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OUR 1715TH ISSUE 01.06.22

JERRY D. SWIFT Advertising Director Emeritus KELLI DEWITT, CHIP GOOGE, HAILEY THOMAS Senior Account Executives MICHELLE MUSOLF Account Executive ROBBIE FRENCH Warehouse and Delivery Manager JANICE GRISSOM ELLISON, KAREN MILAM, DON MYNATT, TAMMY NASH, RANDY ROTZ, LEWIS TAYLOR, WILLIAM WIDEMAN Distribution THE MEMPHIS FLYER is published weekly by Contemporary Media, Inc., P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101 Phone: (901) 521-9000 Fax: (901) 521-0129 memphisflyer.com CONTEMPORARY MEDIA, INC. ANNA TRAVERSE FOGLE Chief Executive Officer LYNN SPARAGOWSKI Controller/Circulation Manager JEFFREY GOLDBERG Chief Revenue Officer MARGIE NEAL Chief Operating Officer KRISTIN PAWLOWSKI Digital Services Director MARIAH MCCABE Circulation and Accounting Assistant KALENA MATTHEWS Marketing Coordinator

National Newspaper Association

Association of Alternative Newsmedia

GEOFF TATE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF EMPIRE

with special guest IMMORTAL GUARDIAN

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6 • 7PM MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7 • 7 PM

T. GRAHAM BROWN Wednesday

FEBRUARY 9 7PM

CODY CANADA AND THE DEPARTED

Thursday February 17 7 pm

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

CARRIE BEASLEY Senior Art Director CHRISTOPHER MYERS Advertising Art Director NEIL WILLIAMS Graphic Designer

THURSDAY, JANUARY 13 8 PM

CONTENTS

JESSE DAVIS Editor SHARA CLARK Managing Editor JACKSON BAKER, BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Senior Editors TOBY SELLS Associate Editor CHRIS MCCOY Film and TV Editor ALEX GREENE Music Editor SAMUEL X. CICCI, MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS Staff Writers ABIGAIL MORICI Copy Editor, Calendar Editor LORNA FIELD, RANDY HASPEL, RICHARD MURFF, FRANK MURTAUGH, MEGHAN STUTHARD Contributing Columnists AIMEE STIEGEMEYER, SHARON BROWN Grizzlies Reporters ANDREA FENISE Fashion Editor KENNETH NEILL Founding Publisher

For this week’s cover story, your faithful Flyer staff wrote about the things we want to leave in the past. It’s a spin on our annual “New Year, New You” issue — a little grumpier at times, but that seemed fitting. It feels disingenuous to suggest our readers take a moment to work on themselves right now, given all that’s going on in the world. So we made a joke of it, albeit not the cleverest one. (You see, “Screw” rhymes with “New.”) For myself, I wrote about ditching the grind ethos. For PHOTO: ROBERT BYRON | DREAMSTIME.COM most of my adult life (honestly, since I was about 14 and too young to work, at least legally), I’ve held down two jobs and taken every freelance offer, paid music gig, and odd job that came my way.

I’ve cut down bamboo, served hors d’oeuvres at a party, made and sold bleach-dyed T-shirts, played guitar for hours at a biker bar, worked the door at music venues — all while holding down two other, more “normal” jobs. It became a point of pride — to work all day at one job, then go work somewhere else at night. To get up early to write a freelance piece before going to work, then go water someone’s flowers or walk their dog or check IDs outside of some smoke-filled bar. If that’s what you’ve got to do to make ends meet — or if you’re grinding your way toward a passion project or dream job — I salute you. Still, I wish it didn’t have to be that way.

All that to say, I think it’s long past time we in this country refigure our attitude toward work. Because, frankly, there are too many people working two jobs (or more), not because they’re trying to support their burgeoning writing and editing career, but because they’re supporting an ailing parent or their kids, paying off medical debt or student loans, because a mistake early in life obliterated their chances at something better, more dignified, or more profitable. I mentioned the typical “New Year, New You” self-improvement lists feeling disingenuous, but so too does my hope that some people can grind less, before they grind themselves to dust.

For so many people, that’s not an option.

After this pandemic, there will be many more people who are unable to work because of health complications. There will be many more people supporting relatives, many more children who need a guardian. Many more two-parent households whose wage-earning power has been reduced by half.

Look, poverty is profitable. There are entire industries that have evolved to capitalize on it. Take a drive through town and count payday loan agencies if you don’t believe me. That means there are people invested in not fixing this problem, so beware of bad faith arguments.

My father-in-law to-be likes to talk about the “doughnut theory of economics,” a reframing tool for considering profit as one of several goals of a successful company (or any economic enterprise). The theory also takes into account the degree to which the needs of the people are met, and the planet’s ecological threshold. Basically, as I understand it anyway, the hole in the center of the doughnut (people’s unmet needs) should shrink as the outer edges of the pastry (profit) expand. Makes good general sense, right?

I don’t bring up this theory because I think it’s the only, or even best, solution, but to illustrate my willingness to try something new. I know the “buck up, N E WS & O P I N I O N buttercup” and “eat it, commie!” emails THE FLY-BY - 4 are going to come flooding in, but I NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 6 promise I’m not necessarily advocating POLITICS - 7 for eliminating all profit, eating or AT LARGE - 8 yeeting the rich, or a return to some COVER STORY “NEW YEAR, SCREW YOU” sort of yeoman farmer hippy commune

BY FLYER STAFF - 10 agrarian lifestyle. But we have to do WE RECOMMEND - 13 something.

MUSIC - 14 The current system doesn’t work, not CALENDAR - 15 for most people anyway, and it’s time to BOOKS - 17 FOOD - 18 try something new, while we still get to FILM - 19 have some say in the matter.

C LAS S I F I E D S - 21 Jesse Davis LAST WORD - 23 jesse@memphisflyer.com

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THE

fly-by

MEMernet Memphis on the internet.

January 6-12, 2022

THAT MEMPHIS WEATHER Memphis holidays were balmy, in the 70s each day. Then, rain and wind blew sideways. Then, the temperature dropped 45 degrees in a day. Then, snow fell Sunday. Unique or not, Memphis weather proved more unpredictable than usual over the last week and it kept the MEMernet buzzing.

Here’s a rundown of 2021’s daily temperatures via a crocheted blanket

by Memphis Reddit user u/worldbound0514.

“It starts at the top left (January 1st) and goes diagonally to the bottom right (December 31st). The colors represent a 10 degree range. Dark purple is 10-19 [degrees] F. Navy POSTED TO blue is 20-29 [degrees] REDDIT BY U/ WORLDBOUND0514 F. Sea blue is 30-39 [degrees] F. It goes all the way to 90-99 [degrees] F in burgundy.”

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Reddit user u/ mcwap gave a well-deserved shout-out to Memphis Light, Gas & Water crews, fixing light POSTED TO REDDIT BY U/MCWAP poles, downed

by Saturdays’ storm, in Sunday’s snow fall.

Something else fell from the sky near u/midtownFPV’s Central Gardens homes on New Year’s Eve: a bullet.

“Found in my driveway this morn- POSTED TO REDDIT BY ing,” said the poster. U/MIDTOWNFPV “And my workshop roof has a brand new hole in it too.” A massive amount of (apparently, hopefully) celebratory gunfire was reported on nearly all MEMernet social channels that night.

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Questions, Answers + Attitude Edited by Toby Sells

FUTURIST B y To b y S e l l s

Getting There Transportation companies betting on electric for profits and against a bleak future.

Gas stations are as antiquated as CD players. Traffic jams are in the skies. Tourists flock to other planets.

That’s the world people described to Ford Motor Co. for its 10th-annual Looking Further With Ford trends report.

But experts say many of these promising innovations will be pushed to avoid a not-sopromising future.

“Imagine a world where demands for food, water, and energy are outpacing supply, fueling widespread scarcity, and suffering across the globe,” reads the Ford report. “That’s the likely scenario as we know it. Experts project the global population will grow to 10 billion by 2050, and climate change has become so severe that the question now is no PHOTO: REGENT longer simply how to sustain this REGENT’s seaglider is an all-electric, zero-emission “flying vessel” traveling at planet, but how to exit it.”

180 miles per hour within 100 feet of the water’s surface.

Moving people in the U.S. is the country’s largest source (29 percent) of greenhouse gas 2050. EIA’s projections show a tipping point: Sales of gas-andemissions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection diesel-powered cars will peak in 2038.

Agency (EPA). Two Memphis-connected transportation Southern Airways is also betting on an electric future, in the companies, Ford and Southern Airways Express, hope to help skies. The commuter airline company began in Olive Branch, flatten this figure, betting on an electric future.

Mississippi, in 2013 and has now relocated to Palm Beach, Ford picked West Tennessee last year to build its electric Florida. Last month, it announced a $250-million order of F-series trucks. South Korea-based SK Innovation will build a new planes, including 20 seagliders, from the Regional Electric battery factory for the trucks there, too. When Ford unveiled Ground Effect Nautical Transport (REGENT) aerospace its electric F-150 Lightning in May, it called it “the truck of the company. future.” Marketers used legacy language to rev up customers — The seaglider is an all-electric, zero-emission flying vessel, like “iconic” and “passion” and “exhilaration” — but also added the company says. It docks in city harbors, where passengers “clean.” are loaded. It floats on a hull and then a hydrofoil until it “For both Ford and the American auto industry, F-150 reaches open water. Then, it takes flight, cruising at 180 miles Lightning represents a defining moment as we progress toward per hour, staying within 100 feet of the water’s surface. Stan a zero-emissions, digitally connected future,” said Bill Ford, Little, chairman and CEO of Southern Airways, called the Ford’s executive chairman, in May. seaglider a “groundbreaking innovation.”

Demand for the new, clean truck is evident. The company “REGENT’s zero-emission electric vehicle unlocks an closed reservations for the Lightning last month, with nearly incredible amount of operating efficiency for our company 200,000 pre-ordered. So, consumers likely won’t find one on a while lowering costs, trip times, and our environmental lot for a year or more. footprint,” Little said.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Southern Airways’ seaglider service will begin in Boston, electric vehicles (EVs) now comprise .7 percent of all of the 1.3 Nantucket, Palm Beach, and Miami. billion light-duty vehicles on the road now. That increases to Futurist is an occasional series focused on what comes next.

31 percent (672 million) of the 2.2 billion cars on the road by

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The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Friday, November 9, 2018

Crossword ACROSS 1

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Medieval weapon Waiting to come out Get a lode of these!

Military leader known for being chicken?

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44 Romano source 55 56 45 22 Not quite keep 6 Protector of the up 46 57 58 heart 23 Salon supply 48 7 Bring to the boiling point PUZZLE BY ROBYN WEINTRAUB 25 Cargo area 52 8 Ratified 24 Verizon 42 Sap 29 Time, 53 33 State bird 9 Seemingly acquisition of proverbially whose name 43 Intelligible spontaneous 2015 sounds like its 47 Start of a subj. gathering call ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE line 25 Jazzy style 10 Supplied 35 Newsroom L G B T A C L U A M A I N 48 Seed case concern 26 Anklebones O L I O W O O T N A N C E 11 More than just 49 Kind of trap won B U B B L E G U M T O N O W 38 LAX to ORD or 27 Like a code 50 Captures S T I E B O C A R I N A 12 “See!” JFK: Abbr. anyone can use J U D A S P R I E S T 13 Roger ___, fifth 51 It may precede 39 One who’s got E R A S S E A T A C second chief justice of 28 Honey bunch? game … but thoughts G A S P I P E S T O L L S the Supreme shouldn’t 31 Travel (about) Court A G A I N S T L A I D O U T 53 Lose it, with 41 Like a kid in a D E P T H M A R C E C K O 14 “Family Ties” “out” 32 Will go ahead candy store, I M G A M E S K E W mother 54 Eastern rival as planned e.g.

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Landmark Prices Report: Home values rose faster in Memphis landmarks districts.

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CITY REPORTER B y To b y S e l l s

Over the last 10 years, Memphis home values rose faster in landmarks districts than other parts of the city, according to a new report from the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development.

In July, Memphis City Council members approved two new landmarks districts, Vollintine-Evergreen and Crosstown. Council members requested at the time data on all the city’s landmarks districts for home prices, demographics, values of building permits, and more. The report was included in the council’s documents for a December committee hearing where members reviewed and discussed the matter.

Home prices across Memphis rose 18 percent from 2010 to 2021, the report says, from a median price of $81,200 to $95,600. Median values in landmarks districts rose 59 percent in the same time period from $171,900 to $273,000.

The largest increase in home values in landmarks district was AnnesdaleSnowden, where home prices rose 74 percent from 2010 to 2021, from a median price of $120,050 to $208,900. Homes in the Glenview neighborhood rose only 16 percent in the time period — lower than the Memphis average — from a median of $62,850 to $72,600.

Council members also asked for demographic breakdowns of the 27,000 people in these landmarks districts. The report found that four of the districts are predominantly African-American: Glenview, Rozelle-Annesdale, Speedway Terrace, and Vollintine-Evergreen. Six of them are predominantly non-Hispanic white: Annesdale-Snowden, Annesdale Park, Central Gardens, Evergreen, Lea’s

Woods, and Cooper-Young. Crosstown was found to have no predominant racial group.

Though income data was not available for all landmarks districts, incomes inside the districts rose faster than those outside of them. From 2010 to 2019, incomes of those living inside landmarks districts rose by a median rate of 27 percent (from $51,964 to $66,307). Incomes for those in the rest of Memphis rose by 13 percent (from $36,473 to $41,228) in the same time period.

CITY OF MEMPHIS

Shelby County’s landmarks districts The value of new building permits nearly doubled (up 91 percent) for all of Memphis from 2010 to 2020. The total value of new building permits across the entire city rose from $53.4 million in 2010 to $101.9 million in 2020. Building permits for all of these years totaled $748.6 million.

However, building permit values rose by 232 percent for projects inside landmarks districts. These values were $1.9 million in 2010 and were $6.3 million in 2020.

Building permits for all of these years totaled $43.7 million.

Homeownership rates citywide fell from 75 percent to 66 percent in 2019.

These rates were 70 percent in 2019 for those inside landmarks districts.

Homeownership decreased in Central Gardens and Rozelle-Annesdale.

Homeownership rates increased in Evergreen and Glenview.

POLITICS By Jackson Baker

The Ticket Booth is Open for Candidates With party primaries first up, does an independent mayoral race by Terry Roland make sense? parties’ primary ballots have not fared well in the general election against their partisan opponents. There are numerous reasons for this, including the established thinking habits of the electorate. But the root problem is that such candidates lack the standing resources, data lists, and network potential available to party-backed candidates.

There may be one serious test of that thesis in 2022.

Former County Commissioner Terry Roland has kept his powder dry since his last political effort, a race for Shelby County mayor in 2018, which saw him finish well behind then Trustee David Lenoir in that year’s Republican primary. He’s thinking of running for the office again, and — wait for it — as an independent.

Roland owns an unusual political profile. Ideologically, he positions himself well to the MAGA side of the GOP spectrum, doling out to his online network

a seemingly PHOTO: JACKSON BAKER never-ending Terry Roland supply of Trump-flavored, anti-Biden texts and graphics, some of them challenging the thresholds of acceptable political discourse.

But, with some justice, he claims an ability not only to work across the aisle as an office-holder and can boast that, as chairman of the commission in 201516, he supported studies of workplace discrimination and arguably led the commission’s fight against state-imposed private-school vouchers.

Roland, who now heads the Millington Chamber of Commerce, has game-planned a three-way race for mayor between himself and the likely party nominees, Republican nominee Worth Morgan and incumbent Democrat Lee Harris.

Far-fetched? Maybe. But certainly interesting, if he’s still serious about that as of April 7th.

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PRISCILLA PRESLEY

DINNER

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Join Terry Blackwood and The Imperials for an evening filled with Elvis’ favorite gospel hymns and a delicious meal.

It’s the Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s birthday salute to Elvis! Join the orchestra and singer Terry Mike Jeffrey at Graceland for a night filled with the Elvis songs you know and love performed like you’ve never heard them before.

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m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

for office in 2022.

The Shelby County Election Commission set December 20th for the initial date for picking up candidate petitions or to file for office in the May 3rd primary elections for county offices, and, in that sense, the race is now on. The deadline for filing as a Democrat or a Republican is February 17th, and the last opportunity to withdraw from a primary race will be February 24th, a week later.

There will be 24 offices on the primary ballots, though the Republican Party, husbanding its resources, has declared

it won’t include the sheriff ’s race on its primary list. In effect, that gives Democratic incumbent Floyd Bonner an uncontested walk-in.

Candidates intending to run as independents, either in the county general election or in the November election for federal and state offices, have a little more time to make up their minds about running. They can pick up petitions beginning on February 7th. The qualifying deadline is April 7th, and the withdrawal deadline is April 14th.

Sensibly, both local parties have decided not to follow the lead of the state legislature, which, in last year’s special session, enabled partisan primaries for school board races.

Those races will remain nonpartisan and subject to the deadlines for independents, as will the myriad of judicial races on the county ballot.

Generally speaking, independents who file for offices that are also on the two

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o, how were your holidays?

Merry and bright, I hope.

Mine were weird.

Three days before Christmas, my stepdaughter, her husband, and their 2-year-old twins were on their way to Memphis, driving from Brooklyn to spend Christmas and New Year’s with us.

We’d prepared our house for their visit, setting up cribs and high chairs and dragging all the tricycles, toy trains, and other toddler detritus out of the storage room. We’d prepped one guest bedroom for the boys and the other for their parents. It was going to be big family fun for 12 days!

Then it all went sideways.

On the day of their planned arrival, my stepdaughter called and said one of the twins had tested positive for Covid. They were eight hours from Memphis. I called my doctor (also a friend) and asked him what we should do. He said, “After being in the car together for a couple days, the whole family will probably test positive at some point. If you and Tatine stay there, you’ll get it.”

He was a very good prognosticator.

No Airbnb in town was going to take a covid-exposed family of four, especially one needing two high chairs and two cribs. So Tatine and I decided to move out and let them have our house. And so the holidays began.

Unable to get a Airbnb on short notice, we spent our first night at The Memphian, the new hotel in Overton Square. For the record, it’s pretty swell, with well-appointed rooms and a friendly staff. Tiger and Peacock, the rooftop bar where we had dinner, is an eclectic and pleasing space — and gets extra points for not ampersanding Tiger and Peacock.

The next morning, after booking a Midtown Airbnb for five days, we went over to “our house” to see the kids and the grandkids. We sat on the deck, six feet apart, masked, no hugs. No one was feeling sick. The kids were running around like normal — riding their trikes, playing with the dogs — as the adults drank coffee and pondered the weirdness of it all.

And so the holiday pattern was set: Meet somewhere outside in the mornings — Shelby Farms, Overton Park, Audubon Park, the backyard — and hang out until the boys’ afternoon nap time. We were fortunate that the weather gifted us with a return to October for 10 days.

PHOTO: BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN

An Airbnb Christmas

The second twin tested positive on the third day; their father on the fifth day; their mother on the eighth. Meet the Domino family. Nobody ever felt ill. The boys had no idea they were “sick.” It was bizarre. We were all sort of stuck in place. (And our dogs were really confused.)

Tatine and I moved into three different Airbnbs over the course of nearly two weeks, testing negative throughout. (If you need advice on finding reasonably priced Memphis Airbnbs, hit us up.)

The two of us had a lot of quiet time on our hands. I was finally able to finish The Overstory, which I recommend. I also relentlessly read about the Omicron Covid variant that had so warped our holidays.

I soon became irritated at the American mass media, which kept headlining the “soaring” Covid infection rate, which was obtained by adding the numbers for Delta and Omicron. It was scary on the surface, but it was a sloppy and misleading conflation of two variants with entirely different symptoms, hospitalization rates, and morbidities. Combining their infection rates into one number was about as useful as combining tetanus and whooping cough stats. You don’t learn much about either disease.

Thankfully, by last weekend, the real story started to emerge: Omicron does not invade the lungs or kill people like Delta did, especially those who are vaccinated.

Hospitalizations are not likely to rise to anywhere near peak pandemic levels.

Omicron blew through South Africa in five weeks and the country’s death rate didn’t change one percentage point. The further good news is that Omicron pushed the far more deadly Delta variant to the sidelines.

I took this information as something of a Christmas gift. The next few weeks may be tough, but I think there is finally light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. And that will be something truly worthy of a holiday.

Meet staff and leadership of area camps and learn more about summer enrichment programs for your child at this fun and

Follow Memphis Parent on your favorite social channel and stay updated!

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NEWS & OPINION

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COVE R STO RY BY FLYER STAFF | I LLUSTRATI ON BY BRYA N RO L L I N S

NEW YEAR,

SCREW YOU

In place of our annual “New Year, New You” feature, in 2022, we’ve decided to focus on the bad habits we’re resolving to leave in the past.

W

elcome to the Flyer’s Flyer first cover story of 2022.

Traditionally, the first cover story of the year is our “New Year, New You” feature — a collection of small steps to take toward selfimprovement. We’ve written about dry January, reading more, getting outdoors, taking up a hobby, learning to meditate or play an instrument or how to do yoga. In short, over the years, we’ve covered a lot of ground with this feature. Last year, buoyed by a vaccine rollout and a naive hopefulness that closing the door on calendar year 2020 would make some sort of difference, we embraced optimism in this space. This year, though, we decided to focus on what we’d like to leave in the past.

So instead of hopefully embracing a new hobby, we’re kicking bad habits to the curb this year. We’re saying “screw you” to everything we don’t want to carry into the new year. If you, too, are feeling a Marie Kondo-esque urge to simplify your life, let this list of bad habits, addictions, and annoyances be your guide.

January 6-12, 2022

Leave Your Comfort Zone

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My new life coach is Luca Paguro, the Italian child/sea monster star of the film Luca.

Last year, the world watched as Luca swam, crawled, walked, biked, and fell outside of his comfort zone. It wasn’t easy. If it were, Disney probably would not have made a movie out of it.

Luca is a hardworking, responsible sea monster child. He listens to his parents and does his chores without complaint. Still though, he’s curious about the world above the water, the one place he’s not allowed to go or even talk about. Like Reba McEntire before him, Luca wondered, “Is there life out there?” If so, how did he fit into it? Did he at all?

He drags himself to the edge of his comfort zone but can’t quite stick his head out of the water. He’s yanked out of it all by Alberto Scorfano, another sea monster child who’d become Luca’s friend and out-of-thewater mentor.

Alberto teaches Luca to walk, and that ain’t easy for someone who’s only swum his entire life. Luca fails and fails again

Screw the Screens If you picked up this issue of the Flyer from a newsstand and are reading it in all its inkon-paper glory, I salute you. Too few these days remove their eyes from digital devices often enough to read things in print. To be fair, I’m equally pleased with those of you visiting this article via our website — we know that’s how many folks consume information, and we’re happy to have you stumble upon memphisflyer.com to read this online. My desire to leave obsessive screen time behind in the new year has more to do with mental and physical health, and the ways in which we interact.

Did that status update receive any new likes in the past 20 minutes? Did I get a new email? Is there a text message I need to respond to right away? It seems, especially after enduring varying levels of isolation throughout the pandemic, I’ve spent the majority of my time shifting through screens — laptop for several hours of the work day, phone while doomscrolling social media in the evenings, occasionally switching to the iPad to play some time-wasting game, television to binge-watch the newest season of That Show Everyone Is Talking About.

Not only does it create a sort of time warp (is it really already 11 p.m.?), but it steals from us precious hours we could spend outside in nature, visiting friends or family, crafting, creating art, turning the pages of an actual book, pursuing our

passions, learning, growing. Too much screen time is believed to increase anxiety, contribute to short attention spans, and can make it more difficult to fall asleep. In 2022, I hope to avert my eyes more often — put away the screens and be present in the real, tangible world. — Shara Clark

Leave the Grind Behind There was a time when reading the above section headline would have made me roll my eyes right into the back of my skull.

“Leave the grind behind? That’s fine for you, Mr. Moneybags, but some of us have to grind to survive,” I would have thought.

If you have a similar response, I get it.

For some people, the “grind” is the only way to keep the lights on and food on the table. Heck, I started working when I was too young to legally clock in, getting paid “under the table” to fetch and carry young orange trees at a plant nursery, and I continued that workaholic trend, holding down two jobs for most of my life so far.

That said, many young Americans have internalized the belief that everyone needs a main hustle, a side hustle, and some kind of monetized hobby at minimum. So for me, saying “screw the grind” doesn’t mean quitting doing the work necessary to survive. It means that I don’t have to say “yes” to every odd job and freelance gig that comes my way. For years, I worked at the Flyer, at another business on nights and weekends, played (usually paying) gigs, and took on whatever landscaping, yard work, house-sitting, pet-sitting, and freelance writing or editing gigs came my way. I felt, as Bilbo Baggins tells Gandalf, “like butter scraped over too much bread.”

Because the grind is what brought me here, I won’t hate on it, but I’ve come to realize that it’s not something to be prized in and of itself. It’s a means to an end, or a necessity of circumstance, not a personal identity, no matter how good it feels to be needed.

So if you’re feeling like Bilbo’s butter, I hope you can find time to take a breath. I hope you can make more room for yourself in your life and can step out from the shadow of your job or jobs. There’s more to you than your career or passion project.

— Jesse Davis

Get Over Yourselves Every year around the time when the numbers on the calendar tick up by one, we are called on to find ways to improve

ourselves. Increasing our self-esteem, we are told, is the way toward happiness and greater productivity.

Well, look around you. Is it working?

We’ve been gassing ourselves up for years now. Is the world a better place because we have better opinions of ourselves?

Quite the opposite. Look no further than the damned pandemic — and really, can you look at anything else? There’s a whole generation of people with so much confidence in the innate superiority of their immune systems that they think they don’t need a vaccine — which, make no mistake, is an actual miracle of science — to help them avoid the deadliest disease in a century. How’s that working out for them? Badly. But they don’t care because to care would mean acknowledging the fact that they are not all that.

BYE-BYE, BAD HABITS — NO TIME FOR YOU IN 2022!

Instead, we should all get over ourselves. Accept the truth that you are a mistake arising from a mishap built on top of an oops. On the cosmic level, your imagination is not adequate to conceive of your insignificance. Nothing has any meaning except what you imbue in it.

Does this sound bleak and horrifying?

It’s actually liberating. That racist who thinks the color of his skin makes him better than you? Who cares what he thinks? He comes from the same genetic slop pond as the rest of us. Stressed about the big deadline coming up at work? Relax! Your work will crumble into dust long before the sun expands and reduces the Earth to a cinder.

Unlucky in love? Look at all those miserable married people, then redefine “luck.”

When we all accept that we are garbage, maybe we can make our dumpster more livable. In the immortal words of Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, “This don’t matter.

None of this matters.” — Chris McCoy

Screw You, Musical Tribalism!

We all know the smug certainty of those who proudly refuse to “get” a whole genre

of music or dismiss you for not knowing certain groups. These people, real or imagined, often live rent free in our heads.

Like a High Fidelity character in overdrive, it’s that guy who “only likes the Ramones,” or can’t believe you’ve never heard so-andso. I even embody that to some. “Oh, you know, I’m not hip like you.” If they only knew!

But, as Tower of Power once asked (“Oh no, not funk!” I hear someone exclaim), “What is hip?” The proliferation of the hipster stereotype in today’s culture is really just a marker of the bewildering plethora of music now available. None of us can keep up with it. Yet these imaginary, bearded oracles supposedly can.

The blunt reality is, no one can. You don’t need to wear your records like a badge, and no one cares about your pure aesthetic. Contrary to lay opinion, there is no Memphis version of High Fidelity.

Some from the suburbs often confess an insecurity about browsing this city’s brilliant record shops, and the first thing I tell them is: That smugness is illusory. That clerk behind the counter? I happen to know she digs free jazz, rap, old country, punk, and funk. And on rainy nights, maybe even a little classical. Give up your FOMO and move on. Crates of undiscovered records stand before you: Get to digging!

— Alex Greene

Screw Fear of Covid Yes, I know, the OmiGOD! variant is sweeping the country, making more people sick than ever before. But you know what?

If you’re vaxxed and boosted and get it, your odds of being hospitalized are next to zero. You probably won’t even get very sick, if at all. Yes, the number of infections is way up, but the number of deaths is way down. With very rare exceptions, Omicron is not killing vaccinated people. So be one of those people.

This is not March 2020, when we had no medicines, no vaccines, and no real knowledge of how to fight Covid. Those days are gone. We now have incredibly effective vaccines available to keep us from getting Covid, and new meds and treatments to fight the disease, if we do catch it. And we have a president who believes in following the medical science instead of recommending bleach, hydroxychloroquine, horse meds, and magical thinking in a nightly dog-and-pony show.

“The hiding-in-our-basement-behindthe-pile-of-sandbags moment has come and gone,” says Andrew Noymer, associate continued on page 12

COVER STORY m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

but eventually (and awkwardly) finds his footing. That’s where Luca’s magical journey begins.

That’s really where all magical journeys begin — outside of the comfort zone. Yours.

Mine. Everyone’s. Nothing new happens inside your old routines and habits. So, if you want change this year, you have to — have to — do something different.

Do you want to start a YouTube channel? Want to travel? Want to write?

Want to lose weight? Want to play piano?

Want to cook? Want to garden? Want to get a better job? Want to save money?

Every single one of these journeys begins at the same place, that spot right outside your comfort zone. It’s going to feel weird and probably not great in the beginning.

That’s how you know it’s working.

If Luca had stayed inside his comfort zone, he wouldn’t have met new friends, ridden a bike, played soccer, tasted ice cream, eaten pasta, climbed a tree, ridden a Vespa, ridden a train, fallen in love with learning, gone to school, or won the Portorosso Cup (spoilers, sorry).

Be like Luca this year and leave behind your comfort zone. — Toby Sells

11

January 6-12, 2022

FREE Baby CRIBS!

12

Call the Shelby County Health Department at 901-222-9263, A, B, C’s of Safe Sleep Babies should sleep Alone, on their Back, and in their Crib.

THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED UNDER A GRANT CONTRACT WITH THE STATE OF TENNESSEE

continued from page 11 professor of population health and disease prevention at the University of California at Irvine. “If the rationale is that there’s Covid outside the door, well we’re going to be hiding in our basement forever, because there’s going to be Covid next year, and the year after that.”

Exactly. Predictions are that a wave of Omicron is about to sweep the country, but we know what to do: Make sure you’re vaccinated and boosted, mask up in public spaces, and avoid large gatherings when a wave is passing through. But we also need to recognize that Covid is becoming endemic, meaning that it’s likely to become a recurring disease, like the flu or a cold, and — except for the very elderly, the immunocompromised, and the ideologically stupid — the rest of us are going to have to learn to stop being so afraid of it. — Bruce VanWyngarden

Quitting Coffee (Well …

Kind Of) Since my routine was to drink about three or four cups of coffee before I even got in the shower each morning, I thought maybe I’d place less emphasis on coffee this year.

The first thing I do in the morning is make a pot of coffee in my electric stainless steel percolator.

The last thing I do before I go to bed is clean my electric stainless steel percolator.

If there are just four cans of Chock Full o’ Nuts on the shelf at the grocery store, I buy all four — just in case they won’t have any the next time I need it.

I asked for — and got — a stainless steel stove-top percolator for Christmas. No electricity needed. So, if the power goes out, I can still make coffee on my gas stove.

Providing I have water.

I was at a dinner party around the holidays and one of the hosts knew I would select the coffee-flavored gelato from the selection of gelati during dessert. They know.

I have come a long way since the time I used to buy a cup of coffee every night on the way home from work. A large cup.

But since we’ve mostly been working from home, I drink my own coffee at night at home.

For the past few days I’ve been limiting my coffee to four cups in the morning.

I look forward to each one instead of slamming them down. I admit, I do wake up faster when I slam them down. I seem to move faster and get more things done.

So, I’ve just about finished my fourth cup of coffee today. I’m done. But maybe I’ll have one more cup because this is the first day back at work since my vacation.

And because there’s snow on the ground.

But maybe I won’t. Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t. Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t.

— Michael Donahue

Resolved: De-Politicize the Virus The oddest bit of news from the year just passed was the report that Donald Trump confided to a crowd of his friendlies that he’d had a booster shot — and was booed! Have we not been accustomed to believing that anything the Donald emotes is gospel to his minions? In fact, is it not part of our own catechism, we of the non-Trumpist majority, to draw connections between the former president’s actions in office (or lack of them) and the spread of the seemingly endless coronavirus malaise? So what’s up here?

It’s worse than we thought. Not only has political factionalism intruded into matters of health and wellness — a problem that is, in theory, correctable — but the disbelief in reality has become an illness more lethal and intractable than the troublesome Covid-19 spores themselves, and one wholly beyond the borders of ideology. Quick fact-check: Who is more antagonistic toward the principle of vaccination, Robert Kennedy Jr. of the sainted Democratic clan or the recently deposed ex-president? The answer is the former. Upon occasion, Trump has actually been heard to take credit for the quick emergence of vaccines, via Operation Warp Speed.

The fact is that common sense, even in matters of survival, is in short supply. People smoke, they drink too much, they drive too fast, they burn fossil fuels because, in the short run, it seems inconvenient to them not to.

The Republican Party, by and large, has weighed in against mandates for masks because it is now, and always has been, easy to score political points against an abrupt call for hard discipline. People resist having to take cold showers.

If there is a high side to the current ubiquity and rapid spread of the Omicron variant, it is that at some point, a truly common peril becomes undeniable. One way or another, everybody “gets it.” And the virus becomes so universal as to erode all these self-serving political barriers.

While we still can, let us make it a firm resolution to hasten agreement on the point. — Jackson Baker

steppin’ out (& stayin’ in)

Live music at

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

Party Like It’s 1935

january 6th - 7:00pm

By Abigail Morici

Mario Monterosso

Eighty-seven years ago, Elvis was born. Forty-seven years ago, he earned his eighthdegree black belt, and somewhere in between, he released some music and movies PHOTO: ABIGAIL MORICI and earned his title as the King of Rock-and-Roll. Admittedly, these accomplishTigerman Karate Dojo & ments, not his karate skills, are probably the reason fans celebrate his birthday to this Museum day. But some fans haven’t forgotten his karate chops, and in fact, they plan to celebrate Elvis’ 87th at his first dojo, which has since been converted into the Tigerman Karate Dojo & Museum, where you can take karate and check out some rare Elvis memorabilia, like the ambulance that drove Elvis from Graceland the day he died.

On January 7th, the Tigerman Birthday Bash will host guests like Mindi Miller, Elvis’ girlfriend in the ’70s, who shared an interest in karate; Wayne Mann and Janet Smith, Elvis’ first-cousins; and Joey Smith, Elvis’ second-cousin who lived at Graceland and now works at the dojo/museum. Colin Paul, a musician and Elvis enthusiast, has traveled from his home in the UK to Memphis “to hook up with [his] American Elvis family” and to interview Miller, who will talk about her personal relationship with Elvis. YouTube Elvis documentarians, Spa Guy (who also owns the dojo/museum) and Globetrotting with Trey, will also be in attendance. During the party, attendees will have a chance to meet with the special guests and take part in the usual party activities, like eating birthday cake, which will be cut at midnight.

“Even though it’s the day before Elvis’ birthday, we are planning to celebrate until midnight when it turns January 8th,” says Gabrielle Stout, the party’s organizer. “It’s just a chance for Elvis fans to get together, and I’m looking forward to seeing all the smiling faces.”

Stout says she has always loved Elvis, and coincidentally, the party is going to be held on her birthday. “It’s going to be the best birthday I’ve ever had because, one, I get to be around the people I care about, and, two, I get to share my birthday with Elvis.”

TIGERMAN BIRTHDAY BASH, TIGERMAN KARATE DOJO & MUSEUM, FRIDAY, JANUARY 7TH, 5 P.M., $59.95.

Sanctuary: David Bowie Dance Party Bar DKDC, 964 Cooper, Sat., Jan. 8, 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m.

Celebrate the 75th anniversary of David Bowie landing on Earth. The party will be playing David Bowie songs all night, along with favorite ’80s dance tunes. Bonus points if you dress as your favorite Bowie alter ego.

1/8 - 7pm

Queen Ann Hines

1/13 - 7pm

T Jarrod Bonta

1/14 - 7pm

The Soul Rebels

1/15 - 7pm

Memphis All Stars

“Mona Hatoum: Misbah” Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, 1934 Poplar, through Sun., Jan. 9 Contemporary art installation where the viewer stands in a darkened room, lit only by a rotating lantern dangling from the ceiling. After a moment, it becomes clear that the seemingly decorative cut-outs that allow light to pass through the lamp are not traditional motifs; rather, these cut-outs cast images of armed soldiers onto the surrounding walls.

Weapons at the ready, the soldiers stalk the periphery of the room as the lantern slowly rotates. The soft glow of the lamp contrasts with its disturbing projections, evocative of the discordant, and often dangerous, realities of the contemporary experience throughout the world.

1/21 - 7pm

The Blue Dreamers

1/22 - 7pm

Third Coast

1/27 - 7pm

Mario Monterosso

1/28 - 9pm

Eric Gales Album Release party with special guest Joe Bonamossa and MonoNeon

railgarten.com 2 1 6 6 C e n t r a l Av e .

Memphis TN 38104

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

Johnny Burgin

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

“12 Months of Memphis” Playhouse on the Square, 66 S. Cooper, opens Fri., Jan. 7 Original oil paintings depicting one favorite Memphis landmark per month by local artist Jane M. Croy.

The saffires

1/20 - 7pm

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES January 6th - 12th Elvis’ Birthday Celebration Graceland, 3717 Elvis Presley, Thurs.Sunday, Jan. 6-9 Enjoy four days of birthday festivities surrounding the King of Rockand-Roll’s birthday, including the annual Elvis Birthday Proclamation Ceremony on January 8th, a “Birthday Bash” at Elvis Presley’s Memphis, concerts featuring music from all facets of Elvis’ career, exclusive tours, movie screenings, and more.

Tickets for Elvis’ Birthday Celebration — individual events and various packages — can be purchased at graceland.com/elvis-birthday or by calling Graceland Reservations at 800-238-2000 or 901-332-3322.

january 7th - 7:00pm

13

MUSIC By Alex Greene

So Gung Ho Blast Habit Records’ debut act is all about enthusiasm for music.

Photo by Michael Childers

MIKE SUPER MAGIC & ILLUSION

LUCIE ARNAZ January 15

JASON BISHOP February 25

January 21

GARRY GOIN PRESENTS

A TRIBUTE TO GOSPEL MUSIC March 5

VITALY AN EVENING OF WONDERS March 19

LARRY RASPBERRY & THE HIGHSTEPPERS

WENDY MOTEN April 2

March 25

February 17 • March 17

ROBERT MOODY PRESENTS THE

ORCHESTRA UNPLUGGED January 6-12, 2022

January 27-28 • April 7-8 • May 5-6

ORPHEUM-MEMPHIS.COM/ONSTAGE

THA N K YO U TO O U R S P ON S OR S

14

I

f you’re a music fan, sometimes you sense such a connection with a band that you feel compelled to join the group by any means necessary. Even non-musicians know the feeling: “I have to be in this band!” Jared McStay, who first burst upon the scene with the Simpletones (aka the Simple Ones) in the early ’90s, then went on to become a co-owner of Shangri-La Records, felt this way about the Turnstyles, Seth Moody and Graham Winchester’s guitar/drums duo, back in pre-Covid days.

As Moody describes it, “Jared wanted to play bass for the Turnstyles so bad! We were like, ‘No, you don’t get it! It’s a two-piece.

There’s no bass!’ But he was just relentless.

He’d come to see us and in between sets he’d say, ‘Dude! That song needs a bass on it!’ So I told Graham, ‘Let’s just start a different band and do the songs that don’t work without bass.’ There are certain songs where you just can’t cover everything with guitar.

And I’ve tried, doing pretzel chords while I solo and all that. And So Gung Ho started that way: ‘We’ll just do all the songs we can’t pull off as a two-piece.’”

But a funny thing happened on their way to being a trio: McStay had a lot more to contribute than just a big bottom end.

“Then we realized that Jared’s got this treasure trove of awesome originals,” says Moody. “I’d only heard one or two of them at that point, two or three years ago, but he had a whole portfolio of great, kind of Kinks-y pop songs. Cool lyrics and neat chord changes and hooks that stuck in your head. So we were like, ‘All right! Let’s utilize his catalog and pepper in a couple originals from me and Graham.’”

The result was a self-titled LP, bursting with energy and fun, which has been in heavy rotation on this writer’s turntable since its release on Blast Habit Records last year. (The launch of the label, run by Jared McStay, his wife Lori, and Winchester, was detailed in our blog last June.) It turned out that McStay, Moody, and Winchester were on the same stylistic page. And not a page from, say, an Anne Sexton anthology, more of a page from an Archie comic.

“It’s fun,” says Moody. “It’s kind of like tongue-in-cheek rock. Like meathead rock. We’re making fun of the guys that take it too seriously. The unspoken rule is, ‘nothing too introspective.’ Make it fun or aggro. If a song has a little more testosterone, throw it in the So Gung Ho bag. We’ll

never do a Beck thing, where it’s fun, then depressing, then fun. We’ll skip the depressing ones!”

Nothing expresses that sense of levity more than McStay’s “Free Man Band,” which makes use of cod-Cockney to obliquely chide groups with an overwrought sense of mission. “As usual you’re half past late/Hangin’ around on some date/ Wif your uvver group … This was ’sposed ta be/A free man band/And you ain’t gonna be/No free band man!”

Though much of So Gung Ho’s origin myth hinges on the sanctity of two-piece versus three-piece lineups, the song was conceived much earlier. “I would bet $14 that that song was at least a year or two old before So Gung Ho came into existence,” says Moody. “It’s funny, I’ve been put in that situation a few times. And it’s fun to picture these British blokes arguing with each other. It’s harder to understand in Memphis. We all recycle our band members like mad in this town. That song wouldn’t make much sense with Midtown musicians.”

PHOTO: LORI MCSTAY

So Gung Ho The sense of play, undergirded with choppy riffs, propulsive bass and drums, and chiming background vocals, is downright contagious, especially when combined with the lyrics. The band’s theme song (and album closer) captures that attitude in a nutshell: “We were so gung ho/About doin’ that thing/That we wanted to do … and I can’t recall what we wanted to do/But it was probably cool!” Nowadays, with the hopes of the last two years so clouded by deferred dreams and postponed plans, it’s easy to forget what we were on about, way back when. But, as this band reminds us, what’s important is that we remember that feeling — the feeling of being so gung ho!

CALENDAR of EVENTS:

January 6 - 12

ART AN D S P EC IA L E X H I B ITS

“Borders”

Exhibition of metal sculptures

by Steinunn Thorarinsdottir.

Through April 23.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“Color Personified!”

Display of art by Wanda Winsett. Through March 1.

FRATELLI’S

“Contingency Plan”

Showcases the work of nine graduating seniors in studio art and photography at the University of Memphis. Through Jan. 23.

CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE

Master Metalsmith: Kim Cridler | Held

An annual exhibition celebrating the most influential contemporary metal artists. Through March 6.

METAL MUSEUM

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.

“Mona Hatoum: Misbah”

“Something for Everyone”

Exhibition of a contemporary art installation where the viewer stands in a darkened room, lit only by a rotating lantern dangling from the ceiling. Through Jan. 9.

Virtual exhibition of photos by Becky Ross McRae. Through Jan. 31.

WKNO

“The 12 Months of Memphis”

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“New Faculty: Connections”

Original oil paintings depicting one favorite Memphis landmark per month by local artist Jane M. Croy. Friday, Jan. 7-March 2.

Presents the work of the most recent additions to the department, including seven artists and two art historians. Through Jan. 23.

PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE

“things we carry”

Exhibition of abstract paintings

by Lauren Cannon and whimsical pottery by Robyn Gridley Nickell. Friday, Jan. 7-Jan. 21.

CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE

“Poetics of Gesture”

Exhibition of oversized monochromatic abstract paintings by Tad Lauritzen Wright. Through Feb. 5

BUCKMAN ARTS CENTER AT ST. MARY’S SCHOOL

Victorian Yuletide

Enjoy lovely decorations and old Southern Yuletide customs from a bygone era. Through Jan. 9.

DAVID LUSK GALLERY

“Selected Works: Hooks Bros. Photographic Archives”

Exhibition of Hooks Bros. photos circa 1910 to 1950. Through Jan. 31.

BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY

WOODRUFF-FONTAINE HOUSE MUSEUM

Jane M. Croy’s paintings, on display at Playhouse on the Square through March 2nd, depict Memphis landmarks.

continued on page 16

The Science of Beer m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

WWW.MOSHMEMPHIS.COM

Tap into a keg full of fun & learning Jan 14, 2022

15

C A L E N DA R: JA N UA RY 6 - 1 2

continued from page 15 ART HAPPE N I NGS

Artists’ Link Winter Show 2021

Exhibit/sale by local artists group Artists’ Link. Free.

Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Through Jan. 14.

ART GALLERY OF ST. GEORGE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Incognito Art Auction and Gala Presented by Banes Capital Group

January 6-12, 2022

Auction of unsigned work by more than 100 of the Mid-South’s favorite artists.

Exhibition on view Jan. 8-28.

Online bidding opens Jan. 24.

Saturday, Jan. 8-Jan. 28.

START THE NEW YEAR WITH A DEEP NEW BREATH. WE VISITED SEVERAL LOCAL ISSUE YOGA STUDIOS TO LEARN HOW YOGA CAN BE A BALM FOR BODY, MIND, AND SOUL, AT ANY AGE. IN THIS ISSUE, YOU’LL ALSO GO BEHIND THE SCENES WITH A MEMPHIS WEDDING PLANNER, GET A BITE AT BALA’S BISTRO, MEET ARTIST JOHN MCINTIRE, READ VANCE LAUDERDALE’S LATEST DISCOVERY, AND MORE.

SUBSCRIBE and you’ll enjoy all our regular content: In the Beginning, Ask Vance, Travel, Habitats, Classic Dining, Tidbits, Last Stand, Pages, City Dining Listings, and more.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! JUST $18

16

901-521-9000 / MEMPHISMAGAZINE.COM

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

“things we carry”: New Works by Lauren Cannon and Robyn Gridley Nickell Gallery Opening

Meet the artists and view the new works. Friday, Jan. 7, 5-7 p.m.

BUCKMAN ARTS CENTER AT ST. MARY’S SCHOOL

B O O K E V E N TS

Lisa Scottoline: Virtual Author Talk + Q&A

Lisa Scottoline discusses Eternal. Tuesday, Jan. 11, 7 p.m.

MEMPHIS JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER

Meet the Author: Brad Taylor

New York Times bestselling author in conversation with Mark Greaney on his End of Days.

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 6 p.m.

NOVEL

C LAS S / W O R KS H O P

From the Neck Up: Portrait Painting with Judy Nocifora

This four-session intermediate level class will explore the basic structure of facial features and color mixing for true-to-life skin tones. $200, $232. Tuesday, Jan. 11, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Mona Hatoum’s Misbah reflects on the social consequences of warfare. On view at the Brooks.

Garden Shrooms

Give your garden a delightful splash of color with your own handmade ceramic mushrooms. $35, $42. Sunday, Jan. 9, 2-3:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Herbal Work Study: Seeds

As you clean seeds, learn about seed saving and packaging. Saturday, Jan. 8, 8:3011:30 a.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Miniature Plants for Flower Shows

Join the District I Judges Council for an educational morning all about miniature plants. $5, $10. Monday, Jan. 10, 9 a.m.-noon.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

DAN C E

Friday Night Swing Dance

Kick off the evening with a 30-minute beginner lesson, then enjoy two hours of incredible vintage swing music for you to swing the night out! $5. Friday, Jan. 7, 7-9:30 p.m.

RUMBA ROOM

FAM I LY

Caterpillar Club

Toddlers to 5-year-olds enjoy fun-filled stories, music, and movement, nature-inspired art, and adventure hikes through the garden. $45, $75.

Tuesday, Jan. 11-12, 10 a.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

F I LM

Sci-Fest Film Festival

Celebrate all things sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, or supernatural in nature. Sci-Fest is a one-day event mixed of submitted and judged films, panels, sfx makeup competition, musical performances, a filmmakers meet and greet,

and a visit from an industry professional. Saturday, Jan. 8, noon-midnight.

BLACK LODGE

P E R FO R M I N G ARTS

Streaming OnlinePastorela: Bilingual Comedy- The Last Christmas ... Almost

The eternal battle between good and evil with a small twist. $10. Through Jan. 7.

CAZATEATRO.ORG

S P EC IA L EVE NTS

Elvis’ Birthday Celebration 2022

Enjoy four days of festivities surrounding the King of Rockand-Roll’s birthday. Thursday, Jan. 6-Jan. 9.

GRACELAND

Nightlife 2

Nightlife 2 is a second iteration of an outdoor coloredlight installation commissioned by Crosstown Arts.

Monday, Jan. 10, 5 p.m.

CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE

Santuary: David Bowie Dance Party

Celebrate the 75th anniversary of David Bowie landing on Earth. $12. Saturday, Jan. 8, 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m.

BAR DKDC

Tigerman Birthday Bash Special guests will include Elvis’ girlfriend from the 1970s, Mindi Miller, plus Wayne Mann and Janet Smith (Elvis’ first cousins). Friday, Jan. 7, 5 p.m.

TIGERMAN KARATE DOJO & MUSEUM

S PO R TS

Memphis Grizzlies vs.

Detroit Pistons Thursday, Jan. 6, 7 p.m.

FEDEXFORUM

Memphis Grizzlies vs.

Golden State Warriors Tuesday, Jan. 11, 7 p.m.

FEDEXFORUM

Memphis Tigers vs.

Cincinnati

Sunday, Jan. 9, 2:30 p.m.

FEDEXFORUM

Going to Graceland Nashville author’s latest essay collection explores “hope and heartache in the American South.”

Memphis Flyer: In the acknowledgements of Graceland, At Last, you write about censorship of the student magazine and how that event prompted you to leave the South, if only for a time. What makes that feel like a familiar story?

Margaret Renkl: I wouldn’t want to speak for other writers, but for me the answer has something to do with simply getting older, I think. As a very young woman, I thought leaving the South would mean leaving behind everything the South so often gets wrong. What I learned in my brief time away is that every place gets crucial things very wrong — racism, for instance, is not a uniquely Southern trait — and that leaving home wasn’t going to mean finding Shangri-La. More to the point, it’s possible to love what we get right here without forgiving what we get wrong. Maybe I realized I’d rather work toward a better South than be an expatriate forever. Or maybe I was just homesick.

Can you talk a little bit about the title for the

collection?

I wanted those words to convey a subtle sense of movement, even progress. In the South we are moving — slowly and not at all directly — toward the goodness I truly believe we are capable of.

Everything That’s True — Selected Writing from the Memphis Flyer and Memphis magazine is a great read — and a great gift.

To me, the “New” in “New South” really means “Newly Visible.” The South is incredibly diverse, but that diversity hasn’t always been reflected in the “moonshine and magnolias” aspects of the region’s art, literature, and reporting.

I think it’s worth making a distinction between the way the South is represented nationally and the way it’s represented here at home. I also think it’s worth noting, with any show or story or song, who the target audience is.

As a rule, mainstream productions — those aimed at an audience untroubled by stereotypes, even invested in stereotypes — rely on one of two Southern tropes: the rural idyll of church potlucks and cool green swimming holes, or the open racism and outright brutality of the Jim Crow era.

Such representations, of course, aren’t entirely fictional.

But the South, as you point out, is also more urban, more culturally and ethnically diverse, more artistically innovative than such stereotypes allow. And there are far more homegrown novelists and journalists and songwriters and poets and playwrights who are working to highlight that diversity and who are adding to that innovation than I could possibly enumerate in this space, or even in a weekly column.

Would you talk a little bit about your use of your family members’ wedding rings as “talismans against fear” on your book tour?

That was such a moving piece.

It’s easy for me to forget that much of what I experience as stress is something my ancestors — who survived wars and droughts and floods and fires and every imaginable kind of medical crisis — would have found almost laughable. Wearing their wedding rings reminds me to set my own worries into a bigger context.

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

I

f the last weeks of the year are good for anything, it makes for a fine time to catch up on reading. One of my favorite recent reads is the newest collection, Graceland, At Last (Milkweed Editions), by Nashville-based author Margaret Renkl.

Drawn from Renkl’s op-ed column in The New York Times, the essays in the collection explore the politics and religion, ecology and environment, and art and culture of the South.

One feels that Renkl understands the South, or, perhaps paradoxically, she knows that the South defies explanation. “I’m not the voice of the South, and no one else is, either, because in truth there’s no such thing as ‘the South,’” she writes. “The persistent and pervasive notion of this place as a homogeneous region, a conservative voting bloc, is as much a product of the American media’s imagination as any episode of The Dukes of Hazzard.”

I had the chance to speak with her about family, America’s obsession with lawns, and the time she finally made it to Graceland (at last). — Jesse Davis

“Full of humor, spirit, and sass …”

Autographed and personalized copies available.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

BOOKS By Jesse Davis

17

FOOD By Michael Donahue

Mane St. Provisions Chef Kyle Gairhan’s line of products is at Memphis Whistle.

January 6-12, 2022

Tune into the Memphis Flyer Radio podcast!

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A weekly podcast from the pages and people of the Memphis Flyer.

Available wherever you stream your podcasts!

K

yle Gairhan is in a pickle when he’s not in a jam.

Gairhan, executive chef at Memphis Whistle, also is founder of Mane St. Provisions, his line of pickles, jams, sausages, and sauces. “‘Mane’ is a common term here in Memphis,” Gairhan says. “Like ‘What’s up, mane?’”

What’s up with Gairhan is the 36-yearold native Memphian is starting out with his products, which only are available at Memphis Whistle, and he hopes to expand with his own store “where everything is made in-house.”

“I pickle everything. I have spicy pickled okra, sunchokes, and pizza pickles — they’re cucumbers spiced with my Italian seasoning.”

For now, he is only selling his barbecue sauce and spaghetti sauce. “I have some sauces I do at Memphis Whistle that I haven’t started to market — beer mustard and buffalo sauce.”

He makes seasonal jams. “Right now, I have available strawberry lemonade jam, blackberry merlot, and passion fruit mango.”

Growing up, Gairhan liked to hang out in the kitchen when his mom was cooking.

“Anything that I could do in there my mom was willing to let me do ’cause she didn’t really want to do it.”

Barbecued chicken was his first effort, but he didn’t make his own barbecue sauce.

“I used Kraft sauce we had at the house.

But then every time I made it after that, I started doctoring it up to make it better.

“I just really wanted to feed myself. I made a lot of sandwiches. I would just make whatever we had in the house into a sandwich, [even] spaghetti sandwiches.”

A McDonald’s in Alabama when he was majoring in music education at Jacksonville State University was his first foray into restaurant cooking. Gairhan hated working there, but, he says, “It made me realize I like being in the kitchen.”

He then went to work as a cook at Struts of Jacksonville. “It was mostly like fried chicken and chicken wings.”

Gairhan left school six months later because he realized it was going to take too long to get his degree and become a band director. He moved to San Diego, where he worked in a pizza shop for a year. He missed Memphis, so he moved back and went to work at Central BBQ.

Gairhan then read an article in Food & Wine magazine about Alpine Beer Company wanting to put a barbecue restaurant in its brew pub. “So, I hit them up,” he says. He returned to San Diego and made barbecue for them.

“Everyone loved it.”

He got married while he was working there and eventually moved to Los Angeles, where he became head chef at the old Not a Burger Stand in Burbank.

“While I was there, I was getting into the cannabis industry. I left to start my own cannabis business, Pissing Excellence Extracts. Pissing Excellence is still my Instagram handle. I won the High Times Cannabis Cup a few times doing extracts and topicals.”

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE

Kyle Gairhan He sold the business and moved back to Memphis, where he became half owner of RAWK’n Grub. “Then the pandemic chilled that,” he says, “and I started the pickle company.”

Gairhan taught himself how to make pickles. “I just read books about it. I just really like pickles.”

He was head chef at The Backlot Sandwich Shop before he took the job at Memphis Whistle. “I have some unique vegan items. Our Buffalo Lion’s Mane is lion’s mane mushrooms deep-fried like boneless wings and covered in buffalo lemon pepper or buffalo sauce.”

Gairhan’s ultimate goal is to open his Mane St. Provisions grocery store, where everything will be made in-house. “Like anything you’d find at a grocery store: pancake mix, cereal, everything.”

But for now, Gairhan will be selling his products and whipping up unique meals at Memphis Whistle, where he says, “I’m going to wow people with my creativity.”

Memphis Whistle is at 2299 Young Avenue; (901) 236-7136.

FILM By Chris McCoy

Armageddon Time The searing satire Don’t Look Up explains why we’re doomed.

W

hen Dr. Strangelove, Stanley Kubrick’s satire of the nuclear age, was released in January 1964, it began with a disclaimer: “It is the stated position of the U.S. Air Force that their safeguards would prevent the occurrence of such events as are depicted in this film.”

As journalist Eric Schlosser discovered while researching his book Command and Control, the disclaimer turned out to be wishful thinking. Dr. Strangelove’s central scenario, in which an American general goes murderously insane and orders his bombers to attack the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons, was completely plausible. Kubrick created what is arguably the greatest comedy ever by simply telling the truth.

The key to Dr. Strangelove’s success is Kubrick’s tonal tightrope walk between the hilarious and the terrifying.

Now, with Don’t Look Up, it’s Adam McKay’s turn on the tightrope.

Michigan State University Ph.D. student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) is studying supernovae when she accidentally discovers a new comet inbound

from the Oort cloud. Her adviser Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) figures out that Comet Dibiasky is headed directly for Earth. We’ve got six months to stave off utter destruction.

Kate and Randall call Dr. Teddy Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan), head of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (which, the film notes, is a real thing), and they get a meeting with President Janie Orlean (Meryl Streep). To their dismay, the president and her Jared Kushner-esque son Jason (Jonah Hill) are more concerned with the upcoming midterm elections than with saving humanity. When they leak the news to the press, their appearance on a Good Morning America-type TV show hosted by Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry is overshadowed by celebrity gossip generated by pop singer Riley’s (Ariana Grande) sex life.

The end of civilization is just too big a bummer to get traction in today’s competitive media environment.

Jennifer Lawrence (left) and Leonardo DiCaprio It’s obvious to anyone with two brain cells to rub together that Don’t Look Up’s comet is an allegory for global warming. McKay, like Kubrick, has been met with some bad reviews, and it’s true that Don’t Look Up lacks the perfection of Dr. Strangelove. The editing is choppy, and the story veers off into useless romantic subplots.

But what McKay gets right, he gets really right. The continued on page 20

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THIS IS HOW WE LIVE.

FILM By Chris McCoy continued from page 19 earnestness of the scientists trying to save the world becomes their biggest handicap. Legacy admission Ivy Leaguers in government dismiss the threatening discovery because it came from a state school. The elite news media descend on the subject — until the online engagement metrics fade.

Most chilling of all is Mark Rylance as Peter Isherwell, a Steve Jobs-like tech billionaire who discovers precious metals on the comet and decides a couple of billion deaths is a small price

to pay for propping up his company’s market capitalization.

Don’t Look Up was written before the pandemic, but if anything, the experience of the last two years has made McKay’s point for him; you could replace “comet” with “coronavirus” and the film would still work. When the comet becomes clearly visible in the night sky, Streep’s Trumpian president exhorts her red-hatted followers, “Don’t look up!” I thought about that scene on January 1st, when Memphis set a new high temperature record of 79 degrees.

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COMMERCIAL ANALYST needed at AutoZone in Memphis, TN. Must have Bach in Finance, Business, or related & 5 yrs exp incl: coding using SAS or SQL; understanding of common financial reporting & metrics; data analytics incl reviewing/ manipulating data to solve common business problems/questions; creation &/or automation of financial reporting; Advanced MS Excel skills incl pivot tables, charts, & VBA. Will accept a

Master’s & 2 yrs exp in lieu of Bach plus 5 yrs. Email resumes to taresume@ autozone.com. EOE IT ARCHITECT (ECOMMERCE) needed at AutoZone in Memphis, TN. Must have Bachelors in Computer Science or related & 5 years of software development/architecture exp in a retail environment, including: Working w/ search engine technologies for Enterprise search application development & administration using Cloudera Search, Apache Lucene/SOLR, Elastic Search, Microsoft Fast, Oracle Endeca; Utilizing ATG; Design web services API, data contract w/ JSON, XML, & CSVApache Solr installation, configuration, administration, patching, & migration. Remote work location is an option. Email resumes to taresume@ autozone.com. EOE.

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T H E L A S T W O R D B y B r i a n F. K e a n e & A s h e r B e n n e t t

Truckers Can Drive Climate Action

THE LAST WORD

If the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow taught us anything, it’s that the climate crisis is already upon us and that it will take a worldwide effort to PHOTO: SCHARFSINN86 | DREAMSTIME.COM realize climate stabilization. The Glasgow Climate Pact, agreed upon at the E-trucks can haul heavier cargo over longer distances conference, firmed up the global commitment to accelerate action on climate while contributing to carbon reduction. this decade. One-hundred-and-forty-six countries signed the pact, and we heard dramatic proclamations from the biggest polluters, including the United States, India, and even (in absentia) China.

But the true takeaway from COP26 can be summed up by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who said, “[The pact] is an important step, but it is not enough.” Indeed, governments can set the targets and incentives, but private technology, investment, and ingenuity are the indispensable parts of the climate solution.

Take the unmitigated threat from freight. According to MIT, the trucks, planes, ships, and trains that carry billions of tons of cargo around the world each year make up 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), and as much as 11 percent of warehouses and ports are included. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, within the transportation sector, freight movement accounts for 27 percent of transportation GHG emissions, with the majority of emissions generated by trucking. Energy use and GHG emissions from freight transportation have grown at roughly twice the rate of passenger transportation emissions over the last 15 years. That is an extraordinary impact.

The good news is we already have the technology and the capability to reverse this trend.

Nations all over the world are witnessing the surge in electric vehicles. In fact, every major car company in the world — from Toyota to Rolls-Royce to GM to Tesla — is producing an EV next year. You will recall President Joe Biden was in an electric Hummer in Detroit only a few weeks ago to highlight his $1 trillion infrastructure plan — which includes billions in funding for a new network of electric charging stations, a true confirmation of the transition to EV. But freight trucks have somehow been lost in the electrification spotlight, despite the role of freight in contributing to GHG and the fact that around the holidays, when we see freight trucks more than ever, we can appreciate the demands we make upon drivers and the centrality of their vehicles to the supply chain. So why haven’t e-trucks taken off yet?

A global study by Deloitte confirmed that — despite the advancements in battery technology — one of the biggest concerns about EVs relates to driving range. This is also relevant to freight trucks. The real value in electrifying freight is in delivering zero emissions at a lower total cost of ownership while ensuring vehicle range and reliability. Some e-trucks, like Tevva’s, combine battery power with other renewable energy sources, in this case hydrogen through a small onboard fuel cell, to deliver a viable longer-range solution. By combining technologies, these e-trucks can haul heavier cargo over longer distances — and give freight operators full confidence to adopt and deploy new technologies across all duty cycles.

Freight fleet operators can contribute further to carbon reduction, particularly in cities, by adopting better routes and optimizing their energy consumption. Technology has a role to play here. By using software, e-trucks can have predictive range and routing capabilities that can reduce daily energy consumption and minimize their impact on the planet — while also lowering energy costs for fleet operators. Industry gains can also be made through carbon reduction initiatives such as delivery consolidation hubs and optimizing vehicle load to prevent lots of small commercial vehicles doing the job of a single larger vehicle. This type of logistical restructuring is long overdue. But with truck technologies now available to make immediate strides in our fight toward zeroemission freight, we can empower truckers to drive climate action.

Brian F. Keane is the president of SmartPower. Asher Bennett is the CEO of Tevva Motors.

m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m

The climate crisis is already upon us, but we already have the technology to put it in reverse.

23

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