Memphis Flyer - 06/03/2021

FRESH STORIES DAILY AT MEMPHISFLYER.COM TRUTHER EVENT CANCELED P6 • DAVID PARKS’ THE Q TAPE P15 • A QUIET PLACE PART II P20

JON W. SPARKS

OUR 1684TH ISSUE

06.03.2021

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ON PLACE + NON-PLACE Nelson Gutierrez, the Colombia-born artist behind the 2021 Projects gallery on Main Street, discusses finding inspiration in his homeland and history, and making a space for other artists to grow.

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I’m infinitely less worried about accidentally, unknowingly getting someone else sick.

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 JULIE RAY 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

OUR 1684TH ISSUE 06.03.21 Last weekend, my girlfriend Sydnie and I did something we hadn’t done since the first months of 2020 — maybe since the tail end of 2019. We bought tickets. Babystepping our way back to events with other people, we caught a Saturday-night showing of A Quiet Place Part II. We bought a couple of local beers and some candy at the concession stand. We oohed and aahed at the remodeled theater — new seats, fresh coat of paint, transparent plexiglass dividers at the ticket booth. In a quarter-full theater, we watched a movie with other people, a communal experience that has been sorely missed. I even liked listening to people crunching popcorn.

Then, giddy with a new sense of freedom of movement, we bought plane tickets. After more than a yearlong delay, we’ll be going to visit Syd’s family in Boise, Idaho. Of course, purchasing plane tickets requires a more significant investment of time, money, and optimism than ponying up for a pair of movie tickets, but it feels undeniably refreshing to look a few months into the future and decide that it’s not a bad bet to make plans.

The secret to our newfound confidence is no secret at all. We’re vaccinated. We still wore masks in the theater (when we weren’t swilling Adjective Animal, that is) and we will on the plane. It just seems polite, especially when we’re interacting with theater or airline staff who have no way of knowing our vaccination status, or if we’re thorough hand-washers. Even after taking two doses in the arm, travel at this point is still a bit of a gamble. And, as the vaccine hesitant would point out, we’re choosing to gamble on the efficacy of a bit of medicine we don’t understand fully.

But I do that every time I get on a plane, every time I drive somewhere. I understand that Bernoulli’s Principle is instrumental in achieving lift, just as I understand that my car is powered by combustion, but that’s about the limit of my comprehension. I choose to trust that the people who design these things know what they’re doing, and that they have an interest in not being wrong. Just as I believe that Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson want to make profits, a goal that is more easily achievable if your product works.

That doesn’t mean I don’t believe some people have a good reason for choosing not to be vaccinated. I’m simply painting a picture of relatively guilt- and worry-free socialization. There has been no end of noise around this issue, and I hope it might do some measure of good to provide a clear-headed account of my experience. To that end, it’s been a month and a half since I got my second shot, and I’ve had no side effects to speak of. No surprise medical bill arrived at my door. My smartphone, I’m fairly certain, is the only device tracking my whereabouts and page-viewing trends. Best of all, I’m infinitely less worried about accidentally, unknowingly getting someone else sick. As far as I can tell, the risk was worthwhile and has paid off.

As I write this, Shelby County is not even close to half-vaccinated. I hope we’ll continue to work to improve that statistic, but that’s going to require us to do something besides shame and mock our fellow citizens. I’ll also mention that requiring proof of vaccination status is nothing new — though I’ve not once been asked to prove my own.

When we were children, my sister and I moved in with our dad, from Phoenix, Arizona, to Chester County, Tennessee, a trip of some 1,400 or so miles that meant we had to change school districts. I vividly remember my dad’s increasingly frantic attempts to secure our vaccination records before the beginning of the school year.

Neither he nor my mother were really the record-keeping type, and things were not at their best between them at the time, which complicated the process somewhat. But, complicated or not, we were required to prove we wouldn’t bring disease with us N E WS & O P I N I O N to charming Chester County. And that THE FLY-BY - 4 was 20 years ago in an overwhelmingly NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 6 conservative rural county.

POLITICS - 8 When it comes down to it, though, I FINANCIAL FEATURE - 9 doubt I can convince anyone to take their COVER STORY shot. I’m no doctor, have no degrees in “ON PLACE & NON-PLACE”

BY JON W. SPARKS - 10 epidemiology or virology. In this instance, WE RECOMMEND - 14 I’m a gambler, but one who likes the odds, MUSIC - 15 who’s willing to bet that good ol’ Bernoulli CALENDAR - 16 will keep the plane aloft … even if I’m not SPORTS - 19 sure exactly how.

FILM - 20 Jesse Davis C LAS S I F I E D S - 21 jesse@memphisflyer.com

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THE

fly-by

MEMernet A roundup of Memphis on the World Wide Web. S P EAK FO R US ALL

Reddit user u/stupidnapolean wrote, “Remember when those apartments on Highland were painted green and people lost their minds over it and got the owners to repaint? Can we show those same people this billboard on Union?”

POSTED TO REDDIT BY U/STUPIDNAPOLEAN

A THAN G, R EALLY? Memphis Sandwich Clique moderator Joey Danforth perplexed and, perhaps, repulsed many with this confounding image that claimed “fish filet and cookies & cream ice cream. It’s a Mississippi thang.” Mississippians in the group loudly proclaimed that, no, that is not a real “thang.”

June 3-9, 2021

POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY JOEY DANFORTH

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Questions, Answers + Attitude Edited by Toby Sells

W E E K T H AT W A S

By Flyer staff

Business, Bridge, & Liberty Park Record number of new businesses, a repair milestone, and work begins at the Fairgrounds.

B R I D G E R E PAI R The first phase of repairs for the Hernando DeSoto Bridge is complete, Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) officials announced last Tuesday.

The agency said Kiewit Infrastructure Group, the contractor hired for the bridge repair project, “worked 24-hour shifts installing fabricated steel plates on each side of the fractured member to secure the bridge for permanent repairs.”

“Phase one is complete!” TDOT exclaimed in a Tuesday news update.

Kiewit will now begin cleaning the worksite and extending the platform. In phase two, the damaged piece of the bridge will be removed and replaced. This phase must be TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT complete before the bridge can OF TRANSPORTATION LIBERTY PARK reopen to traffic.

TDOT officials said the restriping Clockwise from top left: Next project at the I-55 and Crump interstep for Hernando DeSoto change “is working” to improve trafBridge repairs; Liberty Park’s fic flow there. Traffic data show a 40 TDZ bond approval marks percent reduction in travel time from beginning of construction Monday, May 17th, to Monday, May 24th; a 47-minute delay was reduced to 27 minutes, TDOT said.

TDOT officials said they may have a date sometime this week for the bridge reopening. space, and residential apartments.

LI B E RTY PAR K WO R K B EG I N S So far, city leaders have signed letters of intent with Capstone Dirt turned on Liberty Park last week after the more than $200 mil- Development to develop two hotels at Liberty Park and with High lion project cleared a key funding hurdle at the state level.

5 Entertainment to develop a 40,000-square-foot indoor arcade Liberty Park, the youth sports complex to be built at the — complete with a bowling alley, bars, and restaurant — and a Mid-South Fairgrounds, got bond approval from the Ten25,000-square-foot outdoor miniature golf course. nessee State Funding Board. Those bonds will be supported from the Tourist Development Zone (TDZ) established for the N EW B US I N ES S E X P LOS I O N project, so some tax dollars collected within the zone will go to Shelby County led the charge of a record-breaking surge of people the project and not state coffers. starting new businesses in Tennessee, according to new data from With funding in place, the city of Memphis gave the green light the Tennessee Secretary of State. to Turner Construction and onsite groundwork began.

New business filings in the first quarter of 2021 were “the Initial work at Liberty Park will focus on the Memphis highest in history,” officials said, up 55.1 percent over the same Sports and Events Center (MSEC), a 227,000-square-foot, period in 2020. column-free events pavilion designed to host sporting events, Shelby County saw the largest number of new filings, followed trade shows, graduations, and more. Construction of the MSEC by Davidson, Knox, and Hamilton counties. These four, most-popis slated to be completed by October 2022. Work will also begin ulous counties accounted for 47.9 percent of new filings statewide.

Visit the News Blog at memphisflyer.com for fuller versions of these along Central Avenue for a future 18-acre mixed-use private stories and more local news. development with public plazas, hotels, retail and dining

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VACCINATE YOUR FAMILY.

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Crossword ACROSS

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“Family Feud” host Harvey Epitomizes Makes new connections to, perhaps Stem (from) Pop singer’s second album before “Jagged Little Pill” Currency replaced by the euro They might be drawn at night Org. with a top 10 list Old-fashioned cooler?

Scandal suffix Self-satisfied smile Naïve sorts Source of many box office bombs?

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE M E G A O N A D W E B I E P O P U E M O R A N G U N D E T H A S S O R L T E A H O L I E L O N AD A M S

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MacArthur Fellowshipwinning author of “Between the World and Me” Pandora’s domain Cornish meat pie 1994 Denis Leary comedy

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4 Support staff 5 Country singer who uses her first two initials 6 Tongue twister pronoun 7 Jazzed 8 Satisfy 9 Security figure, in brief 10 Many a range 11 Lionizing lines 12 Architectural high point 13 Britishbased relief organization 14 Playwright who wrote “Walk!

Not bloody likely. I am going in a taxi” 15 Revolutionary figure

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Truther Event Canceled Shelby Farms said it had no formal contract with Arise USA Tour.

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Bellow Bit of advice Predetermined

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“Enemy action” forced the cancellation of an event at Shelby Farms last week, and the anti-vax, truther, “patriot,” anti-5G, Pizzagate, Trumper, “freedom” group behind it claims management there was influenced by the deep state working through the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

The national Arise USA Tour was planned for Shelby Farms last Tuesday, according to the tour website. It was canceled, and organizers called the move “treason most foul in Memphis, TN,” and called Shelby Farms management “Shelby Farms Rats.”

A Shelby Farms official said the deal for the event was never finalized.

“The Arise USA Tour did reach out to request event space rental, but the event was never officially approved or scheduled,” said park spokesperson Angie Whitfield. “No signed contract or payments were exchanged.”

According to the group, Jane Rassman, an “outraged citizen” and presumed event attendee, wrote to Shelby Farms officials asking why they canceled the event “last minute.”

“My (admittedly uninformed) opinion is that someone in a position of power and/or influence overrode your common sense of decency and patriotism, and where you might have used your sovereignty and free will as an American, caved in to Fear [sic] and Greed [sic], and canceled the event,” Rassman allegedly wrote.

A video from the group shows speakers in a tour bus at what looks like Shelby Farms. Speaker Sacha Stone said, “Wouldn’t you know it? We’ve come under

ARISE USA

Conspiracy-driven group claims “treason most foul in Memphis.” attack. No sooner did we pull wheels into Memphis, Tennessee, than we hear the rug has been pulled.”

The group’s main goal, it appears, is to remove money from politics, until the #UNRIG Election Reform Act is passed.

“Turn off the money,” the group says. “Let’s hear them squeal like the pigs they are.”

This is to give other political groups, like “Libertarians, Independents, Sandernistas, Trumpers, Greens, and others,” a proportional representation in Congress.

The group also wants to persuade county sheriffs to intervene on behalf of citizens to “protect them from federal, state, and local officials who attempt to impose unconstitutional and unreasonable rules and acts.”

The group also calls for “truth,” especially about the “fake pandemic” that was created for a “toxic” vaccine. Oh, and they want “Web 3.0, Open-Source Everything, and the World Brain.”

As for the Shelby Farms cancellation, tour speaker Robert Steele explained that the ADL was a front for the deep state and has legal mechanisms in place to stop events just like Arise USA’s.

It seems other cities have refused the Arise USA Tour. The Wednesday stop was listed for Russellville, Arkansas, “in lieu of Little Rock,” and another in late May was set for Hearne, Texas, “in lieu of Houston or College Station.”

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POLITICS By Jackson Baker

A Blogger’s End “Mr. Mike,” a.k.a. “Half-Bakered,” had his moment.

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Mike Hollihan or Michael Roy Hollihan, as he normally signed himself, has passed. And that means that two other sobriquets adopted by the former freelance journalist and blog-meister have gone with him. One was “Mr. Mike,” as in “Mr. Mike’s Rumpus Room of Science,” the most enduring of his two blogs; the other, which for obvious reasons, first got my attention, was “Half-Bakered,” as in “halfbakered.blogspot.com.”

This last-named and first-launched venture — Hollihan’s most famous or notorious effort — had been his calling card to the newsreaders and political junkies of the Mid-South when he began it in 2002, intending it to be corrective to what he saw as the adversaries of his own homegrown libertarian-conservative-populist political consciousness. He began that blog at a time when Tennessee was in a permanently convulsive condition over the prospect of a potential state income tax, and he meant to do what he could to head one off.

Several journalists offended him with their coverage of the issue, since they — “we,” I should say because he settled on me as chief offender, hence the “honor” of my name in the title of his blog — insisted on referring to the matter as “tax reform” and took seriously the efforts of then Republican Governor Don Sundquist and various, mainly Democratic legislators to devise a fair-minded, less regressive alternative to the ever-rising state sales tax.

This was at a time when Tennessee was having grievous difficulties paying its due bills, not to mention funding major programs like education and healthcare.

Hollihan saw us all as conspirators, liberal pointy-heads out to steal the public’s money, and his polemical style was as unkind to us as he could make it.

I will forgo repeating any of the epithets he used on me. “The crone” was how he referred to the estimable lady who was then writing a competitive column for The Commercial Appeal. He depicted a colleague of mine as having developed a permanent brown ring around his nose from nuzzling into the good graces of

the establishment. And for reasons I never understood, he reserved some of his viler invectives for rabidly right-wing talk show host Mike Fleming, whom you would have thought he should see as a lodge brother.

Hollihan was, in a sense, beyond ideology, though it is fair to say he tilted Republican.

His saving grace was that he tried to function also as an all-purpose media critic, and he had a good eye for that circus, able to divine the derelictions and failings and foolishness of everybody in the public weal, save himself.

Perversely enough, we got to be friends of a sort with a real degree of mutual respect. And I almost took offense when — with an apologetic grace note to me — he announced, in 2011, that he would no longer call his then intermittently appearing blog “Half-Bakered” but instead would designate it as “Mr. Mike’s Rumpus Room of Science.”

TWITTER For several seaMike Hollihan sons, Hollihan did some newswriting for the Main Street Journal, a local periodical run by youthful entrepreneur Jonathan Lindberg.

And he nursed a whole host of physical problems, which eventually, it would seem, wore him down. Hollihan was a loner, basically, but he belonged to an unofficial fraternity of board game enthusiasts, and his recent passing, which went virtually unnoticed among members of the local media and political tribes, was duly observed with a special wake put on by the frequenters of the Board to Beers bar on Poplar Avenue.

Hollihan’s last moment as a blog crusader, this time on behalf of the MAGA movement, occurred last November when, after a several-years’ absence, he lit up the Mr. Mike’s Rumpus Room space with six posts in the wake of the presidential election, all examining possibilities that recounts might still enable a reversal of the election’s outcome. The last one, on November 12th, was entitled “Don’t Give Up Hope … Yet.” He was still flailing away.

F I N A N C I A L F E AT U R E B y G e n e G a r d

Capital for Everyday People Examining the differences between expenses and capital expenditures can equal big savings in the long run. have exploited many students, and even the most prestigious universities can produce graduates with significant debt and minimal opportunity, knowing they might have been better served on a different path.

• Hobbies. What’s better, running or scuba diving? Scuba diving requires training, equipment, travel, and storage space, while running requires shoes and clothes you probably already have. Even the most avid gearhead would spend far less on running than diving, and an avid runner probably enjoys the hobby just as much as a diver. Strategically finding less expensive hobbies you truly enjoy can make a huge difference when it comes to accumulating capital.

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• Collectibles. Speculative collectibles might seem to pay for themselves, but by the time baseball cards, NFTs, or limitededition anything looks like a profitable hobby, it’s probably far too late. If a major part of your hobby involves looking at price guides and auction listings to see if you’re making money, you probably won’t find the windfall at the end of the rainbow you’re expecting.

Looking at spending and saving this way might seem overly clinical but can be eye-opening once you get used to this mindset. Working people trade their time for income. Any opportunity to steer income away from expenses into capital activities that actually store and create value will bring about a day when capital can be used to free up your time — everyone’s only truly nonrenewable resource.

Have a question or topic you’d like to see covered in this column? Contact the author at ggard@telarrayadvisors.com. Gene Gard is Chief Investment Officer at Telarray, a Memphis-based wealth management firm that helps families navigate investment, tax, estate, and retirement decisions.

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Creating money for the future

NEWS & OPINION

P

oliticians and philosophers might disagree on how capital should be allocated, but they agree it’s the lifeblood of our economy and society. Regular people don’t usually consider themselves capital allocators, but that sort of mindset can be useful when running your personal budget.

Most simply, capital is money that makes more money. When money flows out of your bank account, it’s either for an expense (like an operating expense in business) or a capital expenditure. A capital expenditure is money that isn’t gone forever — it hangs around in another form that you hope will create money for the future.

Here are a few ways to apply capital thinking to your budget: • Markets. The purest way to turn income into capital is to invest it in the markets. Today’s investment portfolios are a modern miracle — they have incredibly low costs to enter and strong prospects to provide a real return that outpaces inflation over time (despite inevitable fluctuations).

• Real Estate. Real estate can work, but it’s not a capital-accumulation panacea.

Buying a house with a typical down payment is highly leveraged and therefore risky. An owner-occupied dwelling produces no income and instead produces significant expenses like interest, insurance, and general upkeep that can soak up capital as quickly as it becomes equity. There are lots of reasons to own vs. rent, but hoping for a quick financial windfall is not a good reason to buy.

• Vehicles. Cars quickly destroy capital via depreciation. Businesses buy vehicles to make money and embrace the tax benefits of their depreciation as a small benefit to the necessary cost of doing business. Families don’t get to deduct depreciation, and a vehicle for a family usually represents nothing more than a way of getting around. Buying fewer vehicles and using them less — by living closer to work and school, for example — will make a huge positive impact on household capital accumulation over time.

• Human Capital. College feels like an expense, but the right degree can make huge changes in lifetime capital accumulation. Not just any degree from any university will help, though — discernment is necessary these days to understand the exact purpose, utility, and value of a program. For-profit colleges

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ON PLACE + NON-PLACE Nelson Gutierrez, the Colombia-born artist behind the 2021 Projects gallery on Main Street, discusses finding inspiration in his homeland and history, and making a space for other artists to grow.

June 3-9, 2021

Artist Nelson Gutierrez was born in Colombia and worked in various places around the world and in the United States before coming to Memphis six years ago.

But you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone as devoted to local artists and art.

Gutierrez has an exhibition opening this weekend at 2021 Projects, a gallery at 55 South Main Street. That space is not the usual art venue, however, and that’s due to the artist working with the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) and numerous other artists in town to make it an attraction on several levels.

That otherwise vacant space is part of the Open on Main retail initiative, a project that goes to the heart of the DMC’s mission to boost the 10 economic presence of Downtown. There are, as any who stroll along Main Street

PHOTO BY JON W. SPARKS

Nelson Gutierrez’s art explores human identity, experience, and history. will attest, plenty of empty storefronts.

Open on Main makes it possible for entrepreneurs, artists, and small business

owners to take a low-risk chance on testing their concepts Downtown in some of these storefronts.

Open on Main Brett Roler, vice president of planning for the DMC, says, “Blight and vacancy drag down property values, curtail a vibrant street life, and make it harder for our existing businesses to thrive.” It is clearly better to have open doors and engaged pedestrians. The program has helped more than 30 store operators test the retail market Downtown, with more than 80 percent participation by minority/ women-owned business enterprises.

Open on Main typically provides rent-free opportunities for tenants to have their pop-up businesses on Main Street. The arrangement is usually for a month, but Gutierrez was able to secure a six-month plan since he was having rotating exhibitions of about a month each. His stewardship began in January and has gone well enough that the DMC has

(above) The Walk, ink and pencil on paper, 54 x 8 inches, 2021; (left) Norma Constanza Esguerra, plexiglass and MDF, 25 inches diameter, 2019

(February-March), Maritza Dávila and Carl Moore (MarchApril), and Johana Moscoso and Scott Carter (May). Gutierrez’s retrospective show runs from Friday, June 4th, through Friday, June 25th.

Portrait of the Artist Gutierrez’s work is very much grounded in his experiences in Colombia, which have been, he says, in a type of civil asymmetrical war among the Colombian government, leftwing communist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitary groups, and the drug cartels.

“It’s a really complex conflict,” Gutierrez says. “And I grew up in the middle of that. The government was fighting to provide order and stability.

The guerrillas claimed to be fighting to provide social justice. The paramilitary groups were reacting to threats by guerrilla movements and to protect private interests. The drug cartels were fighting to protect their own businesses.

And basically the people that most suffered were the civilians at large.”

He says most fighting was happening in remote rural areas in mountains and jungles. “There were several cases of terrorist attacks in big cities, which increased in the mid-’80s to the early ’90s. I was affected directly by that violence. Everybody in Colombia

knows someone that at some point was kidnapped. Everybody in Colombia knows someone that at some point was badly hurt or killed by these types of situations. So that was our reality.”

In the late 1990s, Gutierrez left his homeland and went to England to study for his master’s degree. It was transformative. “When I started seeing the whole thing from outside, everything changed because when I was living in Colombia, I was used to it,” he says. “That was what we were seeing every single day in the news. We didn’t even have a sense of shock anymore.

That’s not normal.”

He started to do some work on the subject of kidnapping. “There were about 1,500 people kidnapped,” he says, “so the work is about that and the spaces where people are kidnapped and how families

“I DON’T FEEL AS I USED TO FEEL BEFORE. THINGS HAVE CHANGED, AND I HAVE CHANGED. I’M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THAT AND UNDERSTAND THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY AND UNDERSTAND THAT AS AN OUTSIDER-INSIDER.”

suffer — all the psychological impacts of these particular crimes in a society.”

And there were the land mines.

Gutierrez says more than 11,000 people were killed or wounded by land mines in Colombia. While in England, he did an installation for UNICEF and the Colombian Embassy regarding that. Despite a 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, the United States, along with China, India, Pakistan, and Russia, have not signed the treaty.

Colombia, however, did sign it.

The Road to Memphis After his master’s degree, Gutierrez went back to Colombia to teach for a couple of years, and he met his wife. They moved to Miami where he worked for an educational foundation. After four years there, he went to Washington, D.C., for eight years, continuing to do his art and to teach. His wife worked with nonprofits, including United Way International, until she received an offer from the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC), the fundraising organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

And that’s how they came to Memphis.

He got an offer to work with ArtsMemphis as an artist advisory council member in 2016. “I was helping continued on page 12

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

agreed to let him continue using the space through December.

“What they’re doing is letting entrepreneurs use the empty spaces temporarily in order to test businesses,” Gutierrez says. “It’s not specifically for art, but as that’s my field, I said that that would be a good thing to do.”

He was talking with the DMC last October when so much was still closed to public activity, but they realized it was the time to start looking at ways to reactivate the art scene. “I knew there were going to be a lot of obstacles and limitations due to the pandemic, but we had the tools to do a lot of things virtually. It wasn’t just the exhibitions or the physical space, but also the social media that we would promote, and the interviews we’d do, and promoting the website.”

Gutierrez got together with artist Carl Moore and discussed who could be part of 2021 Projects. “We wanted to help the artists that are not represented by a commercial gallery, so that was our main criterion,” Gutierrez said. “Carl has been here for a very long time, so he knows more people than I do after only six years that I’ve been in the city. We made a list of people that would be able to participate. Another criterion was the quality of the work, so those people had more need to find spaces to execute their work or to reach the public.”

Artists who have exhibited so far are Andrea Morales and Khara Woods

11

continued from page 11

Youth, acrylic on paper, 25 x 25 inches, 2021

to understand better the situation of diversity in the city and in the county and how we could impact, in a more balanced way, the artists in the city based on that,” he says. In those years, he met artists and did work with the UrbanArt Commission. One of those artists he met was Carl Moore, who told Gutierrez about the program.

Being able to secure 2021 Projects for an additional six months was a definite win for Gutierrez. “When we first made the list of artists, the list was

really extensive,” he says. “It’s not just the people that we’re showing now — there are a lot more people that we would like to support and show their work.”

Sorting Through His Passions As for his own work, he continues to address the issues in his home country.

“Having lived that conflict from inside and then seeing it from outside and seeing it now after 20 years, how do I feel about that?” he wonders. “I don’t feel like I’m a hundred percent Colombian anymore — it’s not that I’m not

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Colombian, but I don’t feel as I used to feel before. Things have changed, and I have changed. I’m trying to understand that and understand the history of the country and understand that as an outsider-insider. I don’t know — is that like a weird situation of non-place?”

These are the musings of an artist sorting through his passions. But it is what artists do, and Gutierrez is not idling. “Some of the work that I’m doing now, some of the drawings that I’ve been working on are based on photographs from the 1940s and 1950s,” he says.

Some of those photographs were taken on April 9, 1948. A political assassination that day sparked violent riots that came to be known as “El Bogotazo.” It changed history.

“That started the violence that we’re living in now,” Gutierrez says. “So that’s what I am working on now. And how am I seeing that from the outside 75 years later? Even after 75 years, you see repercussions of those acts.”

Whatever questions he still has, Gutierrez knows this about his art: “The intention of the work is to point to this reality and to engage people in a critical debate around it changing in the public their habitual way of looking and thinking, in an effort to create empathy again.”

Another view comes from Marina Pacini, who was chief curator at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art from 2001 to 2019. Speaking of a recent series, she says, “Like his earlier works, the images are a graphic exploration of human interconnections, and they emphatically demand close attention from viewers, who are rewarded for their effort. With a simplicity of means, Gutierrez packs both a literal and a metaphorical punch.”

SPORTSBOOK

Maria Cristina

12 13368.01 BOM JUNIOR Page Memphis Flyer 7.2"x8.37".indd 1

6/1/21 1:35 PM

We're kicking off the Summer Party Season in Memphis with this tasty celebration of all of the traditions of Brunch!

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

benefitTing:

13

steppin’ out (& stayin’ in)

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

Comics & Tunes

MAKE YOUR CLOSET HAPPY, MANE. June 3-9, 2021

GRINDCITYDESIGNS.COM/ MEMPHISFLYER 14

The Switchblade Kid was rattling Cooper-Young neighborhood windows last December when my 9-year-old niece frantically tried to get me to stop the car. “Wait! Stop!

Stop the car!” she exclaimed while grabbing my phone to video the punk scene at the Cooper-Young Gazebo. Little did she know, that scene was our destination. We walked away with some auction items from 901 Comics, benefiting the P&H Cafe, along with some groovy memories.

901 Comics is at it again in its partnership with The Switchblade Kid Harry Koniditsiotis and his 5 and Dime recording studio. This time it’s 901 Comics’ quinquennial celebration benefiting A Room in the Inn. 901 Comics owner and former Memphis police officer Shannon Merritt says he picked the nonprofit because he’s personally seen the need. “There is a severe need for facilities like this,” says Merritt, who encountered such situations as a police officer. “Displaced families and individuals are desperate for any help. MIFA can only do so much.”

Live music performances will be featured every hour on the hour from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Cooper-Young Gazebo. The lineup includes alternative rock from Sunweight and J. D. Reager, Americana from The Whiskey Wells, and more alternative rock from SooperFlat.

SooperFlat will also release Dr. Confusion on flexi disc with story, the brainchild of band member Patrick Seller. Along with in-store specials all week preceding the event, Marvel and DC artist Pat Broderick will sign autographs and do sketches at the shop.

There will be raffles and auctions.

Be sure to pencil this novel graphic event on your calendar.

901 COMICS 5TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, 901 COMICS, 2162 YOUNG, THURSDAY, JUNE 3-SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 10 A.M.-7 P.M., FREE.

PLACE AN ORDER.

PHOTO PUBLIC DOMAIN

Celebrity guest, legendary Marvel and DC artist Pat Broderick, will sign autographs and do sketches at the shop.

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES June 3rd - 9th WE Gallery Open House Woman’s Exchange Art Gallery, 88 Racine, Thursday, June 3, 10 a.m.3 p.m., free to attend Peruse work by many aspiring new artists and many well-known artists, benefiting the Woman’s Exchange.

Gallery will be available weekdays through August.

VISIT US AT

By Julie Ray

Roar and Pour Memphis Zoo, 2000 Prentiss Place in Overton Park, Friday, June 4, 7-10 p.m., $125 An exclusive culinary and cocktail experience with the city’s most desirable chefs. Includes a bourbon pairing and a silent auction featuring art made by zoo animals.

Opening reception for B.B. King Museum Expansion B.B. King Museum, 400 2nd, Indianola, MS, Saturday, June 5, 2 p.m., free with registration Enjoy a new addition and exhibits celebrating the last decade of King’s life. Features the completed Memorial Garden, a life-size bronze of the King of the Blues, music, and tours.

Blues Music Awards 2021 Online from The Blues Foundation Facebook and YouTube, blues.org, Sunday, June 6, 4-7 p.m., free Watch the livestream celebration applauding the past year’s exceptional achievements in blues music recording, performance, and songwriting while supporting the blues’ rich cultural traditions.

Inaugural Annesdale-Snowden Historic Neighborhood Art Walk Annesdale-Snowden Neighborhood, between 1365 and 1414 Agnes Place, Saturday, June 5, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., free Tour this historic neighborhood, featuring food and music plus items for sale and on display, including jewelry, textiles, pottery, hand puppets, mosaics, soaps, furniture redesign, metal art, and more.

True Crimes of Bygone Times: An Online Presentation Online from Elmwood Cemetery, elmwoodcemetery.org, Tuesday, June 8, 7 p.m., $10 A history presentation of foul play and true crime stories of decades past. Stories include cookies laced with arsenic, an 1899 missing person search, a suspicious widow married seven times, and more.

MUSIC By Alex Greene

David Parks’ The Q Tape Quintessential, quality soundtrack soul, straight outta quarantine.

Though the 17th letter of the alphabet has become problematic in recent times, redolent as it is of anonymous sowers of discord in the political realm, Memphis bassist David Parks, aka Parks David, is having none of it. Listening to his EP, The Q Tape, which dropped in May, one could even say he’s reclaimed all the superior connotations of the nowinfamous letter.

“I started creating this kind of sound during quarantine,” he tells me. “And so really it was the quarantine tape. Really locking in and just creating. But then I got sick of quarantine. Like, ‘I want to go outside.’ So it morphed into this whole different thing. And there are a lot of great ‘Q’ words.”

When I point out that the letter evokes both the nickname of the great Quincy Jones, whose jazzy, funky ’70s soundtracks can be heard as influences here, and the brilliant Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, Parks readily agrees.

“Absolutely. I’m a super-huge Tribe fan, a huge Q-Tip fan.

And also, I’m bringing that soundtrack back, reimagining the relationship between film and music.”

Parks means that literally, as the all-too-brief EP, subtitled “a cinematic experience,” has a visual counterpart of the same name, featuring the auteur driving an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme around Memphis with a mysterious brief-

case, so bathed in the golden light of the “Me Decade” that one can almost smell herbal refreshments.

And the music is mainly an instrumental odyssey that complements such images, full of atmospheric strings and sparse keyboard chords, undergirded with the kind of fluid basslines that are a staple of classic, old-school R&B. “I made a conscious effort to put some real slick, Memphis, James Alexander bass on this,” Parks says. “I wanted to take my time and create some iconic lines. ’Cause that’s kinda missing from popular music right now. Great bass lines. Give me that live element! I wanted to incorporate the digital, the modern, with instruments that come from the earth, that come from the wood and the trees.”

Still, listeners shouldn’t sleep on that echo of Q-Tip in the mix, signified visually by Parks in his yellow hoodie and sonically by the exclusively programmed beats. “As much as it is Isaac Hayes,” Parks adds, “I feel like it is Juicy J as well. I wanted to put some Memphis influence and everything that I experienced and created here, from sweaty clubs to arenas and stadiums.” Referencing the rapper and producer desig-

nated by the alphabet’s 10th letter is no idle name-drop, for the group he co-founded, Three 6 Mafia, arguably did more than any other to combine the hard beats of hip-hop with the dark atmospheres of cinema. That’s echoed in The Q Tape as well.

And there’s another connection, only apparent if you reflect on the quality of the artists Parks is drawing from: If Juicy J and Isaac Hayes earned Oscars for their soundtracks, and Q-Tip had his “Award Tour,” Parks himself has joined their ranks, thanks to playing on Ledisi’s “Anything for You,” named Best Traditional R&B Performance at this year’s Grammy Awards.

“That was a big deal,” Parks reflects. “You always aim for playing on a Grammy-winning record. That’s a pretty big milestone in my career. So I’m ready to keep expanding, and just take it as far as I can take it, artistically. Honestly, it’s a bittersweet moment. Because it’s like, ‘Man, I contributed to something great.’ But truth be told, I want a Grammy with my name on it. You know? I’ve made a lot of people’s stuff sound good, so now it’s time to focus and deliver what my vision looks like.”

Parks pauses, then offers another alphabetical reference.

“Quintessential. That’s a great word, right? I like helping my friends and playing on great records, but it’s time to take those talents and add them to what I’m doing for myself.

You always hope that your art is quintessential.”

CROS STOWN ARTS

for

MUSICIANS and ARTISTS To learn more, go to https://crosstownarts.org/music/healthcare-support Sponsored in part by an ArtsZone grant from

Additional funding provided by

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

HEALTHCARE SUPPORT

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

Now Offering

15

CALENDAR of EVENTS:

June 3 - 9

T H EAT E R

A R TI S T R EC E PT I O N S

Hattiloo Theatre

B.B. King Museum

In Real Life, an ambitious Black woman pursues her dreams in New York City. From struggling actress to a Tony Award nomination, harsh realities are balanced by the unusual and comforting characters that touched her life. $150 for four seats. Saturdays, Sundays, 2 p.m., and Fridays, 7:30 p.m. Through June 20.

37 S. COOPER (502-3486).

The Orpheum

Orpheum Virtual Engagement, join Orpheum staff, artists, and students for activities, interviews, and more online. Visit website for more information.

Ongoing.

203 S. MAIN (525-3000).

Theatre Memphis

Thursdays on the Plaza, enjoy the atmosphere of the Menke Sculpture Garden during a variety of events from blues to trivia. Cash bar with wine and craft beer, as well as a nosh or two. Free-$5. Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. Through July 15.

630 PERKINS EXT. (682-8323).

Opening reception for B.B. King Museum Expansion, new addition and exhibits celebrate the last decade of B.B.’s life. bbkingmuseum.org. Sat., June 5, 2 p.m.

400 2ND (662-887-9539).

Mid-South Artist Gallery

Artist reception for “Going Places,” exhibition of over 70 works of original art by 25 artists. View online at wkno.org or in person at Mid-South Artist Gallery. wkno.org. Sat., June 5, 2-4 p.m.

2945 SHELBY (409-8705).

OTH E R A R T HA P P E N I N G S

Annesdale-Snowden Historic Neighborhood Art Walk

Food and music, handmade items on sale and display between 1365 and 1414 Agnes Place. Free. Sat., June 5, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

ANNESDALE-SNOWDEN NEIGHBORHOOD, MIDTOWN.

Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com or P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101.

DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY.

Maria Cristina by Nelson Gutierrez, coleader of the initiative to honor the value of contemporary art in the Mid-South, 2021 Projects at Open Studio Memphis Potters’ Guild Spring Show and Sale

Fri.-Sat., June 4-5, noon-5 p.m.

SHOPS OF SADDLE CREEK, POPLAR AND WEST FARMINGTON, THEMEMPHISPOTTERSGUILD.COM.

Picture Pawfect Calendar Contest Make your pet a star in the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County’s calendar.

Winners will be featured in the 2022 Humane Society calendar and eligible to win prizes. June 7-Aug. 13.

MEMPHISHUMANE.ORG.

WE Gallery Open House Peruse work by many aspiring new artists and many wellknown artists, benefiting the Woman’s Exchange. Thurs.,

June 3, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

WOMAN’S EXCHANGE ART GALLERY, 88 RACINE (327-5681), WEOFMEMPHIS.ORG.

O N G O I N G ART

2021 Projects

“Open Studio,” works by Nelson Gutierrez. June 4-25.

55 S. MAIN.

Art Museum at the University of Memphis

“Sketching Europe: A Tour through the Eyes of Memphian Samuel H. Crone.” Through Dec. 21.

“Africa: Art of a Continent.”

Ongoing.

“IEAA Ancient Egyptian Collection.” Ongoing.

142 COMMUNICATION & FINE ARTS BUILDING (678-2224).

Clough-Hanson Gallery

“Curation in Context 2021,” five virtual exhibitions organized by students giving insight into the work of 10 Memphis-based artists. rhodes.edu. Ongoing.

RHODES COLLEGE, 2000 N. PARKWAY (843-3000).

NEW MOVIE Memphis Museum of Science & History

June 3-9, 2021

WWW.MEMPHISMUSEUMS.ORG

16

Showing in the Giant Screen Theater

CALENDAR: JUNE 3 - 9

1350 CONCOURSE (604-3420).

The Dixon Gallery & Gardens

“Signs and Wonders,” Brittney Boyd Bullock. Through June 20.

“Memphis 2021,” new work by emerging artists emphasizing an exciting look at what’s to come in Memphis in the 2020s. Through July 11.

4339 PARK (761-5250).

Fratelli’s

“Color and Light: Nature’s Gifts,” exhibition of paintings by Steve Nelson. Through June 30.

750 CHERRY (766-9900).

Jay Etkin Gallery

Permanent Collection: “The Flow Museum of Art & Culture,” ongoing.

942 COOPER (550-0064).

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art “Arts of Global Africa.” Through June 21.

“Power and Absence: Women in Europe: 1500-1680.” Ongoing.

“Memphis Artists In Real Time,”

by Johnathan “Malik” Martin and Andrea Morales. Through June 27.

“Drawing Memory: Essence of Memphis,” by Victor Ekpuk.

Ongoing.

brooksmuseum.org.

1934 POPLAR (544-6209).

Memphis Heritage

“Newman to Now,” virtual exhibit of historic photographs taken

by Don Newman between the ’40s and ’60s and contemporary photographs of the same sites by Gary Walpole to explore continuity and change in Memphis’ built environment. Ongoing.

2282 MADISON (272-2727), MEMPHISHERITAGE.ORG.

Memphis Museum of Science & History

“Through Darkness to Light: Photographs along the Underground Railroad,” photographs by Jeanine Michna-Bales documenting the path of roughly 2,000 miles, based on actual sites, cities, and places that freedom-seekers passed through during their journey. Through June 20.

Tops Gallery: Madison Avenue Park

“Rhythm Section,” exhibition of three modular panel paintings displayed between moiré wallpaper prints on the north and south sides of the gallery by Marc Mitchell. Through June 19.

151 MADISON (340-0134).

UrbanArt Commission

“Kin/Kindred,” exhibition of sculptures by Sarah Elizabeth Cornejo in the Tiny Gallery. uacmem.org. Ongoing.

422 N. CLEVELAND (454-0474).

Urevbu Contemporary

“Africa On My Mind,” exhibition featuring new and recent paintings by Ethiopian artist Dereje Demissie and Nigerian artist Johnson Uwadinma.

Through June 30.

410 S. MAIN (521-0782).

3050 CENTRAL (636-2362).

C O M E DY

Metal Museum

Chuckles Comedy Club

“Measured Making: The 150mm Challenge,” selection of 150 metal objects, created by amateur and professional blacksmiths from around the world. Through July 3.

“Tributaries: Andrew Meers,” exhibition recognizing emerging and mid-career artists in the metals field. Through July 17.

374 METAL MUSEUM DR. (774-6380).

Michael Blackson, $45-$65.

Fri.-Sat., June 4-5, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

1700 DEXTER.

The Comedy Junt

Tee Sanders, $20-$30. Sat., June 5, 8 p.m., and Sun., June 6, 7 p.m.

4330 AMERICAN WAY (249-4052).

L E CT U R E / S P E A K E R

TO U R S

Novel at Home: Susan Cushman

Foul Play: True Crimes of Bygone Times

Online launch party for John and Mary Margaret in conversation with novelist Jeffrey Blount via Zoom. Free with registration. Fri., June 4, 6 p.m.

NOVEL, 387 PERKINS EXT. (9225526), NOVELMEMPHIS.COM.

Reader Meet Writer: Christina Lauren

Author discusses The Soulmate Equation via Zoom. Free with registration. Tues., June 8, 6 p.m.

NOVEL, 387 PERKINS EXT. (9225526), NOVELMEMPHIS.COM.

Reader Meet Writer: Will Johnson Author discusses If or When I Call via Zoom. Free with registration. Thurs., June 3, 6 p.m.

NOVEL, 387 PERKINS EXT. (922-5526).

True Crimes of Bygone Times: An Online Presentation

A history presentation of foul play and true crime stories of decades past. $10. Tues., June 8, 7 p.m.

ELMWOOD CEMETERY, 824 S. DUDLEY (774-3212), ELMWOODCEMETERY.ORG.

True crime stories of decades past. Tour to find out who has a criminal story. $20. Thurs., June 3, 5:30 p.m.

ELMWOOD CEMETERY, 824 S. DUDLEY (774-3212).

Through Our Garden Gates

Tour the personal gardens of local Master Gardeners. Free with registration. Sat., June 5, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

VARIOUS LOCATIONS, SEE WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION, MEMPHISAREAMASTERGARDENERS.ORG.

Walking Tour and Ghost Hunt

Part walking tour and part ghost hunt. Tour the South Main district and investigate a well-known site which was the scene of the brutal murder of patrolman Edward Broadfoot in 1918. 13+. $25. Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.

THE BROOM CLOSET, 546 S. MAIN (497-9486), HISTORICALHAUNTSMEMPHIS.COM.

E X POS/SA LES

Peer Power Virtual Career Fair

For college students and grads.

Sign up today and experience a

For your appointment call (901) 361-1403 www.edharrisjewelry.com

great panel, live DJ, raffles, and more. Thurs., June 3, 5-6 p.m.

PEERPOWERFOUNDATION.ORG.

Riverfront Market and Free Skate

Featuring over 20 local vendors with products ranging from fine art to gelato plus COVIDsafe fitness and activities for all ages, like free skate rentals. Sat., June 5, 1 p.m.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER PARK, OFF RIVERSIDE DRIVE, MEMPHISRIVERPARKS.ORG.

S PO R TS / F IT N ES S

Memphis Redbirds vs.

Gwinnett Stripers

Free hot dog, chips, and soda at every Friday game.

AUTOZONE PARK, THIRD AND UNION (721-6000), MEMPHISREDBIRDS.COM.

Memphis Redbirds vs.

Toledo Mud Hens

Free hot dog, chips, and soda at every Friday game.

AUTOZONE PARK, THIRD AND UNION (721-6000), MEMPHISREDBIRDS.COM.

Midnight Madness

Featuring street car drags. Fri.Sat., June 4-5, 7:30 a.m.

MEMPHIS INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, 5500 VICTORY LANE, RACEMIR.COM.

continued on page 18

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

“Nightlife,” exhibition of an outdoor light installation by Lake Roberson Newton, ongoing.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Crosstown Concourse

17

CALENDAR: JUNE 3 - 9 Sea Lions: Life by a Whisker, Wed.- Sun., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., at the CTI 3D Giant Theater, Memphis Museum of Science and History

SAT, JUNE 5 @ 1-6 PM

RIVER GARDEN & RIVERSIDE DRIVE (between Court and Jefferson) 30+ LOCAL VENDORS FREE SKATE RENTALS ESCAPE ROOM FOOD TRUCKS FUN FOR ALL AGES PRESENTED BY:

continued from page 17 S P E C IA L E V E NTS

901 Comics 5th Anniversary

Featuring music, raffles, and auctions at Cooper-Young Gazebo and Marvel and DC artist Pat Broderick signing autographs and doing sketches at the shop. Benefits A Room in the Inn. Through June 5, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

901 COMICS, 2162 YOUNG, 901COMICSMEMPHIS.COM.

Blues Music Awards 2021

Watch the livestream on The Blues Foundation’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Free. Sun., June 6, 4-7 p.m.

THE BLUES FOUNDATION, 421 S. MAIN, BLUES.ORG.

H2Oh! Splash Water Park

June 3-9, 2021

NEW ISSUE

Garden-themed exhibit with 40+ sprayers. Free with admission. Through Sept. 6.

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS, 2525 CENTRAL (320-3170), CMOM.COM.

The Pick Awards

Nominate the people who deliver the best, most authentic Memphis hospitality, are knowledgeable about Memphis amenities, and have pride in our city. Cash prizes.

Through Sept. 30.

If you’re looking for the most competent

PLUS you’ll enjoy all our regular

cure for what ails you, get your copy of the

content: In the Beginning, Ask

June/July issue of Memphis magazine.

Vance, Travel, Habitats, Classic

Our list of the Top Doctors 2021 includes more than 250 specialists in 55 categories.

Dining, Tidbits, Last Stand, Pages, City Dining Listings, and more.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! JUST $18 18

901-521-9000 / MEMPHISMAGAZINE.COM

WELCOMETOMEMPHIS.ORG.

Pride Week: Live and In Color 2.0

Featuring virtual and live events including Pride on Wheels caravan, Drag N Drive, and virtual Pride and in Color 2.0. Thurs., June 3, 6:30-11 p.m., Fri., June 4, 7-9 p.m., Sat., June 5, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sun., June 6, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

VARIOUS LOCATIONS, SEE MIDSOUTHPRIDE.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION.

FO O D & D R I N K EVE NTS

Douglas Park Mobile Food Bank

Providing fresh vegetables, dairy, meat products, and access to other food staples to those most in need. Sat., June 5.

DOUGLAS ROAD PARK, DOUGLAS AND MEMPHIS-ARLINGTON.

Roar and Pour

An exclusive culinary and cocktail experience, including bourbon pairing and silent auction featuring art from zoo animals. $125. Fri., June 4, 7-10 p.m.

MEMPHIS ZOO, 2000 PRENTISS PLACE IN OVERTON PARK (333-6500), MEMPHISZOO.ORG.

Seniors OUT For Coffee Community social group for LGBTQ community members 55+ years of age via Zoom. Free.

First Sunday of every month, 1 p.m.

OUTMEMPHIS: THE LGBTQ CENTER OF THE MID-SOUTH, 892 S. COOPER (278-6422), OUTMEMPHIS.ORG.

Shell Yeah! Tasty Compositions

Featuring music by Langhorne Slim and food curated by Chef Kelly English and a team of Memphis chefs. $400 per pod.

Thurs., June 3, 6 p.m.

LEVITT SHELL, 1928 POPLAR (272-2722), LEVITTSHELL.ORG.

F I LM

10th Anniversary: Bridesmaids

Includes gag reel and bonus feature. Also screening at Collierville Town Cinema on June 6th. $15. Sun., June 6, 3 p.m., and Wed., June 9, 7 p.m.

MALCO PARADISO CINEMA, 584 S. MENDENHALL (682-1754), MALCO.COM.

Cemetery Cinema: The Last Picture Show

Coming-of-age story starring Memphis native Cybill Shepherd. 13+. No pets. $17. Fri., June 4, 8:30 p.m.

ELMWOOD CEMETERY, 824 S. DUDLEY (774-3212).

Chimes Square Spring Movie Nights

Enjoy family-friendly movies on an outdoor screen with state-ofthe-art surround sound. Tipsy Tumbler will be onsite selling adult beverages. Free. Fri., 8 p.m.

Through June 4.

OVERTON SQUARE, 2101 MADISON.

Fargo 25th Anniversary

Dark comedy film by Coen brothers. $15. Sat., June 5, 7 p.m.

MALCO COLLIERVILLE TOWNE CINEMA, 380 MARKET BOULEVARD (681-2020), MALCO.COM.

Indie Memphis Movie Club

Weekly virtual screening opportunities (for brand-new films and classics), plus online Q&As on Tuesday evenings between programmers and special guests. Visit website for more information and schedule. Ongoing.

INDIEMEMPHIS.ORG.

Iris Orchestra Movie Night

Featuring concert performances from last season. Food trucks with dinner options and drinks will be available for purchase. Bring a picnic blanket or lawn chairs. $10.

Sat., June 5, 7 p.m.

GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, 1801 EXETER (751-7500).

Sea Lions: Life by a Whisker

An inspiring tale about a colony of endangered Australian sea lions and the journey of one sea lion pup. $10.

Wednesdays-Sundays, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Through Aug. 22.

CTI 3D GIANT THEATER, MEMPHIS MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY, 3050 CENTRAL (636-2362), MEMPHISMUSEUMS.ORG.

Spring Movie Series

6/3, Black Panther; 6/10, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory; 6/17, Toy Story; 6/24, Dream Girls; 7/1, The Wizard of Oz. Free. Thursdays, 8 p.m.

Through July 1.

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Memphis 901 FC snags a point on the road.

Shooting Boots Left at Home Memphis already looks like a much more fluid attacking team than last season, so far having been consistently able to create chances in the opponent’s box.

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The 0 - 0 draw saw the defensive line celebrate a first clean sheet of the season.

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Defense Holds Firm Yet Again, But Needs to Stay Alert Defender Zach Carroll has stepped up and marshaled the defensive troops for the first three matches. Against OKC, he led the team in blocked shots, doing his part to keep the home team off the board.

In goal, John Berner picked up another man of the match award after making four saves. We’re only three games in, but the keeper already looks like a fantastic acquisition for the team.

And while the Energy were kept at bay for most of the game, there were a few slips in concentration that almost cost Memphis. In the 39th minute, Skylar Thomas got a little lax on the ball and was stripped by OKC’s Frank Lopez, leaving the forward with just Berner to beat. Then in the 49th minute, the defense went to sleep on a quick Oklahoma free kick, with Berner coming up big to save from Villyan Bijev. These kinds of slips can be costly in tight games. But nitpicking on two isolated incidents aside, the defensive unit looks much stronger this year. It’s still early yet, but the pieces for a successful season are there. For now, a tough test awaits Memphis on June 5th at Indy Eleven, one of the league’s strongest teams.

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Kadeem Dacres the Key to Success Dacres put on a show against Atlanta, tallying a goal and an assist in a comprehensive attacking performance.

He attempted to go one better this time around, constantly harrying the OKC Energy defenders and generally causing trouble wherever he went. If 901 FC is going to succeed this season, it seems more than likely that success will be built around Dacres’ dynamic play (and his budding partnership with fullback Mark Segbers). He was a constant menace, whether making penetrating runs, cutting inside and shaking his markers, trying to tee up teammates, or getting on the end of crosses.

And while 901 FC struggled to get quality strikes off, Dacres came closest to breaking the deadlock with his redirection of midfielder Laurent Kissiedou’s shot, denied only by OKC defender Conor Donovan’s miraculous goal line clearance. Unfortunately, Dacres’ desire to create something out of nothing cost him a second yellow card when he was booked for a pretty clear dive in the 89th minute. That means a one-game suspension, and 901 FC will be without its best attacker for next weekend’s match against Indy Eleven.

That’s an unfortunate headache for head coach Ben Pirmann, but if we’re looking for the silver lining, it’ll be a prime opportunity for someone else to step up and show what they can do.

But sticking the ball in the back of the net might just be the hardest part of the game, and 901 FC still has some work to do when it comes to finishing. Memphis took 14 shots in Oklahoma, but only one was on target. That’s not great, but it’s still early days yet.

Don’t forget, the squad saw massive turnover in the off-season, and a good chunk of the squad joined up right before the start of the season. It’s understandable that some of the players are still finding their feet, and growing familiarity should eventually breed more confidence in front of goal. Plus, we haven’t even seen what the likes of injured new signing Roland Lamah can do yet. At the very least, the chances are coming. Expect a few more to hit the back of the net before too long.

Morning balloon ascension, Tethered Balloon Rides

Carnival rides, games & live music

Food and arts & crafts vendors

June 19–20, 2021 Presented by:

Collierville, TN

Tickets available online

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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resh off a thrilling draw in its second match, Memphis 901 FC made the trek to Oklahoma City on Saturday to face conference rivals OKC Energy for the first time. The Oklahomans looked ripe for the taking, having only mustered two draws and three losses in their first five matches. And but for an incredible goal line clearance, Memphis very well could have walked away from the stadium with three points. While the team rued some missed chances, the 0 - 0 draw saw the defensive line celebrate a first clean sheet of the season.

19

FILM By Chris McCoy

The Quiet: Part Loud After a yearlong pandemic delay, A Quiet Place Part II is worth the wait.

C

world means fewer actors to pay, and you can dress your sets with old junk. Showing the actual apocalypse, that’s gonna cost ya. A Quiet Place Part II’s opening sequence violates all of those rules.

The small-town Pennsylvania family from the first film, with Lee Abbott (director Krasinski), wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt), teen daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), and tween son Marcus (Noah Jupe), are attending youngest son Beau’s (Dean Woodward) little league game when mysterious flaming objects start falling from the sky.

Soon, the town is overrun with hungry aliens, and the Abbotts learn the hard way that silence is the only way to stay off the menu.

Animalistic space aliens looking to devour humans is one of my pet peeves. So, they have the smarts to develop interstellar spaceships, but once Earth-side, they suddenly lose language and become wolf-like predators?

And just how did they develop a taste for human flesh, anyway? The original alien invasion, H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, got this exactly right: The aliens rode around in high-tech tripods zapping people with heat rays. We were not food; we were pests to be exterminated from their new colony. But the opening scene of the last normal day hits differently after the pandemic.

Indeed, A Quiet Place Part II

June 3-9, 2021

onfession time: When I tried to watch A Quiet Place, I fell asleep. It was quiet out there — maybe too quiet.

The premise of A Quiet Place is familiar: a family trying to survive and stick together in a depopulated, postapocalyptic world. In this case, the cause of the depopulation turned out to be alien monsters who use only sound to perceive their environment. That means if you stay quiet, you’re safe. But as I sit here, listening to the clicks of my keyboard, it’s obvious that staying quiet is easier said than done.

The original film was a welcome anomaly in the world of 2018: an original story sold as a spec script and produced with a reasonable budget by a mainline studio. A Quiet Place was a classic genre exploitation formula: a lot of buildup and tension-raising, followed by a (hopefully) action-packed climax where you spend most of your budget — aka The Jaws Formula. It succeeded far beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, so actor/ director John Krasinski got a second bite at the apple.

This time, writers Bryan Woods and Scott Beck are out, and Krasinski writes, directs, and acts in the prologue, which shows how the monstrous plague began.

One reason postapocalyptic movies are popular is that they are relatively cheap to make. A depopulated

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A Quiet Place and its sequel — starring Millicent Simmonds (left) and John Krasinski (right) — prove that staying quiet is harder than it sounds. had its world premiere on March 8, 2020. When the film skips ahead from Day 1 to Day 474, we now know how that feels.

By Day 474, Lee and Beau are dead, and Evelyn is trying to keep her family, which now includes an infant, alive.

They have one advantage: Regan is hearing-impaired, and she has discovered that her cochlear implant produces audio feedback that causes the echolocating intruders pain.

The family moves on from the burning farm where they were holed up to find other survivors. When they come across Emmett (Cillian Murphy), Lee’s best friend from the Before Time, holed up in an abandoned steel mill, things don’t go as planned. Instead of a welcome mat, Marcus finds a bear trap that almost snaps his foot off. The survivors, Emmett thinks, are “not people worth saving.” It’s up to Evelyn to prove him wrong.

Marcus’ desperate screams of pain set the sonic tone for the film: long stretches of silence pierced by sudden loud noises, which portend doom. Sound design has always been the horror director’s secret

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Directed with confidence, and much more relevance than anyone could have known while they were filming, A Quiet Place Part II will keep you awake.

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EMPLOYMENT

THIS IS TO SERVE AS A PUBLIC NOTICE that the following 3 40’ Marine chassis are in the process of being titled in the name of RoadHawg Transportation, 2811 Farrisview Blvd. Memphis,TN. 38118. These chassis are to be found at address mentioned and upon proof of ownership and storage charges being paid in full, said chassis will be released to the proper owner.They have been abandoned on my property since May 2019. This ad will run for 10 days upon which any one having an ownership interest in this equipment need show proof of ownership.

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BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH SPECIALIST II NEEDED at Buckman Laboratories International, Inc. in Memphis, TN. Must have PhD in Fermentation Science, Enzymology, Microbiology, or related &2 years of exp, including: Enzyme characterization & fungal fermentation; Molecular biologytechniques, including cloning & protein expression; Developing &

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supporting protein-basedtechnologies for industrial applications. Please fax resumes to 1-901-272-6502. EOE M/F/D/V.

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weapon, and few films have ever leaned on it harder. White noise like falling water signifies comforting defense, while the aliens’ clicks and whoops raise your resting pulse rate. The unnamed aliens’ loping gait is supplied by Krasinski himself, who was the motion capture model on set.

Blunt was the heroine of the first film, but this outing is an ensemble piece.

Simmonds, who is herself hearingimpaired, moves to the forefront as Regan decides it’s up to her to find a way to fully weaponize her cochlear implant against the invaders. Breaking the cardi-

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EMPLOYMENT • REAL ESTATE • SERVICES SENIOR GLOBAL NETWORK ENGINEER, SCCM: Dsgn., supp., & govern Hilton’s SCCM (Sys. Center Configuration Manager) infrastructure. Use Microsoft prod. for endpoint security/mgmt., active directory, & packaging. Must have exp. in SCCM, Active Directory, MS Windows arch., SQL, PowerShell, Casper, MDM, Airwatch, & exp. in mntng. & supporting customer base >100K. Job in Memphis TN. Mail cvr./ltr. to S. Keye, Sr. Director, Hilton Domestic Op. Co., 7930 Jones Branch Drive, McLean VA 22102

HOME & OFFICE CLEANERS WANTED $600/Weekly Cleaning Position: Available Working Days: Mon-Fri Time Schedule: 11 AM - 2 P Minimum Requirement Email: henrya75312@gmail.com

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SYSTEMS ENGINEER NEEDED at AutoZone in Memphis, TN. Must have a Bach degree in Comp Sci or related & 5 yrs of full-stack software engineering exp including: Designing, developing & supporting high volume online applications; Utilizing Java, J2EE, Junit test cases, Spring, Spring boot, Hibernate, Restful web services, SOAP web services, HTML/CSS, JSP, JSON, jQuery, JavaScript & Bootstrap technologies, Linux Shell Scripting, CI/CD tools using Jenkins; Build tools Maven, Ant or Gradle; Database management systems Oracle & MySQL; Monitoring tools Dynatrace or Elastic APM; Configuring & tuning Application servers Apache, Tomcat, or Weblogic; & Web Server Apace or Websphere. Fax resumes to DeAngelo Sears at 901-4958207. EOE.

INFORMATION SECURITY INTERNATIONAL ENGINEER ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is currently looking for an Information Security International Engineer in Memphis, TN. Member of the Information Security team at ALSAC responsible for designing, developing, implementing, and maintaining information security solutions to ensure the organization’s international use of IT infrastructure is evolving with the threat landscape. Requires a Master’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Cyber Security or related field and 3 years of experience in cybersecurity, including compliance and risk management. To review the full job description and apply, please visit the company website at www.stjude.org/ jobs/alsac.html.

SYSTEMS ENGINEERQuality Engineering needed at AutoZone in Memphis,TN. Must have Bach degree in Comp Sci, MIS or related & 5 yrs of Quality Engineering exp.

Must include at least 3 yrs of retail domain& eCommerce exp, including: Performance monitoring, testing, & analysis utilizing LoadRunner, Silk Performer, JMeter, NeoLoad, AppDynamics, Dynatrace, Splunk, Cloud Watch, Stack Drive, Wily Introscope, HP Diagnostics, GC log analysis, Thread Dump Analyzer, Heap Analyzer; Performance Test Modeling & Capacity Planning using DevOps; CI/CD Automated deployment tools Jenkins or Jules; Performance tuning of enterprise level Java & J2EE applications including Web & Application Servers Configuration, JVM parameters tuning, GC & Heap Size, Message Broker. Fax resumes to DeAngelo Sears at 901-4958207. EOE

PROFESSIONAL/ MANAGEMENT GLOBAL CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER needed at International Paper in Memphis, TN. Must have bach in Supply Chain, Logistics, Industrial Engr or related & 5 years’ exp in the pulp & paper industry, including: Management w/ direct customer service reports; Supply chain & customer service operations in an environment servicing internal & external customers; Global paper sector business strategy; SAP, e-commerce, & collaborative planning.

Must be able to travel internationally 20% of the time. Email resumes to Paige.Lu@ipaper.com. Equal Opportunity/affirmative action employer including vets and disabled.

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THE LAST WORD By Liz Rincon

Holding Our Own

THE LAST WORD

Staying up late at night, worried about your children is a common occurrence for all parents. What are they watching on their phones? Who are they chatting with? Who was that my kid just drove off with? Standard parental anxiety. However, now there is a new fear that has taken over my nightly Transgender Pride Flag, a symbol of worries and has manifested into actual terror. No, I am not being dramatic, transgender pride and diversity and this fear is real. I am speaking about our Gov. Bill Lee and the smug way he transgender rights just made it impossible for queer and trans youth to exist safely in our state.

I am a mama, a proud one. My children do not seem to want to conform to gender-assigned clothing, never have and probably never will. Because my oldest likes to wear clothes bought on the “boys” side of Target, has always been a little advocate for the LGBTQ community, and prefers they/ them pronouns, I am terrified that the governor has just given permission for narrow-minded and frighteningly armed people to target and bully my beautiful and brilliant kiddo.

A slew of anti-trans legislation poured out of our state capitol building like the pink slime in Ghostbusters. Just oozing with hate, really bad science and information. The Tennessee Equality Project works so hard to fight this “slate of hate” and try to keep our youth safe. Yet, that train left the station and instead of working on pandemic relief and healthcare needs for our suffering state, the state government dug in and went full bully on our most vulnerable.

When I watched Gov. Lee sign some of the cruelest anti-trans legislation, with his giant smug smile slapped across his face, I wanted to pack up and leave.

PHOTO BY SHARON MCCUTCHEON I wanted to find that progressive utopia, where my children could learn freely about American history without it being sliced into slivers of white bread. My husband and I could raise our children in peace, free from the fear of being targets. We were going to find that location, move, and let Tennessee be a distant memory. There was only one problem — that place does not truly exist in America. Sure, there are more “tolerant” cities and states, but we are not looking to be “tolerated.” We just want to live our lives, safely and free of fear.

I have seen so many posts from friends and acquaintances saying it is time to leave Tennessee. They, too, are living in a world where their fears are becoming realities. We are making national and international headlines, where people are commenting that they never plan on coming to Tennessee because we are so hateful. Well that sucks for our tourism industry, our ability to recruit new business and wealth.

Who will invest in us now? Trust me, these hateful bills will come back to bite Gov. Lee, straight in his dad jeans.

After a week of thinking about a lot of things — mainly how to keep my children safe from bigots and bullies — I decided the best thing to do is stay, be brave, and protect all our children. Leaving is what those knuckle-draggers want, so they can slowly create a Tennessee where everything is homogenized and covered in mayonnaise. Well, this Latinx mama, who wants her children to live freely and safely, is not going anywhere. (Although, it is always good to have a backup plan, like a godfather in NYC.) I want nothing but safety and protections for my child and yours. I want dignity restored, and I want these East Tennessee Republicans to get the heck out of my business because I am a Memphian and I am willing to get in the mud to make their ability to pass outrageous and bigoted laws more difficult. I will take up more space. I will be louder and more visible, and I will not allow them to make a weird white pseudostate because they feel like their “culture” is being threatened. I know it is tempting to start the process of moving to a more tolerant place, but for now let’s stay and try to right the wrongs of this last year. As a mama, a Memphian, and your neighbor, I will always be on the side of dignity for all. I hope you will stay and fight that fight with me.

Donate to your local LGBTQ organizations, be your child’s first champion, not their first bully. Memphis is our home; let’s keep it safe for all.

Liz Rincon is a political consultant.

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

Parental duty includes saying “no” to the state as gender bully.

23

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