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COMMENTARY

OPINION

NOURISHING OUR COMMUNITY

Meals

on Wheels serves Boulder’s most vulnerable neighbors

BY SHOSHANA FANIZZA

In our vibrant city of Boulder, known for its innovation and community spirit, an often-overlooked crisis persists: food insecurity among our most vulnerable residents.

At Meals on Wheels of Boulder, we witness daily the struggles of people who cannot shop for groceries or prepare their own meals due to age, illness or disability.

These individuals, often invisible in our active community, rely on us for their most basic need: nutritious food.

According to Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap,” Boulder County has a food insecurity rate of 8.5%, affecting approximately 27,960 people. In part, this number represents our Boulder neighbors — seniors living alone, people with chron-

MAY 8, 2025 Volume 32, Number 38

PUBLISHER: Stewart Sallo

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Shay Castle

ARTS EDITOR: Jezy J. Gray

REPORTERS: Kaylee Harter, Tyler Hickman

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Shoshana Fanizza, Bill Forman, Kelly Dean Hansen, John Lehndorff, Jenn Ochs, Sebastian Rotella, David Gil De Rubio, Dan Savage, Toni Tresca

COVER: Chris Sawyer

SALES AND MARKETING

DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING: Kellie Robinson

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Matthew Fischer

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Austen Lopp

SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER: Carter Ferryman

MRS. BOULDER WEEKLY: Mari Nevar

PRODUCTION

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Erik Wogen

GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Chris Sawyer

CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION MANAGER: Cal Winn

CIRCULATION TEAM: Sue Butcher, Ken Rott, Chris Bauer

BUSINESS OFFICE

BOOKKEEPER: Austen Lopp

FOUNDER / CEO: Stewart Sallo

ic illnesses and those recovering from surgery — who face the daily challenge of securing their next meal.

Meals on Wheels of Boulder operates without federal or state funding. Our services are sustained through the generosity of city and county funding, grants, individual and corporate donors and volunteers. However, with over 350 nonprofit organizations in the city of Boulder vying for limited resources, the competition for funding is intense.

Potential and implemented federal funding cuts will increase the strain on local nonprofits, including ours. On the potential chopping block are cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services — more specifically, the potential elimination of the

As Boulder County’s only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holds-barred journalism and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county’s most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage. Read the print version, or visit boulderweekly.com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you’re interested in writing for the paper, please send queries to: editorial@ boulderweekly.com. Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper.

1495 Canyon Boulevard, Suite CO 1, Boulder, CO 80302

Phone: 303.494.5511, FAX: 303.494.2585 editorial@boulderweekly.com boulderweekly.com

Boulder Weekly welcomes your correspondence via email (letters@boulderweekly.com). Preference will be given to short letters (under 300 words) that deal with recent stories or local issues, and letters may be edited for style, length and libel. Letters should include your name, address and telephone number for verification. We do not publish anonymous letters or those signed with pseudonyms. Letters become the property of Boulder Weekly and will be published on our website.

OPINION

BACK TO WASHINGTON

$880B in Medicaid cuts would devastate the disability community

OPINION AND PHOTOS BY

JENN OCHS

Last month, I was able to attend the Disability Policy Seminar (DPS) in Washington, D.C. DPS is one of the most influential seminars because it ends with a “Hill Day” when disability advocates meet with congressional and senate members on Capitol Hill.

Medicaid

Hill Day gives advocates the opportunity to share their disability stories. The result is education on why and how disability issues affect their personal lives. This year, there is a $880 billion dollar cut to Medicaid on the table. This would be devastating to the 80 million people who currently rely on Medicaid, according a presentation at this year’s DPS. These cuts are terrifying for the disability community who made their voices heard when 900 attendees showed up. Presenters explained how the $880 billion would be taken from “optional” Medicaid services.

The word optional is misleading, because the services under optional should be considered mandatory. The

proposed cuts would mainly affect waivers or home- and community-based services, add work requirements or add per-capita caps on services.

First, let’s explore waivers and home and community based services (HCBS). This is extremely important to me because they allow me to live independently in the community. Waivers and HCBS cover the cost of living supports such as a caregiver.

I have been approved to have 12 hours a week of home-maker services. My caregiver visits me to do laundry and cleaning. Due to the shortage of care workers in Colorado (see my previous column, “Help Wanted,” Jan. 22, 2024), I have only been able to find a caregiver who can provide four hours a week. Even without the threat of funding cuts, I’m already struggling. Medicaid is the only insurance that will cover HCBS. Without that coverage, I would have to pay around $40 per hour: $480 a week or $1,920 a month. Medicaid asset limits require that I have no more than $2,000 per

month at my disposal or I will lose benefits. Home health alone would eat up my monthly assets, leaving me with $70 for rent and food.

Adding work requirements for benefits would only add more steps in an already complicated and confusing system. Medicaid would have to increase staff to regulate the work requirements, which would cost the agency more money.

Placing per capita caps on services would create massive waiting lists, which results in community members’ needs going unmet. If home services can’t be acquired, the number of people living in institutions will increase. HCBS services are much cheaper than rent in a nursing home. I know that firsthand, as I lived in a nursing home before living independently in the community.

Medicaid is so much more than health insurance. It’s a lifeline for people living with disability. Medicaid is already underfunded, and we can’t afford any amount of cuts.

If you think Medicaid cuts won’t affect you, think again. Anyone could end up relying on Medicaid at any time — the disability community is the only minority anyone can join when least expected.

The best way to protect Medicaid is to communicate with your congressional and senate members: philanthropycolorado.org/find-and-contact-your-legislator.

Jenn Ochs lives in Boulder and enjoys listening to music, podcasts and audiobooks while painting or drawing. She is a disability rights advocate, award-winning columnist and a graduate from Baylor University in Texas, which is where she realized that Boulder is the best place to live.

Jenn Ochs suggests calling and emailing elected ofﬁcials to protest the proposed Medicaid cuts.

Jenn Ochs believes cuts to Medicaid will force many people with disabilities into institutions.

$1,920 per month.

NEWS

GOV’T WATCH

What your local officials are up to this week

BY SHAY CASTLE

BOULDER CITY COUNCIL

On Thursday, May 1, council:

• Unanimously approved plans for a research and development campus in Flatiron Park, reversing a denial by the city’s Planning Board.

The 9.87-acre site at 1855 S. Flatiron Court will include 207,011 square feet of building space. The applicant is California-based BioMed Realty, a portfolio company of private equity behemoth Blackstone.

The 3-3 Planning Board vote denied the application; ties are considered a failure to affirmatively support a project.

Member Mason Roberts was absent, but in a letter to city council detailed his concerns that the campus did not conform with the city’s site review criteria or the East Boulder Subcommunity Plan, adopted in 2022 to guide redevelopment of the mostly industrial community to allow for more housing and retail, such as restaurants.

BioMed’s proposal does not include any housing — the real estate investment firm focuses on life science and tech spaces — and “allocates only 0.3% of its total square footage to commercial space — a single small café” of 600 square feet, Roberts wrote.

Roberts and another board member, Laura Kaplan, detailed other deficiencies in letters to council, including design issues; not providing alternatives to car travel for eventual workers; and inadequate connections to the South Boulder Creek multi-use path that crosses the eastern edge of the property.

“Do our neighborhood plans and site review criteria carry weight, or are they merely aspirational documents?” Roberts wrote. “If this project proceeds despite its inconsistencies with established plans and criteria, it undermines the community’s extensive efforts and investments in shaping East Boulder’s future … [and signals] to property owners that deviations from the plan are acceptable.”

The project’s approval will last nine years, another concession approved by council that the Planning Board rejected at its Feb. 18 meeting.

On Thursday, May 15, council will:

• Receive an update on its child-friendly cities initiative, including a presentation of the draft action plan. Read more on p. 11.

LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL

On Friday, May 9, council will:

• Be at Festival Plaza (311 S. Public Road) from 5:30-8:30 p.m. for an informal chat with residents during Art Night Out. Bring your questions and concerns. The Chat with Council booth is located across from the beer ID tent on the west side of Public Road and Chester Street.

TOWN OF SUPERIOR

On Thursday, May 8:

• Staff from the town’s planning and building department will host a panel discussion on housing from 6-7 p.m. at Town Hall (124 E. Coal Creek Drive). The event is part of an update to the comprehensive plan, a document that guides development, transportation, economic activity and more for 10-20 years in Superior.

Learn more: shapesuperior.com/ comprehensive-plan

All agenda items are subject to change.

A rendering of the proposed research and development campus at 1855 S. Flatiron Court. Courtesy: City of Boulder

NEWS

BOCO, BRIEFLY

Your local news at a glance

BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

COUNTY TAKES LEGAL ACTION SEEKING TO DELAY UNION BARGAINING

Boulder County commissioners have filed another legal action relating to the Boulder County Employees Union in a move some employees and union representatives have characterized as union busting. Commissioners, along with Boulder County Public Health (BCPH) and Boulder County Housing Authority (BCHA), filed a motion last month seeking to pause bargaining negotiations, scheduled to begin May 19, with the Boulder County Employees Union, which formed in January.

The motion comes after a complaint filed in late February seeking to appeal an earlier decision by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) to allow BCHA and BCPH employees to be included in the bargaining unit. The county has argued that those employees are not subject to COBCA, the state law that allows county employees to unionize, and that CDLE’s decision is based on a “misinterpretation of how the county is structured.”

The latest filing seeks to delay negotiations until the previous appeal is decided.

Dozens of county employees attended the commissioners’ May 1 public comment session, urging commissioners to drop the legal action.

“In my opinion, the county is no longer acting in good faith,” said Brianna Barber, a county employee and an elected member of the union’s bargaining committee, during the public comment session. “Please stop union busting. We hear you say that you believe in equity. We listen to you say that you believe in justice. So please demon-

strate that you believe in both of those things by pulling the motion to stop bargaining and come to the negotiating table.

“Fighting against the democratic will of your employees with taxpayer dollars is not something you should be proud of.”

Melany Niemann, who has worked at BCPH for 23 years, said at the May 1 session it was “hard to grasp the suggestion that we don’t work for the county.”

Of the 1,419 employees who were eligible to vote on forming a union, 59 were from BCHA and 128 were from BCPH, according to county spokesperson Gloria Handyside. County commissioners serve as the board of BCHA and appoint the board of BCPH. Boulder County provides 29% of BCPH’s budget, Handyside wrote in an email to Boulder Weekly. BCHA, she said, receives 21% of its funding from the county.

At the May 1 meeting, commissioner Ashley Stolzmann said the commissioners didn’t choose the executive director of BCPH and don’t set pay or wages for the agency.

“It actually wouldn’t cause any problem to start negotiating with county employees,” Stolzmann said, “but I think we need to understand who that is, so we can be really successful working together going forward.”

IN OTHER NEWS…

• An analysis of Homeless Solutions for Boulder County recommended an expansion of services and more collaboration amid a 51% increase in local homelessness since 2017. Read more: bit.ly/ HSBCanalysis25.

• The City of Boulder and child advocacy nonprofit Growing Up Boulder have completed an initial report on the needs and concerns of local children. A draft plan to address three key issues — bullying, safety in public spaces and government engagement — will be presented to city council on May 15. Read the report: bit.ly/ ChildReportBW.

BE BEST S OF O BO BOUL U DE D

MUSIC

‘TEENAGE SYMPHONIES TO GOD’

The Lemon Twigs give new wings to the jangle-pop sounds of the ’60s

BY DAVE GIL DE RUBIO

The term “pop music” may be more slippery than ever, but it finds a classic expression in the songs of The Lemon Twigs. With a guitar-forward sound recalling the British invasion of the 1960s, the sugar rush generated by brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario recalls what Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson once described as “teenage symphonies to God.”

That much is apparent on A Dream Is All We Know, the Long Island duo’s fifth studio album. Its layered harmonies and hooks are smudged with fingerprints of 20th century pop-rock influences — including The Beatles, Raspberries and the duo’s longtime friend, Todd Rundgren.

For Brian D’Addario, the latest album was a chance to pick up the tempo after the more restrained, ballad-heavy feel of the band’s 2023 project, Everything Harmony

“We kind of wanted to make something a little less sullen, something a little bit more joyful,” Brian, 27, says. “It was really kind of just leaning into the more fun aspects of what we do.”

From the layered falsetto harmonies and generous dollops of Wurlitzer driving “They Don’t Know How to Fall in Place” to the wistful A.M. radio ballad “I Should Have Known Right from the Start” and the psychedelic glam-rock of “Peppermint Roses,” The Lemon Twigs’ latest offering finds the rising outfit taking up residence at a crossroads that feels at once like familiar terrain and bold new territory.

‘A DYNAMIC SHOW’

duet with the brothers during his Coachella debut in 2017. The following year, he lent his vocals on the duo’s concept album, Go to School, with the D’Addarios returning the favor and appearing on Rundgren’s 2022 LP, Space Force

Then came the opportunity to take the stage with Colin Blunstone, frontman of legendary English psych-pop band The Zombies, at the 2023 South by Southwest festival — an invitation the brothers were

practiced doing that solo on ‘She’s Not There.’

“I just had to learn something that was close to what was on the recording,” he continues. “Because I obviously couldn’t touch Rod.”

quick to accept, despite having to scramble to rise to the occasion.

Standing on the shoulders of giants, the band’s growing catalog of original material promises a thrilling collision of past and present when The Lemon Twigs take the stage at Boulder’s Fox Theatre on May 18.

“It’s a dynamic show,” Brian says. “There’s a good amount of fastpaced stuff — some rockers and a good serving of ballads toward the end of the set. It’s just a four-piece group playing a fun, harmony-laden rock ’n’ roll show.”

‘DO THE UNEXPECTED’

“Whenever we did a song that was close to the melody of another song, he’d always [point it out],” Brian says. “We were always encouraged to tweak melodies to avoid plagiarizing other people’s material — and [he] also [imparted] the idea of not doing the most common thing. Just when you think a melody is about to resolve, do the unexpected.”

As for the future, listeners can expect another Lemon Twigs record in 2025. In the meantime, Brian has just released his debut solo album, Till The Morning, featuring his brother Michael on vocals. For the siblings who continue to carve their place in the ever-shifting pantheon of pop, it’s as much about the journey as the final product.

The Lemon Twigs are so accomplished at their craft that the aforementioned softrock royalty Todd Rundgren performed a

“We were there playing our own shows anyway, so we agreed,” Brian recalls. “I brought the Wurlitzer electric piano into the hotel rooms when we were on tour on our way to Austin. I just learned those songs because I guess [keyboardistvocalist] Rod Argent couldn’t make it, so I

The D’Addario brothers spent their early years growing up on Long Island as aspiring musical theater actors, but rock stardom called from an early age. They both started playing drums at age 5 before moving on to other instruments at the encouragement of their parents — including father Ronnie D’Addario, former backing musician for Irish folk singer Tommy Makem and sound guy for storied Manhattan venue Folk City, whose mentorship guides The Lemon Twigs to this day.

“It’s just the most satisfying thing when it’s finished,” Brian says. “It’s not unlike when we were arranging the vocals for ‘In the Eyes of the Girl,’ which was really difficult because we were trying to get some interesting harmonies going that weren’t just triads, but including notes that are difficult to suss out. When that was finished, I felt very happy and proud.”

ON THE BILL: The Lemon Twigs with Honey Blazer. 8 p.m. Sunday, May 18, Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $35

“We kind of wanted to make something a little less sullen, something a little bit more joyful,” Brian D’Addario, one-half of the brotherly duo The Lemon Twigs, says of the band’s new record. Credit: Stephanie Pia

A Dream Is All We Know by The Lemon Twigs was released May 3, 2024. Courtesy: Captured Tracks

ATTACHMENT THEORY

Sharon

Van Etten on chosen family, meeting your heroes and embracing discomfort

BY BILL FORMAN

Over the course of her 15-year recording career, Sharon Van Etten’s music has been called many things: folk, alt-rock, indie-pop and even new wave, to name just a few. It’s no wonder she’s sometimes been described by music journalists as “chameleonic.”

“I feel like with every record, I try to do something different and approach it differently, so it’s a challenge for me and also, I guess, for my fans,” Van Etten, 44, says. “I don’t want to make the same record twice, so I experiment a little bit with how I make the record and how I write the songs. I feel like I have so many influences — new genres and bands and instruments — that it’s really hard to focus on one style of music.”

That’s no less the case on Van Etten’s latest album.

Released in February, Sharon Van Etten and The Attachment Theory is both the name of the LP and the band that brought it into the world. Her six previous releases were all self-credited solo albums, making this her first proper collaborative effort.

It was while figuring out live arrangements for new songs that Van Etten found herself taking a step toward letting go of the reins.

“We had extra time at the end of the week, and for the first time ever, I said ‘Can we just jam? I’m so tired of hearing myself,’” she recalls. “I was very inspired by this sonic palette that we were

creating together, and I wanted to see what would happen without forcing it to be anything. And in this spur of the moment, it only took us an hour or so to write two songs.”

‘EMOTIONAL SUPPORT’

While the album contains elements of past Van Etten efforts, there are also echoes of synth-pop, goth and post-punk in the mix. Her haunting vocals sometimes suggest a more restrained Kate Bush, Patti Smith or Siouxie Sioux.

As for the band name, “attachment theory” is a term psychologists use to describe how a person’s childhood experience can influence relationships throughout their lives.

“I’ve been studying psychology here and there, taking classes during some free time, and chipping away toward a degree,” Van Etten says of the somewhat tongue-in-cheek name. “I think the more you work with groups of people, the more you can have compassion and understanding, even in the hardest of relationships.

“As bandmates — not just recording together, but also on tour together — we tend to leave our friends and family behind,” she continues. “We become each other’s chosen family on the road, and we have these sibling dynamics. It’s a lot to live up to every single day, and we rely on each other for emotional support.”

‘IT’S HEALTHY TO FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE’

A New Jersey native, Van Etten moved across the Hudson River to Brooklyn at a time when late-aughts indie hitmakers like TV on the Radio, Grizzly Bear and Beirut were beginning to draw national attention.

“Williamsburg was just starting to explode, and those were very formative years where I said yes to everything,” she recalls. “I would have a day job, and then I would either go to a show or play a show every single night. Everyone played shows with each other, and there was a lot of experimentation. I loved it for how it kicked me in the ass and helped me be more motivated in ways I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t moved there.”

Van Etten also spent time in Nashville before returning to her Garden State roots.

Prior to her current tour — stopping at Denver’s Ogden Theatre on May 9 — she played a show at the Stone Pony, the legendary venue that was home to seminal New Jersey artists like Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith.

“I knew about Bruce’s work, of course, and I got to see him in concert early on,” Van Etten says. “But the first time I got to see Patti Smith wasn’t until around 2010. So yeah, I was a late bloomer to really knowing her music and getting to see her live.”

Today, Van Etten is making up for lost time. Weeks before hitting the road with her band, she performed at a Carnegie Hall tribute to Smith. Onstage, she covered the formative punk artist’s 1976 single, “Pissing in a River.” Offstage she was surrounded by the likes of Courtney Barnett, Charlie Sexton and Scarlett Johannson.

She also got to hang out with Angel Olson, her old tour mate on the 2022 Wildhearts Tour along with Julien Baker. Van Etten is currently collaborating with Olson on some new songs she expects will soon see the light of day.

Aside from hobnobbing with legends between musical and educational pursuits, Van Etten has also dipped her toes into the acting world with roles in the Netflix series The OA and the 2019 sci-fi thriller In the Shadow of the Moon. As for taking on future acting roles, she is still on the fence: “I still don’t know if I’m good at it,” she says, “and I’m not sure if I like it.”

Whether pushing herself into new mediums or making her artistic process more collaborative, part of what has kept Van Etten in the conversation over the last decade and a half is a willingness to embrace challenges with enthusiasm and see what shakes loose on the other side.

“It’s healthy to feel uncomfortable in a creative position,” she says. “I think that can only inform you as a creative being.”

ON THE BILL: Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory with Love Spells. 8 p.m. Monday, May 12, Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave. $50

“I don’t want to make the same record twice,” Sharon Van Etten says ahead of her May 12 show at Denver’s Ogden Theatre. Credit: Devin Oktar Yalkin

Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory was released Feb. 7 via Jagjaguwar. Courtesy: Pitch Perfect PR

RESISTANCE IS NEVER FUTILE

MahlerFest 38 showcases music of defiance

BY KELLY DEAN HANSEN

Gustav Mahler’s Sixth Symphony of 1904 lives up to its “Tragic” subtitle. The only one of his symphonies to end in a minor key, its unnamed hero is defeated by fate. But that doesn’t mean the 80-minute battle was pointless.

The Sixth is the focal point for the 38th edition of Boulder-based Colorado MahlerFest and the inspiration for a slate of musical works expressing this year’s theme: “Defiance, Protest, Resistance and Remembrance.”

“Some heroes fight bravely knowing in advance they will not survive or have a happy ending, and that is the point,” says music director Kenneth Woods, in his tenth year at MahlerFest. “To me, the Sixth is the most heroic music Mahler ever wrote, and the tragedy at the end is truly earned.”

Woods says that when the cause is greater than oneself, it isn’t always about triumphing, but sacrificing everything for a greater good. The symphony’s halfhour finale famously includes two huge “hammer blows” that mark points of structural significance and have symbolic meaning for the tragic journey.

“From that first hammer blow, it is already certain that the hero is not going to survive,” he says. “But we still follow him to the end, as in a Shakespeare tragedy, and we remember.”

The symphony anchors the main orchestral concert May 18 at Macky Auditorium. Preceding it are two works about resistance to persecution and oppression. Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů’s 1943 Memorial to Lidice commemorates a small Czech village whose residents were massacred by the Nazis in 1942.

“I only learned of Lidice through this piece of music, so it succeeded in keeping the memory alive,” Woods says.

The second of these preceding works is by William Grant Still, the “dean of

early version of the dark first movement of Mahler’s Second Symphony, opens the program. Guest trumpeter Daniel Kelly plays the solo part in British composer Deborah Pritchard’s Seven Halts on the Somme, a concerto for trumpet and strings. It is inspired by seven paintings of artist Hughie O’Donoghue, depicting the progress of soldiers during the Battle of the Somme in World War I.

“The horrors of that war are being quickly forgotten,” Woods says. “We come out of both world wars with the Korngold, heralding an era of peace, reconciliation and healing.”

‘THE GREATEST DEFIANCE OF ALL’

MORE MAHLERFEST 38 EVENTS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14: OPENING NIGHT: “DEATH GOES ON STRIKE” 7:30 p.m., Mountain View United Methodist Church, 355 Ponca Place. $35-$45

The program with Viktor Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis includes a talk by Dave Maass, journalist and author of the graphic novel Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis

THURSDAY, MAY 15: “SONGS OF PROTEST AND DEFIANCE”

3 p.m., Canyon Theater at Boulder Public Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave.

African-American composers,” who wrote Dismal Swamp around 1936. The eponymous swamp was “a pathway for enslaved people to leave the South and get to freedom because the slave hunters thought it was too dangerous,” Woods says. He calls the one-movement piece for piano and orchestra a “powerful statement about confronting something dark and terrifying in hope of a better future.”

OUT OF THE DARKNESS

The other orchestral concert on May 17, titled “Celebrating Peace,” is about a more hopeful progression, ending with the only symphony by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, a composer now mostly known for his film scores. He settled in the United States after fleeing the Nazis in 1934.

The Symphony in F-sharp major, completed in 1952 and dedicated to the memory of Franklin D. Roosevelt, expresses the totality of what the previous decade-plus meant for him and the world.

“It shows the world coming out of crisis,” Woods says of the “ferociously difficult” symphony. “Three movements are full of dramatic suspense, anxiety and sorrow, but in the last movement, the sun comes out after the storm, a contrast to the pessimistic ending of the Mahler Sixth.”

The whole concert follows that trajectory. Todtenfeier (Funeral Rites), an

The concert week opens May 14 at Mountain View United Methodist Church with a concert performance of Viktor Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis (The Emperor of Atlantis), written in 1943 while the composer was imprisoned by the Nazis in the Theresienstadt ghetto. In the plot, Death goes on strike from a government founded on war and murder.

“It is a satirical opera, bitingly funny, going straight to the jugular with Hitler and the Nazi regime,” Woods says. “It took bravery and courage to compose in that situation, knowing that Auschwitz was one step [away].”

Indeed, Ullmann was murdered there in 1944. But when the MahlerFest chamber orchestra performs with a cast of six singers, including returnees Brennan Guillory and Gustav Andreassen, Woods hopes audiences will be inspired by the immortal power of art in the face of tragedy.

“Ullmann himself did not survive the Nazis,” he says. “But the music did, and that is the greatest defiance of all.”

ON THE BILL: Colorado

MahlerFest presents symphonies by Mahler and Korngold. 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 17 (Symphony in F-sharp major by Korngold) | 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 18 (Symphony No. 6 by Mahler) | Macky Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant St., Boulder. $35-$85

This free art song recital features all the singers from Der Kaiser von Atlantis with pianist Jennifer Hayghe. “There are protest songs by people like Mahler, Schubert and Shostakovich,” Woods says. “Such songs existed long before the ’60s and ’70s.”

A set of songs by Philip Sawyers commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War I supplements the Pritchard work.

FRIDAY, MAY 16: “CHAMBER MUSIC: DETERMINATION & DEFIANCE”; “RHYTHM, ROOTS AND RESONANCE”

7 and 9 p.m., Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A. $35 for both ($25 and $15 individually)

A pair of concerts comes to the Roots Music Project following last year’s successful debut there. The opening program includes string works by Erwin Schulhoff and Dmitri Shostakovich, two composers known for their “defiant” music, along with a solo cello suite by Jewish composer Ernest Bloch played by Parry Karp, and two works for brass quintet. Woods recently recovered from a heart attack, so he will not play cello on the chamber program as he usually does, and is postponing the planned return of last year’s “Electric Liederland” concept with his electric guitar. Instead, the Jones/Butterfield Duo will follow the chamber program with original roots-based music for guitar and mandolin.

SATURDAY, MAY 17: MAHLERFEST SYMPOSIUM

10 a.m.-3 p.m., Academy Mapleton Hill (new venue), 311 Mapleton Ave., Boulder. Free.

Four guest lectures related to the music programs, including guest pianist Leah Claiborne.

Colorado MahlerFest returns May 17-18 to CU Boulder’s Macky Auditorium. Credit: Glenn Ross

GAMING

ROLEPLAY REVOLUTION

Rabbit Hole brings China’s immersive gaming craze to Louisville — and the nation

BY TONI TRESCA

In China, it’s bigger than Dungeons & Dragons and easier to find than a McDonald’s. But in the U.S., Jubensha — a character-driven mystery game that began taking off just a decade ago — has flown almost entirely under the radar.

That’s beginning to change, thanks to Rabbit Hole Recreation Services, a Louisville-based entertainment company launched in 2018. Known for its three elaborate escape rooms, Rabbit Hole recently expanded its offerings in January by opening the country’s first dedicated Jubensha venue: Studio

“Being in the gaming industry, we’re always keeping up with what’s around us,” says Katie Goforth, Rabbit Hole’s operations manager. “When we learned how big this was in China, we kept wondering why it hadn’t made it to the U.S. yet.”

Translated as “script murder,” Jubensha sits at the intersection of immersive theater, tabletop gaming and murder mystery parties. Each player, dubbed “Jubenturers” by Rabbit Hole, assumes pre-written roles informed by detailed backstories and then spends hours piecing together a mystery with the assistance of theatrical effects. Games are hosted by a facilitator called a Jubensha Master, and while murder is often on the table, the format accommodates a range of genres.

In China, 15 million active players frequent more than 45,000 dedicated venues nationwide, buoyed by a groundswell of Gen Z enthusiasm. But bringing that concept to America wasn’t as simple as importing a few scripts.

“A big barrier to getting it into our market is translating and localizing it,” says Cody Borst, director of technology innova-

tion for Meow Wolf, who helped build Rabbit Hole’s three escape rooms. “Now that Rabbit Hole has done that, it could spread quickly. With escape rooms, it took time before we saw really high-quality experiences. But with all the polished content already developed in China, we might immediately get access to a ton of amazing games in the U.S.”

COMING TO AMERICA

This immersive roleplaying craze made its Colorado debut with the help of Scott Lininger, a longtime tabletop gamer who now serves as Rabbit Hole’s Jubensha creative director. Together with Goforth, they sourced Chinese scripts, started translating and began building what would become Tree Rings, a moody supernatural Jubensha mystery set in a haunted Chinese village and the first game in Rabbit Hole’s growing catalog.

Hole owner Kurt Leinbach. “The challenges we’ve had translating the games are one of the primary barriers why I believe this hasn’t been a thing [in the U.S.] yet.”

Before opening Studio for general booking in January, the team spent months running internal tests and beta sessions. “It was really important that we verified it was something we wanted to share with our audiences through tests,” Goforth says.

Unlike most escape rooms or mystery parties, playing a game of Jubensha can take up to four hours. Players spend the first 45 to 75 minutes reading their character’s script, and then progress through a series of game stages that involve evidence collection, group discussion and increasingly intense roleplay.

While Jubensha games in China typically rely on paper scripts and minimal

Adapting Tree Rings, originally written by (Ah Chen), was no small feat. Lininger — who helped create a custom translation workflow, including an internally produced software to translate the stories from Mandarin — spent “hundreds of hours” developing the game with the Rabbit Hole team, then rewriting major portions to make it more accessible and appropriate for American audiences.

“Even if they are translated and themes work, there is still a large amount of work that goes into making the games [because] there are also portions of the story we have to rewrite,” says Rabbit

staging, Rabbit Hole saw an opportunity to elevate the format. Each game takes place in a custom-built “Scene Machine,” located in a separate unit within the same strip mall as the Rabbit Hole complex, complete with lighting effects, surround sound and custom props.

“We’ve taken it a step further,” Leinbach says. “By physicalizing the experience, we want to have these games be a performance art piece that you participate in instead of being just a tabletop game that you play under fluorescent lights at a coffee shop.”

Rabbit Hole currently offers two games: Tree Rings is akin to the emo-

tional, serious games popular in Chinese parlors, while Snow Manor is a more accessible, silly Knives Out-style whodunit set in the 1920s. A third game, Half Past One, a modern horror experience centered on phobias, is currently being beta tested and slated to open this month.

“Our plan is to keep adding new stories so that people can keep coming back and playing new games,” Goforth says.

THE NEXT MOVE

Rabbit Hole’s ambitions don’t end with a few new games. The company plans to open a second location at 575 S. Broadway in Denver in the summer of 2026. The new location will triple its operational footprint, including new escape rooms and a dedicated Jubensha area.

The new space includes 5,200 square feet for six immersive game rooms — three carryovers from its Louisville location and three originals — plus an additional 2,000 square feet for Jubensha. At the same time, Rabbit Hole is building a new permanent Jubensha studio near its current Louisville location, complete with a dedicated lobby and more food and beverage options.

“We are going to make it a one-stop destination,” Leinbach says. “It all depends on how long it takes to finalize the deals and the permitting process with the City of Louisville, but we hope to open our Jubensha studio quickly.”

In the meantime, Rabbit Hole reports a growing mix of roleplayers, escape room fans and curious singles joining their games — often with no prior experience.

“This is something our community is hungry for,” Goforth says. “New ways to meet people. Places to talk that aren’t bars or bowling. People want to connect in cool environments and talk with others with shared interests.”

ON THE TABLETOP:

Jubensha. Rabbit Hole Recreation Services, 1156 West Dillon Road, Unit 1, Louisville. 18+. $400 (for fiveplayer experiences) | $480 (for six-player experiences)

As trade tensions with China rise, Jubensha is one cultural import that may flourish after its Colorado debut in Louisville. Courtesy: Rabbit Hole Recreation Services

DEAD RINGER

‘The Shrouds’ unearths the spectacle of grief

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

It’s been four years since Karsh lost his wife.

It probably feels less, considering Karsh (Vincent Cassel) owns both the graveyard where she is buried and the restaurant next door. That’s where he takes dates and discloses that his beloved resides nearby. It’s also where he points out the plot next to her that’s reserved for him. I’ll say this: at least he’s upfront. Many spouses hope their loved ones move on and find happiness after they pass, but it doesn’t look like Karsh is interested in being one of those survivors. And maybe neither is writer-director David Cronenberg. The longtime Canadian body-horrorist has been making audienc-

es squeamish since the 1970s. But in his latest, The Shrouds, there’s a sense that the squeamishness relates to real-world grief, grounding this near-future sci-fi story obsessed with death.

Karsh has developed a high-tech burial shroud that can provide real-time images of a corpse as it decomposes. His Toronto-based graveyard, which will soon be expanding to Reykjavík and Budapest, is replete with headstones that allow family members a chance to watch their loved ones melt into the Earth. It’s morbid and dark and icky and completely understandable. I want to know everything about my spouse’s day. If she were to die, wouldn’t I be just as curious about that experience as I would her encounters at the office?

But the world being what it is, Karsh’s graveyard is vandalized, and his software is hacked. Is this the work of the Chinese, the Russians or someone else?

Enter Karsh’s former brother-in-law, Maury (Guy Pearce), a paranoid programmer, and Maury’s ex-wife, Terry (Diane Kruger), a down-to-earth dog

groomer who gave up much to not encounter the suffering of others.

Kruger does triple duty as Terry, her deceased sister Becca — who we see in Karsh’s flashbacks — and as the voice of Hunny, Karsha’s AI assistant who might be angling for more. Roles here are murky, and that’s by design. Karsh’s mourning confounds reality. Some nights, his dead Becca visits him in a state of cancer, her naked body carved and scarred by disease and doctors. On other nights, she is healthy and horny.

Then, when Terry, who looks identical to the deceased but with shorter hair, develops a strange kink for Karsh, you can feel the inevitable undoing. Ditto when the AI assistant starts to glitch and overstep the boundaries of decorum. Then there’s Karsh’s relationship with a widowed client, Soo-Min (Sandrine Holt). Soo-Min is blind yet yearns for the very connection that Karsh’s tech visually provides. It’s all very unreal. And it’s all very plausible.

And though The Shrouds is very much about death, there’s little here

that feels resolved. It’s been more than seven years since Cronenberg lost Carolyn, his partner of almost 40 years, and it’s evident in The Shrouds that he’s nowhere close to letting go. Cassel, with his slicked-back white hair, sunken face and all-black get-up, cuts an image so similar to Cronenberg you’ll swear you’re watching the director on screen. Sharp-eyed viewers will catch a glimpse of the real Cronenberg in one scene, and it’s bound to make you laugh.

But The Shrouds is no laughing matter. Grief is how we keep the dead from disappearing, even though so many tell us that the only way forward is to move on. But move on from what, exactly?

“‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never loved at all,” they say. True, but that’s hardly a comfort when you’ve lost all you’ve ever wanted.

ON SCREEN: The Shrouds is now playing in theaters.

Vincent Cassel and Guy Pearce survey the damage of a voyeuristic graveyard in David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds Courtesy: Janus Films

10 RAIN BARREL WORKSHOP

2-4 p.m. Saturday, May 10, Louisville Recreation and Senior Center, 900 Via Appia Way. Free

Save water and money by learning to choose, build, install and maintain your own rain barrel. These handy little systems can provide hundreds of extra gallons each year for your lawn, garden and trees. Full class? Catch one Monday, May 12 in Boulder or a virtual workshop Wednesday, May 14. Register: bit.ly/RainBarrelBW

10 – 11

MOTHER’S DAY PEONY POPUP

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11, Moss Houseplants, 3008 Folsom St. Boulder. Free.

Spring is in bloom and Mother’s Day is here. Celebrate the budding season and make a mom in your life feel special with a custom bouquet of farm fresh peonies for purchase at this Moss Houseplants pop-up. Aim to attend sooner rather than later — these beautiful blooms may sell out.

11 QUEER TEA PARTY

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, May 11, Luminous Teahouse & Cafe, 624 Main St., Longmont. Free

Do you take your tea with a side of queer community? This monthly meetup gives you just that, offering a space to connect with your LGBTQ neighbors while enjoying a spot of tea and delectable scones from a queer-owned business.

12 REMEMBERING CLELA ROREX

6-8 p.m. Monday, May 12, Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway. $8-$10

Clela Rorex is best known for issuing the nation’s first same-sex marriage licenses. But the former Boulder County Clerk was also a feminist, atheist and activist with the Native American Rights Fund. Hear about Rorex’s life and work from those who knew her and draw inspiration from her example today.

14 DROP-IN WRITING SESSION

Noon. Wednesday, May 14, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Free

Join the scribes from Fireside Ink Writers during this lunchtime writers’ workshop at the Dairy Arts Center. Work on some new stuff with the support of other emerging writers during this session led by Fireside founders Brenda Kahn and Loie Rawding.

15

ERIE FARMERS MARKET

5-8 p.m. Thursday, May 15, Briggs Street between Wells and Moffat. Free

Farmers market season continues its kickoff with the launch of Erie’s weekly event. Shop organic, transitional and pesticide-free vegetables from local farmers, plus fruit from Palisade, meats, eggs, artisan breads, honey, cheese, coffee, baked goods and more.

Want more Boulder County events? Check out the complete listings online by scanning this QR code.

LIVE MUSIC

THURSDAY, MAY 8

FRANK JAMES WITH FELONIUS SMITH 6 p.m. East Simpson Coffee Co., 201 E. Simpson St., Lafayette. Free

DAVE HONIG 6 p.m. Dagabi Cucina, 3970 Broadway, Unit 101, Boulder. Free

JESSEY ADAMS 6 p.m. Rails End Beer Company, 11625 Reed Ct., Unit B, Broomfield. Free

MMB3 6 p.m. Bricks on Main, 471 Main St., Longmont. Free

JT JONES AND DAN FROELICH 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt St., Longmont. Free

BEN COSGROVE 7 p.m. Stone Cottage Studios, 1928 Pearl St., Boulder. $35

JAZZ, SOUL AND GROOVE JAM SESSIONS 7:30 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. Free

THE BLUE RIBBON BAND 7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. Free

DRY ICE WITH MULHOLLAND AND PLASTIC MYSTIC. 8 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $15

FRIDAY, MAY 9

LAURIE D 5:30 p.m. The Passenger, 300 Main St., Longmont. Free

MIKE LAMITOLA. 6 p.m. Spirit Hound, 4196 Ute Hwy., Lyons. Free

DELTA SONICS. 6 p.m. Bricks on Main, 471 Main St., Longmont. Free

JEFF NATHANSON WITH HAZEL MILLER. 6:30 p.m. Full Cycle Cafe & Bar, 2355 30th St., Boulder. $25

JASON GREENLAW QUARTET. 7 p.m. Muse Performance Space, 200 E. South Boulder Road, Lafayette. $20

ALFREDO MURO. 7 p.m. Christ the Servant Lutheran Church, 506 Via Appia Way, Louisville. $20

CLOSER THAN EVER. 7:30 p.m. The Longmont Theatre Company, 513 Main St., Longmont. $30

FIRE AND FIESTA WITH LA DIVA DIVA. 7:30 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. Free (pay what you can)

WAMPUS CAT WITH SKETCHWORK AND SECOND HAND BAND 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $20

STEEL PULSE WITH CHALA 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $46

SATURDAY, MAY 10

RECKLESS AND BLUE. 5 p.m. Left Hand Brewing, 1265 Boston Ave., Longmont. Free

QUESO RA 6 p.m. Bricks on Main, 471 Main St., Longmont. Free

NICK VALDEZ. 6:30 p.m. 300 Suns Brewing, 335 1st Ave., Unit C, Longmont. Free

BONNIE LOWDERMILK QUARTET 6:30 p.m. Full Cycle Cafe & Bar, 2355 30th St., Boulder. $25

ART LANDE WITH SAM WILLIAMS 7 p.m. Muse Performance Space, 200 E. South Boulder Road, Lafayette. $20

SOURCE AND TRIUNE WITH PATEMA. 7:30 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $15

DAWN AND HAWKES 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $22

MOTOWN SPRING FLING. 7:30 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. $15

SHAWN CUNNANE 9 p.m. Longs Peak Pub, 600 Longs Peak Ave., Longmont. Free

SUNDAY, MAY 11

LOCO UKULELE JAM 2 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt St., Longmont. Free

HAZEL MILLER AND THE COLLECTIVE WITH SODA BLUE 2:30 p.m. Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $20

CODY QUALLS. 7 p.m. Nissi’s, 1455 Coal Creek Drive, Unit T, Lafayette. $25

LIVE MUSIC

ON THE BILL

Rising experimental wunderkind Jane Remover brings their glitchedout brand of unpredictable hyperpop to Denver’s Bluebird Theatre on May 12 with support from Dazegxd and D0llywood1. The 21-year-old artist from New Jersey performs on their heels of their brand new album, Revengeseekerz, out now via deadAIR See listing for details

DECEITS WITH 60 JUNO AND DETH RALI 7 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $19

THE MENZINGERS WITH LUCERO AND QUEEN OF JEANS 7:30 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $51

LUKE PETERSON 7:30 p.m. Muse Performance Space, 200 E. South Boulder Road, Lafayette. $20

THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS WITH DEAD ON A SUNDAY. 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $25

SHAWN CUNNANE. 9 p.m. Longs Peak Pub, 600 Longs Peak Ave., Longmont. Free

MONDAY, MAY 12

ALLISON RUSSELL WITH KARA JACKSON. 8 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $38

SHARON VAN ETTEN & THE ATTACHMENT THEORY WITH LOVE SPELLS 8 p.m. Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colax Ave., Denver. $38 SEE STORY ON P. 13

JANE REMOVER WITH DAZEGXD AND D0LLYWOOD1 8 p.m. Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $50 BW PICK OF THE WEEK

TUESDAY, MAY 13

GUARDIAN WITH SEWERPERSON AND KENNEDYXOXO 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $32

MAGDALENA BAY WITH SAM AUSTINS. 8 p.m. Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colax Ave., Denver. $124

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14

RAVIN’WOLF. 4 p.m. Boulder County Farmer’s Market, 13th & Canyon. Free

STEVIE’S PICKS. 5 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. Free

OPEN BLUEGRASS PICK. 6 p.m. The Garden at Left Hand, 1245 Boston Ave., Longmont. Free

BEACH HOUSE WITH CASS MCCOMBS (SOLO). 8 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $124 (reserved seating only)

ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): Just for now, you might benefit from moderating your intensity. I am pleased to see how much good stuff you have generated lately, but it may be time to scale back a bit. At least consider the possibility of pursuing modest, sustainable production rather than daring to indulge in spectacular bursts of energy. In conclusion, dear Aries, the coming days will be a favorable time for finding the sweet spot between driving ambition and practical selfcare. Your natural radiance won’t have to burn at maximum brightness to be effective.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): Classical ballet dancers often seek to convey the illusion of weightlessness through highly stylized movements. Innovative Taurus choreographer Martha Graham had a different aim, emphasizing groundedness. Emotional depth and rooted physicality were crucial to her art of movement. “The body never lies” is a motto attributed to her, along with “Don’t be nice, be real.” I recommend you make those themes your guides for now, Taurus. Ask your body to reveal truths unavailable to your rational mind. Value raw honesty and unembellished authenticity over mere decorum.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Gemini photographer Margaret Bourke-White (1904–1971) was a trailblazer. She was the first American woman war photojournalist, the first professional photographer permitted into the Soviet Union and among the first to photograph a Nazi concentration camp. She was consistently at the right place at the right time to record key historical moments. She’s your role model in the coming months. You, too, will have a knack for being in the right place and time to experience weighty turning points. Be vigilant for such opportunities. Be alert and ready to gracefully pounce.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): “Each negative word in a news headline increases clickthrough rates,” writes Joan Westenberg. “Negative political posts on social media get twice the engagement. The system rewards pessimism.” She wants to be clear: “Doomsayers aren’t necessarily wrong. Many concerns are valid. But they’ve built an attention economy that profits from perpetual panic. It’s a challenge to distinguish between actionable information and algorithmic amplification, genuine concern and manufactured outrage.” Westenberg’s excellent points are true for all of us. But it’s especially important that you Cancerians take measures to protect yourself now. For the sake of your mental and physical health, you need extra high doses of optimism, hope and compassion. Seek out tales of triumph, liberation, pleasure and ingenuity far more than tales of affliction, mayhem and corruption.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Bees are smart. The robust and lightweight honeycombs they create for their homes are designed with high efficiency, maximizing storage space while using the least amount of resources. Let’s make the bees’ genius your inspirational role model for the coming weeks, Leo. It will be a favorable time to optimize your own routines and systems. Where can you reduce unnecessary effort and create more efficiency? Whether it’s refining your schedule, streamlining a project or organizing your workspace, small adjustments will yield pleasing rewards.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): In 1971, Virgo poet Kay Ryan began teaching English at a small community college. Though she wrote steadily, working hard to improve her craft and publish books, she never promoted herself. For years, she was virtually unknown. Finally, in 2008, she flamed into prominence. In quick succession, she served as the U.S. Poet Laureate, won a Pulitzer Prize and received a $500,000 “genius grant” as a MacArthur Fellow. Why am I telling you about her long toil before getting her rightful honors? Because I believe that if you are ever going to receive the acclaim, recognition, appreciation,and full respect you deserve, it will happen in the coming months.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Libran author Diane Ackerman combines an elegant poetic sensibility and a deft skill at scientific observation. She is lyrical and precise, imaginative and logical, inventive and factual. I would love for you to be inspired by her example in the coming weeks. Your greatest success and pleasure will arise as you blend creativity with pragmatism. You will make good decisions as you focus on both the big picture and the intimate details. P.S. If you immerse yourself in the natural world and seek out sensory-rich experiences, I bet you will inspire a smart solution to an achy dilemma.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Scorpio-born Sabina Spielrein (1885–1942) was one of the earliest woman psychoanalysts. In the 21st century, she is increasingly recognized as a great thinker who got marginalized because of her feminist approach to psychology. Several of her big contributions were Scorpionic to the core: She observed how breakdown can lead to breakthrough, how most transformations require the death of an old form and how dissolution often serves creation. These will be useful themes for you to ruminate about in the coming weeks. For best results, be your deep, true, Scorpio self.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): In the middle of his art career, Sagittarian painter Paul Klee (1879–1940) was drafted into the German army as a soldier in World War I. Rather than fighting on the front lines, he managed to get a job painting camouflage on military airplanes. This enabled him to conduct artistic explorations and experiments. The metal hulls became his canvases. I am predicting a comparable opportunity disguised as an obstacle for you, Sagittarius. Just as the apparent constraint on Klee actually advanced his artistic development, you will discover luck in unexpected places.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): “To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else,” wrote poet Emily Dickinson. I often feel that truth. As much as I would love to devote 70+ hours a week to creative writing and making music, I am continually diverted by the endless surprises of the daily rhythm. One of these weeks, maybe I’ll be brave enough to simply give myself unconditionally to ordinary life’s startling flow and forget about trying to accomplish anything great. If you have ever felt a similar pull, Capricorn, the coming days will be prime time to indulge. There will be no karmic cost incurred.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): David Bowie was a brilliant musical composer and performer. His artistry extended to how he crafted his persona. He was constantly revising and reshaping his identity, his appearance, and his style. The Ziggy Stardust character he portrayed on stage, for example, had little in common with his later phase as the Thin White Duke. “I’ve always collected personalities,” he quipped. If you have ever felt an inclination to experiment with your image and identity, Aquarius, the coming weeks will be an excellent time. Shape-shifting could be fun and productive. Transforming your outer style may generate interesting inner growth. What would be interesting ways to play with your self-expression?

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): The Voynich manuscript is a famous text written in an unfamiliar script filled with bizarre illustrations. Carbon-dated to the early 15th century, it has resisted all attempts at deciphering its content. Even Artificial Intelligence has not penetrated its meaning. I propose we make this enigmatic document an iconic metaphor for your life in the coming weeks. It will symbolize the power you can generate by celebrating and honoring mystery. It will affirm the fact that you don’t necessarily require logical explanations, but can instead appreciate the beauty of the unknown. Your natural comfort with ambiguity will be a potent asset, enabling you to work effectively with situations others find too uncertain.

SAVAGE LOVE

BY DAN SAVAGE

It seems like we are “treated” to a regular stream of news about adults who had sexual contact with minors. In most cases, it was with a teenager rather than a prepubescent child. Often these rapists and would-be-rapists are lumped together under the term “pedophile,” which is satisfying to yell at someone you abhor, I suppose, but it’s not accurate.

Google tells me there are two technical terms for this: hebephilia (attraction to children in early adolescence) and ephebophilia (attracted to children in late adolescence). These terms don’t exactly roll off the tongue, which means they aren’t going to catch on.

Maybe this is pedantic, but it irks me when pedophilia is used in reference to rapey adults who are still rapey but didn’t rape pre-pubescent children. I believe there’s a moral distinction that can and should be made between an adult who raped a nineyear-old versus an adult who manipulated a teenager into having sex that teenager was not emotionally mature enough to consent to meaningfully. Both are fucked up things to do, but they’re not equally fucked up.

Am I crazy to notice this? Should I point this out to people?

— Pointing Errant Definitions Out

You’re not crazy to notice, PEDO, and you wouldn’t be the first to point it out, but before you start posting about this to social media…

Let’s zoom out: A “pedophile” is someone who is sexually attracted to pre-pubescent children, a “hebephile” is someone who is attracted to pubescent minors (11 to 14), and an “ephebophile” is someone who’s attracted to older adolescents (15 to 19). But these distinctions — most often made by therapists and prosecutors — are unlikely to catch on with the general public.

Now, I believe a meaningful moral distinction can be made between someone who raped a nine-year-old child and someone who may have manipulated a sexually-if-not-emotionally-mature teenager under the

age of consent into having sex. Both are crimes — but they’re not the same crime. But I don’t believe a moral distinction can be made between an adult who raped a nineyear-old child and an adult who raped an eleven-year-old child. Those are the exact same crimes.

Zooming back in: While you’re technically correct, PEDO, someone who jumps in with a “well, actually…” about child rape — even to make a legitimate point — risks sounding like they’re making #NotAllPedophiles excuses for sex offenders.

So, while the term “pedophile” gets slapped on the serial rapists of prepubescent children, people who fucked (or got fucked by) a teenager who was under the age of consent in the state where it happened but over the age of consent one state over, and grown-ass adults in their mid-30s dating grown-ass adults in their early 20s alike, it’s almost impossible to make people see why this “lumping in” is harmful. Having to ask what kind of pedophilia we’re talking about when we see it in a headline — Did someone rape a child? Did a 19-yearold sleep with a 17-year-old? Did someone in their early 40s marry someone in their late 20s? — isn’t helpful. “Meaning follows usage,” as the linguists say, but the effort to make age-gap relationships seem more awful by associating them with a sexual interest in children may be making pedophilia seem less awful by associating it with something that — in most cases — isn’t actually awful at all.

Anyway, PEDO, you can try to educate people on this topic, if you’re so inclined. But be prepared: No one likes the guy who insists on accurate terminology when the topic is child rape. You’re right — but no one cares. And if you push too hard, PEDO, people are going to start wondering why you care so much.

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

NIBBLES

LOCAL FOOD NEWS: NEDERLAND’S NEW GENERAL STORE

The owners of the historic Gold Hill General Store have opened the Nederland General Store in the former Salto coffee shop space, 112 E. 2nd St. Locally roasted Salto Coffee will still be available online and served by the cup at Nederland General Store and Howlin Wind Brewing & Blending in Rollinsville.

Boulder Fermentation Supply has hop rhizomes available for gardeners who want to grow their own for beer and other beverages.

Coming soon: Kawaii Konbini, 195 S. Main St., Longmont

JUST FOR MOM: SAUSAGE EVERY MONTH!

Chocolate is lovely, brunch is nice and flowers are swell, but they are so predictable on Mother’s Day. Instead, surprise Mom with the Boulder Sausage Basket. Each month she’ll receive four packages of sausage and goods from local brands including OZO Coffee, Savory Spice Shop and Good Love Foods. June’s basket features hot Italian links and sweets from Lafayette’s Cherry’s Cheesecake. Order: bouldersausage.com

For the nostalgic, Boulder Sausage started out as Don’s Cheese and Sausage, a popular Boulder eatery/market open at various locations from 1963 to 1987.

NEED VEGGIES? GET A LAST-MINUTE LOCAL CSA

Most local farms are sold out of their summer CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) vegetable shares, but a few still have open spots. Some offer additional food shares. Sunflower Farm’s CSA menu includes Moxie Bread and Ela Organic Fruit shares.

Check ASAP for CSAs at: Friends Farm: friendsfarm.org; Sunflower Farm: sunflowerfarminfo.com; MASA Farm: masaseedfoundation.org; Three Leaf Farm: threeleaffarm.com; and Sprout City Farms: sproutcityfarms.org

CULINARY CALENDAR: GIVE FOOD AT YOUR MAILBOX

Leave food donations by your mailbox May 10 for the National Letter Carrier Association’s Stamp Out Hunger drive. Donations will go to local organizations fighting food insecurity.

On May 13, all locations of Boulder-born Snarf’s will donate 100% of sandwich profits to local food banks.

Sister Carmen Community Center holds a drive-thru non-perishable food drive 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 18 at 655 Aspen Ridge Drive, Lafayette. Plan ahead: June 12 is International Falafel Day.

WORDS TO CHEW ON: THE MYSTICAL KITCHEN

“My kitchen is a mystical place where the sounds and odors carry meaning that transfers from the past and bridges to the future.” – Singer, actress and cookbook author, Pearl Bailey

John Lehndorff hosts Radio Nibbles on KGNU. Podcasts: kgnu.org/ category/radio-nibbles