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Family seeks answers after man dies by suicide in Boulder halfway house by Angela K. Evans

‘Tim Durgan’s Story Time’ is absurdist humor therapy by Caitlin Rockett

What to do, see and eat from Christmas to New Year’s by Boulder Weekly Staff

LTC’s ‘Discount Ghost Stories: Colorado’ by Caitlin Rockett

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Restaurant-owned food delivery service launches with lower fees and some help from the City of Boulder by Matt Cortina

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Latest initiative of Friends in Weed keeps Front Range restaurants working, while also fighting local food insecurity by Will Brendza

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The Anderson Files: Biden and the working class Guest Column: Hold onto your hats, it seems good government is possible Letters Signed, sealed, delivered... your views News: Colorado has a new conservation bison herd, County adopts new drilling rules, and more Events: Virtual Chanukah songs, last chance gift fest, Christmas bird count, and more Words: ‘For those who think they and/or others are not, at present, in wilderness,’ by Matt Nicodemus Astrology: by Rob Brezsny Savage Love: One man’s opinion Film: Criterion renews ‘Symbiopsychotaxiplasm’ with two takes Food/Drink: What to try this week along the Front Range Drink: Here we go a-wassailing

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Publisher, Fran Zankowski Editor, Matt Cortina Circulation Manager, Cal Winn EDITORIAL Senior Editor, Angela K. Evans Arts and Culture Editor, Caitlin Rockett Contributing Writers, Peter Alexander, Dave Anderson, Emma Athena, Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Sarah Haas, Jim Hightower, Dave Kirby, John Lehndorff, Rico Moore, Amanda Moutinho, Katie Rhodes, Leland Rucker, Dan Savage, Alan Sculley, Ryan Syrek, Christi Turner, Betsy Welch, Tom Winter, Gary Zeidner SALES AND MARKETING Market Development Manager, Kellie Robinson Account Executives, Matthew Fischer, Sami Wainscott Advertising Coordinator, Corey Basciano Mrs. Boulder Weekly, Mari Nevar PRODUCTION Art Director, Susan France Senior Graphic Designer, Mark Goodman Graphic Designer, Daisy Bauer CIRCULATION TEAM Dave Hastie, Dan Hill, George LaRoe, Jeffrey Lohrius, Elizabeth Ouslie, Rick Slama BUSINESS OFFICE Bookkeeper, Regina Campanella Founder/CEO, Stewart Sallo Editor-at-Large, Joel Dyer

December 17, 2020 Volume XXVIII, Number 18 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.

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Boulder Weekly welcomes your correspondence via email (letters@ boulderweekly.com) or the comments section of our website at www.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.

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Biden and the working class by Dave Anderson

homas Piketty, a French economist who is the author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century, recently argued that economic inequality isn’t a big issue in the U.S. and France because

political conflict in both countries is dominated by a battle between two top-down coalitions: “In the 1950s-’60s, the vote for left-wing (socialist) parties in France and the Democratic Party in the U.S. used to be associated with lower education and lower income voters. It (the left) has gradually become associated since 1970s-’80s with higher education voters, giving rise to a multiple-elite party system: high-education elites vote for the

DECEMBER 17, 2020

“Democrats don’t know how to talk... the Democratic Party as a constellation is a victim of its own high-mindedness, its own sense of moral purpose, its own very high level of educational attainment.” — Anand Giridharadas

left, while high-income/high-wealth elites for the right, i.e., intellectual elite (Brahmin left) vs business elite (merchant right).” The social upheavals of the 1960s played a role. Movements for civil rights, feminism, the student left, sexual freedom, decolonization and opposition to the Vietnam War shook things up. Dean Baker, a cofounder of the progressive Center for Economic and Policy Research, argues that Piketty misses how markets have been deliberately restructured to redistribute income upward. Baker told New York see THE ANDERSON FILES Page 6

THE ANDERSON FILES from Page 5

Times columnist Thomas Edsall that there is “an ongoing battle in the Democratic Party as well as in most of the left parties across Europe. There are those who would like to accept inequality and focus exclusively on issues like gender equality and anti-racism. I would never minimize the importance of combating gender inequality or racism/nativism, but if that means ignoring the policies that have led to the enormous inequality we now see, that is not a serious progressive agenda.” American labor leader Karen Nussbaum points to a development that has transformed American politics: “The decline of union membership over the last 50 years has hollowed out the middle class and resulted in the loss of the ‘small-d’ democratic institutions which anchor civil society. ‘We need more organizations where people take minutes!’ a local labor leader in Minnesota insisted to me. ‘There’s a lack of opportunity for people to experience democracy — debate issues, argue about how to spend dues money, vote, take minutes — the tools of transparency and accountability. People need to experience power on issues. They need structures and systems. Unions are a place where people can get that, and can change their minds.’ This vacuum has been a breeding ground for the right wing.” Nussbaum is the founding director of Working America, a national community affiliate of the AFL-CIO union confederation and is on its board. In articles in Social Europe and Dissent, she described her experiences. The 3.5 million members of Working America aren’t union members. Most — 75% — are white working-class and 25% are people of color. Ninety percent of their email subscribers don’t show up on the list of any other progressive organization. Working America’s door-to-door organizers have had many millions of deep conversations. Most recently, she said they have “encountered racism, sexism and anti-immigrant bias that is more overt and pointed today than we have ever seen.” She stresses that “working-class voters have legitimate grievances with the Democratic Party, which has aligned with corpo6

rate interests on neoliberal policies.” Right-wing demagogic phony populists have exploited the situation. Working America organizers focus on down-to-earth economic issues and tell people something they didn’t know. Nussbaum writes about visiting people, who had voted for Trump after having voted for Barack Obama previously, soon after the 2016 election. She notes: “Gertrude, a retiree, is a good example. She was a strong Trump supporter and didn’t want to hear anything bad about him. But when we told her that one of Trump’s policies included eliminating public assistance to pay for home heating, something she depended on, she fell back in her chair. ‘That’s not what he promised,’ she said.” Many people don’t have hard and fast political worldviews. New York Times reporters Nate Cohn and Sabrina Tavernese note: “By some measures, around half of the population is either disengaged or has ideologically inconsistent views. Together, 54% of Americans either hold a roughly equal mix of conservative and liberal positions or say they don’t follow the news most of the time.” There is so much disinformation and B.S. flying around that many people figure they can’t understand what is going on. That’s not an accident. Political scientist Rachel Bitecofer told Politico: “We’re in this weird time right now where evidence doesn’t matter, where the right-wing media echo chamber ensures their audience never saw the impeachment evidence and many nonvoters have given up trying to follow it... Democrats are especially prone to this mistake that everybody knows everything and is following the news, and it’s a terrible strategic mistake.” Biden and the Democrats have to promote solutions that make life better. Our fragile democracy survived for the moment but the Democrats are inheriting a horrible mess. The Republicans are going to try to stop the Democrats from doing anything so that they can win in 2022. This opinion column does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly. DECEMBER 17, 2020

Hold on to your hats, it seems good government is possible by Phillip Doe

oulder County Commissioners Elise Jones, Deb Gardner and Matt Jones voted unanimously last week to adopt rules on implementation of Senate Bill 181. The Commission and its staff demonstrate what is possible when government is sincere about protecting its people rather than trying to draw a dodgy line that also protects the very polluters the law was designed to regulate. For the Rip van Winkles out there, this means the oil industry. The rules may not be perfect. They are a human endeavor after all. But they are light-years ahead of the state’s efforts that have cost the public many millions and delivered next to nothing. The state, clearly guided by Gov. Jared Polis’ market-oriented politics, has slow-walked implementation of SB 181. As a result, the state’s regulatory landscape looks pretty much like it did before the passage of the law nearly two years ago. All the selfcongratulatory propaganda generated by the Polis administration cannot bury the facts. Over 3,400 drilling permits have been approved since Polis took office, not one facility has I

been shuttered for threatening public health, and our abysmal air quality has not improved perceptively, even in the pandemic. Boulder County Commissioners wisely gave the rulemaking responsibility to their Planning Division. Deputy Planning Director Kimberly Sanchez almost certainly provided the day-to-day guidance. The division interviewed many people with differing perspectives on the issue before it began putting pen to paper. It shows. The rules are particularly strong on water use and disposal, air pollution, and bonding/financial assurance for drillers and operators. These subjects forming the core of the law are yet to be taken up substantively by the state. The County’s proposed bonding and financial fitness standards, which are demanded of the oil and gas operator annually, have operatorbonding requirements that will be set according to the operator’s financial condition and the perceived size of the endeavor’s health and environmental risks. A $25 million umbrella insurance policy will also be imposed. see GUEST COLUMN Page 7

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

GUEST COLUMN from Page 6

According to the background discussion contained in the regulations, these bonding and insurance thresholds were developed after listening carefully to the recommendations of the County’s Risk Management experts and experienced members of the community on the risks industrial scale oil development poses to the county’s citizens and environment. The air pollution regulations are smart and brave, but only if the county were a silo protected with invisible walls rising to the heavens would they be totally effective. As the data from the Boulder Reservoir air-monitoring station show, pollution from Weld County’s 22,000 wells is the major contributor to Boulder County’s terrible pollution problems. Indeed, Weld’s outsized contribution to the entire northern Front Range’s severe air quality problems is pretty much accepted science, even by the industry. For example, in the winter months Weld’s oil and gas pollution causes about 20 parts per billion (ppb) of the Front Range’s ozone load. If these pollutants were eliminated, Colorado could achieve the federal ozone public health standard of 70 ppb. The extent of its contribution is further solidified when we learn that although gasoline demand has dropped precipitously during the pandemic, falling to a 20-year low over Thanksgiving, our air quality has not improved appreciably. That we are destroying the planet and ourselves by our continued reckless development of fossil fuels is also accepted science. Economies such as Weld’s that rely on fossil fuel for short-term wealth generation have adopted the battle cry of liberty. This defense, if carried far enough, also guarantees their extinction — and ours. John Dewey, the early 20th century American philosopher, examined the ineluctable tension that exists between liberty and democracy. He said, “democracy ... is the idea of community life itself.” And individuals who deny or confuse the value of that communal relationship in the name of liberty “are monstrosities.” Individual liberty must at some point seek common ground with community life, or the common good cannot be realized. In the case at hand, species survival may itself be in play. BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

The extent of world governments’ complicity in protecting individual interest or liberty over the community is perhaps revealed in a very recent report from the International Monetary Fund. That report says the oil and gas industry enjoys a subsidy greater than $5 trillion annually. Ah, liberty! Ah, extinction! Only when the Boulder County planners followed the lead of the state regulators at the COGCC do they get it “kinda” wrong. For exam-

ple, the County follows the state’s lead on flowlines, those small lines that are generally limited to onsite operations. The state ruled that, because of the potential costs, removal would be decided on an individual basis. It is also true that if state rules required removal, the Firestone tragedy in which two men were killed, innocently changing out a hot water heater, would have never happened. The flowlines near the home, which were abandoned and

supposedly disconnected, would not have filled the basement with methane gas that triggered the explosion. The County should have dumped the state’s timid rules and adopted Mother’s Rule of Messes instead: you made it, you clean it up. If they required flowline removal, future explosions from abandoned lines would be eliminated. But this is a relatives minor objection since the see GUEST COLUMN Page 8

Hazel’s for the Holidays Give the gift that never gets returned.

DECEMBER 17, 2020

GUEST COLUMN from Page 7

Christmas

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rule does allow the County to remove flowlines on a case-by-case basis. Not perfect, but workable with a vigilant public. The County was also going to follow the state’s new setback standard of 2,000 feet between people and wells. Unlike the state, the County was not going to allow for any exceptions to that standard. Clearly someone in the County’s Planning Office knows that in the regulatory world exceptions become the rule, especially when the regulation governs the behavior of privileged and moneyed interests. I and others warned at public hearings held before the rules were adopted that the state’s 2,000-foot setback requirement had no scientific basis. It was merely a political plaything, despite the state’s propaganda barrage to the contrary. The Commissioners were listening, for the rule was changed to 2,500 feet in the final regulations. It has some scientific support. But even more importantly, the proviso was added that “minimums and distances may be greater ... if necessary to protect public health, safety, and welfare, the environment and wildlife.” This is an extremely important final addition. It allows new scientific findings about the danger of oil and gas development to be considered in an intelligent and timely way. For example, a new study by Harvard’s School of Public Health found airborne radiation at least 12 miles downwind of fracking sites. On average, the increases were found to be 7% above background, with polonium 210 and lead 210 the common radioactive particles. These radioactive particles can lead to cancer and the destruction of a person’s DNA. Since their half-life is greater than 1,000 years, all ingestions have the potential to have cumulative effects well beyond 7%. Some will remember that polonium was used to poison and kill a former Russian spy in London some years back. The state has already concluded in its latest rulemaking session that the Harvard findings pose no risk to Coloradans living downwind of fracking operations. The people of Boulder County should applaud their government for trying to do the right thing, for tryI

ing to protect their health and their environment as a condition for allowing new oil development. Even more important, equal emphasis has been given to existing operations. They come under the same health and environment protecting regulations, with the exception of the setback requirements, of course. This exposes another difference between the County and the state rulemaking effort. For not only is the state apparently using a geologic clock to mark its progress, but the emphasis has been almost exclusively on new wells. The industry, though it continues to seek some new drilling permits to prop up its asset portfolio for the disappearing greater-fool-buyer, is in free fall and on life support. The big drillers in the state have downgraded the value of their assets tremendously. One of the largest drillers, Extraction, whose raison d’etre is neighborhood drilling, has been in bankruptcy protection for months. Its stock tumbled to less than 5 cents a share the other day, with no buyer in sight. Thus, the state’s concentration should be on the existing oil and gas system as Boulder government has correctly reasoned. But it is not. There are 129,000 wells in the state, many of them leaking to high heaven. The state should be monitoring those wells, identifying the big leakers and getting them fixed. That should be its first order of business. But it is not. It is holding endless kissy-face sessions with “stakeholders” to determine how new drilling can be accommodated while protecting the public a little bit, and with no real science to back up its decisions. The fault is Polis’, but the state’s regulatory system has played a part. It is a 19th-century system designed to support the commerce of its time — mineral extraction and water development for real estate speculation and big agriculture. Thus the state handed off a law that was meant to regulate oil and gas to the very agency that had from its inception been asked to encourage and protect oil development. It’s hard to turn a counting house into a cathedral. This opinion column does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly. BOULDER WEEKLY

PERA should divest from oil and gas Pension funds are meant to be invested in stable companies on behalf of employees, as a guarantee for a funded retirement. In Colorado, the Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) manages the retirement funds for over 620,000 people. Unfortunately, the Colorado PERA fund has decided to invest upwards of $1.5 billion in oil, gas and coal companies, risking state employees’ retirement funds on a dying industry. The energy sector has been performing poorly for about a decade, but over the last few years, oil and gas companies have kept a tight grasp on last place in the market. In fact, the energy sector is shrinking so significantly that it only makes up 2% of the S&P 500 Index now. In August 2020, amidst other oil companies’ bankruptcies, Exxon had such a low share price that it was ejected from the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Alternatively, a December 2020 assessment of “clean tech” ETF’s (read: nothing in there is directly causing climate change) found that the average gain was 55%. For reference, the Dow Jones only gained 2.9%. Amazingly, renewable energy industries have actually grown during the coronavirus pandemic — in October 2020, shares of solar companies worldwide had more than doubled in value from December 2019. This is a trend we can expect to continue: Wind, solar, and hydro electricity consumption is expected to grow nearly 7% in 2020, amidst a 5% decrease in overall energy demand. PERA: Given it is your fiduciary duty to make sound investments that pay off, now is the time to divest from fossil fuel companies and invest in renewables. If not to save the planet, then to save Coloradans’ retirement money. Dec. 17 is the PERA Day of Action. Go to fossilfreecopera.org to learn more. Katie Orton/Longmont

On the Electoral College The debate has started again as to whether the U.S. Constitution should be amended in order to change the presidential election process. Some promote eliminating the Electoral College in favor of a direct popular vote for president while others believe the Electoral College should remain unchanged. Just as compromise BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

solved the initial problems of the framers, so it is that compromise can solve this problem. The solution is to change the electoral votes to electoral points and reward each candidate a percentage of points based on the percentage of popular votes received in each state. This would eliminate the “winner take all” system, thus allowing for all the votes to count. A voter is more apt to believe their vote counted when a percentage of popular votes are taken into account rather than the “all or nothing” system currently in existence. Further, this new system would integrate the desire for a popular vote for president with the need for the individual states to determine who actually gets elected. For 2020, multiplying the percentage of votes each candidate received (in each state) times the number of electoral votes (in each state) results in the following: Biden 267.23 and Trump 252.33. Multiplying the percentage of popular votes each candidate received (nationwide) times the total number of electoral votes (538) results in the following: Biden 274.92 and Trump 253.40. Joe Bialek/via internet

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Fund cultured meat If President-elect Joe Biden is serious about addressing climate change, he should support federal funding for cultured-meat research. For those who don’t know, cultured meat is grown from cells, without slaughtering our fellow creatures. It will dramatically reduce the environmental damage caused by animal agriculture. Cultured meat requires a fraction of the land, freshwater and greenhouse-gas emissions that slaughtered flesh does. As Henning Steinfeld of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization said, “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.” The truth is animal agriculture is a leading — if not the leading — cause of global warming. The incoming Biden administration should support development of cultured meat through funding for open-source research. This revolutionary protein will significantly benefit the environment, as well as animal welfare and human health. Jon Hochschartner/via internet I

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DECEMBER 17, 2020

‘He wanted to be heard’

Family seeks answers after man dies by suicide at Boulder halfway house

by Angela K. Evans PHOTOS COURTESY JESSICA CIRINO

hen Seth Franco moved to Boulder almost a decade ago, he pulled into the parking lot of The Source — a shelter for unhoused youth on North Broadway — and his car immediately died. It was the car that carried him away from a rough childhood, the one he’d saved up for, purchasing it as soon as he could after turning 16, the car that had brought him out West from Florida. “He came out here for all the reasons that people come out here, you know, he wanted to take advantage of the opportunities,” says Chris Nelson, CEO of Attention Homes, who was at The Source the day Seth arrived. “He was young and fresh faced and trying to just eat the world — very curious about everything.” Seth died by suicide March 2 of this year. At the time, he was a resident at a halfway house in Boulder, operated by the local nonprofit Intervention Community Corrections Services (ICCS). In October, I interviewed more than half a dozen current and former residents at the community corrections facility, many of whom mentioned Seth. (See News, “Everything here is frustrating,” Oct. 22). The residents shared with me ways in which they felt staff at the facility hindered their progress, discouraged and disparaged them, and ultimately set them up for failure. They were the same concerns Seth had shared with his family, his lawyer and others as well. “I just feel like he’s just one of the ones that got lost in the system and totally got taken advantage of in every way possible,” says his half-sister Jessica Cirino. “He was a beautiful soul,” Seth’s younger brother Sage adds. “He had a lot of life left to live and experience and grow.” They remember a gregarious and caring young man, one who loved to skateboard and wire wrap gems to create jewelry he’d often give away. He was generous and compassionate, prone to listen more 10

than talk about himself, with a contagious wisdom despite his young age. But he also had a rough go of it. “He’s just a kid that got dealt a really difficult deck, really difficult hand and continued to try to make it work and looked at the magic in the world to support him in that,” says Wendy Gaylord, a friend and former therapist. According to interviews with his siblings, Nelson, Gaylord and others, along with documentation provided by his lawyer, Seth’s childhood was marked by domestic violence, divorce, parental drug addiction, foster care and trauma. “We did have a really rough childhood, it was all over the place,” Sage says. “I remember always wanting to be with Seth. Wherever he went, I wanted to be, but it got to a point where we couldn’t because we were going through foster care.” As a teenager, Seth lived with his dad and stepmother for a time and spent a lot of time with an

DECEMBER 17, 2020

older stepsister. At 16, he was almost beaten to death at a party, sustaining a significant traumatic brain injury (TBI) that left him in a coma for a week, and experiencing periodic seizures. His dad died soon after, and Seth decided to leave, to head out to Boulder where he had a friend and photos online enticed him. He first lived at The Source, working with Attention Homes to enroll at Boulder High School and eventually graduate. “One of the things that always amazed me about him was this it’ll-be-better-tomorrow attitude in spite of all that would happen,” says Gaylord, who first met Seth through her work at BVSD as the liaison for youth experiencing homelessness. When she left the district to start private practice, she saw Seth as a therapy client for years until she moved away from Boulder in 2016. After, she says, she would talk to Seth every six months or so, catching up about life. Gaylord says Seth’s TBI would present in “classic ways” like feeling overwhelmed by impulse control and emotional regulation. He also had a hard time staying organized and being on time. “It was a barrier to him sometimes in life and as a result of that, he’d make impulsive choices sometimes that weren’t in his best interest in that moment,” Nelson says. “We worked with him on just how to live with that kind of brain injury, with the way that it impacted him, both from a life skills perspective, but then also from a therapeutic perspective, a clinical perspective, and he was wildly responsive.” In November 2014, he fell while hiking the Flatirons, sustaining another serious TBI and landing him in the hospital. When Nelson went to visit him that day, he says Seth was upbeat and jovial, thanking him for the hospital visit even though he was obviously bashed, bruised and injured. It was the fall from the Flatirons that jogged my memory — I had met Seth my first year BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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reporting in Boulder. We were hanging out at The Source, as I was looking to do a holiday story about homeless youth reconnecting with family. Seth showed me his wire wrapped jewelry and described his Flatirons fall in detail. We exchanged numbers and planned to meet up again, although it never panned out. Even after graduation, Seth remained a part of the Attention Homes community, Nelson says. He lived in subsidized housing, got a cat named Stella and often stopped in at various locations to say hi or ask for help. Sage eventually moved out to Boulder to be with his brother, and Seth often tried to convince Jessica to do the same. He worked at a variety of local businesses and restaurants around town, his favorite being the Dushanbe Tea House, according to family and friends. “But then he’d get himself in trouble over the dumbest things too,” Nelson says with a laugh, remembering a time several years ago when Seth made headlines for leaving Stella tied to a rock, after she refused to run with him on a leash. In 2016, he was arrested on the Hill when a group of officers approached a group of kids skateboarding with an open container, according to his lawyer, Christian Griffin, who represented Seth for about two years before his death. After telling one of the cops to stop yelling at a girl using his skateboard, Seth was arrested, tussling with one BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

SETH’S LAST job cop in the proin Boulder was at a cess. Michael’s craft “I’m not minstore, where he snapped this imizing anything photo. that he had done wrong,” says Jessica, who lives in North Carolina. “But he would speak up maybe when he shouldn’t, when he thought he was sticking up for somebody, which then brought more attention to him in a negative way.” On the advice of a public defender, Seth pled guilty, resulting in probation. This marked the beginning of his involvement with the criminal justice system. A year later, his probation officer called 911 for a welfare check on Seth, after she says he was “despondent and suicidal,” according to court documents. The same officers who arrested him on the Hill a year prior eventually found him with friends at the Tea House. They arrested him again, but the case was ultimately dismissed by a judge, who ruled the arrest violated Seth’s constitutional rights. (Griffin is currently seeking damages in federal court on behalf of Seth’s estate in the case. The lawsuit, against the City of Boulder and four police officers, is currently pending as the officers have claimed qualified immunity.) In the meantime, Seth picked up a few more criminal cases — for stalking an ex-girlfriend, which his

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Recruitment now underway for Boulder County advisory boards and commissions commissions Boulder County invites residents to voice opinions, provide guidance to county government Twice a year, Boulder County recruits individuals to fill vacancies on various advisory boards and commissions. We are currently recruiting for 20 open volunteer positions on topics ranging from aging and community action programs to mosquito control and CSU Extension services. Advisory boards and commissions provide recommendations to the Boulder County Commissioners and give residents the opportunity to have their voices heard within Boulder County government. The county, in turn, benefits from this community input. • To view descriptions and requirements for the various boards and commissions, visit: www.boco.org/AdvBoardList. • To view current vacancies and fill out an application for an open board position, visit www.boco.org/BoardVacancies. Interested county residents who would like to voice their opinions and help guide decisions on a variety of diverse interests are invited to apply. The deadline to submit applications for the winter recruitment session is Friday, Jan. 15. For more information, call the Boulder County Commissioners Office at 303-441-3501 or email colist@bouldercounty.org.

see SETH Page 12

DECEMBER 17, 2020

SETH from Page 11

friends, family and lawyer claim is all a big misunderstanding — that ultimately led to a community corrections sentence in March 2019. Living in the halfway house was difficult for Seth, according to his family and Griffin, especially after ICCS took over in January. After that, Griffin says, Seth began calling him almost daily, complaining about how he was being treated. “While a ‘normal’ person might be able to weather this kind of culture, someone like Seth, with a history of TBIs and a full scale IQ of 80, cannot, as evidenced by what happened to him,” Griffin says. Jessica says Seth would call and tell her how he thought staff was humiliating him in front of other residents, or that he’d been put on restriction for something he never did or something trivial. “It wasn’t the right place for him to be,” she says. Seth felt trapped at ICCS and threatened to buy a rope to hang himself a few times, according to both Jessica and Sage. Sage claims the facility didn’t take the time to get to know his brother or find out what would help him be successful. “He didn’t get the proper help that he needed and that’s not fair. He was kicked while he was down. He wasn’t given any hope for his future at all. … He wanted to be heard,” Sage says, “and he felt that he wasn’t.” Seth turned 27 on February 2. A month later he was gone. Nelson ran into Seth just a few weeks before he died, as Seth was riding his bike to work, and Nelson was walking from his Pine Street office to Pearl Street. “What was very clear to me is that he was struggling,” Nelson says. “He said something along the lines of, ‘It’s just such a punitive place. It’s just like, it feels like punishment to me.’” The two had a brief back and forth, Nelson says, as he encouraged Seth to stick it out just a little while longer. “The conversation quickly moved to his excitement about when he left there, getting a new place to live and pursuing his dreams and goals,” Nelson says. “It wasn’t clear that it was that much of a struggle for him being there, just that it was hard.” The last time Sage saw his brother was about a week before he died. Sage went to ICCS to pick up his brother and take him to fill a prescription at King Soopers. The brothers got in an argument with staff over how long it should take, staff saying he only had 30 minutes, the brothers saying it would take longer. “[They were] just setting him up for failure,” Sage says. “They found stupid miscellaneous things to put him on restriction.” But Seth was close to completing his sentence and being released, a fact that motivated him to keep going. On March 2, Griffin stopped by the facility to 12

SETH AND JESSICA Cirino, a few years ago in Boulder, the last time they were together.

add some money to Seth’s account. Later, he got a thank-you text from Seth. “Just keep doing what you’re doing,” Griffin texted back. The next morning, he got the call that Seth was gone. According to audio of a meeting with his case manager the day he died, provided to BW by Griffin, Seth and his case manager argued over different situations and rules, and Seth apologized for an outburst and explained that he had impulse control issues. He was also told that his progress would be pushed back 60 days for a violation. Toward the end of the conversation, the case manager asked him about texting about another client’s drug test. When Seth questioned what she was talking about, the case manager demanded he put his phone on her desk and asked for his password so she could search it. When Seth asked if he’d be able to get his phone back that day, the case manager said she’d try, but that she had the right to hold it for 24 hours. Then the meeting ends. A few hours later, he was found hanging by a bedsheet in his room. In the police report, ICCS staff said Franco had “his phone taken away for using it to talk to a non-resident client,” and although they were aware he was upset about it, they didn’t think it would motivate him to hurt himself. Both Jessica and Sage say they believe that if Seth had his phone that afternoon, if he had been able to call either of them, he wouldn’t have done what he did. Nelson adds that Seth was “religious about reaching out to his support systems, that it was mystifying to learn that nobody had heard from him.”

DECEMBER 17, 2020

“Taking away his ability to reach out to his support system when he’s having a hard time would send him into a place where he couldn’t manage those big emotions,” Nelson says. “And that was the hardest part about his TBI was that he would have these very valid, big, big feelings, but couldn’t, in those moments, figure out how to manage his way through those feelings.” According to a critical incident report signed by ICCS executive director Brian Hulse, Seth did “not express, present, or have any history of suicidal ideation that was known to ICCS.” But Griffin says this isn’t true. He provided the facility with a 2018 neurophsychological evaluation (reviewed by BW) that includes a “history of suicidal ideation,” although the performing physician wasn’t concerned about selfharm at the time. Additionally, Griffin points out the police report states that ICCS staff were aware that Seth “self-harms when he becomes overwhelmed.” Hulse and ICCS never responded to comment requests for this story. In previous interviews with BW, Hulse declined to comment about Seth’s suicide. Sending a notice of claims in May, Griffin plans on filing a case against ICCS on Seth’s behalf, claiming a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s cruel and unusual punishment clause. As a form of incarceration, the halfway house showed “deliberate indifference to a risk that they were aware of. Everyone who worked there knew that Seth was brain injured. Everyone who worked there knew that he would self-harm,” he says. Seth’s death caught Nelson, and most people at Attention Homes, off guard. Gaylord was shocked, though not necessarily surprised given his history. Jessica says her kids had been looking forward to Seth’s visit after he was released, with plans to skateboard together. “I miss everything about him,” Jessica says. “I miss his positivity, I miss the way that he saw the world, he tried to see the good in everything until all of this. He had me view things in a different way.” Sometimes, while searching his phone for a particular contact, Nelson will come across one of Seth’s many phone numbers over the years and a wave of grief will wash over him. “If only I could reach out to him one more time,” Nelson says. “This is a life loss that anybody who ever met Seth feels and will feel for their lifetimes.” Gaylord says she often thinks of Seth when she sees repeating numbers — when she can’t sleep and the clock reflected on the ceiling says 3:33. “He loved that stuff, “ she says. “He just saw the world as a wonderfully mysterious place.” BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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COURTESY SPLT

hile many may know the Centennial State for its mountains, Eastern Colorado is part of the unique ecosystem of the Great Plains, where wild bison once roamed free. Although more than 30 million bison once inhabited the Plains, by the late 1800s, fewer than 1,000 remained, most of which lived in captivity aside from a few in the wild in a remote area of Yellowstone. Recent preservation efforts, however, have reintroduced wild bison in conservation herds in hopes of bringing the animals back to the Great Plains. And as of Dec. 10, Southeastern Colorado has its first conservation herd at the Southern Plains Land Trust (SPLT)’s Heartland Ranch Nature Preserve. The transfer was facilitated by SPLT, Colorado State University (CSU) and Defenders of Wildlife, an organization that has long advocated for the establishment of new bison herds managed as wildlife as opposed to livestock. “As a keystone species, bison are absolutely critical to the long-term health of the Great Plains,” said Chamois Andersen, senior Rockies and Plains representative at Defenders of Wildlife, in a press release. “This successful transfer will help restore these genetically-pure bison to their historic range in Southern Colorado while also revitalizing the surrounding grassland.” Conservation groups like the Buffalo Field Campaign argue that according to a growing body of scientific evidence, wild bison are at risk of extinction as the animals have been domesticated, cattle herds and human development shrink their natural habitat and climate change continues to threaten their historic range. The new herd of 10 bison, including seven adult females, two adult males and a male calf, were previously a part of CSU’s research herd at the Foothills Campus in Fort Collins.

Colorado has a new conservation bison herd

Colorado Community College System awarded $1 million from Colorado Health Foundation to reshape law enforcement training

n a year of racial reckoning, especially when it comes to community-police relations, the Colorado Community College System (CCCS) has plans to reshape its law enforcement training. CCCS is comprised of 13 community colleges around the state, including Front Range Community College, which has a campus in Longmont. The Colorado Health Foundation recently awarded CCCS $1 million to review its Law Enforcement Academy Curriculum and Training, including course objectives, program requirements and instructor techniques, while embedding a focus on social justice. The redesigned curriculum will be offered to academy cadets and delivered statewide to current officers, according to a press release from CCCS. “Our commitment to our students and to our communities is to improve lives and increase opportunity through education. We acknowledge that as the

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state’s largest provider of post-secondary training and workforce education, we have a responsibility to re-examine our law enforcement curriculum that prepares hundreds of new police officers each year,” said Joe Garcia, chancellor of CCCS, in a press release announcing the grant. An estimated 700 cadets go through CCCS’ Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) program each year. According to the release, the POST curriculum requires minimal ethics and anti-bias policing (only eight of the total 556 credit hours), whereas tactical topics and skills such as criminal processes, basic law, driving, and hand-to-hand combat make up the rest. The new CCCS project will expand the training to include areas of racial justice, diversity, implicit bias and deescalation “to better reflect the activities that most officers engage in every day.” DECEMBER 17, 2020

Boulder County adopts new drilling rules

n Thursday, Dec. 10, Boulder County Commissioners adopted new Article 12 rules and regulations on oil and gas development in the county, which Commissioner Elise Jones called “the strongest in the state.” The new regulations will require a 2,500-foot setback of new developments from homes, offices, schools, childcare facilities and public trails, in addition to stronger noise, vibration and cumulative JOEL DYER air quality monitoring, especially for ozone and hazardous air pollutants. Industry operations are also now required to use renewable energy, and operators must now provide financial assurances to cover the cost and risk of operations. Boulder County is known for its historic fracking wars, pitting environmentalists against elected officials who have often argued they are hamstrung by state regulations. Although advocacy groups welcomed the Commissioners’ action on Thursday, they maintain a complete fracking ban is the only answer to the climate crisis. “We appreciate that the Boulder County Commissioners have ... put in place the strongest rules and regulations on fracking that they think is legally defensible,” said Micah Parkin of 350 Colorado in a press release. “Nevertheless, the reality is that we are facing a climate crisis and a public health crisis and that any additional fracking pollution will exacerbate these serious issues. So, 350 Boulder County members and allies will continue to demand that fracking is ultimately banned.”

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DECEMBER 17, 2020

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF TIM DRUGAN

Making people uncomfortable

‘Tim Drugan’s Story Time’ is absurdist humor therapy

by Caitlin Rockett

here’s a saying in sales: Show up and throw up. It means knowing your product inside and out, and being ready to offer that knowledge to your client — to spew that knowledge, if you will. Boulderite Tim Drugan takes a similar approach with his podcast, Tim Drugan’s Story Time. Because if there’s one thing Tim Drugan knows inside and out, it’s Tim Drugan. “Everybody has things that they would be mortified if anybody knew about, but if you choose to talk about it, that’s the quickest way to build an intimate interaction with somebody,” he says. “You can kind of sneak your way into their confidence.” Drugan’s podcast has that sneaky quality, using absurdist stories to skewer his own neuroses, many of which ring true universally. Like the story of Jimmy, an unemployed man with a female voice in his head telling him he could really try harder. Or the story of Doug, a complaining llama who hates the town’s new waterslide because it takes all the attention off of him, a talking llama, for God’s sake. Or the story of Joseph, about to embark on a late-life marriage, whose children are more worried about their inheritance than their father’s happiness or health. The stories are wild, stretching beyond the bounds of reality to highlight human foibles — see STORY TIME Page 18

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DECEMBER 17, 2020

Stronger, together. 18

It goes without saying that we would not be here without the support of our Boulder community. To express our gratitude, we’re on a mission to give away $100,000 in gift cards to our local frontline heroes and others impacted by the pandemic by the end of February. Want to help? For every $100 in gift cards you buy, we’ll give away $50 in gift cards. To learn more or to order gift cards, visit BoulderJapango.com/Grateful Thank you!

STORY TIME from Page 17

insecurity, vanity, greed — and episodes often contain autoON THE BILL: ‘Tim Drugan’s Story biographical segments alongside fictional stories. Drugan Time’ is available takes a Zach Galifianakis approach to storytelling, assailing wherever you get your the listener with frustratingly confident oblivion, forcing the podcasts or at listener down tangential rabbit holes before dropping them timdrugan.com off — laughing — at their final destination. It’s not for everyone, but there’s a strangely satisfying emotional reward for those who dive in head first. “I’ve been cultivating this skill set for a really long time, that is essentially a mix between being the town idiot and forcing my opinions on people, and then immediately contradicting those opinions and acknowledging that I’m probably full of shit,” Drugan says. “I think absurdism is what I’m actually good at, which is nothing.” His love for humor developed as a child, watching his father command attention at dinner parties. “My dad was just the funniest guy at the table — he would always make people laugh,” Drugan says of growing up in New Hampshire, where his dad was a professor of psychology at UNH. “He was always a performer, and I think it was a subconscious goal of mine to kind of steal that torch from him.” But a young Tim Drugan struggled to find a place for his humor, often alienating peers and getting in trouble for hyperactivity. “I think that both my mom and dad were difficult for their parents in their own way, so I was kind of them paying the piper,” Drugan jokes. “My sister was fairly well behaved and they made the terrible mistake of having a second child. I came out with flames in my eyes and made it my mission to be a difficult kid — I was a real maniac. I think I went to the principal’s office, like, 30 times in elementary school.” Drugan says he was diagnosed with ADHD and ODD, oppositional defiant disorder, a poorly understood mood disorder found in children and marked by frequent and persistent anger, irritability, arguing, defiance or vindictiveness toward authority figures. But through it all his parents continued to provide unconditional support. DECEMBER 17, 2020

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A YOUNG TIM Drugan dancing with his father, Robert.

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“I very much felt like I had a place at the table, so to speak,” Drugan says. “A lot of my childhood was academics coming over for dinner and I was very much encouraged to sit at the table and listen and participate.” Still, it’s clear that Drugan has felt some distance between himself and his father. In the episode “Sharing Heart Medications,” Drugan laments the deep interest his father takes in Winifred, his son’s newly adopted dog with a heart condition. “I call up my parents and they ask me how the new dog is and I let them know,” Drugan recounts in the episode. “Little did I know that this would be the germination that would grow into the gorgeous plant that would become an illustrious tree of excitement for my father, because it turns out that my dad’s heart has many of the same problems as my new dog does. What a link between a grown-up son and his father! And sometimes a grown-up son has trouble coming up with what to say to his father, especially when said son has been a little bit of a dick to said dad and they struggle to find conversational topics. So you can only imagine my dad’s voice coming through the phone with more excitement than he had in a long time. … I had to pull the ear set away from my ear lest I burst an eardrum.” Drugan pokes fun at himself throughout, maligning his own vulnerable narcissism and inability, as a child, to fully understand the weight of his father’s heart condition. He creates a caricature of himself, his worst traits overblown in order to make them look as silly — and ugly — as they feel. He admits things most of us won’t: his resentment toward the dog for garnering affection from his father and his wife; his hesitation to spend thousands of dollars on cardiographs and lifelong medication for the dog. But Drugan also shows his underbelly — his love for his father, for his wife, Amy, for “Winnie,” the dog — as a reminder that he’s a complex person, full of good and bad, just like the rest of us. “My wife is very much a harmonizer,” Drugan says. “She wants people to be happy. And I think it’s funny to make people uncomfortable. So it’s an interesting dynamic. ... A running joke in our marriage is I will say something totally offensive and then she will laugh at it, and then she’ll get mad at me for making her laugh at the offensive thing because it’s the ‘wrong’ thing to say. But I think that there’s a release that everyone needs, especially in today’s world where everybody’s afraid of saying the wrong thing to the wrong group of people. I’m not a bad person because I said an uncomfortable thing — no one is.” The podcast has come about quickly as a way to move through the uncertainty of unemployment during the pandemic. Drugan’s unsure of where it will take him, but he knows it’s a true expression of who he is, and what he wants to do. “I’m not going to design a building,” he says. “God forbid, if I ever did, that thing will come crashing down and kill thousands of people. Nobody should let me near anything of substance; just let me tool away on my podcasts. Don’t ever get in the self-driving car that I designed. You don’t want to. But maybe you can try my podcast. I’m not trying to be a millionaire, but it would be really great to be able to make a modest living off of making people more joyful, off of making people see the ridiculousness of a lot of the things that they considered super important.” BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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* HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS *

n BOULDERADO CHRISTMAS DINNER (PATIO DINING OR TO-GO).

Hotel Boulderado, 2115 13th St., Boulder, boulderado.com. Enjoy seasonally prepared menus on The Corner Bar’s heated outdoor patio or take a pre-ordered Christmas feast home with scheduled curbside pick-up at the Pine Street Patio. To-go meals include: a holiday salad of greens, dried cherries, pecans, red onion, sweet apple vinaigrette; choice of entree (pepper-crusted prime rib, grilled salmon or roasted Mediterranean vegetables in a polenta nest); and berry and chocolate cheesecake parfait for dessert. To-go meals cost $55 per person. Place your order before Dec. 22 for scheduled pick-up on Dec. 25 between 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Call 303-442-4880 to order. Patio dining at The Corner Bar is available on Dec. 25 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., with brunch until 11 a.m. Reservations required: opentable.com/r/corner-bar-boulder

n CURED TO-GO CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER.

Cured To-Go, 1825 Pearl St., Boulder, curedtogo.com. For Cured’s first Christmas dinner, chefs are pulling out all the stops. Dinner includes: half wheel of Rodolphe le Meunier Crémeux de Citeaux au Truffes cheese with housemade crackers; roasted oyster mushrooms over winter greens with creamy lemon thyme vinaigrette; herb-crusted pork loin stuffed with chestnuts and greens, served over garlicky potato and turnip mash; and molasses spice cake with walnuts and brandy-poached pear. This dinner comes with two half bottles of wine, carefully selected to pair perfectly with your meal, and a little surprise treat to drink alongside dessert. You’ll start with Laherte Frere’s Ultradition Brut, a largely chardonnay bubbly, to pair with a luscious, truffle-laden cheese. After that disappears, pull the cork on Tyler Winery’s Dierberg Vineyard pinot noir that comes from the Santa Maria Valley and screams to be paired with pork. Dinner will be hot and ready to pick up between 4:30-5 p.m. on Dec. 24. Cost is $175.

n CHAUTAUQUA HOLIDAY FAMILY MEAL TO-GO.

Chautauqua Dining Hall, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, chautauqua.com. Let Chautauqua Dining Hall take care of all the holiday cooking for your family this year. You can pick up a meal to feed four to six people for $155, or eight to 12 people for $250. All meals include: honey-glazed spiral ham with IPA whole grain mustard; organic greens salad with cranberry, almonds, goat cheese and citrus vinaigrette; lemon ginger smashed sweet potatoes; roasted

broccoli baked in Gruyere fondue; fall cornbread dressing with sausage and cranberry; dinner rolls with whipped butter; choice of whole pie (cherry, apple or chocolate bourbon pecan). You can even add cocktails (serves four to six people) for $39 each: winter spice sangria (red wine, brandy, Prosecco, spices, citrus); cranberry margarita (tequila, orange liqueur, lime and cranberry juice, fresh fruit); boozy nog (whiskey, house spiced eggnog); or a bottle of Prosecco for $31. Pick-up Wednesday, Dec. 23, 3-6 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 24, noon-3 p.m.

n OAK AT FOURTEENTH HOLIDAY BAKE SALE.

OAK at fourteenth, 1400 Pearl St., Boulder. Pick-up from 9 a.m.-noon, Sunday, Dec. 20. Let OAK at fourteenth be your go-to for festive holiday baked goods, breads, breakfast pastries and libations. Pre-ordering is available and encouraged on OAK’s website, oakatfourteenth.com. Items will also be available to purchase in-person day-of. The menu includes various breads ($8-$10) like sourdough, panettone and gingerbread pear loaf; peppermint doughnuts, cinnamon rolls, bacon cheddar biscuits, coffee cake, cream cheese and cranberry kolache, caramelized onion and feta kolache, orange almond bear claws, molasses cookies (by the half dozen, $8), chocolate crinkle cookies (by the half dozen, $8), biscochitos cookies (by the half dozen, $8), assorted cookie plates (one dozen, $16), mini cheesecake ($18), and everything pretzels ($2.5).

n OAK AT FOURTEENTH CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER.

OAK at fourteenth, 1400 Pearl St., Boulder, oakatfourteenth.com. Build your dream holiday meal from sides and starters (sourdough bread, winter citrus salad, truffled mac and cheese), entrees (crab legs, cider-glazed and smoked Berkshire ham, red-wine-braised Colorado lamb shank, and roasted mushroom and spinach cannelloni), and dessert (sticky toffee pudding cake, vanilla bean ice cream). Check oakatfourteenth.com for a full menu and prices. Christmas Eve to-go pick-up is available on Thursday, Dec. 24 from 1-5:30 p.m. Place an order by calling the restaurant directly at 303-4443622. The deadline for orders is Sunday, Dec. 20. All items are prepared with reheating instructions. Items can also be prepared hot, but this must be noted in advance.

DECEMBER 17, 2020

n 10TH ANNUAL FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER AT JAX FISH HOUSE.

Jax Fish House, 928 Pearl St., Boulder, jaxfishhouse.com/boulder. Also known as La Cena Della Vigilia, Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian-American tradition that originated in southern Italy. For centuries, many have abstained from eating meat on the eve of certain holidays, and thus Feast of the Seven was born. Jax Fish House uses the tradition to showcase some seasonal varieties of sustainable seafood. (Note: Feast of the Seven offerings are only only available for pre-order and pick-up this year.) The complete six-course, finish-athome feast for two is $125, but all dishes are available a la carte if you just want to try a few. The menu includes frutti de mare (squid, shrimp, octopus, bay scallops, pickled pearl onions, capers, crispy shallots, fresh herbs, olive oil), bagna càuda (a salty, pungent dip), stuffed cherry stone clams, salt-baked Alamosa bass, sweet potato gnocchi and butterscotch bundino. Jax is also offering local Attimo Wine (attimowine.com) packages to pair with the meal. Pick-up is Wednesday, Dec. 23 and Thursday, Dec. 24 from 2-5 p.m. Order before midnight on Saturday, Dec. 19 by visiting: exploretock.com/jaxboulder.

n HOLIDAY SEAFOOD POP-UP AT THE POST BREWING CO.

The Post Brewing Co. locations in Boulder, Lafayette and Longmont, postbrewing.com. Jax is popping up at The Post with fresh seafood favorites for your holiday celebration, from cioppino for two to warm crab dip. Bonus: incredible fresh baked pies (salted maple, cherry, apple or pecan) by Hinman Pie (hinmanpie.com). Pick-up is Wednesday, Dec. 23 from 3-5 p.m. Order before midnight on Saturday, Dec. 19. See the full menu and order at the following links: The Post Boulder: exploretock.com/postbrewingboulder The Post Lafayette: exploretock.com/postbrewinglafayette The Post Longmont: exploretock.com/postbrewinglongmont

n ‘A CHRISTMAS STORY’ CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER FROM WEST END TAVERN.

West End Tavern, 926 Pearl St., Boulder, westendtavern.com. A delicious Christmas Eve meal inspired by the

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

* HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS *

Hammonds’ Chinese dinner at the Chop Suey Palace from A Christmas Story. Preorder and enjoy a Chinese-style feast at home featuring spare ribs and duck straight out of West End’s smoker, along with fried rice, bao, Brussels sprouts, rice pudding and more. $70 for two people and $140 for four; cocktails and more available to add. Pick-up on Thursday, Dec. 24 from 4-7 p.m. Order before Tuesday, Dec. 22 at noon by visiting: exploretock.com/thewestendtavern.

n THE KITCHEN CHRISTMAS CHEF-PREPARED DINNERS.

The Kitchen, thekitchenbistros.com/location/boulder-colorado Let the culinary team at The Kitchen do 90% of the work for your holiday meal — the last 10% you finish at home. These packages serve between three to six people. Detailed heating instructions will be provided. The house smoked ham dinner costs $175 and serves four to six people (includes: milk rolls, endive salad, twice-baked potato gratin, broccolini, coconut cake); the root vegetable risotto package costs $125 and serves four to six (same sides at the smoked ham package); and the Christmas Brunch package costs $69.50 and serves three to four (includes: maple cinnamon coffee cake apple, vegetarian quiche, roasted mushrooms-leeks, parmesan simple salad with champagne vinaigrette and mimosa (Borgoluce Brut prosecco and orange juice).

n GREENBRIAR INN CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER.

greenbriarinn.com/menus/holiday-at-home/ Enjoy a spectacular Greenbriar Inn holiday in your own home. This year Greenbriar is offering special holiday-at-home meal options packaged for you to pick up and finish at home. These dinners are available to pick up on either Dec. 23 or 24 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and orders must be in by Sunday, Dec. 20 at 5 p.m. Simple instructions will be included with suggested cooking and heating times and serving recommendations. Call to order or for more information. 303-440-7979.

n CHRISTMAS TO-GO WITH JILL’S RESTAURANT AND BISTRO.

Jill’s Restaurant and Bistro, 900 Walnut St., Boulder, stjulien.com Jill’s Restaurant is offering a traditional to-go Christmas dinner (with prime rib, glazed ham or turkey with sage gravy) or a vegan dinner (shepherd’s piestuffed acorn squash). Either option offers first and

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second course items, plus tons of delicious sides, dessert and one bottle of wine. See the online order form (stjulien.com) or call 720-406-7385. You will be contacted within one business day of placing your web order to confirm you order and schedule your pick-up time can be scheduled. Pick-up times occur between 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 24.

options for intimate gatherings with friends and family this New Year’s Eve. The Kitchen’s a la carte menu is full of special dishes that will make your New Year’s Eve at home feel like a night out on the town. If you’re looking for a bit of entertainment with dinner, try one of The Kitchen’s finish-at-home meal packages. Use code FREEBUBBLES* at checkout for a complimentary bottle of bubbles.

n NEW YEAR’S AFTERNOON TEA AT THE NIWOT INN & SPA.

n BOULDER CORK CHRISTMAS EVE AND CHRISTMAS DAY DINNERS.

Boulder Cork, 3295 30th St., Boulder, bouldercork.com. Enjoy a heat-and-serve meal from Boulder Cork for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, featuring sweet potato rolls, salad, soup and various entree choices. See Boulder Cork’s website for a full menu. Pick-up is Thursday, Dec. 24. from 1-5:30 p.m. All orders must be in by Dec. 20.

2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 1 and Sunday, Jan. 2, The Niwot Inn & Spa, 342 Second Ave., Niwot, niwotinn.com. Ring in the New Year at The Niwot Inn & Spa for an afternoon tea. The afternoon tea service includes: an assortment of teas, savory tea sandwiches, scones, celicate sweets and bubbles. In order to ensure distancing and safety, seating will be very limited — reserve your seat by purchasing a ticket. To inquire about a private seating, call 303652-8452 or email info@niwotinn.com.

n OAK AT FOURTEENTH NEW YEAR’S EVE DINNER.

n SECOND ANNUAL ’80S VS ’90S NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECTACULAR AND COSTUME PARTY.

OAK at fourteenth, 1400 Pearl St., Boulder, oakatfourteenth.com. Stay safe this holiday season and let OAK at fourteenth build your dream New Year’s Eve meal to-go. Choose from a family-style menu featuring whole roasted duck (with a hoisin glaze, grilled broccolini and forbidden black rice; for two to four people) or oak-grilled ribeye (with Brussels sprouts, sauce au poivre and fries; for two to three people). Or, choose items a la carte from OAK’s dim sum menu, featuring king crab spring rolls, winter mushroom fried spring rolls, cucumber and seaweed salad, ahi tuna poke, fried chicken wings, pork belly steamed buns, New York Strip yakitori, chocolate mango truffles and coconut macaroons. Add a chocolate and almond praline Swiss roll (feeds four to six people) and you’ve got everything you need to ring in 2021. Pick-up is available on Thursday, Dec. 31 from 5-9 p.m. Pre-order by calling the restaurant directly at 303-444-3622, or order day-of online (toasttab.com/oak-denver-3350-brighton-blvd/v3). All items are prepared ready-to-go (no take and bake).

n NEW YEAR’S EVE WITH THE KITCHEN.

The Kitchen, 1039 Pearl St., Boulder, thekitchenbistros.com/location/boulder-colorado. The Kitchen has tons of festive and delicious

7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31, The Summit Event Center, 411 Sable Blvd., Aurora. Tickets available on Eventbrite. Dress in your favorite throwback outfits and enjoy all of your favorite party hits from the two best decades in history. Returning from last year’s New Year’s Eve bash at the Buffalo Rose are DJs D.M.X. and Kevin Seitz, who will take you on an amazing musical journey. Quality sound and lights, plus a festive environment and party favors, ensure this party will be one to remember. Based on COVID-19 concerns and the regulations set by the State of Colorado, all tickets will be sold as six-person-inclusive table packages. This verylimited capacity party will follow all social distancing protocols set by the state. There will be temperature checks upon entry, and all patrons must wear a mask when not seated at a reserved table. Those who violate rules will be asked to leave. With your table purchase you will receive: six tickets to the event; a family-style Italian dinner; one bottle service bottle of vodka, whiskey or rum — your choice — plus all of the mixers included; and one bottle of Champagne. Cash bar will be available for additional drink purchases. Any questions or concerns? Email ryan.dykstra@gmail.com

DECEMBER 17, 2020

events

If your organization is planning an event of any kind, please email Caitlin at crockett@boulderweekly.com. VIRTUAL CHANUKAH SONGS AND STORIES WITH LEAH AND CAROLINE.

5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, boulderjcc.org. Get your menorah ready, light eight candles and let Leah and Caroline Saliman lead you and your family through a program of stories and songs for Chanukah.

BOULDER BOOKIES: ONLINE.

1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, Virtual Event URL: calendar.boulderlibrary.org/event/7049357 Boulder Bookies is a discussion group conducted on Zoom. Members select the books in twice-yearly nominations and balloting, and selections range widely, with books in English and in translation, contemporary and classic. Meetings are on the third Friday of each month, 1-3:30 p.m. For book selections and Zoom invitation, contact john.dunn@colorado.edu. As this is a community-run event, it may be updated, changed or canceled with little notice.

8 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 20, Harper Lake Open Space, McCaslin Boulevard and Washington Avenue, Louisville, louisvilleco.gov. Registration required. Join Open Space staff for a walk on Harper Lake and Davidson Mesa to learn about local birds and contribute to the 121st annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, the nation’s longest-running citizen science project.

OUTDOOR CHRISTMAS STORY WITH LIVING NATIVITY, CHRISTMAS CONCERT AND WORSHIP.

5-6 p.m. drive-through only; 6-7p.m. walk-through only, Thursday, Dec. 24, St. Aiden’s Episcopal Church, 2425 Colorado Ave., Boulder, staidens.org. Join in on a fun and safe way to celebrate Christmas outdoors this year. On Dec. 24, St. Aiden’s Episcopal Church is offering a living nativity combined with a live Christmas concert (that can be heard safely in your car through your radio), and a Christmas worship service. Bring a non-perishable food donation for Sister Carmen Food Pantry.

7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, online via Facebook, facebook.com/broomfieldcommunityplayers. Donations accepted. This holiday season, the Broomfield Community Players present a series of eight original monologues featuring a personal connection to each actor telling the story. The performances, filmed at the Broomfield Auditorium, are set to broadcast on YouTube (and Facebook) beginning with a premier performance on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Themes include celebrating Christmas far from home, what the holidays mean to a single parent, family issues in a mixed culture household, fun, sadness, delight and despair. Watch the Broomfield Community Players’ Facebook page for updates and links to view the show. The performance will run approximately 90 minutes and is free, though donations are gratefully accepted.

HOLIDAY SWEATER FASHION SHOW FUNDRAISER.

6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17 through 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 21, Firehouse Art Center, 667 Fourth Ave., Longmont, firehouseart.org. Safer at home doesn’t have to mean bored at home. The Firehouse Art Center is hosting a virtual “Ugly” Holiday Sweater Fashion Show and Fundraiser. While it’s too late to enter the contest, you can still vote on your favorite “ugly” sweater in three categories: Best Overall Sweater (kid or adult), Group/ Family, or Pet. Photos will be showcased on the Firehouse website starting on Dec. 17. People will be able to vote for their favorite submission with their dollars — one dollar equals one vote. All proceeds support art exhibits, art education and cultural events in your community. Contest ends on Dec. 21 at 5 p.m. The contestants with the most donations win. Prizes: • $100 gift card • Party Pack from St. Vrain Cidery, including a $50 gift card • $50 gift card to McGuckins • $30 gift card to Madhouse 4 Paws

LAST CHANCE GIFT FEST.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT.

VIRTUALLY CHRISTMAS, A THEATRICAL GIFT TO THE COMMUNITY.

DECEMBER 17, 2020

5-9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20, Boulder County Fairgrounds Pavilion Park, 9595 Nelson Road. Longmont, giftfestivals.com You will find the perfect gift at the Last Chance Gift Fest, featuring a vast assortment of art, crafts, toys, home decor, delicious food, unique items and much more. This free event features more than 170 of Colorado’s finest vendors offering a tremendous selection of unique holiday gifts. The two-day event kicks off with a night market on Saturday, Dec. 19 and then continues all day on Sunday, Dec. 20. This free event also has great live music on both days and lots of fun for all ages.

VIRTUAL DIY DIPPED BEESWAX SHABBAT CANDLES.

10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 22, boulderjcc.org. Brighten up your winter break and learn to make dipped beeswax shabbat candles with Milk and Honey Farm’s beekeeper and herbalist Tzuria Malpica. It’s a great activity for the whole family. You will need beeswax and wicks. You can choose to purchase and pick up a kit from the JCC for an extra $18. Kits will be available for pick-up from 4-4:15 p.m. on Dec. 17 or Dec. 18, or between 10 a.m. and noon on Dec. 21.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

heavy

n “ROAD OF THE LONELY ONES,” MADLIB

rotation

Four new tracks to hear

by CAITLIN ROCKETT n “FONDUE PARTY,” POLYRHYTHMICS

This psychedelic funk outfit from Seattle is known for capturing the high-energy vibe of their live performances on their records, but the group slowed things down considerably to create the five-track concept album Fondue Party, leaning into downtempo, dubinspired grooves. Tracks range from brunch-ready jazz (“Fondue Party”) to funked-up honky tonk (“Cracked Pepper”) to spaced-out dub (“Fondeux”), but the pace never rises above a saunter — perfect music for a fondue party with the pod. To pick the party up, try the Polyrhythmics’ release from May of this year, Man From The Future.

The faded soul vocals and warm groove on “Road of the Lonely Ones” offer a taste of the forthcoming concept album Sound Ancestors (set for release in January), a product of years of work between multi-hyphenate producers Four Tet (Kieran Hebden) and Madlib (Otis Jackson Jr.). Hebden spent years arranging, editing, manipulating and combining “tracks, loops, ideas and experiments” Jackson sent him — “hundreds of pieces of music,” Hebden said in a post on Instagram. Both crate diggers with eclectic tastes for rarities and deep cuts, Sound Ancestors promises a layered experience meant to be experienced as a whole.

n “WHEREVER YOU GO,” THE AVALANCHES, JAMIE XX, NENAH CHERRY, CLYPSO

Australian electronic group The Avalanches put 16 years between their debut album, 2000’s Since I Left You, and their sophomore album, 2016’s Wildflower. The group (technically a duo: Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi) sped up the process to deliver We Will Always Love You on Dec. 11 this year. The record continues their tradition of layering together deep-cut samples from disco, soul, hip-hop and dance, and collaborating with a Who’s Who of topshelf musicians. Humanity’s search for other life in

THEATER

originated in an innovative theatrical production of the same name, presented last summer by Local Theater Company. On Monday, Dec. 21 — the winter solstice — Local Theater Company will host a virtual listening party for the recently recorded album as a part of its Local Living Room Series, featuring performances and LTC’s ‘Discount Ghost Stories: Colorado’ interviews with Front Range favorites and Broadway performers including Erik Fellenstein (Indecent, DCPA), Raymond J. Lee (Groundhog Day, Broadway), Maggie McKenna (Dear Evan Hansen, hether they’re tossed aside carelessly or dis- first national tour), Jakob Reinhardt, Oyen, George Salazar (Be More Chill, Broadway) and more. The carded maliciously, some pieces of history Living Room Local audience will also get the chance just get lost. to participate in a variety of games and a winter solLike the story of Florence Molloy and stice ritual. Mabel MacLeay, who came to “At Local, we’re very much interBoulder after World War I and startested in adding to and expanding the ed a taxi service out of the American story,” says Pesha Boulderado Hotel. With impeccable Rudneck, Local’s founding artistic driving records and the lowest rates director. “And when we initially started in town, the women were wildly sucexploring this particular project, we cessful — but once the men got kept asking the question, who had back from the war, they essentially been left out of Colorado history?” ran the Molloy-MacLeay taxicab There were people like Clara company out of town. Brown (“probably the most wellThese and other lesser known Host/comedienne Roslyn Hart and writer/ known, lesser-known character,” characters from the Centennial State’s history are the subjects of director Nick Chase in last year’s ‘Discount Rudneck concedes), a former Ghost Stories,’ held at Trident Cafe. enslaved woman from Virginia who the album Discount Ghost Stories: became one of Colorado’s first black Colorado. With music and lyrics writpioneers and successful entrepreneurs. ten by Alexander Sage Oyen (Diva: Live from Hell, There’s Look Young, a 28-year-old Chinese immiOUTLAWS), the collection of 15 folk-rock show tunes

THEATER

by CAITLIN ROCKETT

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

the universe is a recurring theme, and here on “Wherever You Go,” the group leads with recordings from the golden phonograph record that was attached to the Voyager spacecraft in 1977: “We step out of our Solar System into the universe seeking only peace and friendship, to teach if we are called upon, to be taught if we are fortunate.” With added vocals from Swedish singer Nenah Cherry, and production from house music disciples jamie xx and CLYPSO, a poignant, earthly glance at the cosmos becomes an interstellar journey by mid-track.

n “HIS ROPE,” BURIAL, FOUR TET, THOM YORKE This trio first collaborated together nearly a decade ago on two tracks, “Ego,” and “Mirror.” They’ve collaborated again this year for another pair of tracks, “Her Revolution” and “His Rope.” Here, the trio mesmerizes with their hallmarks: Yorke brings his classic falsetto vocals and inscrutable lyrics, Burial provides the metronomic lo-fi percussion, and Four Tet melds the product with understated ambient synths. The track builds out of nothing then unspools for nearly five minutes before vanishing much the same way it came.

grant who was beaten and ON THE BILL: ‘Discount Ghost hanged during an anti-ChiStories: Colorado’ nese riot that broke out in album virtual listenDenver’s Chinatown (“Hop ing party. 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21. Alley” was in what is now Visit localtheaterco. LoDo) on Oct. 31, 1880. For org/solsticelistenyears Young was misidentiingparty for more fied as Sing Lee. info. Clifford Griffin, a miner in Silver Plume, took his own life after his fiancée unexpectedly passed away on the eve of their wedding. Legend has it, Griffin would play violin on the front steps of his cabin to honor his dearly departed. Blending the sounds of early 20th century pop music with contemporary Top 40 genres and soaring Broadway sensibilities, Discount Ghost Stories playfully brings these forgotten stories to life. Local’s Associate Artistic Director Nick Chase says the listening party will have “a little more of a party vibe to it” than the theatrical showing last year, “and that’s intentional.” “This is a chance for us to hear these amazing songs, and then also acknowledge that this has been a really challenging year,” Chase says. “And it being the winter solstice, it’s the longest side of the year, but it’s also the point at which the Northern hemisphere begins to tip toward the sun and longer days are ahead. And we’re hopeful that is a metaphor for what we as human beings will experience the coming year.” see EVENTS Page 24

DECEMBER 17, 2020

EVENTS from Page 23

HOME VIEWING n DRIVE-IN MOVIES.

Village at the Peaks (Regal Cinemas Parking Lot), 1250 S. Hover Road, Longmont. Tickets are $10 at Eventbrite. Relax and watch holiday classics from the comfort and safety of your own car.

n ‘CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS.’

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19. Finally alone for the holidays, Luther (Tim Allen) and Nora Krank (Jamie Lee Curtis) plan to eschew the Christmas traditions and take a cruise in the Caribbean instead. This doesn’t sit well with their Christmas-obsessed neighbors Vic Frohmeyer (Dan Aykroyd) and Walt Scheel (M. Emmet Walsh), who are determined to win the annual “best decorated street” competition, and the Kranks soon find themselves social outcasts because of their lack of Christmas spirit.

n ‘A CHRISTMAS STORY.’

4:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. Based on the humorous writings of author Jean Shepherd, this beloved holiday movie follows the wintry exploits of youngster Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley), who spends most of his time dodging a bully (Zack Ward) and dreaming of his ideal Christmas gift, a “Red Ryder air rifle.” Frequently at odds with his cranky dad (Darren McGavin) but comforted by his doting mother (Melinda Dillon), Ralphie struggles to make it to Christmas Day with his glasses and his hopes intact.

n ‘NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION.’

7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. As the holidays approach, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife, Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), and children, as he tries to make sure everything is in line, including the tree and house decorations. However, things go awry quickly. His hick cousin, Eddie (Randy Quaid), and his family show up unplanned and start living in their camper on the Griswold property. Even worse, Clark’s employers renege on the holiday bonus he needs.

DECEMBER 17, 2020

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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by Matt Nicodemus

No matter where I am No matter where you are We can look up toward the sky Or look in any direction we like And realize that, no matter where we are Out there, in the direction we’re peering Is the true wilderness of outer space Then look inside and realize The infinity of inner space Equally so much unknown Equally wilderness We never have to Feel trapped In unreality Again!

Happy Holidays from your pals @

Matt Nicodemus, a father, activist-organizer and singer-songwriter-composer, has been blessed to live in Boulder for over a decade.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

DECEMBER 17, 2020

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BY ROB BREZSNY ARIES

MARCH 21-APRIL 19: Temporary gods are deities

who come alive and become available for particular functions, and are not otherwise necessary or called upon. For instance, in ancient Greece, the god Myiagros showed up when humans made sacrifices to the goddess Athena. His task was to shoo away flies. I encourage you to invent or invoke such a spirit for the work you have ahead of you. And what’s that work? 1) To translate your recent discoveries into practical plans. 2) To channel your new-found freedom into strategies that will ensure freedom will last. 3) To infuse the details of daily life with the big visions you’ve harvested recently. What will you name your temporary god?

TAURUS

APRIL 20-MAY 20: Author Virginia Woolf said that

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we don’t wholly experience the unique feelings that arise in any particular moment. They take a while to completely settle in, unfold and expand. From her perspective, then, we rarely “have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.” With that as your starting point, Taurus, I invite you to take a journey through the last 11 months and thoroughly evolve all the emotions that weren’t entirely ripe when they originally appeared. Now is an excellent time to deepen your experience of what has already happened; to fully bloom the seeds that have been planted.

GEMINI

MAY 21-JUNE 20: “Wonder is a bulky emotion,” writes

author Diane Ackerman. “When you let it fill your heart and mind, there isn’t room for anxiety, distress or anything else.” I’d love for you to use her observation as a prescription in 2021, Gemini. According to my understanding of the coming year’s astrological portents, you will have more natural access to wonder and amazement and awe than you’ve had in a long time. And it would make me happy to see you rouse those primal emotions with vigor — so much so that you drive away at least some of the flabby emotions like anxiety, which are often more neurotic than real.

JUNE 21-JULY 22: I’ll use the words of Cancerian

painter Frida Kahlo to tell you the kind of intimate ally you deserve. If for some inexplicable reason you have not enjoyed a relationship like this before now, I urge you to make 2021 the year that you finally do. And if you HAVE indeed been lucky in this regard, I bet you’ll be even luckier in 2021. Here’s Frida: “You deserve a lover who wants you disheveled ... who makes you feel safe ... who wants to dance with you ... who never gets tired of studying your expressions ... who listens when you sing, who supports you when you feel shame and respects your freedom ... who takes away the lies and brings you hope.”

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LEO

JULY 23-AUG. 22: In 2019, singer Ariana Grande

got Japanese characters tattooed on her palm. She believed them to be a translation of the English phrase “7 Rings,” which was the title of a song she had released. But knowledgeable observers later informed her that the tattoo’s real meaning was “small charcoal grill.” She arranged to have alterations made, but the new version was worse: “Japanese barbecue grill finger.” I offer you this story for two reasons, Leo. First, I applaud the creativity and innovative spirit that have been flowing through you. Second, I want to make sure that you keep them on the right track — that they continue to express what you want them to express. With proper planning and discernment, they will.

VIRGO

AUG. 23-SEPT. 22: While sleeping, most of us have

over a thousand dreams every year. Many are hard to remember and not worth remembering. But a beloved few can be life-changers. They have the potential to trigger epiphanies that transform our destinies for the better. In my astrological opinion, you are now in a phase when such dreams are more likely than usual. That’s why I invite you to keep a

DECEMBER 17, 2020

LIBRA

SEPT. 23-OCT. 22: I composed a prayer that’s in

alignment with your current astrological omens. If it feels right, say it daily for the next 10 days. Here it is: “Dear Higher Self, Guardian Angel, and Future Me: Please show me how to find or create the key to the part of my own heart that’s locked up. Reveal the secret to dissolving any inhibitions that interfere with my ability to feel all I need to feel. Make it possible for me to get brilliant insights into truths that will enable me to lift my intimate alliances to the next level.”

SCORPIO

OCT. 23-NOV. 21: Author Herman Hesse observed,

“Whoever wants music instead of noise, joy instead of pleasure, soul instead of gold, creative work instead of business, passion instead of foolery, finds no home in this trivial world.” I hope you will prove him wrong in 2021, Scorpio. According to my reading of astrological omens, the rhythms of life will be in alignment with yours if you do indeed make bold attempts to favor music over noise, joy over pleasure, soul over gold, creative work over business, passion over foolery. Moreover, I think this will be your perfect formula for success — a strategy that will guarantee you’ll feel at home in the world more than ever before.

SAGITTARIUS

NOV. 22-DEC. 21: According to researcher Nick Watts

and his documentary film The Human Footprint, the average person speaks more than 13 million words in a lifetime, or about 4,300 per day. But I suspect and hope that your output will increase in 2021. I think you’ll have more to say than usual — more truths to articulate, more observations to express, more experiences to describe. So please raise your daily quota of self-expression to account for your expanded capacity to share your intelligence with the world.

CAPRICORN

CANCER

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recorder or a pen and notebook by your bed so as to capture them. For inspiration, read this testimony from Jasper Johns, whom some call America’s “foremost living artist”: “One night I dreamed that I painted a large American flag, and the next morning I got up and I went out and bought the materials to begin it.” Painting flags ultimately became one of Johns’ specialties.

DEC. 22-JAN. 19: “Our thinking should have a vigorous

fragrance, like a wheat field on a summer’s night,” wrote philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. I encourage you to adopt that joyful mandate as your own. It’s a perfect time to throw out stale opinions and moldy ideas as you make room for an aromatic array of fresh, spicy notions. To add to your bliss, get rid of musty old feelings and decaying dreams and stinky judgments. That brave cleansing will make room for the arrival of crisp insights that smell really good.

AQUARIUS

JAN. 20-FEB. 18: Have you heard the term “catastro-

phize”? It refers to when people experience a small setback or minor problem but interpret it as being a major misfortune. It’s very important that you not engage in catastrophizing during the coming weeks. I urge you to prevent your imagination from jumping to awful conclusions that aren’t warranted. Use deep breathing and logical thinking to coax yourself into responding calmly. Bonus tip: In my view, the small “setback” you experience could lead to an unexpected opportunity — especially if you resist the temptation to catastrophize.

PISCES

FEB. 19-MARCH 20: My Buddhist friend Marcia says the

ultimate goal of her meditation practice is to know that the material world is an illusion and that there is no such thing “I” or “you,” no past or future. There is only the quality-less ground of being. My Sufi friend Roanne, on the other hand, is a devotee of the poet Rumi. The ultimate goal of her meditation practice is to be in intimate contact, in tender loving communion, with the Divine Friend, the personal face of the Cosmic Intelligence. Given your astrological omens, Pisces, I’d say you’re in a prime position to experience the raw truth of both Marcia’s and Roanne’s ideals. The coming days could bring you amazing spiritual breakthroughs!

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Stressed Out? Think Massage!

BY DAN SAVAGE Dear Dan: After years of receiving Dear Dan: I’m writing in response to oral sex from girlfriends who were careful WHY, the Italian fellow whose partner has to never inflict any sort of pain on my tesa significantly lower libido than he does. I ticles, I met a woman who wasn’t so care- would like to share my perspective. I have ful. For our fifth date, she came back to a high libido and my partner of more than my place and we watched a movie. After 20 years has a low libido. From the perthe movie we began to kiss and soon she spective of the person with the lower libiwas making love to my stiff penis with her do, there’s no problem to address. The mouth while rather roughly massaging my person with the lower libido gets to have testicles. However this came to be, I was sex whenever they want. When they don’t liking it quite a bit. The more pressure she want sex, it doesn’t happen. If WHY wants applied to my testicles, the harder my to engage his partner in a conversation penis became. This has never happened about this he has to make it clear this is a to me in my 33 years of lovemaking! I make-or-break situation. Use very specific actually asked her to squeeze my testicles language like, “If we can’t talk about this, harder and harder and I can ROMAN ROBINSON I’m leaving,” or, “If we don’t honestly say my penis was go to counseling, I can’t harder than it has ever stay in this relationship.” In been. Against my better my case, I did not commujudgment, I asked her to nicate how important the squeeze my testicles as issue was and my partner hard as she could. After did not think we needed to several seconds of the most talk about it because it intense pressure she could wasn’t a problem for her provide, I had the most and she didn’t know — powerful orgasm I have because I didn’t tell her — ever had. All of a sudden, I how much of a problem it was dizzy and my vision was for me. Eventually I went black. When I finally acted out and had a rancame back to reality, there was an dom hookup. We wound up in counseling, extraordinary amount of come all over the which got us talking, but nothing changed place. She has made love to my penis the fact that we have very different libidos. dozens of times since in the same manMore than likely I am moving out when ner. My question: Will there be any physiour youngest son goes to college. If I had cal complications to my newly discovered to do it over again I would have let my taste for this kind of play? I look forward partner know exactly how important it is to to your response! me that we have a healthy, robust sexual —This Exquisitely Sensuous Torment relationship. Having a difficult conversaEnhances Sex tion is better than acting out in a way that puts everyone’s health at risk and damagDear TESTES: Ball busting — the kink es trust. I have no idea if that would have you stumbled on — is inherently risky, changed things between us, but I would TESTES, in that you could actually rupture, feel a whole lot better about how things aka “bust,” one or both of your balls. Hence went down. the name. But considering how much plea—One Man’s Opinion sure you’re deriving from this and considering how short life is and considering how Dear OMO: Thank you for sharing, long you’ve been sexually active and conOMO, and here’s hoping you get a sidering how little use you’re gonna get out chance to “do it over again.” With a new of your balls once you’re dead, TESTES, I partner, if you wind up leaving your partdon’t see any reason why you should ner, or with the partner you have now, if deprive yourself — at this stage — of this you stay. There’s nothing you can say to newly discovered sexual pleasure. Well, change your partner’s libido, OMO, but if actually… I can see one reason why you you keep talking you may be able to work might want to knock this off: when it comes out a compromise or an accommodation to ball busting, TESTES, there’s no way to that takes the pressure off her (to round eliminate the risk of a physical complication her libido up) and off you (to round yours that lands your sack in the emergency down). Good luck. room and E.R. nurses and doctors have On the Lovecast, learn about your enough on their plates right now. So maybe pelvic floor with Dr. Rachel Gelman. give your balls a break until after the panSend questions to mail@savagelove.net demic is over and then go nuts. and follow Dan on Twitter @fakedansavage. BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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here’s reality, and then there’s everything else. Cinema exists firmly in the latter: Cameras don’t capture reality; they capture a perspective of it with a defined beginning, middle and end. Add editing into the mix, and you’ve got something new no matter how mundane the subject. Think of your friends sitting around in a room chatting. Now whip out a camera and start recording. The mere presence of a camera — of posterity — changes their behavior. What, then, would happen if someone else in the room pulled out their camera and started recording you recording your friends? That ouroboros alchemy is the heart of William Greaves’

THE CRITERION COLLECTION

Notes from the revolution

avant-garde films, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One and Take 2½, out now on Blu-ray and DVD from The Criterion Collection. Shot in 1968, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One finds Greaves in New York City’s Central Park with a small film crew and two actors, Patricia Ree Gilbert as Alice and Don Fellows as Freddie. In the scene, Alice accuses Freddie of being closeted and forcing her to have multiple abortions. Freddie defends his position while making sure his secret stays a secret. Sounds simple, right? In another director’s hands, it would be — it would also be trite and more than a little reprehensible — but in Greaves’ hands, it’s something else. Three camera crews are present: One to film Alice and Freddie, one to film the camera crew filming Alice and Freddie, and one to film Alice, Freddie and the camera crew filming Alice and Freddie. And no one seems to know which team they’re on or why they’re doing what they’re doing. Even better, Greaves (directing while playing the director) acts aloof and provides misdirection to the actors and the multiple crews. Oh, and no one has a script to follow, just a

Criterion renews ‘Symbiopsychotaxiplasm’ with two takes

by Michael J. Casey ON THE BILL: ‘Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Two Takes by William Greaves’ is available for purchase on Blu-ray or DVD from The Criterion Collection.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

“concept,” Greaves handed out. Some read it; some didn’t. If that sounds like chaos, it is. And it’s what Greaves was aiming for. Born in Harlem in 1926, Greaves started acting in the American Negro Theater before moving on to The Actor’s Studio in 1948. But the lack of black roles in the theater sent Greaves north, where he made a series of successful documentaries for the National Film Board of Canada. Following the Civil Rights movements of the 1960s, Greaves returned to the U.S. to work on the show Black Journal for National Education Television. As Greaves bounced around, theories about acting, documentary, experimental filmmaking fomented in his mind: from the documentaries of John Grierson to Werner Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle to Arthur F. Bentley’s theory of symbiotaxiplasm (all the things in an environment caused by humans). The only thing missing was interiority (psycho), which Greaves dropped into the title for his landmark film: Symbiopsychotaxiplasm. The intent behind Symbiopsychotaxiplasm was rebellion. Give the actors vulgar dialogue and make them repeat it until they refuse. Give the crew zero direction, and see what they come up with. Greaves shot more than 50 hours of footage, imagining the docu-fiction experiment as a fivepart series. Only Take One made it to the screen, and probably for the best. With its multiple narratives, triptych paneling and endless repetition, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm would have grown tiresome over five installments. But at 75 minutes, Take One is as brief as it is dense. It’s a movie you’ll chew on for years to come. It’s also a movie that could have changed the course of avant-garde cinema but didn’t. When Greaves took Take One to the Cannes Film Festival in 1971, the projectionist jumbled the reels and presented them out of order for the selection committee. As is, Take One is a challenging film. But after a round of reel roulette, it’s incomprehensible. So Take One sat on mothballs until a retrospective of Greaves’ work at the Brooklyn Museum in 1991 gave the docu-fiction hybrid new life. Steven Soderbergh counted himself as a fan — he dubbed the film “the ultimate ‘reality’ piece” — and helped Greaves make Take 2½ in 2005, featuring Audrey Henningham and Shannon Baker in the roles of Alice and Freddie. Greaves died in 2014 at the age of 87. He left behind more than 200 documentaries, but none as revolutionary as Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One and Take 2½. The Criterion Collection has bundled both, plus the 2006 documentary Discovering William Greaves, for its latest Blu-ray and DVD release, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Two Takes by William Greaves. The set also includes an essay from Amy Taubin and Greaves’ production notes for Take One. For all you cineastes out there, those notes read like Robert Bresson’s seminal Notes on the Cinematograph. And for those of you still shopping for stocking stuffers for that film lover in your life, look no further.

DECEMBER 17, 2020

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BOULDER WEEKLY

PHOTOS BY STAFF

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TRY THIS WEEK: Lamb and beef meatball sandwich @ Blackbelly Market

A MEATBALL SUB IS ONLY as good as the meatballs it’s made with. At Blackbelly — butchers and purveyors of artisan meats, among other things — the meatballs are good. Really good. On its sub, available during lunch, there are three succulent meatballs made from ground lamb and beef sourced from Boulder County’s own Buckner Ranch. The unique (for a meatball sub) addition of Swiss cheese is welcome, as it complements the grassy, herbaceous qualities of the pasture-raised meat. The more typical additions of tomato sauce and basil provide a balance of acid and fresh spiciness. It’s all served on a sturdy, thick-crusted baguette, so you won’t make a mess while eating it.

1 n Local meats for the holiday table

If the above has you jonesing for more local meat from Buckner Ranch, check out its holiday meat sale. The Buckners are selling meats in a variety of cuts and grinds at “friend of the farm” prices — i.e., it’s a sale. You’re looking at rack of lamb for $8 per pound, primo ground beef at $7/pound, beef tenderloin ($17/pound) and New York Strip ($13/pound), and pork chops ($7/pound), brats ($7/ pound) and pork spare ribs ($6/ pound). You can also pick up local honey from Highland Honey and a bone broth pack ($50) with bison, beef, chicken and vegetable broths. You’ll have to act fast: Place your order at bucknerfamilyfarm.com by Dec. 17 for pickup on the 19th. If you miss out, no worries: The Buckners have pop-up meat sales throughout the year.

BOULDER WEEKLY

n BCFM has the holiday goods

For the first time in Boulder County Farmers Markets (BCFM) existence, it’s offering online sales for holiday meals, gift baskets and everyday groceries. The customizable gift baskets come unsealed so you can add personal touches, in addition to whatever you select from local producers. You can also order tamales, those Christmas staples, from Amaizing Corn Tamales; holiday ice cream from Best One Yet Vegan; and items for a local, delicious charcuterie board from a variety of local makers. Orders for Longmont run through Dec. 17 for pickup on Dec. 20; for Boulder and Lafayette, the ordering window is Dec. 20-22 with pickup on Dec. 23 for Boulder, a day later for Lafayette. Head over to bcfm.org/curbside-pickup to place your order.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Here we go a-wassailing

Liquor trends for 2021

by MATT CORTINA

ider makers, after rapidly gaining a foothold in the alcoholic beverage market, are now starting to imbue their beverages with some interesting flavors. A few weeks ago, I wrote about St. Vrain Cidery’s Gingerbread cider, which was remarkable for its restraint — only hints of ginger and clove on the palate, which paired phenomenally with its robust apple base. If you’ve only dipped your toes into the craft cider renaissance, consider the holiday season a good time to expe- MATT CORTINA rience the breadth of what’s available. Cider has roots in the holidays after all — going back to the Middle Ages, people would go wassailing to orchards in the English countryside, chanting recitations in hopes of spurring a good harvest in the coming year. There’s also some less romantic instances of ancient wassailing — think rowdy bands of young men barging into homes in search of booze — but it’s still in practice throughout the world today from Christmas through New Years, often featuring warmed and spiced drinks. We suggest forgoing the B&E — if you find an orchard in which to chant archaic langauge, maybe ask permission from the orchard owner — and instead just pick up a few cans of interesting Colorado cider from local makers. There are two from Erie’s The Old Mine worth finding. First, Its Apples, Vanilla and Bourbon Oh My! cider is a trip for the palate. You don’t necessarily expect the robust amount of woodiness that shows up on each sip, but it’s pleasant. The cider was aged on Kentucky bourbon oak with vanilla, creat-

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

ing a multi-layered sip that emphasizes the underlying dryness of the base cider. Second, from The Old Mine, is the Chaider, a sweet and spicy sipper imbued with the bright flavors of chai tea. The extra kick in there isn’t from ginger, it’s from a pinch of habanero, which brightens every slug. Both offerings from The Old Mine are limited release, so grab ’em if you see ’em in your local liquor store. There’s two year-round offerings from Stem Ciders worth finding this winter. Le Chêne is aged in red zinfandel barrels, imparting a creamy, deep fruitiness that plays well with brighter apple cider. The barrel aging brings caramel, vanilla and a pleasant astringency that gives the cider some teeth. Then there’s The Woods, a barrel-aged cider from New Hampshire apples that presents an ideal balance of acid and tannins — a cider with subtle complexity you’ll enjoy exploring. Some others you should check out over the next few months: Boulder’s Locust Cider has the aptly named Winter Warmer, an off-dry small batch cider made from Washington apples blended with cinnamon spice; you really get the cinnamon. BOCO Cider has Cab Crush, a fan favorite at the North Boulder tap room, made from resting dry cider for two weeks on Bookcliff Vineyards’ cabernet sauvignon grape skins and seeds. It’s got strong tannins, as you might imagine, but some tart cherry and raspberry notes that are backed up in its pinkish hue. Order both online at locustcider.com and bococider. com respectively.

DECEMBER 17, 2020

ood and beverage forecasts are a dime a dozen this time of year. They’re rarely 100% right, but they are fun to look at. Here’s what’s in a few that are circulating now. Clarkston Consulting, a market research group, forecasts that after a year of pandemic, consumers will continue to gravitate toward labels that highlight a drink’s organic, clean, fresh, natural qualities. Clarkston also predicts consumers will reach for drinks that are made sustainably — from well-sourced ingredients in responsibly managed facilities and packaged in renewable materials. Innova Market Insights, a food industry group, says consumers will be more interested in transparency — that people want to know where and how their drinks came to be. They also suggest folks will want to consume drinks that support immune health, underlining the pandemic’s impact on dietary choices. KPMG, a finance group, looked specifically at beverages that might grow in 2021 and found hard seltzer continuing its upward trajectory (it grew 43% in 2020), and that tequila and mezcal will continue to grow. KPMG further found that consumers are increasingly more willing to trade up to premium brands in their spirit of choice.

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DECEMBER 17, 2020

BOULDER WEEKLY

NOSH

A welcome arrival

Restaurant-owned food delivery service launches with lower fees and some help from the City of Boulder

by Matt Cortina

any of us ordered delivery from local restaurants this year, intending to support these establishments while they had limited or no seating capacity. And while any patronage this year helped these small business owners stay afloat, how we ordered and accessed their food had a large, compounding impact on just how helpful we were being. If you ordered from a local restaurant through a national tech platform like DoorDash, Grubhub or Uber Eats, those companies for most of 2020 were likely assessing a surcharge to restaurants up to 35%, massively eating into the already thin profit margin of the order. It’s a problem that wasn’t effectively communicated in the chaotic switch to delivery and takeout — I certainly share some blame in that. But it’s also a problem that, as we head into many more months of delivered food, is receiving some attention. Cities like Denver and New York City have voted to institute a cap on how much third-party delivery services can charge (15%). That resulted in DoorDash, at least in Denver, instituting a $2 “Denver fee” to offset the cap. The fees third-party delivery companies charge is separate from what they charge consumers — peruse your delivery app of choice and you’ll see charges from $0 to more than $5 per order. Once you add in tip and taxes, you could be paying as much as 50% of the order BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

on top of the food you bought. In a study by market research group Kinetic 12, corporate third-party delivery services were found to add substantial costs to food orders — it found fees were 12% of the total food price on Grubhub, 20% for Uber Eats and 21% for Doordash. Now, however, there’s another option created by and for local restaurant owners. Nosh is a delivery service that started in Iowa City, and has since branched out to Fort Collins and Boulder. At least 15 local restaurant owners have invested in the company’s Boulder operation, which caps delivery fees at 15%. Many more restaurants have joined the platform since it launched this year — 53 so far, with more added regularly. “Customers think they’re helping us when they order through these corporate third-party delivery companies. A lot of times, yeah, they may be helping us but they may be harming,” says Shawn Camden, owner of Sancho’s Mexican Restaurant and an investor in Nosh. “Hardly anything goes to us. We make minimalmargin profit. Sometimes we don’t make a profit and sometimes it bites us in the butt.” For instance, if a delivery ends up at the wrong place or, as happened at Sancho’s, the system crashes and a restaurant is left with hundreds of dollars of undeliverable food, it’s a burden on the business. The City of Boulder has partnered with Nosh to further its impact. After an RFP process, the City selected Nosh as a beneficiary of the Restaurant S.O.S. program. In it, restaurant-side delivery fees (for orders placed via Nosh) will be subsidized entirely by the City using CARES Act funds through the month of DECEMBER 17, 2020

December. And, customers who order through Nosh will get a one-time $10 coupon to be used for orders over $25 placed on Nosh. The CARES Act funds need to be spent by the end of the year, thus the deadline. After December, the restaurant-side commission fees will be capped at 15% and Camden says the customer-side fees will be competitive with the corporate competitors (about $2.50). Dan Polovin, owner of Mustard’s Last Stand, says working with a service owned by local restaurateurs provides a stark contrast to the status quo. “It’s great to be working with other restaurants in developing a delivery service that serves us,” he says. “Up to this point, your only vehicle was one of these mega-corporations that could care less if they were delivering food or they were delivering shoes.” Camden says the benefits go beyond local ownership and local fees — he says in his experience, Nosh provides better service than corporate competitors. “We do a thorough interview with drivers. We just don’t choose anybody, they have to be a fit, have to have the right personality, someone who’s going to give good customer service, someone who cares about their job. In effect it helps us provide much better customer service,” he says, adding, “If there is an issue with the order, if we make the mistake as Nosh with the delivery, we will contact the customer immediately and either refund their order or we’ll pay for the restaurant to redo the order.” Visit boulder.noshdelivery.com for a full list of participating restaurants. Use the code “NOSHCITY” to redeem the $10 delivery voucher. I

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Making meals that heal

Latest initiative of Friends in Weed keeps Front Range restaurants working, while also fighting local food insecurity

by Will Brendza

ince March of this year, some of Boulder and Denver’s most beloved food establishments have permanently shuttered — The Med, Brasserie Ten Ten, Meadowlark Kitchen, Racines — diminishing local flavors and decimating hospitality

jobs. As we approach the December holidays under “level red” COVID restrictions, those restaurants still clinging to survival and Colorado’s out-ofwork employees are both going to need more help than ever. That’s why a group of cannabis companies collectively called Friends in Weed are stepping up to help. Their newest initiative, called Meals That Heal, is a clever variation on a food drive that will keep people fed and help restaurants stay in business — and you can get involved, whether you’re “into weed” or not. “Instead of doing a holiday meal donation, which was our original plan, we wanted to figure out another way to try and help restaurants maintain consistent work each week, which would then allow them to keep people employed,” says Jonathan Spadafora, the head of marketing and sales at Veritas Fine Cannabis, one of the

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

founding companies of Friends in Weed. The biggest hurdle, though, was the nature of the business. Because of cannabis’ status as a Schedule 1 drug, making direct donations as a cannabis company is particularly tricky. It can put the recipient in an uncertain position with the federal government — especially if they’re receiving any government loans, grants or assistance. “Most people would be shocked to hear how hard it is to give money away [as a cannabis company],” Spadafora says. Friends in Weed had to come up with a workaround. In March, the organization bought gift cards from local restaurants and give them to bud tenders who’d been let go, furloughed or were experiencing reduced hours. Collectively, Friends in Weed bought more than $77,000 in gift cards through that effort. Now they’ve refined their approach. Meals That Heal, which just kicked off in early December, aims to bring together even more cannabis businesses, and even more restaurant partners to broaden its scope of impact. Here’s how it works: Participating sponsors purchase healthy, packaged, finish-at-home meals for between

DECEMBER 17, 2020

$8-$10 a piece, through the Friends in Weed website. Those meals, prepared by local restaurants, are then distributed to hospitality industry workers and communities. “Some component of those meals will be donated back to the restaurant groups to give to their staff or anyone who has had a reduction in hours or income,” Spadafora explains. “The remaining balance of the meals will be donated to local organizations designated by the companies who are providing the funding.” Basically, it keeps the kitchen working, it feeds the restaurant industry, and then sponsors get to choose where most of the meals they purchase go. On top of all that, it offers a way for cannabis companies to directly donate to a cause that will help their community. As of this writing, the Friends in Weed website says it’s already provided 630 meals. “The intention is to create something where more companies can come in and get involved and hopefully create some prolonged work for the restaurant industry and food security for people who are struggling with that right now,” Spadafora says. Currently, cannabis companies working with the Meals That Heal program include Veritas, Cookies, Olio, Slang Worldwide, Higher Grade and Grasslands. Restaurant partners include The F Club, The Post, Lola, Jax Fish House, the West End Tavern, Centro and a number of others. Spadafora says he’s still looking for more community engagement, more businesses to get on board. Individuals can get involved too, Spadafora adds — even if you aren’t a cannabis company, or in the cannabis industry at all. Simply go to the Friends in Weed website and you’ll soon have the option to purchase Friends in Weed T-shirts or masks, the proceeds for which will all go toward purchasing meals. “We think that our local restaurants are a huge part of what makes this community an amazing place to live,” Spadafora says. “We have the ability to help, and right now there’s plenty of people who could use it. This seems like the most effective way to help as many people as possible.”

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