On Sunday, June 14th, a police officer shot and killed a 1-year-old. In what was initially reported as a theft gone wrong, law enforcement officers in Senatobia, Mississippi, say they received a shoplifting call from the Walmart on Highway 51, where police pursued two women, one with a baby, as they allegedly fled to their vehicle after stealing diapers. It seems the women got into the car — the mother holding her son in the front passenger seat — and the driver attempted to leave the scene. An officer fired shots into the car. The baby, Kohen Wiley, died.
Many opinions and theories have surfaced online: They say the driver was the one who stole the diapers. But no, there was a receipt; nothing was stolen. The vehicle rammed parked cars as it left the scene, maybe. The driver may or may not have had the wheel turned toward police. The child should have been put safely in a car seat during the ordeal, other moms think. The officer fired shots as the alleged perpetrators drove away; the car wasn’t coming toward them, some say.
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We do know the “perpetrators” left Walmart and drove to a nearby hospital where the 1-year-old, who had been shot in the rib cage, was pronounced dead. In the days since, that Walmart has closed and reopened as the community has demonstrated outside the building. Police have deployed tear gas on protesters there. While the shooting officer’s name had not been formally released at press time, local news organizations have independently confirmed it to be Hunter Foster, who, by some accounts, has a checkered past in law enforcement. An unnamed Mississippi officer was reportedly put on leave following the incident.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety said in a preliminary statement, “Upon arrival, officers encountered two subjects and a juvenile child fleeing from the store into a vehicle. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. An officer then discharged their weapon and the vehicle fled the scene.”
Many questions should be answered with the release of body cam footage. Walmart security cameras (inside and out) should provide video from many angles of what took place that day. Was there a receipt? Why didn’t they stop and talk to the officers? None of that matters. Deadly force isn’t necessary in a typical shoplifting situation. The officers confirmed in their own statement that they had seen the “juvenile” — they knew a baby was in that car. The way these small towns operate, we may never see the footage. But I don’t have to. If diapers were stolen, they were needed. A cop shot and killed a baby. Period.
Senatobia is about a 40-minute drive from Memphis. I spent a couple years attending community college there, tried the absolute worst Chinese buffet I’ve ever encountered there, and stopped in that exact Walmart many times. And having spent a good bit of time in these types of small towns growing up in the Mississippi Delta, what happened here is a sign of the ingrained racism these places cannot seem to escape. A white cop sees Black women (in this instance) and assumes they’re criminals. (Or simply doesn’t care.) Shoot first. Kill, kill, kill.
I’m angry. There’s so much hate in this world that there are actually people defending the cop who murdered a baby. The very same “Don’t Tread on Me” flagwaving, “abortion is killing babies” pro-lifers are saying the most ignorant things a person could say in this situation, about the mother, placing blame. You understand this young grieving mother may see these words? Your savior would be so proud.
Read a handful of these social media comments and know: We of sane mind still have a lot of work to do. All errors belong to the commenters.
“So if you bring your baby when you’re going to steal you should get away with it?”
“Well it all wouldn’t have happened if they would have complied wit the law an not try to run. An the mother is the reason ger baby is dead. She shouldn’t have held the baby up to protect her self”
“Didn’t try stealing any work boots.”
“COMPLY ITS SIMPLE”
“Im sure they started a go fund me even though the family was at fault”
“Did the interview in a bonnet and tank top … In a car and didn’t shed one tear”
I shed tears knowing there are people who think this way, who look for reasons to justify evil, who have hate in their hearts.
A baby is dead at the hands of a cop. Do we let this rampant abuse of power continue?
We’ve let the CEOs and the Elons and the Task Forces take over everything else. Are you paying attention? Are you mad enough yet?
Shara Clark shara@memphisflyer.com
MEM ernet THE fly-by
{WEEK THAT WAS
By Flyer staff
Memphis on the internet.
NEWSPAPER DEMO
Mixed reactions swirled the MEMernet last week as demolition began on the former Commercial Appeal building at 495 Union. It was the end of an era for Memphis and the newspaper, but it was the beginning of something wonderful for Regional One Health: a reminder of the $51 million spent to retro t the building as a 400-bed Covid hospital that never treated a single patient.
RESTAURANT SALES
You can buy anything on Facebook Marketplace, even whole restaurants. e old Belly Acres in Collierville is up for $275,000. e old El Toro Loco at Kirby can be yours for $100,000.
MPD AT WORLD CUP
“From Beale Street to the World Cup, Memphis Mounted Patrol is ready to ride!” reads an X post from the Memphis Police Department. “Next week, the Memphis Police Department’s Mounted Patrol Unit will travel to Atlanta, Georgia, to support FIFA World Cup operations.”
Questions, Answers + Attitude
Edited by Toby Sells
Sawyer, xAI, & Reporting
Sick Kids
Tami Sawyer charged with racketeering, DOJ les for Grok, and Cohen calls program “repulsive.”
SAWYER CHARGED
Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk Tamara (Tami) Sawyer embezzled $44,607.35 of public funds, according to a six-count indictment announced last week.
Michael Dunavant, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, charged Sawyer with the , money laundering, racketeering, and more. A statement from his o ce called it “a signi cant public corruption case.”
Sawyer allegedly used the funds for alcohol, food, and other items from Uber Eats and Instacart, and purportedly carried out the scheme by using procurement cards issued to other county employees, a county travel card, and by obtaining travel advances.
SPACEX
An o cial with the U.S. Department of Defense said Grok is one of only four AI models that can “support national security applications.”
Sawyer also allegedly used the cards for money laundering, transferring stolen funds to a PayPal account controlled by a friend, who kept a small portion and returned the remainder to Sawyer through Cash App.
“Consider your Christian background as you implement policies that will define your legacy,” wrote Cohen.
DOJ INTERVENES FOR X AI
e United States Department of Justice is under heavy scrutiny a er intervening in a lawsuit against Southaven’s xAI plant, known as Colossus 2.
Last week the DOJ led a motion for the suit brought by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) against xAI, saying the lawsuit should be thrown out due to national security threats. e NAACP sued the company on environmental concerns.
e DOJ argued that the NAACP’s suit has prompted national security issues. Cameron Stanley, the Department of Defense’s chief digital and nancial o cer, called xAI’s Grok bot “one of only four proprietary state of the art AI models that can support national security applications.”
“[ e] NAACP threatens American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut o the power
supply for arti cial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of [Defense]’s military operations,” court documents said.
COHEN: PROGRAM “REPULSIVE”
Tennessee U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen last Wednesday urged Gov. Bill Lee to revoke a state directive that requires the reporting of approximately 400 sick or disabled children enrolled in a public health program to a state immigration enforcement division.
In a letter to Lee, Cohen called the directive “morally repulsive” and “inhumane.”
“As you wind down your term of governor, consider your Christian background as you implement policies that will de ne your legacy,” wrote Cohen, a Democrat, citing Biblical passages. Lee, a Republican, is in the last year of his second term in o ce.
e Tennessee Department of Health this month warned immigrant families with children in the Children’s Special Services program that they would be reported to the state’s Centralized Immigration Enforcement Bureau a er June 30th if they continued to receive services.
e directive has raised alarm among public health providers, child and patient advocates, and the state’s pediatricians. e Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has urged the state’s pediatricians to send their own letters in opposition.
Tennessee Lookout contributed to this report.
Visit the News Blog at memphis yer.com for fuller versions of these stories and more local news.
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By Kailynn Johnson
Most Deadly, Again
More pedestrians die here each year “despite years of warnings and national attention.”
Memphis continues to be the nation’s most dangerous city for pedestrians, with 369 pedestrian deaths from 2020 to 2024, according to a new report.
Rankings from a study by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition found the city to be No. 1 in deadliest metro areas for people walking. ese ndings were released in the groups’ 2026 “Dangerous By Design” report.
e report ranks the “deadliest states and metro areas” for pedestrians. Researchers found that pedestrian deaths are up 72 percent in 15 years.
driveways, and long crossing distances.
ey recommended a redesign of the area to include improved crosswalks, shorter driveways, expanded pedestrian space, and street trees.
Kelsey Huse, a local transportation advocate, called the report an “urgent call to prioritize pedestrian safety nationwide.” She said that the people behind the numbers are more than statistics.
In an Instagram reel, Huse spoke to Beth Osborne, president and CEO of Smart Growth Memphis, who suggested ways to build safer roads.
PHOTO: GUNNAR MADLUNG | UNSPLASH
One Memphis intersection was found to be especially dangerous.
“Black
and Native Americans are disproportionately killed in pedestrian deaths.”
“Memphis, in the second straight report, ranks as the deadliest metro area for pedestrians in the United States with a pedestrian fatality rate of 5.5,” the report said. “Despite years of warnings and national attention, Memphis streets continue to become more deadly for people walking.”
Smart Growth America sta said this is the highest fatality rate reported in their iteration of the study since 2009. ough other cities changed in ranking, researchers said this did not necessarily mean “lives were saved.”
Researchers noted the intersection of Jackson Avenue and Hollywood Street as being the site of several pedestrian deaths. ey attributed these incidents to wide lanes, frequent
“If you’re going to have high speeds, you cut it o from all development, you manage all tra c coming on or o that highway,” Osborne said. “You separate oncoming tra c and you don’t let any vulnerable users anywhere near it.” at’s in line with the “Dangerous By Design” report. “Together, these changes create a safer and more comfortable environment for people walking and biking,” the report said.
Other groups have used the report to call out local government for their lack of action. Smart City Memphis referenced the Memphis Safety Action Plan, which tracked pedestrian deaths from 2019 to 2023. e group said no data has been recorded in the last three years.
ey criticized the city’s “Getting ere Together” program, which was announced as a 12-month campaign focused on drivers and road safety.
“ e program was heavy on public relations with posters and taglines but in the end, it did nothing to reduce the number of pedestrian deaths in Memphis,” Smart City Memphis said.
Tennessee as a whole saw an upward trend of pedestrian deaths. Researchers said states are ultimately responsible for reducing these numbers and said more than half of pedestrian deaths took place on state-owned roads.
American Indian, Alaska Native, and Black Americans continued to be disproportionately a ected by pedestrian deaths. American Indian and Alaska Native populations are killed at 367 percent of the national average, while Black Americans are killed at 171 percent.
AT LARGE By Bruce VanWyngarden
Shut the Water Off
Time to stand up to the world’s richest man.
“Tennessee is the best state in the nation to do business, and xAI’s Memphis facility is proof that innovative companies thrive when entrepreneurs like Elon Musk choose to set up shop in our state.”
at was Senator (and current gubernatorial candidate) Marsha Blackburn in May 2025, responding to the news that Musk’s xAI’s data center was coming to Memphis.
Contrast that statement with what Marsha had to say last week about a proposed data center in Nashville: “Tennessee should be thoughtful and considerate when deciding where data centers are located. e proposed site near the Nashville Zoo is neither. Let’s revisit this placement.”
Oh, now she gets interested in data center placement. I guess Blackburn wants to make sure those Nashville kangaroos, elephants, and zebras don’t get exposed to any possible ill e ects. Blackburn, as usual, is closely watching which way the wind is blowing, and in Nashville it has clearly changed directions.
In Memphis, business leaders conducted secret negotiations with Musk and his representatives for weeks. Some leaders at the Memphis Chamber even signed non-disclosure agreements about the deal and it got done with virtually no public input from the citizens of Memphis — or from the city council or county commission. e business leaders appeared thrilled with the deal they’d quietly pulled o with the world’s richest man. “He likes us!” they seemed to say. “He really likes us!”
and millions of gallons of Memphis’ pure aquifer water to cool computer hardware. What a waste of a precious resource.
And here’s the real kicker: Musk just became the world’s rst trillionaire. His net worth is larger than the economies of 176 countries around the globe. It’s not like he can’t a ord to build his own damn wastewater facility. He can also a ord to build his own power plant, instead of using noisy, polluting methane- red engines. But he doesn’t care. And why should he if no one will stand up to him?
It’s a di erent story in Nashville, where pushback against a proposed data center has been gaining support from citizens and city leaders alike. Mayor Freddie O’Connell issued an executive order directing city departments to study impacts of any such facility. e Metro City Council will pause permits for data centers, pending the results of the studies. Even MAGA-Marsha is backing o the deal.
“We don’t want the potential negative impacts of large-scale data centers in our neighborhoods,” said O’Connell, “so in partnership with the Metro Council, we’re taking action to ensure we put proper regulations in place before any more of these things are proposed. We’ll work to ensure Nashville remains a place where our residents’ health and safety always come rst.”
Now the citizens of South Memphis and northern Mississippi are paying a real price for that closed-door deal: ill health e ects from the dozens of illegal gas- red turbines now powering Musk’s centers, and plummeting property values as a result of noise and air pollution. ey’ve led numerous lawsuits, they’ve called on the EPA for help, they’ve demanded that local elected leaders ght for them — all to no avail. Musk is doing whatever he wants and too many Memphis leaders appear unwilling to speak up for the rights — and health — of their constituents.
Musk initially pledged to build a wastewater recycling plant to cool his computers, then a er a few months, blithely backed o with a vague promise to do it at some point down the line. Until then, the facilities will continue using millions
What a concept! Putting residents’ health and safety over the pro ts of billionaires. Crazy, huh? Here’s another concept Memphis leaders should consider: Stand up for what’s right for the residents of your city and play hardball. Musk just took SpaceX (and xAI) stock public. In issuing the stock, the company had to add a caveat that an adverse decision in any pending lawsuits could negatively impact stock value. What do you think would happen to that stock price if the city of Memphis threatened to pause the water and power supply to xAI’s headquarters facility?
I don’t know the answer to that question, to be honest, but I do know that Elon Musk — the world’s richest e ng man — isn’t hesitating to screw over Mid-South residents who are su ering the ill e ects of his unmitigated greed. So maybe, just maybe, someone at City Hall could make a call and say: “Nice little data center you got there, Elon. Be a shame if someone were to shut the water o .”
PHOTO: US SENATE PHOTOGRAPHY, PUBLIC DOMAIN, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Marsha Blackburn
Late-Night Eats, Vol. IV
Four years on and we’re still at it, journeying out way past our bedtimes to hit up the diners and eateries, the taverns and watering holes, and the diviest of dive bars. But when you gotta eat, you gotta eat. Traipse through the night with us as we add four more restaurants to our “LateNight Eats” anthology.
Louis Connelly’s Bar For Fun Times & Friendship
John Bickers is a late-night diner. He was sitting at the bar on a recent Monday night at Louis Connelly’s Bar for Fun Times & Friendship at 322 South Cleveland. “ is is my go-to spot as a bartender when I get o ,” says Bickers, who works down the street at the Hi-Tone.
at’s “typically around 1. And their kitchen closes at 2.” at’s a.m., of course.
Bickers likes the smash burger, which the menu lists as “our most popular item.” It consists of two beef patties, American cheese, onions, pickles, and pub sauce.
Asked what he likes to drink with that, Bickers says, “High Life, typically.” As in “Miller.”
In February 2024, the night spot’s owner and namesake, Louis Connelly, took over the old space once occupied by the notorious Printer’s Alley. As Connelly said in an interview that same month in the Memphis Flyer, “ ere’s just something about bars that are sort of old and run-down and dilapidated. And the other people that are there are just looking to have a good time and not taking themselves too seriously.”
e old Printer’s Alley was “a fun place to end the night. When every other place was closed, Printer’s Alley was open.”
Connelly used to stop in Printer’s Alley every couple of months. “Not a good local spot to hang out. Smoking inside, for one, turned o a lot of people. I knew that drug use was sort of rampant. I just knew it was a little bit of a shady bar. Overall, my experiences were positive.”
A convivial atmosphere greeted us when we arrived at Connelly’s place. And that was part of Connelly’s plan. As he said in the story, “Whether
you’re a 70-year-old biker or a 21-yearold Midtown artist, I wanted people to feel like they belong here.
“So, I just took that and ran with it,” he said. “I wanted it to feel familiar in a way that all good dive bars should feel.”
Connelly renovated the place, which
included putting in a new bar. He also put in a full kitchen with new equipment, including a at-top grill, a charbroiler, and a new stove.
Jun Chung, the chef, brought out our order in individual red plastic baskets. e smash burger is indeed one of the most popular items, a double-stack of beef patties with American cheese, onions, pickles, and pub sauce. It hits the spot, as any good burger does.
But it tastes even better when you load up the bar’s TouchTunes jukebox with your favorite song (ideally on repeat) on a Friday or Saturday night. I’ve been asked to dance by strangers on many occasions when I wandered in on a jam-packed weekend jaunt, customers crowding the bar and standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Printer’s Alley was before my time, but the modern-day vibes of this space are, well, fun times and friendship.
I order the wings almost every time I go (they’re delicious), but we had to try one of the new menu items, a “pub pocket.” Our hot honey gold pub
COVER STORY
By Samuel X. Cicci and Michael Donahue
PHOTO: SAMUEL X. CICCI Michael Donahue at Louis Connelly’s Bar for Fun Times & Friendship
OUR NOCTURNAL SNACKERS CONTINUE TO CHOW DOWN AFTER DARK.
PHOTO: SAMUEL X. CICCI Tiger Nachos and Pep Rally pizza at Max’s Sports Bar
“Whether you’re a 70-year-old biker or a 21-year-old Midtown artist, I wanted people to feel like they belong here.” — Louis Connelly
pocket was a sweet, delicious poultry blend shoved inside what was somehow a supremely crispy, yet also velvety so tortilla, and we gobbled it up immediately.
Lamplighter Lounge
You can get food late at Lamplighter Lounge, but it depends on who is the bartender that night, says Maggie Trisler, who was working the bar the night we dropped by to check out their fare.
Trisler doesn’t mind serving food late at night. “I spoil people,” she says.
Trisler says she’s served people as late as 2 a.m. at night the order was “probably a grilled cheese and chips,” she says.
Chris Montague, who was sitting at the bar, admits he’s a late-night diner.
And that’s 9 p.m. for him. “I’m usually home by 10, 10:30,” he says.
Montague usually gets the same thing. “I normally just get fries. Cheese fries. It’s just simple. ey’re always done well.”
And he likes a Tiny Bomb to wash them down.
Montague says he goes to Lamplighter about once a week. “Fried food, it’s probably not good for you. But I like it.” A member of a book club, Montague was reading Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon.
e Lamplighter is about as Midtown Memphis as you can get. It’s home to a plethora of local bands. A drag show was being held the night we were there.
e place hasn’t changed much over the years. A window which was
broken back in the day by the legendary Tiller brothers, so the story goes, and was covered over for years, has now been restored. And bands that used to perform in a little area near the front door can now play in an event room that was added.
Trisler brought our order, which included another burger, plus an order of cauli ower wings. It’s excellent comfort food, just the thing you need a er downing a few beers while taking in a drag show or open mic night. e cauli ower wings were crispy and lling, lathered in a smoky and spicy sauce that put some pep back in our steps (but not too much pep). Lamplighter is the place to be if you’re hankering for some late-night, veganfriendly options: veggie burgers, veggie dogs, vegan mac-n-cheese. Or you can
just get fancy and order the charcuterie plate while sipping on a PBR.
Max’s Sports Bar
Max’s Sports Bar, at 115 G.E. Patterson Avenue, is the late-night place to be if your sport is eating. Because you can eat until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. “And 11 the rest of the week,” says bartender/manager Mike Mustapha.
And you can even eat a menu item Mustapha created: the Mane Street Pizza, described as “Hot honey gold sauce topped with mozzarella, pulled chicken, and onions. en drizzled with ranch and dusted with our wing seasoning.”
e Mane Street Pizza is one of their
continued on page 10
PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE
(le to right) e spread at Max’s Sports Bar, including Tiger Nachos; e Italian sandwich; and the Pep Rally pizza; (far right) World Famous Huey Burger
PHOTOS: (LEFT) MICHAEL DONAHUE; (RIGHT) SAMUEL X. CICCI
most popular pizzas, Mustapha says. at and the Pep Rally, which the menu simply describes as “Loaded with Old World and regular pepperoni.”
And since Cicci is a pepperoni fan, that’s the pizza we order.
e menu has evolved since Max’s opened, Mustapha says. “When we rst opened, and that was back in 2007, it was very, very simple,” he says. “Just stu that you could toss in the oven. You know, frozen pizzas and chicken tenders and stu like that.”
ere was an elegant simplicity to the old days of Max’s menu, where you had very few options and ended up munching on shredded cheese melted over a basket of Doritos (still delicious), but like so many establishments over the last decade-plus, things have changed slightly.
“I want to say it was in the spring of 2015 — when I started working here — that we started transitioning into sandwiches and just really high-quality deli sandwiches,” adds Mustapha. “We still have a couple of those on the menu now, actually. e ‘Italian’ has been on the menu for the last 11 years now.
the sandwiches in that oven. But about three years ago, we decided that we wanted to transition to actual pizza. And we’ve been trying to focus on the pizza ever since. It’s really taken o . It’s gotten really good reviews.”
Asked what most people order a er 10 p.m., Mustapha says, “I try to push people a little bit towards the appetizer stu . Stu that’s easier to share. Because when you get people coming in late at night for food like that, it tends to be bigger crowds. And since we have such a small kitchen, it can be a little overwhelming to get a bunch of sandwich orders all at once or something like that. So, I try to push people towards more shareable stu .”
But that melted cheese on Doritos? It’s still on the menu. Go ahead and grab the Tiger Nachos next time you pull up.
Huey’s
My late-night dining at Huey’s goes back to the 1970s when I lived at 1590 Poplar, No. 4. e original Huey’s on Madison Avenue — along with Bombay Bicycle Shop, Zinnie’s, and other past and present watering holes — was in walking distance.
Huey’s brownie with ice cream, whipped cream, and a cherry on top
played at Huey’s, was placed on view at the bar/restaurant. at was part of the incentive. But the other part included the World Famous Huey Burger. I’m sure I ate a bunch of those late at night during that time. And later.
top was perfection.
“Most late-night [orders] are appetizers and burgers,” says Alex Boggs, Huey’s area and marketing director. “Main appetizers are wings and cheese fries.”
And, he says, all stores feature the full menu all the time.
People may forget Huey’s is still open late. “Midtown, Cordova, Poplar, Southaven, and Downtown are our latest [open] stores. All are open until midnight or later.”
Mike Steadman, an assistant manager at that Huey’s on Poplar, says a er 10 p.m. most people order the original Huey hamburger, but their smash burger “since we brought it on, is running a close second,” he says. “It’s very, very popular.”
e extensive Huey’s menu includes lots of hamburgers, including the West Coast Burger, Blu City Burger, Texas Toast Burger, Sunshine Burger, and the Beyond Burger with a vegan patty. But Huey’s serves other fare, including the steak sandwich, my favorite back in the day, a chicken Philly, and a classic Reuben.
“And then over Covid we picked up this really awesome Baker’s Pride pizza oven. We had been, for a while, still doing the barbecued nachos and
“We have a lot of service industry people that come in once they get o of the other restaurants,” Steadman says. “We also do a service industry discount late at night. So, they get discounts a er 11 on liquor, beer, and wine.” continued from page 9
I once challenged myself to visit Huey’s for 31 consecutive days (mostly nights). During that time, a newspaper article I wrote on Robert Cray, who
LIFE’S BETTER WITH A BURGER
I visited the Huey’s at 4872 Poplar Avenue and ordered a Huey burger the other day, as I have so many times before. It was delicious. e fries were delicious. And the brownie with ice cream, whipped cream, and a cherry on
PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE
More Than a Movie
If you grew up in Memphis, you’ve probably been on a eld trip to the Pink Palace a time or two. Last year, a group of local creatives enjoyed their own eld trip of sorts there: a tour of the facilities now also known as the Museum of Science and History (MoSH). And that in turn inspired them to create the Slowdown Cinema Club. e ragtag team has set up at MoSH’s Giant Screen eater and turned it into a whole “moviegoing experience,” with nostalgic lms and a locally stocked concession stand.
A lm director, a shop owner, a photographer, and a corporate creative director all came together to create this gem.
Eli Berry is the owner of clothing brand Slowdown Dry Goods, grounded in the local skateboard community since its founding in 2019. e online store’s signature “I like Memphis” slogan has been “interpreted in a trillion di erent ways. It’s become a conversation piece,” Berry says. He started doing pop-ups anywhere from Downtown Trolley Night to Kinfolk restaurant. A er he was laid o in 2024, he took a leap of faith with his clothing brand and found a brick-and-mortar location. “When an opportunity came to have a space next to my friends who were opening up Hard Times Deli, it was too good to pass up,” he says. e Slowdown Shop, also featuring Kelsey Berry Pottery, opened in April 2025.
as a touring musician while juggling a journalism degree. A er graduating, his passion for movies led him to directing lms. He also loved the community that came with lm culture.
“ e greatest memories of my life are of not just seeing certain movies as a teenager,” Cannon says, “but who I saw them with.”
Cannon is currently working on a short documentary on Memphis’ Vietnamese community, commissioned by Crosstown Memphis Community Development Corporation.
Mica Jordan is the creative director of Pyramex and Cannon’s wife. It didn’t take much for her to be sold on the cinema club idea.
Within a few months, they came up with the name, made the logo, created a fun promo video, and chose the rst lm to screen, Superbad. It immediately took o .
Regarding the “Slowdown” motif, he says, “ ere’s not a lot of time for rest, so I wanted to create a brand that emphasized that essential part of being human, just being present, and enjoying what’s in front of you.”
In early 2025, the Pink Palace asked Berry to suggest merch ideas for their gi shop. ey gave him a full tour of the facilities, including a visit to the Giant Screen eater, typically used for spectacular nature lms like Walking with Dinosaurs, or the occasional feature lm. Berry’]s two best friends, Josh Cannon and Nate Packard, had talked about opening a theater for years, and he called them on the drive home from his MoSH tour.
Packard, a freelance photographer, met Berry and Cannon while taking photos in the music scene and being involved with bands himself.
Cannon spent most of his young life
Last year, a di erent artist was selected each month for the featured lm, but in their upcoming second season (2026), they’ve found a few local favorites and have since stuck with them.
e Slowdown Cinema Club team also curates a lobby experience as comfortable as your living room, with wacky furniture, music, video games, snacks, and a bucket designated for recommending movies.
One of Jordan’s favorite spots to be when guests arrive is selling concessions. She loves to speak with everyone and hear their connection to the movies. People will even sometimes come decked out in costumes, and whether you’re coming solo, bringing your family, or tagging along with a group of friends, Jordan says everyone is welcome.
You can purchase tickets for their bi-weekly screenings on the MoSH website, and the lm schedule for the rest of the summer will soon drop on Slowdown Cinema Club’s Instagram. Hot Rod will be screened on June 26th.
PHOTO: ZACH SHAPPLEY
FRIDAY, OCT 9TH
FedEx Event Center at Shelby Farms
Join us for a fantastic evening of great tastes and great fun, bringing together bourbon and whiskey distillers from around the region PLUS great bites from some of your favorite local restaurants! VIP Admission starts at 5pm, GA at 6pm.
TICKETS AND MORE INFO
steppin’ out
We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews
A House of Memories
By Kimberly Ham
Family history, cultural identity, and enduring love take center stage in e House, the winner of Germantown Community eatre’s Season 54 Teresa Jordan Emerging Local Playwright Competition. Written by Memphis playwright Savannah S. Miller and presented in collaboration with Cazateatro Bilingual eatre Group, the production runs June 25th through 28th at Germantown Community eatre.
Set across two timelines, e House follows two brothers in 1980s Florida as they clash over whether to sell their family home. eir con ict is intertwined with the story of their mother, Lydia, who le Puerto Rico in the 1940s to build a life with a white American soldier. As past and present collide, the play explores questions of belonging, assimilation, family legacy, and what it means to carry multiple identities.
MAKE YOUR CLOSET HAPPY, MANE.
For Miller, the story began with her own family history. Inspired by her great-grandparents’ relationship and a memory of her great-grandfather writing what he called “a love story” a er his wife’s death, Miller transformed personal inspiration into a work that examines both love and cultural inheritance.
“My desire to learn more about where I came from is why I wrote this,” Miller says. “It was my way of connecting with them and learning more.” e dual timeline allows the playwright to examine how family stories echo across generations. While the play focuses on one family’s experience, Miller hopes it sparks broader conversations about identity and the pressures many people face to conform in pursuit of acceptance.
Monica Sanchez, artistic director of Cazateatro and a collaborator on the production, says the story resonated because of its honest portrayal of immigrant and Latino experiences. “ e play does not present stereotypes,” Sanchez says. “Instead, it shows real people navigating love, family expectations, cultural di erences, and questions of identity.” ough rooted in the Latinx experience, both Sanchez and Miller believe the themes are universal. Audiences can expect a story that invites re ection on family history, empathy, and the ways our past continues to shape who we become.
THE HOUSE, GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATRE, 3037 FOREST HILL IRENE RD., THURSDAY, JUNE 25-SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 7:30 P.M., SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2:30 P.M.
Book It: An Audiobook Walk
Overton Park Shell, Saturday, June 27, 9 a.m.
Book lovers can combine reading and exercise at Novel’s latest meetup. Participants are invited to gather for a casual morning walk while listening to an audiobook through Libro.fm, the audiobook platform that supports independent bookstores. Walkers can set their own pace, socialize as much or as little as they like, and stick around a erward to chat, browse books, and learn more about Libro.fm’s mission.
Drag Swap!
Dru’s Place, Sunday, June 28, 11 a.m.
Trade in your gently used clothing and accessories while celebrating Memphis drag culture. Hosted by local drag performers, this community-focused event invites guests
to refresh their wardrobes through swapping rather than shopping. Whether you’re searching for a new look, cleaning out your closet, or simply looking for a fun way to spend the day, Drag Swap! o ers a welcoming space for fashion lovers of all styles and identities. Expect fabulous nds, lively performances, and plenty of opportunities to mingle with Memphis’ vibrant LGBTQ community.
Memphis on Film
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, ursday, June 25, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Step back in time with a new biweekly lm series showcasing more than a century of Memphis history on screen. e history department of the library and DIG Memphis will premiere rare, recently digitized footage capturing life in Memphis, from the era of black-and-white
silent lms to home videos shot on family camcorders. e series o ers a fascinating glimpse into Memphis’ past through intimate home movies, historic events, and appearances by some of the city’s most notable gures, preserving local stories and memories for a new generation.
e 24 Hour Plays: Memphis eatreWorks at the Evergreen, Saturday, June 27, 7 p.m. is one-night-only theatrical event challenges six writers, six directors, and 24 actors to create and stage six original 10-minute plays in 24 hours. Part creative marathon and part theatrical showcase, the fastpaced production highlights the talent and imagination of Memphis’ arts community. Come experience brand-new works that will never be performed the same way again.
MUSIC By Alex Greene
SOR Fest’s Time to Soar
e School of Rock community has its day of revelry and artistry.
Any music fan seeing a concert listing with the acronym SOR attached to it could be forgiven for assuming it was another installment of performances by School of Rock students, wherein they show o how precisely they can carry o covers of tracks from the canon of rock. But, impressive as those shows are — and those kids really do their homework — Landon Moore, co-owner of the three local SOR locations, says his upcoming all-day concert, where “student bands have to have two or more former students, and sta bands have to have at least two current sta members,” will be more “SOR-adjacent.”
To Moore, the human connections that the music school franchise fosters are the real point, and so he launched SOR Fest, a celebration of current SOR students, alumni, and sta performing their own material, which is technically not an SOR event. It’s happening this Friday, June 26th, noon to 10 p.m., at the 1884 Lounge. Moore, who taught at and managed a School of Rock branch long before partnering with John Whittemore to purchase all three locations last year, knows his brand. “When you see the School of Rock logo, you imagine 8-year-olds struggling through ‘Seven Nation Army,’ which is ne, that’s what they do,” he says. “But I’ve been teaching there for 13 years, and a lot of students say, ‘I’ve got this band, we’re playing a bunch of covers, what do you think we should do next?’ And I say, ‘Gig as much as you can, and then start writing your own music. You don’t want to just be stuck in cover band rotation for the next ve years.’ Start writing. Start working that muscle a little bit.”
Many SOR students have done just that, o en forging friendships and musical
alliances existing outside of — and lasting beyond — their time at the schools. Some have gone on to teach at local School of Rock branches, and Friday’s show will feature a whole coterie of bands sporting SOR sta , many of whom are living the dream of playing, recording, and touring with their original music even as they teach.
Moore’s approach is to treat SOR Fest like any of the thousands of gigs he and his sta have played, and he tells the younger bands, “ is is a festival, and you’re going to show up and you’re going to play your set. If there’s no one there, or if you have issues with the sound guy, I’m not talking to a parent. I’m sorry, this is not a School of Rock event. If you have an issue, the band is going to have to go talk to the sound guy. Learn how to talk to the industry people. You’re showing up, you’re playing; show us what you’ve got.”
Seeing SOR instructors in their own bands at the same event will no doubt be an eye-opener for the younger players. “ e sta have been in the trenches for years, forming bands, touring, making merch, doing social media, all that stu ,” says Moore. “ ey know that learning and playing covers is not as hard as creating a musical identity, where you sound like yourself.”
SOR Fest, then, will see the owering of much potential that’s been accumulating behind SOR’s walls, as both students and sta embody the next level of playing and their own artistry. It’s one big melting pot of creativity, featuring Joybomb, Degenerate Breakfast, Jombi, e Narrows, underGun, Wilshire, Land/Divided, Abigail and e Starlings, Yakoob, Cyprus, e Peabody Project, Trivet, Brody Falcone, and Slumberland.
Joybomb is arguably the most recognizable name, having opened for ird Eye Blind at the Radians Amphitheater last year, and now dropping a new single, “Falling Apart in the Backseat,” the same day as the festival. Degenerate Breakfast, Jombi, and e Narrows are also familiar from their steady bookings in the local scene. All of the bands are doing the work and itching to level up. If all goes well, Moore’s festival will be not only their springboard, but their launch pad.
“It’s funny, because I ran into a guy who was in one of the bands,” Moore adds. “He goes, ‘Hey, man, when are we going to get posters in for Soar Fest?’ And I’m like, ‘ at’s amazing that you’re pronouncing it Soar Fest!’” All indications are that the student was onto something. is Friday, show up, rock out, and watch these bands soar.
Mended Therapy
Combining mental health with a love of fashion, creativity, and sustainability, Mended Therapy was born. Ashley wants to show that although things may seem like they cannot get better, there is hope. Just like a mended piece of clothing is brought new life, the same can be said of us. She is here to walk with you through this journey with laughter, creativity, and challenging your beliefs about yourself. She is MENDED (and constantly mending). She hopes you will let her join you as you MEND.
Ashley specializes in working with LGBTQ+ populations and mood disorders.
For more information or to book an appointment, visit mendedtherapypllc.com.
She currently accepts Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, Quest Behavioral Health, All Savers (UHC), Health Plans Inc, Optum, Oscar, Oxford, Surest (Formerly Bind), UHC Student Resources, UMR, UnitedHealthcare, UnitedHealthcare Shared Services (UHSS), UnitedHealthcare Global, and UnitedHealthcare Exchange Plans (ONEX) insurance plans. She does provide a superbill for out-ofnetwork clients if they want to submit to their insurance. Self-pay is $125 for individual sessions.
PHOTO: ELIJAH MCCOLLUM Degenerate Breakfast
CALENDAR of EVENTS: JUNE
ARTS AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS
“Nurses and Doctors” Margaret Coleman made these drawings of Memphis healthcare workers in the late 1990’s. rough Sept. 2.
25 - JULY 1
Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com.
DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENTS LISTING, VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.
TOPS GALLERY
Tennessee Craft Southwest’s Fine Craft Showcase
Encompassing a wide range of media including weaving, wood turning, clay, glass work, jewelry, quilting, painting, sculptures, and much more. Free. rough July 31.
WKNO DIGITAL MEDIA CENTER
ART HAPPENINGS
New Summer Exhibition Opening Reception
Enjoy this reception for three new exhibitions, featuring works by Barbara Penn, George Edward Walker, and Romain Collin in collaboration with lmmaker Matthew Palmer. Free.
Friday, June 26, 6 p.m.
CROSSTOWN ARTS GALLERIES
BOOK EVENTS
Book It: An Audiobook Walk
Walk and talk or lock in to your audio book. You can chat and shop a er the walk. Saturday, June 27, 9 a.m.
OVERTON PARK SHELL
A work by Margaret Coleman using acrylic paint, marker, and pencil on paper, featured in her exhibition, “Nurses and Doctors,” portraying healthcare workers from the ’90s
COMMUNITY
Drag Swap!
Got costumes collecting dust? Wigs you no longer wear? Shoes that deserve a second strut down the runway? Bring them to Dru’s for this swap. Sunday, June 28, 11 a.m.
DRU’S PLACE
CLASS/WORKSHOP
Cut and Come Again Herb Pot
Workshop
Learn about selecting, planting, maintaining, and harvesting a wide variety of wonderful herbs. Saturday, June 27, 10 a.m.
URBAN EARTH GARDENS
COMEDY
Friday Night Laughs Hosted by Wild Beale
Come see some of the best comics in Memphis work their set alongside the very best national traveling comics. Friday, June 26, 8:30 p.m.
SMOOTH LIVING
FAMILY
“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” e beloved characters and inspiring stories from Disney Jr.’s iconic Mickey Mouse Clubhouse come to life in the rst-ever exhibit inspired by the series. $20/GA. ursday, June 25-Wednesday, July 1, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Mondays.
THE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS
FESTIVAL
Edited by Will Shortz No. 0629 Crossword
ACROSS
1 Woman who spends money on a younger lover, in modern lingo
10 Total, in a way
14 Bush-league
16 Book that’s the source of the phrase “Physician, heal thyself”
17 End of a bill
18 Land of leprechauns
19 It’s just a feeling
20 Effloresces
22 Lambaste
23 Lets out
26 Go (along)
27 Pained expressions
29 Start of a reminiscence
31 Title genie played by Shaquille O’Neal in a 1996 film
34 Big mouth
35 Racer Luyendyk
36 Hoards
38 Freezing
40 Easy stride
41 Country singer McDaniel
43 Liqueur flavorers
44 Like chalk on a chalkboard
46 Something to build on
Common tutoring subject
48 Crème de ___ (strawberry liqueur)
50 Farm sound 53 ___ Vikander, Best Supporting Actress for 2015’s “The Danish Girl”
55 One may read “Reverse”
58 1983 Apple computer with a girl’s name
59 Neighboring
62 Lead-in to boy or girl
63 Fast-food order not for the dietconscious
64 Actress Cannon
65 Geographical eponym of a 1970s-’80s fad diet
1 Dueling weapon
2 Savory sensation
3 Lively dance in double time
4 Juggernaut fighting vehicle in “Star Wars” movies
5 Italian artist Guido
6 Liner of the nose, e.g.
7 “___ we all?”
8 Central
9 Pac-12 sch.
10 Role for Liz Taylor
11 Ancient symbol depicting a serpent eating its own
Memphis Tequila Festival e ultimate summer celebration with 50+ varieties of tequila and tequila-based cocktails. Attendees will dance the night away, explore the Mixology Tequila Cocktail Competition, and capture memories with fun photo ops throughout the space. 21+. $59$99. Saturday, June 27, 5 p.m.
THE KENT
FILM
Cooley High Richard “Cochise” Morris (Lawrence HiltonJacobs), a local basketball hero, and Leroy “Preach” Jackson (Glynn Turman), who dreams of a career in writing, are likable high school students in Chicago in the 1960s. Saturday, June 27, 2 p.m.
THE ORPHEUM THEATRE
SPORTS
FIFA World Cup Watch Parties e FIFA World Cup 2026 is the largest and most ambitious World Cup in history, bringing together 48 national teams from around the globe in a tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. ursday, June 25-Wednesday, July 1, 11 a.m.
BROOKHAVEN PUB & GRILL
THEATER
The 24 Hour Plays: Memphis LoneTree Live will bring together six writers, six directors, and 24 actors from the local creative community to produce six short plays that are written and rehearsed in just 24 hours. Saturday, June 27, 7 p.m.
THEATREWORKS @ THE EVERGREEN
The House e House examines Latinx identity — how it has been constructed and depicted in America and how it may be truly felt by the individuals who claim it as part of their being. e work earned author Savannah S. Miller the Teresa Sanchez Jordan Emerging Local Playwright Competition. Presented in collaboration with Cazateatro Bilingual eatre Group. ursday, June 25, 7:30 p.m. | Friday, June 26, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, June 27, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, June 28, 2:30 p.m.
GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATRE
PHOTO: COURTESY TOPS GALLERY
PUZZLE BY KAMERON AUSTIN COLLINS
We Saw You.
with MICHAEL DONAHUE
Memphis Cra s & Dra s Festival: Summer Market, which was held June 6th at Crosstown Concourse, drew between 3,000 and 3,500 people over the course of the day, says event producer Molly Willmott. A total of 80 artists and makers took part in the event, which is held twice a year.
“It’s our 11th year of hosting Cra s & Dra s and we continue to be blown away by the talents of the artists and makers in our town,” Willmott says. “We love showcasing the art and beauty that comes from the minds of our neighbors. It’s really the best. We can’t wait to do it again in November.”
e next Cra s & Dra s will be held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 7th at Crosstown Concourse.
above: (le to right) Isaac Je erys and Daley Polner; Donna and Lee Edwards
Wilson Friedl below: (le to right) Jess McClure; Eric Friedl; Kathrine Arenas and Matias Gutierrez bottom row: (le to right) Brian Booker, Lukas Weir, Spencer Ellis; Alex Sammy; Eli Berry
PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE
circle:
SPIRITS By Buddy Jones
Hang Up and Drink
Phones have taken the life out of nightlife.
During the early 2000s, most of us knew the importance of safe driving. But with things like bulky console CD holders, piles of printed turn-by-turn directions from MapQuest, and that lovable, indestructible, clam-shell favorite, the Nokia cell phone, the road became tough to pay attention to. It was like explaining the art of the bunt to a T-ball team and little Billy yells, “Look! ere’s a frog.” e cell phone became such a distraction to drivers by 2008, the bumper sticker “Hang up and drive” became a public safety grassroots campaign. Now, in 2026, as smartphones are killing the bar vibes, it’s time for a new public service slogan, “Hang up and drink.”
Before phone contacts, the bar scene encouraged eye contact. Before sending a text, we sent social signals. Before listening to AirPods, we actively listened to the person sitting next to us while we slightly leaned into the conversation. Before we pretended to be on our phones in order to discourage someone from approaching us, we played hard to get in order to encourage someone to hit on us.
would size someone up. We wanted to get the lay of the land. Today, people aren’t interested in “What’s your story?” ey only have eyes for your Snapchat story. It’s not just connecting with the opposite sex that has taken a blow. In today’s saloon environment, groups of friends are commonly seen sitting at tables in silence with their necks bent, scrolling through their phones. Talk about shattering an ego. How boring must one’s conversation be to take a backseat to Zach King’s magic broomstick ride TikTok video?
e awkward yet charming attempts at irting, the rush of pursuing the attractive person from across the room before someone else did, the spontaneous late-night plans that occasionally led to unforgettable connections gave us reasons to order “one more” before we went home.
Our liquid courage consumption helped spark up dialogue with people we wouldn’t have met otherwise. Cheesy pickup lines, quick comebacks, and mutual teasing have all been replaced by tilted heads, slumped shoulders, and eyes focused on reading other people’s thoughts. Strangers routinely persuaded other strangers to dance. Now when someone asks something, it’s usually for a cell phone charger.
Questions like, “What’s your sign?” “Do you come here o en?” “What’s a nice woman like you doing in a place like this?” have all been superseded by questions like, “What’s the Wi-Fi password?” I’m not advocating for the resurgence of corny irty tropes. But instead of a “ding” sound every 30 seconds, it would be nice to hear, “Where have you been all my life?”
Remember the clever and inventive reasons we thought of to invite someone over to sit at our table? We would spend hours laughing, exchanging stories, and embellishing facts that couldn’t be disproved by the computer in our pockets. We gured out ways to break the ice. We
One of my personal favorite pub pastimes is the prank call. Before the smartphone era, you could call a bar and ask if your friend was around. e bartender would ask you, “What’s your friend’s name,” and then yell that person’s name out loud. For example, if your friend was Steve Oates, the bartender yelled, “Steve Oates! Anyone here named Steve Oates?” But you could prompt giggles and laughter reminiscent of high school sophomore boys just by asking for old friends like Al Coholic, Seymour Butts, and Mike Hunt. I know it was childish and immature, but at least it was live interaction with an actual person.
We can no longer enjoy our food and drinks. Before we take a drink we have to take a sel e. Before we take a bite we have to take a picture. We have taken the soul out of bars. We have taken the fun out of social establishments. We have taken the life out of nightlife. We should have taken a ball peen-hammer to our iPhones. Here’s to the next time the bartender yells “last call”: it means last phone call. Raise your glass, hang up, and drink.
Buddy Jones is a longtime Memphis bartender and comedian who hosts a weekly comedy night at Peoples on Beale.
PHOTO: STANDRET | DREAMSTIME.COM Smartphones disconnect us from those in front of us.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The interesting struggles you’ll wage in the coming weeks will require your vulnerability: showing up exactly as you are when you might rather fight or escape. Your warrior nature probably prefers a clear enemy or a definable problem you can confront, but the truer conquest will come from laying down your weaponry. I suggest you meet aggression with curiosity and engage chaos with receptive stillness. At least for now, your greatest strength will be to remain undominated by your own reactive impulses. Think of it as an advanced martial art.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to be inspired by this wisdom from artist Pablo Picasso: “I am always doing that which I cannot do in order that I may learn how to do it.” He’s proposing that we treat a lack of expertise not as an embarrassment, but as a doorway. Instead of waiting until we feel ready, trained, and confident, he suggests we head into territory where we fumble, guess, and feel awkward. Our discomfort may lead to gratifying growth. So I dare you to ask yourself whether there’s a capacity or skill you’d love to add to your repertoire but are too shy or timid to try. Then take small, imperfect steps toward it, trusting that each move will teach you how to do what once felt impossible.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Hummingbirds keep track of every flower they visit and know how long it will take each one to replenish its nectar. They maintain mental maps of many feeding sites and visit them on precise schedules. To ensure their survival, they can’t waste energy on flowers that aren’t ready yet. Your mind could work like this if you want it to, Gemini. Which people, places, and projects need time to refill before you visit them again? Who have you been approaching too frequently, seeking their nectar before it has had time to regenerate? In the coming weeks, practice strategic patience with your resources. In your secret conversations with yourself, call yourself “Hummingbird.”
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): If you happen to be swallowed whole by a dragon or whale sometime soon, don’t freak out. It’s far preferable to being chomped into bits first, which absolutely won’t happen. You may indeed spend a brief spell inside the creature’s dark belly, but I confidently predict you will ultimately be deposited on the outside in one intact piece, after which you will only need to find your meandering way back home. The whole episode may be confounding or humbling, but I bet it will also scrub you free of a load of old karma.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Bees perform
Rob Brezsny
what scientists call a “waggle dance” to communicate the location of flowers to their hive-mates. But the directions are sometimes imprecise, and the apparent sloppiness actually helps the hive. It forces other bees to explore more broadly, discovering new food sources that the original bee missed. Perfect information would make them too efficient to be adaptable. Your precision is one of your gifts, Virgo, but right now I think you need strategic vagueness and fuzzy logic. Leave some directions unclear. Mistakes and misunderstandings might lead to discoveries that your perfect plans would have eliminated.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In ancient Greek thought, *kairos* referred to the opportune moment. It meant the right timing, when circumstances aligned for action to be most effective. The term *chronos*, on the other hand, was about sequential time, which blindly marched forward without any regard for special moments or auspiciousness. Most of us are more or less hypnotized by chronosconsciousness. We measure our lives by calendar dates and external schedules. But in the coming weeks, Libra, I recommend you stay on high alert for kairos-rich pivots. For now, suspend inquiries like “Am I on schedule?” and ask, “Are the circumstances ripe?”
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Ravens are strongly motivated to engage in elaborate play: aerial acrobatics, complex games, sliding down snowbanks, and sharing food with non-relatives. These behaviors lack an immediate payoff, yet support learning, motor skill development, and social relationships. They seem to be both emotionally rewarding and indirectly advantageous for survival and success over the long term. Let’s apply this to you, Scorpio. Let’s conclude that delight isn’t wastefully frivolous and that pleasure doesn’t need to justify itself through productivity. In the coming weeks, you may face pressure to explain or defend your joy, as if to prove it’s worth it in some utilitarian way. Refuse. Like the ravens, engage in purposeless beauty and fun simply because it feels so good.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Glaciologists studying ice cores can read Earth’s climate history going back 800,000 years. Each layer contains trapped air bubbles. These are time capsules that preserve the atmospheric composition of each moment. The ice remembers everything. You accumulate similar records, Sagittarius. Each of your experiences leaves its trace. And in the coming weeks, you will have extra access to these archived layers of your own history. Memories and patterns you thought were lost will surface with intriguing clarity. I hope you study these revelations to glean insight about your
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Now is an auspicious time to declare a sweeping amnesty and observe a personal season of pardon. To the best of your ability, release your clenched feelings about people who have caused you pain. Banish blame! Purge any lingering resentment and regret that has curdled into self-reproach. Celebrate atonement and absolution! Most vital of all, exonerate yourself. Shed the guilt you’ve carried over missteps and missed chances. And please offer yourself a sweet gift: a ritual of renewal.
long-term patterns and cycles. It’s time to see the Big Picture.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Many people forget, but you know: Structure is the foundation for freedom, not a suppression of it. While others fantasize about escaping responsibility, you know that mastery is key to every emancipation. When properly practiced, your flair for discipline adds vigor as well as rigor. More than any other sign of the zodiac, you are adept at using limits to give unlimited possibilities their specific shape. I trust you will express all these Capricornian powers to the max in the coming weeks. People in your life need them even more than usual.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Horticulturists practice “deadheading.” They remove spent flowers from plants to encourage new vitality. Faded flowers drain energy that could go toward fresh growth. Plants that have been deadheaded produce more abundant blooms than those left to manage their own decay. I recommend a metaphorical version of this practice to you, Aquarius. You’ll be wise to deadhead your emotional garden. Certain attachments, once vibrant and nourishing, have expired. They’re not evil or wrong; they’re simply finished. It’s best not to keep directing precious energy toward maintaining their faded forms. With gratitude for the old beauty, clear the way for new beauty.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): For maximum safety, be as uninteresting as possible. Shun risks that might shake up your beliefs and avoid adventures that could expose you to people who aren’t similar to you. If you really want to be certain about preserving your security and stability, as I’m recommending, the surest method is to retreat to your power spot and do nothing at all. WAIT! STOP! Dear Pisces, everything I just said was pure misdirection! I was joking! In fact, the opposite is true. The true way to nurture genuine safety and security is to pursue what sparks your curiosity and lights up your zeal. And the coming days are likely to provide you with plenty of chances to do exactly that.
Answers and Questions
Memphian Adam Remsen wins big on Jeopardy!
A
dam Remsen started going to trivia night, hosted at the Midtown watering hole Kudzu’s by charming Irish redhead Jo Delahunty Chetter, around 1999. When Kudzu’s went under, his team Plane Hamburger moved to the P&H Cafe. In 2003, the Jeopardy! Brain Bus rolled through town. He and his teammate, former Flyer writer Chris Herrington, decided to audition to be contestants on the show. A few months later, Remsen got the call. But, as luck would have it, he had work commitments which prevented him from going. Still, he didn’t give up. “I tried out every chance I could. I went and did in-person auditions in quite a few cities. I know I went to Atlanta twice, Charlotte, Lexington, Nashville. I did the in-person auditions at least ve times before they switched over to everything being online.”
ese days, Remsen is an attorney by day. By night, he is the co-founder of Quark eatre, an independent theater company mounting the rst show in its
new home at eaterworks this August. Meanwhile, a er auditioning relentlessly for 20 years, Remsen nally got the call again last March. “I had about three weeks to get ready for taping,” he says.
As luck would have it, the very week he was invited to Culver City, California, Remsen was scheduled for jury duty. But he wasn’t letting another chance at Jeopardy! glory pass him by. “So I called the jury coordinator, and I was like, ‘Hey, I was supposed to be at jury duty in April, but I got invited to be a contestant on Jeopardy!’ And she was like, ‘What?
Don’t worry about it! Go do Jeopardy! It’s ne!’” says Remsen. (His jury duty was rescheduled for later this year.)
For a Jeopardy! superfan like Remsen, who has not missed an episode of the show in 15 years, seeing the shiny, blue Alex Trebek Stage for the rst time is “very much an ‘ooh!’ moment.
“I went there, having no idea what to expect. You go in the green room, and there’s 13 of you — there’s two people for each episode, so that’s 10. ere are two alternates, usually people who live in L.A.
Jeopardy! champion Adam Remsen watches his seventh victory at RP
And then there’s the returning champ.” e contestants bond as they wait for their turns behind the podium. “Bob Harris said this in his book, Prisoner of Trebekistan, which I think is the second best book about Jeopardy! It sounded like a platitude when I read it, but he said ‘Really the best part of it is the people you meet.’ And I was like, okay, whatever, Bob. But really, it’s true!”
Friendship is grand, but you can’t beat winning, and that’s what Remsen has been doing on Jeopardy! Since his rst
episode on June 12th, he has won more than $130,000. He’s naturally tight-lipped about how long his run will go on, but on the a ernoon of his seventh win, he joined the regulars at RP Tracks who gather for Jeopardy! every weekday at 3:30 p.m. Retired teacher Fran Murrah, who has been a fan of the show for decades, says Remsen’s performance against his competitors has been “Excellent. Dominant, even. Brilliant! Getting to see a hometowner on the show is just a thrilling thing.”
PHOTO: CHRIS MCCOY
Tracks.
Our critic picks the best films in theaters. Supergirl
The Superman reboot follow-up focuses on Kal-El’s cousin Kara Zor-El (House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock) who travels in space with Superdog Krypto. When she meets an alien girl named Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley) whose family has been killed by the warlord Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts), she sets out to help her get revenge. Jason Momoa also stars as biker alien Lobo.
Jackass: Best and Last
The latest in the franchise brings final proof the gods have abandoned us. Starring what’s left of the original crew, Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Wee Man, Preston Lacy, Dave England, and
Danger Ehren, plus a guy named Poopies, half of this film is a clip show reminding us of better times. In keeping with the Jackass tradition of extreme penile trauma, Poopies tries to walk a balance beam with a shock collar on his dick. Entertainment!
Toy Story 5
You can spend your time watching thinly veiled homoerotic penile torture, or you can see the No. 1 film in the world. Pixar stalwart Andrew Stanton directs Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack voicing Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the new toy sheriff Jessie. When their kid Blaze (Mykal-Michelle Harris) gets a new frog-themed tablet (Greta Lee), Jessie sees its negative effects and calls Woody back to help. Dozens of guest stars, including Conan O’Brien and Kristen Schaal, join.
LEGAL NOTICE
2012 INFINIT G37 JOURNEY
VIN: JN1CV6AP3CM624212
Any parties holding interest in this vehicle, call 623-826-8753 within 10 business days of the date of publication.
2015 DODGE DURANGO CITADEL
VIN # 1C4RDHEG3FC880554
Any and all parties holding an interest in this vehicle are hereby notified to contact Marcus Givens, 4872 Chesterwood Ct., Memphis, TN 38118, by certified mail, return receipt requested within 10 days of this notification.
EMPLOYMENT
HYOSUNG HICO, LTD.
has an opening for a Winding Specialist in Memphis, TN 38109. Duties are to perform Senior Winder duties and functions as needed. Perform winding work of all types and sizes within the winding department. Maintain workflow, ensure availability of proper materials/tools. Communicate and
work within the winding team to ensure all types and sizes of windings may be produced in the winding department. Provide technical support and direction to all co-workers when new situations or problems are discovered. Determine operation sequences and methods where specifications are imprecise or vague. Analyzing and resolving work problems or assists other technicians in solving problems and implementing corrective actions. Conduct on-the-job training to assure all employees are properly trained prior to performing work or a job; assist with cross-training and job rotation schedules to enhance employee knowledge. Confirm quality criteria is properly inspected, verified and documented during manufacturing to ensure product meets specifications, tolerances, prints and customer order requirements. Identify and correct defects appropriately. Associates (or its equivalent) required in a technical field plus 2 years manufacturing environment experience and experience in procedures, troubleshooting power transformer operations and in reading drawings/blueprints. Email resumes to: careers@hyosung.com
SHARED HOUSING
SOUTH MEMPHIS
1 furnished room for a mature lady in a Christian home. Near the expressway and on the bus line. Non-smoker. $600 per month includes utilities and cooking/ laundry privileges. Must be employed or retired. 901-558-0365.
BUY, SELL, TRADE
THE LAST WORD By
Jim Kovarik
Beyond Flipping Houses, Flip Lives
e opportunity in building 10,000 homes.
In his State of the City speech earlier this year, Mayor Paul Young called for the building of 10,000 new or rehabbed homes over the next ve years. God knows we need them. A phalanx of planners has proposed simplifying rules, regs, and restrictions to assist such an e ort. Builders and developers are excited, community leaders are ecstatic, and anyone living in the squalor of a corporate rental or wondering how they could ever a ord their own home is hoping that subsidies for builders will include subsidies for buyers. How about subsidies for teaching and training a whole new cadre of skilled workers?
Missing in this discussion by leaders, planners, builders, and buyers is the role of creating jobs and developing a new skilled workforce. e building or rehabbing of 10,000 homes is a tremendous opportunity to teach, train, and employ a new generation of well-paid workers. Missing in all these grand ideas is the idea of workforce development.
Missing also in these ideas are the trends of the future. More and more discussions around the workforce of the future portend caution and change for college-educated, white collar workers. As AI comes to the work world, many of the chores and skills necessary for knowledge workers in industries like accounting, nance, insurance, and yes, the arts will be upended.
Great communities are built not just by having a place to live, but by having skills to sell and salaries beyond subsistence wages.
10,000 new homes could lead to hiring and training Memphians to build their own futures.
At the same time, such a shi is predicted to favor skilled blue collar workers like carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and even lowly laborers. To build 10,000 homes will take several thousand workers. is is an opportunity to train a whole new generation of skilled blue collar workers. And as the world turns from shedding white collar jobs to the necessity of creating blue collar jobs, Memphis is poised to ip not only a few houses, but entire lives.
Such an undertaking is not easy. Most developers and builders avoid the complications and costs of on-the-job training. A raw recruit is not as productive as a seasoned worker. Learning skills takes time, takes patience, takes teachers, takes mistakes. Experts in the workforce world recognize training gaps over a range of worries, from learning hard skills to practicing so skills as simple as getting to work on time or having the right tools, clothes, and attitudes. As all teachers and workforce experts know: It is harder to build or rebuild a person than to erect or rehab a house.
Yet future building e orts will bene t our city in multiple ways if building 10,000 homes also means hiring, training, and assisting Memphians in erecting their own futures. Learning on the job carries advantages far beyond the idea of mere shelter. Great communities are built not just by having a place to live, but by having skills to sell and salaries beyond subsistence wages.
As AI decimates jobs and long-held positions in the white collar world, does it not seem to our advantage to go full bore on teaching trades and skills that AI — at least for now — will be unable to usurp? A city blossoming with a range of building trades is also the grounds for building another 30,000 homes, which the mayor cited as the actual need.
Blue collar chores are our super power in Memphis. I know dozens of Memphians who would be uncomfortable in an o ce, but more than happy to dig a footing, plumb a kitchen, or hang a door if they knew how and if they were paid well.
Our fair city is in the perfect position to bene t from this inversion of paid talent. Our housing is still a ordable. Vacant lots spread like weeds in neighborhoods and along commercial strips. Not in east Memphis or the ’burbs where white collar jobs prevail, but in core city and low-income neighborhoods where deals abound. Can we not envision that Memphis is the city of the future rather than a shabby, beat-down community of people who cannot a ord or do not know how to own, manage, and improve their own lot? Training 10,000 or more Memphians to build 39,000 homes seems like the gateway to a great city rising from the bones of a city built by those who saw the future, and it is us. While living in Memphis for the last 45 years, Jim Kovarik has worked on local issues, such as housing, workforce, water, and neighborhood development. He lives on an acre in Midtown with his art-entrenched partner of 51 years — tending daily to trees, owers, family, friends, and working to make Memphis a city of grace, beauty, and potential for all.
PHOTO: MBOLINA | DREAMSTIME.COM
The Hot Tamale Capital of the World invites you to enjoy an eclectic collection of events and entertaining stops.
» MAY « Mississippi Wildlife Heritage Festival, including Frog Fest and Leland Craw sh Festival LelandChamber.com
Future Tour Golf Championship
» JUNE « Delta Soul & Celebrity Golf Event facebook.com/DeltaSoulGolf
Lake Washington’s “Straight O The Lake” Music Festival
