DROPPING IN AND TAKING
COMMENTARY
CAN YOU BE TOO OPEN-MINDED?
BY JOHN CORVINO
As a college dean, I regularly observe campus controversies about the Israel-Hamas conflict, race relations and other hotbutton issues. Many of these concern free speech: what students, faculty and invited speakers should and shouldn’t be allowed to say.
But free speech disputes aren’t merely about permission to speak. They are about who belongs at the table — and whether there are limits to the viewpoints we should listen to, argue with or allow to change our minds.
THE ‘BIG TENT’
Free-speech advocates often find inspiration in the 19th century philosopher John Stuart Mill, who argued for what we might call a “big tent” approach: engaging with a variety of viewpoints, including those that strike you as mistaken. After all, Mill wrote, you could be wrong. And even if you’re right, the clash of opinions can sharpen your reasons.
JULY 4, 2024
Volume 31, Number 46
COVER CREDIT: © Freeride World Tour / Dom Daher
PUBLISHER: Francis J. Zankowski
EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Shay Castle
ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR: Jezy J. Gray
REPORTERS: Kaylee Harter, Will Matuska FOOD EDITOR: John Lehndorff INTERN: John Kowalski
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, John Corvino, Kelly Dean Hansen, Dan Savage, Gabby Vermeire, Sara Wilson
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Some critics believe that Mill’s arguments haven’t worn well, especially in an age of demagoguery and “fake news.” Do I really need to listen to people who believe the Earth is flat? Holocaust deniers? Whose benefit would such openness serve?
The primary argument for the big tent approach is rooted in intellectual humility: recognizing the limitations to what each of us knows. In one sense, it is a recognition of human fallibility that, when combined with hubris, can have disastrous results.
Intellectual humility is also aspirational: There’s a lot yet to learn. Importantly, this does not mean that one lacks moral convictions, let alone the desire to persuade others of those convictions.
Having spent several decades advocating for same-sex marriage —
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including participating in dozens of campus debates and two pointcounterpoint books — I’m convinced of the value of engagement with “the other side.” At the same time, I’m acutely aware of its costs. All things considered, I believe the marketplace of ideas should err on the side of a big tent.
THE LIMITS OF LISTENING
The contemporary philosopher Jeremy Fantl is among those concerned about the big tent’s costs. In his book The Limitations of the Open Mind, Fantl notes that some arguments are cleverly deceptive, and engaging with them open-mindedly can actually undermine knowledge.
Fantl sees his stance as consistent with intellectual humility. No one is an expert on everything, and we’re all unlikely to spot fallacies in complex deceptive arguments outside our expertise.
There’s another worrisome cost to engaging with deceptive counterarguments: Some of them harm people. To engage open-mindedly with Holocaust denial, for example — to treat it as an option on the table — is to ignore recorded history and fail to express appropriate solidarity with Jews and other victims of the Nazi regime. More than giving offense, engaging those views could make someone complicit in ongoing oppression, possibly by undermining education about genocide and ethnic cleansing.
What about closed-minded engagement? That is, engaging with opposing viewpoints simply in order to refute them publicly.
Fantl grants that such engagement can have value but worries that it is often ineffective or dishonest. Ineffective, if you tell your opponents from the outset “You’re not going to change my mind.” Dishonest, if you pretend to engage open-mindedly when you’re really not.
REASON AND RESPECT
In my view, Fantl misunderstands the goals of engagement and thus sets up a false contrast between open- and closed-mindedness.
OPINION
There’s a space between these two extremes — and that may be where the most constructive conversations happen.
David Blankenhorn, founder of the think tank the Institute for American Values, had been a same-sex marriage opponent for many years, albeit one who always recognized some good on both sides of the debate. Eventually he came to believe that instead of helping children, as he had hoped, opposition to same-sex marriage primarily served to stigmatize gay citizens.
So sometimes the clash of opinions can surprise you — just as Mill suspected.
Does this mean that I recommend seeking out Holocaust deniers for dialogue? No. Some views really are beyond the pale, and regular engagement has diminishing returns. But that stance should be adopted sparingly, especially when experts in the relevant community are conflicted.
Instead, I recommend following Blankenhorn as a model in at least three ways.
First, concede contrary evidence even when that evidence is inconvenient. Doing so can be difficult in an environment where people worry that if they give the other side an inch, they’ll take a mile. But keeping beliefs proportionate to evidence is key to moving past polarized gridlock.
Second, strive to see what good there is on the other side, and when you do, publicly acknowledge it.
And third, remember that bridgebuilding is largely about relationshipbuilding, which creates a space for trust — and ultimately, deeper dialogue.
Such dialogue may not always uncover truth, as Mill hoped it would, but at least it acknowledges that we all have a lot to learn.
John Corvino is a professor of philosophy at Wayne State University. The Conversation is a nonprofit, independent news organization.
This opinion does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly.
NEWS
GOV’T WATCH
BY SHAY CASTLE
BOULDER CITY COUNCIL
Boulder City Council is on summer recess. There will be no meetings July 4, 11 or 18.
On July 25, council will discuss:
• Possible conversion of the Boulder Municipal Airport. Two measures, the result of citizen petitions, will be on November’s ballot seeking to decommission the airport and redevelop it into housing. Boulder’s Chamber of Commerce, which represents business interests, last week announced its opposition to the initiatives. Council’s discussion is scheduled to last over an hour.
• An overview of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP), which guides long-range planning for growth, development, conservation, housing and more. Council members will receive training and an overview prior to a planned update of the document, often referred to in shorthand as “the comp plan.”
The BVCP receives a major overhaul roughly every 10 years, with more minor changes made every five. The next major update is scheduled for 2025.
The biggest change on the table is possible activation of the Area III Planning Reserve, roughly 500 acres adjacent to current northern city limits. Of that, 262 acres would
be available for residential and non-residential uses. Between 4,300 and 6,700 new homes could be built there, according to three scenarios laid out by city staff in late June.
Council has been seriously discussing development of the Planning Reserve since at least 2019, and in 2022 requested an urban services study to assess the costs and feasibility of expanding city services (police, fire, water, sewer, etc.) into the area. It is the first of three steps to prep for future development.
If Boulder’s city council and planning board agree, an assessment of unmet community needs would be undertaken (Step 2), followed by a more formal planning process (Step 3). The study is expected to be completed by the fall, with approval of the results tentatively scheduled for Oct. 15 (planning board) and Oct. 17 (city council).
BOULDER COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
The week of July 8, commissioners will:
• Hold a regular business meeting at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 9. An agenda for the meeting can be found at boco.org/Meeting-Portal. Those wishing to attend virtually can do so at boco.org/BOCCJuly9AM.
• Hold an executive session at 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 10. Executive sessions are not open to the public, and discussion items are limited to certain topics such as negotiations, police investigations or personnel matters.
All agenda items are subject to change.
BOCO, BRIEFLY
Local news at a glance
BY WILL MATUSKA
SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS CAMPING BAN
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 28 that a city in Oregon can ticket homeless people for sleeping in public spaces, a decision expected to impact how the lawsuit challenging the City of Boulder’s camping ban plays out.
Johnson v. City of Grants Pass claimed the city violated the Eighth Amendment’s protections against cruel and unusual punishment by giving homeless people citations for sleeping outside in public when there wasn’t shelter available. Justices voted 6-3 in favor of Grants Pass.
Earlier this year, Boulder County District Court Judge Robert Gunning paused the ACLU’s similar case challenging Boulder’s camping ban, saying the Grants Pass ruling would be “of great precedential value.” While the Supreme Court’s ruling doesn’t guarantee a certain outcome in the local
suit, it’s expected to have significant implications for how cities like Boulder address camping in public spaces.
“The City of Boulder will address the Grants Pass decision in our filings with the court in our own camping ban lawsuit,” City of Boulder spokesperson Shannon Aulabaugh wrote in an email to Boulder Weekly in response to the ruling.
In a press release, executive director of ACLU Colorado Deborah Richardson said the organization expects “the Colorado courts to come to the correct conclusion under our state Constitution.”
XCEL SUBMITS WILDFIRE MITIGATION PLAN
Xcel Energy submitted a $1.9 billion 2025-2027 wildfire mitigation plan to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on June 27 to reduce risk associated with its electrical equipment. The company proposed a series of investments like adding weather stations near power lines, tripling the number of AI cameras for smoke detection, burying certain power lines and growing its internal wildfire risk team.
The plan comes after the utility preemptively shut off power to 55,000 customers in the Front Range in early April, including to people in Boulder County, for the first time in Colorado
history because of wildfire risk. The PUC will review the plan and the public will have the chance to weigh in. If approved as submitted, a typical residential bill would increase by about $9 per month starting Jan. 1, 2028 to pay for the plan.
IN OTHER NEWS…
• A district judge rejected requests from Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy to dismiss a lawsuit filed by multiple local governments, including the City of Boulder and Boulder County, that seeks to hold the companies responsible for the costs of climate-related harms like floods and wildfires. The ruling represents one of the first times a climate accountability case survived a motion to dismiss, as CPR reported more than 20 state and local governments have filed similar lawsuits. The case will now go to trial.
• The infamous 23-foot-long hot dog called the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile visited a Boulder Safeway last Friday, the Daily Camera reported. Shaped like a hot dog on a bun with wheels, these vehicles have been cruisin’ around the country since 1936. The vehicle will wrap up its time in the Centennial State on July 4 in the Park Hill Parade. Track the Wienermobiles: bit.ly/wienermobiles
• Officials are temporarily banning fires on public lands in unincorporated areas of western Boulder County ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend due to lack of moisture and high temperatures. Fires are still allowed on permanent fire pits, like those within certain established campgrounds or private land. The restriction will remain until fire-prone conditions have changed.
Courtesy: Oscar Mayer
Chloe Hehir arrives at Alpine Modern Cafe on a May morning. She’s got a stack of flashcards for her upcoming final exam in the pocket of her cargo pants, and she’s wearing a red Billie Eilish sweatshirt from the artist’s 2022 Happier than Ever tour.
“She’s maybe two or three years older than me, but I’m like, ‘Whoa, that’s so inspiring,’” Hehir says of her favorite musical artist. “It’s so cool what people can accomplish in such a short amount of time.”
Hehir has that in common with Eilish. At just 19 years old, the CU Boulder student qualified for the Freeride World Tour, the premier big mountain freeride skiing and snowboarding competition that will take her across the globe next winter.
With a start gate on the summit and a finish at the bottom of the mountain, freeride competitions take place on ungroomed, exposed terrain with skiers and riders choosing their own line through wind-blown cornices, massive cliffs and tight chutes on steep alpine faces that allow little margin for error. Plus, there’s no practice runs.
Described as a “vertical free-verse poem on the mountain” by the tour’s website, freeride competitions are judged on line, control, technique, fluidity, air and style — a system designed to allow for a range of styles and strengths to win, whether an athlete excels in big air, technical tricks or speed.
Next year, Hehir will be up against the best freeskiers in the world — athletes she says she’s looked up to for years — on some of the gnarliest mountains. Stops on the tour have included the Spanish Pyrenees and the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia, with the final event each year in Verbier, Switzerland.
“It’s very, very, very challenging terrain,” says Michael Suleiman, one of Hehir’s coaches on the CU freeskiing team. “It’s terrain that a lot of the ski resorts in Colorado don’t even have.”
Hehir says she was in shock after nabbing the first place spot in Kirkwood, California, the last stop for her region on the qualifying Challenger Series earlier this year.
“I didn’t believe it for like a week and a half,” Hehir says of qualifying for the tour. In her mind, she thought she would
BIG DREAMS, BIGGER MOUNTAIN
CU Boulder student sending it to the Freeride World Tour
BY KAYLEE HARTER
maybe, just maybe, qualify five years down the road. “A week later, I was like, ‘Oh, my God. I’ve been trying to do that my whole life.’”
Hehir is ever humble, but her coaches say they saw it in the cards from the jump.
“I was expecting her to qualify for the tournament this year or the season after,” says Mic Obleski, another CU freeski coach. “It was just a matter of time.”
‘CLEAR HEAD’
Obleski has been coaching big mountain for six years, and by now, he says it’s easy to tell how athletes are feeling before dropping into a run.
“When Chloe’s on top in a comp, it’s super obvious that she just has a very clear head,” he says. “There’s not much
that gets between her and doing what she needs to do.”
Hehir says she keeps her cool through lots of visualization, singing songs with other competitors and rooting each other on.
She also has “way too many” superstitions. She wore the same ski pants for every competition this year and goes off by herself to do a “very specific routine” before entering the start gate. And while many competitors listen to music as they tackle the mountain, Hehir prefers to hear the sounds of her skis on the snow.
“I like to just be part of skiing with the mountain,” she says. “Being there with myself in my head.”
The Telluride native has been competing since she was 12 years old and skiing pretty much her whole life,
thanks to her ski bum, outdoor-loving parents who would strap her to their backs and bring her into the backcountry to camp as a tyke. Hehir’s style of skiing is a reflection of the rugged San Juan mountains that raised her.
“Telluride has some very technical terrain,” Suleiman says. “A lot of different rocks sticking out in places that you wouldn’t typically want them to be. You’re having to either maneuver around tight, quick rock shoots or even jumping over little rocks. She’s an incredibly technical skier.”
Suleiman remembers inspecting a line with her at a competition in Grand Targhee.
“I was like, ‘ehh, I don’t know,’ kind of waffling back and forth about it,” he recalls. “Like, maybe pick a backup option. It looks kind of crazy.”
Freeride World Tour competitors stand on top of the mountain in Verbier, Switzerland, in 2019. Credit: © Freeride World Tour / Dom Daher
Freeride World Tour athletes compete in Fieberbrunn, Austria, in 2022. Credit: © Freeride World Tour / Jeremy Bernard
Freeride World Tour. Courtesy: Chloe Hehir
freeskiing coach Michael Suleiman. Courtesy: Chloe Hehir
In the end, Suleiman says Hehir skied it “phenomenally well,” a credit to her skill and composure.
“I think it sort of goes with my major,” says the incoming junior in creative writing whose “dream life” is to be a professional skier and author. “I like trying to be creative and choose a line that not many other people are going to do just as a challenge and looking for things that might not go, but maybe they will go.”
That sort of selection is important on the Freeride World Tour — picking a difficult line sets up the maximum score in other categories like fluidity, control, air and style.
“She makes very, very challenging terrain look super easy to the point where she’ll ski something that nobody else skis in the competition,” Suleiman says.
‘SHE JUST HAD NO QUIT’
Aside from her technical abilities, Hehir’s coaches know her as an outgoing, goofy team member who’s encouraging to others and always smiling. On top of that, she’s got a killer work ethic and is “super stoked on the sport,” Obleski says.
In October 2023, the CU freeskiing team took a trip to Park City’s water ramps, where skiers can practice tricks into a pool. The first day brought terrible weather — 45 degrees, rain and water cold enough to feel the chill through a wetsuit.
“Everyone else had gone inside. They were all warming up, and Chloe’s out there for like an hour on her own just trying to dial in her backflips over and over and over again,” Obleski says. “She just had no quit.”
As Hehir prepares for the Freeride World Tour over the summer, she’s building her endurance through running, weight training and working out in the gym where she grew up doing gymnastics and now coaches over the summer. Endurance is critical for the long, several thousand feet of vertical she’ll ski on the tour.
With the 2025 Freeride World Tour kicking off in January, she plans to take the semester off school and take classes over the summer instead to stay on track.
“I really like diving into something,” she says. “So if I’m going to do school, I want to focus on that. If I want to go skiing, I want to actually be able to just spend all day actually going skiing.”
If her qualification this year is any indication, this likely won’t be the last the world sees of Hehir.
“She’s on a good path to be the best
female skier of the U.S. in the next five or 10 years,” says Obleski. In June, The International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) recognized freeride skiing and snowboarding as an official discipline, paving the way for its inclusion in the Olympics.
“She’s right about on time and right about at the top of where she needs to
eldora
be to be in line for possibly an Olympic event,” he says.
But for now, Hehir and her coaches say the ultimate goal is to have fun and take it all in.
“I think it’s just staying where your feet are and being like, ‘I’m here. This is really cool,’” Hehir says. “And then just trying your best and working hard.”
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MUSIC
BIG SOUNDS, SMALL PACKAGES
Colorado Music Festival opens leaner five-week season at Chautauqua with world-class cellist
BY KELLY DEAN HANSEN
The July 4 holiday has always been problematic for the Colorado Music Festival. The summer concert series at Chautauqua Auditorium — one of Boulder’s premier classical music events — has traditionally opened its six-week season in late June. Wherever it fell, the Fourth was disruptive, and themed concerts — whether of patriotic “pops”-style music or “classical” Americana — did little to alleviate the sense of interruption.
This year, the festival delayed its opening to July 5, condensing its season to five weeks. Peter Oundjian, music director since 2019, says the shorter frame also allows him to remain present for the entire festival. There are nine unique programs of orchestral music this year, and Oundjian will conduct seven of them.
“It seemed better for the festival if I didn’t disappear in the middle,” he says. Five programs are repeated, four of them at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and 6:30 p.m. Fridays. The season opener on
Friday will be repeated Sunday, July 7, at 6:30 p.m.
The marquee soloist is cellist Alisa Weilerstein, whom Oundjian has known from a young age and calls “one of the most engaging musicians around.”
Weilerstein plays a concerto by Antonín Dvořák, the greatest ever written for her instrument.
Oundjian will balance the concerto with the sparkling “Italian” Symphony (No. 4) by Felix Mendelssohn and open with what Oundjian calls a “fun, wellcrafted contemporary piece,” Anna Clyne’s Masquerade from 2013.
Dvořák also anchors the last repeated concert Aug. 1 and 2. The composer’s Seventh Symphony has a “special, extraordinary” quality that can stand up to that program’s big concerto, Oundjian says.
That would be the epic Violin Concerto by Tchaikovsky, played by the superb Augustin Hadelich, a frequent CMF guest. “We are delighted to have him come back as often as possible,” Oundjian says.
orchestra allows for an extravagant opening piece, and Oundjian calls Short Ride in a Fast Machine by John Adams (the CMF’s 2022 composer-inresidence) “one of the greatest openers ever written.”
Charismatic pianist Awadagin Pratt appears July 25-26 to play a keyboard concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach. Oundjian says the festival almost never includes Bach and that Pratt’s interpretation on a modern piano is revelatory.
ences may not understand, according to Oundjian, but people also know that Verklärte Nacht is “stunning romantic chamber music.” The risk of putting a Bruckner symphony after a soloist is that people might leave at intermission, he says.
“It’s a bold move, but I want to celebrate these two composers, and people will experience something special.”
The July 21 program may be even bolder, featuring an unusual and exciting concert of music by women composers, including a world premiere. The CMF and Boulder’s Grammy-winning Takács Quartet commissioned Gabriela Lena Frank to write a piece with the quartet as a solo ensemble in front of the orchestra. It is titled Kachkaniraqmi, or “I Still Exist” in the Quechua language. Oundjian says there is “huge enthusiasm” for the new piece.
Also included is the Concerto for Orchestra by Joan Tower, which Oundjian calls “one of the most significant American works of the last 50 years.” The opener is Adoration by early 20th-century African-American composer Florence Price.
The opener is another contemporary piece, Two Mountain Scenes by Kevin Puts.
‘NOBLE’ MUSICIAN RETURNS
Russian music is at the heart of the second repeated concert July 11-12. Ukrainian-born Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman returns to the festival for the first time since opening it in 2018. Oundjian calls Gluzman “a noble violinist with a sincere, almost spiritual approach.”
He plays Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2. Oundjian matches it with Igor Stravinsky’s iconic ballet score turned orchestral showpiece The Rite of Spring. The size of Stravinsky’s
Pratt pairs the Bach work with a piece he commissioned from composer Jessie Montgomery, her Rounds for piano and string orchestra.
“He loves to put them together to establish a contrast,” Oundjian says.
The unusual double-bill from the soloist is paired with another Russian orchestral warhorse, the suite Scheherazade by Nicolai RimskyKorsakov.
SPECIAL SUNDAY SINGLES
Four Sunday programs, three conducted by Oundjian, are not repeated. The conductor says these concerts are ideal for projects that may not attract huge crowds.
The first of these on July 14 marks two 2024 anniversaries: the 200th birthday of Austrian symphonist Anton Bruckner and the 150th of atonal pioneer Arnold Schoenberg. Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony (the “Romantic”) and Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) for strings will be staged with no soloist.
Bruckner’s symphonies are large and require patience, while Schoenberg’s name brings musical associations audi-
The season comes to a close on Aug. 4 with another non-repeated concert, opening with the celebratory overture to Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss. Oundjian usually ends the festival with a symphony by Gustav Mahler, this time the composer’s blissful Fourth.
The soloist in the symphony’s song finale is Montreal-based soprano Karina Gauvin, who also sings Maurice Ravel’s orchestral song cycle Shéhérazade, a complement to the more familiar Rimsky-Korsakov work on the same subject heard earlier in the season. Oundjian calls Mahler’s Fourth “a wonderful way for people to exhale with heavenly beauty at the end of summer.”
ON THE BILL: The Colorado Music Festival 2024 season opener feat. cellist Alisa Weilerstein. 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 5 and Sunday, July 7, Chautauqua Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant St., Boulder. $18-$80
Marquee soloist Alisa Weilerstein kicks off the Colorado Music Festival on July 5 and 7 at the Chautauqua Auditorium. Credit: Marco Borggreve
Peter Oundjian has been music director of the Colorado Music Festival since 2019. Credit: Geremy Kornreich
FOUND SOUNDS
What’s in Boulder’s headphones?
BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF
Brat Girl Summer is in full effect on the Front Range. Charli XCX’s meme-ready dancefloor masterpiece finished high in our latest ranking of the bestselling new vinyl releases at Paradise Found Records and Music (1646 Pearl St.) — but it wasn’t quite enough to unseat Ecuadorian-Swiss instrumentalists Hermanos Gutierrez. Here’s the rundown of everything else your neighbors couldn’t stop spinning in June.
HERMANOS GUTIÉRREZ Sonido Cósmico
If brat is kissing a stranger in a sweaty club, Kaytranada’s TIMELESS is dancing in the living room with someone you’ve loved for a long time. With samples from the ’70s, ’80s and 2000s and over a dozen features including Anderson .Paak, Childish Gambino, Charlotte Day Wilson, Thundercat, PinkPantheress and Channel Tres, Kaytranada’s first album in half a decade feels fresh and familiar at the same time.
— Kaylee Harter, reporter
Boulder Weekly Market
PASSING THE BATON
Local doc closes out environmental film fest with an urgent message
BY MICHAEL J. CASEY
Now in its sixth year, the Boulder Environmental / Nature / Outdoors Film Festival (Boulder ENOFF) has become a summer staple.
Screening July 11-14 at the Dairy Arts Center, Boulder ENOFF rolls out the green carpet for four days of narratives, documentaries, features and shorts, all tackling how we interact — or, in some cases, don’t — with our natural habitats.
Some are uplifting, like Boulder ENOFF’s opening night selection Hard Miles. Others, like Climate Crisis: Drought (July 12), are alarming. Some explore the issues of the present, Fracking the System (July 12), while others excavate a history of destruction: A Buffalo Story (July 13).
Many explore the beauty and wonder of nature, but one doc in particular explores a little bit of everything. Yes, it’s about mortality and a physical loss that can never be replaced, but it manages to end on a high note with the promise that the fight against the climate crisis continues. That film is Boulder ENOFF’s closing night offering: Chasing Time.
“We need everyone to get involved, not just one person,” Sarah Keo, co-director of Chasing Time, told Boulder Weekly ahead of the July 14 screening.
Chasing Time, the 15-years-in-the-making sequel to Chasing Ice, follows famed climate photographer James Balog as he battles cancer while bringing his Extreme Ice Survey to a close.
“This was a huge, emotional, physical, mental burden on James,” Keo says. “And that’s why, at the end of the project,
the project isn’t passed on to one other person. It’s to the public. It’s to this idea of citizen science: getting everyone to see what is happening. Hopefully, that will inspire action and mobilize more people to get involved however way they feel is best, whether it’s through art, science or joining a community garden.”
MEET SARAH KEO
Now a resident of Denver, the Cambodian American Keo studied marketing at the University of Washington but fell for film once she started working festivals. One thing led to another, and Keo landed a job as production coordinator on 2020’s The Social Dilemma, directed by Boulderbased filmmaker Jeff Orlowski-Yang.
“Jeff was very kind and made this an opportunity for me to learn what it takes to be a director under his guidance and mentorship,” Keo says. “As co-directors, we really were working together through every stage of the process.”
In addition to The Social Dilemma and Chasing Time, Orlowski-Yang has also directed 2017’s Chasing Coral and 2012’s Chasing Ice, which documents the beginning of Balog’s Extreme Ice Survey. That project comes full circle in Chasing Time, with Orlowski-Yang not just following up on Balog’s project but also the impact Balog’s mentorship has had on OrlowskiYang’s life.
“My relationship with James Balog as a mentor and a friend totally changed the trajectory of my career, challenged me in unique ways and ultimately helped me hone my worldview as an artist,” Orlowski-Yang wrote in an email to Boulder Weekly “When it came time to tell the
story in Chasing Time, it made perfect sense to pay forward a small portion of the opportunity James had given me. That’s why I chose to share this directing opportunity with a talented young first-time director, Sarah Keo.”
“The state of mentorship ripples through all aspects of Chasing Time,” Keo says. And that includes mentorships in front of the camera between Balog, Orlowski-Yang and Iceland-based photographer Svavar Jónatansson to behind the camera, where the Chasing Time team used several key positions to open doors for others.
“Once the mentorship theme became apparent, it was something we really wanted to focus on and make sure this would be a learning opportunity on multiple levels,” Keo says.
FOR THE FUTURE
Chasing Ice was the first chance audiences got to glimpse Balog’s Extreme Ice Survey, which documents melting glaciers in Iceland and around the world. Fifteen years later, Chasing Time closes Balog’s project with mixed emotions of satisfaction and futility. As you can probably guess, the glaciers haven’t come back.
But Chasing Time is no downer. Instead, Orlowski-Yang and Keo find hope by focusing on the idea that mentorship will keep this work moving forward.
“One of the last lines in the film spoken by Jeff is this idea that this work, especially the climate work, isn’t a sprint or a marathon but a relay race,” she says. “And everyone runs their leg or does their part and contributes what they can, and then they pass the baton.
“This work is going to be ongoing,” Keo continues. “It’s not going to be solved overnight.”
ON SCREEN: Boulder
Environmental / Nature / Outdoors Film Festival. July 11-14, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Schedule and tickets: boulderenoff.org
Sarah Keo co-directs Chasing Time, a resonant climate documentary she hopes will “inspire action and mobilize more people to get involved.” Courtesy: Sarah Keo
Chasing Time closes out the 2024 Boulder Environmental / Nature / Outdoors Film Festival on July 14. Courtesy: Exposure Labs
FILM
BLOODSUCKERS WELCOME
This month in weird at the Dairy Arts Center
BY JEZY J. GRAY
After the grim spectacle of last week’s presidential debate, we could all use an escape. If the real world isn’t weird enough for you, the film freaks at the Dairy Arts Center have got you covered with their weekly Friday Night Weird showcase — an expertly curated selection of underground movies from around the world that has shaken up the sensibilities of local cinephiles since 2016.
From sensitive teen vampires to coming-of-age body horror fantasies, many of this month’s offerings share a focus on young women’s stories. Boulder Weekly sat down with the Dairy’s own “queen of the weird” Shay Wescott to explore this throughline and get the skinny on what’s coming to this subversive series at the Boedecker Theater in July.
“I want people to have access to all kinds of films and step outside of their comfort zones,” Wescott says. “But I think that can also mean subverting expectations on what genre films look like when they come from less traditional voices.”
SHAY WESCOTT’S TOP 5 UNDERRATED VAMPIRE MOVIES
1. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2014, Iran)
2. Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987, USA)
3. Def by Temptation (James Bond III, 1990, USA)
4. Fascination (Jean Rollin, 1979, France)
5. Blood Spattered Bride (Vicente Aranda, 1972, Spain)
WHAT YOU WISH FOR
Friday, July 5
Nicholas Tomnay, 2024, USA, 1:41, NR
Some movies are better seen with as little knowledge as possible. Nicholas Tomnay’s What You Wish For is one of those films, so Wescott is careful not to share too much in the way of details. Describing it as a mashup between The Menu, The Talented Mr.
Sara Montpetit stars in Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, screening July 19-20 as part of the Dairy Arts Center’s Friday Night Weird series. Courtesy: H264
HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON
Friday, July 19 | Saturday, July 20 Ariane Louis-Seize, 2024, Canada, 1:30, NR
Wescott has a soft spot for vampire movies. Maybe it’s the campy melodrama or the exquisitely goth aesthetic, but she says you can expect to encounter plenty of immortal bloodsuckers throughout the season at the Dairy’s weekly cinematic showcase of all things strange.
TIGER STRIPES
Friday, July 26
Amanda Nell Eu, 2023, Malaysia, 1:35, PG-13
Puberty can be a pretty scary time. Just ask 12-year-old Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal), who discovers a terrifying secret about her body in this feral offering from Malaysian filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu. Following its Grand Prizewinning world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, Tiger Stripes draws from cultural folklore for a fresh twist on a classic transformation tale.
Ripley and Fresh, she says you should go in cold to this social thriller about a down-on-his-luck chef who assumes the identity of an old friend as a private chef for the wealthy.
“There have been a lot of great class satires in the past few years, but this one is more a cautionary tale for anyone who maybe still feels a twinge of envy,” Wescott says. “It’s suspenseful, it’s gory and it’s definitely entertaining.”
It’s no surprise the Friday Night Weird co-curator is especially stoked about the new film by Canadian director Ariane Louis-Seize, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person. The movie follows a young vampire named Sasha (Sara Montpetit). “Too sensitive to kill,” her empathy for humans draws the ire of her parents who force the teen to fend for her own blood supply. Enter a lonely boy named Paul, who offers his own life to protect hers.
“Vampires have served as really great metaphors for everything from capitalism to sexuality; and there’s also been a lot of great filmic explorations of child and teenage vampires and the angst of actually being forever young,” Wescott says. “So I really welcome this clever, sensitive, fairy-tale adjacent entry into that genre.”
“If Humanist Vampire is for those who want a little more magic and ennui in their genre films, Tiger Stripes is the body horror, female rage antidote,” Wescott says. “You’ll see multiple taglines calling Tiger Stripes the ‘Malaysian Carrie’ with the onset of puberty presenting new, magical powers — but it’s the fact that both are grounded in the continued misogyny amongst young women themselves that I hope people walk away considering.”
ON SCREEN: Friday Night Weird. 8:30 p.m. Dairy Arts Center - Boedecker Theater, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $12
What You Wish For. Courtesy: Magnet Releasing
Tiger Stripes. Courtesy: Ghost Grrrl Pictures
DEAR WHOLE FOODS DADDY
BY GABBY VERMEIRE
WYour burning Boulder questions, asked and answered
e all have questions and need advice, but sometimes the pseudo therapy in the Instagram stories of astrology girlies doesn’t cut it. Or maybe the gate-keeping culture of adventure bros has you fearing the judgment that comes with revealing yourself as a newbie at anything. This advice column exists to hold space for you and your Boulder queries (especially the uncool ones).
What grocery store is best for a potential meet-cute?
It’s natural to romanticize The Crunchy Grocery Store MeetCute™, since who among us doesn’t dread the boring fate of meeting our future boo on a sterile Hinge date at Avanti like the normies. You’d much rather tell the story about catching the attention of the love of your life because the container you were filling in the bulk aisle has overflowed and covered you in curry-cashew dust (sexily) because you were too busy staring at them writing bulk food codes on their toned, vein-y forearm.
“Damn, those curry cashews go hard huh?” he says softly. A voice that you barely recognize as your own responds, “Then why don’t you eat them off my…” Ahh sorry, um, you were asking about which grocery store was horniest or something?
With the exception of Alfalfa’s (may its spirit live eternal within all of us), the vibes are more important than the precise venue. If thirsty DILFs are your thing, they’re easy pickings in the Whole Foods supplement aisles as they pretend to read the ingredients on some bullshit bison testicle capsule that will probably just make them very sweaty. If you’re a stoney baloney who gets off on ripping big doinks and wan-
to make terrible decisions with the recently divorced bartender? You definitely can’t, but not because you’re not as hot as her; it’s because your standards for comfort are higher, and you know you look super hot in a big-shirt-big-pants ’fit, and that the Rio bartender might comp you drinks but probably has crabs, too.
How do I quickly lose 16-20 lbs for the summer?
dering through King Soopers at midnight, you’ll surely find another little gremlin snacking on grapes to match your freak.
What are the best ways to enjoy the brief weeks between graduates leaving town and Labor Day?
For a few sacred summer weeks, the Hill falls silent as the CU bambinos fly back to their casas in SoCal like super-tan migratory geese. It’s also the season to have your very own Old School moment. Remember being in your early 20s and watching those sad, late-20s dudes play pool at the Downer, oblivious to the fact that they are pathetic and old? Now is the time to Be Those Dudes.
Have you wondered if you could rock the Gen-Z bustier-and-big-pants ’fit as well as a hotbody CU sorority girl on her way to the Rio
I’m a little hard of hearing due to some poor choices in live music, but it sounds like you’re asking how to quickly gain 16-20 lbs of muscle and/or curvaceous loveliness for the summer? I’m so glad you asked, because even though I’m all about body positivity, most of us Boulder waifs could stand to be a little juicier. Get that summer bod by consuming plenty of snacks, such as Justin’s Peanut Butter and a couple spoonfuls of coconut oil sandwiched between two Clif Builders Protein bars. The Clif bars and coconut oil are for calories, and the peanut butter is to inspire you to look like Justin from Justin’s PB, because LORD that man is built.
Where do I meet a girl who will scramble with me and then do the rope swing at the creek?
What, a girl, who will not only scramble the Flatirons (truly a niche pastime), but is cray cray and dare I say, manic and pixie enough to rope swing into Boulder creek?? Truly an obscure and esoteric unicorn you seek, my friend. What do you want next, a girl who kicks off her shoes in the grass like an absolutely feral creature??? Pfft, meet her in your dreams.
What is the perfect summer day in Boulder?
Follow this recipe, no edits: Bowels, emptied. Blunt, smoked. Beleza drip coffee (just black, thanks), procured. Bowels, emptied again. Hips, opened by a yoga instructor who doesn’t say “namaste.” Tummy, filled with unwashed farmer’s market arugula (no looking at the price). Mouth, smooched well by a sensitive boi who doesn’t have expectations. Heart, full as the moon as you bike home at midnight tipsy and alone as you’ve ever been.
Got a burning Boulder question or conundrum? DM @wholefoods_ daddy on Instagram, or email letters@ boulderweekly.com with the subject line “Dear Whole Foods Daddy.”
There’s still time to have your Old School moment on the Hill before Labor Day. Courtesy: DreamWorks Pictures
Don’t stop looking for someone manic and pixie enough to be down for a rope swing into Boulder Creek. She’s out there! Courtesy: Focus Features
Justin from Justin’s Peanut Butter: Can I say something? Courtesy: Elle / Justin Gold
4
BOULDER SYMPHONY: 4TH OF JULY
7-8:30 p.m. Thursday, July 4, Boulder Bandshell, 1212 Canyon Blvd., Boulder. $5-$15
Enjoy an evening of classics as you celebrate the 4th of July with the Boulder Symphony. On the bill will be pieces like Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and John Williams’ Jurassic Park, along with the premiere of Matte Browne’s Barnstorming Season
5
NEW MOON HIKE + YOGA
7-8:30 a.m. Friday, July 5, The Peoples’ Crossing, 101 Pearl St., Boulder. $27, free for Yoga Pearl members
Rejuvenate your mind and body on this new-moon outing in Boulder. The event kicks off with a 15-minute hike among the red rocks of The Peoples’ Crossing, followed by a 45-minute early morning yoga session.
5
COMMUNITY CAMPFIRE & POTLUCK
5-9 p.m. Friday, July 5, Neurodiversity Community Center, 100 W. Cleveland St., Lafayette. Free
Meet new friends and enjoy a night around the fire at this Lafayette potluck. Bring a vegetarian dish or nonalcoholic beverage and get ready for a night of community and connection.
5
DANCING UNDER THE STARS
7-9:30 p.m. Friday, July 5, Cottonwood Square, Niwot. Free
Ready to cut a rug? This free dance lesson in Niwot is followed by an evening of classic swing music underneath the night sky at the city’s outdoor Cottonwood Square. Future Friday-night offerings include contra, salsa and two-step.
5
FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK
5-9 p.m. Friday, July 5, Downtown Niwot, 2nd Avenue & Cottonwood Square. Free
Enjoy an evening of art, food and fun in historic downtown Niwot. Local artists will display their work throughout Old Town and Cottonwood Square during this monthly opportunity to support creativity in your own backyard.
6
TV GAME SHOW NIGHT WITH RION EVANS
8 p.m. Saturday, July 6, The Louisville Underground, 640 Main St. $12.50
Live out your Jeopardy! dreams during this 21+ event at the Louisville Underground, hosted by voice actor and comedian Rion Evans. Hop up on stage and compete in a realistic game show setting while enjoying drinks from the bar.
EVENTS
7
POTTED AND POURED PARTY
1-4 p.m. Sunday, July 7, The Garden at Left Hand Brewing, 1245 Boston Ave., Longmont. Price varies
Let the joy of planting take root in the Garden at Left Hand Brewing. “Pick your pot, choose your plants and create your own little oasis” with the help of a mobile potting station from Happy Day Plants. Plus, enjoy libations from one of the most awarded breweries on the Front Range.
8
TALES OF ANCIENT MOON WATCHERS
5:30-7 p.m. Monday, July 8, Boulder JCC, 6007 Oreg Ave., Boulder. $12
Educate yourself on the sky-human connection at this lecture presented by Erica Ellingson. You’ll learn about how ancient cultures perceived the moon and its cycles while also gaining knowledge on prehistoric structures.
9
BOULDER’S POETRY OPEN MIC NIGHT
6:30-9 p.m. Tuesday, July 9, DV8 Distillery, 2480 49th St., Boulder. Free
Let out your inner Allen Ginsberg and join this free poetry open mic held biweekly on Tuesdays at DV8. Sign up for a reading slot to get 10% off a cocktail or mocktail.
11
QUEER COMMUNITY: MEDITATION AND CONVERSATION
6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 11, Boulder Shambhala Center, 1345 Spruce St., . Free
Practice mindfulness techniques under the guidance of queer Buddhist teachers during this affirming session. The LGBTQ+ event includes conversation on “what it is to be queer in our personal and collective experience on the spiritual path and everyday life.”
11
ERIE FARMERS MARKET
5-8 p.m. Thursday, July 11, Erie Farmers Market, 500 Block of Briggs Street. Free
The Erie Farmers Market continues with its regular Thursday offering of local produce, roasted chiles, honey, breads and more. Enjoy live music and local bites in Erie’s historic downtown while you’re at it.
11
PICNIC ON THE PLAZA
Noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, July 11, Festival Plaza, 311 S. Public Road, Lafayette. Free
Bring a picnic blanket and enjoy the soothing sounds of guitarist Steve Glotzer at this free community concert. The weekly fun continues July 18 and 25 with the School of Rock House Band and Robert Maldonado.
Want more Boulder County events? Check out the complete listings online by scanning this QR code.
THURSDAY, JULY 4
PATTI FIASCO WITH GREG SCHOCHET AND LITTLE AMERICA AND THE POUDRE VALLEY PLAYBOYS Noon. Gold Hill Inn, 401 Main St., Boulder. $25
DENNY DRISCOLL 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt St., Longmont. Free
BOULDER OLD-TIME JAM 6 p.m. Trident Cafe, 940 Pearl St., Boulder. Free
BLUES TRAVELER WITH JJ GREY, MOFRO AND EGGY. 6 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $50
BOULDER SYMPHONY’S JULY 4TH CONCERT CELEBRATION. 7 p.m. Boulder Bandshell, 1212 Canyon Blvd., Boulder. $15
HIGH LONESOME. 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $16
RO$$AY WITH DANTE M$, JAHNDI ANRES AND D-TRAIT 8 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $12
DAMON WOOD’S HARMONIOUS JUNK 9 p.m. Mountain Sun Pub, 1535 Pearl St., Boulder. Free
SATURDAY, JULY 6
PEAK2PEAK. 11 a.m. St Julien Hotel & Spa, 900 Walnut St., Boulder. Free
BANSHEE TREE WITH BENJAMIN SPROUL BAND 4 p.m. Chipeta Park, 254-306 Lakeview Drive, Nederland. Free
OH LIKE WOW 6 p.m. Left Hand Brewing, 1265 Boston Ave., Longmont. Free
TV STAR WITH ANGEL BAND, CHERRY SPIT AND DJ RYAN WONG 7 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $12
CHUCK SITERO WITH DYLAN KOBER. 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free
SPLEEN DOWN THE STREAM. 9 p.m. Southern Sun Pub, 627 S. Broadway St., Boulder. Free
ZEDS DEAD WITH HEYZ AND LUMASI. 9:30 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $80
FRIDAY, JULY 5
FLOAT LIKE A BUFFALO WITH CORY PEARMAN 5:30 p.m. Left Hand Brewing, 1265 Boston Ave., Longmont. Free
HOW ABOUT NO LIVE. 6 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free
PLANET: DISILLUSIONED 6:30 p.m. The Coffee Stand, 1201 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder. Free
ROGUE 2. 7 p.m. Courtyard Amphitheater, 836 Main St., Louisville. $7
THE AVETT BROTHERS WITH LITTLE FEAT (NIGHT 1). 7:30 p.m. Red Rocks Park Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $70
THE LAST AMERICAN TRIO. 6 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free
IZZY AND THE ICE BREAKERS 6 p.m. Bricks on Main, 471 Main St., Longmont. Free
JAZZETRY WITH VON DISCO. 6 p.m. Trident Cafe, 940 Pearl St., Boulder. Free
STEVE AND THE CRUISERS 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt St., Longmont. Free
THE 360S WITH KAPEI, CONAXX, CURB SURFER AND AUDIO
MOCHA 6 p.m. Junkyard Social Club, 2525 Frontier Ave., Unit A, Boulder. Free
DRIVE BY TRUCKERS 7 p.m. Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St., Denver. $16
THE AVETT BROTHERS WITH MELISSA ETHRIDGE (NIGHT 2). 7:30 p.m. Red Rocks Park Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $75
BLITZEN TRAPPER WITH LOUISA STANCIOFF 8 p.m. Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $30
LIONEL YOUNG DUO 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free
DARK STAR ORCHESTRA 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $40
LIVE MUSIC
ON THE BILL
Canadian indie-pop duo Tegan and Sara come to Colorado for an opening-slot performance at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre with headliner Portugal. The Man. The band returns to the iconic outdoor venue in support of their latest full-length LP, Crybaby, out now via Mom + Pop See listing for details
LIQUID CHICKEN WITH SPLIFF TANK AND LEGS. 8 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $12
SHAWN CUNNANE. 9 p.m. Longs Peak Pub, 600 Longs Peak Ave., Longmont. Free
SUNDAY, JULY 7
BOULDER FRIENDS OF JAZZ JAM SESSION. 1 p.m. Avalon Ballroom, 6185 Arapahoe Road, Boulder. $12
TUMBLEDOWN SHACK. 4 p.m. Dickens Opera House, 300 Main St., Longmont. $15
SPEARFISH JUNCTION 4 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free
LAURIE D. 6 p.m. Dagabi, 3970 Broadway, Unit 101, Boulder. Free
THE AVETT BROTHERS WITH DAWES (NIGHT 3) 6:30 p.m. Red Rocks Park Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $70
ATMA BUTI MEDITATION
CONCERT 7 p.m. Atma Buti & Vibrational School, 6395 Gunpark Drive, Suite T, Boulder. $36
KENNYTHEINDIGO. 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free
TUESDAY, JULY 9
LAURIE D 4:30 p.m. Roadhouse Boulder Depot, 2366 Junction Place, Boulder. Free
SUNDAY,
JOHN CRAIGIE WITH JOBI RICCIO 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $36
LYLE LOVETT AND HIS LARGE BAND WITH SHAWN COLVIN AND KT TUNSTALL 7:30 p.m. Red Rocks Park Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $50
WEDNESDAY, JULY 10
BANDS ON THE BRICKS 5:30 p.m. 1300 Block of Pearl, Boulder. Free
TENBUCKSIXER 6 p.m. Rosalee’s Pizzeria, 461 Main St., Longmont. Free
DENVER TAIKO 6:30 p.m. Collyer Park, 600 Collyer St., Longmont. Free
FIDDLEHEAD WITH PUBLIC OPINION. 8 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $31
PORTUGAL. THE MAN WITH TEGAN AND SARA AND SNACKTIME 7:30 p.m. Red Rocks Park Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $60 BW PICK OF THE WEEK
CHUCK SITERO. 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free
SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS WITH ALANA MARS AND DJ JAKE LUNA 8 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $20
• Cosmetic Skin Care Treatment
• Hormone Replacement
• Medically Supervised Weight Loss
• Mental Health Medications
• Sports and Camp Physicals
• Illness & Injury Care
ASTROLOGY
BY ROB BREZSNY
ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): The “nirvana fallacy” is the belief that because something is less than utterly perfect, it is gravely defective or even irredeemably broken. Wikipedia says, “The nirvana fallacy compares actual things with unrealistic, idealized alternatives.” Most of us are susceptible to this flawed approach to dealing with the messiness of human existence. But it’s especially important that you avoid such thinking in the coming weeks. To inspire you to find excellence and value in the midst of untidy jumbles and rumpled complexities, I recommend you have fun with the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. It prizes and praises the soulful beauty found in things that are irregular, incomplete and imperfect.
TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): You are coming to a fork in the road — a crux where two paths diverge. What should you do? Author Marie Forleo says, “When it comes to forks in the road, your heart always knows the answer, not your mind.” Here’s my corollary: Choose the path that will best nourish your soul’s desires. Now here’s your homework, Taurus: Contact your Future Self in a dream or meditation and ask that beautiful genius to provide you with a message and a sign. Plus, invite them to give you a wink with either the left eye or right eye.
GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Last year, you sent out a clear message to life requesting help and support. It didn’t get the response you wished for. You felt sad. But now I have good news. One or both of the following may soon occur. 1. Your original message will finally lead to a response that buoys your soul. 2. You will send out a new message similar to the one in 2023, and this time you will get a response that makes you feel helped and supported. Maybe you didn’t want to have to be so patient, Gemini, but I’m glad you refused to give up hope.
CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): The Fates have authorized me to authorize you to be bold and spunky. You have permission to initiate gutsy experiments and to dare challenging feats. Luck and grace will be on your side as you consider adventures you’ve long wished you had the nerve to entertain. Don’t do anything risky or foolish, of course. Avoid acting like you’re entitled to grab rewards you have not yet earned. But don’t be self-consciously cautious or timid, either. Proceed as if help and resources will arrive through the magic of your audacity. Assume you will be able to summon more confidence than usual.
LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): All of us, including me, have aspects of our lives that are stale or unkempt, even decaying. What would you say is the most worn-out thing about you? Are there parts of your psyche or environment that would benefit from a surge of clean-up and revival? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to attend to these matters. You are likely to attract extra help and inspiration as you make your world brighter and livelier. The first rule of the purgation and rejuvenation process: Have fun!
VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): On those rare occasions when I buy furniture from online stores, I try hard to find sources that will send me the stuff already assembled. I hate spending the time to put together jumbles of wood and metal. More importantly, I am inept at doing so. In alignment with astrological omens, I recommend you take my approach in regard to every situation in your life during the coming weeks. Your operative metaphor should be this: Whatever you want or need, get it already fully assembled.
LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): When Adragon De Mello was born under the sign of Libra in 1976, his father had big plans for him. Dad wanted him to get a PhD in physics by age 12, garner a Nobel Prize by 16, get elected President of the United States by 26, and then become head of a world government by 30. I’d love for you to fantasize about big, unruly dreams like that in the coming weeks — although with less egotism and more amusement and adventurousness. Give yourself a license to play with amazing scenarios that inspire you to enlarge your understanding of your own destiny. Provide your future with a dose of healing wildness.
SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): “Your horoscopes are too complicated,” a reader named Estelle wrote to me recently. “You give us too many ideas. Your language is too fancy. I just want simple advice in plain words.” I wrote back to tell her that if I did what she asked, I wouldn’t be myself. “Plenty of other astrologers out there can meet your needs,” I concluded. As for you, dear Scorpio, I think you will especially benefit from influences like me in the coming weeks — people who appreciate nuance and subtlety, who love the poetry of life, who eschew clichés and conventional wisdom, who can nurture your rich, spicy, complicated soul.
SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): The coming weeks will be prime time for you to re-imagine the history of your destiny. How might you do that? In your imagination, revisit important events from the past and reinterpret them using the new wisdom you’ve gained since they happened. If possible, perform any atonement, adjustment or intervention that will transform the meaning of what happened once upon a time. Give the story of your life a fresh title. Rename the chapters. Look at old photos and videos and describe to yourself what you know now about those people and situations that you didn’t know back then. Are there key events from the old days that you have repressed or ignored? Raise them up into the light of consciousness.
CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): In 1972, before the internet existed, Capricorn actor Anthony Hopkins spent a day visiting London bookstores in search of a certain tome: The Girl from Petrovka. Unable to locate a copy, he decided to head home. On the way, he sat on a random bench, where he found the original manuscript of The Girl of Petrovka. It had been stolen from the book’s author George Feifer and abandoned there by the thief. I predict an almost equally unlikely or roundabout discovery or revelation for you in the coming days. Prediction: You may not unearth what you’re looking for in an obvious place, but you will ultimately unearth it.
AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): Aquarius-born Desmond Doss (1919–2006) joined the American army at the beginning of World War II. But because of his religious beliefs, he refused to use weapons. He became a medic who accompanied troops to Guam and the Philippines. During the next few years, he won three medals of honor, which are usually given solely to armed combatants. His bravest act came in 1944, when he saved the lives of 70 wounded soldiers during a battle. I propose we make him your inspirational role model for the coming weeks, Aquarius. In his spirit, I invite you to blend valor and peace-making. Synergize compassion and fierce courage. Mix a knack for poise and healing with a quest for adventure.
PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): What types of people are you most attracted to, Pisces? Not just those you find most romantically and sexually appealing, but also those with whom a vibrant alliance is most gracefully created. And those you’re inclined to seek out for collaborative work and play. This knowledge is valuable information to have; it helps you gravitate toward relationships that are healthy for you. Now and then, though, it’s wise to experiment with connections and influences that aren’t obviously natural — to move outside your usual set of expectations and engage with characters you can’t immediately categorize. I suspect the coming weeks will be one of those times.
SAVAGE LOVE
BY DAN SAVAGE
From the beginning, my boyfriend has struggled to cum from PIV with me and has to jack himself off in order to climax. He also never cums from my blowjobs or my hand jobs. He says this has never been an issue for him in the past and the problem is that I lack sexual stamina. He says we have poor sexual chemistry. He has also said he can’t feel much during PIV sex and suggested I start doing kegels. He said this after I had already tried introducing toys, sexy outfits and having discussions about what he likes. I suggested he stop watching porn and that he should masturbate less and use a pocket pussy when he does to help loosen the death grip, as I cannot compete with what I see him doing when he jacks off. He refused. I feel like I have been making all the effort here and he isn’t making any effort at all.
Is this a problem I can solve on my own, or does he have some role to play here?
— Boyfriends Rejects All Sexual Suggestions
Jesus Christ, break the fuck up already.
While some men who suffer from death-grip syndrome (DGS) manage to retrain their dicks using pocket pussies and/or a lighter touch during masturbation, not all men who appear to have DGS actually have DGS. Just as some women require the sensations only a vibrator can provide in order get off, BRASS, some men require the kind of intense
pressure only a fist can provide in order to get off. And just as women who rely on vibrators aren’t broken and don’t need to be fixed, men who rely on their own hand to finish and/ or get themselves to the point of orgasmic inevitability before plunging back aren’t broken and don’t need fixing either.
He doesn’t seem to be enjoying the sex he’s having with you anymore than you’re enjoying the sex you’re having with him. Unless you two share a secret kink for slowly shredding another person’s ego and sexual self-esteem, I can’t understand why you’re still fucking each other.
A lot of people assume that a male partner who needs to touch themselves to get off isn’t attracted to them or is somehow broken. But your boyfriend responded to your mistakenbut-made-in-good-faith “suggestions” with the most demeaning shit he could possibly say. If he didn’t feel any sexual chemistry and/or your pussy really didn’t do it for him, he could’ve and should’ve ended the relationship with a face-saving/egosparing banality (“It’s not you, it’s me”) or with the truth, gently told (“I don’t feel like we click on a sexual level”). Opting to blame your pussy was a choice — a mean-spirited and vindictive one.
Email your question for the column to mailbox@savage.love or record your question for the Savage Lovecast at savage.love/askdan. Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love
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a taste of modern Japan in the heart of beautiful Boulder
DRINK
an unmatched selection of rare whiskey, sake, and craft cocktails
ENJOY
the scenery on one of our 3 fireside patios, a feast alongside the jellyfish, or a front row seat at a lively bar
OFF THE EATEN PATH
These Colorado dining destinations are worth the drive
BY JOHN LEHNDORFF
We boast about Boulder County’s culinary wonders more than almost anyone, but diners cannot thrive on local tastes alone. The solution for taste buds bored to death with the same old pad Thai and Buddha bowls is to take them (and the rest of your senses) on a road trip. Just down Colorado’s highways are some seriously cool food experiences.
The following spots are not the noisy, high-profile destinations like Casa Bonita, but rather places I’ve visited and enjoyed as a food writer for various Colorado publications. This summer, upgrade your road trip meals with this alphabetical list:
54THIRTY
1475 California St., Denver
The cure for the doldrums is to live the high life temporarily on Downtown Denver’s loftiest patio bar. Nibble pricey small bites and sip upscale cocktails while soaking in a panoramic sunset on the 20th floor of Le Méridien hotel.
AJ’S PIT BAR-B-Q
2180 S. Delaware St., Denver
Among barbecue devotees, this cabinstyle industrial eatery is on their bucket list. The Texas-style pork ribs, brisket, spice-rubbed tri tip and candied burnt beef ends are so delicious that AJ’s is a Michelin-recommended restaurant.
BALISTRERI VINEYARDS
1946 E. 66th Ave., Denver
Situated near a power plant in an industrial neighborhood off I-270, this unexpectedly lush winery patio and comfy tasting room offers Balistreri’s award-winning wines paired with a menu of elaborate meat and cheese boards and Italian-inspired plates.
BRITISH BULLDOG
2052 Stout St., Denver
Whether you call it soccer or “football,” classic urban pubs are the place to watch Premier League games immersively on weekend mornings. Expect lots of cursing at the telly as you enjoy pints and fill up on bangers, rashers, Scotch eggs, black pudding and chips with curry sauce.
CHOWSUN
830 S. Buckley Road, Aurora
Filipino fare is a rarity in Colorado, but Chowsun dishes a great introduction to a complex cuisine. Try shrimp sautéed in crab fat, pork adobo, pancit noodles or crispy sisig in tart calamansi juice with chilies. Don’t miss the cool, Instagram-ready halo-halo dessert, a colorful combination of tropical fruits with shaved ice, condensed milk, ube ice cream and coconut jelly.
DOMO
1365 Osage St., Denver
Can you chill for a while? Tucked away near the busy, noisy intersection of Colfax Avenue and Speer Boulevard is Domo’s walled-in Zen garden with manicured flowering bushes. The Japanese eatery offers lunch and dinner favorites ranging from teriyaki salmon to udon noodles in curry sauce. For summer, meditate over hiyashi chūka: chilled noodles tumbled with chicken, cucumber and egg with a sesame dressing.
GAGLIANO’S ITALIAN MARKET & DELI
1220 Elm St., Pueblo
Opened in 1921, newly renovated Gagliano’s is the closest thing Colorado has to the classic East Coast-style Italian market. The shelves are packed with Italian groceries, fresh sausages and a menu of treats including stromboli-like bada bing, Pueblo chile-infused sausage sandwiches and Mamaapproved baked goods.
GINGER AND BAKER
359 Linden St., Fort Collins
A restored historic grain mill houses Ginger Graham’s charming cafe, bakery and cooking school. It’s worth the drive simply to be blissed-out by a slice of nearly perfect quadruple coconut cream pie in a coconut crust.
HEINIE’S MARKET
11801 W 44th Ave., Wheat Ridge
If you are passionate about Colorado’s bounty of fresh summer fruits and vegetables, Heinie’s is well worth a pilgrimage. The market’s long-time relationships with farmers and growers means it will offer multiple ripe varieties of Rocky Ford melons and Palisade peaches at the same time.
HOUSE OF BREAD
2020 S. Parker Road, Denver
Make a beeline to this wonderful familyowned Armenian bakery/eatery for ajarski, one of the world’s great breakfast creations. This baked-to-order joy
boasts eggs, feta and mozzarella inside an oval-shaped yeasted dough. Other choices include mante (meat-filled dumplings), fritter-like perashki, pizzalike lahmajun, and beet salad with pomegranate and walnuts.
THE INVENTING ROOM
4433 W. 29th Ave., Denver
The coolest Colorado summer escape is a Sugar Science session at Ian Kleinman’s Wonka-inspired shop. The chef-led interactive demos feature tastings of futuristic freeze-dried, compressed and otherwise transformed sweets. The grand finale is a brainfreezing, over-the-top liquid nitrogen ice cream sundae.
ISLA VERDE
19757 Pikes Peak Ave., Parker
Dining in this charming eatery set inside a sunny renovated home truly feels like an escape to Puerto Rico. Your day at the beach boasts rumbased cocktails and hard-to-find island specialties like tostones, bacalaitos, lechon asado and guava-filled pastries.
SHOWBOAT’S DRIVE-BY PIE
54 1st St., Granby
The spectacular trek to Granby is only topped by sweet treats at a quirky food spot served by a walk-up or drive-thru window. Sherry Kent’s elevated buttercrusted fruit pies include Montmorency tart cherry, green chile apple and wild Maine blueberry pies. Savor them nearby Rocky Mountain National Park.
Fine pies are dished at Ginger and Baker in Fort Collins. Courtesy: Ginger and Baker
Armenian ajarski is worth the drive to Denver’s House of Bread. Credit: John Lehndorff
NIBBLES
TASTES OF THE WEEK: DONER, LAGER & SCHNITZEL
Prost Brewing Company’s recently opened Northglenn Biergarten, 351 W. 104th Ave., is a monumental 10,000-square-foot temple devoted to German beer, cuisine and socializing. The comfy menu naturally features warm chewy pretzels and locally made sausages with excellent potato salad, red cabbage and sauerkraut. Beer-friendly items include chicken doner flatbread sandwiches, jaegerschnitzel and ham-and-cheesy spaetzle.
COLORADO FOOD NEWS: TASTING ROOM UPDATE
The Finkel & Garf Brewing Co. tasting room, 5455 Spine Road, closes July 20. The Gunbarrel brewer’s beers will still be available at retail outlets. It took four pandemic-fraught years, but Boulder’s Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery has finally reopened all its locations with the recent re-launch of Denver’s Vine Street Pub & Brewery
Sean Gafner, owner of The Roost, Jefes, Swaylo’s and 99 Bar Saloon in Longmont, has opened Ember Restaurant & Bar in Estes Park.
Happy 61st birthday to Arvada’s Rheinlander Bakery, a bastion of old school goodies including many sugar-free and allergy-friendly sweets.
ROAD FOOD CALENDAR: WINE UP THE CANYON
The third annual Nederland Jazz & Wine Festival on Aug. 24 will feature live bands, food trucks and wine, cider and other beverages to sip. nedjazzwine.com.
Save these dates: Aug. 3: Indian Food Festival, Colorado Springs, polkadotsandcurry.com; Aug. 24-25: Polish Food Festival, Denver, polishfoodfestival.org; Sept. 7: Taste of The Middle East Festival, Aurora, tasteofthemiddleeast.com.
WORDS TO CHEW ON: THINKING ABOUT EATING
“Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing.”
— Cartoonist Walt Kelly
John Lehndorff is the former Dining Critic of the Rocky Mountain News and Food Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. He hosts Radio Nibbles on KGNU. Podcasts: kgnu.org/category/radio-nibbles
German beer and fare star at Prost Brewing Co.’s Northglenn Biergarten. Courtesy: Prost Brewing Co.
ON DRUGS
FIRST, DO NO HARM
Overdose prevention and safe use sites save lives, but they’re still a tough sell
BY SARA WILSON COLORADO NEWSLINE
Part 2 of this
Afew days per week, Richard volunteers at the Harm Reduction Action Center in Denver. He passes out snacks, helps people with the coffee station and gives hygiene products that the clients, many of whom are experiencing homelessness, need to stay healthy.
In many cases, the 36-year-old also offers people sterile syringes, clean pipes and other supplies to consume illicit drugs.
Two years ago, Richard, who requested Colorado Newsline use only his first name to speak frankly about substance use disorder without fear of stigma, walked into the doors of the single-story, nondescript building on the southeast corner of 8th Avenue and Lincoln Street as a client himself, looking for supplies for his methamphetamine addiction and gear to survive on the Denver streets.
“If it wasn’t for a place like this, I
probably wouldn’t be here today,” he told Colorado Newsline during an interview at the center. As he spoke, people walked through the center on their way to a Thursday afternoon health education class on hepatitis C in the back of the building.
‘PEOPLE HAVE TO BE ALIVE’
HRAC operates one of about 20 syringe access programs in Colorado.
The center runs under a harm reduction model by providing clean syringes and other paraphernalia, free opioid overdose reversal medication and information about the safest way to use drugs, all in an effort to prevent overdose deaths and the spread of communicable diseases.
Employees and volunteers meet clients where they’re at — often during the throes of active substance use disorder — and stand patiently ready to offer referrals to addiction counseling and medication-assisted treatment.
The goal is to keep people alive and safe until they are ready to seek recovery.
“The number one substance use treatment admission requirement is
that people have to be alive,” says Lisa Raville, HRAC’s executive director.
Harm reduction is an evidencebased approach backed by public health experts, doctors and community leaders. While the method has gained traction over the past decade, with more states allowing syringe access programs and overdose reversal medicine like Narcan becoming widely available, leaders fear a potential policy regression amid rising skepticism over its effectiveness and increased visibility of the effects of substance use disorder in cities across the country.
In Colorado, state lawmakers this year for the second time voted down a bill that would have allowed local governments to authorize overdose prevention centers (OPCs), where people could use illegal drugs under medical supervision in case of an overdose. Pueblo’s city council, an increasingly conservative body, approved an ordinance in May that prohibits needle access programs in the city.
“There’s a backslide right now, unfortunately,” says Mary Sylla, the director of overdose prevention policy and strategy at the National Harm Reduction Coalition, referring to the national landscape.
‘DATA SHOULD DRIVE POLICY’
Opponents of the centers, including law enforcement groups, Republicans and some moderate Democrats, argue that OPCs — and on some level
syringe access programs as well — increase crime, enable people who use drugs and create a culture of permissiveness, not treatment, around substance use disorder.
Republican state Rep. Ryan Armagost, who sat on the substance use disorder study committee, says his experience in law enforcement showed that forced intervention can be a successful path to recovery. People arrested for drug crimes and mandated into treatment as a deferral, he says, would often tell the involved officer afterwards that the interaction was life saving.
“I had a lot of resistance in trying and being able to get on board with the harm reduction side of things,” he says. “My focus was always more on the treatment and recovery aspect.”
A bill this year from Republican state Rep. Mike Lynch would have let a court order treatment for someone with substance use disorder as a bond condition, but it died in its first committee.
That is an approach harm reduction experts disagree with.
“There’s no evidence whatsoever at a population level to suggest that compulsory treatment works,” says Dr. Josh Barocas, an infectious diseases physician and addiction researcher at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “Many lawmakers hear the emotional anecdote about rock bottom and about being thrown into jail. Everybody has heard that story. But anecdotes should not be driving policy. Data should be driving policy.”
story, about the fight over Pueblo’s syringe access program, will run in next week’s paper.
