The Pulse 16.44 » October 31, 2019

VOL. 16, ISSUE 44 • OCTOBER 31, 2019

The Loudest Silence What are ghosts? What is memory?

What are we afraid of?

Community Gardens There's more out there than flowers

Chattanooga Dance It's now their time to shine

Stringer's Ridge Homespun folk excellence

FREE

CHATTANOOGA'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

2 • THE PULSE • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

INSIDE THIS ISSUE VOLUME 16, ISSUE 44 • OCTOBER 31, 2019 BREWER MEDIA GROUP Publisher James Brewer, Sr. FOUNDED 2003 BY ZACHARY COOPER & MICHAEL KULL

EDITORIAL Managing Editor Gary Poole gary@chattanoogapulse.com Assistant Editor Jenn Webster Music Editor Marc T. Michael Film Editor John DeVore Contributors Rob Brezsny Rebecca Hazen Matt Jones Cody Maxwell Ernie Paik Mike McJunkin Michael Thomas Jason Tinney Editorial Interns Lauren Justice • Mackenzie Wagamon Cartoonists Jen Sorenson • Tom Tomorrow

ADVERTISING Director of Sales Mike Baskin mike@brewermediagroup.com Account Executives Rick Leavell • Cindee McBride Libby Phillips • Lisa Roche John Rodriguez • Danielle Swindell

CONTACT Offices 1305 Carter St. Chattanooga, TN 37402 Phone 423.265.9494 Email info@chattanoogapulse.com Website chattanoogapulse.com Facebook @chattanoogapulse THE FINE PRINT: The Pulse is published weekly by Brewer Media and is distributed throughout the city of Chattanooga and surrounding communities. The Pulse covers a broad range of topics concentrating on music, the arts, entertainment, culture and local news. The Pulse is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. No person without written permission from the publisher may take more than one copy per weekly issue.

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Contents Copyright © 2019 by Brewer Media. All rights reserved.

6 4 16

The Loudest Silence A narrow gravel road ran between the highway and the railroad tracks. It went across a one lane, timber-framed bridge and ended in a copse of pine trees.

Halfway between the railroad bridge and the pine trees stood an old blue house.

GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY

10

HOMESPUN EXCELLENCE

21

Community gardens in Chattanooga help all types of communities. One garden helps the underserved. Another is a club providing teaching experiences.

You may not know it yet, but one of the finest traditional Irish fiddle players in the land has made Chattanooga his home. His name is Tom Morley, and his band is Stringer's Ridge.

9 DAY TRIPPIN'

CHATTANOOGA DANCES

I have to admit it—I’ve been sleeping on Chattanooga Dance Theatre. The studio in Hixson has just two full-time professional company members.

RUDY RAY MOORE

One thing critics sometimes fail to appreciate is just how hard it is to make a feature film.

Modern-day filmmaking, particularly for a Hollywood feature, requires thousands of people.

15 HALLOWEEN GUIDE

22 SUSHI & BISCUITS

12 ARTS CALENDAR

18 MUSIC CALENDAR

23 JONESIN' CROSSWORD

14 FEATURED BUSINESS

20 MUSIC REVIEWS

23 FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • THE PULSE • 3

CITY LIFE · BETWEEN THE BRIDGES

Cons ider This w ith Dr. Rick

Get Your Hands Dirty Explore some of the city's community gardens

C

OMMUNITY GARDENS IN CHATTANOOGA HELP ALL TYPES OF COMMUNIties. One garden helps the underserved. Another is a club providing teaching experiences. One helps all gardens to form a community of their own.

By Rebecca Hazen

“The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.” —Thomas Merton We humans love for lots of reasons, and in lots of ways. We throw the word “love” around pretty casually, as in, I love that color.

I love pizza. I love that song.

In its deepest form, love between humans is a feeling that embraces all of who we are—mind, body, and spirit. It can be confusing and overwhelming, it can make the air fresher, the sky bluer. All at the same time.

It can bring out our inner romantic…it can bring out the best in us.

When we love another, we find ourselves reflected in that other person. We identify with them. That’s the easy part. However, can you encourage your loved one to be exactly who they are as they change and grow? Can you support them when they are your mirror, and when they’re not?

— Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D.

Pulse contributor

“

These gardens have a year-round growing season, with winter boasting crops such as broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cilantro, and turnip greens.”

4 • THE PULSE • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

And while the beginning of November may seem a strange time to talk about gardening, these gardens have a year-round growing season, with winter boasting crops such as broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cilantro, and turnip greens.

Take, for example, Greenway Farm Community Garden, located at 5051 Gann Store Rd., Hixson. The garden has a partnership with the City of Chattanooga and the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy and includes 15 plots divided by gardeners.

Gardeners are allowed to grow anything, just as long as it is not a perennial, in true “community” fashion.

“Some of our gardeners are experienced, some are not, and we welcome all of them,” says D.C. Dreger, president of the garden club.

Part of the club’s mission is education, as there are a variety of growing techniques. Some plants are on

trellises, while others grow in raised beds, for example. A bee hive has also been introduced, which is helping to educate about pollination.

Dreger says they have growers from all over the country and world.

“We also have people who come just to walk around here, and we have a pre-kindergarten group that comes. We have invited them all in,” Dreger notes.

Some of the gardeners have a commitment to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. Dreger expects about 400 pounds to be donated by the end of the year. Those interested in joining the Greenway Farm Community Garden can fill out an application on their website and pay a membership fee.

Another example of a community garden can be found on the Southside just outside the HART Gallery building on East Main Street. The gal-

EDITOONS

lery, which serves those who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to make art, created the garden for their benefit as well.

“Our garden serves our artists. A lot of people who are on social security, disability, or are homeless, and do not have access to fresh food,” explains Cassie Terpening, communications and volunteer coordinator for the gallery.

The artists pick the food themselves, and they enjoy meals together two times a week. “There is a lot of purpose to this space,” Terpening says proudly.

The garden is also decorated with artwork from the artists, and features a memorial section to those who have passed on.

The HART Gallery is largely run by volunteers, and their main component of funding is individual donations.

Their garden also benefits from donations, sometimes from local farms.

“Crabtree Farms donates their plants to us after their plant sales,” Terpening explains. “We just got to pick up the plants, which was a real treat.”

As for Crabtree Farms themselves,

located at 1000 E. 30th St. just off of Rossville Boulevard, while they are not a traditional community garden, what they are is in many ways even more impressive: a 22-acre Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm.

Produce is sold through the CSA, which is a pay-for-share program, and also at farmers markets and to local restaurants. But they haven’t forgotten their roots in community gardening.

“We started a community garden workshop that we held for a long time.

We put together a handbook that’s still available,” executive director Sara McIntyre explains.

In addition, Crabtree Farms gives extra plants to anyone who is growing food for others for free.

“There are a lot of people who are food insecure,” McIntyre notes. “This is a value to our community.”

Crabtree Farms keeps track of the various gardens’ and gardeners’ information, and then uses that information to bring its members together.

“We allow them to come together and share resources,” McIntyre says.

For more information, visit greenwayfarmcommunitygarden.org, hartgallerytn.com and crabtreefarms.org CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • THE PULSE • 5

COVER STORY

The Loudest Silence What are ghosts? What is memory? What are we afraid of?

By Cody Maxwell Pulse contributor

“

I stepped off the last stair.

My step made a sound on the cold floor and the silhouette turned quickly to look at me. I saw a little girl.”

A

NARROW GRAVEL ROAD RAN BETWEEN THE HIGHway and the railroad tracks. It went across a one lane, timber-framed bridge and ended in a copse of pine trees. Halfway between the railroad bridge and the pine trees stood an old blue house. I lived there when I was a child.

The house was dark blue. The window shutters peeling white and the roof rusted metal. The window panes frosted in the winter.

One of those frosted winter nights I was told by my mother to go downstairs where no one ever went. There were some old blankets on a bed in a little room down there. It was cold and we had no heat. Go get them and come back, was all I had to do.

I don’t like it down there.

Just go, my mother said. My father was watching me from his bed.

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I didn’t want to go. It was dark and I was only seven years old. It was cold.

But we were all cold, I was reminded, and I had to.

The steps down the stairs were carpeted and dark. I held my fingers along the wall to find my way. At the bottom of the stairs the room was through an empty doorway on the right. I felt the end of the wall on the last step, then the empty doorframe. The door was open and I leaned to look inside.

The bed was against the far wall.

Behind the bed was a window and out-

side a full white moon shone its pale light into the room. I saw a black silhouette in front of this window. It was shaped like another child like me sitting and looking through the window out into the moonlit night.

I didn’t breathe. I was seeing the blankets I was supposed to bring upstairs. They were just in a pile on the bed. There they were.

I stepped off the last stair. My step made a sound on the cold floor and the silhouette turned quickly to look at me. I saw a little girl.

I couldn’t scream until I was halfway up the stairs. And even then it was not a scream but a childish moan. I ran to my mother standing in her bedroom.

She asked me what was wrong and where were the blankets? I looked up at her and told her I saw a girl sitting

on the bed down there.

She looked at my father on the bed.

“Will you go get them?” she asked him.

I looked at him, too. He said nothing and shook his head no.

By the next summer I had mostly forgotten that winter night. I’d met a boy that lived down the road and we ran and played together every day. He showed me the place beside the railroad tracks where running rain cut a deep ravine into the bank. He showed me where the hobos camped out in a thicket beside the bridge. Freight trains thundered past and we laughed. The boy said he knew where everything was and would show it all to me. I saw the old well overgrown way in the woods where his father threw away a dead dog one time.

At dusk we were sitting in the pine trees at the end of the road. We were tired and the sun had gone down.

Leaned up against a tree the boy from down the road asked me if I knew what happened in my house.

I didn’t know what he meant. Nothing happened there.

No, it happened before you lived there. I remember.

Stop lying. I thought he was bored and about to start trouble. I stood up.

I’m not telling a lie. You don’t know what happened to that little girl? It was her daddy and it happened in that room downstairs. Her daddy killed her down there.

Thirty years later I had my daughter Ava Rhea with me one rainy Sunday morning. She wanted to go wherever I was going to find a Halloween story.

We pulled into a small parking lot off of Vance Road, about a mile from the airport.

“What is this place?” Ava asked.

“It’s just a place,” I told her.

But it was not just a place. 6230

“

There were two pencil drawings on the ledge. One of a boy and one of a girl that looked like police composite sketches of unknown human remains.”

Vance Road was once the site of Chattanooga’s only abortion clinic. From 1975 until 1993, thirty-five thousand abortions were performed at what was then the Chattanooga Women’s Clinic.

In 1993 a pro-life Christian group purchased the property and the abortion clinic was shut down. The following year the site was reopened as what it is today: The National Memorial for the Unborn.

We passed through the iron gate of a tall stone wall. Inside the wall was a courtyard of crushed brown stone.

Weird granite sculptures rose up from the brown gravel. The faces on the rock were barely formed and only halfthere. Rain drizzled down on a faded steel sign near the door to this Memorial. The sign said this was a Place Of Healing Dedicated To The Memory Of Aborted Children.

I pulled the door open for Ava and followed her inside.

A tall wooden cross wrapped in thorny vines and white flowers stood over the room we entered. A stained glass window colored the floor. A ledge beneath the wall was covered with little dolls, baseballs and stuffed animals, white candles and small white crosses.

There were two pencil drawings on the ledge. One of a boy and one of a girl that looked like police composite sketches of unknown human remains.

Plastic white roses and heartbreaking letters from mothers were scattered beneath it all.

Ava walked the length of the wall looking at all the toys. She touched some of the stuffed animals but she seemed to know not to pick them up. I told her she could. She shook her head and backed away from the wall. “It’s

sad in here,” she said “I know it is.”

We sat down on the long pews.

“And it’s too loud.”

“Loud? It’s silent in here.”

“Yes, daddy. It’s the loudest silence I’ve ever heard.”

I heard her voice break. I shouldn’t have brought her there.

“Come on, girl. We’ve seen enough.”

I stood up but she stayed. “Do you think there’s ghosts in here?”

I looked at her and told her I didn’t know.

“What even are ghosts, daddy?” She asked me in a way that I knew I had to answer.

I didn’t know how to answer.

What even is a ghost?

My first thought was of an orangehaired girl I once knew. This girl had a spirit so tormented that I wondered how her body had remained animated by such a soul for so long. But hers was the most beautiful spirit I have ever known. She was ethereal and harsh and was always too busy for me but one day I finally caught up with her.

Standing before her I was as afraid as I was of that little girl at the bottom of the stairs when I was a boy. I didn’t expect to be and tried to hide my fear. She laughed at me and I’m sure I seemed like a complete fool but that spirit inside her was such that I allowed myself to be the fool.

Later we went walking together over a bridge in a cold March wind. It was not yet dark and she looked up toward a full moon in the sky. She wrapped herself around my arm, pointed toward it and said, “Oh! Look at that moon!”

She wanted to know where I was from so I took her to sit beside a river in the valley. We sat on the ground with cold coffee and crackers and talked for hours. I don’t remember anything we

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • THE PULSE • 7

COVER STORY said. I only remember that we fell in love there.

I was going to make a home in that valley. She would garden there and I would build paths through the woods.

I’d make wine and she would make a place to pray under the moon. I would write about her under a lantern.

I saw her lying in a field of grass one time, half-hidden and still. Her hair was the same color as the sun going down. I knew she wanted me to come to her but she was too pure to offer herself and I was still afraid of her.

She sat in a plain wooden room at the Society of Friends house one Sunday morning. I was there beside her, holding her hand in that quiet room.

I heard Leonard Cohen sing about a woman who “held on to me like I was a crucifix / As we went kneeling through the dark,” and when I hear that song now there’s a yellow perfume in the air and I hear again the naked truths the orange-haired girl whispered to me when the fear fell away. We lay on her bed with her windows open to the night. Hidden in her dark room she told me what her father did to her mother when she was a little girl.

“I just heard a lot of screaming,” she said. “My father was yelling and then there was just her screaming. I was in the other room and I was so scared and I was little. Nobody ever believed my mother.”

I couldn’t speak after she told me this. I just held her.

“Don’t let me run away,” she whispered. “You have to not let me run away.”

The loudest ghosts have always followed the orange-haired girl. I heard them when she was quiet.

“I think I like you because you remind me of my father,” she told me 8 • THE PULSE • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

“

I heard the orange-haired girl whisper to me again that I reminded her of her father. I heard her even in that place and I had to get my little girl out of there.”

once.

And then she pushed me away.

She told me not to let her but I didn’t know how to stop her. And when I was pushed far enough away, she ran. I could not make her stay. I wanted to follow after her but I knew I had to let her go.

She was the most haunted and beautiful person I have ever known.

“What even are ghosts?” Ava Rhea asked me.

Ghosts are the things that haunt us.

The little girl down the stairs and the orange-haired girl.

The little girl died at the hands of her father. Seeing her scared me when I was a boy. But it’s not the girl in the moonlit room that has haunted me for so long. It’s what her father did to her.

“What even is a ghost, daddy?”

I couldn’t tell my daughter these things. I heard the orange-haired girl whisper to me again that I reminded her of her father. I heard her even in that place and I had to get my little girl out of there.

I told Ava Rhea I didn’t know what a ghost was.

“Are they real?”

I couldn’t tell her the truth and pushed her toward the door.

She looked at me and she knew I was lying. When the father is afraid the truth is told. She stepped in front of me wide-eyed and she reached for my hand as I reached for the door.

“Should I be scared of them, daddy?”

“Yes.”

COLUMN · DAY TRIPPIN'

The Legend Of The Bell Witch On the road with “The Bewitching of a Tennessee Hollow”

Jason Tinney

Pulse columnist

F

ORTY MILES NORTH OF NASHville, the Robertson County landscape is both beautiful and eerie: the lonesome shriek of a train whistle echoes through fertile fields stretching beneath an ominous gray, late-October sky that mingles with the smoke billowing from the peaks of barns curing tobacco.

More than 200 years ago, here in the unassuming hamlet of Adams, the Bell Witch was born—arguably the most famous ghost story in American history.

Chris Kirby and her husband, Walter, purchased the Bell property and its spirited soil in 1993. They conduct tours of a replica of the Bell family’s 1800s log cabin and nearby natural cave, a cave forged alongside the Red River over a million years ago that’s listed on the National Historical Registry.

From 1817 to 1821, John Bell and his family were tormented by something. Bizarre animals—a dog with the head of rabbit—roamed the farm. Unexplained noises rattled nerves: gnawing on bed posts, dragging of chains and dropping of stones on the floor.

Then a voice emerged.

“I have been disturbed and made unhappy. I am the Spirit of a person who was buried in the woods,” reported an account. By other accounts, this

essence declared herself the witch of a woman named Kate Batts.

Visions and voices advanced to inflicting physical harm. John Bell and his daughter Betsy received the brunt of abuse. Betsy’s hair was pulled, her body scratched and stuck with pins.

John suffered from the feeling of a stick being stuck sideways in his throat.

News of this poltergeist spread, attracting crowds. Even Andrew Jackson paid a visit to the Bell family and commented, “I had rather face the entire British Army than to spend another night with the Bell Witch.”

It seemed “Kate” had two agendas: to kill John Bell and stop Betsy from marrying a neighbor named Joshua Gardner. On December 20, 1820, John Bell died from a mysterious poisoning. The witch took full credit for his death. Then in March of 1821, Betsy broke off her engagement with Gardner.

Crowds continue to flock to the site today. Thousands from across the U.S. visit annually.

“This year alone we had people here from the Ukraine, Scotland, Spain, Germany, and Australia,” Chris says.

“I absolutely love being a part of this story. I have always had my heart in doing the tours and I have always had a passion for history.”

The tour begins at the mouth of the cave. The surrounding bluff is believed to be an ancient Choctaw Indian burial mound where those interned were buried sitting up in a fetal position. Archaeologists estimate the graves to be between 3,000 and 5,000 years old.

Right away, Chris debunks one popular theory.

“The main story most people grew up with was that John Bell cheated a neighbor woman by the name of Kate

Batts on a land deal,” she says. “On her death bed she swore to come back to haunt him. Well, that story is not true. First of all, when John Bell died, Kate Batts was still alive and she lived for many years after him.”

Whatever this witch was, and persists through unexplained orbs of light to be, she might not be all bad.

“She was vicious when she wanted to be, but could also be kind, even spiritual,” Chris says. “They say every Sunday morning they could hear her singing gospel hymns in church right along with everyone else. They say she had the voice of an angel.”

She’s even a soothsayer, if you believe the documented conversations between her and John Bell, Jr., released by the Bell family in 1934.

“She described exactly how the end of our civilization is going to happen,” Chris says. “She said the temperature of the earth is going to start getting hotter and hotter. When the core of the earth gets to a certain temperature, there’s going to be a massive explosion and the planet will never be inhabited again.”

Roughly 40 books have been written about Bell Witch, as well as several movies, plays—even a metal band,

Bell Witch.

“Believe it or not, they teach it in some of the schools here. This is part of Tennessee history,” Chris says. “I think this story has endured over time because it has never been debunked.

All the people were real, some left their own written accounts of what they saw and heard. I think if this story was a hoax it would have died out many years ago.”

After the tour I sit down at a neighboring ballpark where a tractor pull competition grinds away. I skim William Gay’s essay, “Queen of the Haunted Dell.”

He writes, “It might be worth remembering that the Bell Witch saved her strongest malice for scoffers and debunkers. It might be wise to keep one’s disbelief to oneself.”

I press play on my audio recording taken during my tour. I can hear Chris speaking as we stand outside the mouth of the cave. After eight minutes, once we enter the cavern, the recording goes silent.

Jason Tinney is an author, actor, and musician. He can be seen locally blowing harmonica with singer/songwriter Eric Shelton. Jason loves a good ghost story.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • THE PULSE • 9

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Chattanooga Dance Theatre’s Time To Shine They’re suddenly on everyone’s radar Honor The Dead, Celebrate Life This Saturday, come and learn about the vibrant history and tradition of Día de Muertos. In honor of the season, the Creative Discovery Museum is having a Day of the Dead event and exhibit.

The Day of the Dead originated with the Aztecs and is celebrated primarily in Mexico and Guatemala. The Mexican holiday is a time when family and friends gather to celebrate and remember those who have died.

It is a spiritual multi-day event that incorporates family, prayer, and community.

The Creative Discovery Museum hopes to capture the essence of this holiday by presenting an event where people can celebrate the living while honoring the past.

The museum will educate guests on the variety of ways Día de Muertos is celebrated in Mexico and Guatemala.

There will be traditional food, folklore dancing from Mexico and Guatemala, and a craft station where you can build kites and make paper marigolds.

Everyone is welcome to come and celebrate this colorful, spirited, and brilliant holiday with the Creative Discovery Museum. The event is this Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. and will be included with regular admission.

For more information, visit their website at cdmfun.org or call (423) 756-2738.

— Mackenzie Wagamon

By Jenn Webster Pulse Assistant Editor

“

CDT is preparing for ‘Nooga Nutcracker’ on December 21 at the Walker Theatre at Memorial Auditorium.”

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I

HAVE TO ADMIT IT—I’VE BEEN SLEEPING ON CHATTAnooga Dance Theatre. The studio in Hixson has just two full-time professional company members, but they partner with a lot of well-known Chattanooga dancers and choreographers, and their student body now numbers—wait for it—around 400.

That’s what Chloe Russell, dancer, choreographer, teacher, and company administrator, tells me when we get together to discuss the company.

She’s glowing with excitement— though I’ve seen her dance before, this glow tells me she’s absorbed in what she’s doing now, and I need to see it, pronto.

Russell is not Chattanooga’s only well-known dancer or choreographer

who’s gravitated toward CDT: director Christine Mashburn-Paul has a history with Chattanooga Ballet and is currently president of Tennessee Association of Dance; Brittany MillsJohnson, an inspiring teacher and choreographer with roots at Ballet Tennessee, recently came on board as assistant director; and Frank Hay, well known for his powerful works created for Chattanooga Ballet, is

teaching and choreographing with CDT. Other faculty include the explosive and multifaceted dancer Kerri Lamb, the luminous Brie Timmons, and plenty of other familiar faces. While right now the children students—in particular, the preschoolers—make up a bulk of the school, they are looking at building up their advanced dancers and adding more professionals, Russell says.

“I think people coming to work [here], we are all really attracted to the atmosphere at CDT,” she says.

“It’s a really inviting place…really exceptional training and teaching we have going on here. It’s very inclusive, and our boss [emphasizes] selfexpression.”

The school follows a Royal Academy of Dance syllabus, but teachers are continually studying the science of dance and dance training, she adds.

Just now, CDT is preparing for “Nooga Nutcracker” on December 21 at the Walker Theatre at Memorial Auditorium.

“The biggest thing about it is it’s a modern take on the traditional Nutcracker,” Russell says. “Traditionally, it’s a Christmas party. We changed all that.”

While the action still starts with Clara, Fritz, and man of mystery Drosselmeyer at a party, complete with a toy Nutcracker who comes to life,

“

It’s a really inviting place…really exceptional training and teaching we have going on here. It’s very inclusive, and our boss [emphasizes] self-expression.” that’s where the similarity to conventional Nutcrackers ends.

“The ‘Nooga Nutcracker’ makes the classic ballet more relatable to today’s audiences with its setting in present-day Chattanooga and the use of many forms of dance, not only ballet,” Mashburn-Paul says.

“We incorporate jazz, acrobatics, and modern dance, [in addition to] ballet,” Russell adds. “We are working with a projector, too. Traditionally, in the second act, the Land of Sweets, it’s dances from different countries. But what we are doing at CDT is they visit different parts of Chattanooga, like the walking bridge, the carousel, the Tennessee River, the Aquarium fish. We use the mountains, too—[we have] mountain fairies and gnomes.”

They’ve kept the evergreen favorites, the Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier, but the snow scene is interpreted through contemporary dance.

Special props will represent local themes and locations. If you haven’t been to a Nutcracker yet, or maybe you got burned out years ago, this is

the place for a fresh start.

If you want a taste of the holidays sooner, or if Hixson’s closer for you, consider attending the Clara’s Tea fundraiser on November 17. Held at CDT’s studio at 5151 Austin Road in Hixson, the event is $25 for children and $12 for adults.

The donation gets guests snacks, tea with Nutcracker characters, takehome crafts including ballet-shoe painting and costume-making, and a small performance at the in-house studio theater.

It sounds like a perfect early holiday present for a special duo—a grandparent and grandchild, perhaps. It’s also a good way for people of any age to visit the school, interact with the dancers, and see whether they’re interested in studying dance.

“At CDT, one thing we do well is keeping dance relatable to audiences,” Russell says. “We do a good job of incorporating different styles and the efforts of people with a lot of dance backgrounds in order to create an experience that is relatable but also compelling for an audience.”

THU10.31

FRI11.1

SAT11.2

Zombies On A Train

The Golden Age of Radio

The 12th Annual Chocolate Fling

Come relive the glory days of radio with oldfashioned storytelling.

7 p.m.

Signal Mountain Arts Community Center 809 Kentucky Ave. signalmacc.org

Support the Epilepsy Foundation Southeast Tennessee with a 1920's themed evening.

6:30 p.m.

The Read House Hotel 107 W. MLK Blvd. epilepsy-setn.org

Can you esacpe from the hordes of Halloween zombies?

Try your luck for some real tricks and treats.

6 p.m.

Chattanooga Choo Choo 1400 Market St. escapeexperience.com

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • THE PULSE • 11

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR THURSDAY10.31 Pinball-O-Ween 1 p.m.

Classic Arcade Pinball Museum 409 Broad St. (423) 541-4097 chattanoogapinballmuseum.com Transform Us: Workshop & Exhibit 4 p.m.

Hart Gallery 110 E. Main St. (423) 521-4707 hartgallerytn.com Naughty Knights Chess Meetup 5 p.m.

Hutton & Smith Brewing Co. 431 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 760-3600 huttonandsmithbrewing.com Zombies On A Train: Escapeo-ween Experience 6 p.m.

Chattanooga Choo Choo 1400 Market St. (423) 551-3306 escapeexperience.com Open Mic Poetry 6:30 p.m.

Stone Cup Café 208 Frazier Ave. (423) 521-3977 stonecupcafe.com Hellmouth 7 p.m.

Frequency Arts 516 Tremont St. facebook.com/frequencyarts Antigone 7 p.m.

Girls Preparatory School 205 Island Ave. (423) 634-7600 gps.edu The Golden Age of Radio 7 p.m.

Signal Mountain Arts Community Center 809 Kentucky Ave. signalmacc.org Creepy Carnival Halloween Party 7 p.m.

The Dwell Hotel 120 E. 10th St. (423) 710-2925 thedwellhotel.com Alcoholics Not Anonymous Comedy Open Mic

12 • THE PULSE • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

8 p.m.

Barley Taproom 235 E. MLK Blvd.

(423) 682-8200 chattanoogabarley.com Country Line Dancing Class 8 p.m.

Westbound Bar 24 Station St. (423) 498-3069 westboundbar.com

FRIDAY11.1 45th Holiday Show 5 p.m.

In-Town Gallery 26 Frazier Ave. (423) 267-9214 intowngallery.com Open Studio Nights 5:30 p.m.

Chattanooga WorkSpace 302 W. 6th St. (423) 822-5750 chattanoogaworkspace.com The Golden Age of Radio 7 p.m.

Signal Mountain Arts Community Center 809 Kentucky Ave. signalmacc.org Weekend Ecotherapy Conference 7 p.m.

Reflections Riding Arboretum 400 Garden Rd. (423) 503-2318 reflectionriding.org Antigone 7 p.m.

Girls Preparatory School 205 Island Ave. (423) 634-7600 gps.edu The Lion King Jr. 7 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Center 400 River St. (423) 267-8534 theatrecentre.com Jerry “Critter” Harvey 7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com The Floor is Yours: Wake the Dead 8 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater

1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347 barkinglegs.org Improv “Movie” Night 8 p.m.

Improv Chattanooga 1800 Rossville Ave. (423) 843-1775 improvchattanooga.com Video Game Night 8 p.m.

Stone Cup Cafe 208 Frazier Ave. (423) 521-3977 stonecupcafe.com Ruby Falls Lantern Tours 8:30 p.m.

Ruby Falls 1720 S. Scenic Hwy. (423) 821-2544 rubyfalls.com Dia De Los Muertos-Latin Dance Social 9 p.m.

Mexiville #2 103 Cherokee Blvd.

(423) 498-5375 Good, Old-Fashioned Improv Show 10 p.m.

Improv Chattanooga 1800 Rossville Ave. (423) 843-1775 improvchattanooga.com Poetry and Potions 11:30 p.m.

The Mad Priest 719 Cherry St. (423) 541-1395 madpriestcha.com

SATURDAY11.2 West Village Green Farmers Market 10 a.m.

Westin Chattanooga 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Maps of the Mind 10 a.m.

Daily Practice 1322 Dodds Ave. (423) 322-2514 jasmilam.com Painting in Watercolor with Margaret Park 11:30 a.m.

Reflections Gallery 1635 Rossville Ave. (423) 892-3072

reflectionsgallerytn.com Day of the Dead Event Noon The Creative Discover Museum 321 Chestnut St. (423) 756-2738 cdmfun.org DanTDM Presents The Contest 12:55 p.m.

AMC Chattanooga 18 (423) 855-9652 5080 South Terrace fathomevents.com The Lion King Jr. 2:30 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Center 400 River St. (423) 267-8534 theatrecentre.com A’N’A Brunch Comedy Showcase 3 p.m.

Southside Social 1818 Chestnut St. (423) 708-3280 thesouthsidesocial.com Fall Family Night 6 p.m.

Reflections Riding Arboretum 400 Garden Rd. (423) 503-2318 reflectionriding.org 12th Annual Chocolate Fling 6:30 p.m.

The Read House Hotel 107 W. MLK Blvd.

(423) 266-4121 epilepsy-setn.org Weekend Ecotherapy Conference 7 p.m.

Reflections Riding Arboretum 400 Garden Rd. (423) 503-2318 reflectionriding.org Antigone 7 p.m.

Girls Preparatory School 205 Island Ave. (423) 634-7600 gps.edu Jerry “Critter” Harvey 7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com Chattanooga Secret History 8 p.m.

Improv Chattanooga 1800 Rossville Ave.

(423) 843-1775 improvchattanooga.com The Roast of Joe Ramsey 8 p.m.

The Spot of Chattanooga 1800 E. Main St. (423) 803-5744 facebook.com/1800EMain Whose Line Chattanooga 10 p.m.

Improv Chattanooga 1800 Rossville Ave. (423) 843-1775 improvchattanooga.com

SUNDAY11.3 Collegedale Market 11 a.m.

Collegedale Commons 4950 Swinyar Dr. collegedalemarket.com Chattanooga Market 11 a.m.

The Chattanooga Market 1829 Carter St. chattanoogamarket.com The Lion King Jr. 2:30 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Center 400 River St. (423) 267-8534 theatrecentre.com Weekend Ecotherapy Conference 7 p.m.

Reflections Riding Arboretum 400 Garden Rd. (423) 503-2318 reflectionriding.org Jerry “Critter” Harvey 7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com

MONDAY11.4 Into to Dance 9 a.m.

Chattanooga State 4501 Amnicola Hwy. (423) 697-4400 chattanoogastate.edy Teen/Adult Dance Class 5 p.m.

Chattanooga Theatre Centre 400 River St. (423) 267-5834

theatrecentre.com Autumn Belly Dance Session 5:45 p.m.

Movement Arts Collective 3813 Dayton Blvd.

(423) 401-8115 movementartscollective.com Historian Peter Star 6 p.m.

The Chattanooga Public Library 1001 Broad St. (423) 643-7700 chattlibrary.org Intermediate Tarot 6 p.m.

The Chattery at Chattanooga WorkSpace 302 W. 6th St. (423) 521-2643 thechattery.org Relief Printing: Holiday Card Edition 6 p.m.

The Chattery at Chattanooga WorkSpace 302 W. 6th St. (423) 521-2643 thechattery.org Joggers & Lagers 6 p.m.

Chattanooga Brewing Co. 1804 Chestnut St. (423) 702-9958 chattabrew.com Jewelry Trunk Show with Tracee Nichols 6:30 p.m.

Michelle Workman Home 100A McFarland Rd. (423) 437-9000 michelleworkman.com Christmas Jars 7 p.m.

AMC Chattanooga 18 (423) 855-9652 5080 South Terrace fathomevents.com First Monday Improv Comedy 7:30 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave. (423) 624-5347 barkinglegs.org River City Dance Club 7:45 p.m.

Peace Strength Yoga 3800 St. Elmo Ave. (813) 731-9581 rivercitydanceclub.com Comedy Open Mic Night 9 p.m.

The Honest Pint

35 Patten Pkwy.

(423) 468-4192 thehonestpint.com

TUESDAY11.5 Chattanooga Self Improvement Meetup 8 a.m.

The Edney Innovation Center 1100 Market St. (423) 643-6770 theedney.com Chess K-night 5 p.m.

Mad Priest Coffee Roasters 1900 Broad St. (423) 393-3834 madpriestcoffee.com Keep Your Empty Nest 6 p.m.

The Chattery at Chattanooga WorkSpace 302 W. 6th St. (423) 521-2643 thechattery.org Tuesday Night Chess Club 6 p.m.

Downtown Library 1001 Broad St. (423) 643-7700 chattilibrary.com Paths to Pints 6:30 p.m.

The Tap House 3800 St. Elmo Ave. taphousechatt.com Open Mic Comedy 7 p.m.

Common General 3800 St. Elmo Ave. (423) 521-0065 Les Miserables 7 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. (423) 757-5580 tivolichattanogga.com Poetry, Pups & Pints 7:30 p.m.

Stone Cup Café 208 Frazier Ave. (423) 521-3977 stonecupcafe.com

WEDNESDAY11.6 Main Street Market 4 p.m.

522 W. Main St.

mainstfarmersmarket.com Debt Management 101 6 p.m.

Chattanooga WorkSpace 302 W. 6th St. (423) 521-2643 thechattery.org Using Calligraphy for Thanksgiving Place Cards 6 p.m.

Chattanooga WorkSpace 302 W. 6th St. (423) 521-2643 thechattery.org Artsperiences!

6 p.m.

Mad Knight Brewing Company 4015 Tennessee Ave. (423) 825-6504 madknightbrewing.com November Nights: Paperclay Moon Ornaments 6:30 p.m.

Chattanooga WorkSpace 302 W. 6th St. (423) 521-2643 thechattery.org Les Miserables 7 p.m.

Tivoli Theatre 709 Broad St. (423) 757-5580 tivolichattanogga.com Open Mic Night 7:30 p.m.

The Comedy Catch 1400 Market St. (423) 629-2233 thecomedycatch.com Naughty Knights Chess Meetup 7:30 p.m.

The Bitter Alibi 825 Houston St. (423) 362-5070 thebitteralibi.com The Funeral Portrait 8 p.m.

The Spot of Chattanooga 1800 E. Main St. (423) 803-5744 facebook.com/1800EMain Open Mic Comedy 8 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com Map these locations on chattanoogapulse.com. Send event listings at least 10 days in advance to: calendar@chattanoogapulse.com CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • THE PULSE • 13

For All Your Global Spice Needs Kitchen Spices brings the world home to Chattanooga

F

inding all the ingredients for your favorite Indian or Middle Eastern recipes used to mean picking through the overpriced and poorly-stocked international foods section of your local supermarket, taking a trip to Atlanta, or driving around town to a dozen different places trying to find curry leaves or za’atar spice.

Over the last couple of years, a few specialty markets have popped up around the city, but for the best selection, lowest prices, and an extremely helpful staff, Kitchen Spices Indian, Asian, and Mediterranean Grocery at 7601 East Brainerd Rd., Ste. 102 is a one-stop shop for any Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern, or Mediterranean ingredients you may need.

Owner Bencily George opened the family run market more than 5 years ago after having been a part of the Chattanooga community for more than 30 years. Bencily wanted to bring the best flavors of India, Asia, and the Middle East to Chattanooga’s home and professional cooks with an affordable, neighborhood market.

One look around the well-stocked shelves and carefully curated selection of items from not just India and the Middle East, but also Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and across the Mediterranean as well, tells you this seemingly small store has a lot to offer.

I first discovered Kitchen Spices about a year ago when I was on the hunt for fresh coconuts in October—

not the ideal time to be searching for whole coconuts in Chattanooga.

After visiting several local specialty markets and finding only empty bins and stale coconuts I stumbled on Kitchen Spices' East Brainerd road store.

“When you need variety, service, and great prices on international foods, Kitchen Spices Indian, Asian, and Mediterranean Grocery should be your first stop, every time.”

Bencily greeted me with a smile and not only had beautiful, fresh coconuts, he coached me on the proper technique for picking out the meatiest and freshest ones—a skill I still use to this day. Coconuts in hand, I decided to browse the store and found a pantry-bulging selection of prepared foods, ready-to-eat foods, produce, teas, and a gamechanging collection of spices.

Indian food is known for its use of spices, so it should be no surprise that a place called “Kitchen Spices” would have an enormous selection.

14 • THE PULSE • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

But the real difference is in the price.

For most spices, you can walk away with a large bag for the same price or cheaper than one of those tiny supermarket jars.

Cumin, coriander, star anise, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and a dizzying array of spice mixes such as biryani, tandoori, and various masalas line the shelves at prices that will make you feel like Marco Polo returning from the Malabar Coast.

Turning from the spices I began to notice the incredible variety of products on this first aisle alone. Bags of various dals (lentils and other pulses), delicious SE Asian noodles, jars of olives and pickled vegetables cried out for me to take them home.

Staples like palm sugar and jaggary sit alongside coveted cooking oils such as grapeseed and mustard and of course, there is plenty of ghee—but then I pushed my cart around the corner and saw the produce.

Twice a week, Kitchen Spices gets deliveries of beautiful produce, both staples, such as tomatoes, eggplant,

peppers, and okra, along with harder to find items like imported chilies, curry leaves, fresh turmeric, and of course, coconuts.

But once again, the prices were what caught my eye. Bencily told me that his products, especially the produce, are the best prices in town and I have to agree. I loaded up on enough okra and fresh turmeric to freeze and last for months for a fraction of what I would pay at any chain supermarket.

As I made my way past the coolers and freezers I couldn’t help but notice the kingfish, mackerel, and anchovies imported from Kerala but decided on a nice Brazilian red snapper for dinner along with some of the soft roti, naan, and pita breads you can pick up beside the counter.

When you need variety, service, and great prices on international foods, Kitchen Spices Indian, Asian, and Mediterranean Grocery should be your first stop, every time.

Contact them at (423) 551-4999 or (423) 277-8434.

— Mike McJunkin

HALLOWEEN GUIDE

The Amazing Ocoee River Maze

By Mackenzie Wagamon Nestled on the banks of Ocoee lies a must-see seasonal event. The River Maze is a family-friendly Halloween attraction that boasts extraordinary mazes and fall fun for everyone.

The River Maze is owned and operated by Joe and Dianne Fetzer and is a product of Birchland Ocoee Farms.

The attraction has been entertaining and amazing people in Chattanooga and Cleveland for 14 years. The shining jewel of the River Maze is their giant creative corn maze.

This year their famous corn maze is inspired by their first maze from 2005. Their theme this year is “Where the river flows, and memories grow!” The paths in the maze will mimic rivers in Tennessee, the state flag, a raccoon, a mockingbird, and an iris. Guests can also enjoy the “Mystery at the River Maze”, a scavenger

hunt where you can find clues while traversing the maze.

While the corn maze is the shining jewel of Ocoee, they have many more festivities and mazes. There is the “Soybean Maze”, the “Jumping Maze”, the “No Left Turn Maze”, and the “Spookily Speaks Out Against Bullying Maze”. They also have two escape rooms, a pumpkin patch, hayrides, slides, a cow

train, and many more attractions.

The Ocoee River Maze is a great place to relax, have fun, and celebrate the fall season. People of all ages are welcome, so if you enjoy traditional autumn activities, this is the place for you. The River Maze also caters to large groups or field trips.

Make sure you don’t miss out on this fantastic corn-themed seasonal event. The River Maze will be open this last weekend of October on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Tickets cost $11.90 per person and can be bought at their venue located at 1371 Hwy. 64.

For more information, go to their website therivermaze.com or email them at rivermazeocoee@gmail. com. You can also call (423) 650-0710 or (423) 650-7224.

Acres And Acres Of Darkness

By Lauren Justice End the Halloween season on a spooky high note with your family at Acres of Darkness this weekend.

Acres of Darkness has been making families happy for a few years now, and this year will be filled with all the horror and kid-friendly activities you could ask for.

Kids can enjoy face painting, pumpkin decorating, inflatables, and other activities that won’t include blood, gore, or jump scares. Just pure Halloween fun. There is also the Kiddie Trail where they can get lost then and find their way out again as many times as they want to.

The hay ride is a family favorite, taking you through the trails of Chattanooga Audubon Acres. Families get the chance to experience the wildlife conservatory at night, an opportunity that only comes around once a year. Hay rides are a long-time tradition to surround yourself with the ambiance of autumn.

They haven’t left out the scary bits of Halloween.

The brave can enter the Haunted Forest Trail for the thrill of the season. You’re sure to jump and scream your way through until the end. The actors waste no time preparing their costumes and makeup, and of course rehearsing the best ways to scare those who enter. No flashlights allowed.

Every year they come back scarier than ever, and the children have more to look forward to. After all, Halloween is all about the kids, but for all you adults filled with the Halloween spirit, this is the place for you.

Since the event is family friendly, save the drinking for another occasion and have a nice time with your loved ones. Acres of Darkness is a place where all ages can feel like kids again, so come visit on November 1–2 for the most cheerfully chilling evening of the year.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • THE PULSE • 15

THE MUSIC SCENE

Celebrating Homespun Folk Excellence Stringer’s Ridge delights with new album

Ain't No Party Like A DKB Party Chattanooga’s indie art house, the Palace Theater, is hosting local favorite The Dylan Kussman Band (The DKB) this Saturday for a night of mayhem.

This blues, rock, funk hybrid will be dressed up in the spirit of Halloween for the Costume Bash. You, too, should come dressed to kill.

Arriving in costume gives the blessing of an $8 entry fee.

“We’re very excited to do some Halloweenthemed covers,” Kussman said. “We’ve got some creepy songs lined up.”

So get your “Monster-Mash” lovin’ heart ready, because the concert promises to be the ultimate Halloween party.

The DKB plays original songs and is inspired by Lou Reed, Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers, Buttercup, Ryegrass, Demitasse, Los Lobos, and Otis Redding. Their music is meant to “get you dancing and sing along with,” as Kussman put it.

Kussman is an engaging storyteller ready to end the spooky season on a scary note, so you won’t want to miss this night.

Leave the candy corn home with Maw and Paw and come ready to sing along, dance, and have a blast. Doors open at 8 p.m.

— Lauren Justice

By Marc T. Michael Pulse Music Editor

“

Since their debut, the band has firmly established themselves as a beloved favorite in the local scene.”

16 • THE PULSE • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

Y

OU MAY NOT KNOW IT YET, BUT ONE OF THE FINest traditional Irish fiddle players in the land has made Chattanooga his home. His name is Tom Morley. Tom, along with his wife Fran and band mate Bryant Haynes, make up the folk trio Stringer’s Ridge and their album, Handmade, is available now.

It is, without a doubt, one of the finest folk albums the area has produced and the fact that Tom, Fran, and Bryant are all readily accessible and happy to sit down with a beer and chat is just so much icing on the cake.

Tom was an especially busy man in the ‘80s and early ‘90s working as a hired gun for various artists, in-

cluding a five-year stint touring and recording with country music legend John Anderson. Morley has a gold record on his wall from that adventure.

It was in 2017, while teaching at the John C. Campbell Folk School, that Tom and his wife Fran made the acquaintance of Bryant at New Year’s Eve party. Three months later,

“

It is a given that a pro musician can play with anyone, but there is a rare and wonderful thing that happens when the right musicians meet.”

Stringer’s Ridge played their first public show at Fiddlers Anonymous here in Red Bank.

In the relatively short time since their debut, the band has firmly established themselves as a beloved favorite in the local scene, particularly among folk enthusiasts, to the point that they have become regulars on the festival circuit and secured a regular rotating gig at the Honest Pint’s “Irish Saturday Nights” series.

With the release of their first album, Stringer’s Ridge cements their place in the pantheon of local music icons.

Featuring Tom on fiddle, mandolin and vocals, Fran on bodhran and other percussion, and Bryant on guitar, vocals, and podorythmie (rhythmic foot percussion, look it up), the trio demonstrates just how big a sound a talented three-piece can create.

The fluidity with which they exchange parts in the music will leave you convinced they’ve been playing together for 34 years, not 34 months.

It speaks both to their talent as individual musicians and to the ineffable connection they shared almost immediately.

At the risk of heading too far into left field, it is a given that a pro musician can play with anyone, any time, but there is a rare and wonderful thing that happens when the right musicians meet.

There is an almost spooky level of simpatico where it seems like players anticipate each other’s moves before they make them, as though they are communicating on a whole other level than the audience can glean. Stringer’s Ridge has that sort of simpatico.

Ringing at a healthy twelve tracks, Handmade features

a nicely curated collection of traditional Irish and Scots tunes, as well as some classic American fare.

For Stringer’s Ridge, it’s a short trip from the “Cliffs of Moher” to “Shady Grove”, from the “Pikeman’s March” to “the Bus Stop Reel”.

Mostly instrumental, the album does feature some vocals (“Drill Ye Tarriers”, “Shady Grove”, et al.) that prove the band’s pipes are as adept as their fingers.

The release party for the album at WanderLinger has been postponed due to a nasty injury Tom received recently, but will be rescheduled. In the meantime, you can pick up a copy at Fiddlers Anonymous in Red Bank.

A masterfully performed album with the right degree of variety, Handmade is destined to be a favorite of folk lovers everywhere.

Pipes, Fiddles, And Brews The Honest Pint is upping its Celtic music game with the introduction of a regularly rotating schedule of Saturday night performances by some perennial favorites. Best of all, there’s no cover charge, with music running from 9 to 11 p.m. every Saturday.

The Pint kicks it off in style this Saturday with the muchloved Secret Commonwealth out of Murfreesboro. Known for their high energy and wicked humor, The Secret Commonwealth is one of the oldest, best known, and most respected Celtic acts in the region.

Truth to tell, the Secret Commonwealth inspired and paved the way for more than a few other well-known local Celtic acts. To see them locally—and for no cover to boot—is a treat no Celtic music lover will want to miss.

Other acts to be featured in the upcoming Saturday night series includes the always rollicking Wolfhounds, the rapidly rising and highly respected Stringer’s Ridge, and the very hard to kill Molly Maguires.

Come kick off this great new series with The Secret Commonwealth this Saturday at 9 p.m. It’s the most fun you can have this side of Paddy’s Day. — MTM

THU10.31

FRI11.1

SAT11.2

Hang Brains Halloween Party

Voodoo Slim

Fall Into Goth

Who says Halloween has to be over? Certainly not the folks at Bud's as they keep the celebrating going all weekend long!

10 p.m.

Bud’s Sports Bar 5751 Brainerd Rd. budssportsbar.com

Wear your blackest black for Chattanooga's first goth dance party and keep the spirits moving with DJ Synaptic Flow.

9 p.m.

Music Box @ Ziggy’s 607 Cherokee Blvd. ziggysbarandgrill.net

Celebrate Halloween with Danimal and lots of his spooky friends. Tricks and musical treats!

8 p.m.

WanderLinger Brewing Co. 1208 King St. wanderlinger.com

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • THE PULSE • 17

LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR THURSDAY10.31 David Anthony & Paul Stone 6 p.m.

The Palms at Hamilton 6925 Shallowford Rd. thepalmsathamilton.com Ryan Oyer 6:30 p.m.

Westin Dorato Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Toby Hewitt 7 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St. backstagechattanooga.com Ariel Omarzu 7 p.m.

Cambridge Square 9453 Bradmore Ln. cambridgesquaretn.com The Barbaric Yawps 7 p.m.

The FEED Co. Table and Tavern 201 W. Main St. feedtableandtavern.com Hellmouth 7 p.m.

Frequency Arts 516 Tremont St. facebook.com/frequencyarts Naomi Ingram 7:30 p.m.

Westin Alchemy Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Songwriters Comp and Costume Contest 7:30 p.m.

Gate 11 Distillery 1400 Market St. gate11distillery.com Jesse Jungkurth & Friends 7:30 p.m.

Mexi-Wing VII 5773 Brainerd Rd. (423) 296-1073 Mark Andrew 8 p.m.

The Social 1110 Market St. publichousechattanooga.com Hang Brains Halloween Party with Danimal!

8 p.m.

WanderLinger Brewing Co. 1208 King St. wanderlinger.com Pink Spiders, Step Sisters, Behold the Brave

18 • THE PULSE • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM

9 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com Lenox Hills with Okey Dokey 9 p.m.

Songbirds South 41 Station St. songbirdsguitars.co Open Mic Night with Jonathan Wimpee 9 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com

FRIDAY11.1 Noontunes: Lori Button Noon Miller Park 928 Market St. millerparkplaza.com Gino Fanelli & The Jalopy Brothers 6 p.m.

Edley’s Bar-B-Que 205 Manufacturers Rd. edleysbbq.com Songbirds Foundation Benefit Show with Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley 6 p.m.

Songbirds North 35 Station St. songbirdsguitars.co Maria Sable 6:30 p.m.

Westin Dorato Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Songwriter Night 7 p.m.

Bluegrass Grill 55 E. Main St. bluegrassgrillchattanooga.com CC Duo 7 p.m.

The Tap House 3800 St. Elmo Ave. taphousechatt.com Chattanooga Song Circle 7 p.m.

Pax Breu Ruim 516 E. Main St. (423) 648-4677 Flattop Boxers 7:30 p.m.

Westin Alchemy Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com

River City Sessions 7:30 p.m.

UTC Fine Arts Center 752 Vine St. utc.edu/fine-arts-center Thomas Csorba 8 p.m.

The Woodshop 5500 St. Elmo Ave. thewoodshop.space Behold the Brave 8 p.m.

The FEED Co. Table and Tavern 201 W. Main St. feedtableandtavern.com Travers Brothership 8 p.m.

WanderLinger Brewing Co. 1208 King St. wanderlinger.com Ayla Sylver 8:30 p.m.

Puckett’s Restaurant 2 W. Aquarium Way puckettsgro.com Oweda 9 p.m.

HiFi Clyde’s 122 W. Main St. hificlydeschattanooga.com 10,000 DAYS: Tribute To Tool 9 p.m.

Songbirds South 41 Station St. songbirdsguitars.co Cosmic Shift, The Other Brothers 9 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com Free Hat 10 p.m.

Public House 1110 Market St. publichousechattanooga.com Voodoo Slim 10 p.m.

Bud’s Sports Bar 5751 Brainerd Rd. budssportsbar.com

SATURDAY11.2 Danimal 10:30 a.m.

Flying Squirrel Bar 55 Johnson St. flyingsquirrelbar.com Hospice Benefit Event with Rick Rushing

6 p.m.

WanderLinger Brewing Co. 1208 King St. wanderlinger.com Courtney Holder 6:30 p.m.

Westin Dorato Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com The Last Band 7 p.m.

Songbirds North 35 Station St. songbirdsguitars.co The Briars 7:30 p.m.

Westin Alchemy Bar 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com Randy Houser 8 p.m.

Tivoli Theater 709 Broad St. tivolichattanooga.com Marty Manus Birthday Bash 8 p.m.

Trish’s Sports Bar 4762 Highway 58 (423) 269-8400 The Dylan Kussman Band Costume Bash 8 p.m.

Palace Theater 818 Georgia Ave. chattpalace.com Kathryn O’Shea & Christina Chandler 8 p.m.

Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse 105 McBrien Rd. christunity.org Arlo Gilliam and Hannah Goldstein 8:30 p.m.

Puckett’s Restaurant 2 W. Aquarium Way puckettsgro.com Secret Commonwealth 9 p.m.

The Honest Pint 35 Patten Pkwy. thehonestpint.com Nirvanna: A Tribute to Nirvana with Stoned Cold Fox 9 p.m.

Songbirds South 41 Station St. songbirdsguitars.co Josiah & the Greater Good 9 p.m.

HiFi Clyde’s 122 W. Main St.

Randy Houser hificlydeschattanooga.com Fall Into Goth 9 p.m.

Music Box @ Ziggy’s 607 Cherokee Blvd. ziggysbarandgrill.net Dan Deacon, Psychic Dungeon, Shakey’s Bad Knee 9 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com Voodoo Slim 10 p.m.

Bud’s Sports Bar 5751 Brainerd Rd. budssportsbar.com

SUNDAY11.3 Ben Stephens 11 a.m.

Flying Squirrel Bar 55 Johnson St. flyingsquirrelbar.com Mark Andrew 11 a.m.

The Edwin Hotel 102 Walnut St. theedwinhotel.com Carl Pemberton 11 a.m.

Westin Chattanooga 801 Pine St. westinchattanooga.com My Name Is Preston Noon Southside Social 1818 Chestnut St.

thesouthsidesocial.com Danimal and Friends 12:30 p.m.

The Feed Co. Table & Tavern 201 W. Main St. feedtableandtavern.com Nikki Michelle and The Cosmic Collective 1:30 p.m.

Flying Squirrel Bar 55 Johnson St. flyingsquirrelbar.com The Other Brothers 2 p.m.

WanderLinger Brewing Co. 1208 King St. wanderlinger.com Slow Fuse Blues 2 p.m.

Naked River Brewing Company 1791 Reggie White Blvd. nakedriverbrewing.com

MONDAY11.4 Open Air with Jessica Nunn 6 p.m.

The Granfalloon 400 E. Main St. granfalloonchattanooga.com Monday Nite Big Band 7 p.m.

The Coconut Room 6925 Shallowford Rd. thepalmsathamilton.com Blues Night Open Jam 7 p.m.

Songbirds South 41 Station St.

songbirdsguitars.co Very Open Mic with Shawnessey Cargile 8 p.m.

The Well 1800 Rossville Blvd. #8 wellonthesouthside.com Lacing, Wolves Asleep, All Your Sisters 9 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com

TUESDAY11.5 Acoustic Bohemian Night 6:30 p.m.

Mexi-Wing IX 6925 Shallowford Rd. mexiwingix.business.site REI Member Jam 6:30 p.m.

The Tap House 3800 St. Elmo Ave. taphousechatt.com Danimal 7 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St. backstagechattanooga.com Space Jam Open Mic 7 p.m.

Barley Taproom 235 E. MLK Blvd. chattanoogabarley.com Open Mic Night 7 p.m.

The Bicycle Bar

45 E. Main St. facebook.com/TheBicycleBar Double Bass Concert: Xavier Foley 7:30 p.m.

Ackerman Auditorium 4881 Taylor Cir. southern.edu Pickin’ N Pints 7:30 p.m.

WanderLinger Brewing Co. 1208 King St. wanderlinger.com Open Mic with Mike McDade 8 p.m.

Tremont Tavern 1203 Hixson Pike tremonttavern.com Ona, Mo Lowda 9 p.m.

JJ’s Bohemia 231 E. MLK Blvd. jjsbohemia.com

WEDNESDAY11.6 Jesse James Jungkurth 7 p.m.

Backstage Bar 29 Station St. backstagechattanooga.com Alan Wyatt Quartet 7 p.m.

Barking Legs Theater 1307 Dodds Ave. barkinglegs.org Open Mic & Jam Night 7 p.m.

WanderLinger Brewing Co. 1208 King St. wanderlinger.com Randall Adams 8 p.m.

The Office @ City Cafe 901 Carter St. citycafemenu.com Priscilla & Little Rickee 8 p.m.

Las Margaritas 1101 Hixson Pike (423) 756-3332 The Funeral Portrait 8 p.m.

The Spot of Chattanooga 1800 E. Main St. facebook.com/1800EMain Rosedale Remedy 9 p.m.

The Palms at Hamilton 6925 Shallowford Rd. thepalmsathamilton.com CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • THE PULSE • 19

ERNIE PAIK’S RECORD REVIEWS

New Music From Lacing, Jaimie Branch

Lacing Without (Elder Magick)

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here are several different levels on which to appreciate the Chattanooga quartet Lacing’s second album, Without, and as the listener becomes more familiar with it, they may find ways to connect with it that may be entirely unexpected.

It’s a complicated stew with varied approaches, ostensibly using heavy shoegaze as a baseline style but pushing into different directions.

Sound lovers who aren’t noise-averse may find themselves wondering how they made these sounds, particularly from the effects-laden guitar assault of Joseph Davenport and Robert Parker, going beyond presets and obvious treatments.

Then there’s the melodic level, where tracks like “92” offer tasty pop progressions, reminiscent of the band Moose, among polished screeching noise so the listener doesn’t get too comfortable.

Another notable feature is the feeling of power, as if these songs can’t be stopped once they get started, propelled by the thundering, potent rhythm section of

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Jaimie Branch Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise (International Anthem) bassist Joseph J. Micolo III and drummer Jerry Reed.

For example, “Violet” demands that you slow down to its own pace and even carries you with its hefty waves of sound; some of its tones warble slightly, depicting unease and perhaps human imperfection.

Right when you think it’s going to end, it unleashes its most potent, sludgy chugging, pounding away and driving toward its cataclysmic conclusion; one can bathe in its sounds, both soothing and demanding like a deep tissue massage from musclebound nurses.

Although Davenport’s words are often difficult to discern, there’s another aspect to Without to put it in context, and that’s the emotional aspect; Davenport has expressed that the majority of the album deals with his childhood emotional trauma due to a physically abusive father.

The album ends strongly, with “Regret”, a delirious, swift cacophony with Davenport’s floating vocals and the fury of hardcore, while

“Flower” is a cleansing catharsis, with a slow and weighty head-nod-inducing burn. The final infinite track (which is truly infinite on the vinyl version, since it uses a locked-groove ending) is a phantasmagorical loop, a dizzying merry-go-round to conclude a sonically and emotionally tumultuous album.

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ne prominent development on trumpeter Jaimie Branch’s second album as a bandleader, Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise, is her new use of vocals on a few songs, and she doesn’t timidly dip her toes into the water—she comes out swinging, undoubtedly fueled by the current political climate.

On “Prayer for Amerikkka Pt. 1 & 2”, she spits barbs about “wide-eyed racists” and says, “This is a warning honey / They’re coming for you” before a charged, sustained yell. One might question this new development and wonder if the music solely should tell the story and set the mood; on that track, Jason Ajemian’s double bass and Lester St. Louis’s cello offer a slow amble, gradually building steam to become more explosive, while Branch alternates between her bright, piercing trumpet notes and her vocalizing.

It feels like Branch just needs to say something spontaneously, like shouting out to a pedestrian to get out of the way of a truck running a stoplight; it’s more of a release and an interjection

rather than poetry here.

Everything eventually whirls together in a feverish mix, with frantic bowing and percussionist Chad Taylor (of the Chicago Underground ensembles) offering his rousing, prickly momentum, and Branch’s trumpet melody resembles some Mexican/spaghetti western hybrid.

Although the album is framed with this verbalized discontent, ending with a smirking jazz-loungey “Love Song”—“for assholes and clowns” we are told, with no doubt regarding its target—it doesn’t dominate the mood.

A track like “Simple Silver Surfer” expresses an easygoing joy, with xylophone notes and a Caribbean vibe; it sports a simple melody, which Branch uses to ooze character with her loose and playful style.

After the sound of electronic calculations and rumblings, “Twenty-Three N Me, Jupiter Redux” throws the listener off balance with its odd 23-beat based time signature (as alluded to in the title) then hurtles down a bullet-train track, ending with arresting trumpet tones and metallic rattles.

“Nuevo Roquero Est Reo” features a groove that you don’t want to end, with Taylor’s propulsive, complicated Latin-influenced beat and Ajemian and St. Louis alternating their bass lines, providing a spirited bed for Branch to dance upon.

No sophomore slump after Branch’s impressive debut back in 2017, Fly or Die II articulates anger and joy with vitality and fierceness.

FILM & TELEVISION

The Story Of Rudy Ray Moore Eddie Murphy brings laughter to a creative time in film history

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NE THING CRITICS SOMETIMES FAIL TO APPREciate is just how hard it is to make a feature film.

Modern-day filmmaking, particularly for a Hollywood feature, requires thousands of people, each one working long hours, to create a piece of art. They are expensive, time consuming, complex media.

By John DeVore Pulse Film Editor

As critics, we often focus on two or three aspects of the film—the story, the acting, and the directing. Occasionally, we might mention the cinematography or the sound design, maybe even costume design, but rarely does a review go beyond these more obvious categories.

We notice when something is off, though. There’s nothing that makes a movie bad quite like poor technical construction. A boom mic floating at the top of a frame. Awkward cuts.

Strange angles. Out of focus scenes.

We’re used to capable filmmaking and unskilled filmmakers are usually

laughed out of a theater.

But there are some filmmakers that have been terrible at making films, but somehow manage to entertain. Tommy Wiseu. Neil Breen. And of course, the king of Blaxploitation comedy, Rudy Ray Moore.

Moore is different that both Wiseu and Breen, though. Moore knew he was making comedy. As absurd as his films are, he was always in on the joke.

Dolemite Is My Name, a new Netflix film starring Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore, tells his story with a surprising amount of heart and humor.

In what is likely his best role in years, Eddie Murphy brings a distinctly human quality to Moore, who isn’t well known in mainstream culture. In the

internet age, a lot of people will likely have seen clips online of Dolemite in meme form, but they don’t know anything about the man himself.

Moore was from Ft. Smith, Arkansas, but if the movie is to be believed, he left as quickly as he could to escape a life of abuse and poverty at the hands of his father. Moore was a prolific artist, if not an especially successful one.

He was a consummate entertainer.

He was a preacher, a singer, a dancer, an actor, and a comedian. The comedy is what led him to his first taste of success, after he developed a character based on stories he heard told by the local homeless.

Dolemite is an obscene, rhyming pimp who helps the community. Moore recorded several albums as Dolemite, although none of them could be carried in stores because of their content.

Moore made several cross country tours, playing to entirely black audiences in urban settings.

The money he made from his albums he invested into his first feature film,

Dolemite, which is generally regarded as one of the best Blaxploitation films of the ‘70s.

He made two sequels, The Human Tornado and The Monkey Hustle, as well as a new film featuring a different character, Petey Wheatstraw: The Devil’s Son-in-Law. All of his films are strange, funny, and not particularly well made. But Moore’s legacy is undeniable. He’s known as the Godfather of Rap, thanks to his strange rhyming speech style, and the modern conception of an urban pimp comes directly from Dolemite.

The film itself, while as profane as the source material, is surprisingly uplifting. Murphy is as engaging as ever in his portrayal of Moore. The film, written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (Ed Wood), clearly has a lot of respect for the characters and the story of these films.

Moore simply wanted to entertain people and enjoy the pleasures of fame, and he was willing to do almost anything to achieve those goals.

He tried to give his audience what he knew they wanted in a film—comedy, boobs, and kung fu. Film critics at the time blasted his films as terrible, but time proved him to be right about his audience.

Dolemite Is My Name isn’t likely to win any Academy Awards. It seems a little long and needs some work on pacing, but overall it’s enjoyable. It encourages you to seek out the original films. Chattanooga could use a Rudy Ray Moore film festival.

For now though, Netflix gives a glimpse into the man behind the pimp, and it’s definitely worth your time, especially for anyone with an interest in film history.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • THE PULSE • 21

FOOD & DRINK · SUSHI & BISCUITS

Down With Noodle Dumplings The humble history behind the Southern chicken favorite

Mike McJunkin Pulse columnist

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VERY YEAR, THE COLD WEATHER brings with it a conflict that pits brother against brother, mother against daughter, duck against dynasty. Families find themselves unexpectedly face-to-face with the culinary Other, thrust onto the front of a battle they did not volunteer for, a war they did not anticipate—a fight for the very heart of chicken and dumplings.

There’s no debate over the iconic status of Southern chicken and dumplings and there’s certainly no questioning the soul-hugging embrace you experience with every delicious bite. The conflict arises over the glutinous treasures floating in every bowl; the ying to this dish’s chicken yang; those delightful pockets of heaven that adorn this underrated star of Southern cuisine: the dumplings.

I was raised by a good Southern family that loved me and cared about the food that graced our dinner table, so of course, chicken and dumplings in our home were always made with fluffy, delectable, buttermilk drop dumplings.

I remember watching my grandmother’s weathered hands delicately pinch off pieces of slightly sticky, buttermilk dumpling dough and drop them into a simmering pot of spectacularly rich and aromatic chicken broth. Before

long, those bits of dough would rise to the top of the broth like edible clouds floating above the bosom of Abraham.

Each time I bit into one of those fluffy dumplings it was like experiencing my first kiss, a mother’s hug, and crawling into a box full of kittens all in one moment. Chicken and dumplings were a safe space where I could do a culinary trust fall and never have any doubt that those downy-light, buttermilk dumplings would catch me, hold me, and take care of me like none other.

But for hundreds of years before Southern cooks perfected the drop dumpling, chicken and dumpling makers rolled their dumpling dough into thick, gummy noodle-like rectangles that seemed to be spawned from the Devil himself in order to sow discord among otherwise peaceful dumpling eaters.

According to the earliest written recipes, these rolled, flat dumplings made from flour, suet (beef or mutton fat from around the loins and kidneys), water and salt were the norm in European cooking from the early 1600’s until the late 1800’s. Other early variations wrapped a crude suet pastry dough around boiled meat, folded it into a small, calzone-shaped pie which was then wrapped inside of a thick cloth and boiled.

It wasn’t until the late 19th century, however, that the magical union between chicken and dumpling began to materialize on the tables of both humble, working-class folks and people of means. Keep in mind that chicken didn’t become a cheap “commodity” food until the middle of the last century. Prior to that, most Americans raised chickens for eggs, so the animal itself

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was valuable and only eaten on rare occasions or by wealthier families who could afford the meat, which prior to the 1960s (when industrialized farming began on a large scale) was more expensive than most cuts of beef or even veal.

The idea that chicken and dumplings came out of the poverty and sustenance practices of the Civil War and Great Depression makes a good story, but it simply isn’t true. Chicken and dumplings have been enjoyed by Southerners from all walks of life in times of both feast and famine, with both rolled and drop dumplings duking it out for dumpling supremacy.

The conflicting origins from various regions, countries and cultures have left us with a variety of competing dumpling recipes, as well as a hodgepodge of recipes for the full dish. Some dumpling recipes call for herbs to be added to the dough, some use water or plain milk rather than buttermilk; some recipes use baked chicken thighs

and breasts as the base for the broth while others start with a whole chicken, including the head and feet. There are even recipes that confuse chicken and dumplings with chicken pot pie and include carrots, peas and celery (I’m looking at you, “Pioneer” Woman).

In spite of my own personal preferences for how chicken and dumplings should be made, I must admit there is no one “true” recipe for Southern chicken and dumplings. The battle that rages inside of me every winter is one I will have to wage quietly, and internally to keep peace between the flat dumpling eaters in my extended family, and the fluffy, buttermilk drop dumpling eaters in my immediate family who keep the one true dumpling faith alive.

As for me and my house, we will serve drop dumplings, the way the Lord intended.

Mike McJunkin is a native Chattanoogan who has traveled abroad extensively, trained chefs, and owned and operated restaurants. Join him on Facebook at facebook.com/SushiAndBiscuits

JONESIN' CROSSWORD

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In his novel Zone One, Scorpio author Colson Whitehead writes, “A monster is a person who has stopped pretending.” He means it in the worst sense possible: the emergence of the ugly beast who had been hiding behind social niceties. But I’m going to twist his meme for my own purposes. I propose that when you stop pretending and shed fake politeness, you may indeed resemble an ugly monster—but only temporarily. After the suppressed stuff gets free rein to yammer, it will relax and recede—and you will feel so cleansed and relieved that you’ll naturally be able to express more of your monumental beauty. Halloween costume suggestion: your beautiful, fully exorcised monster.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “I am glad that I paid so little attention to good advice,” testified poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. “Had I abided by it, I might have been saved from some of my most valuable mistakes.” This is excellent advice for you. I suspect you’re in the midst of either committing or learning from a valuable mistake. It’s best if you don’t interrupt yourself! Halloween costume suggestion: the personification or embodiment of your valuable mistake.

“Nothing Is As It Themes”—themeless this time.

ACROSS 1 They may be moved higher to prevent stealing 11 Green beans, e.g.

15 Line from a permissive judge 16 Moving feature of a Jurassic Park pinball machine 17 Skype predecessor 18 Onetime “Fashion Emergency” host 19 Pandora releases 20 Like notation in some high school classes 22 Make equal 23 “Grand Ole Opry Live” channel, once 25 Filing material?

26 Manuscript enclosure, for short 28 Trickster god of African folklore 30 “George of the Jungle” creature 33 Yielded under pressure 35 Lucky Charms bit 37 World’s oldest active endurance car race 41 Saffron-and-rice dish 42 Concert add-on?

43 Patient observers, for short 44 Daughter of Cyrus and mother of Xerxes (hidden in LOS GATOS-SARATOGA) 46 Meal prep boxes 50 Kristen of the upcoming “Wonder Woman 1984” 51 X-___ large 53 Dance-drama of Japan 54 Bars and clubs, say 58 Czech Republic capital, to locals 60 “Largo al factotum,” e.g.

61 Too steep 63 Phrase 64 Like a field for horses, perhaps?

65 City that hosted the Winter Olympics 8 days after Elizabeth II took the throne 66 Sextant forerunners DOWN 1 Musk-making mammals 2 Rachel’s “The Favourite” costar

3 Radio staples 4 “When the Lights Go Down” critic Pauline 5 “___ on Jeopardy” (“Weird Al” Yankovic parody) 6 ‘70s prog rock supergroup, for short 7 Astronomer Kepler 8 Deserter status 9 Greet (the new year) 10 Stays away 11 Rigid 12 “Harry Potter” librarian ___ Pince 13 “Échame la Culpa” singer Lovato 14 Boardroom fixture?

21 Basement fixture 24 Athlete who once said “Labels are for filing. Labels are for clothing. Labels are not for people.”

27 Green New Deal concern, for short 29 “___ Life” (Peter Mayle book) 30 “13th” documentarian DuVernay 31 Cross product 32 Unsure syllables

34 Cafe designation 36 Stop on the TransSiberian Railway 37 1400, for legionnaires?

38 Record label for acts like Cocteau Twins and Bon Iver (and a year in the reign of Emperor Augustus) 39 “___ a real nowhere man” 40 Nurturing sort 45 Gothic arches 47 Riding with the meter running 48 “I’ve had it up ___!”

49 “___ back, tell a friend” (Eminem lyric) 50 Company that makes the Slip ‘N Slide and Frisbee 52 Earth Day setting 54 Its HQ is in Brussels 55 Mad moods 56 Word in a series of Larsson titles 57 Boba not found in tea 59 First Atlantic hurricane “R” name to be used twice 62 Con con

Copyright © 2019 Jonesin’ Crosswords. For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents perminute. Must be 18+ to call. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800-655-6548. Reference puzzle No. 960

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Cleopatra was an ancient Egyptian queen who ruled for 21 years. She was probably a Capricorn. All you need to know about her modern reputation is that Kim Kardashian portrayed her as a sultry seductress in a photo spread in a fashion magazine. But the facts are that Cleopatra was a well-educated, multilingual political leader with strategic cunning. Among her many skills were poetry, philosophy, and mathematics. I propose we make the REAL Cleopatra your role model. Now is an excellent time to correct people’s misunderstandings about you—and show people who you truly are. Halloween costume suggestion: your actual authentic self.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Around the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the eleventh sign of the zodiac, Aquarius, will be capable of strenuous feats; will have the power to achieve a success that surpasses past successes; will be authorized to attempt a brave act of transcendence that renders a long-standing limitation irrelevant. As for the eleven days and eleven hours before that magic hour, the eleventh sign of the zodiac will be smart to engage in fierce meditation and thorough preparation for the magic hour. And as for the eleven days and eleven hours afterward, the eleventh sign should expend all possible effort to capitalize on the semi-miraculous breakthrough.

Halloween costume suggestion: eleven.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Author Robert Musil made a surprising declaration: “A number of flawed individuals can often add up to a brilliant social unit.” I propose we make that one of your mottoes for the coming months. I think you have the potential to be a flawed but inspiring individual who’ll serve as a dynamic force in assembling and nurturing a brilliant social unit. So let me ask you: what would be your dream-come-true of a brilliant social unit that is a fertile influence on you and everyone else in the unit? Halloween costume suggestion: ringleader, mastermind, orchestrator, or general.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Do you have any skill in fulfilling the wishes and answering the prayers of your allies? Have you developed a capacity to tune in to what people want even when they themselves aren’t sure of what they want? Do you sometimes have a knack for offering just the right gesture at the right time to help people do what they haven’t been able to do under their own power? If you possess any of those aptitudes, now is an excellent time to put them in play.

More than usual, you are needed as a catalyst, a transformer, an inspirational influence. Halloween costume suggestion: angel, fairy godmother, genie, benefactor.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Author Amy Tan describes the magic moment when her muse appears and takes command: “I sense a subtle shift, a nudge to move over, and everything cracks open, the writing is freed, the language is full, resources are plentiful, ideas pour forth, and to be frank, some of these ideas surprise me. It seems as though the universe is my friend and is helping me write, its hand over mine.” Even if you’re not a creative artist, Taurus, I suspect you’ll be offered intense visitations from a muse in the coming days. If you make yourself alert for and receptive to these potential blessings, you’ll feel like you’re being guided and fueled by a higher power. Halloween costume suggestion: your muse.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): More than a century ago, author Anton Chekhov wrote, “If many remedies are prescribed for an illness, you may be certain that the illness has no cure.” Decades later, I wrote, “If you’re frantically trying to heal yourself with a random flurry of half-assed remedies, you’ll never cure what ails you. But if you sit still in a safe place and ask your inner genius to identify the one or two things you need to do to heal, you will find the cure.” Halloween costume suggestion: physician, nurse, shaman, healer.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Can-

cerian artist Marc Chagall (1887– 1985) was a playful visionary and a pioneer of modernism. He appealed to sophisticates despite being described as a dreamy, eccentric outsider who invented his own visual language. In the 1950s, Picasso observed that Chagall was one of the only painters who “understood what color really is.” In 2017, one of Chagall’s paintings sold for $28.5 million. What was the secret to his success? “If I create from the heart, nearly everything works,” he testified. “If from the head, almost nothing.”Your current assignment, Cancerian, is to authorize your heart to rule everything you do. Halloween costume suggestion: a heart.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The Dead Sea, on the border of Jordan and Israel, is far saltier than the ocean.

No fish or frogs live in it. But here and there on the lake’s bottom are springs that exude fresh water.

They support large, diverse communities of microbes. It’s hard for divers to get down there and study the life forms, though. The water’s so saline, they tend to float. So they carry 90 pounds of ballast that enables them to sink to the sea floor.

I urge you to get inspired by all this, Leo. What would be the metaphorical equivalent for you of descending into the lower depths so as to research unexplored sources of vitality and excitement? Halloween costume suggestions: diver, spelunker, archaeologist.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “We have stripped all things of their mystery and luminosity,” lamented psychologist Carl Jung. “Nothing is holy any longer.” In accordance with current astrological omens, Virgo, your assignment is to rebel against that mournful state of affairs. I hope you will devote some of your fine intelligence to restoring mystery and luminosity to the world in which you dwell. I hope you will find and create holiness that’s worthy of your reverence and awe. Halloween costume suggestion: mage, priestess, poet, enchantrix, witch, alchemist, sacramentalist.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “One language is never enough,” says a Pashto proverb. How could it be, right? Each language has a specific structure and a finite vocabulary that limit its power to describe and understand the world. I think the same is true for religion: one is never enough. Why confine yourself to a single set of theories about spiritual matters when more will enable you to enlarge and deepen your perspective? With this in mind, Libra, I invite you to regard November as “One Is Never Enough Month” for you. Assume you need more of everything. Halloween costume suggestion: a bilingual Jewish Santa Claus; a pagan Sufi Buddha who intones prayers in three different languages.

CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • OCTOBER 31, 2019 • THE PULSE • 23