio tours on First Saturday Art Walks. “We’re hoping this becomes a place where people can find something to do to help them balance out their energies more, and where they can meet others,” she said. “Connecting people to art is something that we’ve been doing as adults individually already, but when we came here, we immediately saw more potential for that: Art can serve the purpose of healing.” ■

TUCSONWEEKLY.COM

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

MUSIC

Luz de Vida II: A Compilation to Beneﬁt Homicide Survivors via Fort Lowell Records Featuring music from Calexico, Dr. Dog, Tracy Shedd, XIXA, Gabriel Naim Amor and more. Released Nov. 5 fortlowell.bandcamp.com

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A LIGHT IN THE DARK

Tucson music compilation Luz de Vida II supports families of homicide victims By Jeff Gardner jeff@tucsonlocalmedia.com “LIGHT SHINES THROUGH DARKER days,” sings Tucson band Calexico in the opening lines of the new album Luz de Vida II, a collection of local music to benefit those affected by violence. Luz de Vida II was released on Friday, Nov. 5, roughly 10 years after the first Luz de Vida, which was recorded in response to the 2011 Tucson mass shooting. Both projects were produced by Fort Lowell Records, which gathered Tucson-affiliated musicians to sing stories of hope, and donated the proceeds to charity. Sales of Luz de Vida II will be donated to the local nonprofit Homicide Survivors Inc., which provides support for families impacted by homicide. Luz de Vida II (Spanish for “light of life”) features a variety of Tucson musicians, from the desert rock of Calexico and XIXA, to the acoustic ballads of Dr. Dog and Amos Lee, to the pop of Tracy Shedd. But whether they’re energetic or soft, all the songs are reflective and uplifting in the face of tragedy. James Tritten, who runs Fort Lowell Records out of Wilmington, North Carolina, says selecting musicians to perform on the album was simply a matter of contacting Tucson artists he was already acquainted with. But the idea for the album is a more complex story. The original installment, titled Luz

de Vida: A Compilation to Benefit the Victims of the Tucson Tragedy, was released in 2011 and supported the Tucson Together Fund. Tritten moved to North Carolina from Tucson in 2013, and has supported independent music since. During the pandemic and protests of 2020, Fort Lowell Records released a benefit compilation of Carolina artists titled GROW. The Tucson Together Fund disbanded in 2013. During quarantine, Tritten spoke with a friend who introduced him to the Tucson-based Homicide Survivors Inc, and he decided to direct the funds from the first Luz de Vida to them. Tritten eventually spoke with representatives from Homicide Survivors and they brought up the idea of re-releasing the original album. “And I figured if we’re going to put forward the money to get a new vinyl pressing of the first album, why not make a whole new record?” Tritten said. “That’s kind of it, it was serendipitous in that way. Luz de Vida I inspired GROW, but then the actions of GROW enabled Luz de Vida II to happen. Out of this pandemic and the environment we were all forced into, reminded us how important it is to have networks and share ideas.” The only artists to appear on both Luz de Vida albums are Calexico and Tracy Shedd. In an interview with The Bluegrass Situation, Joey Burns of Calexico explained the band’s reasoning for participating in the benefits.

“I’ve had friends and family members who have been directly affected by gun violence. We need to find some kind of solution to gun violence and improve the situation here in our community, Southern Arizona, and nationwide,” Burns said. “I’m friends with former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and Sen. Mark Kelly and their work on this issue has been vital, not to mention inspiring. So when I was asked to be involved with the second incarnation of Luz de Vida, it was an emphatic ‘Yes!’” Burns explains their entry for the album, “Wash,” is inspired by the healing quality of the Sonoran Desert. This is reflected in other songs on LDV2, such as Hannah Yeun’s song “All That Matters is the Wind” and The Resonars’ song “It’s the Same.” “As a record label, when we’re putting a compilation together that represents so much, we do try to curate a certain sound, and HSI as an organization was very respectful to that,” Tritten said. “We spoke about how it’s not a wide-open canvas, we were trying to basically make it an alternative rock compilation.” In an interview with Guitar Girl Magazine, Yeun explained that her entry for the album takes solace in nature, that no matter how difficult things may be, listening to something as simple as the wind can remind us that all things pass. “I wrote this song during a falling out with a few new friends I had made, a traumatic breakup with someone who was actively involved with the music scene, and the death of a few dear friends,” Yeun said. “It was my way of grieving that loss, and because I was so new in town, I tended to not go out much and isolated myself a bit to write songs. I made sure to attend the All Souls Procession (the Tucson Dia de Los Muertos celebration) to write the names of those I had lost that year to be tossed into the urn that they light on fire as a way to honor the dead.” ■

By Xavier Omar Otero tucsoneditor@tucsonlocalmedia.com Where we’re all just a few stars apart. This week, Kronos Quartet, The Beach Boys, Diplo, Jimmy Eat World, REO Speedwagon, Porter Robinson, Grouplove, Joyce Yang, San Holo and more perform in The Old Pueblo. Read on.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS… THURSDAY, NOV. 11 Oscar-nominated filmmakers Sam Green and Joe Bini collaborate with Grammy-winning contemporary classical minimalists Kronos Quartet to create a stunning multimedia performance piece: A Thousand Thoughts. The show integrates live music and narration with archival footage and interviews captured on celluloid with prominent artists—Philip Glass, Tanya Tagaq, Steve Reich, Wu Man and Terry Riley—to tell the story of this truly groundbreaking string quartet. At Centennial Hall... “I’m from, what one might say is, the ultimate road family,” says Lukas Nelson, eldest son of country icon Willie Nelson. “I’ve never been anywhere longer than three months, and suddenly here we are, the four of us together.” Early in the pandemic, the death of a dear family friend became the guiding presence for the new album. “I found a love of looking at the stars...and I made a vow not to stop looking up at the stars every night for the rest of my life.” Nelson reflects, “It felt like her spirit was writing it with me.” Country rockers Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real remind us that we are no more than A Few Stars Apart. At Rialto Theater... With a tongue-in-cheek obsession with horror movies and cartoonish violence, UK psychobilly pioneers The Meteors do unspeakable things. At Club Congress... Led by 84-year-old musical director László Veres, the 36th annual Arizona Symphonic Winds Veterans Day concert, A Musical Tribute to Our Veterans, Past and Present, perform a program of patriotic favorites. At Catalina Foothills High School Auditorium... CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

MUSIC

PHOTO BY OLIVER HALFIN / RCA

Mesa rock band Jimmy Eat World performs at this year’s Dusk Music Festival.

VARIETY SHOW

This weekend’s Dusk Festival features a wide range of performers Alexandra Pere apere@tucsonlocalmedia.com JIM ADKINS, THE LEAD VOCALIST, guitarist and songwriter of legendary Arizona rock band Jimmy Eat World, had barely started touring in support of 2019’s Surviving when COVID hit. “We played maybe three weeks of dates and then everything shut down,” said Adkins, whose band is headlining this weekend’s Dusk Festival in downtown Tucson, which features two nights of rock ’n’ roll, exuberant soul music, electronica and more. Although Jimmy Eat World had to delay their Surviving tour, Adkins found ways to connect with fans online during lockdown. He started a new podcast on the band’s Youtube channel called PassThrough Frequencies and created a video series called Mini-Dives exploring his creative process. Jimmy Eat World also produced a live-stream performance series called Phoenix Sessions, playing three different albums: Surviving, Futures and Clarity. “The idea of the Phoenix sessions was exciting because once you take away the crowd, take away the venue and it’s not about the house PA, it’s about what you

hear in your headphones,” Adkins said. “You can do stuff in camera that you’d never be able to take on a tour because it’s about what you see in this shot.” But he’s excited to be back in front of a live audience. “The people in Tucson have always been really open-minded, accepting, and just ready to have fun,” Adkins said. “Right now it is sort of a weird time because it’s not exactly a new album that we’re supporting. I think what we’re going to do is maybe play some new songs, but I think it’s going to be a pretty varied mix.” “A pretty varied mix” sums up the Dusk Music Festival, which finds a new home at Jacome Plaza when it returns to downtown Tucson this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 13-14. Besides Jimmy Eats World, the festival’s Saturday lineup includes electronic music star Dilpo, Duke Dumont, bassist Blu Detiger, Justin Martin, Tank and the Bangas, and Pauline Herr. Sunday’s bill features a similar mix of musical genres with Porter Robinson, Grouplove, SG Lewis, John Summit, Mob Rich, STRFKR, and Yolanda Be Cool. Herr is an up-and-coming electronic artist making a big splash on the trap scene. Originally from Wisconsin, she dropped out of nursing school to devote

herself to the music industry. Herr enrolled herself into Icon Collective, a LA-based music school that serves as a boot camp for electronic artists. Popular electronic artists like Kayzo, NGHTMRE, Bonnie X Clyde, Sullivan King and Jauz have all attended the school. Herr remembers attempting to contact big artists through social media. “I used to like DM the sh** out of my favorite artists and obviously not all of them responded at first because I literally didn’t have anything to show,” Herr said. “But it’s pretty funny looking back because a lot of the people that I reached out to when I first started I’m really good friends with now.” With an outgoing personality, impressive singing abilities, and production skills, Herr is quickly making it onto music festival lineups this year. Herr said she will play trap and wave electronic music at Dusk. Trap is a subgenre of hip hop that evolved into electronic music in the 2010s and features heavy drums. She’s done multiple collaborations with popular trap artists Hex Cougar and RL Grime, which will likely be heard during her performance.

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Wave is a slower form of electronic music that emphasizes melodies and has dreamlike qualities. “I’m so excited,” Herr said. “The festival looks great. It’s different than what I’ve been playing.” A different mash-up of genres is exactly what festival organizers wanted to see. “If you were to listen to all the music I have on shuffle, you’d hear a little bit of everything,” Dusk Festival Director Page Repp said. “We want something that represents us and what we think represents Tucson. Tucson is an extremely diverse community. There’s a little bit of something for everyone.” Dusk’s new location at Jácome Plaza next to the downtown library—neighbors around Armory Park made a stink about having their peace disturbed by the 2019 festival—provides more opportunities for large art installation pieces as well as food trucks from Empire Pizza, Rollies Mexican Patio and Jake’s Donuts & Treat Trolley. “You’ll just see a tremendous activation of the space, it’ll be light, bright, and fun,” Repp said. ■

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NOVEMBER 11, 2021

XOXO

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

FRIDAY, NOV. 12 With a gift for capturing the humanity of downtrodden characters—those who are broke, who toil at dead-end jobs, whose youth withers and dies along with their dreams—Slaid Cleaves may be “Americana’s most underappreciated songwriter,“ according to Rolling Stone (the equivalent to the Bible for music junkies). Now three decades into a career, like a Ghost on the Car Radio, Cleaves occasionally wrestles with cynicism. He ruminates: “At this point, I’ve had no real national success. No impact on the culture, as my heroes had. The music that I love just doesn’t seem relevant to mainstream culture.” Undaunted, with little interest in what mainstream culture has to offer, Cleaves finds hope. “But those feelings are quickly overcome by gratitude,” he explains. “I’m making a living as a musician, and making a meaningful connection with people. What could be better than that?” Esteemed singer-songwriters Slaid Cleaves & Robbie Fulks bring their stories to life. At 191 Toole... Teeming with freshfaced exuberance and brilliant vocal harmonies, their music has come to epitomize 1960s California surf culture. Musical prodigy Brian Wilson produced and co-wrote many of their most enduring tracks—utilizing fabled studio musicians the Wrecking Crew’s talents extensively on classics such as “Help Me, Rhonda”, “California Girls” and “Good Vibrations”—to become an indelible part of the American songbook. The Beach Boys—sans Brian Wilson—play the hits. At AVA Amphitheater... Spotlighting Grammy-nominated classical pianist Joyce Yang, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra performs Scheherazade. Composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888, the symphonic suite is based on One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled during the Islamic Golden Age. At Tucson Music Hall... Focusing attention on improvisation, Navajo-Ute flute master R. Carlos Nakai says of his process as a composer, “I build upon the tribal context, while still retaining its essence. Much of what I do builds upon and expresses the environment.” Featuring percussionist Will Clipman and multi-instrumentalist Amo Chip Dabney, the world renowned R. Carlos Nakai Trio performs selections from Nocturne (2020), his latest release, and a vast catalogue of recordings. At Hotel Congress (plaza)...

COURTESY PHOTO

Mike Love’s Beach Boys perform at Casino del Sol this Friday.

SATURDAY, NOV. 13 Like the hallucinogenic moonflower whose delicate white petals slowly blossom in the gloaming, the fifth annual DUSK Music Festival returns to downtown on Nov. 13-14 at Jácome Plaza. On Day 1 of the intergalactic mashup of arts, gastronomy and cutting-edge music, you can catch highly sought-after superstar DJ/producer Diplo, trailblazing alternative/indie rockers Jimmy Eat World and London-based deep house DJ/producer Duke Dumont. With Blu Detiger, Justin Martin, Pauline Herr, Tank and the Bangas, VNSSA and more. See duskmusicfestival.com for full details... With roots in the Protestant church—guitarist Zack Greene previously served as a worship minister in a Tennessee church— these Nashville indie-folksters’ band name is an allusion to St. Francis of Assisi, a nature-loving friar who is believed to have preached a sermon to a flock of birds in Umbria during the Dark Ages. “Part of the reason that we like St. Francis is that he’s a religious figure who really doesn’t like religion,” says Dani Greene. Wolves in sheep’s clothing, Birdtalker make a sacrament out of enshrouding life’s dividing lines. At 191 Toole. With Reuben Bidez... Propelled by four Top 40 hit singles “Keep On Loving You,” “Take It on the Run,” “Don’t Let Him Go,” and “In Your Letter,” 1980’s Hi Infidelity sold over 10 million copies, rising to become the band’s most successful album. REO Speedwagon croon the power ballads. At Tucson Music Hall... On “Freedom”—the lead single from She Ought To Be King (2021)—singer-songwriter Lisa Morales rails against injustice. “Women and children can no longer be abused. We can no longer turn the other way...African Americans can no longer be treated as if they don’t belong.

Mexican-Americans, Asian-Americans are Americans. LGBTQ are to be respected,” Morales says. “It’s a very simple message. Love one another, be kind, do the right thing, be honorable, and help one another.” From the painted desert skies of her native Tucson, Lisa Morales is coming home. At Hotel Congress (plaza)... Dark and edgy, this Detroit-based producer’s pounding basslines and dark house beats transport listeners through a portal to “Escape Reality.” Slashing a path forward in the world of EDM, Masteria just “Can’t Stop.” At The Rock... Wildside: The Ultimate Tribute to Mötley Crüe revel in the heady days of The Sunset Strip. At Encore...

SUNDAY, NOV. 14 DUSK Music Festival rages on. Genrecross pollinating EDM artist Porter Robinson, alt. indie-pop rockers with a collectivist bent Grouplove, and English dance/electronic record producer/singer-songwriter SG Lewis headline day 2. At Jácome Plaza. With John Summit, Mob Rich, STRFKR, and Yolanda Be Cool and many more... Gaining prominence as a child actress, Jenny Lewis semi-retired to form Rilo Kiley with fellow former child actor Blake Sennett, in 1998. The band released four studio albums. Despite having their songs frequently appearing on hot television shows (Dawson’s Creek, The O.C., Grey’s Anatomy, Orange is the New Black) they imploded in 2014, driven apart by “deception, disloyalty, and greed,” according to Sennett. Undaunted, Rabbit Fur Coat (2006) marked the launch of Lewis’ solo career. A record she describes as “a kind of soul record,” features contributions from Conor Oberst, M. Ward, James Valentine (Maroon 5), Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) and The Watson Twins. Released in 2019, her latest album, On The Line, is a “ smart, swaggering break-up album from a major talent,” according to The Daily Telegraph. Jenny Lewis goes down the “Rabbit Hole.” At Hotel Congress (plaza)...

MONDAY, NOV. 15 Emerging from the City of Brotherly Love’s punk scene in 2011, these “Philly coffee shop rockers” quickly left the grit and anti-authoritarian ethos behind and crossed into the next dimension, where punk goes pop. On Umbra (2021) they have juxtaposed the sonic sheen of pop with stories that at core are wicked, vindictive and sex-

ualized. Frontman Collin Walsh explains. “It’s the cold feeling of internal conflict, the bargaining, and the wickedness that exists within a space otherwise covered in light. That’s the concept.” In a gradation of shades, Grayscale detonate “Dirty Bombs.” At 191 Toole. With Girlfriends, Cemetery Sun and Young Culture...

TUESDAY, NOV. 16 When she is not touring with Alice Cooper, this world-class guitar assassin is on the road leaving a debris trail, miles long, in her wake as a solo artist. Nita Strauss attempts to control chaos. At Encore... On their new single, “Intruder,” with stabbing, angular guitar attacking, these L.A.-via-Australia post-punkers dove headlong into the often grisly mythology of the City of Angels, “looking for a sound that echoes the spirited past of the city we’ve found ourselves living in.” Death Bells search for New Signs of Life. At Club Congress. With Provoker and The They...

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17 In 2014, Dutch DJ/producer Sander van Dijck began to change the way people view EDM with the release of Cosmos EP followed by a hook-laden remix of Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode” (which remains in the zeitgeist with over 232 million views on YouTube). Named Breakthrough Artist of the Year (2019) by International Dance Music Awards, San Holo drops tracks from his second studio album BB U OK? At Rialto Theater... With a vintage sound that hearkens back to the rich timbres immortalized on the Stax Records imprint of the 1960s, soul singer Bobby Oroza of Finland will make you a believer. At Club Congress. With Brainstory and DJ Herm...

THURSDAY, NOV. 18 The Washington Post said of jazz guitarist Mike Gellar’s debut album Perdido (1998): “Yet for all the versatility and technique Gellar displays, what ultimately sets the album apart is the great delight he takes in playing jazz with musicians he admires, an enthusiasm that colors every performance.” Jazz guitarists Mike Gellar and Howard Alden are at Westward Look Resort... Until next week, XOXO...

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

HIGH REWARD

Equity program will offer 26 new marijuana dispensary licenses, but will it actually aid targeted communities? By Kylie Cochrane Cronkite News RAUL MOLINA LIVED A SIMPLE life growing up in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico; he remembers catching tadpoles, playing in the mud and placing pennies on railroad tracks to be flattened. Instead of counting pennies these days, he’s counting the millions his cannabis company, Mint Dispensary, brings in. “I’m an anomaly, you know, what I did. Mine was all hustle,” Molina said. “I got a lot of lucky breaks from a lot of people who believed in me and helped me get to where I was.”

Now, a few more Arizonans may catch a similar break, thanks to the state’s new marijuana social equity program. It will allow minorities, low-level marijuana offenders and others affected by the lengthy war on drugs to purchase one of 26 licenses available to qualified candidates. The 26 are among the 169 retail licenses that have been issued across Arizona. With the legalization of recreational marijuana in 18 states, including Arizona, the U.S. cannabis market is growing rapidly. By 2024, the National Hispanic Cannabis Council projects the industry will be worth at least $30 billion.

Molina, an early cannabis adopter, pioneered the nation’s first cannabis kitchen with his partner, Eivan Shahara, in 2018. Customers can order such American favorites as macaroni and cheese, hamburgers and chocolate cake—all infused with cannabis. Although Molina isn’t applying for a social equity license, he hopes to work with some social equity partners in the state. “I tell people all the time, if you’re wanting to get into the industry, it’s too late to get in,” Molina said. “But tomorrow’s even worse, so you might as well jump in.” Along with legalizing recreational marijuana, last year’s voter-approved Proposition 207 requires the Arizona Department of Health to award 26 retail licenses to people impacted by the nation’s war on drugs. To be eligible, applicants or a family member must have a previous low-level marijuana conviction, live in one of 87 ZIP codes identified as “disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of previous Arizona marijuana laws,” and have a household income less than 400% above the poverty line. Since September, more than 800

TUCSONWEEKLY.COM 17

potential applicants have attended the training required by ADHS. “We are laying the groundwork so that people from roots who have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana enforcement can apply, and open and operate marijuana businesses,” said Steve Elliot, the communications director for the state health department. But being able to apply, then open and operate a marijuana business, is no easy or inexpensive feat. Applicants must pay a nonrefundable application fee of $4,000, assemble a board of directors and prepare to operate in a tightly regulated industry. In theory, the program should help minority groups. Right now, only about 5.7% of cannabis businesses are owned by Hispanics. “Hispanics really faced a terrible burden in the war on drugs,” said Brian Vicente, cannabis lawyer and the president of the National Hispanic Cannabis Council. “The reason marijuana is prohibited dates to the early 1900s, and it was these laws that were put in place really to criminalize Mexicans. Since that time, we’ve seen CONTINUED ON PAGE 19

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WEEDLY

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a disproportionate number of Hispanics arrested, prosecuted and jailed for cannabis for decades.” The cannabis council has been tracking social equity programs around the country, including Arizona’s. “It’s worth noting that there’s a broad national discussion about what are the best ways to try to address the harms the war on drugs caused,” Vicente said. “Whether you’re in New York, California or Arizona, everyone’s trying to figure this out, so I applaud Arizona for giving this a shot.” Danielle Hernández, a cannabis insurance agent in Gilbert, said she grew up in a border city “where we had (drug) mules coming over, where we saw things like that happen, where I had friends and family members that were affected by some of these draconian laws.” “It’s great to be able to kind of turn the page,” she said. “The idea behind all of this is to create generational wealth and change the conversation from it being primarily white and male.” But Arizona’s social equity program may not be as equitable as it seems, Hernández said. “We were seeing stuff posted on Craigslist, looking to basically adopt a felon,” she said. In one job posting Hernández shared, the poster was looking for a dispensary owner to back—but only would pay the owner $60,000 a year. “What we know from the valuation of licenses in the state of Arizona being $10 million before they are even up and operational is that disparity of income is very concerning and the

lending practices that are already being put in place,” Hernández said. And that’s just the start of the problem, she said. In the final rules drafted by ADHS, applicants can’t enter prior agreements to sell their licenses. But once the license is issued, there is nothing that says the owner must keep it. This vague language means winners can later sell to those who don’t qualify under social equity, Hernández said. Molina saw this happen in Illinois after he opened dispensaries there with a social equity partner. “What’s social equity about that?” Molina asked. Proposition 207 wasn’t structured well, Vicente said, “and how these licenses will be handed out, I don’t think it’s perfect.” But he thinks it was well-intentioned. “I think that the health department and voters really want to do the right thing. They recognize that Hispanics, other people of color and disenfranchised groups really deserve an opportunity to benefit in this new economy.” Molina said he would “love to see a lot more Hispanics, and to be honest with you, any, any type of immigrant. It adds a certain drive to the industry.” With only 169 licenses available in the state, ADHS expects thousands of applications for these coveted 26 licenses. Applications open Dec. 1. ■

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TUCSONWEEKLY.COM

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

SAVAGE LOVE BACKLOT ACCESS

By Dan Savage, mail@savagelove.net

I’m a 44-year-old gay male and I’ve never been in a serious relationship. I would like to find my way into an LTR, but I have a series of overlapping dating issues that I don’t know how to navigate. First, due to my career, I move around a lot, and often don’t see the point in dating when I know I am going to be moving again; I have another potential move on the horizon in six months. Second, I find online dating apps to be awful. I have encountered more ghosts on apps than I did in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. Last year, one date I arranged through an app turned out to be the setup for either a mugging or a hate crime. I managed to escape physically unharmed, but I did delete all the dating apps after that. Third, I’m a beefier guy, but I have never really fit into the bear community. I hate wearing leather, I can’t stand growing facial hair, and don’t have any kinks—and leather, beards and kinks seem to be prerequisites for joining the bear club. Also, most bears are older guys and older guys don’t really do it for me. And younger guys always seem to be looking for a sugar daddy. I’m a Goldilocks who can’t find her “just right.” Fourth and finally, I’ve lived a big life. Due to a parent in the entertainment industry, I

grew up with backlot access. I have literally traveled all over the world. I can tell stories for days. But it makes dating hard when the other guy has only his work or cats to talk about. I’ve gone on more than one date where the guy told me he didn’t have anything interesting to say about himself and that he just wanted to hear about my life. Am I destined to be either a spinster or a sugar daddy? —Lost And Can’t Keep Investigating New Guys 1. If you don’t see any point in dating because you’re always on the move, LACKING, it’s not a long-term relationship you should be seeking, but a nice string of fulfilling short-term relationships. STRs can be serious, they can be loving, and with more people working remotely than ever before, a successful-if-geographically-challenging STR has a much better shot at becoming a successful LTR these days. 2. Dating and hookup apps are awful. People on the apps sometimes lie about who they are, they ghost on you, and they block you without explanation. But bars are awful too. People in bars sometimes lie about who they are, they excuse themselves

“for a second” and never return, they go home with you one night and eat your ass for hours and then pretend they don’t know you the next time you see them at the same bar. And just as people have been mugged, assaulted, and murdered by people they met on apps, people have been mugged, assaulted, and murdered by people they met in bars—and at work, at church, through friends, etc. So, wherever we’re meeting people, online or off, we need to be careful; we need to have those first meetings in a public place, we need to tell a friend where we’re going and who we’re with, and we need to trust our guts. 3. Not all bears have beards or kinks or wear leather. At any big event for bears, LACKING, you’re likelier to see guys in jeans, T-shirts, and trucker hats than you are to see guys in leather—unless it’s a fetish party, LACKING, where you’ll see a lot of guys in leather. 4. I’d rather listen to a charming guy tell me a funny story about his cat than a conceited guy drone on and on about some famous actor he saw on a backlot pocketing granola bars from the craft services table. I’m not saying you’re conceited or boring, LACKING, but if I were a betting man and only had the last paragraph of your letter to go on, I’d put my chips on conceited and boring. Look, if a guy tells you halfway through a date there’s nothing he wants to

share with you about himself and invites you to carry on talking about yourself, that doesn’t mean he’s so enthralled by your stories he just wants to listen. That means he’s bored and/or annoyed and has already made up his mind that you’re not gaining access to his backlot. Zooming out, LACKING, can you see the pattern in your letter? You say you want a relationship, but you don’t see the point of dating because you’re always moving. You say you want a relationship, but the apps are a waste of time because some people are sketchy. You say you want a relationship, but you don’t wanna go to places where people might be buying what you’re selling (bear nights, bear parties) because you don’t wanna wear the kind of clothes you’re required to wear at those events (leather, which you’re not actually required to wear) or grow the kind of facial hair you’re required grow to attend them (beards, which you’re not actually required to grow). If love and commitment are what you want, LACKING, then I want you to find them. But you’re going to need to get out of your own ass and out of your own way. questions@savagelove.net Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage. www.savage.love

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

By Rob Brezsny. Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s EXPANDED WEEKLY HOROSCOPE 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700 $1.99 per minute. 18 and over. Touchtone phone required.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): For much of her life, Aries poet Mary Ruefle enjoyed imagining that polar bears and penguins “grew up together playing side by side on the ice, sharing the same vista, bits of blubber, and innocent lore.” But one day, her illusions were shattered. In a science journal, she discovered that there are no penguins in the far north and no bears in the far south. I bring this to your attention, Aries, because the coming weeks will be a good time to correct misimpressions you’ve held for a while—even as far back as childhood. Joyfully modernize your understanding of how the world works. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Actor Elizabeth Taylor described her odd rhythm with actor James Dean. Occasionally, they’d stay awake till 3 a.m. as he regaled her with poignant details about his life. But the next day, Dean would act like he and Taylor were strangers—as if, in Taylor’s words, “he’d given away or revealed too much of himself.” It would take a few days before he’d be friendly again. To those of us who study the nature of intimacy, this is a classic phenomenon. For many people, taking a risk to get closer can be scary. Keep this in mind during the coming weeks, Taurus. There’ll be great potential to deepen your connection with dear allies, but you may have to deal with both your and their skittishness about it. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): There are many different kinds of smiles. Four hundred muscles are involved in making a wide variety of expressions. Researchers have identified a specific type, dubbed the “affiliation smile,” as having the power to restore trust between two people. It’s soothing, respectful, and compassionate. I recommend you use it abundantly in the near future—along with other conciliatory behavior. You’re in a favorable phase to repair relationships that have been damaged by distrust or weakened by any other factor. (More info: tinyurl.com/ HealingSmiles) CANCER (June 21-July 22): According to feminist cosmologists Monica Sjöö and Barbara Mor, “Night, to ancient people, was not an ‘absence of light’ or a negative darkness, but a powerful source of energy and inspiration. At night the cosmos reveals herself in her vastness, the earth opens to moisture and germination under moonlight, and the magnetic serpentine current stirs itself in the underground waters.” I bring these thoughts to your attention, fellow Cancerian, because we’re in the season when we are likely to be extra creative: as days grow shorter and nights longer. We Crabs thrive in the darkness. We regen-

erate ourselves and are visited by fresh insights about what Sjöö and Mor call “the great cosmic dance in which everything participates: the movement of the celestial bodies, the pulse of tides, the circulation of blood and sap in animals and plants.” LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Your heart has its own brain: a “heart brain.” It’s composed of neurons similar to the neurons in your head’s brain. Your heart brain communicates via your vagus nerve with your hypothalamus, thalamus, medulla, amygdala, and cerebral cortex. In this way, it gives your body helpful instructions. I suspect it will be extra strong in the coming weeks. That’s why I suggest you call on your heart brain to perform a lot of the magic it specializes in: enhancing emotional intelligence, cultivating empathy, invoking deep feelings and transforming pain. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): How did naturalist Charles Darwin become a skillful thinker who changed the world with his theory of evolution? An important factor, according to businessperson Charlie Munger: “He always gave priority attention to evidence tending to disconfirm whatever cherished and hard-won theory he already had.” He loved to be proved wrong! It helped him refine his ideas so they more closely corresponded to the truth about reality. I invite you to enjoy using this method in the coming weeks, Virgo. You could become even smarter than you already are as you wield Darwin’s rigorous approach to learning. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You could soon reach a new level of mastery in an aptitude described by author Banana Yoshimoto. She wrote, “Once you’ve recognized your own limits, you’ve raised yourself to a higher level of being, since you’re closer to the real you.” I hope her words inspire you, Libra. Your assignment is to seek a liberating breakthrough by identifying who you will never be and what you will never do. If you do it right—with an eager, open mind—it will be fun and interesting and empowering. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio theologian Eugene Peterson cleared up a mystery about the nature of mystery. He wrote, “Mystery is not the absence of meaning, but the presence of more meaning than we can comprehend.” Yes! At least sometimes, mystery can be a cause for celebration, a delightful opening into a beautiful unknown that’s pregnant with possibility. It may bring abundance, not frustration. It may be an inspiring riddle, not a debilitating doubt. Everything I just said is important for you to keep in mind right now.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In 2017, Richard Thaler won the Nobel Prize for Economics. His specialty: researching how unreasonable behavior affects the financial world. When he discovered that this great honor had been bestowed on him, he joked that he planned to spend the award money “as irrationally as possible.” I propose we make him your role model for the near future, Sagittarius. Your irrational, nonrational, and trans-rational intuitions can fix distortions caused by the overly analytical and hyper-logical approaches of you and your allies. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “Neurotic” and “neurosis” are old-fashioned words. Psychotherapists no longer use them in analyzing their patients. The terms are still useful, though, in my opinion. Most of us are at least partly neurotic—that is to say, we don’t always adapt as well as we could to life’s constantly changing circumstances. We find it challenging to outgrow our habitual patterns, and we fall short of fulfilling the magnificent destinies we’re capable of. Author Kenneth Tynan had this insight: “A neurosis is a secret that you don’t know you are keeping.” I bring this to your attention, Capricorn, because you now have extra power to adapt to changing circumstances, outgrow habitual patterns, and uncover unknown secrets—thereby diminishing your neuroses. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Author Darin Stevenson wrote the following poetic declaration: “’No one can give you the light-

Comics

TUCSONWEEKLY.COM 21

ning-medicine,’ say the people who cannot give the lightning medicine.” How do you interpret his statement? Here’s what I think. “Lightning medicine” may be a metaphorical reference to a special talent that some people have for healing or inspiring or awakening their fellow humans. It could mean an ingenious quality in a person that enables them to reveal surprising truths or alternative perspectives. I am bringing this up, Aquarius, because I suspect you now have an enhanced capacity to obtain lightning medicine in the coming weeks. I hope you will corral it and use it even if you are told there is no such thing as lightning medicine. (PS: “Lightning medicine” will fuel your ability to accomplish difficult feats.) PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The superb fairywren gives its chicks lessons on how to sing when they are still inside their eggs. This is a useful metaphor for you in the coming months. Although you have not yet been entirely “born” into the next big plot twist of your hero’s journey, you are already learning what you’ll need to know once you do arrive in your new story. It will be helpful to become conscious of these clues and cues from the future. Tune in to them at the edges of your awareness. ■ Homework: For your homework, write an essay on “What Rob Brezsny Is Most Ignorant About.” Newsletter. FreeWillAstrology.com

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Edited by Will Shortz ACROSS 1

Big name in Scotch

Family name on “Seinfeld”

Provincial governor in the Byzantine Empire

Patriots in New York, e.g.

Harmless rattler

Ram rod?

Working

Secure, with “down”

Frozen asteroid or planet

To file a report, contact us at

1-877-SOS-ADULT des.az.gov/services

58 & 59 Lakeside activity ...

or a hint to the words spelled across the fifth, eighth and 11th rows of the completed grid

Mark on one’s record

Proctored event, maybe

DOWN

22 23

3 John McCrae, author of 4 Name seen on the

informally

Memory ___

8 Be shy

“Don’t just take my word for it!”

9 Onetime Scandinavian

42 Prepare, as a certain

movie snack

43 Celeb

export

Rule that should be broken?

Rat-___

Like the newest model, familiarly

Jewelry store eponym

“My thoughts exactly!”

20 What jelly rolls are filled

45 Equilibrium 49 Vegetarian spread 53 On every occasion 55 Dispensable young beau

stock losses?

28 Bug collection?

29 Ancient

invaders of Rome

30 Silas ___, first American

diplomat to France

33 Mauna ___ 35 Tailgate grill

45 Vast expanses 46 Lose value quickly 47

News anchor Smith, informally

48 Enthusiastic assent in

Spanish

49 On the surface it might

not look like much

2.0, for one

38 Moonscape feature

50 Five-spots

40 Took full advantage of

the buffet, say

Unmoved reaction

44 West Coast burger chain

with a “not-so-secret menu”

55 57

year

36 Separate

24 Word often before a

48 54

with?

26 One way to prevent

One side in the Ryder Cup

38 43

Memorable 2021 hurricane

25 One who’s not a fan

56 Big name in

all-aluminum cans

Boxer Trinidad

39 Flush, e.g.

6 Light carriage,

with black and white?

5 First soft drink sold in

Left a bad impression on?

34 What may be drawn

Kazakh/Uzbek border

“In Flanders Fields,” e.g.

beer

Scams targeting vulnerable adults are on the rise.

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Prefix for fireworks

52 Imbibe 54 R&B/pop

vocal group Boyz II ___

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